Mean Streak 2011

I've actually heard some people "speak their mind" to the ride ops after the ride when you ask, "Welcome back riders, how was your ride?' This one dude was swearing up a storm back into the station. Now, I know MS isn't the best ride in the park, but I don't think it is the worst either.

I noticed the same thing as I rode Mean Streak on Sunday, that people were cheering after the ride operator was asking riders how they're ride was? Before I took my first ride of 2011, I heard the cheers as well, which made me think I was going crazy. However when I rode Mean Streak, I was cheering too!

I am very interested to ride Mean Streak this summer...

Thanks for the post Kevinj. :) Although I admit I am still a bit afraid, I will definitely have to give MS another try.

Did they secretly install a giant magnet which keeps the train attached to the outer rail on the first two turns?

Kevinj said:
Alas, Ensign, I will be temporarily suspending my ban on Mean Streak and giving it a whirl tomorrow afternoon after three seasons of sobriety.

We'll see.

There's your problem. Have a couple of 20 ouncers before you ride Mean Streak and it is a much more enjoyable experience.

"Your blood alcohol level must be above this line in order to ride Mean Streak."

I wouldn't want to get pulled over for RMSWI...

I'm a bit too tired to go into too much detail, as we just returned from our 2-day adventure at the Point. Nonetheless, I grabbed a ride in the middle of the gold train today, and it was very similar to the front as far as overall ride-experience. It is definitely "better", but I still find the ride to be unfortunately boring throughout the second half.

Of course, it is possible I lucked out, and snagged two pretty decent rides, as I have certainly had enjoyable rides (although rare) in the past. That said, it is now back on a list of rides I will try to snag whenever we are there.

To sum it all up, I was pleasantly surprised. I really, though, don't understand where people's claims of "trimless" rides are coming from. I am by no means saying MS is now a top woodie (far from it). The trim on the drop still takes away what would otherwise be a wonderful pace, and the midcourse brake does the same for the 2nd half of the ride.

Not great, but better.

Good to know. Thanks, Kevinj. I should be there to try it for myself with my daughter Tuesday next week. She doesn't know it, but I'm taking her out of school for the day... :)

Good dad. :) I hope you have as good of an experience as I did on it.

I'll let you know... :)

I've never been one to think of Mean Streak as "boring", just a nice long woodie ;)

Kevinj pretty much nailed it. I rode it yesterday, albeit only in my usual front seat, but we were pleasantly surprised, to the point that we won't avoid it anymore. If the trims on the drop didn't kill the speed, it might even be... dare I say it... an exciting ride. But because of that, it's still rather boring. The midcourse brakes pretty much slowed us to a crawl.

That all being said, the guys in row 2 behind us talked of pain and couldn't wait for it to be over, so I'm still kind of afraid to try anywhere but the front. :)

Which is exactly why I wanted to ride it somewhere other than the front. I was in the back of the 4th car, and other than the view, it felt the same as the front. Like I said above, nothing glorious, but certainly not terrible. I just hope it was not the luck of the draw.

That said, all the work they did in this offseason probably should put to bed any ideas, hope, or speculation about MS going anywhere anytime soon, or getting the "Texas Giant" treatment anytime soon. With all they invested in it this year, I would say it is what it is for the forseeable future, and we can move on to other rumors.

Coasterkyle, anyone from Mean Streak crew, or anyone that knows, what exactly is the correct formula to get a trim-free first hill?

My train was nearly empty and it was early in the morning, so I'm going to assume that it's one of these two, or a combination of both factors.

But, is there some kind of automation where Mean Streak takes the weight and speed of the train with sensors, or is an operator switching trim brakes on and off manually if he/she feels the need?

It's a simple 3 step process.

Step 1 - Build a time machine

Step 2 - Go back in time to the summer of 1991

Step 3 - Ride Mean Streak

There's nothing that we can do to open or close the trim brakes. There's a key that can do the trick, however, we do not have those keys. Maintenance or management would have the power to change it.

That doesn't mean there aren't tricks ;)

I jokingly asked the crew about getting a trimless ride after my front row ride on Wednesday (I was the only person on the train...poor MS), and the operator simply said that was impossible, but they clearly understood why someone would ask about that.

The crew was very positive, and one of the better ones I experienced so far.

The story goes that when the trim was first added, the crew could control whether it was on or off. Then maintenance found out they were turning it off when they shouldn't have been. After that, it was made to be controlled by maintenance only.