Roller coasters.

[mapguy]

The wife and I took off this weekend and spent some time at the Six Flags/Great Escape up in Lake George, NY and I went on a roller coaster for the first time in about 15 years. Wow. Man I missed it. The first coaster was an indoor one that was totally pitch black. That one really was really freaky. You didn't know which way it was going to go and it beat the crap out of you. The second one was their newest (and someone was killed on it at the beginning of the season but I didn't tell Mrs mapguy that.) and it was pretty cool but kinda slow. During the first banked turn I leaned into it and then saw this pole with a strobe and I thought it was going to take my head off. I then realised that it was a camera. I got off the ride and wanted to see how big of a dork I looked. Geez, I looked goofier than Helio when he pretended that he won the 2002 Indy 500.

The next ride was a looping coaster that was wicked fast and really cool. Problem was that it was over in about 20 seconds. The last coaster that I went on was a 50 year old rickety wooden one that the park bought from a defunct Canadian park, Crystal Lake. That one was almost as high and as long as the Great Canadian Mine Buster at Wonderland. That one was really rough one and the only downer was that it crushed my smokes. They also had a camera on that ride and the pic it took of me made me look like I was about to take a dump. Naturally the wife bought that pic.

Next year I plan on going to the Six Flags in Massacheusetts as I hear that they have one of those looping coasters where you are hanging. I would wait 6 hours to get a front row seat on that. Anyone ever been on one of those? What is the experience like?

[Hardpoint]

If it's coasters you want, try hear: Coaster heaven (http://www.cedarpoint.com/)

[cart7]

I love a good coaster ride. :D

[RaceGrrl]

Cedar Point is the best place for roller coaster fans. I love the Magnum and the Raptor. Kings Island's The Beast is an awesome ride too. Have been there many times and I never tire of it.

Problem is, nrc doesn't like coasters, so I rarely get to go.

[nz_climber]

Hanging coasters rock, try this one at movieland on the gold coast when you head downunder for the surfers race :)

http://www.goldcoasttourism.com.au/hotshots/medium/gctb94.jpg

[Lizzerd]

Wow. I haven't been on a coaster for about as long, mapguy. Last time was at Kings Island. On a busy day. I saw it as 90 minutes in line for 90 seconds of terror. But I loved every second.

[mapguy]

Originally posted by GoBucks
If it's coasters you want, try hear: Coaster heaven (http://www.cedarpoint.com/) Note to self. Fuggetabout Six Flags New England. Plan trip to Cedar Point.

Thanks GoBucks. Sounds like a coaster's paradise.

[cart7]

Originally posted by RaceGrrl
Cedar Point is the best place for roller coaster fans. I love the Magnum and the Raptor. Kings Island's The Beast is an awesome ride too. Have been there many times and I never tire of it.

Problem is, nrc doesn't like coasters, so I rarely get to go.
\
I hear ya girl. My wife and son don't like them so I wind up going alone. Here at 6 flags in Stl, they've really got about 3 good coasters, Screamin Eagle and the Boss, both wooden coasters and this thing called Mr. Freeze. You get shot out of a tunnel at about 70 MPH, go verticle, turn over go into this long sweeping curve which leads into another 90 degree straight up verticle where you hang for a second. Then you go back through the whole thing backwards!! :eek:

Pretty Extreme. You're lucky to be as close to Cedar Point as you are. That would be a dream for me.

[Dvdb]

Screamin Eagle

Amen, brother

[Jonezzy_33]

Cedar Point is the place to go, so many coasters, especially check out the Milleneum!

[TKGAngel]

The next ride was a looping coaster that was wicked fast and really cool. Problem was that it was over in about 20 seconds. The last coaster that I went on was a 50 year old rickety wooden one that the park bought from a defunct Canadian park, Crystal Lake. That one was almost as high and as long as the Great Canadian Mine Buster at Wonderland. That one was really rough one and the only downer was that it crushed my smokes. They also had a camera on that ride and the pic it took of me made me look like I was about to take a dump. Naturally the wife bought that pic.

Good story. You're talking about the Comet from Crystal Beach, Canada, right? It closed before I was tall enough to ride the Comet, but to hear the people around here tell stories, it must've been something.

Canada's Wonderland also has good coasters. On a trip there with people from college last summer, we went on one of the coasters with a guy from our campus ministry department. He was OK going up the slope of the coaster, but as soon as it headed downhill, he started going "on my jesus" "oh mary help me" The rest of us were laughing too hard to notice we were on a coaster.

[RaceChic]

Mappy, why was someone killed on that coaster? :confused:

[mapguy]

Originally posted by TKGAngel
Good story. You're talking about the Comet from Crystal Beach, Canada, right? It closed before I was tall enough to ride the Comet, but to hear the people around here tell stories, it must've been something.



Yup, that's the one.


Originally posted by RaceChic
Mappy, why was someone killed on that coaster?


I thought I remebered hearing on the news that when the ride opened up at the beginning of the year that there was a problem and someone was killed. So I did a search and it looks like my memory is starting to go. There
were problems on it's first run but no one was killed. (http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/headlines/?SecID=33&ArID=30241) Sorry about that.

[DjDrOmusic]

Crystal Beach was cool, unfortunately it is now a housing develpoment. Cedar Point is a coaster lovers dream though. :thumbup:

[Grunschev]

Just returned from a short trip to SoCal to visit Legoland and Knotts Berry Farm. KBF is owned by the same company as Cedar Point, and they're slowly adding good coasters. KBF has 5 right now: Ghost Rider (wood), Montezuma's Revenge, Jaguar, Boomerang, and Xcelerator.

Xcelerator is a bit like the newest at Cedar Point. Drag race themed. It shoots you out of the station at 85mph onto a hill that is vertical. When most people talk about "straight up" or "straight down" on a coaster, they really mean something like 65-70 degrees. This was 88 or 89 degrees. On the way up, you do a quarter twist, go over the top to a vertical descent with a quarter twist.

Jaguar was pretty lame.

Boomerang was cool. They tow the train backwards from the station to a ramp. Let you go, through the station, through a couple loops and turns, then up another ramp where the ride reverses back through the loops and back to the station.

Montezuma's Revenge is a bit like that, except they launch you directly from the station to a loop/ramp, back through the station to another loop and then back. No turns.

Ghost Rider is a nice wood coaster. Pretty fast, some nice turns and a few nice "bunny hops" near the end. My seven year old son went on that one with me (it was the first ride of the day) but chickened out on the others. My wife won't get on any coaster :(

My next SoCal trip will be to Six Flags Magic Mountain. They're trying to compete with Cedar Point ("America's Roller Coast") and have something like 15 coasters. I want to squeeze an Ohio trip in the schedule somehow, too. The last time I was at Cedar Point I only got to ride on 9 of the coasters.

Igor

[RaceGrrl]

Maybe next year for the Cleveland race weekend, we can either plan a Thursday or Sunday Cedar Point trip. Some of us have talked about doing that before. I'd be up for a Monday coaster day. Now I just need to convince nrc to go, or else I'd need a coaster partner. It's not as much fun to ride alone.

[DjDrOmusic]

You can take my wife RaceGrrl, I'll guard the beer concession!;)

[Foxman]

I've been to several amusement parks (Kings Dominion, 6 Flags, Busch Gardens), the best one hands down is Cedar Point, that place rocked my world, the top fuel dragster was phenominal.

[Wheel-Nut]

The beauty of wood coasters.

LINK (http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/102003_local_astroworld.html)


The Texas Cyclone at Astroworld and The Rattler at Fiesta Texas are a must for wood coaster fans.

[JT265]

I happen to love coasters.

They protect my table from the beer can rings, and do so admirably. ;)

And racegrrl, if NRC don't show, I'll go with ya, as long as I can drive.

[Lizzerd]

I'll go with ya' too, RaceGrrl. I think Mrs. Dj and JT beat me to it, though.

[SteveH]

"the pic it took of me made me look like I was about to take a dump"

Mapguy, it bothers me that you know what you look like when you take a dump. :D

[cart7]

:eek: sorry, I meant grrl, Racegrrl!! It'll never happen again. :D

[RaceGrrl]

Originally posted by Lizzerd
I'll go with ya' too, RaceGrrl. I think Mrs. Dj and JT beat me to it, though.

That's the great thing about coasters. One ride is never enough- so I suppose I'll not have to ride alone if you all are offering. Dunno about sitting with JT though.. he probably screams like a little girl.

And cart7- I'll excuse the "girl" this once- just don't let it happen again.

[JT265]

Originally posted by RaceGrrl
Dunno about sitting with JT though.. he probably screams like a little girl.

SO? Besides, as long as I'm wearing pants, I won't scream.

.


Honest. :D

[mapguy]

Originally posted by JT265
SO? Besides, as long as I'm wearing pants, I won't scream.

.


Honest. :D

After going to Canada's Wonderland for several years they changed the rules to "No shoes, no shirt, no pants, no ride" for me.