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Purists won’t like this comment but it’s a huge waste of money to retrack wooden coasters these days when Titan track etc is available.

Plus if a wooden coaster is never fully retracked, it will never be a great ride start to finish. Only parts.

I read this on Screamscape, but this was an excellent point.

For years Thunder Road was partially retracked. By the time they would do another section of the previous renovated section would become rough. We all know where thunder Road ended up after years of partial retracks. 😕
 
Purists won’t like this comment but it’s a huge waste of money to retrack wooden coasters these days when Titan track etc is available.

Plus if a wooden coaster is never fully retracked, it will never be a great ride start to finish. Only parts.

I read this on Screamscape, but this was an excellent point.

For years Thunder Road was partially retracked. By the time they would do another section of the previous renovated section would become rough. We all know where thunder Road ended up after years of partial retracks. 😕
The new track done by GG is expected to last MUCH longer than traditional wooden track. It shouldn't have the "By the time they would do another section" problem. This ain't your mama's old school track.
 
Purists won’t like this comment but it’s a huge waste of money to retrack wooden coasters these days when Titan track etc is available.

Plus if a wooden coaster is never fully retracked, it will never be a great ride start to finish. Only parts.

I read this on Screamscape, but this was an excellent point.

For years Thunder Road was partially retracked. By the time they would do another section of the previous renovated section would become rough. We all know where thunder Road ended up after years of partial retracks. 😕
Titan track would take away from the classic wooden coaster feel and IMO should only be used on coasters meant to have crazy elements, and ONLY during those elements. As many people including @Riboflavenus said, this pre-cut track is supposed to last way longer than normal wooden track. Thunder Road never had pre-cut track obviously. Besides, there's the chance they're only allocating the last part of the track to be redone for another season. I also wouldn't rely on Screamscape all the time since they're known for taking anything their readers send in and making news about it.
 
Reports of Thunder Road after I rode in 1998 sounds like it was substantially improved before it was removed. Seemed like it might not make it back to the station, and no one was riding it (but they were still running both sides!).

I advocate Titan retracking of the most highly stressed areas of truly problematic woodies and continuing full maintenance, spread less thin. Or, if the park is simply unwilling keep up the work, it's still better than letting the coaster die. I definitely would be interested to try a full-Titan ride, and it could be very good, but don't want that for a coaster I love or loved and shouldn't really need it.
 
The majority of park customers don’t care if the track is wood or steel. They do care if it’s rough. Steel track is the solution to a long lasting improved ride.
It just makes business sense.
 
This is so weird I walked up to Grizzly and there’s all these humans in the station waiting for every single row?

EDIT: It is one train ops…..
I had that when i went on a Sunday with 2 train ops. While stopping after 2/3 was done wasn't ideal, to me it does look like it was enough to get people tor ride it more. Good to see full trains every run. Still wasn't a long wait, but did wait a few trains each time. Now if they finish the job and fix the damned entry, they will really have something.
 
Yeah I’d say my perception of Grizzly has improved so much I actually will ride it a few times if it’s a walk on which before only happened for I305, TT, and Dominator so that’s a good thing. That and it appears guests are more interested in riding and you will actually see people walking out of the exit and going back into the line now.
 
I rode Grizzly for the first time in like 15 years today. The new track work is great but the end of the ride was a royal pain.
 
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I rode this 3 times on Sunday, so I think i have enough experience to put my two cents in:

It is the BEST it will ever be. The first part lulls you in with a false sense of security, just like finding a little bear cub would, but the minute you are out of the tunnel, the Grizzly is after you, and he is NOT going easy on your body, which is great. 10/10 would ride multiple times again.
 
I like it a lot as it is now, but I certainly would rather they finished the refurb. Plus I *think* it's taking more speed into that later part, which seems like it's going to make it deteriorate further. Maybe that's just my imagination, though.
 
Yes, that line was insane for the Grizzly ERT tonight. At 7pm I went to check on it - where my son and I were originally thinking of partaking tonight - and it was already from the ride entrance, wrapped into the Grizzly Gulch.

Then at 7:35pm, you can see how it stretched way out the shop, all the way to theater.

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And then at 8:00pm - which is when the ERT event is supposed to begin - here it is all the way past the theater.

IMG_2889.jpg

I asked the people at the very front of the line when they started waiting - that is, when I went to ride Grizzly at 7:30, as the station was empty with absolutely no wait time, because everyone was already in the line for the ERT 🙂- and the line apparently started at 5:20pm today. So absolutely amazing! But at the same time, great to see the average park goer so enthused about the coaster (and of course the free t-shirt, for the first 200 at least).

BTW. I don't think I've seen it posted here yet. But a week or so ago, as part of the usual dispatch announcement for the coaster, they now play a grizzly growl just after the announcement. So a nice touch indeed... kind of what they added for Reptilian last year.
 
My issue is the park went out of their way to say don't line up before 8 and then said screw it. I heard from a number of people in line that had the sane frustration if you post that the line starts at 8 then it shouldn't be starting at 5:30. On top of that there was little enforcement line with one person holding spots for many people who showed up later then that.

On my way out a staff member that appeared to be senior stopped me and asked did I enjoy my time to which I responded yes but that it seemed somewhat disrespectful of guest that followed your repeated directions to not line up before 8 that you went ahead and gave out shirts to people that ignored those directions. The response I got back was basically people do what they want to do we can't help it. On a side note every post on social media including there video of the line that they posted at 7:30 that was getting negative comments about how they said that the line wouldn't start to 8 appears to have been pulled.
 
On top of that there was little enforcement line with one person holding spots for many people who showed up later then that.
A friend of mine was behind a group that did this. They (my friend) lined up at about 6:45 because they started to notice more and more people doing it. Figured if they were told to stop they would ride the cars over and over until it was time.

Well at 7:15ish someone came and replaced the person in front of them in line. Then again at 7:30ish. And one last time at 7:45ish. At 8pm, the group of 2 waiting was suddenly a group of 8.

Of my friends group one person stepped out to find a park employee to tell them they shouldn’t get shirts or needed to go to the back of the line.

The response they were given was that there was going to be no enforcement of line holding or the original waiting plan because the complaints would be too difficult to deal with and it wouldn’t be fair to the people that waited or missed out riding other things.
 
Considering it's ERT all the time when I'm there, I figured this would be the worst way to get a ride. There could have been some extra enthusiasm for the ride, but this looks more like the park was open later but only one ride open, oh BTW FREE! Did they announce it over the PA?
 
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KD: Don't line up.
Also KD: Only the first 200 people are getting shirts.

Structurally, from the start, profoundly stupid.
Was it a poor idea sure but enforcement would have been simple one employee going going hey the lone doesn't start till 8 if you are in line before 8 you will not be counted and problem solved.

What I wonder about was KD so out of touch that they didn't realize that the event would be popular?
 
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