A Bad Move
Is there anyone out there who agrees with me that they really overdid it with the new restraints on the Blue Streak? I mean, come on, the max speed was 45 mph. I can see why they need them on the Mean Streak because it is a much larger ride. Anyway, in case you haven't noticed, the rides per hour on the Blue Streak decreased because of all of this. I remember riding it when there was no seat belt and there was just the old fashion minimum restraint bar (loosely locked, of course). I miss flying out of my seat. You can't do that now with these new restraints unless you don't put them all the way down to your legs. I still believe the Blue Streak ran faster when you had only so many seconds to get in the train. I also use to love watching the ride operators work that manual brake. Hopefully someone can shed some light on this subject. The Blue Streak is still one of my favorite woodies.
Yes, I think we all agree with you on that one, Mark. The Blue Streak was (and still is) a great ride. It is now almost painful with the "seat separator", or whatever you call it, especially being about 6' 2" and 200. Nevertheless, it is still a great starter coaster and a fun ride.
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Thank you for riding Raptor and enjoy your day here at Cedar Point, America's ROCKIN' RollerCoast!
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Thank you for riding Raptor and enjoy your day here at Cedar Point, America's ROCKIN' RollerCoast!
The individual seat belts make sense because it is possible and safe to dispatch the train with the belts unfastened on empty seats. The high seat backs are simply ridiculous, and in my opinion, the use of foam seat backs on both Blue Streak and Mean Streak is potentially dangerous. The lap bar design on Blue Streak *requires* the use of a seat divider, and quite frankly the seat divider is more of a problem than the ratcheting lap bar. The ratcheting lap bar is bad, but would not be as much of a problem if it were installed correctly...as it is, the bar will latch down tight against the seat cushion, which is about 6" lower than the lowest position should be on that bar, and has caused me grief on more than one occasion.
The conversion of the Blue Streak train was, in my opinion, a very bad move. After converting the Blue Streak to fin brakes and computer aided operation in 1994, they should have left well enough alone. In 1996, they should have installed the new lap bars on both trains as they did on the lead car of Train #1 in 1995: bigger, full-padded full-width lap bars for the undivided seat. My personal opinion is that the 1996 changes to the Blue Streak were poorly done, and are at best of dubious safety benefit; at worst have made the ride more dangerous than ever.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Whose first Blue Streak injury happened in 1996. *** This post was edited by RideMan on 1/24/00. ***
The conversion of the Blue Streak train was, in my opinion, a very bad move. After converting the Blue Streak to fin brakes and computer aided operation in 1994, they should have left well enough alone. In 1996, they should have installed the new lap bars on both trains as they did on the lead car of Train #1 in 1995: bigger, full-padded full-width lap bars for the undivided seat. My personal opinion is that the 1996 changes to the Blue Streak were poorly done, and are at best of dubious safety benefit; at worst have made the ride more dangerous than ever.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Whose first Blue Streak injury happened in 1996. *** This post was edited by RideMan on 1/24/00. ***
What was your injury, Rideman? And was it serious. I'm sorry to hear that has happened to you. I agree, they did poor installments to the trains on the blue streak. I guess some of us were fortunate enough to be able to ride the Blue Streak when the trains had the old restraints. I was 7 or 9 when I first rode the Blue Streak. I am 28 years old now. Boy, how time flys. Let's hope Cedar Point doesn't make any more dumb moves, such as removing the Cupola on top of the first hill. That decoration gives historical meaning to the Blue Streak. And removing that would be taboo. I actually think it makes the coaster look really cool. I remember reading the podium near the ride. During it's debute in 1964, it was the tallest coaster in Ohio at that time. Another record Cedar Point carries that most people wouldn't even notice.
Oh, it wasn't anything serious. I got my legs pinned under the lap bar. I was airborne and when we hit the valley, the bar came down, my (then slightly pudgier) gut caught it and rammed it. At the end of the ride it took the full weight of the ride attendant to get the bar to unlatch, and I was bruised for a couple of days. No lasting damage. They really do need to fix the keyways though; there is no reason for the lap bar to ever come down that low.
I also suffered some lower back trauma on Blue Streak...again, nothing serious (I hope) but a direct result of the uncushioned seat. I now know better and keep my back clear of the seat on any wood coaster with those wretched seat backs. In Ohio, that means Blue Streak, Mean Streak, The Beast, and Racer. I don't suffer from back trouble; I sure don't want my roller coaster habit to start causing me trouble!
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
I also suffered some lower back trauma on Blue Streak...again, nothing serious (I hope) but a direct result of the uncushioned seat. I now know better and keep my back clear of the seat on any wood coaster with those wretched seat backs. In Ohio, that means Blue Streak, Mean Streak, The Beast, and Racer. I don't suffer from back trouble; I sure don't want my roller coaster habit to start causing me trouble!
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
I know you all may feel that modifying Blue Streak was a bad move, but I'm sure they had plenty good reason. I can think of one right off the top of my head. When I first rode it, I was a small child riding with my older sister. The lap bar didn't even come close to keeping me in the seat. I was terrified. What seems to be great airtime for you, can be a potentially hazardous nightmare for others. Personally, I think the airtime is still awesome, especially on that second hill that is just WAY to small to follow the first. It's just a really tight and painful lab bar resisting you during the airtime. :)
*** This post was edited by RockDown2G on 1/24/00. ***
Well over the past few years all of the modifications have created a problem. With the additions of the break fins, head rests, seatbelts, and seat dividers the trains are a lot heavier so that means that they are going faster. Earlier this year the ride was clocked at 55mph!
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Daniel J. Haverlock
'99 Magnum Count: 801
Is it May yet?
www.popworld.com/dan
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Daniel J. Haverlock
'99 Magnum Count: 801
Is it May yet?
www.popworld.com/dan
...So now the trains are overweight and overspeed, and there is nothing for the rider to hold on to. Y'know, the least they could do would be to give us the grab bars that are supposed to be there. Furthermore, I have to disagree with "RockDown" about the old setup being hazardous. No, the lap bar won't hold you down in the seat...it isn't supposed to. It does serve as a handlebar, and when you do come floating upward out of the seat, it keeps you from coming *out*. There are a couple of dirty little secrets to airtime, and one of the most interesting is that there is no force pushing you upwards out of the seat...instead, it is the car accelerating downward faster than you. But the variation is controlled, so that while there is a bit of a kick to get you airborne, most of the way down the hill both you and the train are in free-fall, so that even though you aren't firmly planted in the seat, you aren't going to get far enough away from the seat to clear the sides and back of the seat before you catch up to the train, unless you accelerate the process by standing up. Therefore, you won't be thrown out of the train. I also suggest that standing up is not a major problem for young children, as the smallest riders feet do not reach the floor, making it impossible for those riders to actually stand while riding.
I got a good demonstration of this on the Magnum XL-200 once when I was sitting in the front of the second car, and the rider ahead of me had left a AA battery lying on the floor. That thing rolled and bounced all over, and it floated airborne at times, but it never got any higher than about 8" from the floor. It would not be unreasonable to assume that an unsecured rider would also be limited to about 8" of travel on Magnum.
Blue Streak still has lots of airtime. The challenge is to (a) not get stapled by the lap bar, and (b) to manage to shoehorn onesself into the incredibly narrow seat.
--Dave Althoff ???
I got a good demonstration of this on the Magnum XL-200 once when I was sitting in the front of the second car, and the rider ahead of me had left a AA battery lying on the floor. That thing rolled and bounced all over, and it floated airborne at times, but it never got any higher than about 8" from the floor. It would not be unreasonable to assume that an unsecured rider would also be limited to about 8" of travel on Magnum.
Blue Streak still has lots of airtime. The challenge is to (a) not get stapled by the lap bar, and (b) to manage to shoehorn onesself into the incredibly narrow seat.
--Dave Althoff ???
Amen, Rideman.
When I first rode Blue Streak in 1970, I was 7 years old and weighed about 65 pounds. I could ride it all day with no pain. There was much better airtime, and I never came close to falling out.
Now I'm 35, 6'1, 185. I can only ride Blue Streak once a day or it will kill my lower back. When you hit the airtime now, the lap bars seem to catch you prematurely, and slams you back in your rock hard seat.
Also, the way the lap bars are attatched to the inside of the trains, cause my legs to be cocked toward the center of the car. This makes it impossible for me to keep my back straight.
The tighter I am held in the seat, (in all woodies) the more it hurts.
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Puff'n the Winston..Drink'n a 4-O..Toofast, and I'm gona let ya know.
When I first rode Blue Streak in 1970, I was 7 years old and weighed about 65 pounds. I could ride it all day with no pain. There was much better airtime, and I never came close to falling out.
Now I'm 35, 6'1, 185. I can only ride Blue Streak once a day or it will kill my lower back. When you hit the airtime now, the lap bars seem to catch you prematurely, and slams you back in your rock hard seat.
Also, the way the lap bars are attatched to the inside of the trains, cause my legs to be cocked toward the center of the car. This makes it impossible for me to keep my back straight.
The tighter I am held in the seat, (in all woodies) the more it hurts.
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Puff'n the Winston..Drink'n a 4-O..Toofast, and I'm gona let ya know.
While I agree that the old lap bars were not hazardous, I can also agree that the old lap bars could be scary for younger riders. I remember riding Blue Streak as a kid with the lap bars and thinking I was going to fall out. It kept me off of that ride for a long time. However, I loved riding the bigger and faster Gemini with the individual lap bars. Don't get me wrong, I definately prefer the old set up now, but as a kid I would have much rather had the new one.
Having said that, I still agree that the modifications were overall a bad move, but that bad move is probably not even noticed by the general public.
Having said that, I still agree that the modifications were overall a bad move, but that bad move is probably not even noticed by the general public.
Well since you asked ,I'm not that old, I'm only 17. Seat belts were also there when I rode, but being in such a big hurry to dispatch the train, the operator told us to just ride without it when it wouldn't buckle. While there may not seem to be a realistic threat of someone falling out, it is possible and happening once is one time too many for the person who fell out. Keep in mind, the safety restraints have to account for the physics of the ride as well as the possible stupidity of it's riders. There's also a chance of other injuries caused by riders not secure in their seats. Heads can get banged around, etc. While it may seem like sweet airtime for the riding professionals, it's not cool for others. This is probably why you'll never see a utterly intense coaster. A brave few like us might get on, but the general public would be too afraid. And the general public accounts for a large chunk of the income. :)
*** This post was edited by RockDown2G on 1/25/00. ***
For all of us who are members of ACE will remember that the Blue Streak was once a coaster classic, but the day they changed over to new restraints, Blue Streak lost it's acreditation of being called an ACE Coaster Classic. It amazes me how old this ride is and it's still kicking pretty good.. I am a back seat rider by nature. Someday, though, my back won't be able to handle it very well, so I guess I will have to enjoy while I am young. I'm only 28, however, will be 29 on June 17 of this year. Looks like I will have a long time before I can worry about my back.
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Please wait till the ride comes to a complete
stop!
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Please wait till the ride comes to a complete
stop!
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