Rides That should be brought back to Life

Euclid Beach - Racing Coaster, Thriller. Flying Turns.

Idora Park - Wildcat

Meyer's Lake Park - Comet

Chippewa Lake Park - Coaster (SBNO)

Puritas Springs - Cyclone

Rye Playland - Airplane

Kennywood - Dipper

That's all my feeble little mind can come up with for now, but there's plenty more somewhere.

Wood - anything else is an imitation

Interesting how many people say Drachen Fire when the coaster was reprofiled once and then eventually closed because it was so rough that it would make the late Shockwave at SFGAm look like a baby smooth B&M ride like Kraken. I think everyone here is more attracted to the name and the hype and how "cool" the elements look.

Another one oft mentioned here is the Crystal Beach Cyclone that would never be insurable today with the number of injuries that ride caused in its day. A nurse was on permanant standby for this coaster. In today's sue happy world, this would never fly. The park running it would be so buried in lawsuits that it would quickly go bankrupt.

For me, I got my wish this year with the reopening of Tidal Viper Lightning, er, I mean Greezed Lightning at SFKK. I got my love of coasters on repeated rides of Tidal Wave when it was at SFGAm and with it so close to home again, it is a possibility for me to get rides on it again.

As for any other coaster I would like to see back, it would be the Bob's at Waukesha Beach. Waukesha Beach was a local trolley park in my area that closed in the 50s. The Bobs was a Traver design and was considered to be the sister coaster to the Rye Aeroplane, another coaster I would like to see back again.
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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

But you still have to wonder what an Arrow reprofiling with both real-life data and FEA could have done for DF. They massaged VF's Excalibur from rib-rattling violence to a dark-horse favorite. You wouldn't believe how the GP come back for more laps these days...

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
*** This post was edited by CoastaPlaya 8/6/2003 10:03:17 AM ***

Though iv never riden both of these and only saw pictures I think it would be cool if they brought back Blue Streak at Woodside Pleasure Park and Comet at Cascade Park

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Coaster count:47 top3 wood:Boulder Dash, GreatWhite, Wildcat,
top3 steel: Steel Force, Nitro, S:ROS@ SFNE

Lightnin' Loops at SFGAdv. I know there are shuttle loops still around, but the interlocking loops when launched at the same time must have been awesome. I only got to ride it when they only had one side at a time running, but it was great.

I'd love to have Drachen Fire back (yes, I have ridden it), it is sadly missed. Crystal Beach Cyclone also looks incredible - possibly one of the most wicked layouts created.

*** This post was edited by 3r1c 8/6/2003 10:29:57 PM ***

I'm going to second the Wildcat from Idora Park and the Comet from Cascade Park. The Wildcat was such a wild ride and by the time I was old enough to ride the Comet, I was too afraid of it falling apart and when I finally did get up the nerve, the park closed. :(

I want to see the Coney Island (OH) Shooting Star Brought back, that was supposed to have some of the most wicked airtime, and that covered helix looks intense, Mighty Canadian Minebuster just doesn't looks like it can compare.

I'd also love to see the Idora Wildcat brought back, and I'd like to see GCI take Crystal Beache's Cyclone and modify it to where the layout is the same, but not as intense.

Bertrand Island Cyclone/Wildcat

and the weird, possibly one-of-a-kind ride they had named the Boomerang.
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Ripple Rock Amusement Park
Flying Scooter coming soon!

Kick The Sky said:
Interesting how many people say Drachen Fire when the coaster was reprofiled once and then eventually closed because it was so rough that it would make the late Shockwave at SFGAm look like a baby smooth B&M ride like Kraken. I think everyone here is more attracted to the name and the hype and how "cool" the elements look.

I believe you are correct for the most part, Bob, but I am one of the few who can say I've always loved Drachen Fire. It was my favorite steel coaster from '92 until '97 when Alpengeist bumped it out of the #1 slot. I never found it overtly rough, or received an unbearable amount of headbanging on it. Certainly not as much as the Premier coasters during the OTSR era.

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-Mike B.
Son of Hulk
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Although I agree with you guys about bringing back Drachen Fire, When I rode it as a little kid(the only time) I was crying when I got off! But I would really like to try it at my "new" age(14). I know, its totally ironic, but I'm interested.

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If Milli Vanilli fell in the woods, would someone else make a sound ?

The Bat.

I'd like to bring back an unknown coaster...the Flying Dragon from Walled Lake Amusement park. I don't think I'd be scared on it now.

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
http://www.webtechnik.com/ebony/CPLady.htm

Drachen Fire was good for its time, I'll agree to that. The key term being "for its time." Since then, steel coaster design has progressed to the point where Drachen Fire would be completely obsolete if it were operating today. Busch saw that and removed the ride and essentially replaced it with Apollo's Chariot. And that isn't anything to complain about.

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

Long Beach Cyclone Racer and Rye Playland Aeroplane.

DF was a great looking coaster, but the headbanging was worse than any Vekoma, even after removing the corkscrew, just took away any enjoyment from the ride being beaten around so unmercifully. If they did bring it back, it would have to be without OTSR, then maybe it'd be rideable.

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"Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it"

The Bat and Steel Phantom (I think Drachen Fire would be pushing my luck), also the Zambezi Zinger to Worlds of Fun.

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Fear the Wrath of the Orient Express!!
www.pkixtreme.tk

Congo Falls - 90 (one day)

I never got to ride Drachen Fire, but I heard about its legendary roughness from several people. I liked the layout of the ride initially until the second half was castrated so badly. Busch needs to build one of the aforementioned woodies on that site now.

Wood - anything else is an imitation

i want to add my vote to the Drachen Fire bin. i HAVE ridden it, many times in fact, and i loved it. this was the first year it was built, so it was before any smoothing or removing of elements. i actually didn't think it was that rough, but i'll attribute that to hazy memory since most others insist it was indeed a headbanger. i doubt it was any worse than Anaconda before they started braking it heavily.

some of you who never got the chance to ride it, take a look at some pictures of it's first drop -- you do a corkscrew way up in the air right out of the lift hill, which ends as a dive into the first drop. i dont know of any coasters today that do that. it's got a few other one of a kind elements as well. the thing sure had character, and was pretty to look at too.

anyway, what BGW REALLY ought to do, is take that vacant field (DF's graveyard) and get the modern arrow to design a sort of smoothed-out replica of Drachen Fire, with modern technology, or a similar ride called Drachen's Revenge, or whatever. the ride has a huge legacy and refuses to be forgotten. BGW should capitalize on that.

Trust me, if they wanted to recreate the Crystal Beach Cyclone, they could. I think with proper restraints and better transition, the coaster would be fine.

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"Do what you believe in and believe in what you do," Jeffrey E. McCants

Although I know it would never happen for reasons stated by KTS, I would love to just take one ride on the Crystal Beach Cyclone. I can't imagine a ride that crazy...

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CP 2K3: 15
"What are you, a dentist? Or a hippie? Or some kind of hippie dentist?" -strong bad