Texas Giant? A mean streak clone?

I've never heard any talk about this ride on the CB forums. I just remembered about this woodie from a kid who was wearing a "fearsome 5" SFOT t-shirt today. About the same size and layout (ok so its different) is it like Mean Streak? Trims, slow, boring, rough, no air? How is this ride? Thanks!

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Its not attention deficit. I'm just ignoring you.

No. Mean Streak is unlike Texas Giant. Mean Streak is a watered down version of the Giant, simply put. TG and MS have minor differences, but are virtually the same thing, layout wise.

And technically, MS is a clone of TG. Layout is similar, MS is actually larger and faster, but that's why it rips itself apart and forces (in the park's eyes) the trims.

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"Well, I'm sure I'd feel much worse if I weren't under such heavy sedation." - David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
http://www.loopscrew.com

Mean Streak and The Texas Giant are very different rides, especially in the second half of the ride. I much preferred the Giant, especially in the front seat.
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I-Nar said:
And technically, MS is a clone of TG. Layout is similar, MS is actually larger and faster, but that's why it rips itself apart and forces (in the park's eyes) the trims.

Mean Streak was faster. Once those trims entered the storybook, the whole thing went in reverse.

What's this nonesense about Mean Streak being a clone of The Texas Giant? While the two rides have many similarities, they are comparable to, say Mantis and Riddler's Revenge, or Nitro and Raging Bull. Texas Giant has a large portion of twisting track behind its lifhill. Mean Streak does not. Texas Giant curves to the left on second second hill. Mean Streeak curves to the right. When taken as a whole, The Texas Giant has a roughly figure-8 layout. Mean Streak's is roughly circular. I could go on.

*** This post was edited by (SF)Great American on 9/26/2002. ***

Intamin Fan said:
"Mean Streak and The Texas Giant are very different rides, especially in the second half of the ride. I much preferred the Giant, especially in the front seat.
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Wow, we haven't heard from you in a while. Anyway, I heard they were actually mirror images of each other. I may be worng, but that was my understanding.

Having ridden both this summer, I am not shure whether the Neutered Mean Streak is a bad thing. I have gotten both good and horrid rides on it this summer, While my out of control ride on the Giant, sent me looking for a ciropractor, that thing really beat me up. I do think though that the Giant has the better layout, and looks bigger up on that hill.

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http://www.kneebush.com
Dave's Trips

Texas Giant and Mean Streak have very similar layouts. They were both designed and built by charlie dinn and curtis summers within the same 2 years(90 and 91). Without getting too technical like (SF)Great American in which he argues that the one goes left on the 2nd hill and the other goes right, that is really just trivial. The two pretty much both have the same layout. The design concept or idea if you will is the same for both. The only difference is the Giant has a double helix around the lift hill. The one is big while the other is simply too big. As in too big for its own good. The giant touches that line where in terms of height and speed if it were any greater it would be in the same boat as mean streak and hercules.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. You throw that helix around the lift hill in, and you get a figure-8 layout. Mean Streak is just a flattened circle, almost triangular. I don't think that I'm being too technical, here.

While the two have a similar layout if you look at the rides from above, they have very different hills and turns. To call these rides "almost-clones" in any way is to say that Arrow shuttles and Schwarzkopf shuttles are almost-clones because they both have the same (straight) layout when viewed from above.

To Generalize: because they both had the same designer and the same builder and were built within a year of eachother. Lastly, because they were both built with the same intent(tallest, fastest woodie) and design concept, we categorize them as similar.

CP wanted a Texas Giant after SFOT had huge success with TG. Then they heard all the (true) rumors about the trains ripping themselves apart, maintenance nightmares, banging heads, etc. So CP gave specific instructions to Summers to give them a watered-down version. So that's what they got. Then they couldn't even maintain that! Basically, TG opened with like 19 or 20 hills and MStreak had like 11 hills. Plus that stoooopid "12th drop" which is a sloped break run. Mean Streak was still a good ride for those first couple years, until all the brakes, reprofiles (the 3rd drop was awesome, but they castrated that, too) and bad maintenance.

Does anyone know specifically what Dinn did wrong when constructing his mega woodies. Obviously, they have structural problems since they all cannot stand the force that they exert. But what exactly did Dinn do wrong? Was it the way he layed the track, the way the supports were built,,,,? And what does everyone think the future holds for these coasters?

DorneyDante said:
we categorize them as similar.

Fair enough, but to say that they are "clones," "near clones" or even "mirror images" is completely off base. As previously stated Txas Giant has nearly twice as many drops as Mean Streak. Their layouts may be the same shape aproximately but the ride itself is completely different in just about every way. The flying carpet finale on Giant isn't even aproached on MS and that's gotta be close to 1000 feet of track.

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If the shoe fits, find another one.

*** This post was edited by ravenguy98 on 9/27/2002. ***

Mean Streak and the Texas Giant couldn't be more different! First of all, Mean Streak sucks and Texas Giant kicks serious buttocks. The pacing, drive, airtime, layout are superior on TG in every aspect.

Intamin Fan said:
"Mean Streak and The Texas Giant are very different rides, especially in the second half of the ride. I much preferred the Giant, especially in the front seat.
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Well look who's back from the DEAD! I havent seen you 'round about *since* you rode TG in the front seat. Sam et al., just figured you dropped off the face of the earth. Good to see you didnt get yourself killed or nuffin. I'll holla!

Anyway, TG is a *little* more fun than Mean Streak, but the twisty and turny road to Holiday World is more fun than either :). Unbridled, both would be very good, but the wusses of society would say they were "too rough".
lata,
jeremy

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"To get inside this head of mine, would take a monkey-wrench, and a lot of wine" Res How I Do

I read somewhere that TG has (or had) 21 drops to comemorate the designer's 21st ride. MS was more of a wooden MF (speed, high turns) than a wooden coaster when it opened, not that that is a bad thing.

Is it just me, or do the high-back PTCs seem to cause more trauma than they prevent?