Jerk-cules @ DP
I did a solo trip to Dorney yesterday after work and for some ungodly reason, decided to give Hercules a shot. I've been on it before, and have never had a good ride. I dunno... guess I felt bad for it or something.
Anyways, yesterday had to be the worst ride I've ever had on Jerk-cules. I know wood coasters are supposed to be a bit rough, but Jerk-cules gives new meaning to "unneccesary roughness".
Soo.... the question is.... what is Herc's problem? Is this another case of MeanStreakitis? Too big and fast for its britches? Poor construction? Poor design? Was Jerk-cules like MS when it first opened? A good coaster that just went bad really quick?
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Men are like parking spaces... the good ones are all taken and the rest are handicapped or too far away.
www.TiggerMan.com
*** This post was edited by TiggerMan on 7/25/2002. ***
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Sean
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AHHH-SCHWARZKOPF!
-Coaster Enthusuiast Sneezing
S00perGIR said:
"It's a wooden that goes really fast. Yep. That's it. can't handle it, don't ride, DUH.
I wasn't asking for opinions on whether I should ride Jerk-cules or not.... DUH. If you read the post, I asked what the problem with the coaster is. Please leave the smart-a** opinions to yourself. Thanks. :)
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Men are like parking spaces... the good ones are all taken and the rest are handicapped or too far away.
www.TiggerMan.com
I have a problem with the turn around over the lake. This is where the roughness really beats me up. I always thougth that it was taking the turn at too high a speed. Sure the turn is neat at water level, but I gotta wonder if hill here... abanked fan turn on a hill, would be the answer. Slow the train down a little for the turn, and also slow it down a little before throwing it into the latter half of the ride. Of cousre I am no engineer or architect, so I could be all wet.
Granted, Hercules is not my favorite coaster. Its not that I dislike this coaster... there is something about it that I like... its just that I like others more.
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Kind of hard to take a post as objective if a park or coaster name is part of the "user name"
It's funny, when I rode it last year, I didn't think it was that bad. Now granted, I rode it in my Mean Streak defensive position (pulling my back off of the seat), so perhaps that's why it didn't hurt me.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
7/27: Subdivision Cam becomes party cam at the year's hottest Ohio luau!
I don't mind a little violence as long as it's interesting violence (read: Beast from back row, SOB at the base of the helices, Raging Wolf Bobs). And that's why I have real problems with HurtMePlease.
The drop and turn don't bother me as much as the pointless meandering after it...rambling around until it gets to the points that look so interesting from the station. Yeesh.
I say keep the drop and turn and Taer the rest down.
-'Playa
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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
I've ridden Hercules about a dozen times this year and have gotten rides ranging from "downright horrible" to "hey, that wasn't too bad" - still never got a really nice ride but some have been bearable. Seating choise doesn't seem to have much effect - front, back, middle, left side, right side - it all seems to depend on how the ride is running on any given day. Regardless of roughness the ride is always a slow one. No matter how many times I ride it still feels like the train is dangerously close to stalling on the last turn.
Summers and Dinn made some very inspired coasters. Beautiful and usually unique in some way. I'm not sure why they seem to "go bad" but it really is a shame. These coasters would be nothing short of amazing if they could hold up over the years and give great rides.
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www.coasterimage.com
Dorney Park visits in 2002: 14
It's an very impressive looking coaster ala Mean Streak. I wish they could find a way to smooth these babies out. Whoever did could make a lot of money!
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Is it true its always happy hour here? If it is I'd like to stay a while....
Same goes for Son of Beast and it's disappointing you can't get a halfway decent ride in 6-1 or 6-3, but if you're in 6-2, that's the best seat in the train (and gives a Top 10 ride!). If you have very little tolerance for pain, I always recommend the middle seat of each car.
Anyways, I think coasterpunk said Hercules used to run well when it first opened especially when the brake wasn't on the first drop. I have no clue when the designers were thinking when they made this thing, but something is just wrong. It looks good though, which is a plus you can give to most "big bad" woodies (Mean Streak, Rattler, Son of Beast, Predator, The Boss, Texas Giant, etc.).
The long drop into the flat turn over the water.....picture MF's first overbank with the same turning radius and UN-banked track.....what on Earth were they *thinking*....I'm no engineer, but when I got a look at the bottom of the drop from the "braking platform" on the top of the lifthill, I couldn't help but wonder how the train was going to navigate the thing....then I found out....OUCH!
But, on a positive note, ThunderHawk isn't far from Hercules, and offers the kind of ride I prefer....:)
Mean Streak is now too slow to be rough. ;)
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
7/27: Subdivision Cam becomes party cam at the year's hottest Ohio luau!
The lake turn was a bit shakey, and I could understand how it could be too much for some of our "lipstick enthusiasts", but for me, HERSHEYPARK's Wildcat and PKD's Hurler are WAY more violent on the turns.
But you have to take things in perspective, several of my other favorite woodies are also what some call painfull (The Legend, Son of Beast, Texas Cyclone). I guess I just like wooden coasters that make you *feel* something.
lata,
jeremy
--who notes Lightning Racer is the exception that proves the rule
I just feel bad for anyone who didnt get a chance to ride hercules the first few years it was open, it was pretty damn good. dinn built hercules as a speed terrain coaster. he didnt design it to embody the elements of a typical coaster . it was meant to be going at high speeds following the terrains path that its on. thats why everyone says the 2nd half is so boring. Dinn didnt design the ride to be going so slow at that point(trims trims trims). I was reading somewhere from a kid whos a ride op on herc(i think hes a member on here actually) and he said that when they ride hercules at night when the park is closed they turn all the brakes off and he says it runs like its old self again, fast, smooth, and unrelenting. we can conclude from giant woodies,,,,,,dont build em. they'll be one hell of a ride the first few years(mean streak, herc, rattler)but they usually have to be reprofiled or changed in the latter years to keep itself from tearing itself apart. ummmmmm ,,,,,,,,,,i feel bad for son of a beast. all the other giant woodies started off just as him. id hate to son of a beast in 10 years.iv riddent hercules since the 1st day he opend in may of 89' and the kid was never smooth as a babies bottom, hes always been known to shake ya up a little bit, but all good wood coasters do that and every coaster enthusiats enjoys to be shook up. and its wood for gods sake, i just think we are all too spoiled with all these smooth high class steel thrill rides. all in all, id have to say herc is still his same self(if u take off those trims of course). hes just a bit more rough than what he used to be, but them again he is 13 years old. does anyone know if they give ace riders trim free rides when they have ert?
*** This post was edited by DorneyDante on 7/25/2002. ***
They should redesign the ride, like Kennywood did with the Steel Phantom and The Pippin. Yes, the only problem with this is, the whole entire ride except for the lift would most likely have to be scrapped. I rode it, didn't find it that rough, but it was one of the most "boring" coasters I've ever been on.
They should redesign it from after the lift, let it drop down into the lake like it currently does, but make it go up a hill before it makes the turn, so it does the turn at a slower speed, like many of you are saying to do. Then redesign the rest of the ride, and add some surprise bunnyhops, especially since a lot of the ride is hidden from people waiting in line, and I think Dorney would have a real winner.
You'd have practically a brand new coaster, save money on the lift hill, and have a lot of happy people.
*** This post was edited by KPGuy on 7/25/2002. ***
Hercules was a decent, respectable ride when it opened... not fantastic, but good. Like many of Dinn/Summers mega-woodies, the coaster lacked traditional woodie elements like airtime and steep drops, and therefore came across as a little uneventful, particularly after the lake turn.
Aside from the usual problems with Dinn/Summers woodies, I think that Herc's biggest problem is the "triple-up" AFTER the lake turn. The train uses up a lot of momentum trying to get back up the hill, and it kills the incredible speed that the first drop generates. I think that this loss of speed just completely messes up the second half of the ride. Of course, the brakes on the first drop and that turn don't exactly help, either.
Just my opinion... I'm sure that others can give a more technical explanation of the coaster's ills.
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