Old wooden classics- my favorite!

My favorite kind of roller coaster is a wooden one. Wood coasters are different than other roller coasters in that you can't get that rickety, bumpy enjoyment on coasters like Sidewinder and Serial Thriller. Please post your opinions on this topic.

Sidewinder & Serial thriller/Mind eraser give you plenty of bumpiness & "bang" for your buck,it's just that it's not of the enjoyable variety.

There are also quite a few woodies out there that aren't a real pleasure to ride...from what I hear Wildcat is one of them,I hate to see a good GCI go bad like that don't you?

Wooden coasters are fun, when done right. Steel coasters are fun, when done right. Please note the conditional prepositionl phrases at the ends of the previous two sentences.

There are excellent wooden coasters (Roar at SFA, Wildcat at Hershey, Beast) and there are wooden coasters best used as kindling (..rcules at Dorney).

There are excellent steel coasters (Alpengeist at BGW, S:ROS) and there are steel coasters best recycled into car parts (just about anything by Vekoma or TOGO).

Others may disagree with the specific coasters I called out above, but I doubt that anyone will disagree with the overall thought. (Someone will probably disagree just to be funny) *** Edited 11/23/2003 12:19:13 AM UTC by prabe***

Do you mean the Hersheypark WildCat Batwing?

If you know how to position your body on rides like the aformentioned, they will ride very smoothly. I love Vekoma and TOGA coasters! HA HA HA! *** Edited 11/23/2003 12:24:52 AM UTC by Coasterjosh***

There is another thread about roughness on coasters and I must point out that if you are concentrating on positioning your body to prevent your ears getting boxed, it tends to detract somewhat from the enjoyment of the coaster.

That's not what it's like on Sidewinder, NOSIREE!

I've been on Sidewinder over 35 times and I know what I'm talking about when I mention Sidewinder. It's great every time. But anyway, I have a special love for wood coasters even if they should be used as kindling. You can't get that loud "tick tick tick" as you round the bend on steel roller coasters. And you can't get that oscillating in your molars either.

I've been on some Steelies that made my teeth chatter (and worse). Mainly Vekomas.

Some Vekomas have only one use: to melt them down and make soda can's for the concession stands that say something like "Made from Mind Eraser Steel" or "You are drinking out of Invertigo". I'm not saying all Vekomas, mind you. It's just that some aren't as good as others. *** Edited 11/23/2003 1:09:54 AM UTC by Coasterjosh***

Uh, Coasterjosh, I hate to tell you this, but Sidewinder at Hersheypark is a Vekoma Boomerang, one of fifteen or twenty. I'm not contesting your enjoyment of the ride, or your distaste for Vekomas in general, but you should know about the inconsistency.

Thank you very much for your consideration of my inconsistency. I just edited my last post.

Anyway, we all are getting off the important topic. What is your favorite wooden roller coaster. Mine are the Herseypark Wildcat and Comet.

When you get into favorites, my friend, you break the TOS. You should know better by now, don't you think?

That is an interesting question, and something of a difficult one.

My favorite wooden coaster (maybe favorite, period) is Beast. But my memories of that are almost twenty years old. And I'm not sure if that coaster is old enough to be considered a "classic."

If you are asking what my favorite OLD wooden coaster is, I'm afraid you leave me with a selection of two -- Comet at Hersheypark and Wild One at SFA. From what I hear, Comet these days is overbraked and tamed down to a lowest common denominator. (I might have heard wrong; if so tell me and I'll apologize.) So I have to chose Wild One -- as strange as it seems, Sif Flags hasn't trashed that coaster. In fact, when I rode that coaster in 2002, it was something of a revelation, much superior to my recollections of it from 1986. Of course that would have been less than two months after riding Beast, so perhaps there were reasons why it didn't impress me.

Hope that answers your question :-)

My Grandpa rode the Comet when he was a kid, and he says it hasn't been tamed down very much.

It was remodeled in the 70's though.

Age doesn't matter a bit. Just think of the Crystal Beach Cyclone! They had a nurse in the loading station to revive passengers who had passed out. In my opinion, Comet still scares the crap out of me! *** Edited 11/23/2003 1:35:00 AM UTC by Coasterjosh***

Yes, nasai, you'd think that after 21 posts and all, coasterjosh would be a pro. Oh well, tis the off season, bring on the newbies!:)(hey, we were all one once)

I forget what TOS stands for. Could somebody tell me what that stands for?

Anyway, I love all woodies. I should have gone on Hercules while it was still standing. RIP, Hercules.

TOS stands for Terms of Service agreement. It contains guidelines for posting as well as what kinds of topics are discouraged. You can read them on this site.

Clint, he's only posted that many times with his new screenname.... need any hints? ;)

Sometimes you feel like a nut.....
sometimes you are one.;)