Mean Streak 2011

Just rode 2nd last row. B+ Green train is in transfer. Maintenance needs to grease it and it might run tomorrow. It had test runs today.

Wow, I never thought we'd see green back on the track or 3-train operation return. It's so nice to see this coaster come back to life this year.

I wonder why they couldn't ease up on the midcourse brakes so that the 2nd half could run faster. If maintenance is the reason, why couldn't they reprofile the problem areas until it works?

I had two rides yesterday on Mean Streak and the the ride still continues to impress me. Both rides were in the 2nd car and felt little jackhammering going on but other than that, much smoother than in past years. Cedar Point, great job on making Mean Streak a better roller coaster!!

They definitely deserve kudos for the work they put into both woodies.

I agree. And I also wish the second-half brakes were eased up about 50%...it would change the ride entirely.

So, after multiple rides throughout the weekend, I feel the Gold train is running better then Red. Green wasn't on as of yesterday. I didn't make it to the back of the park this morning. I still recommend avoiding wheel seats. However a wheel seat this year is probably comparable to a non-wheel seat last year. The worst jackhammering that remains is in the second valley. The second worst is the 3rd valley. The turns are almost completely shimmy free.

I had rides in:

Gold train - 1st, 3rd, 4th, 2nd last and 3rd last.

Red train - 1st, 3rd, wheel seat in middle somewhere, non-wheel toward the back somewhere.

At one point I had 2 consecutive rides on red and 4 consecutive on gold. I regretted the red only because they were wheel seats. However, I mostly enjoyed the gold consecutive rides. The biggest difference in my mind is that you don't have to fight the ride nearly as much. I can just sit back. Yes, with my back on the seat and just ride it.

For reference, I used to ride once a year in front seat only, keeping my back off the seat. Riding it that way was tolerable but not particularly fun. I actually find it worth at least 1 ride per visit now.

This is a great investment for the park. For probably a fraction of what they would've paid for another attraction, they're essentially getting a new coaster.

Who needs the New Texas Giant treatment? :)

Haha wow, I think Jason is our most experienced tester of the improvements this year. Can you imagine 9 rides that close together on MS in previous seasons?

I hope MS sees measurable increases in ridership and reduced complaints this season, to warrant additional investment and improvements to the ride in future seasons.

Also, I rode MS ever since opening year, but I don't remember if the 2nd half was always so weak? Did the midcourse trims always kill this ride's conclusion? All I remember is that I absolutely loved my very first ride on it, and it was in the front seat.

Tried again on Saturday. Tried twice actually and after the first hill and turn, its still a terrible ride.

Granted I had been at Holiday World riding Voyage and Kings Island riding the Beast and Racer, so my benchmark may have been a little high.

Ive only seen 2 of the 6 trips the the park!

?

I think he's trying to say that he's only seen 2 train operation on MS in his 6 visits to the park this season. We'll have to get a translator to confirm. Anyone here speak pre-teen? ;)

I speak jive.

Best. Cameo. Ever. :)

Good thing you do now that Mrs. Cleaver is dead.

My recollection of riding Mean Streak in the first year it opened was that the second half was pretty bad. Nothing really to enjoy about it at all. I have never had pain/discomfort issues on the ride but its just nothing of what a good wood coaster should be. It is a good looking ride though. Rode it 3 times on Saturday night. Can't remember exactly what seat. Maybe back row of second car. I didn't see much of a difference. My son and nephew thought it was better.

I went to the park yesterday, and tried Mean Streak twice. It was my first time riding it this year and i really wanted to know if the track work actually made a difference. So my friend and i decided to try front row first. We got the red train. This ride was noticably smoother, faster and overall much better. If it weren't for the trims on the first drop, i think i made have gotten some air time. The first turn after the drop was very smooth. The only part that i found to be bumpy, was the second hill right after the first large turn. Other than that very smooth ride. We finished our ride and wanted to ride it again. This time we wanted to try back row. We got the green train. Our ride of terror had begun. The train jack hammered around just about for the whole ride. It was very painful. After we got off, we both agreed that we would be sticking to the first car. Though the second ride was very bumpy, i was still encouraged to hear cheers after the ride about as loud as Dragster. The first ride was great, second ride was painful. I will definitely go on Mean Streak again this year. But only front car.

Tried it again the other day in the front row. First drop was smooth, after that it was, yet again, painful. That was the last ride of the year for me.

I am just curious, with all the money they spend re-tracking and maintaining this ride every year, wouldn't it be beneficial for them to start thinks about either replacing this ride or just completely re-doing it. I'm not saying Texas Giant makeover will make everything all right again, but how much do they really spend maintaing this thing year in year out.

I mean some people say the ride was improved earlier in the year, but is now almost as bad as it was last year. Wait untill more of the summer is gone and it is just as bad as last year. I won't be able to compare from the begining of the year to the end of the year (only able to get down to the poin on Halloweekends this year), but I'm begining to wonder why they keep wasting money on this.

Rode it today in the front and it did seem much better than in previous years.

I rode it on 6/23 in the front of the last car, feeling daring. Once again, in comparison to previous years, it felt much improved back there...I never felt any kind of pain, and it was overall pretty smooth and enjoyable.

The VERY odd thing was that EVERY train had roaring loud cheers....louder than Millenium or any of the rides all day...it was so bizarre. I'm used to dead silence, "OWWW," or complaints. Riders must be noticing a difference this year and are trying to make a point of it. This long-time depressed coaster seemed to be smiling this year.