In defense of Grizzly
LARGE RE-WRITE
Not so that you would know by reading this thread, but lately I have not been feeling the love for Grizzly.
This weekend PK, Luke, Evan and I were at KD and all of us, besides Evan rode Grizzly. Luke and I went back later and at his insistence rode it 3 times in a row. I was reminded why, when I was a kid this was one of my favorite coasters and why we would repeatedly walk quickly off of it, sprint down the long path and jump back in line to ride it again!
“It must be smooth as glass,” you say!
Chaos no!
“The inverts must make your head spin!” You quip.
It is an old woodie, so no.
“Well then the cultural significance must rival BGW’s Nessie!” you retort.
Probably not.
“So why do you like it?” You ask accusingly!
When she is running at speed, it is a complete sprint from start to finish. In most modern coasters I feel like I am there for the ride in a figurative sense. It is more or less a passive experience. You are just sitting there pinned down by they restraint system and the park's legal and insurance teams. Not so on this Coney Island throw back.
Maybe it is partly due to my size but I have to really hold myself in place, it is an active thing. My muscles are tense the whole time. I make it worse as I am an Arms-up-no-matter-what-moron. (Yup, even in the tunnels) The harness pins me down to a certain extent, but after that drop and camel hump I come way out of my seat, Each and Every Time! I search the car for toe holds, lips, anything to help pin me in. The pace never lets up, the cars rattle and it thunders down the track. Finally as if it is taking a gasp of breath it breaks at the ends, and you can still here wheels spinning away.
So let me address the nay sayer questions directly.
I personally think "smoothness" is over-rated. Certainly there is a point where a coaster goes from "rattle your teeth" to break your ribs, and that is No beano. But maybe because I grew up on coasters from the 70s and 80s "smoothness" just is not a thing for me.
Inverts bore me. There I said it. Throw all the rotten veggies you like!
I do appreciate "cultural significance" but to me that is over-shadowed by a coasters "personality." I do not need to tell y’all how I feel about My Lady, Loch Ness, but she has the same thing, a personality unto herself. This is something, I cannot say form B&Ms. They are like Toyotas, Exceptionally well-engineered and smooth as glass, and never break down, etc. etc. Also like Toyotas, they seem to have no personality and are often very much all alike.
I digress as this is not my planned "Why I do not like B&M coasters" post.
Simply put, Grizzly, like Nessie, is alive, she is an angry mamma bear and she lets you know it.
Now, proceed with the vitriol.