Incredible Hulk Question...

Glad you liked our "baby" GregLeg. Hulk is one of my favorite B&Ms, although it is bucking a bit these days off the MCBR in my opinion. The launch is faster these days, I really do believe it's kicking in harder than previously. The tunnel under the walkway was fully misted, there's great speed through the first section, and it still sounds like a swarm of angry bees to me. With the height of Alpie/RRv and the compact layouts of Ga Scorcher, Talon, and BKF, Hulk rates right up there for me! If the second half featured the vertical loop of Kraken, it would be my fav Beemer...
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PoTP acolyte - remove fear to reply
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

Add me to the list that finds Hulk to be very overrated. It's far from bad but it's certainly not one of B&M's best. Even though it's been dissected I'll add my two cents here two.

1. The launch is fun, no doubt, but I always wonder why there is so much talk about how great it is when there are plenty of faster, more intense launches out there.

2. The zero-G roll offered little air. Kumba and Kraken both have Zero-G rolls that are far superior.

3. The Cobra Roll is so large that it is essentially forceless. I don't even care to much for "intense" rides but Hulk's Cobra Roll delivered very little.

4. I found the flat spin to be very "jerky"...almost a headbanger.

5. The back half of the ride is not as bad as it's reputation. There is a great surprise drop and it is indeed a very twisted and compact layout. Nothing special, but nothing bad.

Overall Hulk is a good ride. It's just not the incredible machine many people would lead you to believe.

And just for the record I first rode Hulk in the summer of 1999 shortly after it opened, so I wasn't a victim of "listening to the hype" before I got a chance to ride. I was truly indifferent about the ride.

For all you Hulk haters out there, I find this pic mildly amusing:

The Incredible Suck!

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www.coasterimage.com

I thought that Hulk was awesome. Yeah, not the greatest, but pretty damn good. I personally loved the launch, zero g roll, the tunnels, and the surprise drop on the back half.

Sean F. said:
The zero-g roll at the top is cool (as is the story why it was included in the ride), as is the cobra roll and loop.

Ooh, here's a story I haven't heard! For what reason was the zero-g roll put at the top of the launch tunnel?

For the record, Hulk is the best coaster I've had the pleasure of riding (that's out of 125). To me, the launch feels every bit as intense as any other I've experienced, and the zero-g roll snaps nicely in the front seat. I love the hangtime in the "really freakin' huge" cobra roll and loop and think the helix around the launch tunnel is fun. And you can't beat the s-curve/"snap to the right helix" before the brakes. I'll be the first to admitt the ending is dull compared to the rest, but that makes up such a small portion of the total ride. By the time you hit the midcourse brakes, the ride's already more than 2/3 finished. For the record, I rode Hulk last week, and though I was afraid it would fall from its number one spot, it held on nicely. On the other hand, Fire Dragon fell a few notches...

-Nate (who's excited to hear this zero-g roll story!)

Hulk is great! I love the 5th inversion how it takes it so fast! The launch is way intense, I felt my body shaking like crazy.

Also, another reason i rag on The Incredible Suck so much is that right after riding it, and then having a life changing experience on Spiderman, I went to the back of the park, where I experienced hands down the best looper that B&M has ever built, the fire side of DD. With the insanely intense pacing of B:TR, unique, large inversions, and the best visuals of any coaster ever, Hulk just kinda paled in comparison.

I will give this much credit to Hulk though - they went for something really unique with the layout, which is admirable, but I just don't think it worked. I really would much rather have a completely unique ride like Hulk in at IOA to compliment Kumba, as opposed to floorless coaster a little ways down the rode, that while surely different from Kumba, is just very cliche B&M. I think the coasters of IOA and BGT compliment eachother very well, and I'm happy IOA didn't just put in a bunch of ho-hum-i've-done-this-before B&M's.

Man, it must be a long, cold winter if we are arguing about The Hulk. C'mon, it may not be your favorite, but a bad ride????? Most parks wish they only had a ride like this.

I just rode the Hulk last week for an offseason vacation to FL. Rode it twice, once in front, once in the last seat. Was just as exciting as when I first rode it when the park opened. Very fun and exciting. However it does tend to slow down after the exciting beginning. I will say that I liked Kraken at Sea World better on this trip. Perhaps that is because it is a floorless and I find those much more thrilling, especially the front seat. But there is nothing really truly bad about the Hulk, it just may be more tame than some people like. Other than that, fun ride all around, great park.

I dont think anyone here has said that Hulk was "bad" per se. "Bad" in comparison to other B&M's maybe (I think I only liked Vortex @ Carowinds less...maybe Ice Dragon...perhaps Nitro..though I even liked Raptor more :))

But I think this can generally be filed under different strokes for different folks. For me, a coaster has to have at least *one moment* that makes me say WTF for it to be a favorite. Examples: the 5th hill on Raven, the batwing on Montu, the double down on Phantom's Revenge, the first drop in the back seat of any GCI coaster :). I didnt get that moment on Hulk so it's in the "aiight" pile with such rides as Wild One, BOSS, Loch Ness Monster, and Vekoma SLCs.
lata,
jeremy
--Let the games begin!

...ouch! The only "bad spot" on the coaster as this endless winter weather continues (*wink*) is the rough hop off the MCBR. Never noticed it before this winter, but it almost bounces down that drop...
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PoTP acolyte - remove fear to reply
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

I also noticed a "buck" on after that mid-course.. oh by they way Bill.. we went to IoA... sorry to jilt your baby BGT. Took some great photos of the Hulk, including my new profile photo. Check it out, it's somewhere on Hulk, but I can't exactly remember where. Can anyone help me out? I'm thinking right after the first flat spin. If you're interested, I'll send you those pics.
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Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like bananas.

For the 'Hulk haters': just try not smiling when you're launched! It's the best beginning in coasters!

Brian, if I had to choose IOA or BGT and hadn't been to either park, I'd pick IOA every time. Sure, Gwazi is really nice, but IOA is out of this world, above and beyond in every respect...single-riders lines on Hulk and Dr Doom are the jewel in the crown! BTW, how'd your mom fare on Spidey? I had forgotten how much it spins in the misty tunnel...until this past Friday, lol...

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PoTP acolyte - remove fear to reply
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

Homey G did you know your birthday is the same day as.... well u know.... i bet you were upset when the tragedy occured huh? If you dont know what im talkin about look at Homey G 's info...
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Out of the coasters i've ridden here is wat i rank them overall:(ive been to canobie lake and SFNE)
1. S:RoS 2. Yankee Cannonball 3. Riverside Cyclone 4. Canobie Corkscrew 5. Thunderbolt 6. Galaxy 7. Mind Eraser 8. Dragon coaster 9. poison ivy's tangled

Yep. I'm well aware. But don't feel bad for me... feel bad for all the families of those poor people who lost their lives.
Plus, no big deal really. When you get to be my age, you don't really look forward to your birthday anymore anyway.
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Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like bananas.

*** This post was edited by Homey G. on 1/16/2002. ***