Next coaster to get RMCized
Leave Viper alone! It's been only a little over a year since I rode it and it was riding exceptionally well. Fortunately, CI Cyclone - which I rode 10 days ago - is probably protected from the iron horse treatment. National landmarks can't be RMC'd, or can they? (I adore RMC, btw, or I wouldn't have Outlaw Run's logo tattooed on my leg.) I agree that Mean Streak would be a good project for RMC to take on.)
Bobbie
Timber-Rider said:
I don't think Viper at Great America needs an RMC redesign right now. As far as I'm concerned, it's one of the best coasters there. (I have not been on Goliath yet) If they redesign anything there with RMC, it should be the Eagle.
It should be Superman Ultimate Flight.
The trick was to surrender to the flow.
Or as my friend dubbed it on the occasion of our first and only ride, Superman -- Ultimate Proctology Exam.
Life is something that happens when you can't get to sleep.
--Fran Lebowitz
The only problem I have with Superman is that it is too short. I went on it the first year it opened and waited over 2 hours. It was over so quick, it was hard to get that excited about it. I actually thought x-flight at geauga lake was better. Though the Superman trains are an improvement, as loading doesn't take as long.
Batman is far superior to Superman for sure.
I didn't do it! I swear!!
Timber-Rider said:
Batman is far superior to Superman for sure.
Guess we will find out for sure March 26, 2016!
But then again, what do I know?
American Eagle is still awesome 35ish years later. The helix is the best part! Picking up speed until it spits you out. The trim brakes at the end of the helix though have dampered that effect.
Viper is awesome also. In fact, Great American has 2 world-class, well riding wooden coaster that they only need to give some TLC to and KEEP wooden.
The only thing that should be done far as retracking them would be to put El Toro type track on them with the same exact layouts It hasn't been done yet, but as wonderful as the El Toro type coasters ride you would thing it would be done eventually.
The other thing Eagle needs is its racing element fixed. One lift hill goes up faster than the other, and then the red side is always winning. Tweaks on the brakes would solve that.
Great American already has a very over-hyped RMC ride that is definitely not worth the wait as it is too short for hits height. They don't need another one in that park. These "wooden" coasters with inversions are just as gimmicky as Son of Beast ever was.....
I will disagree that Goliath is overhyped and not worth waiting for. It's a fantastic ride, and while it could definitely use another trip around the structure, what it does give you is insanely good.
Ghostrider, hands down needs it. No matter how much new wood they put into the ride it doesn't solve the problem . It has CCI-itus, a really bad case of it too.
Raven-Phile said:
I will disagree that Goliath is overhyped and not worth waiting for. It's a fantastic ride, and while it could definitely use another trip around the structure, what it does give you is insanely good.
Goliath is a lot of fun, but I do get the sense that many enthusiasts have hyped up RMC coasters a bit too much. I think the reason why enthusiasts have climbed on the RMC bandwagon is that they make rides that satisfy the coaster rider's ADD in them. RMC rides have very little dead time between elements, so the rides feel like there's always action happening.
I've ridden four of the RMCs thus far - NTG, Iron Rattler, Outlaw Run and Goliath (with Wicked Cyclone coming in a couple of weeks). They are all fun, smooth rides that are all very re-rideable. Having said that, only the backseat rides on NTG were memorable. Outlaw Run in particular - while enjoyable - left us underwhelmed. NTG is plenty long, Iron Rattler is sufficiently long, but Outlaw Run and Goliath are both VERY short rides. Add to that the fact that none of the RMCs thus far - except maybe Outlaw Run with a good crew - have good capacity. Average dispatches at Goliath are around 2.5 minutes each, which equates to about 500-600 people an hour. That simply doesn't cut it at the larger parks, which may partially explain why Cedar Fair has been reluctant to do anything with them yet.
I don't think capacity has much to do with design in these cases (unless you're considering train length invehich case just about every woodie fails). Slow operations are really the culprit.
Hobbes: "What's the point of attaching a number to everything you do?"
Calvin: "If your numbers go up, it means you're having more fun."
The RMC coasters tend to be lower capacity coasters. No break run and shorter trains lead to less capacity. Most of these renovated coasters are shorter than their original layouts as well. Colussus lost capacity, not a coaster that can run 4 trains without stacking now.
Add in Six Flags horrible operations, and you have Goliath.....a decent ride not worth the wait. Why they would install anything at Great American now with two 24 car trains is questionable, other than they wanted a record breaker on the discount side.....
They do ride great for now. Outlaw Run makes some horrible noises that sound like the ride is eventually going to tear itself apart. Putting inversions on wooden coasters isn't a great attraction IMO. There are enough inversion coasters already.
Why again are we complaining that there's no dead time between elements? I'm not trying to be ADD, but I don't ride coasters for a scenic view...
RMC coasters are not overhyped. That's silly. They are fast, fun coasters filled with airtime. That just happens to be what a large segment of the enthusiast community likes. It is what it is.
I think sometimes we look a little too deeply into things in order to justify our dissenting opinions.
Outlaw Run is probably my favorite wooden roller coaster ever, one that provides a smooth, rideable, and re-rideable trip with some of the most thrilling elements I've ever experienced. Short? Ok, if you say so. I'm not sure I could take much more of that intensity anyway.
As the first ground-up RMC coaster, it overshot everyone's prior notion of what a wooden coaster could and should do. (remember staring at mysterious construction photos trying to figure out if that was really a reverse banked speed hill? I do.)
I've ridden NTG and determined immediately that it was a vast improvement over the sad hulk of a ride the original had become. I've yet to try the newer RMC's, but I can't wait. Now that I know what they've managed to accomplish I'm resting assured that they will be thrilling and enduring rides.
And sorry, Gary Dowdell, we usually agree, but some of your complaints about these rides being underwhelming due to length, having back to back thrill elements, or presenting capacity problems are real head scratchers. I don't know, all I can figure is maybe you ride rocket ships for a living, or something, and are spoiled!
I'm not suggesting that every wooden coaster out there would benefit from the RMC treatment. But as far as the future goes, my hope for an RMC re-do is that it lands somewhere close to me in the midwest, because I would be a frequent and faithful rider. If Mean Streak doesn't eventually go under the knife I'll be very, very surprised.
For as short as Goliath is, the one time i rode it, i loved it. Being in the first row and being able to look "up" and see the back row riders in the dive loop is such a cool feeling. I wasn't a huge fan of Iron Wolf regardless, so its definitely and improvement to that spot in the park.
Tekwardo said:
I don't ride coasters for a scenic view...
Which is why I'll never defend Magnum, no matter how great the view of the lake is.
You must be logged in to post
