Mean Streak 2010

Wow pointperson, that was really...dramatic. I guess riding in the back is worse on that first hill, since the back of the train is going a higher speed when it falls of the top rail.

I tried not being too dramatic, but that is really how it felt. :) It felt as if the structure just fell out from under the train. I think my Son of Beast ride was 10 times better than that ride on Mean Streak and that Son of Beast ride happened the day before it got shut down in 09.

I was also there June 30, 2010. Chose not to ride because my 13 year old son was with me and he doesn't enjoy intense rides, the biggest one he rode was Mantis and Sky Hawk. Anyway I didn't want him to ride it because I remember riding it at age 9, I'm 26 now. The ride was rougher than hell then, so I could only imagine how bad it is now. I hear they re-tracked the course, but I'm still not going on it. I've been on it again in 2003. It's hard to guage the level of pain between the huge gap in years because I was a child the first time I rode. Both times it was painful. I really enjoy the ride though before they added the trim brakes, it was fast around the first turn (second hill) right after the drop, and the rest of the ride was fast. It seems a lot slower and longer the second time I rode it in 2003, but still hurts. I think they should keep it fast like originally, but retrack with a steel coaster but keep the wood supports. This coaster is worth saving, if the repairs are made. I would hate to see this one just get left on the back burner and tossed aside in the junk coaster pile to burn in the winter. Used to be a great ride, let's restore it Cedar Point for 2011!!!!

I'm not complaining here, as I am a fan of wooden coasters but it has gotten a little too rough for my taste. I love the layout of it though and always will, I still ride it at least once a year, but if I have a headache or anything, no thanks. I'm 31, I ride sportbikes, snowboard and take all other kinds of abuse to my back, but I think it's just a little too uncomfortable. Mean Streak Henry and I rode TTD together near the end of the season there last year and he said to sit more forward on the seat, not have your butt against the back of it and it really did help. Just a thought for those of you who don't ride it at all anymore.

Just got back from the park tonight, where I endured not only the single most brutal ride I have ever experienced on Mean Streak, but (as far as I can recall), any ride on any coaster EVAR.

Here's how it unfolded: after 'dining' at Chuck Wagon for supper, my daughter and I walked over to Maverick, which had apparently gone down about twenty minutes earlier. Plan B, we went on to MS, which was doing its typical overflow/substitute duty for Maverick. The line was down the stairs and just past the double jog in the queue. As per usual, only gold and red trains were running.

Up in the station, we found an additional 5-6 train wait for front seat (which we now preferentially opt for). Before we could make up our minds, though, several sets of riders in the row for 1-2 called out for two riders to jump ahead. I did the quick math, and figured taking the jump would save us about ten minutes -- so we took it. BIG mistake.

I could tell as soon as we pulled out of the station that it was going to be a harsh ride, given that the little jolt down the short incline to the lift was actually hard enough to hurt. That never happens, or at least didn't before tonight.

My god, was it torture. Trying to sit forward, with my back away from the seat, only resulted in being thrown physically around the passenger space. It was like being under the business end of a jackhammer. Every bottom of every drop was excruciating. This was literally the first time I ever rode a coaster when I was very near the point of praying for it to end. Bad enough that when, mercifully, we finally pulled into the station, when the ride ops called out the standard "How was your ride?" I had to restrain myself from swearing out loud.

Ava (who is a trooper, and got through the experience somehow without crying) and I had to sit down after we got out. My body was so slammed, I seriously considered leaving the park immediately. But, like John Cleese in the Holy Grail, I got better. As we sat and recovered, I began mentally comparing this ride with the previous most brutal rides I had experienced. Nothing compared: not SOB on its worst day, not Villain before the retracking, not Thunder Run, not Ghostrider, not Thunderhawk at Dorney.

It's weird posting this because I'm not the sort to often complain about park experiences. And it's even weirder because Ava and I had a fantastic, only marginally rough ride on gold train, front seat, a few weeks ago. But if I, a seasoned coaster enthusiast, with all I know and have experienced, can be impacted so, how much worse can it be for someone who doesn't know any better? Seriously, this was a ride that could very easily make more than a few people swear off of roller coasters for the rest of their lives.

I'll be hard pressed ever to set foot on that thing again. I hate to say it, especially considering how much I've flipflopped on MS already. But for the love of all that is good and holy, TAER IT DOWN!!!1!!1!!!

I love this thread. Whenever I have an inkling to think about considering possibly flipping a coin to see if I should do rock-paper-scissors to see if I should pick a number between 1 and 10 to see if I should ride MS, I come here and read, and know that my decision to never ride it again was the correct one.

:)

I took a beating in 1-2 on opening day this year, which has been my only ride on MS this year. It was easily as terrible as SOB with its new trains. The only more painful coaster experience I can recall having would be SOB with its original trains.

I had my worst ride ever on MS this year, and it was the first time that I felt the 'jackhammering' that Ensign so perfectly described. Granted, I made the mistake of sitting in the second seat of the car as well, but I'm sure that I sat in similar positions in the past, and I had never experienced that particular painful feeling before.

I'm sure I've said it before, but the saddest thing, even worse than the pain this coaster brings, is that for much of the region, this is what a wooden coaster is, not some beautiful Gravity Group or GCI installation. As much as we would be elated by a new wooden coaster at the park, a lot of the public would greet the news with either a shrug or negativity, based on this perception.

Essentially, if wooden coasters were an advocacy group, Mean Streak would be that one member who keeps setting the cause back 20 years.

I want El Toro. :(

El Toro is pretty awesome except for the restraints on that ride.

It makes me wonder if Tony & Tyler read topics like these for suggestions on what to do with Mean Streak. I know its not their call on what goes into planning, but still does anybody think they read something like this topic?

Tony has an account on this frorum so I'm sure he reads it. I doubt he gives Dick the suggestion to implode Mean Streak just because we say it.

My son and I (he's 24, I'm 56) rode it at the end of May and had one of the best rides in quite a long time. It may have helped that it had been especially wet/rainy for several days prior to our trip (I've heard the wetter the wood, the more forgiving it is), or that it rain with no trims on the first drop. But it was fast with less of the brutal pounding one gets when it runs slower. In fact, we were so pleased with the ride, we went back for two more subsequent rides.

It's quite clear MS has pretty much deteriorated over the years. It's still a favorite of mine when it's running well, but those are few and far between now.

I'm sure maintenance costs are high, ridership is definitely low, and I think there will be only a few of us true die hards who would be sad to see it go. But I suspect it's not cost effective enough to remove.

I know this was last brought up in July, but I didn't want to start a new topic. Does anybody think they'll do something to honor Mean Streak since it will be 20 years old next season? In my opinion, I doubt they would do anything with the ride this off-season, but it would be nice if they did a total re-tracking job on Mean Streak sometime in the future.

Maybe they will rip it down, and build a "son of mean streak".:)

They should give coupons for free visits to a chiropractor

Shawn Meyer said:
I know this was last brought up in July, but I didn't want to start a new topic. Does anybody think they'll do something to honor Mean Streak since it will be 20 years old next season? In my opinion, I doubt they would do anything with the ride this off-season, but it would be nice if they did a total re-tracking job on Mean Streak sometime in the future.

Texas Giant is getting an overhaul for it's 20 years. I would love to see a revamp of the ride. I already love the ride, but everyone complains about the pain they get on the ride. It would be a great idea.

I would love to see a revamp of Mean Streak too, but I don't know if I like the idea of them doing the same treatment that the Texas Giant is getting. I'd rather see Gravity Group come in and do some work on it so it would still show it's natural wooden structure look.

I agree, I was just pointing out that a former Dinn coaster was getting a complete overhaul. I don't agree with the steel work being put into it, but it isn't open for riders, so I cant judge. Gravity Group could do a great job re-designing the roller coaster. We saw what $6.5 million did on Voyage, I am sure they could do something with Mean Streak. Maybe all it would need are some Timberliners, but if they do want to keep the roller coaster around for another 20 years, maybe they could look into replacing some of the wooden supports with steel supports (like on Voyage and Hades). I am amazed ion how the steel on Voyage looks in a way like wooden supports on other wooden roller coasters.

I forced myself on Mean Streak a couple of weeks ago, again. We rode in the 3rd row of the red train, and I have to say it wasn't bad. I went back with a couple friends this past Friday and I rode in the 3rd row of the gold train and it gave another solid ride. The friend who rode in the 3rd row with me kept his hands up the whole time and had a great ride, but my other two friends in the 2nd row complained all day about what a terrible ride it was.

I'm going to stick with the 3rd row. I know I've ridden in the 2nd row of the gold train and felt like I was going to die.