When Colossus Opened...

I was wondering if there are any posters here who were old enough to remember when Colossus opened at SFMM how long the line ever got because when I go I can't get over how short the line is (if theres a line at all) and I was wondering since when it opened it was the tallest woodie did it has big lines like X has now or has it always been a short line? Or is it a matter of good capacity that the line isnt that long now? Just curious.

SFMM wasn't that popular when it opened I'm sure.

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(Former Signature replaced due to bad joke with accident) The Beast at night-Two peas in a pod? http://www.geocities.com/moviecoaster/safetyeditorial- Next article against Markey!

Teenage Ninja really has no idea.

Colossus was the most extreme (no pun intended) modern day wooden roller coaster to that date. It's -2 G airtime was so great that it even caused for its own retracking (woman was thrown from train).

It opened that year as the tallest (along with Gemini) and fastest roller coaster.

It was the first ride on the west coast that was that great in size. And mind you, it was a headliner and crowd magnet.

*** This post was edited by kRaXLeRidAh on 8/29/2002. ***

I talked to an enthusiast (I don't think he posts here) who claims the line for Colossus in its first season stretched all the way back to what is now Bugs Bunny World. About a 4+ hour wait. No, I didn't see it for myself, but I trust this guy's information, he has never steered me wrong in the past.

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Nothing... NOTHING... can prepare you for... the Fourth Dimension!

You know, I honestly didn't think Colossus was that bad when I rode it. With a little TLC, I think it could be a very good ride again.

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"The perfect machine, you seemed to be, when I built you up in my mind..." - Reverend Jon Autry

chris, agreed. At the Con, I rode with some old-timers (URC crowd, LOL), and what they remember about Colossus, other than the amazing finish (RIP) was that the trains were infinitely better "in the old days"....

Colossus IS better than the lines would indicate, and it is the "salvageable" woodie in the park....some trackwork and some nice new PTC's, and yes, even *racing*, could put Coloossus back to its former glory.....we DID get backwards rides in Oct. '00...

*** This post was edited by rollergator on 8/30/2002. ***

Lines for Colossus were huge [3-4 hours w/ a 4-6 train op] when it opened and continued to be big [but not that big] up until just a few years ago. The real shame is that with new trains and a little TLC it could be a top-notch coaster again.

Moosh - who still enjoys Colossus, too.

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"Three simple words: I am gay." - Homer Simpson, giving advice on how to dump a girl.

Colossus is the only coaster I know of that scared my sister turdless, and she's been on biggies like American Eagle, Magnum, Sonny, etc.. It must have been good at one point :)
lata,
jeremy
--whose sister is trying to cajole him into going to Cali again to ride Ghostrider (begin sarcasm) Twist my arm why dont you? (end sarcasm)

'Moosh is correct. I''ve been riding Colossus since it opened, and the longest I remember the line being was to the entrance of the County Fair section (for those who know, that would be just before the Magic Moments Theater). At that point, even with both sides open and 4-6 train operation, the wait was 2-3 hours.

jeremy, RT tickets are about 220 right now from O-town, care to join us for an X-invasion mid-Sept....

does anyone have pictures of it before it got reprofiled?

The double dip (R.I.P.) is still in tact. The MCBR was actually built on top of the double dip. Though I'm too young to have ever ridden Colossus with the PTCs, it was a very intense ride.

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Adam Black | adam@mouseinfo.com
www.americacoasters.com | www.mouseinfo.com

I loved it when I rode it in July, but would definitely go back for PTVs or a backwards ride. Has anyone else seen the initials "SM" carved at the top of the lift on the far right support? I would imagine some craze Lapoon's Vacation fan is responsible for that!
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Brad Sherman
"Well sir, there's nothin' on earth like a genuine bona fide electrified 6-car Monorail!"
Model coasters and rides

Cris, I completely agree with you as well. I do like it as well and I dont quite see why it gets a bad rap. But I probabaly would complain if I had ridden it back before it was retrofitted.

arrow guy, ive seen the movie but what does "SM" stand for?

Before:

After:

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Lake Compounce-So Fresh and So Clean Clean

Vertigo, the" before" pics just make me sad...the "after" pics don't show up - but I know what it looks like now, and that's why I'm sad....

That 1st 'before' picture doesn't show what the speed hill after the 2nd drop looked like originally (I think this is where the lady was thrown out, either that or on the way down the 2nd drop...). It was like the CP Blue Streak (RIP) speed bump at the bottom of it's drop... Also, I think the 3 'big' drops were reprofiled to level out the -G's.

ok correct me if i am wrong on this one. it looks as if a double up was lenthend to level out G's, and the double dip was completly taken away. Anything else i'm missing?

Wow! Thanks for the pics Vertigo! Man that makes me sad! That looks like it gave some nice airtime before they took out the double dip! Dragon82487-all i know is that the DD is retracked as a flat part to reduce G's and airtime. I may be wrong though.