Originally Posted By dshyates "FYI: California Screamin' is a custom coaster." Short of mad mice or other traveling coasters and the permanent instillations of those, all coasters are custom coasters. But there are a selections of standard options. And for CS they actually chose very few options. 1-flat LIM, 1-hill LIM, 1-vert loop, 1 set of minor bunny hops.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt So what? It's still custom and a darn good ride too. Best coaster on the entire property in my book.
Originally Posted By dshyates "Theme parks are about characters" Really. I thought literature, movies and TV were about characters. I thought Theme Parks were about immerse environments and attractions. Slathering with characters is "synergy". Synergy is commercialization and is all about selling product and has nothing to do with Theme Parks other than the in-park guests are a captive audience to push commercial product otherwise not related to amusemant parks.
Originally Posted By dshyates "So what? It's still custom and a darn good ride too. Best coaster on the entire property in my book." I prefer either Space or BTMRR. I find CS to be a complete waste of time. I used to say its a great coaster for little girls and grandmas. But my 7 year old daughter after riding Millinium Force at CP (310', 93mph) has no interest. If its too boring for a 7 year old girl, than I will say its a great coaster for grandmas.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt If your 7 year old thinks CS is boring she must be comatose on slow-poke BTMRR.
Originally Posted By dshyates "If your 7 year old thinks CS is boring she must be comatose on slow-poke BTMRR. " She loves BTMRR, but not for the actual coaster. She loves the themeing. She love the HM too, and it goes, what like 3mph? But if your not going to actually theme it, it better be balls to the walls fast. The "its a coaster themed to look like a coaster" crap still leaves her a bit confused. She's not quite as sophisticated as the designers.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt >>The "its a coaster themed to look like a coaster" crap still leaves her a bit confused.<< Maybe she's over thinking it. All she has to do is just sit down and enjoy the ride. Your daughter's taste in coasters notwithstanding, my point still stands that CS is the best coaster at DLR.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<if your not going to actually theme it, it better be balls to the walls fast.>> IMO, it's not about speed, it's about character. The Cyclone in Coney Island is definitely not anywhere near the fastest or tallest coaster, yet it is probably on the top 10 list of every coaster fanatic out there. Personally, I think Screamin' is a very good coaster. <<The "its a coaster themed to look like a coaster" crap still leaves her a bit confused.>> I'm sure she got that from you. Kids tend to mimic what their parents do, say, or think.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt ^^I was going to say that but I was afraid of getting flamed. I know, I'm a coward.
Originally Posted By dshyates Actually I did apply the themeing aspect to her opinion. What she says is BTMRR is funner. But interpret that is 1. CS has little themeing to hold her interest. And 2. for an unthemed coaster it isn't all that exciting compared to other unthemed coasters she has ridden. She didn't actually say anything about themeing. Just not much interest in riding it. But she does show more interest in riding all the other coasters at DLR, gadgets withstanding. And she really likes BTMRR, Space, and Matterhorn. I actually like CS more than anyone else in the family. I think her problem is there are no real drops. She loves the big drops. She doesn't really care about loops.Personally I'm not a big Intamin AG fan. I like the B&M steelies much better. And as far as Coney Island's Cyclone, I think it ends up on most top ten list more as an honorary nod to its importance, because as far as woodies go I wouldn't put it in the top ten. There have been so many great woodies built in the past 10 years that its hard to understand how the Cyclone stays on the lists, but its always there. So my guess is respect. GCI has really redefined wooden coasters.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Crying about too many toons is a bit sad. Theme parks are about characters. You can't have enough. You can have better execution and ideas since a bad ride or bad experience might be blamed for the characters, but this is often the exception.>> Crum. I agree with Woody on something. Now I have to go poke my eyes out. x_| x |
Originally Posted By Bob Paris "But as jonvn used to point out..." Be careful. Say the devil's name and he may appear.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Hmmmm, where do I begin. First of all, characters are lazy, and personally, I have always found to be a distraction. I fell in love with DL over 30 years ago because of the immersive themes, not toons. Secondly, Screamin' may not be the scariest or fastest, but man, it is so well designed, every feature is fun. The same cannot be said about other mega coasters. Alot of them have one or two features of interest, but are dull in other parts, the same cannot be said about Screamin
Originally Posted By mawnck Count me as another vote in favor of Screamin'. Let's not forget that it does have an accompanying soundtrack. Does Millennium Force have a soundtrack? And what theming would you like it to have? Maybe plywood bees on the walls of the tunnel or something? I understand some will be available shortly .... I've never been to Coney Island, but I have been on the 1917 Pippin at Libertyland in Memphis. Best. Roller. Coaster. Ever. People Magazine had it right when they said that part of the fun was "the sense of imminent derailment."
Originally Posted By dshyates "Does Millennium Force have a soundtrack?" Doesn't need one. It does everything a coaster is supposed to do better than any other coaster I have ever been on. And there is not a dull second on it. Sorry, I just personally think the word dull describes CS from beginning to end. As a coaster enthusiast I would rather have seen an actual modest woodie with retro lux hand oiled mahoganoy cars with brass studded burgandy leather seats. Woodies make their own soundtrack.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <IMO, it's not about speed, it's about character. The Cyclone in Coney Island is definitely not anywhere near the fastest or tallest coaster, yet it is probably on the top 10 list of every coaster fanatic out there. Personally, I think Screamin' is a very good coaster.> I would say it's all about DESIGN. The Cyclone is so great not for top speed or height, but because it's so intelligently designed. As the drops inevitably get shorter, the turns get tighter, and closer together time-wise. So you never lose the sense of acceleration. GCI is finally applying some of those decades-old lessons to some of their woodies, which are indeed the best around right now. Screamin' is also an intelligently designed coaster. I prefer it to many steelies out there (though not to Millennium Force). However, I'm with dshyates, not on CS being "dull" (I find it highly enjoyable), but on it not being as good as DL's themed coasters. For me, the 3 DL themed coasters TRANSCEND being mere coasters; CS (and MF, for that matter) do not. So if you told me "you've got one more ride today - which will it be?" I'd choose one of the DL coasters (which one, depending on my mood), but not CS. That said, while in DCA, I enjoy CS a lot - much more than RnRC, for instance. That's too short, and the "theming" is just lame. Like anything else, theming is just a tool - it can be well done (DL's coasters) or badly done (RnRC).
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt The theming and storytelling at Big Thunder is phenomenal. The ride itself is fun, but pretty ho-hum as far as coasters go.
Originally Posted By 2001DLFan <<woody: Crying about too many toons is a bit sad. Theme parks are about characters. You can't have enough. You can have better execution and ideas since a bad ride or bad experience might be blamed for the characters, but this is often the exception.>> Theme parks are NOT about characters. Disneyland didn’t even have characters for the first five years after opening. The theme park (Disneyland), as Walt envisioned it, was a highly themed environment with attractions that the entire family could enjoy. Eventually, when characters were introduced, they were to provide some additional depth to the attractions. Seeing characters that related to the associated attractions nearby could really be considered an enhancement. Or to use their improperly used current term - it plussed the "attraction". But, when they actually try and make the characters out to be the most important element of the parks, they go too far.
