Looking at pictures of the Ozark Wildcat, it came to mind just how similar in flow/design the relatively new Evel Knievel is. I know there was a slim window of one year to be able to ride both in Missouri since Ozark is now closed but which of the two wooden coasters owns Missouri? I wish I could hit both up. They look comparable to the Silver Comet - Ravine Flyer II combo I did one June Sunday last year. I really suggest doing that.

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

Not really fair for me to vote.. As I've only been on Ozark.. but based off looks.. I'm pretty sure I would still like it more than Knievel.

I think I can expect DHollon. I need the Bat Signal.

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

Paging Mr.Swoosh you're needed in this topic.

I'm guessing he'll say something along the lines of "screw those coasters, I'm all for Prowler"

Neither. Voyage is close enough by proximity that it is the best wood coaster in Missouri as well. I can't speak from experience for those two GCI's, but I'll assume Thunderhead and Lightning Racer are quite representative; GCI's are too tame. If you love being firmly rooted to your seat as you proceed through many visually impressive turns, then I suppose they're the best.

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Thank you for riding Reaper! Drop Ride to Doom, and remember to desecrate a sanctuary today.

Wow! So many comments and I am the first ho voted!?

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^ Well most of us arnt voting because we haven't been on both. So its kinda hard to judge.


Ah see.. thats how the OLDER GCIs are. But Ozark did had a few aggressive parts near the end. And some STRONG airtime. And then theres TROY.. Pretty much balls-out until the ending (and the boring station pass) but really. Go check out a POV on youtube. The ride is fast and has airtime.. And an amazing head chopper.

And I'll also toss in Rumbler for a GCI that isnt as tame as the older.. But I'll still agree that GCI isnt pushing it as far as they could///should. but it also comes down to what the park wants out of the ride.

It's a bad thread created by myself where really only one or two people could probably post in it from being on both. It's a very narrow window. I was curious.

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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'm curious what will happen with Wildcat given the closure of Calibration City. will it be relocated to Silver Dollar City or operate as a pay per ride attraction.

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Michael C

Move to SDC seems unlikely due to the fact CC was FLAT and SDC is on the side of a mountain.

But I could see it as a PPH integrated with a mall-ish place (one of the ideas that had been tossed around with the park)

According to RCDB Ozark Wildcat was only $4 Million. What a deal!

Too bad GCI's don't offer any decent airtime...

Maybe you missed my post?

LOL. You guys crack me up. You know honestly, if I hadn't received a tip that I was being paged I would never have even seen this thread.

Ozark Wildcat is a great coaster because it is very twisted. In fact you really don't get any real straight track in the entire layout. The horizontal forces on this ride are insane and then you have the "boom-boom" before the final curve which is what made this coaster famous. Night rides on this thing are crazy insane and you have to admit that the lighing package with the chaser lights on the entire course was hands down awesome.

Evel Knievel is a paradox. While it appears by looking at it that it would be full of airtime, the negative g's never really materialize. Now it is hands down better than Renegade, but I was amazed at how slow some sections of the ride are. Now with that being said, it is an interesting layout that makes you second guess which way you will go as there is so much overlapping on this ride. I think that if you give it a few years to "break-in" it will be a top-notch GCI -- BUT as of right now, OzCat is a star GCI woodie in the state of Missouri... that is until May 1st.

James, you definitely "know" me well. I honestly think that Prowler will whip these two coasters' butts once it is unleashed. I have literally been all over that site and I am amazed at how this thing hugs the ground -- it's going to the next generation "BEAST". I can hardly wait for all of the "nerds" to come to WoF during Coaster Con, as I think that this is going to quickly jump to the tops of many "nerds" lists -- which is awesome for WoF.

===

So back to the question at hand -- OzCat as of now is the better of the two imho.

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SWOOSH - MidwestInfoGuide.COM

I was about to say: since I'm a mod now I was about to change the name of this thread to Prowler Construction to trick you here DHollon.

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

OMG -- who made you a mod? :P I swear they'll just about let anyone be a mod here now.

In all honesty I've been gone the past week to California and haven't been "skimming" my usual boards for awhile thus why I had not seen this thread until tonight. :P

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SWOOSH - MidwestInfoGuide.COM

I see, but not long ago people were freaking for Thunderhead; seriously. Still, people today rave about it. And when I say Voyage is objectively better, and it is, they start to get defensive. They (yes I mean enthusiasts) start to treat Thunderhead (or Lightning Racer) like it's some indie rock band that I just won't understand. "It's the precision, how it takes turns, the flow..." Really? I guess I'll look closely for those next time . . .

But James, I'm happy to hear that the newer ones are more aggressive, if that's the right word. I'll give another one a shot sometime. I understand why parks are building them, and I've said since 2004 that Cedar Fair ought to utilize GCI's service, they are a good business move.

So James, Obi Wan Canobie, I ask you please, rank the GCI's you know from first to not so first in your opinion. Next time I'm near one high on the list, I'll take an unbiased ride.

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Thank you for riding Reaper! Drop Ride to Doom, and remember to desecrate a sanctuary today.

1. Thunderhead
2. Ozark Wildcat
3. Lightning Racers
4. Evel Knievel
5. Kentucky Rumbler
6. Renegade
7. Wildcat (Hershey Park)
8. Gwazi

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SWOOSH - MidwestInfoGuide.COM

Wow, Gwazi at 8? I think it's a great, great ride - dueling or not. Ozark Wildcat was pretty sweet, fast, yet short. It looks better than Kenievel in my opinion, yet Wildcat wasn't anything too special. I remember the first drop had something special with it being a 270 degree turn, but I wasn't impressed by the drop. The airtime was good though, especially on the second drop and the final turnaround...I wish GCI's were taller, more intense, and longer

To get off topic, I'd say Gwazi is better than both - height, speed, intensity all are better.

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Dirty Tramp

Gwazi is rough. That's all there is to it.
Now if it had the flyers on it, it might be a little bit more comfortable, but I doubt it.

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SWOOSH - MidwestInfoGuide.COM

You might see Gwazi with Flyers some day. They added them to Wildcat.

If Ozark becomes a PPR attraction what woudl you be willing to pay?

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Michael C

EDIT!
^ Read this post.. And you'll see that FLYERS DONT = FIXED!
And I'd likely pay up to $6 for a ride on WIldcat, or up to $11-12 for a day pass (Ala DBHurricane at Boomers)

YES! Oh god yes! I got off Thunderhead thinking "How the hell did THIS beat Boulderdash?!"
I mean.. its not a BAD ride.. But it was no way near being a #1 coaster... (But to be fair.. I rode it on a cold rainy day in December).. And as far as Racer goes.. I enjoyed it for what it was in 05, hated it last year.


While I haven't been on them all. I've been on more than a few.

I would put Tory first, it kills be to do so.. Being so far away.. But it really is THAT good. (Also got to ride it the week it opened! When my trip first started it hadn't even been finished yet!) Ozark or Rumbler would be next.. But having ridden Rumbler more recently I'll give it second. I rode it the day after riding Thunderhead the first time... At night.. in a thunderstorm... in December... Four times <3 pretty amazing stuff. Ozark I was able to ride during an ERT session with only like.. 12 people and at night with the cool light package running. (Also with the park letting us one-click). I'll put Thunderhead next, it wasn't BAD.. it just wasn't everything I wanted. The first half was kinda balls-out.. But it dies at the end for me and the station pass adds nothing but down time (Same for on Troy.. but Troy makes up for it) And I feel like I need to give it a second chance. As it was a cold rainy December day when I rode it.

After that I'll toss in Roar. Its not bad.. But its not good... And of SFAs 2 woodies its second to WIldOne for sure. Its gotten rougher over the years (I go to SFA yearly) but it can still have its 'on days', just keep your back off the seat and you'll be fine.

And now we get down to the bottom three... or five I guess. Wildcat and Lightning Racer were both fun fun rides on my first trip to Hershey.. But after last year I'd be fine not riding them again, or even returning to the park for a few years.. It was really that bad of a trip. And then there's Gwaiz... I made three different trips to Tampa over the past year... And all three times I rode the coaster, for some stupid reason. I've ridden both sides multiple times, front seat, back seat, dueling, not dueling... Its just SO awful. The ride COULD be amazing, it has a great layout. But it tracks so amazingly bad... And I DON'T just blame the trains.. Because Hershey proved to me that Flyers don't = fixed.

This is pretty much how I feel getting off the awful ride...



So I guess if you don't wanna read...
1 Troy - Toverland
2 Kentucky Rumbler - Beechbend
3 Ozark Wildcat - Celebration City
4 Thunderhead - Dollywood

XX Roar - Six Flags America

And then
xxxx Wildcat - Hersheypark
xxxx Lightning Racer - Hersheypark
xxxx Gwaiz - Busch Gardens Tampa

Although back in 2005 I LOVED Lightning Racer.. the ride just went to POO.... And Wildcat with the new train is just slow and rough.. With the PTCs it beat the crap out of you.. But it was also semi-out of control so I still liked it. Last year both just ran sooooo awful! I had no ideas Flyer trains could JACK HAMMER but all 6 at Hershey found a way.

I agree with the bottom three. In 2007 and 2008 when I went to Hershey I liked the visuals but wasn't as impressed on Lightning. Wildcat never won me over. I never cared for the layout by the lift.

I'm still due for my Mid-America invasion before I can better chime in.

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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'm not James.. but I DID visit Hershey with him last year.. and I also have one more GCI than him...

so here is my worthless list.

1. Thunderhead
2. Kentucky Rumbler
3. Renegade
4. Troy
5. Ozark Wildcat

(big gap)

6. Wildcat (Hershey)
7/8. Lightning Racer
9/10. Gwazi
11. Roar (SFA)

For what its worth Thunderhead was my favorite coaster period from the time I first rode it in July 2004 until midway through my first Voyage ride in 2006. During this time span I rode such rides as Raven, Legend, Cornball Express, Shivering Timbers, Avalanche, Phoenix, Hades, Cyclops, Ozark Wildcat, Kentucky Rumbler and BALDER.

I can't wait for later in the year when I WILL get Evel and Prowler. Both of which I predict will be better than OzCat.

Interesting lists. Though bit disappointing the GCI's closest to me and in turn the most likely to ride any time soon seem to be the worst out of the group.

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Michael C

To be fair, I've ridden both Roar and Gwazi much more recently than Jamminj has

having rode Gwazi in April 08, November 08, and March 09... And I rode Roar in May of 08 as well.

What year was Hydra new again? Yeah that was the last time I got to ride Racers and HP Wildcat... so it is quite possible that both suck by now.

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SWOOSH - MidwestInfoGuide.COM

I just want to note that with Thunderhead I've had some very insane "was i just standing up?" rides and other rides where I was like umm who put the sticky stuff on the track. My biggest gripe with Thunderhead is the woods were right there why not go into them? I know the ride uses the terrain more than it's given credit for but come on.... missed opportunity.

Hydra was 05. The year I liked both LR and WC at Hershey.

Well that explains why they are ranked so high on list of GCI woodies.

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SWOOSH - MidwestInfoGuide.COM

So is crapiness going to take a wagon train west in a couple years?

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