Mitchs best woodie poll

To me, the lap bar made the ride painful. It was digging into the top of my legs whenever there was supposed to be airtime. I rode it 4-5 times in my 2 visits this year, so it was not just one bad experiance.

I am not one to wine about the bar being down so much to where I don't get any airtime, but there was enough discomfort to make the ride not enjoyable.

I never rode Bizarro pre-mods, but I thought it was a great ride. I ranked it #3 on my ballot. (My wife thought it was phenomenal, but she doesn't do silly things like rank roller coasters.)

It was filet mignon before the mods. Now it's like filet mignon with melted bleu cheese on top...and obviously some people just don't like bleu cheese. But when you scrape off the bleu cheese you're still left with filet mignon!

Moosh, I respectfully disagree without the mods. The mods have taken that nice perfectly cook burger and added other "stuff" that the other "stuff" takes away from the ride. The ONLY modifcation I would keep is the misters. They're nice on a hot day.

I've been reading this and SFNE is my homepark. So I know where you guys are coming from with the complaining on the lapbars. I thought they were okay but they are in a weird position. They sit on your thighs and there is a huge gap between it and your stomach. They are very uncomfortable. However, this will make you guys pretty mad I think. The trains originally had El Toro restraints. But they were changed to the bulkier ones sometime before it opened.

Also about the reliability this year. SF being SF wanted the ride to open on time so they rushed the wiring and everything in the trains. Plus if you think about it S:RoS always opened with one train when the season started. This was the first year since it opened that it started off running two trains. Of course there will be problems with everything.

Now about the effects. For enthusiasts they hate them. The GP love them. I am an enthusiast and I love them. I think they are really cool and you have to think about it. The buildings after the over banked turn aren't cheesy. They are supposed to be like that. Think about it like this(I went on media day and the audio actually told a story so I know what the story is supposed to be like, don't ask why it was changed, no one knows): After the tunnel you are in Bizarro's world, like a comic book. That is why it looks like that. The audio which was amazing at first, until it was changed, told the story of the wormhole opening up from the result of the ray the Lex Luthor used to trap Superman. Lois Lane and the military, which you are a military team, goes to investigate it. Lois falls in. You, the team, goes into save her and get her. But you encounter Bizarro and then it is a fight to get out.

Now the audio is terrible, I agree. But in 2010 I believe they are changing it. The audio box has to be there. There would be no other place to put it really. The operators are better than ever too and the line goes faster than it did when it was S:RoS, even with loosing two seats per train.

The wooden coaster results are official now. I don't think anyone has mentioned that yet.

http://www.ushsho.com/bestrollercoasterpoll.htm

acquaz10 said:
Also about the reliability this year. SF being SF wanted the ride to open on time so they rushed the wiring and everything in the trains. Plus if you think about it S:RoS always opened with one train when the season started. This was the first year since it opened that it started off running two trains. Of course there will be problems with everything.

That doesn't surprise me. It will probably be as reliable as ever next summer.

Well...it is an Intamin.

So SF took the #1 rated coaster and spent millions to add effects to it, to make it the #1 rated coaster. Just trying to follow along here.

But that works on the assumption that anyone cares that the ride holds a #1 rating and even more so that the fact that it does was in any way connected to the 'enhancements' that were added.

But other than that, yeah, pretty much.

Well, at least there won't be hell on earth over this topic now, like last year, when Voyage didn't win.

I used to think SROS was the best steel coaster ever. But my one ride in 2009 on Bizarro knocked it out of anywhere close to my top 20. I could probably come up with at least 50 steel coasters I get more enjoyment out of.

- The lap bars are even more uncomfortable than before.
- The blaring audio can really hurt your ears, especially if the speaker is blown and all you hear is static.
- The trains go slower now, reducing the airtime forces.

Now, I'm sure I got a bad ride this time, but it was so bad I don't care if I ever ride the thing again. It had about as much airtime as Raging Bull does on an average day. I even rode in the front seat and only felt an "uplift force" on 2 or 3 hills. The crazy ending had zilch in terms of forces.

I went in with a positive attitude. I was very much looking forward to riding it. BIG disappointment. I'll stick with Magnum, Steel Force and all of the B&M hypers.

So how about them woodie results...

Go Boulder Dash!

So...airtime is the only important part of a coaster?

Noted. ;)

^Well, it could be noted that Mitch has two separate categories for "airtime", dividing it into abrupt or sudden and floating. Eskimos are known for having an abundance of words to describe snow because it plays an important role in their lives. I think you could say airtime gets two slots (as opposed to laterals, positive forces, etc., which only get one each) because it plays an important part in the overall coaster experience. "Only" would probably be too strong, but most important single aspect? No argument from me there.

DantheCoasterman said:
So...airtime is the only important part of a coaster?

Noted. ;)

No, but when there was air time it hurt. It shoulden't be like that.

rollergator said:
That being said (and for the record I tend to mostly agree) - when you get a ferocious stapling like I and MANY others have experienced on Toro, the extreme negative g's combine to create a painful experience with the lapbars down TOO low. There are no other wooden coasters I can think of offhand where that becomes the problem that it can be on Toro....

My biggest problem with El Toro. By steel coaster standards it's a great ride but compared with my favorite woodies it completely pales, partially because of the way the ride feels and tracks but also because I just can't get into a ride I feel pinned into. Booo to that, forever and ever, amen.

Amen, fellow Matt.

Dan, the only reason people loved SROS so much was because of the airtime. Without the crazy airtime, it was just another big steel coaster like Raging Bull and Millennium Force. My one ride in 2010 was just like Raging Bull and Millennium Force. And it was very uncomfortable.

There may have been zero track changes, but the other changes were enough to negatively affect the enjoyment of the layout.

FYI, I haven't seen mention of this but here is the link to Mitch's Wood Roller Coaster Poll 16 Year Results Table (1994 - 2009).

That results table does bring a good perspective to the poll. Two things popped out at me.

Boulder Dash seems to have been the most successful at securing a top spot over the course of its entire lifespan. While never #1 it has always been in the top six spots and been in second place multiple years.

Also, three coasters saw a real fall from grace over the years. Megaphobia, Shivering Timbers, and Tonnerre de Zeus. All were consistently ranked 1 or 2 in their debut five years, and all saw a large drop off. All are now currently ranked below 23rd place.

Megaphobia even during the day was a really fine ride earlier this year. I'd like to ride Timbers again someday, maybe after an extensive rehab?

Gotta say, Tonnerre de Zeus was a horrid experience for me, when I rode it back in 2001, and that was when alot of people were singing it's praises. Guess my point is that, it never ranked anywhere near the Top 10 for me.