TR: GL 7/20 - Villian in the rain!

My girlfriend and I made a day trip to GL. Both us hadn't been there since we were tykes (after all, my one and only trip ended up with me in First Aid due to the flu), so I was anticipating finally riding the changes that Six Flags/CF brought upon GL/SFO/SFWOA/GL :p

We arrived around noon and looked pretty dead by the cars in the parking lot. Most of the flat rides were running with two or three people in them.

Quick summary of the coasters:
Steel Venom was first, I like Impulses so I enjoyed this one. There were only two other people on our train load. After that, we rode some various flat rides and took in the atmosphere of the park (Side note: What's the technical name of the Time Warm flat? I never rode that variety before).

Dominator: Walk-on.Interesting layout and good forces, especially the corkscrews' good B&M. But the layout and general ride reminded me of one of their standups instead. I remember the sporadic debate about replacing Mantis' trains at CP with floorless ones. Perhaps that is one factor floor less will remain a 'gimmick.'

Thunderhawk: Walk-on. Some nice footchoppers, but the transitions suck, IMO. Also, they were running two trains when the crowd wasn't right for it. At least when we rode it, the trains were stacking. I guess its better than back in the SF days though.

Big Dipper: 5 minute wait. This out-and-back bugger from 1925 packs quite a punch, but from what I read beforehand I can now confirm: new trains, please.

Double Loop: Walk-on. Standard Arrow looper from the 70's, but it appears this one has aged pretty well.

X-Flight: <5 minute wait. I was psyched coming into the park for riding X-Flight, Batma..I mean, Dominator, and Villian. I really enjoyed X-Flight as it was something different from me and had a good mix of flying and going backwards. I particularly liked the second half of the loop. Kudos to Vekoma.

Headspin: Did its best impression of a SBNO coaster all day.

Villain: Walk-on. There were a few packets of medium-heavy rain throughout the afternoon. It was only a light rain around 2ish that we made our way to Villain. We took our seats in the back and when we pulled out of the station, the rain had picked up its pace to a more moderate. It was even pelting a bit just going up the lift, so I knew we were in a for a wild ride! We were pulled over the top and at 60 mph, the raindrops turned into needles. I think around the turnaround, a drop got into my left eye and for a second I thought I lost my contact. That'd make for an interesting drive home. During the finale through the structure, I was loving it! All the onride pictures of our train basically looked the same: Grimaced faces with some hands over faces. Priceless! We didn't get a chance to ride Villain during dry weather, but I think CCI did a good job with the design. Maybe it was the rain, but it was flying!

Overall, we had a great, fun day as the weather stayed dried for the remainder of the night. I thought CF did a great job in the short amount of time they had to convert it over. I have no doubt that CF will turn GL into a smoothly-oiled machine. They can count on a repeat customer here.

(BTW, is the GL hyper rumor still warm? I think their steel collection needs a non-inversion style.)

The park has been unusally dead this summer. Indeed the hyper rumor is still warm. The new general manager has also commented on building a hypercoaster in the next few years. That would be a gread addition to the park. Hope it's a B&M.

To answer your question about Time Warp, the ride is a Chance Double Inverter. I have always thought the ride looks way better than it actually is.

Ray P.

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beeman65 said:Big Dipper: 5 minute wait. This out-and-back bugger from 1925 packs quite a punch, but from what I read beforehand I can now confirm: new trains, please.

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What's wrong with the trains on the Big Dipper?

I have to go with Jeffrey on this one, what is wrong with BD's trains?

Now, RWB, yeah, thats a coaster that needs new trains.

Is RWB still down for retracking?

My bad, from previous reports I've read, I thought it was Big Dipper's trains who needed replaced. Is that how it normally rides?

And from what I could tell, RWB wasn't open. *** Edited 7/21/2004 3:49:46 PM UTC by beeman65***

RWB is open. At least it was open Sunday when I was there.

Big D rode smooth when I went on it Sunday. I don't know what you mean by "how it normally rides". How did it ride for you? If you thought it was rough, you were probably on a wheel seat. Pick a middle seat and you will have a smooth flying out of your seat good time!

Time Warp is growing on me...sort of. But i hate test riding in the morning! Americana is MY ride though!

Sarah, you know this whole wheel seat thing is just a little nutso. I know I hear this time and time again, but it's actually impossible to have a better ride in the same car, if it is indeed a problem with the wheels. It's all just a placebo effect. Energy translates throughout the vehicle, no matter where you sit. My ride on BD last year was stunning in it's horribleness (is that a word?). Many on this board can attest to it. I don't know what state it's currently in, but if last year was any indication, it's bad, bad, bad. Then again, so was Batman (Dominator).

As you know, every coaster ride is subjective, and it sounds like it's been nice for you. Either that, or you are a glutton for punishment. :) Still, I'm spoiled with my perfect world of smooth woodies (Timber Terror, PNE Coaster, Puyallup Coaster: Thrill Ride, and Tremors), so what do I know? I guess we each have our little world of expectations. The bar is set entirely too high for me!

Nasai, yes, energy travels through the car, but because of the fact that you are inbetween the wheels, the car acts as a shock absorber, and tends to mellow out roughness. I've found this to be true on many coasters.

CoasterCameron is right Rob....there is difference in smoothness depending on which seat you choose in the car. On three-benchers, the middle seat tends to be the smooth seat as well as overe the front wheels of the car. Ride over the rear wheels, and the ride tends to be a little harsher. Dipper's third seat is a great ride even though it is an *axle* seat. Best seat on the train if you ask me.

Two-benchers are the same way. the front seat of the car tends to be smoother then the back seats, or axle seats....if you will. In fact, I know someone who is absolutely religious about not sitting in an axle seat on ANY coaster because of the roughness issue. On the Pheonix at Knoebels (of all coasters) I invited hi to ride with me in the third seat. He replied, "On this coaster I won't ride in three, six, nine, or twleve!"

But as far as the Dipper is concerned, the rear axle seats in the last two cars will *pound* in the first two valleys especially. You won't feel it hardly if you sit in a middle seat in the back cars. But other than that, the ride is running awesome this year. It doesn't need new trains (or wheels).

Wood Coaster Fan Club