Rumors of Gwazi's demise have been exaggerated...

I certainly was expected a lame Lion and a terrible Tiger based on all those "Wintertime" TRs I was reading on BGT. Well, I know it's not the smoothest running GCI of the bunch, and it's past time for a paint job, and the operating policies...well, won't even go there. But let's get to the most important part of the ride...the RIDE. It's a bit bumpy, but to say that the coaster(s) had gone south, just don't buy it. Very reminiscent of the Roar in terms of laterals and airtime, with the "rough and tumble" nature of Ga Cyclone a couple weeks ago.

If you want SMOOTH wooden coasters, that's cool too....but Gwazi's not that one (or two, depending...;). Seriously, I was disappointed about the down-time and single-training on Tiger, but not by the ride. IMO, Boodley can keep his name on the coaster...:)...BTW, I filled out a "customer comment sheet", wish I had done it before stopping by the Hospitality House, but I gave them both the good and bad....there was some work done I liked since our last visit.

Also of note: Park DID receive some new "attractions", a climbing wall and bungee trampolines. Talked with a few park employees, no coasters in the near future that they're aware of....:(...and apparently the enormous effort and expense of Rhino Rally was as disappointing as predicted - they've found it really is a one-time thing...:o.

When I rode Gwazi in April, I wasn't expecting much. And let me tell you... I WAS AMAZED! Very fun, constantly turning... sure it wasn't what you would call smooth, but yes, it was EXTREMELY fun. Oh yea, they were also dueling the trains. :) I highly recommend the ride to anyone.

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-Aaron
Webmaster of PKI Unlimited.com
http://www.pkiunlimited.com

Just out of curiosity, how can a natural wood coaster be past it's time for a paint job? It is supposed to look like it does, it's not super-extremely faded paint, it's no paint!

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When did American Eagle get more airtime than Viper?

I completely agree rollergator and I couldn't even believe the bad reviews came for the same ride. I rode both in July and March and both gave out of this world rides that few wood or steel coasters come close to in my opinion. I wish the operations would go a little faster, but I don't really mind since it was only around a 10-15 minute wait each ride. Tiger is definitely my favorite of the two coasters. I love the back and forth swish towards the end.

I really enjoyed Gwazi this past March. Lion was actually my favorite, as it seemed smoother and had more airtime.
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SFEG awaits The Flying Coaster-coming in 2002!

I enjoyed Gwazi as well. It has horrible loading times, but the ride itself makes up for that.

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Wash away us all. Take us with the floods.

Gwazi will always be a special coaster for me. I made it my 100th coaster in my count back in February. In hindsight, I wish it would have been Montu, but still, I found it to be a good coaster.

I rode both in February and as I reported I liked one and not the other. I got some monster air on one(dont remember which one) and not a hint and a lot of roughness on the other. I did enjoy the airtime side immensly and it is one of the more stunning coasters visually that I have been on.

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Bob Hansen

A proud CoasterBuzz Member
"We are not responsible for anything the Demon takes or breaks"

So are they dueling now or not?

how do they compare to lightning racer. i rode that somewhere around 75 times and im just wonderin about how they compare

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If your really evil in this life, do you come back as toilet paper????
ladies and gentlemen, due to an increase in line jumping, people caught cutting in line will no longer be ejected from the park. u will be ejected from the ride

I guess if I'm gonna start a topic with this tone, I should be prepared to defend my arguments....feeling is, if you can't advocate for your own opinions, don't state 'em in the first place...;). OK, so here goes....

TrBiggar, I too vastly prefer the natural look, but there's good reason to paint the coaster...(actually, I'd prefer a high-gloss stain/poly, but that would get pretty pricey, and we all know how Anheuser-Busch is hurting for cash). Treated lumber is ideal against rain and pests and rot and such, but it has one significant weakness...the SUN. In the olden days, (before even I was born...;)) they'd build with fir or redwood or something and be good for near forever. Now, we have no old-growth forests left to destroy, so we use treated lumber....it warps and twists pretty badly if left to the sun unprotected (having spent a few years in the lumber business). This really is going to make for a LOT more effort and expense in the long-run to maintain the trackwork, especially considering the layout of Gwazi. Still really good, but considering it was $10M to build, spending a few hundred thousand to "protect the investment" just seems like common sense to me.....

KoasterKing, Thursday afternoon gave those kind of waits, but Friday every school district in the Southeastern U.S. seemed to be visiting, and line-jumping is apparently the one "sport" they still teach in school. Single training is the one thing I stressed as far as an area that needed improvement, other than the obvious insanity that is the operation of Gwazi. Also, that swift change of direction near Tiger's finish is one sweet trick, one I've seen on a handful of steelies (and LOVE)...

Kick the Sky, Lion is the airtime machine of the two, Tiger the track featuring more laterals and therefore getting rougher more quickly....a beautiful coaster, we've got some really nice pics on this roll...;). I just got my CB membership card, #246! BTW, we'll be up for our maiden visit to SFGAm and IB the week between CBCon and SRM....thinking we'll probably see you at one of those four parks...

Beast_rocks, no dueling, they will if it's slow and you ask, or you can get lucky. We did get one duel (with an empty train, so no hand-slapping at the station turnaround)...but I guess at least you're safer in a duel with an "un-armed opponent", LOL...

Bilelele, I can't tell you until sometime in August, when I finally get back to HP for the first time since they put in the mine train...

bill, feeling really old after that last one, but SO happy about the Kings and Nets I could almost scream. Next stop, the Lakers....*uh-oh*...

Having Riden while it was dueling, I was severely disapointed by the absence of it this year. Owing to the fact, I don't say it was over exagerated. I discovered a plot by the Busch admin. to replace all ride ops on Gwazi with apes.

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Texas Coasters... wow I'm lucky... IM me if you feel like talking about coasters.

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rollergator said:

Kick the Sky, Lion is the airtime machine of the two, Tiger the track featuring more laterals and therefore getting rougher more quickly....a beautiful coaster, we've got some really nice pics on this roll.... I just got my CB membership card, #246! BTW, we'll be up for our maiden visit to SFGAm and IB the week between CBCon and SRM....thinking we'll probably see you at one of those four parks...

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I really thought it was Lion, just wasnt sure. My visit in Feb was my second visit to the park and the first time I only rode Tiger and left with a real bad impression of the ride. This last time after riding Tiger I was impressed with the airtime that I got. I am not much for laterals myself so that is probably where I saw the roughness in Tiger. Just a personal opinion on that point.

I am member 258. :) Just got mine in the mail last week. (Great turn around Jeff, thanks) Post a message of when you will be at SFGAm after CB Con and I will try to get down there and meet you. You would be the first buzzer I would ever meet.

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Bob Hansen

A proud CoasterBuzz Member

"So you think your'e really brave, gonna see the DEMONS cave.
You silly dude, your'e only food, for the DEMON"

I found Gwazi nearly unrideable. I am glad to hear that they've done their best to rehab the dueling beast, but until I hear of significant changes, I'm afraid that i'll have to pass on riding it again...ahhh, who am I kidding? I'll definitely ride it the next time I'm there.

On a side note, I'm glad to hear that CB Club is up 258 members. I, myself, am member #108. Unless Jeff started at #101??

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Proud CB club member

I went to BG last week and didn't have high hopes at all for gwazi as i never really thought i'd like wooden coasters as i'd only been to parks with steelies!

I was so amazed when the train dispatched and sped to the lift hill! i love it and rode t so many times! The roughness and teh way gci dared to put such g pulling turns amazed me. It was way more fun than a smooth steel coaster!

I loved the way that it was unpredictable and the drop was teh best of any coaster in teh park i think. Great airtime on lion. Tiger was closed in the afternoon as there weren't enough people for there to be a point in running it.

With such an amazing coasters i was wondering what other woodies give a rough but not too rough, unpredictable, sharp turning, airtime filled ride such as gwazi?? I'd love to ride another.

MilliMan, you sound like a candidate for Roar!, another great GCI twisting turning airtime machine (even better than Gwazi....at least IMO)....

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Bilelele said:
how do they compare to lightning racer

Not sure about this year, but in March 2001, Gwasi was a much "rougher" ride compared to Lightning Racer's smoothness... but no rougher than other wood coasters.

I found it much more disorienting as far as which track is which... you really do not know where you are going to be going next. People have moaned and complained about the fact that Gwasi is not always dueling. Truely, the trains fly by so fast that you hardly notice the dual. So, as a dueler, it is not all that... but as a coaster, it is one of the better wooden ones I have run into. Keep in mind though, even with Lightning Racer, the dueling effects are minimal... its the racing aspect that I think adds to the level of fun. Gwasi is a dueler, pure and simple, and does not pretend to race.

And to Milliman... if you want twisting and turning and a fast ride... give Hersheypark's other GCI creation, Wildcat, a try. Honorable mention also goes to Knoebels Twister.

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*** This post was edited by SLFAKE on 6/11/2002. ***

I rode gwazi last july(and yes it was dueling) and found it to be amazing. On tiger I got standing air in some spots. The only thing I didn't like was the frustratingy slow loadig procedure.

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This contest can not be decided by our knowledge of the force but by our skills with a lightsaber.
Count dooku episode II