Mean Streak 2011

But how could the general public possibly tell a difference in a ride's performance from one year to the next? I thought they were supposed to be idiots...

[ /sarcasm]

Well, most of them are. :)

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but as of lately they trims on Mean Streak are no longer being used. I rode on July 4th on a whim and they were not on, which I thought was just a fluke. Rode again today and they were once again not on and it was hot outside with full trains making it very fast. It was flying through the first half and I think it actually felt more comfortable riding due to the higher speeds. There were actually some good laterals and even a pop of air... I had to ride a couple times. Hopefully this change stays!

^ So How was the overall ride experience? Was it still smooth like it was when it first opened this season or is it starting to seem bumpy like everyone is talking about?

First one was in the front row, which is consistently known to be a smoother ride as it is. Second one was in 7-1, which was just wild. I did not think it was too bumpy, but I also did not ride in the second row of a car and I still held on and leaned forward a bit. The first turn that was reworked is still very smooth, but I think the roughest part of the ride is still between the first two turns at the bottom of the valley.

Regardless, I did not walk off with a headache, but I can see how most people would still complain (and I heard a few comments about roughness from the trains). It was definitely neat riding near the back and getting pulled over the drop without brakes grabbing on. While the first two turns are a lot better, I think one of the better parts yet was after the camera where it goes into that high curve and dip around the lift hill. The wheels were definitely squealing extra loud around all of the turns as the trains zipped through... some grease might help next!

It's still far from being a good wooden coaster by any means, but definitely an improvement in my opinion. I rode it once a season the past couple years and have done it several times now this season to experience the changes.

I have ridden front row and 7-1 on all three trains...Gold has my best ride or at least I think. But I can for sure say that the off season maintenance is barely noticeable now, and the refurb on the trains has decreased big time

If the trims are indeed off or not functioning, I'm going to have to ride when I visit tomorrow evening. I'm really hoping they don't change anything before then. :)

Without trims, Mean Streak is definitely at least "good".

I'll believe it when I see it, though.

I went on June 18th, (before I knew anything had been done) and noticed a significant improvement. You no longer get thrown from side to side in a violent manner. It was much smoother, and it was a tad faster.

But its still no where close to what it was with the trims off. They really need to take those off, its a great ride then.

When you refer to a set of trims being off, which set are you talking about?

If they would lose the set on the first drop, the whole ride would be better. If they lose the mid-course, I'm not sure you'd notice a whole lot of improvement, but the ending of the ride would be faster and more violent. One of the things the mid course brake does is to stop or at least dampen the harmonic vibration in the train that builds up in the first half of the ride.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I think he is referring to the trims on the first hill Rideman. At least when I have rode this season, the trims were sometimes off on the first drop but the train almost came to a complete stop on the MCBR everytime.

I rode MS twice this past sunday. The first time I rode in the back seat and had a pretty pleasant ride. The second time I rode in the second seat and the hill after the large overbank was excruciating on the neck and spine. The rest was ok but that one section was really unpleasant.

I rode it on the 4th of July. I was sitting in the middle and it hurt very very very bad mostly in the abdomen area. It was like everything inside me was going to break.

I didn't make it back there tonight (the park was absolutely slammed for being a Wednesday) so unfortunately I have nothing to report.

Isn't Wednesday normally recognized as Cedar Point's second-busiest day of the week? Or am I thinking of Monday?

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Plus they have the Sunday and Wednesday discount tickets.

I've always thought of Wednesday as one of the slower days, along with Sunday. I figured the Wednesday/Sunday discounts they were offering on the website sort of verified my assumption. Maybe the promotion is just working really well. :)

So can anyone confirm/deny 375's claim that the trims are off?

I don't believe it, but I would like to know. :)

I rode yesterday and the first drop trims were on as usual. A pretty bad rough spot is developing in the valley between the second and third hills, but the other parts of the ride seemed fairly smooth.

Here's a video that I stumbled across of the ride (almost) trimless. It was apparently filmed from the MCBR. Looks like it was taken during early morning testing. I actually blinked a few times when I realized that it wasn't crawling over the turns. It actually looks like a decent ride!