BeastForever Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 And your second paragraph is dead on. A glass-smooth Voyage would still be a stark contrast to other "smooth" woodies. I describe the Voyage as violent, which is a totally different animal from rough. Those who say it was excessively rough last year are failing to recognize that difference. I like my wooden coasters violent. I do not like them rough. I think this exact same thing when people say that Maverick is "rough". It's not "rough". it's just intense and throws you from side, as it was intended to. Unlike an Arrow or Vekoma kind of "rough", I would say the track itself is smooth and while the transitions may be quick, they are not exactly "awkward". 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgoble3 Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 ^ As a matter of fact, Maverick was the other ride I was thinking of when I wrote that. Both are violent, but neither is rough. That's why it ranks so highly in my personal rankings (speaking of which, I need to update those rankings since I have yet to add anything from my 2012 Florida trip to them). In fact, it may be time to reconsider whether Millie and Dragster are truly worthy of being ranked over them (as well as whether Banshee beats them all). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violakat03 Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 I agree that Maverick is definitely turbulent, but not rough. I still have no desire to ride it again. I'm certain I will ... and I'm certain I'll regret it, like I do every time. I don't mind it when wooden coasters beat me up, but I can't stand the neck choppers that Maverick dishes out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooting Star Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Roughness is a result of poor maintenance - track work not being completed, structure sagging ("pot holes") not being corrected, trains not running at their maximum potential due to poor upkeep. Holiday World keeps Voyage in fantastic shape, even for as much attention as it needs. Some times major repairs have to wait until the offseason (such as the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 major offseason work) but they do everything they can to keep it in great shape during the season. I've seen them retracking the morning of closing day before. Okay, I've been lurking for quite some time but when I saw this I had to come out of the shadows. Let me start this off by telling you a little about myself. I worked in wood coaster maintenance for about 15 years for another park chain in the country. Since then I have gone on to a regular "desk job" in engineering. I have worked with some American roller coaster manufacturers consulting for different aspects - mainly doing calculations for certain track elements and safety mechanisms. I've never designed a roller coaster in my life... I don't want to give you the wrong impression about what I do, but I can speak with a lot of credibility on the issue. With that being said, your statement that "poor upkeep" being the reason why some rides are rough and others are not is relatively unfounded. There are numerous reasons why a ride could be rough or smooth. It could be anything from initial design to the weather that day. If you saw someone working on the track on the morning of opening day at Holiday World that's great, but you would see it at Kings Island, Six Flags and anywhere else. They say that when you build a wooden roller coaster you're building a marriage. Those things are maintained every day of the season. They don't just take the day off because it's closing day. It still has to cycle hundreds of times that day. You're not going to risk damage to the trains or the rest of the track just because the park is closed the next day. As far as The Voyage is concerned, I've never ridden it. I can tell you that the steel structure probably messes with the physics. It could be a good thing or a bad thing, but I haven't really seem an overwhelming preference for it. According to most accounts, The Voyage was built for under $9 million. That's extraordinarily inexpensive for a ride that size. I just think that they tried to do too much on too little. You shouldn't have to explore options for new trains with a ride having been open less than 5 years. What happened to those trains anyway? I imagine that they determined that The Voyage would have torn them to pieces with regular use. I don't think the Gravity Group is really responsible for any of this. They're good people, they make a fine product. If I had to submit a guess I would say that they were asked to build this ride on a certain budget and they did what they asked... and Holiday World got what they paid for. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Well said. VERY well said. See also CCI (vs. GCI). "You can pay me now or you can pay me later." Note also Villain was a wood coaster on steel supports, not unlike Cheetah, Great White, Hoosier Hurricane, (and Comet at Great Escape, Coney Island Cyclone, Ravine Flyer II...) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOFreak Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 To be fair, when Voyage was purchased, $9 million dollars could get you more than it can now. Inflation should be considered in the number. (I'm no mechanical engineer, yet. This is just what has been to be in the past.) But as for the ride itself, the steel structure does not absorb a great deal of the forces exterted by the trains. Thus, the stress is placed primarily on the wooden tracks itself, instead of being dissipated through a traditional wooden structure. I believe the lack of a wooden struxture is essentially what is causing the Voyage to tear itself apart. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 To be fair, when Voyage was purchased, $9 million dollars could get you more than it can now. Inflation should be considered in the number. (I'm no mechanical engineer, yet. This is just what has been to be in the past.) But as for the ride itself, the steel structure does not absorb a great deal of the forces exterted by the trains. Thus, the stress is placed primarily on the wooden tracks itself, instead of being dissipated through a traditional wooden structure. I believe the lack of a wooden struxture is essentially what is causing the Voyage to tear itself apart. Every time Kings Island adds a large roller coaster it's, "the biggest investment in park history." It was true for Banshee, it was true for Diamondback, and it'll be true for the next one. Why? You got it. Inflation. More so, however, the price of steel goes up considerably. Then again $9 million was incredibly under priced then, and it's incredibly under priced now... even at $11, 12, 13 million... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Son of Beast was also the largest investment in park history, at the time...and became even more so as time passed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 Son of Beast was also the largest investment in park history, at the time...and became even more so as time passed. Having seen the video of the announcement, they don't mention a price tag. I remember taking a back stage SOB tour several years ago with some coaster group and someone asked how much it cost. Jeff Siebert told them that they "couldn't release the exact number, but the entire Action Zone expansion was over $25 million." I think they were embarrassed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 The entire Action Zone expansion was an estimated $35 million... As for seeing a video of the announcement... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Nemo Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 SOB and Voyage still to this day are my favorite wooden coasters. Now I have not been on Voyage in a long long time so I don't know how it is now but no matter the roughness, I still think it is a better terrain coaster than Beast. PS, TRTR was the parks 2nd most expensive price tag. Shame my two favorite rides in the park had to be taken away. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendrick Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 SOB and Voyage still to this day are my favorite wooden coasters. I thought I was alone on feeling that way. I think that these are the only two rides that have ever given me the feeling that I was out of control. (Although I haven't ridden nearly as much as others on here.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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