Quick Gemini Question

Hi there... my son got the courage to move up to the Gemini this year from the Iron Dragon. He absolutely loved it at first! However, after a few rides he ended up having a pretty rough ride and now is afraid to ride it again. Can anyone recommend a good area to sit so that we can try it once more before the season ends? Perhaps the amount of people riding it matters, or particular seat (or side, red or blue)?

Thanks so much!!!

Gemini is one of my favorites,but my other favorites are TTD,MF,Mav,Mn Strk,& Mn Rd. The tighter the seat belt,the smoother the ride. A loose belt lets you 'flop' around.

I've noticed the red train has seemed smoother to me than the blue lately.

Every car has 3 rows in it. Sit in one of the front two rows. It will be smoother than in the last row.

That, and it is also smoother if you sit closer to the front of the train. Probably the smoothest ride is in rows one or two of the front two cars.

I don't like Gemini for that reason. It just seems too rough anymore.

Great tips thank you! Red, front 2 cars and front seat of those :) Oh and a tight lap belt. We really got jarred around and our heads were hurting after the first hill so I felt bad because the rest of the ride he wanted to cry but I talked him through it. We'll give it another go hopefully soon.

Gemini is one of my very favorite rides in the park but I will NEVER ride in the last seat ever again. Earlier this season we decided to try sitting in the back and while I knew it would be a rough ride, I wasn't expecting to have the wind knocked out of me.

As soon as we went down the first hill (I always put my hands up) my back slammed against the seat and I made the ugliest sounds trying to get some air! It was very painful and I will forever take the front seat on Gemini.

Gemini has aged like a typical Arrow. I don't really think the ride in general is rough, although the helix at the end before the station is pretty bad. You definitely need to brace yourself.

My one friend was using an accelerometer app yesterday. The app clocked over 3 G's in the final helix. The trims seemed to be off yesterday.

I don't think they age poorly, I just think they've always been that way and people don't realize it because of the smoothness of modern coasters.

Yeah. I've ridden Gemini almost every year since 1978 (sometimes we don't get around to riding it on our annual visits). It's pretty much the same ride now as it was then.

Manufacturing standards and technologies have indeed changed considerably since Gemini was built. Don't underestimate the effects that computerized models, renderings, and analyses have had on the industry.

For instance, precise g-forces can now be computed throughout the entire course with fine granularity; imagine trying to compute those by hand along thousands of feet of track.

All the calculations for The Beast had to be calculated by hand. Being mathematically-challenged, I've long been in awe of the skills involved in designing coasters with a slide rule instead of a computer.

Engineers really earned their money back then. My dad was a civil engineer and sometimes brought work home, saw him with the slide rule and also solving equations by hand. I'm actually very impressed with how well some of these older Arrow rides turned out.

Pretty impressive when you think about it. :)

Pete said:
Engineers really earned their money back then.

While we may not use slide rules anymore, the problems we solve these days are often more difficult. Like, how do you build a pickup truck out of aluminum? It ain't easy.

My favorite ride there still, sit in either the first or second car of each car. If you sit in a car where there's wheel wells it will be rough. Sit middle to the front and you should be good to go!!

It's definitely a good idea to sit in the middle of a car on three-row trains. Though, we definitely did look like weirdos having two people in row 14 on an otherwise empty Adventure Express train Friday night.. :)

A simple way to make the ride more comfortable is to hold onto the grab bar. Some people think all coaster warriors should ride arms up on all coasters. Holding on increases upper body control, thereby increasing rider comfort. If anyone disagrees, watch Mean Streak awhile. Which riders enjoy their ride more, riders who sit up straight and hold on, or riders who slouch and put their arms up?