Anybody been Kings Island lately?

Miss_Maverick07 said:
SOB was not working yet but from what ensign smith said, I don't think it's worth going down there to ride it now.

Don't not go on the basis of my account. As Kevinj pointed out, pretty much everybody else seems to have enjoyed a smoother ride in the last few days than in previous years. I personally never thought Sonny was that harsh . . . until now.

The consensus about SOB seems to be this:

1) It's still rough. Very rough. However, before it was Insanely rough.

2) The Rosebowl is still the worst part of the ride

3) Some improvements on the first and second hill

4) Still harsh trims before the now loopless area, which slow the ride way down making the latter part rather boring... a la Mean Streak.

So, all in all it sounds like Cedar Fair took a complete disaster and turned it into a not so good ride.

How long does it take for parks to admit failures and just take bad rides down?

Is the SOB rougher than MS? That is the one that I will never ride again.It's gotten rougher and rougher.I want to be thrilled,not abused.

I want to be thrilled,not abused.

Well said, Allan.

I dont like to be lied to, either, which is why I found that banner over Mean Streak that read "voted one of the top 10 woodies..." very insulting.

Please, Cedar Point. That was the most pathetic attempt at increasing ridership I have ever seen at any park. Truly embarassing, and just plain insulting to coaster enthusiasts. Way to rely on the general public being retarded.
*** Edited 7/9/2007 2:32:58 PM UTC by Kevinj***

^^ Its got nothing to do with 'how long', and everything to do with 'how much'. As in, how much is costs to operate versus ridership and so on.

I feel that since no one else is going to I guess I should address two issues. 1. the tearing down of coasters and 2. the roughness of a wooden ride.

1. Why the heck tear down a ride that is obviously still getting a solid ridership in SOB. Kings Island spent alot of money developing and constructing this ride (even though they have had some problems with it). SOB is still attracting people to the park and still getting a long line so why tear it down and kill revenue when its going to cost even more money to tear it down and build somthing in its place.

2. All wooden rollercoasters are going to be rough no matter how new or old. It is part of the ride. I for one actually look forward to the roughness of a woody such as The Beast or SOB. I don't think I'm the only one who feels this way. I don't want to sound mean or anything, but I for one am kind of getting tired of people complaining about it when it is supposed to be part of the ride. If you don't like it then don't ride it. Then you won't have anything to complain about.

Thanks for your time. I welcome any comments or concerns because I am open for feedback and don't want to be shortsighted.

Kevinj said:
I dont like to be lied to, either, which is why I found that banner over Mean Streak that read "voted one of the top 10 woodies..." very insulting.

How is that a lie? Whether you agree or not, it was ranked in the top 10 of a category in an amusement park poll from an industry magazine.

Truly embarassing, and just plain insulting to coaster enthusiasts. Way to rely on the general public being retarded.

Maybe the readers of Theme Park Magazine just don't know what they like? If they enjoy the ride, who is to say you're right and they're not "enthusiastic" enough to get it? For all the talk of ridership, someone's been riding it. It still gives more rides than Blue Streak. Do all 69 rides in the park have to be critically acclaimed and the best of the best to be effective?

Either way, I think "embarrassing" and "insulting to coaster enthusiasts" is a little over the top. Maybe ACE should set up a picket line?

Perhaps it's sort of like the movie that gets panned by critics, but still has some box office success and a segment of fans who enjoy it. Or people who like fine food and shake their heads when people go to Applebee's for dinner.

Disclaimer: I'm making a general argument here. The above statements don't mean that I worship Mean Streak (otherwise known as the Digg-Fark effect) :) .

Walt...all I can add is...well said!(and I hate MS)all a matter of personal taste.

I went to Kings Island last year with my baseball team because we had a tournament in Cincy. It was in the middle of the week so the lines were very short. The only rides that i rode that were not walk-ons were Drop Zone and Italian Job. They were still only like 30 minute waits. I enjoyed almost every ride there, but (I may be one of the few) I hated the backwards Racer. I always heard how great it was, but I just didn't like it. The Drop Zone was my first 300 foot ride so that was a fun and interesting experience.

I thought the Beast was the best woodie I have ridden. At that point SOB was closed :(. My friends and I rode the Pirate ship a million times and we had a blast on that because we got to yell on it. That was one of the few rides where the crew actually talked. We also went on the Vortex a ton of times. That was my favorite ride at the park.

Overall we had a great time.
*** Edited 7/9/2007 6:01:41 PM UTC by First Ride Ever ... Magnum***

tcgolfer said:

2. All wooden rollercoasters are going to be rough no matter how new or old. It is part of the ride.

Apparently you have never ridden Lightening Racer at HP? Or for that matter any of the newer GCI coasters. Or El Toro?

Just because it's wooden does not mean it has to be rough, old or new. If it was designed correctly (GCI) or maintained correctly (HW) a wooden coaster can be smooth and still forceful, and yes, even re-rideable.

Rides like MS or SOB are poorly designed coasters that should be destroyed and used for firewood. They were just designed to break records, but what they ended up doing was break backs. :)

-Tambo (who until he visited a park other than CP thought the same as tcgolfer)

*** Edited 7/9/2007 8:12:18 PM UTC by tambo***

^ - but they are not going to be as smooth as steel, no matter how new, how well maintained or who made them.

Mean Streak is not a great wooden coaster. I like it more for the aesthetics now than for the ride it gives. And I always seem to have that anticipation going over the first hill until I feel the brakes catch. I'm always hoping for that trimless ride.

^^ I love Lightning Racer. In comparison, MS feels like a mild car accident.

I've never ridden Sonny. When I was at KI a couple years back, a group of people we had been chatting with in line for Top Gun convinced us not to ride it because it was so terrible. Even today, I don't know if I'd ride it. A 200+ foot woodie with a not-so-great reputation sounds like pain and suffering to me. I have to wonder, what kind of ridership does it get?

I would say Lightening Racer is as smooth as Raptor or Magnum. And the way most people who've ridden it talk, El Toro is as smooth as any steel coaster out there.

-Tambo

Kevinj said:

So, all in all it sounds like Cedar Fair took a complete disaster and turned it into a not so good ride.

Ha! Great quote.

Also, I agree about the MS banner. While I understand the park's attempt to salvage one of their less popular rides, it did seem quite desperate. I was working at the park last season and Park Op even sent us all a memo with the results of that survey. I just laughed it off until I saw that freakin' banner!

The unfortunate thing is that there are people out there riding this thing and even buying the photo! I always see MS photos and I'm kinda dumbfounded. However, I have a new take on this whole MS thing: basically, MS is boring. It's really boring. It's not fast, has no hills, and just kinda goes in a big circle. However, if I place MS in the "medium-thrill" category with rides like Mine Ride, Disaster, and Iron Dragon it suddenly makes sense why some people like the ride. Not everyone is looking for a face-peeling ride on Dragster or a disorienting lap on Raptor. I guess a lot of people like rides that aren't too "uncomfortable" (I mean in terms of forces and not roughness). The ride doesn't do a lot, but it is big, which probably gives people the sense that they have conquered one of CP's big monsters.

And on the topic of SOB...I just feel kinda bad for KI; the MF of wood was never meant to be.

El Toro and the woodies at Hershey Park are smoother than MANY steel coasters I've been on. El Toro is as smooth or smoother than ANY coaster at Cedar Point - wood and steel. That ride is just pure perfection.

I was at KI for CoasterCon in mid-June, my first trip there. Loved the Beast, loved Top Gun, SOB was still closed (but the new trains were visible on the tracks). Nice park, really clean, friendly staff.

However, if I place MS in the "medium-thrill" category with rides like Mine Ride, Disaster, and Iron Dragon it suddenly makes sense why some people like the ride.

You know, I never thought about it that way. And yes, the banner was just a stupid ploy to get ridership up, and Im glad it didnt work.

I guess the feelings for this ride come from the fact that it is supposed to be a high-thrill, mega-attraction. It was billed as the Magnum of Wooden coasters...trying to hit two home runs in a row. Not to mention I rode it in its first year and loved it.

El Toro is incredible. In fact, for myself, to whom height, speed, and ferociousness are key, El Toro is in a photo finish as far as best coaster on the planet. It does not let up for one second.

Then again, I have yet to be on Voyage...

And I agree about SOB. Unless you had a pre-fab track design like Intamin, wood was not meant to be that tall.