Mean Streak & Hercules

I always thought that Mean Streak was better then Hercules. Mean Streak is a better design then Hercules.

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DemonDroppin' said:
Mean Streak is a unique coaster at CP and it has a tremendous amount of fans.

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It's funny that you call it unique because the layout is similiar to the Texas Giant which opened in 1990. As far as the fans, it didn't even make the top 50 woodies on AT's Golden Ticket list. Blue Streak was #42.

delphi94: I'm guessing you didn't understand what I said:
MS is a unique coaster at Cedar Point being that it is only 1 of 2 wooden coasters at the park. A ride can still have a lot of fans but not make the "Golden Ticket" list. Popularity is different than being "the best of the best." *** Edited 9/2/2004 4:55:07 PM UTC by DemonDroppin'***

MS is a great ride once you learn how to ride it comfortably. I always sit slightly forward, never lean against the seat, and brace myself with the bar out in front.

Certain roller coasters are rougher than others, but you can make it comfortable. Raptor and even now the magnum are like that for me. I am short enough that my head bangs on the harnesses for raptor, but that was also "fixable." Magnum even bangs me around if I put my hands up at certain points.

But once I figured out the best way to ride MS, it is a great ride. Looking at the wood structure throughout the ride, especially at night, is very cool.

Wow, if you think Mean Streak is rough, try Son of Beast at PKI. MS is smooth as glass compared to SOB. Personally, I like Mean Streak. I like SOB at PKI as well.

I guess nobody at PKI had ever ridden Mean Streak or Hercules before they decided to build a bigger wooden coaster.

I would hate to see Mean Streak go, but I would like to think there is something that can be done to improve the ride at least a little. What about the trains? Why not try the Millennium Flyer trains (the train of single-row cars featured on Hersheypark's Lightning Racers), or another type of wheel, or make it heavier? Have they ever even tried that?

I guess there comes a point where it becomes a waste of money to try to make it work right, or even just better (ala Hercules), but I'm hoping they don't give up on the Mean Streak just yet.

Great Coasters only builds Millennium Flyers for their own coasters.

On a side note, I sincerely hope that some of you have the chance to ride some wooden coasters outside of Ohio. It might alter your perception of Mean Streak. Then again, perhaps it won't.

I think Mean Streak is a good coaster. They just need to do something with the structure so they can remove that 1st hill trim! I was there yesterday and while it didn't catch it hard, it still made it a "calm" ride. I was fortunate in Mid May to get 2 trimless 1st hill rides. Way more intense ride without them!

<p>I like CoasterGuy would hate to c it go.

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TCKR said:
Great Coasters only builds Millennium Flyers for their own coasters.

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Please... if someone throws money at them I have a hard time believing they'd turn it down.

Okay, so it was a bit of a blanket statement. I should know better.

My source, which has not failed me in the last eight years, has told me that GCI is quite firm in the decision to keep Millennium Flyers exclusive to their rides. Of course, substantial sums of money tend to sway decisions no matter how firm those decisions may be. :)

The last time I rode Hercules was last year. It was another no wait type of ride. The park was hopping but there was nobody on it. The water park does an incredible amount of business during the hot summer months there.

Personally, I liked Hercules and I like Mean Streak also. But the rumor around Hercules was that it was sinking just like every ride! But where the ride was built, you could believe it. It was all down hill.

Dorney Park is all down hill! And the best rides there are walk ons most of the time with little or no wait. Even Steel Force was about a 5 minute wait the last time I went. And like I said, the parking lot was full and there were about 2million busses there!

This is all hypopthetical, of course, but if Millennium Flyer trains were to be added to Mean Streak and it somehow "cured" the ride, it would look really good for GCI. Of course, on the other hand, if it didn't make a difference at all, then it would give them no benefit. Risk - reward oppertunity here.

Mean Streak is a sweet ride and i highily doubt that CP will tear it down anytime soon. it was built in 91, its only 13 years old, im sure they would make some adjustments to the ride before ever thinking of tearing it down. As far as ques go...about 3 weeks ago i wnet and it was the bussiest day there, had to be! waited 45 minutes for Mean Streak- no lie, and MF had almost 3 hr. wait, it was packed that day, so people do ride it, it doesnt atract as much because of its location. why would you even hope for it to come down, when they can rather tear down stuff that is really not cool...like the cadilac cars (there are 2 of them) they have alot of room!

TAKE DOWN DISASTER TRANSPORT~~~!!!! *** Edited 9/4/2004 9:22:46 PM UTC by airtime25***

Last year in mid-august on a Saturday, I was at CP and Mean Streak had a 45 minute line. It does have long queues occasionally but it is a coaster I am glad I can rely on for short lines since Gemini was ruined.

I can say that I rode MS before SOB. I still do not think MS is a very rough ride. My first woodie would be at Camden Park in my hometown. The racers at PKI would be next. I've just always been under the impression that wooden coasters are supposed to be a little rough. And, until I started reading around some fan sites, I had no idea how many factors there are when it comes to determining whether or not you will have a rougher or smoother ride i.e. weather, track condition, wheel condition, etc. Now that I know, I try to factor those things in when deciding just how rough something is or was. Case in point. I have been to PKI twice this year. I rode Flight of Fear and Vortex both times. The first time I went, FOF and Vortex seemed rougher than usual. The last time, FOF was better and Vortex seemed smooth as glass. Maybe the rain contributed to Vortex, maybe it was new wheels. Maybe newer wheels contributed to the difference of experiences for FOF too. Don't know, don't really care either. I just know that it probably won't be the same every single time.

Has anyone ridden Ghost Rider at Knotts before? That is one rough woodie that really throws you around.

Mean Streak is my favorite ride. It is unique, so don't tear it down ever! So what if you get a few bruises the next day. They will remind you of all the fun you had at CP.

I personally think the only people who actually WAIT for MS are people who have never ridden it before. I know I won't touch it unless it's a walk on, and the ONLY place I will sit is the front or 2nd row. Period. The MS "issue" comes up here every single year.

Ginger: as for the MS bruises, it is more like a spinal realignment and spleen damage for me, no bruises ;)

As for Hercules, kudos to DP for tearing that crap down. Even in the front car that coaster could kill you. There was rarely a line for it, and the reaction after the ride was the same as MS-total silence.

Dorney is not in the coaster record game. They don't have any records to worry about, one less coaster (even for 1 season) isn't going to lose their spot on anything. Although I've never been there on a weekend, rarely are there long lines for anything. I think people see the parking lot and assume all those people are riding. In fact, it looks to me like their water park is more popular than the actual rides. No one has touched on Thunderhawk here which I think is surprising since it isn't exactly an awesome woody either. TONS of kick butt airtime though, but NO Raven or Legend :)

When I saw Hydra's land sight and supports at CoasterMadness, I envied DP and have always said I wish CP had the "guts" to do the same. I know I for one can NOT wait to ride Hydra. But truth has been said here time and time again that MS isn't going anywhere. Besides daily maintenance I don't see CP doing anything else to improve that ride. They see those lines on the weekend and think MS still has it's "fans." That could explain why CP hasn't even considered building a woody since MS.

The best thing about MS is the way it looks, especially at night.

Jo
'00 '02 '03 Raptor Crew
Lifetime Raptor flights: 985 :)

The space in the middle of MS, where all the queue is located, seems like it would be a really cool spot for a Frisbee (giant or not) or top spin or some sort of new/hip flat ride.

It wouldn't take up a whole lot of space, it could be integrated with the western "theme", and it would draw people back to that area again.

If it were a giant frisbee, you could see it swinging and just topping out over the structure of MS. The center of the frisbee could be painted to look like a sheriff's badge and it would fit right in.

Just my .02 - not that I claim to be an expert on this subject, but a little bit of brainstorming says that it could potentially work.

-Josh

CP will never tear down Mean Streak, mainly because it's their only true wooden roller coaster. Gemini, CCMR have wooden supports, but their tracks are all metal.

*** Edited 9/16/2004 7:58:47 PM UTC by Huggy Bear***