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Your Woodstock Gliders Experience


TheBEASTunchained
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Websites aren't always up-to-date. I rode Lake Erie Eagles multiple times in 2014, and the ride definitely had a Fast Lane queue.

I remembered the Fast Lane line also from last year. After not finding any online "proof" I thought I was maybe remembering things wrong. 

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There are few times when I exert my grown-up power and force the kids to ride something in a particular order. Today was that time and the ride was, of course, Woodstock Gliders. My oldest nephew had been on the flyers at the Columbus Zoo so he was familiar with it. The other two watched it but didn't fully understand how much fun they were about to have. With it being their first ride, the youngest nephew rode with me and the niece rode with the oldest nephew. The youngest nephew wanted to move the rudder and did for the first swing around and then said, "you do it!". We got a bit twisty as did the other two in front of us and there was lots of giggling and laughter. They really enjoyed it and asked if we could ride it again. I call that a success!

As for load/ride/unload time - it was pretty consistent between 5-6 minutes. That doesn't bother me much but I must just be used to the longer load/ride/unload times in Planet Snoopy after the last few years. There is no "short" time on Flying Ace Aerial Chase or Kite Eating Tree.  I'm just glad that the ride seems to slow down faster than the set at Cedar Point. 

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I finally got a few rides in this past Friday. After a brief ride shutdown just as I got in line, I waited as more and more left the line and got my first ride about 20 minutes after I arrived.

 

They are alot of fun...but ultimately almost frustrating to ride since I grew up riding our original version...not even close to the same ride experience in my opinion. Our old set had that uncontrollable feeling after about a minute or so in and it just got crazier from there untl the end of the ride. This version almost teases like you might get a decent snap, but I did not see anyone acheiving that. They ride cycle is very short, so once you really get going, it already slowing down. Like I said, it is a fun ride and is a hit with all the multitudes of children in line, but it pales in comparison to the original Eagles.

 

I'll also note, due to the locking seatbelts, it seemed to me a very long wait time from midway through the que. The ride ops were fine, it just takes time to let the ride stop, unlock every belt as they were making sure the each flyer stopped swaying, and then letting the guest (and child) get out. Easily one of the slowest lines in the park...which I understand since it's in Planet Snoopy. I'm just jaded and miss the old days of unsnapping my own seatbelt, sticking my foot out and sliding to a stop ( think I ruined a couple pairs of tennis shoes doing that), then hopping out and getting back in line.

 

I really don't want to come of as totally negative about the new version, as by the looks of the line, everyone loved it. Riding them just made me miss the original Flying Eagles that much more.

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I can confirm that Woodstock's Glider's are indeed snap-able. I did not snap (I'm not very good at it lol), but I definitely felt a snap when someone did during my first night ride on them (and my cousin's first overall ride on them) on the 24th. 

 

EDIT: I'd also like to give my two cents about the old set since people are comparing them to our original set. I only rode those once and I don't remember much. However, I had low expectations going into my first WG flight as my most recent flyers experience was at Stricker's Grove's. Thankfully, Woodstock's Gliders blew me away and I think it's a really fun ride!

 

Also, I was told that night I should ride the old set since I love ours so much!

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Part of me feels, rightly or wrongly, that the snapability of the old set has grown in some exaggeration since they left us.  Were they one of the best sets out?  Yes, probably.  But just how The Beast was once so much faster than it is now, etc these things grow in our minds...

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It's awesome that some of you have been able to or have seen someone snap...I haven't been so fortunate. Maybe with some more practice. It is nice to have a set back in the park.

 

Ha! I get what you're saying shark6495. But, as far as the snappability of our old set. I had some just plain violent snaps and times when it almost came as a surprise. Riding the old set, it did not take much at all to get the snapping going...my oldest son, who was around 10 or so when he grew to love the ride, snapped the first time he rode it (with a little coaching from me beforehand, of course).

 

Guess I need to get out to the park and try again...time to teach my youngest what it's all about. :)

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I rode Woodstock Gliders multiple times during ERT.  I wasn't a regular park-goer until 4ish years ago so I never really knew about the old Flying Eagles.

 

I didn't really know what I was doing but I 'think' I was doing something to the effect of making the plane go really high then really low to the concrete below.

 

Snaps? No.  But hey, it was still fun.

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Went on the YouTube to find some WG footage, here's a few that I found.

 

 

 

For your Off Season enjoyment. (You can thank me later, as I too search the Internet for the same videos.)

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Dang it, BoddaH, now I feel all weepy. It was a good reminder for why I never rode them as a child though. I was particularly afraid of things that seemed out-of-control and chaotic, especially when humans were "behind the wheel" as it were.

I would love to ride them now!

Last time I rode the new ones, the ride op was rating which number flyers got the highest, so that added a little bit of fun and competition even though I haven't made them snap.

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I got a chance to ride the new flyer set at Kings Island this past Friday.  The new set is actually quite fun.  You can get some really nice swinging going which definitely surprised me.  It's very much on par with the old set in that regard.

 

Having said that, this new set is NOT snappable in my opinion.  All you need to do is watch the ride from the ground and take a look at the cables.  The cables remain taught all the way through the ride no matter what position the cars are in, which eliminates almost any possibility of snapping.  I overheard one woman with her kid even say "this was fun but I miss our old ones."  I'm not saying that two people represent the opinion of everyone, and I'd argue that - ignoring the snapping element - the new set is good, but it's not the same as the set now at Carowinds.

 

If someone out there can get a video of someone being able to snap KI's current set of flyers, I'd love to see it posted here and be proved wrong in the process.

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In the second video, isn't that what blue number 1 car is doing? It looks like he gets a few good snaps in. Just from watching these new ones and the new ones Cedar Point got last year, I like ours better, they def slow down a lot faster then Cedar Points flyers.

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On Woodstock's Gliders and all Fliers in general, it's all in the initial motion....start out with the fin pushed to the left until the car starts to move outward, then rapidly switch the fin to the right. Keep this up and in about three swings you are snapping. Most novices switch too early. You have to hold the fin to the full left or right until you reach the desired apex. The short cycle on the Glider's doesn't help but it can be done.

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Rode these for a second time last night.  I think after the ride yesterday I have a handle on why this set just doesn't have the same oomph as the ones at Carowinds.

 

When you're at the top of the swing on KI's set and you swing the handle quickly to the right, the flyer doesn't actually start swinging to the left right away.  There's a more noticeable delay on this set.  It's almost like the flyer has to think about it for a second...and then it responds.  The Carowinds set starts turning really quickly after you change the direction of the sail and that provides a quicker trip down.  The quicker trip down means that the rider has a chance to get the cables to go slack which in turn causes the snap.    

 

I've seen novice riders snap the set at Carowinds. I've seen empty gliders snap at Carowinds. I've yet to see anyone snap KI's set in person, and I haven't heard the awesome "ker-chunk" sound after a snap on the KI set (although the video that BB1 posted does show someone snapping, so I retract my earlier comment about the snappability).  As upstop mentioned, the short ride cycle doesn't really allow you to get going, but perhaps they'll address that later on down the line. 

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