Kings Island Racer gets ACE Landmark status

I mean if they're giving it to 3 new coasters a year it sounds like they'll pretty much just slut the award around to anyone. Or if they aren't now they'll have to pretty soon.

^^ Jeez. I'm not sure what I was thinking. They arn't even really that close. I probably just had hershey on the brain after the excelent Chocolate Buzz ERT. *** Edited 6/21/2007 2:34:20 AM UTC by Jason Hammond***

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Jeffrey R Smith said:
Individual bars lower closer to the hips/gut.

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Emphasize the word gut. Let's not split hairs here. That's what people are really complaining about.

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Brian Noble said:
I guess I should have my enthusiast credentials revoked, but I just don't care either way.

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No, you should get a gold star for enjoying the ride and not making something out of nothing.

The negative-g experience matters much much more to me than whether or not my backside actually comes off of the seat.

Amen! Buzzbar, individual bars, or straight jacket...I'm just happy to be riding ;)

Actually the first time I went to Cedar Point in 1994, when the Blue Streak did have single position lapbars at the time, someone did try standing up on the lift and they had to stop the ride and remove him from the ride. This perhaps is one of the drawbacks of having just single position lapbars; it allows the really crazy stupid riders easier access to do something stupid. Not to say that its not entirely feasible to try to standup with ratcheting lapbars, but it would take more effort.

You have to remember that they are not only trying to restrain people of all different sizes, but also the guest that might want some extra thrill. Having a restraint that is much more near the persons waist and especially in some of the more modern lap restraints on the GCII Millenium Flyer Trains or Premiers lapbar, make it nearly impossible for someone to standup. So unfortunately there probably were enough instances and for overall safety purposes it makes sense that most larger parks with wooden coasters made this change. I think my example also shows that its not entirely based on how much airtime a ride has.

FYI, The single possition bar allows standing no more than the ratchet. It's the lack of dividers that allow that.

Funny thing is I've witnessed people standing on Magnum several times and informed the ops in each instance.

Stupid people are just that and it's the reason some of the overkill goes on in the industry.

Do any of you think the ride experience on Phoenix would change if they added individual ratcheting bars?

The ride might still be good or even "just fine." These are all matters of subjective opinions. I'm just wondering if those of you who seem pro-ratcheting bars would be willing to admit that the ride experience changes at all...even just a little bit...?

There is a difference in saying/believing that ratcheting bars "is no big deal" versus saying/believing it is "exactly the same." The first seems like a perfectly defensible opinion. The second seems like an opinion that violates the laws of physics. If it is "exactly the same" then why make a change to begin with?

I completely understand the safety aspect (idiots standing up, etc.) and don’t fault parks for doing what they have to do. I simply opine that these ratcheting bars ruined The Racer for me. It certainly was not from a “gut” as I was an avid runner (collegiate cross country scholarship) before/after the change. The bars simply limited freedom of movement in the up/down position which was what made The Racer so good to begin with.

On a contrary note…the Blue Streak has never ran better apparently…and that is with the orange-bastard-bars. There is hope that with some track-work and TLC that even with the bar limitations…a ride is capable of equaling or even exceeding prior performance.

The only restraint change that I've ever felt made a ride better or worse was the change to lap bars from OTSR's on the Premier launchers. Beyond that, I feel no difference, Blue Streak included.

Id love to ride Phoenix without the dividers as it was originally. However Fetterman took a somewhat neutered ride and put it back to schmecks dimentions on the rebuild. Im told it has far more air now than it did it's final years as the Rocket.

Chuck, who's lost 70pds and regardless of my size. I like being tossed around a bit. Theres nothing wrong with it if your not doing something stupid. Most wood coasters could run restraintless and you'd be fine.

My brother and I used to love sliding into each other riding Grizzly at Kings Dominion back before it had dividers and individual lap bars.

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I'm just wondering if those of you who seem pro-ratcheting bars

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I'm not "pro-ratcheting", rather I'm agnostic. I really don't care.

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RatherGoodBear said:

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Acoustic Viscosity said:
It was featured on The Brady Bunch for crying out loud! What else do ya need?

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Exactly. How many 6 to 14 year olds in the early 70s badgered their parents into going there based on that episode?

BTW, is it true that when they unveiled the plaque they found Jan's poster AND Mike's lost plans???

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LMAO! I think they did! I think Greg finally got the girl as well. ;)

-Tina

I'm not "pro-ratcheting", rather I'm agnostic. I really don't care.

Ditto. Negative g-forces are present due to the ride's design. You'll feel them regardless what kind of restraint you're in. And that is the feeling I crave.

You know I love it, there use to be a bashing of Morgan wooden coaster train on how bad they were over PTC, Mostly the singles bars are park request due to insurance reasons. One who has rode every style out there, reason 1 for dividers is so people can't swing there legs around and stand up. I have seen that before.

As far as airtime goes, I couldn't care less. Very often, I have as much clearance on rides with individual rides as I do on rides with traditional buzz bars. But it's not because of a "gut" issue that Jeff wrongly suggested, it's because I'm a tall guy. Pretty much everything about me is larger (and no, I'm not tossing anything sexual into this conversation, so no need to comment on that)- my legs, my thighs, my waist, my chest, my arms, etc. My point? It's foolish to assume that all restraint issues can be narrowed down to people having a spare tire or two.

My issue with PTC's individual bars is the shape of the bar itself. The lower part of the bar is curved so it clears the side of the train when it ratchets down towards the rider's lap. This forces someone like me to ride with my legs angled towards the center of the car instead of straight out in front of me where they belong. Try riding in a car with your legs pushed to one side and you'll see what I'm talking about. And of course there is the issue of the bar coming down during the ride and stapling the rider to the seat. That's not fun either.

...so no need to comment on that)

Fine...take away my fun. lol

Why did I envision you being the one to comment on that, even though I tried my best to defend against that sort of thing? ;)

Because you know me so well? :)

I realize I'm getting dangerously off-topic here by digressing from the buzzbars versus ratchets, but does anyone have a list of all the coasters ACE has declared landmarks? I found the list of "classic" coasters on ACE's site, but not the landmarks.

^^ Could be ;)