How does Sooperdooperlooper compare to Revolution?

They're both the same type of coaster, have been built almost simultaneously and share some similar layout elements.

Has anyone ridden both and is willing to share a comparison?
Does SDL have the same problems R has these days?


airtime for everyone
Hey. I've been on Revolution time and time again and it is a great fun ride, I'll be riding SDL next year, so it'll be great to see what's to say here...

SDL might be a bit more enjoyable because they don't have the OTSRs that Revvy has.

To me SDL felt like a Jet Star with a loop, was soooo cute with it's little dips and turns! Whereas Revy in it's heyday was one incredible looper with some amazing drops and near blackout loop.
I think both rides give basically the same experience. SDL offers the loop after the first drop whereas you have to wait sometime for the loop on Revolution. The only real difference for me is that awful OTSR that Revolution has. They should just beef-up the lapbar and dump that harness.

SOB's biggest fanboy!
Given their current opperations I'd have to say that SDL is the better of the two rides. Several years ago, before Revolution got the OTSR and littered with brakes I'm guessing it was the better of the two.
boblogone's avatar
Revolution used to be in or near the same league as Mindbender-SFoG and Shock Wave-SFoT before the *safety improvements*. :(
I've been on both, and it is hard to compare them, other than both being built by the same genius.

Revolution has an amazingly long layout, and is part of the "mountain" , hugging the terrain, etc.

SDL is out in the open, smaller, etc.

Both are great rides- I like SDL because it adds the extra pleasure of NOT having a choke harness...just a lapbar!

I rode Revolution summer of 2004...well after the shoulder harnesses were added so I cannot compare. I enjoyed the ride but man those OTSR's HURT!! Worse for me than a Vekoma Mind Eraser. I wish, and hope, that someday I can ride Revolution fully restored.

I C I might have overestimated the size of SDL from the pictures I saw.
The track and they way it winds through the woods, plus the loop pass-through makes SDL look like Revolution's brother, but maybe it's a small brother, really.
I have only ridden R in 1999, but I remember I did like it, even despite those hard restraints.

I wonder how Hersheypark manages to run SDL without the OTSRs, and why Revolution supposedly can't run without them.
The loops should both pull the same amount of Gs I guess?


airtime for everyone
I rode Revolution when I was little without the OTSRs when I lived in LA and let me tell you, it was a great ride, I remember we had to wait in line forever. Once again, back when SFMM was a traditional family park. Too bad they butchered Revvy's natural scenery with Tatsu (although Tatsu is a great ride).
Acoustic Viscosity's avatar
It had been discussed on here that the OTSR's were added as a quick fix for the ride to be certified on year, and it was never in the budget to properly correct the problem after that.

SDL, Mind Bender and Shock Wave all continue to operate without OTSR's.


AV Matt
Long live the Big Bad Wolf

rollergator's avatar
I would have LOVED to have ridden the original Revolution. As it is, it really is SAD to see it like THAT, overbraked and with some of the worst OTSR's ever. I can't think of many OTSR's that were THAT bad...unavoidably bangy. :(

At least there's still the three terrain coasters left that are run reasonably CLOSE to original specs...

Anton! Anton! Anton!

What a shame it was to see Zonga go... they butchered it with OTSR's anyway... okay, I ask this alot, but does anyone know why Zonga went??
^ Would it be OK if we stick with Revvy and SDL etc. in this thread?

(Zonga is kind of the end of an era, of which SDL/Revvy is the beginning - might be worth a new thread, although there are quite a few about that one already).


airtime for everyone
Revolution SHOULD be the better ride because it has steeper drops (and quite a few of them) while SDL is more like a mine train with a loop, but considering Revolution has those awful OTSR's, SDL is the better ride. That's not to say SDL is a good ride simply by default.
SDL is a fun ride, but there's not a lot to it. The first drop into the loop is nice, and the turnaround to pass through the loop is kind of a neat touch, but there's not a lot to it after that, as I recall.

Never been on Rev, tho, so I don't know how they compare.

Well, being that I've kinda grown up with SDL (rode it as early as age 4) and that I just got to ride Rev, I have some experience.

SDL is a wonderful, classic steel looper that, as one user described it, more like a mine train with a loop. I'm glad that HP still runs it close to original specs and with just the lapbars. SDL also uses the terrain a little, but probably not to the extent that Rev does.

Rev, on the other hand, is a longer ride that has more to offer and, thinking about the way it used to be, was the superior ride. However, SFMM butchered the classic ride with brakes and worst of all, those OSTRs. It's just a shadow of its former self.

Also, SDL has the superior operations, thanks to HP (we know that SFMM is known for crappy ops). SDL also has longer trains. I think they are 6 or 7 cars long, whereas Rev only has 5 car trains.

Combine SFMM's 1-train op (smaller train) on a longer ride versus HP's 2 train op (larger train) on a shorter ride, and you will see how bad SFMM's operations are and how long you'll have to wait.


coastin' since 1985

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