June 14, 06 What went down at SFSTL finally revealed

No one gave me any legal advice. The closest I've been to a lawyer was last year when I was a juror on a murder trial. I don't know any legal people.

At that point of BeastBuzz, I wasn't sure what I was going to do legally, but posting the trip report once I got back didn't seem like the right thing to do at that moment in case it could've been used against me somehow. Note that SFSTL didn't make me sign any non-disclosure clause, but I still wanted to play it conservative.

I also wanted to ask people's advice and do research on amusement park lawyers once I returned home. According to what I read on one lawyer's site, I didn't have a case because I didn't sustain any physical injuries.

For what purpose? Again, just to share about the abnormal road experience with other people at the event. I was still in shock that it had happened. How many people take a road-trip and have to leave the parking lot via ambulance?

What was my motivation? To warn others about The Boss and its over-roughness if people were going there after the event or were considering going there. One of things I find interesting is that there are so few trip reports on SFSTL. *** Edited 10/27/2006 4:43:27 AM UTC by Intamin Fan***

The Boss is not that rough.

I don't get the claims of painful roughness either. And I prefer to ride it in the very last seat. I guess I have enough extra padding to make all the difference.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a smooth ride, and I so wish they'd get PTC trains for it, but I really only find there to be two spots where the roughness is excessive, and those are right after the double down and after the next 100-ish ft drop. The airtime on the bunny hop after that first rough spot is incredible though. IMO the rest of the ride is just like Legend was with the G-train.

AV Matt
Long live the Big Bad Wolf

Hey Gator, Your Twister has your precious PTC's and was shaking like crazy at PPP, Everyone in the group but me and Bob only took one ride and said that was all they could take.

And yes, Twisters problem is the trains. Just like Gwazi, Outlaw, Wildcat.

Chuck

Warn others? Just because it was rough to you doesn't mean others will find it that way. You mention you had a co-rider but no mention of him hurting, pitching a Bi^^^. Matter of fact, you said he loved the backseat.

Me and Rob loved boss for it's increadible forces, lack of dividers and roomyness. That little hump after the double drop was just sick (IN A GOOD WAY)

If you don't like em, thats fine, I personally had the bar come down almost every time on the drop off the midcourse. Most of the airtime is gone after that anyway.

Chuck

Sounds like you had a panic attack.

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I rode the boss the summer it opened and it was a bit too intense for me to enjoy. Two summers ago I got a chance to ride it again and I found it much improved, one of the best woodies out there. The break run brought the coach almost to a complete stop, making the second half of the ride more tolerable in intensity. Also, I thought I heard they did some retracking to address some roughness issues. Has the Boss gotten rougher over the past year, and are they still slowing the coach down for the second half?

^^^^ Actually, Chuck, of the ones you mentioned (Twister, Gwazi, Outlaw, Wildcat), I'd put MFlyers on all of them if given the option....yes, even on Boss.

But since we know already that Clair & Co. won't be selling *those* trains to just anyone that wants them (which SHOULD be *everyone* at this point)....I think I'd settle on PTCs as "the best trains available" when there's an aggressive twister-style layout...

Gerstlauer, like Morgan (and the aforementioned Premier and B&M), should just NOT make wooden-coaster trains....I have to admit that I *do* like the tightness of the lapbars on G-trains....but HATE virtually *every* other aspect about them...

Charles Nungester said:
Hey Gator, Your Twister has your precious PTC's and was shaking like crazy at PPP...

Weird, man. I went with a Knoebels first-timer, and both of us found Twister to be fast, forceful, and exciting to the point of immediate rerides. And as a PPP-veteran, I feel like the ride was much smoother and less backbreaking than it was in any of the previous three years.

To each his own, I suppose.

[Nitro Dave -- Track Record: 231 coasters] [url="http://rapturousverbatim.blogspot.com"]A Rapturous Verbatim[/url] & [url="http://atournamentoflies.blogspot.com"]A Tournament of Lies[/url] -- my blogs...they're blogtastic.

My sister complained about Twister in August, and I do have to agree that it didn't run as well as it has, say last year when I couldn't get enough of it.

A lot of people have brought up the panic attack theory, but I think they're wrong. None of the medical community has shared that opinion either. Trust me, I felt every hit throughout the course of the ride.

When the medical people asked me if I had ever experienced this phenomenon before, I said yes on Hercules at Dorney Park in 2001. And that's after it was crawling through the course! It was like someone had repeatedly punched me in the chest.

Charles the reason my friend didn't find it overly rough is because he's 5'9" and 220lbs. I'm 5'8" and around 155lbs. This is definitely one of those moments where being stockier would've been an advantage. One comment Matt made after riding Son of Beast this year is that The Boss made SOB look smooth.

rc-madness, I don't remember the ride slowing down--ever.

I think the whole problem with the g-trains (besides any padding at all) is that they sit way too low to the track in comparison to other wood trains. They look more like they were built for a steel-coaster.

Well, lesson learned. No more rides on any fast coaster featuring a G-train. I might get back on Twisted Twins if I'm ever in the area, but I doubt it.

I-Fan what was the weather like that day, the night before? Any possibility a allergy could have triggered your problem. I'm wondering if the weather could have caused the train to run faster and exerting more force on your body than usual? I'm not beating you like overone else, just curious and throughout undeducated possibilies.

A day at the park is what you make it!

The weather was pleasant the day before when we did SFGAM in the morning and Indiana Beach at night. I'd say temperatures were around 80 or so.

The day of the SFSTL visit was much hotter. According to what I could find, the high temeperature was 86 degrees (they don't include the heat index), but the high humidity that day was at 90%. I'm sure the two combined to make a day that felt like it was well into the 90's.

By the way, I haven't had any allergies in ten years.

rollergator said:
^^^^ Actually, Chuck, of the ones you mentioned (Twister, Gwazi, Outlaw, Wildcat), I'd put MFlyers on all of them if given the option....yes, even on Boss.
But since we know already that Clair & Co. won't be selling *those* trains to just anyone that wants them (which SHOULD be *everyone* at this point)....I think I'd settle on PTCs as "the best trains available" when there's an aggressive twister-style layout...
Gerstlauer, like Morgan (and the aforementioned Premier and B&M), should just NOT make wooden-coaster trains....I have to admit that I *do* like the tightness of the lapbars on G-trains....but HATE virtually *every* other aspect about them...

Have you ridden the new G trains? Im told they are quite comfy. there were other problems other than confort on the old G trains, I'll admitt that but I for one loved Legend a bit better with it.

Chuck, who isn't the only one.

Nitro Dave said:
Charles Nungester said:
Hey Gator, Your Twister has your precious PTC's and was shaking like crazy at PPP...
Weird, man. I went with a Knoebels first-timer, and both of us found Twister to be fast, forceful, and exciting to the point of immediate rerides. And as a PPP-veteran, I feel like the ride was much smoother and less backbreaking than it was in any of the previous three years.
To each his own, I suppose.

You know, I stayed a week once at the campground and rode it every day, Got some shaky rides, Some slow rides and some pretty good rides.

I thought it was running ok at PPP this year myself but all my rides were in the front two cars.

We also went in 2003 and it rained heavy all day. TWISTER WAS FLYING! and smooth.

It's a finicky coaster fur sure but Im positive the fiberglass trains have a ton to do with the shaking that goes on in them.

Chuck

Charles the reason my friend didn't find it overly rough is because he's 5'9" and 220lbs. I'm 5'8" and around 155lbs. This is definitely one of those moments where being stockier would've been an advantage. One comment Matt made after riding Son of Beast this year is that The Boss made SOB look smooth.

I see, Your actually 10pds underweight by military standards. Yeah I can see where a skinny guy can feel beat up from a ride like this.

Chuck

Back in about ,99 or so, they wouldn't even run Mean Streak mid day when it was over 85* and sunny. My neck sure knows why.

Chuck, who thinks SOB and some other woodies should follow that formula. I don't know if its the swelling or what but they can get much rougher than normal when the suns beating on them and the hummidity is up.

"New Gerstlauer trains"....

Hmmmm, haven't had the chance to experience them firsthand. I'll go ahead now and say that, IF there is a considerable difference, I believe I'll be among those clamoring for the newer train design....I try my bestest to ALWAYS keep an open mind, to praise the praiseworthy, and criticize whatever I feel still needs improvement....

I call it *objectivity*....even though I *do* understand there's no such thing as "completely objective"...

Yeah, Im told they were put on Balken, The S&S in Europe.

Chuck

Charles Nungester said:
I see, Your actually 10pds underweight by military standards. Yeah I can see where a skinny guy can feel beat up from a ride like this.
Chuck

I may be "skinny," but I don't think I'm abnormally skinny. I have a 32" waist. I wear a medium dress shirt. I have a small gut. What can I say? I went to the gym to get healthier and lost weight and fat, plus gained some muscle.

Intamin Fan said:

We ate cereal for breakfast (our normal breakfast until Sunday to save money) and unfortunately never got anything to eat at SFSTL. It was so darn hot that we just kept drinking water, which from what I've read can make you feel like you have a full stomach. We had planned on leaving around 7pm and getting something to eat right after also to save money.

So you filled yourself up on water and didn't eat anything other than cereal for breakfast? That in itself could cause your blood sugar to be off kilter.

And when you add that in to your admission to drinking a lot of water -which can cause another issue called Hyponatremia.

In addition to neurologic findings, patients may exhibit signs of hypovolemia or hypervolemia. Determining the hydration status of the patient may help establish the etiology of the hyponatremia and suggest the best treatment course.
Dry mucous membranes, tachycardia, diminished skin turgor, and orthostasis suggest hypovolemic hyponatremia due to excessive loss of body fluids and replacement with inappropriately dilute fluids.
Pulmonary rales, S3 gallop, peripheral edema, or ascites suggest hypervolemic hyponatremia due to excess retention of sodium and free water (ie, cirrhosis, nephrotic syndrome, congestive heart failure).

Tachycardia is a medical term for irregular heartbeat (first bulletpoint) and congestive heart failure is a medical term for heart attack...Also, drinking a large amount of any fluid increases blood pressure as what you drink (and the quantity you drink) affects the quantity of fluid your heart pumps, thereby affecting your blood pressure.

Sounds like your over-ingestion of water could have been the cause of your chest pains, not the ride, but note I am not a doctor but have seen this diagnosis happen to friends when no extraneous physical activity occurred.

--George H