Wooden/Steel Coaster - CoasterBuzz

UBRhino said:
Hey, I happen to LOVE Son of Beast. As long as you don't sit above the wheels, you'll get a pretty smooth ride.

Baloney. I sat in the front seat last time I rode and I can still remember the pain in my knees from the godawful lapbar design.

I develop Superior Solitaire when not riding coasters.

UBRhino said:
Hey, I happen to LOVE Son of Beast. I thought The Racer at PKI was the worst wooden coaster I've ever been on.

This is near precisely my opinion. That is, if you switch the two coaster names with each other in that sentence. So:

Hey, I happen to LOVE The Racer. I thought Son of Beast at PKI was the worst wooden coaster I've ever been on.

Ah, much better! Though I don't think Son of Beast is anywhere near the bottom of my wood coaster ballot. I believe that honor belonged to Predator at Darien Lake...

I think SoB would be great if I was 5'3". The problem is that their stupid cars aren't designed to accomidate a wide variety of heights/weights. The loop is basically the reason I hate it because it forces the restraints to be extremely tight making it impossible for me to not bang my knees on the metal.

The problem is that no matter how much I cry about it hurting my knees, they aren't going to change the trains because every time I have been there, the line has been pretty long. Some people like it, and that isn't debatable.

Down is the new up.

I still hold that SOB with Articulated trains would be one of the most powerful and awesome wooden coasters in the world.

Just look at small people getting off the ride, and then look at big people getting off the ride. It's all in the trains.

Chattanooga needs a [B][I]ITG2[/I][/B] Machine!

CoastaPlaya said:
[Excalibur] still ranks higher on Mitch Hawker's steel coaster charts than SV. That should tell you something...

Ha! I didn't notice that, and it's another perfect example of how I've come to realize that poll is also severely flawed. How does Steel Venom (VF) rank at 163 while the other standard impulses rank at 74 and 75? Can someone please explain that to me?

As for SOB, I've actually had the opposite experience of Word; I've always been shocked (though perhaps not that surprised) at how short SOB's line is compared to other coasters in the park. I always thought the GP saw it for a piece of crap too.

-Nate
*** Edited 1/4/2005 10:55:44 PM UTC by coasterdude318***

"the villian" or whatever it is called now at geauga lake has a steel frame that looks like it is wooden. kinda cool. i thought it was wood from outside the park. It is a very smooth ride.

Once You Feel the Force You Will never Be The Same

CDude: I have no clue. SV has much more kick on the launch than either S:UE or V2. If you like the brakes, it's easily the best of the Impulses.

You either really love or really hate Excalibur. There's no middle ground. I despised it for some time, now it's my favorite coaster there.

-'Playa

*** Edited 1/5/2005 4:41:39 PM UTC by CoastaPlaya***

NOTE: Severe fecal impaction may render the above words highly debatable.

thepinkdoomofmonkeys, I agree 100%. It's definitely the trains that make that coaster as bad as it is. PKI spends a lot of money each year to keep that coaster running as good as it is. In my opinion, the best investment in the long run to keep that coaster in great shape, and possibly remake the whole ride experience they need to get new articulated trains. We already know PKI has done this before with the amazing transformation of Flight of Fear from the terrible headbanger to the out of control twister.

But, I'm sure that there's a reason why they've not done this yet. And I still like to see a few tunnels on the ride, too...

http://unorthodokz.deviantart.com

Playa'-
I agree on Steel Venom. Although I prefer SFGAm's V2 due to location alone, SV seems to give a slightly better ride than the other impulses. Not only is the launch and rear spike hold better, but it also seems to run smoother. I also like the color, but there's just too much concrete around for my liking.

I used to really love Excalibur, but the past two years when I've visited VF (Labor Day weekend), they've been running one train, which I realize is not unusual, but there was actually a fifteen-minute line, the same as SV. I always enjoyed being able to walk on to Excalibur. Why they staff an insane amount of people on SV and "not enough to run two trains" on Excalibur (which is the excuse we were told) is beyond me.

-Nate

MForce Aholic said:
"the villian" or whatever it is called now at geauga lake has a steel frame that looks like it is wooden. kinda cool. i thought it was wood from outside the park. It is a very smooth ride.

Actually, The Villian *IS* considered a wooden coaster.

What makes a coaster "wood" or "steel" is the track. So, mine trains like Gemini, being tubular steel on wooden supports, are steel coasters. Rides like The Villian, Cornball Express, New Mexico Rattler, and Coney Island/Astroland Cyclone are considered wooden coasters even though their supports are steel.

--Greg
"You seem healthy. So much for voodoo."

CDude: Too easy to get spoiled, huh? Excalibur can't be a walk-on forever! They will run two trains on heavy days.

As for the equivalent waits...six or more people hauling arse on SV versus one train and a staff of three on Excalibur = twice as many riders on SV than the local mine train. That is, if you believe quoted capactities. Factor in the obvious quicker SV loading times with more staff and the picture becomes even more clear.

-'Playa

NOTE: Severe fecal impaction may render the above words highly debatable.

Well sure, but I was mostly complaining about the fact that four people is "not enough" to run two trains on Excalibur (which I don't buy, but that's another discussion). If it meant moving one person from SV to Excalibur so that both rides could operate at capacity, I don't see that as a problem, especially when there were a whopping seven (!) people staffed to Steel Venom (which is incredible, if not unnecessary).

SV can dispatch, at most, once every two minutes (one minute cycle time, one minute load time). How long is Excalibur? A minute and a half? If so, then Excalibur should be able to dispatch once ever two and a half minutes with one train. With two riders less per train on SV, the capacities of the two rides with one train are fairly similar. When a fifteen-year-old ride has a line equal to that of your brand new ride, it might be time for another train. But maybe that's just me being spoiled. :)

In all seriousness, I realize staffing probably was an issue that day. It was Labor Day weekend, and many of the college students and internationals are probably gone. I'm just not sure I buy their excuse for Excalibur.

-Nate
*** Edited 1/5/2005 7:45:02 PM UTC by coasterdude318***

Oh, I'm pretty sure they can run two trains with a staff of four. Are you sure they didn't mean not enough people in the park as opposed to staff on-hand?

-'Playa

NOTE: Severe fecal impaction may render the above words highly debatable.

You can't rate a coaster you haven't been on! So naturally, Steel Venom at Valleyvair has had fewer riders total than Excalibur.

Yes, but that's exactly the thing Mitch's poll is supposed to compensate for - and why it's held in such high esteem with enthusiasts.

coasterimage - lordgonchar

Playa'-

Yeah, they actually stated that they were running one train on Excalibur because there were "not enough staff" to run two. Meanwhile there were four people working the ride. We were told the same thing ("staffing reasons") at Guest Relations when we stopped by for another issue. I, too, am pretty certain there shouldn't be a problem running two trains with four people working the ride; I'm sure it was just the easiest excuse to use. And while the park wasn't completely packed, it was during the corn feast (or whatever they call it) and it was certainly busy enough to warrant two trains, I think. The Excalibur line stretched nearly all the way back to the entrance, which I hadn't seen in years.

-Nate *** Edited 1/5/2005 8:23:57 PM UTC by coasterdude318***

Actually, it's not totally unheard of. In my days as a ride op at DP, you needed another attendant to check restraints on Thunderhawk in order to go up to 2 trains. (total of 5 people). Otherwise, it'd take too long to check the restraints and there would be significant stacking.

As far as why they didn't take someone from SV to spread it out, it could be that no one from SV was trained, and that there wasn't anyone available that was authorized to train. (Just a guess, but I've seen similar situations at DP, and that was the reason)

"Life's What You Make It, So Let's Make It Rock!"

GregLeg said:
MForce Aholic said:
"the villian" or whatever it is called now at geauga lake has a steel frame that looks like it is wooden. kinda cool. i thought it was wood from outside the park. It is a very smooth ride.
Actually, The Villian *IS* considered a wooden coaster.
What makes a coaster "wood" or "steel" is the track. So, mine trains like Gemini, being tubular steel on wooden supports, are steel coasters. Rides like The Villian, Cornball Express, New Mexico Rattler, and Coney Island/Astroland Cyclone are considered wooden coasters even though their supports are steel.

Tigger asked earlier if there were any coasters with steel supports with a shell that look like it is made of wood that is what i was responding too.

Once You Feel the Force You Will never Be The Same

[Personal attack deleted. Do NOT do this again!] *** Edited 1/6/2005 1:17:03 AM UTC by GregLeg***

Richard Bannister said:
UBRhino said:
Hey, I happen to LOVE Son of Beast. As long as you don't sit above the wheels, you'll get a pretty smooth ride.
Baloney. I sat in the front seat last time I rode and I can still remember the pain in my knees from the godawful lapbar design.

You sat in the front seat, directly above the wheels which is what RBRhino was saying NOT to do. If you're in the station and don't wanna have to worry about it(like me) just remember second to front seat or second to last seat and you'll be ok. Of course this might not matter at all where the lap bars are concerned. ;) *** Edited 1/5/2005 10:58:54 PM UTC by macho nachos***

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