What are your thoughts on Vekoma coasters ?

Do You like the Boomerangs very well ?

How about the SLC'c ? are they a lot of fun ?

are they worth waiting an hour for ?

I am thinking on the newer models, like the boomerang at SFNE, and the SLC at SFAW.

Does anyone them any more than B&M's ? I know that sound stupid but is there any one that happens to like Vekoma's more than B&M's ?

I know I don't !

Personally, I won't wait more than 15-20 minutes for a boomerange or a slc, but the boomerange is an inexpensive way to help your parks coaster count

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The Great Escape- Home of the Reject Coasters!

My opinion of Vekoma coasters are they are crap.

Why do they put their trains so loose on the tracks? I don't know about anyone else but I don't enjoy sudden jerks of movement while ridding a coaster.

The boomerang is my favorite vekoma design. I like how it leaves you very disoriented after the ride is over. I still would not take a boomerang over any B&M coaster.

Boomerangs are awsome experiences. They pull great forces and they play with your mind...."Are we dropping, are we *thunk* AHHHHHH!!!!"

I have a cool Idea ! What if there was an area in a park where the was a Boomerang and an Invertigo, set up about 30ft apart (Minus waiting area) and they were set up so the could go at the same time. That would be cool walking into that area and seeing and invert and a sit down going throught there cobra rolls at the same time. that would be a cool introduction to each coaster.

*** This post was edited by TITAN_FAN_13 on 11/1/2001. ***

i think vekoma has had some of the best ideas , like slc it was the first inverted or boomeranges and dejas. BUT they build a crappy product and thats why their coasters are so hated.

im waiting for a dueling coasters where one is a sitdown, and one is a invert, that would be a cool idea to make an invertigo and a boomerang duel with eachother, like intertwine their inversions. but then again it would be better to see them have a sea serpent, it would have a better visual effect :)

Boomerangs-Eh, OK, but they get boring after a while.

Invertigos-Better than Boomerangs. I love the face-to-face seating.

Flyers-Love 'em.

Kiddies-Ziers are better.

SlCs-Check sig.
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Don't look down-Oblivion
SLCs kick arse (when smooth).

*** This post was edited by PT300 on 11/1/2001. ***

sfmm15 said:
i think vekoma has had some of the best ideas , like slc it was the first inverted or boomeranges and dejas. BUT they build a crappy product and thats why their coasters are so hated.

Not really...SFGAm's Batman:The Ride was the world's first inverted coaster, opened in 1992. The first SLC did not debut until a year or two after the Great America Batman, and it was in Europe. Their Roller-Skater, Invertigo, Flying Dutchman, Giant Inverted Boomerang, and Suspended Looping Coaster rides have been seen as great achievements. The boomerang, many times viewd by enthusiasts as a niusance, is in fact the most successful standard roller coaster model with over 40-50 operating world-wide. Vekoma also built PKI's Rugrat's Runaway Reptar coaster, the world's first junior inverted coaster. Other innovations currently in the works include the 'Tilt' and 'HammerHead Stall' coasters.

Well, everyone has their own opinion, but if I drew up a list of my 50 or 100 favorite coasters, I'm not sure there would be a Vekoma in there!

A non-enthusiasts POV: I went to SFA with some non enthusiast friends recently. They rode the SLC and said "I'm never riding that again" Batwing - they said "It was OK. The flyinng thing was kind of cool" (Anyone else notice how bumpy Batwing is lately?) Invertigo got mild responses. On the other hand, the woodies and a certain Swiss coaster got tons of laughs, "WOW"s, and everyone wanted to ride them again and again. I try not to be an enthusiast when I'm with my non-enthusiast friends, but the people I go with seem to feel the same way about these kind of things. Anyone else have the same experience?

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- Peabody

Lets think of it this way shall we.Its a nice $4,000,000 investment for all those little ma and pa amusment parks.Which only in there wildest dreams could afford the price of a $10,000,000 B&M or intamin.So in other words its a easy way for the little guys(ma &pa) to compete with the big boys(six flags,cedar fair and paramount parks).

Just my opinion.

I think Vekoma makes some ok rides.The only reason why I'm stuck riding the SLC (Mind Eraser @ SFA) is because it's the only inverted coaster the park has,sure it isn't B&M but at least it's inverted so it's better than nothing.I think the invertigo is much smoother though.

Hmm...my post seems to have disappeared. Didn't think I said anything offensive.

Anyway, all that I said was that I thought Vekoma made some of the best looking coasters around. However, I'd only ride them once during a visit to a park that featured coasters by another manufacturer. Also, I won't even bother with low cap boomerangs.

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Yeeee Haaawwww!

SomeGuy had it right. Vekomas are the only coasters that the small parks can simultaneously afford, and market to the public as "big time"coasters. Personally, I find Flashback and Mind Eraser at SFNE to be good rides, but not in the same class at B&M and Intamin. But what else was "Riverside Park" going to do? Vekoma was the only choice.

As I think about it, I really have to give Six Flags alot of credit. Sure I have complained about Six Flags with all their crazy s*&%, but they have played a very big role in the current coaster renaissance, and it keeps getting better every year.

SomeGuy said:
Lets think of it this way shall we.Its a nice $4,000,000 investment for all those little ma and pa amusment parks.Which only in there wildest dreams could afford the price of a $10,000,000 B&M or intamin.So in other words its a easy way for the little guys(ma &pa) to compete with the big boys(six flags,cedar fair and paramount parks).

Exactly what I used to think, but the current price for a Vekoma SLC or a B&M Batman clone are pretty much the same! I can understand why a smaller park would go for a slightly cheaper ride that won't require a huge wait, but I still wonder why the large corporate guys still buy the crappy (in my opinion) ones when they have some of the nicer ones too and see the difference for themselves. I've never seen a SLC at a SF park have 1/2 the line that a Batman at a SF park does.
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- Peabody

Peabody said:
(Anyone else notice how bumpy Batwing is lately?)

It must have been suffering from a square wheel when you rode. I rode it about 25 times during the Discovery Channel shoot and it didn't seem any rougher overall than usual, though one wheel was a little off.

My post disappeared too and all I said was that I have only ridden one Vekoma and that was Deja Vu at SFGAm and I thought that was an incrediable ride.
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Either it's a bug (I noticed that the Help link is giving me a runtime error), or somebody don't like us..uh oh! ;)
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Yeeee Haaawwww!

Ive ridden both boomerangs and SLC at SFEG, and their fun rides.......the first 50 times.
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"If somebody throws a rock and knocks a man off his donkey, do we say that he's stoned off his ass?

sfmm15:

i agree wholeheartedly, vekoma does have excellent ideas but their actual rides prove to be somewhat dissappointing. one of the major complaints i have with vekoma rides is that they are rough and disorienting. for instance serial thriller at sfwoa, x flight at sfwoa, and face/off at pki. when i ride any kind of coaster i like to be comfortably enjoying the experiencing but when i'm being thrown side to side violently and without smooth transitions it translates into a bad experience for me. believe me, i love inversions and steel coasters i just feel that vekoma does a bad job building them. although i have enjoyed Rugrats Runaway Reptar all season at PKI, best kids ride i've ever been on.

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johnathan