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Coasters past their Primes

M

Marcus

Roller Poster
I was thinking about this today about coasters and rides that for various reasons can no longer be ridden how they once were and therefore how they are out of their prime. Obvious examples being once glassy smooth woodies that have now become rough as sand paper but I was more thinking along the lines of rides that have had elements removed/ changed for the worse. For example Nemesis' blood rivers removed, Lightning rods neutering (although we will see how it runs next year after being RMC'd ?) as well as the restraints changed on Superman at SFNE and of course the yeti on expedition Everest.

I was wondering if anyone else had good examples of rides that for whatever reason cannot now be ridden the same great way as they previously once could. I do apologize if this has been done previously.
 
Marcus said:
I was thinking about this today about coasters and rides that for various reasons can no longer be ridden how they once were and therefore how they are out of their prime. Obvious examples being once glassy smooth woodies that have now become rough as sand paper but I was more thinking along the lines of rides that have had elements removed/ changed for the worse. For example Nemesis' blood rivers removed, Lightning rods neutering (although we will see how it runs next year after being RMC'd ?) as well as the restraints changed on Superman at SFNE and of course the yeti on expedition Everest.

I was wondering if anyone else had good examples of rides that for whatever reason cannot now be ridden the same great way as they previously once could. I do apologize if this has been done previously.
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I'd hardly call red die being removed making Nemesis 'Past their Prime'
 
Yeah, that sounds more like things that were better back in their day.... rather than things that need to go (like SLC's not running vest trains or better)
 
VonRolland said:
I'd hardly call red die being removed making Nemesis 'Past their Prime'
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I disagree, it means the experience lacks the cohesion and immersion factor it once did, i remember going in 95/6 ish when i was a small kid, there were storm clouds brewing ahead rain lashing down. seeing the blood red water was genuinely terrifying and really made the coaster that much more intimidating.
 
airtime_uk_ash said:
I disagree, it means the experience lacks the cohesion and immersion factor it once did, i remember going in 95/6 ish when i was a small kid, there were storm clouds brewing ahead rain lashing down. seeing the blood red water was genuinely terrifying and really made the coaster that much more intimidating.
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Right so what you're saying is no red die = rip it out?
 
No actually VonRolland the only person who has said that is you, as can be seen in this quote:
VonRolland said:
no red die = rip it out
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The point that Ash makes is actually in these few words:

airtime_uk_ash said:
the experience lacks the cohesion and immersion factor it once did
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With theming having such an emphasis on many rides around the world, when the immersive-ness is stripped away, even in the smaller, finer details, it is more than fair to say that elements that made the coaster it's best have been removed, thus, answering the topic title, past their prime.

Post is 0 funny, try harder next time.
 
Yes I guess removed from their prime sounds a bit dramatic but just looking for examples where for various reasons rides or coasters can still be ridden but they were better previously for various reasons.

Congo river rapids at Towers still runs but without the waterfalls and the added cannons removed. This ride feels like an interesting example as although I didn't get to ride it til the late 90's but judging by the pictures from when it first opened the area around it grew up well and probably enhanced the experience so it probably had its best ride experiences after it had first opened but before some of the changes we see now.
 
Oblivion.
Several minor theming details have been lost over the years - things like the "Countdown to Oblivion in T minus 5 minutes" announcement, some of the 'Lord of Darkness' videos, that turbine-like sound effect that used to be piped continuously into the queueline, the "Don't look down" announcement at the top and, worst of all, the reduction of the time spent on the holding brake from 4 - 5 seconds down to a measly 1 second.

Nemesis Inferno.
What happened to the misters and the heat lamps inside the tunnel? What happened to the smoke coming out the top of the volcano? What happened to the geysers that used to erupt at the bottom of the first drop? And why have they turned the music down so much that you can barely hear it?
These are the things that keep me awake at night.
 
Howie said:
Oblivion.
Several minor theming details have been lost over the years - things like the "Countdown to Oblivion in T minus 5 minutes" announcement, some of the 'Lord of Darkness' videos, that turbine-like sound effect that used to be piped continuously into the queueline, the "Don't look down" announcement at the top and, worst of all, the reduction of the time spent on the holding brake from 4 - 5 seconds down to a measly 1 second.

Nemesis Inferno.
What happened to the misters and the heat lamps inside the tunnel? What happened to the smoke coming out the top of the volcano? What happened to the geysers that used to erupt at the bottom of the first drop? And why have they turned the music down so much that you can barely hear it?
These are the things that keep me awake at night.
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In terms of Oblivion, I think The Smiler’s accident and the ensuing media fallout caused some of those removals. For example, I know that when the park reopened in June 2015, the line “welcome to eternal darkness” was removed from the final Lord of Darkness video before you leave the station. I’d imagine all the stuff about ride cars going missing was probably removed around this time too, as stuff like that wouldn’t have reflected too well on the park’s efforts to promote ride safety post-Smiler. “Don’t look down” as a sound effect at the top was removed because of a noise abatement order that was forced upon the park in 2004.

In terms of Nemesis Inferno, I never knew the music had been turned down. It seemed pretty loud last time I was there in July; the bass was certainly noticeable in the station!

Also, I’ve heard people talk about Nemesis’ blood river. This was apparently removed because of some filtration problem which meant that tap water in the local area was being dyed red or something like that. I’m not 100% on the exact details, but I think it was something to do with a filtration issue.
 
Grand national at Blackpool

It used to be a fun, rough and ready woodie before the fire, then KumbaK came in and ruined the whole thing! Or at least the controls system. Not sure why they seem to have so much trouble parking in the station, but at this point it's just a bit tragic every time the brakes hiss and clunk until the train finally stops. They totally removed any airtime from the final bunny hops with those trims too.

Not sure which cretin is responsible for the new trains either, but they're horrible. They smash their way round track, are uncomfortable, and just look a bit naff.
 
Bakken's Rutschebanen got brought down by the Kumbak trains and, more severely, the automatic brake systems they installed around 2008/2009(?). They slow the train to a crawl before most big drops, especially the double-down halfway through the ride which had some of the most absurd ejector I've ever experienced (to the point that it scared me off riding the coaster for a while when I was little) with the original buzz bar/brakeman trains. It's made for another reason that I want to visit Linnanmäki besides Taiga: ride the Rutschebanen clone that still has the old trains.

Although, during the 2020 rides I had the brakes hit nowhere near as hard, so maybe it's improving. Still not the biggest fan of the trains, though.
 
toofpikk said:
No actually VonRolland the only person who has said that is you, as can be seen in this quote:


The point that Ash makes is actually in these few words:



With theming having such an emphasis on many rides around the world, when the immersive-ness is stripped away, even in the smaller, finer details, it is more than fair to say that elements that made the coaster it's best have been removed, thus, answering the topic title, past their prime.

Post is 0 funny, try harder next time.
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It's water you need to calm down, it still runs its just not red. If were gonna be that pedantic lets talk about the faded paint on Oblivion, The dirty queueline & track on Smiler, theming missing off Mine Train & TV screen's off big bob...
Hardly ruins the experience or makes it 'past it's prime'
 
VonRolland said:
It's water you need to calm down, it still runs its just not red. If were gonna be that pedantic lets talk about the faded paint on Oblivion, The dirty queueline & track on Smiler, theming missing off Mine Train & TV screen's off big bob...
Hardly ruins the experience or makes it 'past it's prime'
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No, that's exactly what it does. All of the things you describe are examples where the coaster is no longer "at it's prime".

Although I will agree, I don't think they're as bad as other examples. Losing the brakeman on Rutschebanen being just about the best example I've read so far in this thread.
 
Hixee said:
No, that's exactly what it does. All of the things you describe are examples where the coaster is no longer "at it's prime".

Although I will agree, I don't think they're as bad as other examples. Losing the brakeman on Rutschebanen being just about the best example I've read so far in this thread.
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Out of interest does it still trim itself? If so does it use magnetic brakes?
 
I think many of the examples here could be sorted with a concerted focus from the parks on aesthetics, restoring removed theming, sound effects etc - in that I kind of agree with VonRolland’s take that the coasters themselves aren’t past their prime as they could be easily restored to those great conditions - the underlying coasters are fine. The examples like Rutschebanen and Grand National though, without really extensive & major work they will never again ride in the way that they were intended to.

I think to answer this objectively (I know I’m taking this too seriously) you need to have experienced a coaster before and after you think it’s gone downhill. I’d nominate Dragon Khan - I first rode in 2008 and it was a smooth, really forceful powerhouse. On successive visits it feels to have got rougher and rougher with quite a rattle throughout that does give a worse ride, especially with the obvious comparison to Shambhala next door.

I would have loved to have ridden Superman at SFNE before the restraints changed - it was a great coaster but I felt so stapled in by the end of it that I imagine the original was a world away.
 
Rupert said:
I think many of the examples here could be sorted with a concerted focus from the parks on aesthetics, restoring removed theming, sound effects etc - in that I kind of agree with VonRolland’s take that the coasters themselves aren’t past their prime as they could be easily restored to those great conditions - the underlying coasters are fine. The examples like Rutschebanen and Grand National though, without really extensive & major work they will never again ride in the way that they were intended to.
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In the spirit of "ride in the way that they were intended to"; yes, theming is a part of the way coasters were meant to be ridden. All the coasters we are outlining, even those majorly trimmed and modified, all functionally operate "fine" - the thing we're trying to unpack are other elements that have gone amiss or been modified, theming not withstanding.

If I can enter a posthumous roller coaster: Disaster Transport. In queue animatronics, mid-ride audio, lighting special effects, mid-ride video projections, immersive theming; these are all things you probably never got to experience while riding Disaster Transport after the year 2000. :p
 
Gotta mention Thundercoaster too. In its first years of operation, it was definitely a Top 10 coaster.

Unfortunately, it was also a maintenance nightmare, so it was re-profiled to give a much tamer first half of the ride. It can still be quite fun in rain, though, if you don't mind shaking rough enough to rearrange your internal organs.
 
Pokemaniac said:
Gotta mention Thundercoaster too. In its first years of operation, it was definitely a Top 10 coaster.

Unfortunately, it was also a maintenance nightmare, so it was re-profiled to give a much tamer first half of the ride. It can still be quite fun in rain, though, if you don't mind shaking rough enough to rearrange your internal organs.
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Gonna have to disagree massively here. I never rode it in its prime I suppose, but my rides in 2018 were incredible. Rough, yes, but excellently paced and delivered great forces the whole way around
 
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