Thoughts About Outlaw Run

bunky - is it safe to assume you came to the scene too late to ride Chiller post-retrofit? That was the scariest moment ever on a steel coaster for me...

Well, I was aware of the retrofit, but I hadn't been to Great Adventure yet, and didn't end up making it there until after the Chiller was gone. My husband liked that ride, too, so I'm still a little bummed it is gone.

I think the hangtime is scary in a good way as in it seems thrilling but still enjoyable. Come to think of it, the Rolling Thunder hill on El Toro, my current single favorite element on any coaster, scared the poop out of me the first time I rode it too, but just like I think Outlaw Run's hangtime will be, it was enjoyable. I've been calling the hangtime stuff like insane...not really because it's that intense or anything. If you look at videos of people riding it, they're always enjoying the sensation of hangtime, even if they only have a lapbar on, not screaming their head off or something. Then again, they are all coaster enthusiasts...you wouldn't expect someone who as ridden well over 400 or so coasters to do that. I know I'm sort of going all over the place with this post, and I just lost my train of thought. I just hope Outlaw Run lives up to my expectations of some serious c-c-c-c-c-combobreaker-ness.

Also, what do you guys mean when you say The Chiller in its post-retrofit stage. I never really followed up on that coaster as it was removed shortly before I got really into coasters.

Holy crap that video is insane. My son and I have only been watching the "official" POV until I saw this. If I can take his mind off of Gatekeeper, (We live in CLE, he asks about it every day) this is the other must ride for both of us. SDC is one of my favorite parks.

Yeah,it's not just the ride, it's the whole package. The atmosphere seems wonderful, and it's so well themed. They even have drinks named after it that they sell!

blasterboy6500 said:
Also, what do you guys mean when you say The Chiller in its post-retrofit stage. I never really followed up on that coaster as it was removed shortly before I got really into coasters.

Batman and Robin: The Chiller was retrofitted with lapbar-only restraints towards the end of its life at Great Adventure. It was actually kind of a surprising change to me because not too many upside down coasters were still equipped with lapbars.

Oh, okay. Thanks for the clarification. I honestly think it depends on the ride. Mr. Freeze at SFOT has just a lapbar and inversions, but you never get hangtime on any of them, just positive g-forces. If The Chiller had hangtime on a lot of its inversions (I don't know since I never rode it), that sure must have been scary. How does hangtime with just lab bars feel? I don't remember getting any hangtime like that on a coaster. I'm just assuming it feels good.

Never been on a coaster with inversions that only had lapbars and left you hanging for a sustained amount of time on an inversion. Still, I was pretty scared on FoF and Jokers Jinx with no OTSRs.

I'm hoping when the trees get their leaves in the summer for an experience more like the original CGI video. Because yeah, a run through the woods makes it much more exciting than say, a run through a SF parking lot.

cough *Kingda K(r)a(p)* cough

bunky666 said:

Batman and Robin: The Chiller was retrofitted with lapbar-only restraints towards the end of its life at Great Adventure. It was actually kind of a surprising change to me because not too many upside down coasters were still equipped with lapbars.

I think Billy and Gator can name quite a few ;-).

Oh I'm sure. I can think of at least two that I had ridden around that time, but it wasn't really the "trend" for coasters at that time.

The trend in the 70s/80s (when loopers were new and hot) was to go with the cheaper ones built by Arrow, which all had shoulder harnesses. Schwarzkopf/Intamin built higher quality rides, with only lapbars, but they were more expensive and had much longer lead times. This is why I treasure the few Anton coasters so much; nothing since has matched the quality, ride-experience wise. For me (and a few others) anyway.

The trend has progressively changed to lapbars only in the past few years. I'm waiting on B&M ;)

I haven't ridden anything from Anton. What are their rides like?

"What are Anton riders like?" Gloriously smooth. Lap bar only restraint. The seat is a little snug, and as far as I can remember, all of the stations are very tight. The forces are nice and gradual, easing the riders into them smoothly. The ride is strong and feels durable. They are really nice. I've only been on a few. That's the best I can describe them.

LostKause said:

"What are Anton riders like?" Gloriously smooth. Lap bar only restraint. The seat is a little snug, and as far as I can remember, all of the stations are very tight.

....and that's just the riders!

Budum-Cha!

Briefly back to our Anton story.....Schwarzkopf rides feature extreme comfort, significant airtime, perfectly-configured vertical loops, ease of operations, and *lapbars.* Other manufacturers do make inverting rides, but finding airtime AND inversions on the same ride is (still) a pretty rare feat.

I've ridden a lot of B&Ms, and do believe they're quite comfortable - save for the occasional beating your head can take on the OTSRs. The ankle-shin bars from other manufacturers allow for *other inversions*, and aren't awful....but I generally don't care so much for the other inversions (tophats being the obvious exception) - but I absolutely love a good vertical loop. And no one does them as well as those old Antons...not even B&M.

Now back to your regularly-scheduled Outlaw Run discussion.... ;~)

I've never experienced "significant" airtime on an Anton coaster, but the loops are ridiculous. There is a reason my Dave Matthews/roller coaster hybrid tattoo has its loop styled after an Anton loop.