Mean Streak?

The Ghost Rider refresh looks wonderful. Millennium Flyer trains are wonderful. The Kings Dominion Hurler is a perfect candidate for a GCI overhaul. MS is just too big not to go RMC. The future is riding on it.

I was able to ride the Voyage over 25 times in one day, last fall. I even rode it at least 8 times in a row, near the back, without having to get off. I never even got the slightest headache. I only ended up being sore from flying into the lap bars.
I went to Kings Island the next day. After taking 2 tedious minutes to get from the station to the crest of the lift hill of the Beast, the lame, overbraked, bouncy as hell straight aways gave me a headache that ended up ruining the rest of my day at Kings Island. IMHO, The Beast could use a major overhaul to something far superior than it is now. Never riding that or Mean Streak again. They are not worth it.

Augustmueller said:

MS is just too big not to go RMC. The future is riding on it.

The future is NOT riding on a 25 year old coaster

^ Plus Millennium Force has that slogan.

Zoug68 said:
The Beast could use a major overhaul to something far superior than it is now. Never riding that or Mean Streak again. They are not worth it.

I know not everyone shares the same opinions but I can honestly say I never thought I'd read something like this on an enthusiast site. :)

Augustmueller said:

The Kings Dominion Hurler is a perfect candidate for a GCI overhaul.

Yes! That ride was worse than Mean Streak in my opinion. GCI needs to come in and re-do that ride and Grizzly in some spots. Also Adam, I agree.

I would rather have an RMC for Mean Streak than a GCI refurb. I think MS is a better candidate for an RMC. I would rather GCI just build something entirely new from the ground up. And DO NOT touch The Beast, I would riot if they did anything to that.

I'm with you on that Thabto. The Beast is a landmark and should never be touched.

The only thing I would like to see the beast touched on is removing some trims and maybe reprofiling that last, brutal turn before the second lift hill.

Thabto said:

I think MS is a better candidate for an RMC.

The size alone is reason to look at RMC, as the steel box/topper track is a bit more durable than traditional wood.

Zoug68 said:
The Beast could use a major overhaul to something far superior than it is now. Never riding that or Mean Streak again. They are not worth it.

imo, the beast is nowhere near as boring and rough as mean streak.

The Beast suffers mostly from 3rd row PTC trains.

if MS gets RMC'd, the future WILL be riding on it. And yes, I'm fully aware of MF's slogan... hence the use.

GigaG said:
*GCI. CCI doesn't exist anymore.

This is technically true, but the four primary engineers from CCI formed The Gravity Group after CCI (which was owned and run by Denise Dinn-Larrick, daughter of the guy whose company built Mean Streak) went bankrupt. The real brains, in that sense, went on and have been thriving ever since. That said, they're pretty busy these days, especially in Asia, and I suspect they don't have the manpower to take on every project out there.

(See also: Interview I did with Dinn-Larrick in 2000.)

Thabto said:
I would rather have an RMC for Mean Streak than a GCI refurb. I think MS is a better candidate for an RMC. I would rather GCI just build something entirely new from the ground up. And DO NOT touch The Beast, I would riot if they did anything to that.

Amen on the Beast!

The Beast may be an historic, iconic ride, but it really isn't a good coaster, certainly not by modern standards. At least Blue Streak has some air time. The Beast is just a rickety journey through the woods. Don't get me wrong - I love The Beast. But that's almost entirely nostalgia talking. The ride kind of sucks.

Not to mention, it's length is increased by many flat curved or straight sections.

If it was drop, airtime hill, curve w/ Tunnel, then Helix, it might be perfect. Once you go over the airtime hill, I'm practically done.

How did this go from a Mean Streak debate into a hate The Beast rally? Don't touch The Beast, do as you will with MS. That is all ;-)

At least here you can say things about the Beast in a way.

Go to KIC, say one thing against the Beast and you'll get a ton of people that will say you're wrong in every way...

Meanwhile for me, I wouldn't want to see it modified for nostalgic purposes & it's value for what it brought to the park. However, I wouldn't be opposed to making it better than it's mediocrity. Part of the issue too I think is I work 10 minutes from the park, soon to be 5 when we relocate to our new office, and I live 20 minutes away from the park too. So Beast rides are quite attainable in a season. Rides on Blue Streak are not.

I wish they would replace the Beast trains with something more comfortable. Being wedged into those seats with the seat dividers is the worst thing about the ride.

I'm still waiting on the replacements trains that are good enough that parks are willing to replace the old PTC rolling stock with something modern.