Mean Streak 2010

Sounds like they'll have to do even more re-tracking if they want more people to ride Mean Streak. I was going to ride it my first visit but had pulled a muscle in my back a couple days prior and didn't feel like making it worse.

I think what makes this discussion interesting is that some years on opening day Mean Streak delivers decent quality rides. I wonder if they didn't do quite as much off season maintenance this year. Maybe they didn't grease the rails again or something.

Break Trims said:
That's what they all say. Mean Streak is the ultimate abusive spouse: no matter how much it beats us up, we'll always give it one more chance.

Hey, maybe it's changed. And besides, the line to ride it seems short...

Both sad and funny but its true lol.

Actually, I took a front seat ride on Sunday and while it wasn't great, it wasn't horrible either, and in fact it handled the new track remarkably well. It's annoying that it is too slow around most of the curves, which causes it to ping-pong back and forth instead of staying stuck to the outside rail, but it didn't seem to be bouncing for most of the ride.

It really needs to go faster, though. Watching the way newer rides run, it's clear to me that the PTC trains really need to run at high speed through curves in order to compensate for their lack of turning ability.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I'm going to agree with RideMan...exactly my experience.

I rode in the front seat this past Wednesday, and I thought it was MUCH improved over my ride in 2009 (I actually enjoyed it!). In 2009, the train I was riding in jackhammered (up and down) so badly that it gave me a headache.

This year, none of that. I don't get what all the whining is about...I thought Mean Streak was much smoother this year, though there was a (side to side) ping pong effect that RideMan explained.

This is obviously dependant on the person though. My friends were sitting behind me in the front car, and they said it was the roughest ride they'd ever been on and about broke their backs.

Don't let this discourage you though. They were whining that Maverick was the roughest ride ever and about broke their necks, which made me mad.

What's my verdict? Ride in the very front seat, toughen up, and stop whining about this ride! Also, learn to brace yourself correctly! If you ride Mean Streak or Maverick like a wet noodle, you will get a rough ride. However, if you use your muscles and THINK about what gravity will do to your body, based on the track elements, you will get much better rides!

Actually my preferred trick for riding Mean Streak is to sit forward in the seat so that my back *does not* touch the seat back. I usually hang on to the grab rail as a substitute for resting against the seat back.

A little bit of padding would go a very long way on that ride.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I do the same...perhaps that's why we're both not whining about how unbelievably rough this ride is. I think the people swearing it's the roughest ride ever and needs to be torn down are the ones holding their hands up and letting their bodies flop around like wet noodles,

Mean Streak is a ride that you need to brace for.

Actually, allowing your body to "flop" should help absorb and disperse some of that violent energy. Which is sometimes preferable to having those vibrations rattle your brain inside your rigid, tense body.

I've been on Mean Streak enough to know that the ride I got on opening weekend was beyond the "normal" amount of roughness for the ride. That being said, the fact that the general consensus here is that the ride got smoother indicates to me that what I experienced was likely limited to the car I was in.

Count me in as one who leans forward on (many) wood coasters. Especially if it's one I haven't ridden before and don't know what to expect.

Ffej said:
. I think the people swearing it's the roughest ride ever and needs to be torn down are the ones holding their hands up and letting their bodies flop around like wet noodles,

Mean Streak is a ride that you need to brace for.

:) I'm one that rides with my hands up...and I love Mean Streak. Agree with you 110%...it is one ride you have to know how to ride...and brace for. And you can't rest your back against the seat...you do have to sit forward a little bit.

Anybody know if Jackie and Alison(? not sure if that's her name- long lt. brown hair) are working Mean Streak this season?

Mean Streak is a fun, bumpy ride. I think I love the ride so much because of the bumpiness. Everyone who complains needs to stop being such a baby because the ride is bumpy but still amazing.

Mean Streak will always be one of my favorites. I can't wait to ride it.

Mean Streak is a great ride to look at and I am sure the skyline would never be the same without it! It's a rough ride but I do still enjoy it.

Mean Streak may be on the rough side, but I found it child's play compared to the wooden coasters at Geauga Lake (RIP) and King's Island. Give me Mean Streak any day of the week.

I find the Beast at KI better than MS in terms of roughness. The Beast is much smoother...

Beast is sooooo much smoother than Mean Streak. Also its a trillion times more fun. :)

I didn't even think you could compare the two...

Ffej said:
This is obviously dependant on the person though. My friends were sitting behind me in the front car, and they said it was the roughest ride they'd ever been on and about broke their backs.

I've noticed the back seat of any car on Mean Streak feels much rougher because your butt is directly over the road wheels. You feel every bump as opposed to the front seat of a car where your feet are over the road wheels and your butt is actually somewhat centered between the front and rear road wheels. Much smoother.

That tends to be the case with most wood coasters. Even when I want a back of train ride, I will take the second last row. On 3 bench PTC's the middle row of a car tends to be the smoothest. The only 4 bench I ever rode was Coney Island's Cyclone. I don't understand why some people rave about that ride so much. Even in a middle seat, I found it to be nearly intolerable. When I rode in the back seat of the back car, I though my spine was going to collapse. The jack-hammering at the bottom of the hills was insane. Though I'd still rather ride that than the now defunct Hurricane at Myrtle Beach Pavilion. It blows my mind that Hurricane was only a 6 year old ride.