Raptor unforgiving to first timers?

When Batman at SFGAm, the first B&M inverter, has good wheels, it's no more rough than any other B&M. In fact, going all the way back to Kumba at Busch Tampa I can say that no B&M is rough provided the wheels are cared for and there is good tension on the wheels against the track. TCFKABKF (Dominator) at Geauga Lake ran like crap in its second year, only because of the square wheels and lateral shifting.

I remember the only time I've been on Raptor, I rode in the third row, outer left. Is the middle of the train smoother because it's kind of the "average" ride? What I mean by that is, you get tailwhipped in the back, but you go into the elements faster sitting in the front. The middle might be an equality of the two... Technical, I know, but that's how I am...

Raptor's running awesome, you guys are all wimps! :)

Seriously, Raptor runs as smooth as it always did, which is to say extremely smooth for a coaster.

When I was growing up, during the days of walking to school uphill both ways, we used to marvel at how smooth the Arrow coasters were.

Call it whatever you want, but last night before leaving the park I had the best ride on Raptor in a long while...it felt really, really fast the whole way through, with some insane punch in the last inversion.

i heard that most B&M coasters don't last much longer after 10 yearts of use, if this is true, y dosen't cedar point one year that they aren't planning on a big new roller coaster have raptor rebuilt so it will still bein the park??? Just an opinion i thouhg i would share with ya'll

my first time i didnt hit my head until the last turn but i still think its a great ride.

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Jeff said:
Leaning your head forward is instinctively what people do, but it's exactly the wrong thing to do. If you sit toward the back or the front, the transitions can seem "rough," which people mistake for "fast." Sticking your head out makes it worse.

I love that back right seat, but it'll bang you around in the zero-G roll and the cobra roll if you stick your head out. It might seem counterintuitive, but press your head against either side of the harness and the back of the seat and you'll find it suddenly feels smooth as glass.

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This is a man who knows how to ride Raptor. If you keep your head back, you won't get the violent jarring most people get in the cobra roll and final turn into the brakes.

The best seats on the ride are the middle seats. They're better heartlined. If you sit on the outside seats, you can still manage not to bang your head, but that's pretty much only if you've ridden it as many times as a loser like me has.

Your best bet is to keep your head back. Like Jeff said, people don't know to do that, so they get headaches.