Orient Express remembered by enthusiasts

I found this interesting:

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The decision to close the ride so soon came from Worlds of Fun owner Cedar Fair in Sandusky, Ohio, and it seems to have caught local park officials by surprise, too. They knew the end was coming. But last year? “We honestly weren't planning on it,” Welsh says.

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R.I.P, Orient Express. You were a bad-ass in your day.

-Scott

Very well written articles.

I think it was really one of the better coasters in the park, and it's sad they had to replace with a stupid spinning kiddie coaster...

"You have 300-foot steel coasters, steel coasters with seven, eight and nine loops."

so... what coaster actually has 8 or 9 loops?

I don't know of a single coaster with 9 inversions or am I missing something?
(Colossus obviously has 10)

I think Dragon Khan has 8 inversions. But most B&M loopers have 5-7.
*** This post was edited by superman 6/12/2004 1:32:29 PM ***

OE wasn't replaced by a spinning coaster. Possibly they were trying to replace zinger, but the spinner doesn't do it justice. Hopefully OE's replacement will come next year ;).

OE was my first looping coaster, and one of my favorites. Hopefully the replacement is something special.

Edit: Colossus at Thorpe has 10.

*** This post was edited by Word 6/12/2004 1:33:00 PM ***

"You have 300-foot steel coasters, steel coasters with seven, eight and nine loops."

so... what coaster actually has 8 or 9 loops?

I don't know of a single coaster with 9 inversions or am I missing something?
(Colossus obviously has 10)

He was just trying to make a connection with the General Public, to make things more clear for them. I doubt Average Joe reading the paper knows that there isn't coaster with 9 loops.

That was a great article. It seems like removal of Orient Express was really kind of unexpected.

i will miss express.

But I really like Spinning Dragons. it is a good ride for what it is. it is one for everybody. its curves are very good.

OE was my first looping coaster too.

That was the last time I was ever really scared to ride a roller coaster. I was 14 years old and I remember screaming NO NO as we rounded the top of the first hill. I kept screaming util we started down the first hill, and then fear took all my breath away. After it was over I was ready to ride it again. This was in the days before Timber Wolf. I am 33 now and will always have fond memories of OE. It was a big step for me in a love for roller coasters that is now insatiable.

http://rcdb.com/installationdetail1145.htm

Monte Makaya has 8

I hope Timber Wolf would have a MUCH MUCH longer life because it is a woodie and still one of the best even with the first drop trim. Better front seat ride than ever even better than its pre ratching lapbars and trims day! :-) At leat that it how it was last year.

TW was good for about five years. now it is terrible. the air time is not there any more. The g-forces in the curves are non existantThe newer cars are terrible. all the ride does is shake you to death. it really isn't fun anymore. I wish they would have dithced TW before they ditched Express.

If I had a choce I would ride spinning dragons over TW.

Man , this is just sad......Ive probably ridden OE more than 100 times or so back in the day.....Ill never forget it was my first "Big" coaster..it scared me to death the first time I ever climbed that lift hill. Its first drop was awesome! I dont get why WoF removed it??? BGW still operates Loch Ness Monster, A ride that OE is very simliar too and built by Arrow. Plus it is 2 years older than OE. I just dont get it??? Its like WoF is just forgetting its past....Lest we forget...OE was the ride that put WoF on the map and was its signature ride for many years!....sad, sad, sad....

Nessie is STILL a great ride...OE, I got the one ride on last year and deemed it a "check" ride...other than the interlocking loops, there was very little to compare the two...Nessie, great, OE, *meh* at best.

what are you talking about Gator?? Nessie better than OE??? Please!!! Nessie is a fine ride....and well themed in with the park....but its NOT as good as OE....For one..OE is a much longer ride and has 4 loops...not 2...its like Arrow took Nessie's design and improved upon it when they built it.....oh well....RIP OE...

Just because Orient Express was longer and had more inversions doesn't mean it is better. I can't judge because I have only been on Nessie, but it was a great ride, and if OE was as rough as people say it was, I don't see how it could have been better....

I have not been to WOF in nearly 10 years, because I moved from Wichita to Little Rock, Arkansas. Even 10 years ago those last two inversions would bang my head around so much that I wished there was a way for them to be removed, the firtst drop and the interlocking loops were enough to make the ride worth standing in line for. This makes me want to plan a trip to go ride Nessie, soon.

Well..true....just because OE was longer doenst mean it was better than Nessie. Ive ridden Nessie probably about 5 or 6 times and iits just as rough and bumpy as OE was. It was built by the same company! Its basically just an earlier version of OE. The only reason people may say OE is rougher is because its longer and has those 2 Kamakazie loops towards the end. OE was still a better ride IMO

I'm not saying that Nessie was more *interesting* (although it was), or that OE had (has?) no redeeming qualities...just that *OF the two interlocking loop coasters*, Nessie had a better first drop, a smoother ride, made better use of the interlocked loops (albeit due largely to the terrain), better theming, and was overall a better coaster....IMO.

Does MY opinion carry enough weight for someone to "take it personally"....I never thought so....but overall, I'll take Nessie over OE even without *Nessie's lair* being as well-themed as it once was...(but I sure wouldn't complain if BGW restored it either, LOL)....;)