What if King Cobra weren't torn down?

[ThrillKingsFitzy]

Would you ride it?

[flightoffear1996]

I rode it when it was operational so yes I would ride it if it was still here 

[Maverick44]

What is with all these new threads that don't need their own threads? sigh.

[ThrillKingsFitzy]

Sorry, I'm new

[Maddog]

Hey @Fitzcoasts14 welcome to KIC!  But maybe slow it down a bit there bud . 

There's a lot of good stuff here at KIC for many days of reading.  Might be a good idea to get the feel of the place, use the search function, browse around a bit.  

[Maverick44]

Its ok, What I would do is use the search tab to search for topics that might relate and post your questions there! If you need help feel free to ask anyone or an admin.

[Joshua]

Unfortunately, I never rode it. Along with The Jaws Ride, that is one of my great regrets. 

[McSalsa]

7 minutes ago, Joshua said:

Unfortunately, I never rode it. Along with The Jaws Ride, that is one of my great regrets. 

If you still wanna ride a King Cobra-like coaster, good news is, it was cloned so a similar ride (same trains and layout) still exists. Bad news: it is all the way over in Italy. (It used to be SkyRider at Canada's Wonderland but they sold it in 2014 and removed it)

https://rcdb.com/12069.htm

You can also still ride a version of Jaws...in Japan. However, based on the fact the Japanese Jaws opened in 2001, it is probably a very different ride system versus the 1990 Jaws.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaws_(ride)

Oh, and on the topic of this thread: yes, I would have liked to at least tried King Cobra before it went kaput, but it closed after 2001 and I was scared of big roller coasters until 2009, so it just didn't make it nearly long enough. I do have memories of seeing it during my visit in 2000 though, the big loop right next to the pathway in Oktoberfest being a vivid memory.

[Maverick44]

I think I had a handful of rides on KC. I remember the final helix being very rough haha I was like 10 years old haha

[BeeastFarmer]

I think I had a handful of rides on KC. I remember the final helix being very rough haha I was like 10 years old haha

Is that what happened to you@Maverick44? Traumatized by TOGO and became an Intamin fanboy? Lol

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Maverick44]

12 hours ago, BeeastFarmer said:

Is that what happened to you@Maverick44? Traumatized by TOGO and became an Intamin fanboy? Lol

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 

YES! haha I think to be honest the worst coaster I have been on is Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds.

[BeeastFarmer]

54 minutes ago, Maverick44 said:

YES! haha I think to be honest the worst coaster I have been on is Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds.

The worst coaster I have been on is Hurler at Carowinds.  CC at C was a FUN coaster!

[Maverick44]

3 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

The worst coaster I have been on is Hurler at Carowinds.  CC at C was a FUN coaster!

It jerked me all around and for some reason it like whipped my head back. That wasn't fun lol Nor was flying cobras but that's a boomerang and none are fun lol

[Browntggrr]

KC was a fun coaster & VERY unique for when it was new.

Metal fatigue will get ya every time.

[ldhudsonjr]

I rode it but honestly can't remember what it was like, kind of bugs me.

[Maddog]

I rode it, and honestly I never liked it.  I would reluctantly ride when friends suggested it. 

Hard strapping the human body perpendicular to the track with no room for give (restraints were NOT soft).  I truly hated the little "bunny hills" at the end, as the forward/backwards force felt so unnatural to my body. 

But this is coming from someone who likes "free" motion during coasters, give me buzz bars!! 

[SnakePlissken]

7 hours ago, Maverick44 said:

It jerked me all around and for some reason it like whipped my head back. That wasn't fun lol Nor was flying cobras but that's a boomerang and none are fun lol

I know this is going off track but I was at Carowinds over the weekend and part of Hurlers recently been retracked and not only was most of it a smooth ride but the seats seemed brand new too.

[BruceWayneWins]

I rode it and I loved it.  My favorite was the side where there was nothing between you and the ground when looking down to the side on the lift hill.  I wanna say the right side?  

[shark6495]

I rode it and I loved it.  My favorite was the side where there was nothing between you and the ground when looking down to the side on the lift hill.  I wanna say the right side?  

I think it was left if I’m right? Where it turned right and you could look down and see Adventure Express?


It was the first and only ride where I have grayed out on it. Almost a complete black out. But man it was fun. I hated the bicycle seat though.


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[Maverick44]

16 hours ago, SnakePlissken said:

I know this is going off track but I was at Carowinds over the weekend and part of Hurlers recently been retracked and not only was most of it a smooth ride but the seats seemed brand new too.

yeah I didn't mind Hurler at all.

[lifetimecoaster]

 See my avatar picture.... that was one of my absolute favorite coasters as a kid. Part because it was super fun, part because I was YOUNG when I first rode it, and you were really cool in my little world if you rode that when you were as young as I was

[XGatorHead 8904]

On 7/23/2019 at 3:57 PM, Joshua said:

Unfortunately, I never rode it. Along with The Jaws Ride, that is one of my great regrets. 

Jaws was one of my favorites.  I rode it several times each trip in 1997 and 1999.  The last time I went to Universal Orlando was in 2011.  I spent a lot of time beforehand preparing my then-6 year old daughter for one of my favorite rides, telling her to just keep remembering that the shark that would be attacking us was fake.

The day finally came and as she was playing at the Curious George play area, I pulled out the park map and saw the notice that Jaws would be closed for maintenance starting the day of our visit; if I had known that ahead of time, I would have switched our Magic Kingdom day (the day before) with our Universal Studios day just to ride it.  Then, before we ever got the chance to go back, it was announced that the ride would be closing for good.  So, I'm very sorry that GatorGirl never got to experience one of my favorite rides by ONE FREAKIN' DAY!!!

As far as King Cobra goes, I loved that ride!  It was the best stand up coaster that I've ever ridden and I was very sad when they took it out.  I got to ride SkyRider years later (in 2014), but when I went to Kings Dominion in 2001 I skipped Shockwave because at the time we had the same coaster at KI.  That was before I was a credit hog! 

[Gordon Bombay]

I've been racking my brain trying to remember the queue line for King Cobra. Anyone have any photographs of it or the station? I've seen the views from the tower and such, but I'm still trying to remember that queue and iconic station...

IIRC: the queue line was at the center of the ride, kind of cramped, very jungle theme, lots of CRT televisions and you went up stairs into the station? The station had that operator booth above everything, looking down?

[XGatorHead 8904]

^You are correct about the queue.  You entered from the left of the coaster, went under the lift, the main queue area was cramped, surrounded by a brown fence, and then you went upstairs to the station.  I always wanted to go up into that operator booth looking down on the station, but sadly I never got the chance.

[Gordon Bombay]

1 hour ago, XGatorHead 8904 said:

^You are correct about the queue.  You entered from the left of the coaster, went under the lift, the main queue area was cramped, surrounded by a brown fence, and then you went upstairs to the station.  I always wanted to go up into that operator booth looking down on the station, but sadly I never got the chance.

Thanks! I remember the entrance itself (and that sign!), but not much beyond that. Appreciate you jogging my memory, Gator. 

Now, if anyone knows of some photographs... *cough* @TombraiderTy *cough*

[Browntggrr]

2 hours ago, XGatorHead 8904 said:

^You are correct about the queue.  You entered from the left of the coaster, went under the lift, the main queue area was cramped, surrounded by a brown fence, and then you went upstairs to the station.  I always wanted to go up into that operator booth looking down on the station, but sadly I never got the chance.

I can remember looking at the operator booth thinking: "Man, I want to be in that AC!"

[lifetimecoaster]

13 minutes ago, Browntggrr said:

I can remember looking at the operator booth thinking: "Man, I want to be in that AC!"

 As a weee lad, I remember when the train would leave the station, looking up at the driver thinking "That guy has the best seat in the house, getting to look down at his amazing coaster". Back then, and still to this day, I often like to believe that there is some strange feeling of loving ownership that a ride op and or driver feels for their coaster. 

 

[Joshua]

For whatever reason, when I was really young, I was intimidated by King Cobra and wouldn't ride it. As I got older, there was a huge chunk of my life where I hardly went to the park and during that time, they removed it. 

[Vortex]

King Cobra was a fun ride. It used to exit out to a gift shop.  

[bjcolglazier]

Loved it. I'm sad stand-up coasters fell out of favor simply due to the unique feeling/experience it provided. The ride in the front row was amazing as you were already rolling before you arrived at the drop, like Vortex, but doing it standing up was so different and fantastic IMO.