Question about X @ Sfmm

bASS....if ALL my X-rides were as good as the BEST of them, then I'd push X into that "honoured" category....as it is, it's STILL a top-notch ride. (I still don't feel entirely comfortable calling it a "coaster", LOL)...

Also, get online sometime, I need to yak wit' ya...:)

Gonch- I completely "get" your idea of breaking down coasters into categories because I do the exact same thing. Aside from the ranking of my ten (or so) favorite wood and steel coasters, I can pretty much rate all coasters by tossing them into five categories. As my track record (like yours) aproaches 200 this summer, it gets harder and harder to rate all those coasters. I could care less about deciding whether I'd rather ride Cedar Point's Corkscrew or SFMM's Ninja!

"In-between" coasters make a lot of sense to me, as pushing the limits of coaster design often has some very awful side-effects. Look at X- that coaster sure pushes the limits, and it winds up being a sh** ride (in my opinion). Consequently, a coaster like Nitro pushes the limits in a different way- it turns the idea of "smooth" into an obsession. That is fine for me because I appreciate the forces on Nitro. But I can also understand how some people find the things I love about Nitro to be the ride's downfall.

So even though you're a strange breed of enthusiast, you DO make sense ;)

Just being curious... what steel coasters do you hate with as much passion as Morey's RC-48? I'm wondering what else inspires that kind of hatred!

Out of the six or eight times I've ridden X, only ONCE did I have a bad ride. Bad as in very uncomfortable and I was thrown around like a rag doll. It all depends on what which seat (outer or inner), which car (1-7), and which side of the train you're sitting on (left/right). Still my favorite steel coaster alongside Magnum XL-200. Millennium Force? Goliath? No.

Granted, I only rode once (I wasn't going to stand in that two-hour line again) but people in ALL seats got off the ride feeling like they just survived a car crash. Is it possible that there is a problem with the mechanism that rotates the seats, as I think that a lot of the problem had to do with the jerky movement of the seats on their axis and not the train chassis itself?

The only other steelie that inspired, jaw dropping 'that sucks'-ism from me is Flashback at SFMM.

Others have come close. Python at BGT beat the hell out of me a few years back. Tiger Terror at Wild Adventures almost broke me that same year in addition to being boring. But those were still a notch above RC-48 and Flashback.

-Gonch
I'll hit 200 at BeastBuzz this weekend!

I was upset because Flashback was closed when we visited SFMM a week ago. I so badly wanted to see what all the complaining was about! Interesting that it ranks up there with RC-48.

Have someone punch you in the head repeatedly.

(if you want the full effect, it helps if you move around a bit, maybe a quick spin/sive motion-type thing)

Now give yourself the Flashback credit.

How true, Gonch! And to think I could have given Rob his Flashback credit two weekends ago when we were at DCA!

I've nver boxed in my life, but after a ride on Flashback I consider myself having 10 rounds experience...

...and losing :)

You're a hottie, Gonch...I'd like to go 10 rounds with ya!

Did I just say that out loud? ;)

mOOSH [my GID will know I'm joking]

I lived on Miami Beach for a year and a half a while back and had more gay guys hit on me than I could count. (even considering the locations)

One even offered to pay me to take photos at his apartment...

...and that's how you got the photo on your profile? ;)

Gonch has gotta eat! ;)

ROFL...Gonch roXors! ;)

Sorry, no way can i agree that Viper is better than X. Crazy comment.

Yes being 6 ft 3 does not help when riding Viper- those restraints are horrible but X is in a totally different class to Viper.

It is an intense coaster, its supposed to be, all you pussies out there who cant take it, should just get out of the Q and let us men ride it!!!!!

Best ride ever-

Count me as one who LOVED X. I didn't really throw it in the midst of my steel rankings (which is dominated by hypers and "weird" rides like Xcel, TTD, and X don't get consideration), but if I had to, I'd prob. put it 3rd behind THE S:RoS and PR (also approaching 200 real soon).

I rode it 14 times one Sun. in Jan 2003 all over the train and it was a bit bouncy, but nothing that made me want to get off. Face first/head first down a nearly vertical 200' drop is just too good. Back row all the way....

Alright, here is my honest opinion. I HATE X. I went to SFMM last summer and rode both Viper and X. Viper is a great classic multi-looper, and wasn't as rough as people make it seem. X on the other hand bounced me around WAAAAAAY too much (more than any other steel coaster I've ever been on), and on the first flip my head banged on the headrest. After looking more closly at the ride and trying to figure out why I hate it so much and others love it, I think I found out why. I was on an outside seat. I would've given X a second chance in an inside seat, but the wait was 3 hours +! I'm sorry, but if you think Viper is more painful than an OUTSIDE seat of X (I do not know about the inside seats), then you just have a grudge against classics.

Thanks for the info. guys, and I hope it's a smooth ride. I also have another question about sfmm. Is thier a lot of traffic on the highway while going to the park?

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gyjdnb said:

It is an intense coaster, its supposed to be, all you pussies out there who cant take it, should just get out of the Q and let us men ride it!!!!!

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Yeah, that makes total sense. People that care not to endure the pain that the coaster produces are pussies? I guess I fall into that category!

There is a difference between intensity and pain, and the two do not necessarily have to go hand-in-hand. There are plenty of intense coasters out there that do not beat their riders up, and vice versa.

I'll jump on this one:

After many debates about Mantis, I have heard a lot of people say that they don't want to have to ride a ride a certain way in order to make the experience more enjoyable. I think most people would agree that a good coaster is a good coaster in any seat, that gives a good ride everyday.

Case in point: X

I got one chance to ride this ride last summer. I rode in the front, on an outside seat. While I really appreciate the ride's concept, the headbanging was literally out of control. A lot of people use the term headbanging in place of jostling or rattling. Well, "X" was my first real encounter with headbanging. At the bottom of the drop my head was actually getting thrown back and forth into the headrest. It was bad enough that I got "sparkly vision" and was sick for a good hour after the ride. Granted, the ride does a great job of disorienting you, but on my one chance, "X" really didn't deliver.

I completely believe that "X" can provide a smooth ride, but I didn't get one. I have never had a bad ride on a B&M or an Intamin coaster. Yes, while these rides provide different experiences in the front and back, I certainly don't hear any "night and day" comparisons about those coasters.

Also, Viper was one of the most pleasant surprises of my day at SFMM. Being the perfect height (five sevenish), Viper was on of the smoothest and by far the fastest moving Arrow looper I have ever been on.

Get a good seat and try to enjoy your ride on X!