Missing out a coasters best version?

Maybe you should consider moving it out of the way.

Pretty sure "Original Beast" is a myth. That ride has had trim brakes since the beginning, in all the same spots it has them now. At one point the skid brakes were replaced with magnetic brakes, and there've always been arguments on here about them grabbing harder but also releasing quicker, creating an experience where the brakes are maybe more noticeable but also slow the train down a bit less on average.

I've noticed that over the past few years the brakes at the end of the long covered section just before the second tunnel are grabbing pretty hard, reducing the speed throughout the ride's "second act" before the lift hill, which is a bummer because that was always my favorite part of the ride other than the helix finale. But the idea that The Beast opened trimless and was subsequently neutered after the first year? Nope.

P.S. It feels weird to have a bunch of the CBuzz OGs weighing in on a topic that's actually coaster related. Does this mean we're back to normal?!

SteveWoA said:

Raging Wolf Bobs pre-retrack and the G Trains. Guilty pleasure.

This all day. Back row rides on a warm summer night on this thing with the awful trailered trains and ridiculously sloppy track is one of the greatest memories I have from that park.

Also the first two years of Villain.

RCMAC said:

I’ve ridden Mr Twister at new Elitch, and I’m extremely sad I missed the original.

The zig-zag at the top of the OG Mr Twister's lift hill was a brilliant moment - I felt certain we were going to be pitched over the edge. A thrill at 5 mph. Somehow, the Knoebel's version doesn't recapture it for me. In other respects though, I think the Knoebel's version is the better ride. Maybe it's the setting, maybe it's better maintenance and being newer. The helixes on the original ride were awfully rough by the time I was riding it (early 90s I think).

I actually think the Elitch's Wildcat is the bigger loss (insert x-ref to "unpopular opinions" thread). It was an airtime beast, at least on the day I rode it. I had my hands up on the first drop and quickly grabbed the lap bar for dear life after that. That's the top of my list of rides I wish I could ride again (along with the OG Bat, maybe).

Bakeman31092 said:

Pretty sure "Original Beast" is a myth. That ride has had trim brakes since the beginning, in all the same spots it has them now.

Video from pre-opening, 1979. There are certainly trim brakes in the shed before the second (and third!) tunnels. The fin brakes appear to grab harder in this more recent video, but that could be because the train is clearly hauling much faster when it hits the shed. (Which might just be the difference between March/April and midsummer.)

On the other hand, the brakes on the drop into the helix were clearly added later.

And on a third hand, you can see that the tilt of the hill into the helix was not part of the original design. I love that hill and it's a clear improvement.

I rode the original Mr. Twister, and the Twister II. No comparison what so ever. I agree that the truly great loss when Elitch's moved was the loss of the Wildcat. The fact that it was severely intertwined with Mr. Twister doomed both of them firewood.

Can't believe that original Magnum hasn't been mentioned. Without a doubt one of the craziest rides ever. The very first Magnum Mania day (Coastermania) was mind blowing.

Riverside Cyclone in it's first season was the most terrifying coasted experience I've ever had. Even waiting in line under the ride was a great element with the coaster roaring around above you. Think this changed after the first or second season. It lost some of the bite with the Morgan trains but was still really intense and fun. Lost almost all bite with intense first drop and turn being shortened, second half of the ride was still fun.

In that first season, the train really crashed around the track and felt like it was about to go off the rails. Especially in the unbanked dive turn in the last half. That mix of thrill and possible danger was fantastic. This is arguably a defunct ride now that it's Twisted Cyclone, sorry if this is a cheat on the topic.

Was that a version of Magnum without the pre-pretzel trim brake? Always assumed it's been there from the beginning but maybe not. I've had plenty of rides where that brake didn't do its job, and yeah the return home gets pretty nutty.

It was. And over a few seasons the brake searched for a suitable home, moving to various locations. And that hill before the turnaround was reprofiled later as well. I remember on my first ride, that cold as hell opening morning, we slammed back into our seats so hard that I cracked my elbow.
This is what makes me shake my head when I hear complaints that the ride is too rough. Those folks don’t know nothin.

If you can find old POV from it, that hill near the turnaround definitely went too deep too fast. But aside from that, I've had many rides with the trims off.

Trimless Magnum rides were fun, yes. However my most thrilling was when someone decided to turn on the trim on a nearly empty train during Millennium Mania. Crawling over each hill on the return run and barely making it into the final brakes, not knowing whether or not we'd be valleying back into the tunnel.

Good times.

I'd say first season of Phantom's Revenge before the magnetic trims were added was one I miss. That was my first dose of violent air. But as I understand it, two trains operation wasn't possible without them.

And now Parques won’t run two trains anyway most of the time just because

Oh yeah. Phantom's Revenge without the trim was magnificent, even though the trim was about 3/4 of the way through the ride.

I hate trims and I don’t even know what you guys are talking about. Phantom rips. Anymore and I’d be in PT after every ride!

*I did look at YouTube videos and see brake looking objects but I never noticed them while riding.

It's on the double down and then there's another on the last hop, IIRC. I distinctly remember riding back row before the trim and slamming hard into the somewhat unforgiving seat on the double down (all in a good way).

As much as I love Magnum, the 1989 version was NOT the coasters best version! Depending on where you were sitting, that third drop could be brutal. Add to that, the fact that there were NO up-stop wheels, just up-stop brackets like Mine Ride and Gemini. So the metal on metal created much stress on the track, which resulted in the need for the trims on top of the third hill.

CoffinBoy said:

So the metal on metal created much stress on the track, which resulted in the need for the trims on top of the third hill.

I never thought this moment would come.

Vater said:

One coaster that isn't mentioned too often as once being great is Wild One. It's still decent, but when it was first (re)built at Wild World in 1986, it was insane; one of the best wooden coasters around at the time.

Wild One has to have more reprofiles than any coaster ever. The story I always heard was that the reprofile did neuter parts of the first half the the ride, but since they were able to take the trim off the first hill in the 1999 reprofile the second half got better. I would have loved to experience that original turnaround and speed hill.

I have vague recollections of riding it in its original form (I was 13), but that original turnaround was unforgettable.

Also, excellent screen name.