How can one coaster - the Texas Giant - be so great when it's very close relative - Mean Streak - be so blah? What have they done to keep the Giant operating so well? And please, don't start answering this by saying how much or how little you like Mean Streak. This is about how to keep a good coaster good.

I was feeling all Debbie Downer because of Mean Streak when I first got on Texas Giant in 2006. Even though people say TG needs work to get back to its prime I thought it was really good for a first run I had.

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Thrillnetwork Moderator - Sophomore Original sn: CHILLERLC1
2008 & 2009 TN Coaster Draft Champion
You knew I wanted the other repeat too

I think Mean Streak was just a victim of poor maintenance early on. This year they've done extensive retracking, and I'm dearly hoping that it improves the ride because I hate to see a good woodie gone bad. Son of Beast was painful enough, we don't need two flops in the same state.

I also think that the overabundance of trims kills the experience. A woodie is supposed to be fast and out of control, and Mean Streak is anything but.

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05.16, 05.17, 05.18, 06.05, 06.06: Cedar Point
05.25.09-06.01.09: KD, SFA, BGE, SFGAdv, Morey's & More!
06.18.09: Holiday World
2009 Diamondback laps: 41

Well, if they've worked on it, I'll give Mean Streak another chance at Coastermania. It's such a beautiful coaster, I WANT to like riding it, I just haven't been able to yet. You're dead on about the trims. And, to add insult to injury, my last front seat ride, when we crested the lift hill, I could hear the valve for the trims exhausting.

And, to contribute to the thread as was intended by Hank- I wonder how much climate has to do with how a coaster ages.

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ThrillNetwork Lead Moderator
My neighbor got a big new house, and all I got was his lousy payments

You have a really good point. Mean Streak is right out there in the open on a cold lake. I'd assume the constant cold air would cause the boards to shrink or crack. I'm not an engineer so I don't know exactly what effect it would have though, but I can definitely see that it probably would.

I also wonder what the extended period of down time during off-season does, compared to a coaster that is running constantly. I've always gotten the impression that the more often the ride is running and warmed up, the better it operates, kinda like keeping your car warmed up to get the best gas mileage.

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05.16, 05.17, 05.18, 06.05, 06.06: Cedar Point
05.25.09-06.01.09: KD, SFA, BGE, SFGAdv, Morey's & More!
06.18.09: Holiday World
2009 Diamondback laps: 41

So I could imagine Mean Streak was as insulting as Psyclone? I've been on both but the time between riding the coasters was so long I couldn't compare the two experiences.

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Thrillnetwork Moderator - Sophomore Original sn: CHILLERLC1
2008 & 2009 TN Coaster Draft Champion
You knew I wanted the other repeat too

Well here's the story, When Dinn Corp. was in there prime building phase, They got the contract to build the ride for SFOT. Somewhere I have the counter proposal from Bill Cobbs Company. When the ride was done they usesed it to sell other designs to other parks. CF wanted a simarlar design but more of a family ride, less Violent, Tame and lame as Dinn put it one time. So thats what they got. MS was pretty great ride in its first year then they did some reprofiling and trims the ride really went down hill.(PUN)

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Old coaster riders never Die..................They just go downhill!
Mark
RCBI member (77-86 Defunct)
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What I had heard over the years was that the coaster was beating itself up. It could be the "on the waterfront" location, but that doesn't hold true for Blue Streak and Gemini - and we're talking fresh water here not salt water. Maybe it does need some reinforcements here and there to help it. They could even add an element or two to make it more exciting - say a tunnel, twist, a better banked curve, a water splash, even some fake headchoppers. Try running the trains backwards! It's such a beautiful coaster to look at, I'd hate to see it removed. Somewhere, someone with some brains will think of somethiing - even not stopping at that mcbr. And there's all that extra room in the middle of it, not to mention the sides - something sould easily be added. People - we've got to stop thinking inside the box all the time!

^Yes, but it isn't us who decides what will or won't happen to these coasters. Years ago I used to hear about people saying CF should add stuff to the space inside of Mean Streak, or get new trains, and all that, but I don't know how all of the effort would be worth it. Just look at Rolling Thunder. It still runs one side at a time half the time, if not more, and the line for it isn't ever that big, while you would think that the El Toro crowds would boost it up.

Mean Streak - The worlds prettiest wood lawn ornament. This ride sucks and its been that way too long to turn back now.

I wish I had an example of a wood coaster that I've been on that's lasted a decade and still offers a decent ride, because most of the ones I've been on are either slow and boring (Mean Streak), or fast and tear your spine in half (Ghostrider).

From what I've learned in order for wood coasters to stand the test of time they need to

a. Be properly designed to last that way (not beating the hell out of itself each cycle)
b. Re-tracked and rehabbed every day throughout the year, not just 3 weeks every year
c. Having a bit a of luck on your side doesn't hurt either

Wood coasters are like cars, you're gonna get your lemons.

^All coasters are like cars, remember Chiller was a lemon too.

I think your point B is more important than the other two by a long shot. Unless you are exteremyl lucky or unlucky...

Because most newer coasters are designed to be able to handle their stress and strain loads, whether it's wood or steel, but that doesn't mean you can slack on the maintenance. Anyboy who has owned a car knows there's wayyyy more to it than oil changes and car washes.

Texas Giant is the roughest coaster I have ever ridden. It would be so fun if it was smoother, but no. Good layout and that's about it.

I didn't find Mean Streak rough when I rode it 6 years ago, but I did find it incredibly slow and boring. Mean Streak sucked, and I'll take the roughness of Texas Giant over it any day.

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Dirty Tramp

Running the trains backwards are you crazy? From what I understand the ride is bad enough going forward & riding backwards would just make it 20 times worse.

Unfortunately the taller a woodie is built the more difficult it is to maintain as the bents that make up the structure do tend to be thrown off by a couple inches the higher up you build....this is what makes SOB the pain inducing machine that it currently is& it only gets worse as the repeated forces of the trains running take their toll.With Gemini there is a little bit more reinforcement however due to the use of Arrow's standard tubular steel running rails/spine for the ride.

I was at Back to the Point at Cedar Point back in Sept and rode the Mean Streak, I swore that I could actually feel my brain rattle inside my skull it was that rough. The park was really busy on Saturday that weekend, but the line for the M.S. was short to walk on at best.
We had an hour ERT for the Maverick and I was first in line for it, 11 O'clock came around for closing time and Mean Streak was already done for the night while the other coasters were still finishing out their lines. If that tells you anything

If you were to re-track MS with tubular steel and get different trains - like Magnum's - does anyone know how fast MS would then be clocked at? Would it make a difference? You'd have a wooden structure ride with mine train track and cars similar to Gemini. It might be worth looking into?

I don't think tubular steel track would increase ridership to the point where the dollars spent would be worth it.

[won't happen]
I think it needs more structural reinforcement first, then needs to be almost completely reprofiled. Getting a set of Millennium Flyer trains with the super-padded seats could top it off.
[/won't happen]

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