Wood Coasters - A Thing of the Past?

I would like to see wooden coasters stay the same, I hate the idea of new elements such as a loop. But, if they can do a loop, they can and probably will do a corkscrew someday. They will probably invent new trains or something as well. And God forbid, the inverted wooden coaster. There are still things that can be done with wood, its just a matter of getting a demand for it. I personally love wooden coasters the way they are.

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"Here's my ten cence, my two cence is free"-Eminem

Dag gum it! I completely missed that one! But you still dont have to pick on me :(

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"Sunshine, daisies, butter-mellow! Turn this stupid fat rat yellow!"

Gum? Pick? Not bad, but I'm still the tooth pun fairy and don't you forget it ;)

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"The movies are weird--you actually have to think about
them when you watch them."
--Britney Spears at the Sundance Film Festival

*** This post was edited by Mamoosh 2/4/2003 6:02:45 PM ***

(Begin Butt-Head voice) Huh-huh....you said fairy...huh-huh (End Butt-Head voice)

lata, jeremy
--"Your temperment's wrong the priest hood, and teaching would suit you still less Son be a dentist YOU'LL BE A SUCCESS!"

hmm.

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"I often thought of becoming a golf club"

What a bunch of *pulp* comics....I cut my teeth on puns, and Paula may be the "Queen of Puns", but 'Moosh is definitely the Tooth....person.....;). You guys are hitting a raw nerve, but it's my funny bone...thanks, I sorely needed it.

Love the last couple sigs there Matthew, keep up the good work...

Nice to see jeremy appreciates Little Shop...

It's a hilarious sig but honestly, how many 21 year olds think much differently then that. Not many I'd wager.

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Da Poodle

Coming in 2003-The Spawn Of Magnum!

Great to see you finally chipped in your...um...philosophy (floss-ophy?), Bill. I think we've covered the full Scope of dentistry puns for now...please rinse. :)

Paula

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Paula Werne
Holiday World PR
www.holidayworld.com/srm

Please take a moment to *Absess* the situation. :)

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Charles Nungester.
Confirmed, Lesourdsville Lake opening for 2003 details soon at Lesourdsville.com

Aww spit Ms. Maven! I thought I had one more in me....

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"Sunshine, daisies, butter-mellow! Turn this stupid fat rat yellow!"

Bite me.

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-Vater
Take a ride...

Yeah, I was a little bummed I didn't get to *chip* in yesterday while all this "biting humor" was going on, but at least I got *partial* input even if I couldn't deliver a "full plate" of punmanship....some of these youngsters probably won't get the denture references, but us *old-timers* sure know about 'em...;)

Wooden coasters only get a bad rep because of poor maintenance....but I'll tell ya, Gwazi sure was *chattering* through the trackwork quite nicely on Sunday...:)

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Never go unarmed into a battle of wits...;)
"I may be wrong, but I doubt it", by C. Barkley (and Shaq thought HE was "The Big Aristotle")...;)

Thanks, everyone, for filling in for me overnight.

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"The movies are weird--you actually have to think about
them when you watch them."
--Britney Spears at the Sundance Film Festival

I don't think we'll see quite the explosion of wood coasters in the US that we saw in the late 1990s/2000 because the market has been saturated. Essentially every park looking for a new wooden coaster has one now. Internationally, I think a few of the Plug-And-Play wood coasters will be built (Balder already is) if its cost effective enough. Being cost effective is definitely not what TDZ is. The feeling I got while over there is that more will be built though.

As for "the old times being better", I got a chance to walk into a time machine in England and see what US parks were like 20-25 years ago, albeit with better maintenance. I think the flat rides of the era weren't as cool, certainly. I love the O-Planes and Zipper, but look at rides like KMG's Afterburner, Moveit, Tango, or Experience. Or Huss Frisbees. Or Top Fun Playballs. Or Top Star Tours and Top Scans and Shakes and Deleriums. However, the aspect of "ride at your own risk" gave me the opportunity to experience many things that no longer operate here in the states or that operate differently (coasters without restraints, Social Mixer, funhouses with lots of nasty "stunts", nudity in dark rides, wood mice, huge slides, flats run at frightening speed).

However, in terms of coasters, I'm left to wonder that. I've only been on Riverside Cyclone as late as 1996. But at that point, it would be a top 5 coaster for me today. It was vicious in a way coasters today are, and from what I knew, it wasn't as extreme as it once was (with 3 bench PTCs and single lapbars with a crazy fast lift). I also never got to ride Texas Cyclone in its prime (1979-1984) so I can only guess using my number 1 of Legend as to how insane those rides were at their best. I've always taken the Mike Saunders position that the new crop of enthusiasts (me being one) who started to appear in the second golden age around 1996-1997 were too used to B&Ms and supersmooth coasters, that when presented with something like the Riverside Cyclone, or CI Cyclone's last seat, or Legend, it causes them to label it as "rough" because in their experience, any coaster that beats them up in a bad way is "rough". And that's where you start to see the separation in the "Legend is #1" camps (where I am) and the "Shivering Timbers (which is essentially a wood B&M with slightly more forceful air) is #1" crowd.

-Alan

Amen, Alan! Can I get a witness?

My low opinion of Riverside Cyclone, which I really wanted to enjoy more, has very little to do with how aggressive the ride is and more to do with the reprofiling and excessive trim on the back nine. How I wish I could have ridden it when in its wilder days.

Back seat of Coney Cyclone is a religious experience and if you ride solo you actually see god!

If I want smooth I'll go ride something Swiss....

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"The movies are weird--you actually have to think about
them when you watch them."
--Britney Spears at the Sundance Film Festival

Witness.

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'Maybe go out, maybe stay home, maybe call Mom on the telephone.' - The Stooges 'No Fun'

roxor on, chris!

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"It looks smaller than I imagined, but still looks to be a great ride." -- CPLady

Definitely couldn't sum that up better, DeadAndRestless. Regarding the whole roughness argument, read my comment in this thread (I was referring to steel coasters, but I think the same applies in this case).

I stand by my earlier claim: Wusses. :)

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-Vater
Take a ride...

I agree that theme parks think that the market for wood is saturated. I continue to contend, however, that an amusment park could operate almost as many wooden coasters as steel coasters, if they bothered to try. Did anyone ever get bored of Riverview's six or seven wooden wooden rides? No. And (with the exception of The Bobs), those rides probably weren't as thrilling, or as varied, as the modern CCI's and GCI's of today.

(SF)Great American, who finds one rough woodie (Mean Streak), to be a heck of a lot smoother than Shock Wave ever was...

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I hear America screaming...

(SF)GA - I don't think its quite fair to compare Riverview and their six coasters with today's parks. If today's steel coaster technology had been available to the Riverview planners whats to say they wouldn't have had fewer wood? They had wood because that's all that was really being built in that era.

Moosh

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"It looks smaller than I imagined, but still looks to be a great ride." -- CPLady