What should Cedar Point do to improve the mean Streak or should they just give up?

Just close it and build something else there. Even if its pretty to the eyes it hurts way to much anymore.

I've long been part of the "taer it down!!!1!!" crowd when it comes to Mean Streak. That said, I'm curious to see how New Texas Giant is received. If that retrofit turns out well, I'd love to see MS receive the same treatment.

I think the fire was a sign. Just tear it down already. It looks nice. That is all it has going for it. It's a big waste of space.

I thought it's already been said that Mean Streak is receiving major work this off season, with pictures of the first drop already redone. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

The work being done is the same as what is done every year - ongoing maintenance that is required for all wood coasters. In other words, it's not "major".

They closed Mean Streak before the end of the season to begin the work. I'd say its a bit more than normal ongoing maintenance otherwise it would make no sense to close it so early for something they do every winter.

As far as I know, they're simply replacing wood, not reprofiling anything. Start reading here for some more info on the work being done.

^ They are doing a more extensive rehab this off season then they have since the ride opened.

So it is beyond normal maintenance.

Ensign Smith said:
Why does it have to be record-breaking? Without a doubt, I'd much rather ride a 70 - 95' tall GCI than some 210' monstrosity that will shake your teeth out of your face regardless of the track or the trains.

Ahh but you can have the best of both worlds. El Toro is smooth but is tall and fast. It all depends who builds it and how they build it.

As for Beast, it is one of my favorite coasters out there. Especially at night. There arent many coasters like it, and even with trims it is high on my list. Every park should have a ride with that final double helix in a pitch black tunnel. Nothing else like it.

I certainly wouldn't want every park to have a ride with a tunneled double helix for a finale. That would dilute the uniqueness of Beast, which is the main thing the ride still has going for it.

Although it's not particularly thrilling, that banked drop off Beast's second lift into the tunnel is one of my favorite moments on any coaster out there.

Coasterkyle said:
^ They are doing a more extensive rehab this off season then they have since the ride opened.

What's the source for this info? Everything I've read simply points to routine wood replacement (albeit a larger quantity than normal), rather than any sort of track modification. And even if there were some modification going on, without knowing the extent, how do we know whether the changes are of greater impact than the changes that have been made previously (trims, reprofiling)?

djDaemon said:
What's the source for this info? Everything I've read simply points to routine wood replacement (albeit a larger quantity than normal), rather than any sort of track modification. And even if there were some modification going on, without knowing the extent, how do we know whether the changes are of greater impact than the changes that have been made previously (trims, reprofiling)?

We don't. No one is over analyzing it like this, however they closed the ride earlier than normal, and are doing extensive rail work. The post you pointed me to has a report on track being gone. I'd say removing the rail stack isn't normal maintenance.

here

Thanks - I was simply trying to find out if there were any confirmation of specific work being done, or if it were simply based on speculation, as I suspected.

But rail work, no matter how extensive, is not out of the ordinary.

There is no indication that any of the turns or hills are being torn down and rebuilt with new profiles.

So over all, this is going to be the same ride, just with a complete re-tracking, that won't do much to change the fact that it tears itself, and it's riders, apart.

Its more than they've done in the past. So it is out of the ordinary to close the ride before halloweekends.

Re-tracking would make a big difference. Per Rideman, if they can fix the track guage with re-tracking, it should make a difference.

Then again, no one has been to the park to see what exactly is going on. Sure people have been there, but two hours out of one day won't tell anyone much.

Something like Balder at liseberg would fit Mean Streak's footprint very well. It is one of the best wooden coasters out there. It is an intamin pre-fab.

http://www.rcdb.com/1562.htm?p=10496

But didn't you see that episode of Seinfeld? "No Intamin pre-fab for you!"

PrawoJazdy said:
Its more than they've done in the past. So it is out of the ordinary to close the ride before halloweekends.

Re-tracking would make a big difference. Per Rideman, if they can fix the track guage with re-tracking, it should make a difference.

Then again, no one has been to the park to see what exactly is going on. Sure people have been there, but two hours out of one day won't tell anyone much.

Thank you! That's what I was thinking the entire time I was reading down from my post above! The layout of the ride isn't what tears the riders apart! It's the actual track! For example, Geauga Lake's Raging Wolf Bob's. It became almost as unbearable as Mean Streak and they re-tracked the thing for the 2005 season and it was more enjoyable than ever! (I believe 2005 was the correct year)