Wild One: Info and Opinions Wanted!

Still PTCs with four three-bench cars... pretty sure that they have buzz bars but not certain (can't remember, so if they had individual bars, they didn't sway my opinion of the coaster.) As far as I know, they are pretty much the same as the old ones, just newer.

------------------
-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

They do have individual ratcheting lapbars.

By the way, if anyone has the book Roller Coaster by David Bennett, there is a photo of the Giant Coaster when it was still a double out-and-back on page 32. If you look closely at the layout (at least what's pictured), you'll notice that the track that goes through the lift structure was traveled in the opposite direction that it is now on Wild One. Also, notice the incredible double-dip first drop. That must have induced Jack Rabbit-type air.

Interesting--I had always thought that that particular photo was a misprint, even though the lift stood the same as it does today (at a 45° angle from the first drop). I never knew that Miller first designed it to be almost twice as long.

------------------
-Mike Buscema

'No matter how skilled the designer is, every time we push the envelope we learn new things about coaster design.' --Dana Morgan
------------------
*** This post was edited by Vater 9/19/2003 12:44:40 PM ***

Sadly the buzzbar trains were removed for the 99 season & replaced with brand new PTC 3 bench trains that feature the individual ratcheting lapbars.

I do recall seeing the changes to the turnaround in 99,there was one newscast that I taped where they interviewed the GM about the upcoming season & potential employment offers & they showed footage of JJ's final construction & in the background you could see Wild one's turnaround & that it had been changed.

I take it that Teirco is the same company that became Premiere parks & now SF,they did manage to save the park from extinction because it did lose popularity to PKD almost from it's early inception,good thing for us that Premiere stepped in to save the park as well as the coaster.

There's one thing I recall reading in the article about the now defunct Python & that was the color scheme,in 93 the color schem was said to be yellow & black & yet when I started visitiing the park on a yearly basis during the AW era (96 through 98) the ride was teal & gray,I wonder why they changed that original color scheme? although last time I rode it I could see some of the yellow paint under the teal paint on the station hand rails.

Wow. I don't even remember the individual racheting bars. They must not have detracted too much from the experience.

I wonder why they decided to replace the trains instead of just modifying the old ones, like CP did with Blue Streak. I assume that the "old" trains were brand-new when the coaster was rebuilt in 1986... 15 or so years doesn't sound like much mileage from PTCs, especially ones that operated on a coaster that didn't seem to get many riders for a vast number of those years.

------------------
-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

I think they had to replace them due to the change in the braking system of the coaster.

Originally the ride only had skid brakes (which is why only one train was ever in operation out of the two in existence) but when the ride was rehabbed in preperation for the SF conversion they added the modern fin braking system in use on most of todays newer woodies.

I just thought of something,they really should've considered using different colors on the trains,after all S:ROS's trains are red & blue so if they were to use something other than that for WO's trains it might've added a bit more variety to the park.