Night Rides on Woodies. They DO make a difference don't they!

I have only ridden three woodie after dark, The only one i could tell a dramatic diffirence in was GhostRider, it comes to life at night. But Ozark Wildcat and Shivering Timbers seem to change very little. Do the Holiday Woodies change dramatically, what about other woodies. Did you ever ride a woodie i nthe day then ride it at night and the night ride blew you away. The night rides on Fri and Sat night at Winter Coaster solace 2004 blew me away. GhostRider was running so FAST and out of control.

Grizzly at PKD and Beast at PKI where awesome at night. Though I'm not a big fan of SOB I rode it at night when the fireworks were going off and it was kind of neat. Any woody that goes off the beaten path in the dark is going to be awesome.

Yes, the Holiday Woodies DO change dramatically at night. I was honestly a bit underwhelmed with my first rides on Legend and Raven during the day. Call it anticipointment, but they were SO built up in my mind it would've been hard to meet my expectations. Come night, though, the monsters awoke and obliterated any doubts about their quality. Whee doggy.
Grizzly at night used to be spectacular. Now it's just... nice.

I was lucky to get my first rides on HW's woodies at night at last year's SRM. It made Legend seem so much more out of control. The Beast is truly better at night, and Mean Streak at CP was great in the dark (2002 CoasterMania).

Thunderhead is insane durring the day and completely loony bin, straight jacket insane at night. Too bad Dollywood closes at 8pm so night rides are a bit rare. If Dollywood has a night time ride event I think it will rival PPP and Stark Raven Mad.

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coasterpunk said:
If Dollywood has a night time ride event I think it will rival PPP and Stark Raven Mad.

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April 17. Smoky Mountain Coasterstorm. Night ERT on Thunderhead from 8 - 9. I guess we'll see you there? ;) And to get back on topic, Rampage tends to prove it's name after dark. Last years night rides left me stunned. *** Edited 3/29/2004 5:23:06 PM UTC by Rampage***

No I more than likely won't be there for that. I'll be at Dollywood in early June though.

I've found that most woodies come alive at night. Boulder Dash was decent during the day, but mind blowing at night. Ghostie was decent during the day, but absolutely awesome at night, as well. My two night rides on GR converted me to wood.

Kennywood's Jackrabbit is really fun at night, you cant see the bottom of the hills, especially the double down.

I find that Legend is helped more by the dark than Raven. The dark really helps that out of control feeling on Legend.

Woodies aren't the only coasters helped by the dark. Millenium Force and the SROSs are also much better in the dark.

Kennywood again. Phantom's revenge is insane at night. I will second DL's sm as well sfne's at night. Both outstanding.

The Silverwoodies in Idaho are nothing short of amazing at night! Timber Terror was good, but nothing special during the day. But at night, around 11pm-midnight, it kicked majorely. Tremors I only rode at night, and I was *so* not ready....

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ThemeDesigner said:
Yes, the Holiday Woodies DO change dramatically at night. I was honestly a bit underwhelmed with my first rides on Legend and Raven during the day. Call it anticipointment, but they were SO built up in my mind it would've been hard to meet my expectations. Come night, though, the monsters awoke and obliterated any doubts about their quality. Whee doggy.
Grizzly at night used to be spectacular. Now it's just... nice.

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ThemeDesigner, do you still think Legend's helix is a bit much, or did your opinion on it change after dark as well?

I agree that Grizzly is fantastic at night, although not quite as amazing as it was before the left side of it was exposed. And I unfortunately still haven't ridden Beast at night. Even still, it's my #2 woodie. I honestly don't know if a night ride on it can top Legend at any time of day. That's a tall order. I'm still undecided as to whether or not I will be able to attend BeastBuzz, but, Lord willing, I will do my best to get there.

I'm not sure the ride improves all that much, but cresting the top of the 2nd Magnum hill looking at nothing but stars over the lake is a mighty fine thing.

I'm sure if you clocked the rides they wouldn't be running any faster, but at Holiday World at least, or with The Beast, both buried in the trees, they feel faster when you can't see.

I always cringe when I see a topic title like this one, even more so when you start talking about Thunderhead or Boulder Dash. All the makings of a hijacked thread...

I was under the impression that there's actually a concrete difference in speed (though I'm sure most of the effect is from not being able to see and the cool air).

Actually from my experiance last week. The ride began running slower at night after it got cooler. It was only fractions of a second but it did get slower at night. Whats even crazier than night rides is closing your eyes at night now that is pure mayhem! Basicly an outdoor Space Mountain.

I have to agree that it's mostly perception. While the trains may be moving slightly faster as the day progresses I bet, if timed, the difference would not be so great as to be all that noticeable.

mOOSH

The Phoenix night rides at PPP '03 were amazing. I haven't ever seen it running better, the ejector on the first up of the double up was MASSIVE, and back in the woods without tracers cannot be beat.

Of course, I have yet to ride Beast, Raven, or Legend at night....

Doh! I forgot Cornball Express. That thing feels much more out of control at night as well...