Coasters of Mizzo

LoCoSuMo · #1 05-30-2004, 10:42 PM

I arrived at SFStL just about an hour or so after opening and my friend and I went to Batman since it was the closest because the storm clouds were rolling in. We waited probably 30 minutes when we finally got on the train. The bars locked and then were opened and we were told to get out because of rain. I was sortof pissed when I stepped outside the station and it was just sprinkling out, so it must have had some thunder or something.

After two hours of rain we headed back to the park and hit Ninja first. Ninja, a typical Arrow looper, didn’t have quite as much head bashing that Robb Alvey complains about since it has some of the better kind of restraints. It was okay, but nothing special.

After that was Batman which is just the usual Batman ride which is pretty intense. After that I made my way to River King Mine ride which is a Arrow also. A little rough and a little lame but I guess I’ve been on worse.

Then was Screechin’ Eagle which I boarded in the back car and proceeded to click it to a reasonable distance, trying to sidestep thinking that I was in a Six Flags. The op came by and click! click! click! I am officially stapled and my mind is screaming “Crrraaaaap!” Of course a possible good ride on the Eagle is ruined considering every time I thought had airtime I was going nowhere.

After that I headed to Boss which is once again another good looking CCI ruined by Gerstlauers (Dam you to hell Denise Dinn). Anyways, it was a pretty good ride but was a little rough in some places which is to be expected from one of the largest woodies. Some very Legend-esque curves and turns but once again Gerstlauers ruin that. Overall a pretty good ride overall though.

Last ride was Mr. Freeze, which is an all out crazy Premier ride with lapbars. The launch is great, the tophat is great, and going in reverse is great, quite an awesome ride.

Next came a 3 hour or so drive to Branson, which had some crazy rain and Tornado sirens in the first hour or so. After an hour or so I got back on the road and everything was clear from then on. After making it to Branson, we stayed at the Welk Branson Resort which was only 56 bucks a night (thanks Expedia) and it was pretty nice.

The next day we headed to SDC and I was aggravated by the high price for admission since there is only one really good ride there. The park is all about the old atmosphere of the 1800s and doesn’t really focus on rides but I was psyched to ride Wildfire. (Travel tip, do not follow the address from RCDB for SDC, it goes to the corporate office.)

Wildfire had an insanely long wait until they added a second train. First ride was in the second to back, and I was VERY impressed by this ride. It is by far my favorite B&M to date and is currently #2 on my top five steel. Unlike usual BMs it starts with an immelman which leads into the vertical loop. The lift gives a wonderful view of the Ozarks and the drop is just insane with a little bit of floater air on the way down. The two loops are insane with a little hang time on both. These lead into the cobra roll and eventually a corkscrew into a little helix and then the brakes. The station is also really cool. It’s themed to a laboratory in the 1800s and has art on the walls themed to Wildfire which is a project gone wrong I guess. Mist sprays on the train as it passes by as well which is nice when it’s pretty hot out. Overall the ride is a little short but by no means disappoints. Wildfire is a must for any fan of B&Ms.

I am a little tired of typing right now so I will continue my journey tomorrow or the day after.

Carowinds 73-03 · #2 05-30-2004, 11:35 PM

Sound like a fun trip minus the rain. I was hopeing to make my first trip to SFSL sometime this year. Nice to see a TR about the park.

LoCoSuMo · #3 05-31-2004, 10:26 PM

SDC continued…

After riding the greatness known as Wildfire, I headed to Thuderation which is another typical Arrow mine train. I was actually surprised how nice this one was compared to others but after riding Wildfire, it was pretty lame. There are a couple spine shots during the ride but isn’t too bad and there are also some nice drops.

Also at SDC is Fire in the Hole which is a really weak family sort coaster. The themeing is okay but sort of cheesy but I thought it was cool that it was based on the actual event of the city that rested there before SDC being caught on fire by “baldknobbers.” Aside from that, it was pretty lame.

The one thing other than Wildfire that made the 40 bucks almost worth it was Marble Cave. This is an actual cave that is included on the ticket. You go down over 500 feet underground and see all the sites of the cave. I’ll post some pics later. I would highly recommend taking a hour out of a day to check it out.

After riding Wildfire a couple more times it was back to the hotel and then CC the next afternoon.

I immediately went to Ozark Wildcat and I was actually sort of pumped to ride my first GCI. First ride was okay but nothing special with a couple attempts at airtime. The next ride SUCKED. I made the mistake of trying to raise my hands during the ride…bad idea. It hurt like a mofo the entire ride. After riding it a few more times later I came to the conclusion that I didn’t mind riding the ride cause it didn’t suck or anything, but it was defiantly no CCI. I preferred the Boss even with G-trains to Wildcat. One plus of the ride is though, is that it is very photogenic.

Thunderbolt was pretty cool aside from being a little jittery. The one main crazy drop in the middle of the ride really takes you by surprise. It isn’t very re-rideable but is a pretty cool one-rider.

Jack Rabbit was another story. I now see why Miler mostly sticks to kiddy coasters. It was really rough and is overall just a poorly designed coaster. I’ve ridden worse, but it wasn’t really all that great.

Mizzo overall: A lot of mediocre coasters with the shining star clearly being Wildfire. Not a bad way to spend a couple of days though.

LoCoSuMo · #4 06-01-2004, 12:43 AM

Here's a couple pics. Mr Freeze, Batman, Batman, Boss, Wildfire.

LoCoSuMo · #5 06-01-2004, 12:46 AM

A few more, Wildfire, a couple of Marble cave including one of my favorites which is the actual hole of the cave, and one of Wildcat. I'll post a couple more tomorrow.

Carowinds 73-03 · #6 06-01-2004, 01:04 AM

Thanks. Some great pics man.

LoCoSuMo · #7 06-01-2004, 11:08 AM

Two more of Ozark Wildcat and one of Thunderbolt. I love the Thunderbolt pic, the clouds in the background make it look pretty cool I think.

jimmycoasterman · #8 06-01-2004, 11:35 AM

Wildfire was one of the best B&M's I've ever been on as well. Its just a very complete coaster. When I went they fortunately were running two trains, and there was virtually no line all day. We pulled in around 25 rides in a few hours before we left to check out the rest of the park...Buzzsaw Falls was in at the time, and was definately a great ride...

Carowinds 73-03 · #9 06-01-2004, 02:49 PM

Thay looks like one wild woodie.

countingcrow · #10 06-04-2004, 01:01 AM

I wanted to correct, Ninja at SFSTL is not an Arrow Looper! Ninja is a Vekoma Custom Built coaster, and a very unique one at that.

Personally, I like Ninja, I think it is fun coaster, and is fun to get a few quick marathon runs in when the ride first opens.

Mr. Freeze does rock!

Funny that you could get no airtiem from Screamin Eagle, when last year, I couldn't possibly stay in my seat for a secodn due to the massive airtime. Even with seatbelts, it shouldn't make a difference.\

Good TR!

LoCoSuMo · #11 06-07-2004, 01:25 PM

Yea sorry about that, I completely forgot about the Vekoma loopers. Also it wasn't that I thought the ride had no airtime, it's that since I was stapled down so far that I couldn't tell if it did.