The song is better than the ride. And the song is terrible.
To keep this reply on topic, Shockwave was, is, and forever will be a steaming pile of shit.
Shockwave
- Thread starter I305Evan
- Start date
The song is better than the ride. And the song is terrible.
To keep this reply on topic, Shockwave was, is, and forever will be a steaming pile of shit.
I sure wish someone else had gotten to ride the Shockwave I rode.
Great coaster ... maybe only for 1986, but a proper use of the standup concept. Small enough to need that extra "gimmick" (although not that small in 1986). Motions appropriate for standing, mostly a forwards-backwards whip, only a few moments of laterals. It got in trouble when it did laterals, but only the exit of the helix was a surprise you might not see coming. Weird restraints, but it was possible to never have the bars touch your head or neck, unlike B&M's horrendous standup headbanging trash trying to rub your ears off. It did hurt if you hit the bars, I think that happened to me exactly twice, my first or second ride on it back in the late 80s, and the first time I rode it after a decade. Loading was slow, biggest flaw really. It also held up very well, its last ride after 25 years was almost exactly like the first.
Do I miss it? Not much as I rode it at least 1000 times. But I wish it was still around so people could experience what a proper standup coaster was like ... who am I kidding? No one noticed. Clearly B&M didn't ride it because they had no clue what a standup coaster was about.
Great coaster ... maybe only for 1986, but a proper use of the standup concept. Small enough to need that extra "gimmick" (although not that small in 1986). Motions appropriate for standing, mostly a forwards-backwards whip, only a few moments of laterals. It got in trouble when it did laterals, but only the exit of the helix was a surprise you might not see coming. Weird restraints, but it was possible to never have the bars touch your head or neck, unlike B&M's horrendous standup headbanging trash trying to rub your ears off. It did hurt if you hit the bars, I think that happened to me exactly twice, my first or second ride on it back in the late 80s, and the first time I rode it after a decade. Loading was slow, biggest flaw really. It also held up very well, its last ride after 25 years was almost exactly like the first.
Do I miss it? Not much as I rode it at least 1000 times. But I wish it was still around so people could experience what a proper standup coaster was like ... who am I kidding? No one noticed. Clearly B&M didn't ride it because they had no clue what a standup coaster was about.
Agreed: I have no idea what Shockwave you rode! ?
From age 9 to age 20-something, Shockwave provided exactly the same experience for so many: unnecessarily long lines, a too-slow load process, awkward and janky restraints, an excruciatingly pokey lift, an average drop, a truly great vertical loop (it must be said), an approximately-"engineered" plunge into a skull-cleaving rock tumbler of a helix, ending with perhaps the saddest and least fluid, most pointless attempt at a sequence of hills I have ever witnessed on a steel ride in my life. Watching the poor trains attempt to negotiate those hills while retaining any semblance of self respect was heartbreaking. Without riders aboard, they looked like a gang of runaway baking pans carrying defunct animatronics that had been stripped of their skins. With riders aboard, they looked essentially the same, just frownier.
And then those brakes. I wonder how many retainers were flung into surprised ballistic trajectories to oblivion, back there behind the station.
People complain about B&M stand-ups. Honestly, they are as far beyond the Togo and Arrow stand-up efforts as Kumba is beyond the Great American Scream Machines of the world. I'm not generally a fan of the phrase, "You have to know how to ride it." But after watching countless riders bring that B&M bike seat right up into inexplicably snug schnutz-crushing range, and/or fasten themselves in with knees totally extended and locked into a ridiculous failed facsimile of comfortable standing, I do make an exception for the B&M stand-ups. Relaxed standing position, easy on the seat height, and life is pretty good. Next to Shockwave, even Green Lantern can provide a solid ride that feels like it was actually designed by engineers trained in the field of dynamics. That's a standard Shockwave aspired to (seriously, that loop was terrific) but never attained.
From age 9 to age 20-something, Shockwave provided exactly the same experience for so many: unnecessarily long lines, a too-slow load process, awkward and janky restraints, an excruciatingly pokey lift, an average drop, a truly great vertical loop (it must be said), an approximately-"engineered" plunge into a skull-cleaving rock tumbler of a helix, ending with perhaps the saddest and least fluid, most pointless attempt at a sequence of hills I have ever witnessed on a steel ride in my life. Watching the poor trains attempt to negotiate those hills while retaining any semblance of self respect was heartbreaking. Without riders aboard, they looked like a gang of runaway baking pans carrying defunct animatronics that had been stripped of their skins. With riders aboard, they looked essentially the same, just frownier.
And then those brakes. I wonder how many retainers were flung into surprised ballistic trajectories to oblivion, back there behind the station.
People complain about B&M stand-ups. Honestly, they are as far beyond the Togo and Arrow stand-up efforts as Kumba is beyond the Great American Scream Machines of the world. I'm not generally a fan of the phrase, "You have to know how to ride it." But after watching countless riders bring that B&M bike seat right up into inexplicably snug schnutz-crushing range, and/or fasten themselves in with knees totally extended and locked into a ridiculous failed facsimile of comfortable standing, I do make an exception for the B&M stand-ups. Relaxed standing position, easy on the seat height, and life is pretty good. Next to Shockwave, even Green Lantern can provide a solid ride that feels like it was actually designed by engineers trained in the field of dynamics. That's a standard Shockwave aspired to (seriously, that loop was terrific) but never attained.
OK. So, I am happy to condemn Shockwave for being the Ball Busting Breast Bruising nightmare that it was. Indeed, I find the angst over it's demise to be rather confusing.
That said, Mantis was the single most sadistic torture device I have ever had the misfortune to endure. I cannot adequately express the sheer loathing that I still feel for that machine of pure evil that left me whimpering on a bench, unable even to entertain the concept of riding anything other than the train for the next hour. I was still in pain a week later.
So, Shockwave may have been bad, but Mantis was irrefutably the bastard spawn of Shockwave and Drachen Fire. May all three of them burn in eternal hellfire.
That said, Mantis was the single most sadistic torture device I have ever had the misfortune to endure. I cannot adequately express the sheer loathing that I still feel for that machine of pure evil that left me whimpering on a bench, unable even to entertain the concept of riding anything other than the train for the next hour. I was still in pain a week later.
So, Shockwave may have been bad, but Mantis was irrefutably the bastard spawn of Shockwave and Drachen Fire. May all three of them burn in eternal hellfire.
I heard that scrap metal for razor blades became awfully cheap following this ride's demise.
I concur with @Nicole on Mantis - Shockwave may have been somewhat uncomfortable at points but otherwise wasn't too terrible nor a super long ride. But Mantis was a long unforgiving knee crushing ride with almost no redeeming qualities other than it made for a decent floorless conversion to Rougarou.
I concur with @Nicole on Mantis - Shockwave may have been somewhat uncomfortable at points but otherwise wasn't too terrible nor a super long ride. But Mantis was a long unforgiving knee crushing ride with almost no redeeming qualities other than it made for a decent floorless conversion to Rougarou.
Let's not forget that Shockwave had toilet seats wrapped in pool noodles for headrests.
Standup coasters were a bad idea all around. I don't care who built them, the best coaster builder or the worst. Just a bad idea all around.
On this topic: Riddler’s Revenge riders, any thoughts? I found it to be not just best of breed, but an absolutely terrific ride in SFMM’s collection.
I never had an issue with Mantis, and consider the highly polarized opinions of that ride (and B&M stand-ups overall) to be one of the amusementsphere’s great all-time rider-experience intrigues. Beyond what we could ever achieve here, I’d love to see someone undertake a comprehensive physical survey of riders + riding positions and come with a Grand Unified Theory of predictive stand-up rider experience characterization.
I never had an issue with Mantis, and consider the highly polarized opinions of that ride (and B&M stand-ups overall) to be one of the amusementsphere’s great all-time rider-experience intrigues. Beyond what we could ever achieve here, I’d love to see someone undertake a comprehensive physical survey of riders + riding positions and come with a Grand Unified Theory of predictive stand-up rider experience characterization.
Actually I thought the loop was just OK and the hills were great. The hill design was close to take a compass and draw an arc of a circle for the top of the hill and flip it over and draw another arc for the bottom. Simplistic and "wrong" for most coasters but it generated maximum angular change which increased the sensation that it was trying to throw you off. That was its simple formula, put you in a vulnerable position and then make feel like it's trying to kill you.... B&M's standup formula was, except for the train dimensions and making it extra wimpy, exactly as for any other of their looping coasters. It may require 100x as much engineering but it just didn't work. Also, they were still perfecting their craft on most of them.
Green Lantern is one of the few B&M loopers with a straight drop and it zero airtime. Are you kidding me? By 20 feet down the drop on Shockwave in the back row, your feet had come off the floor and it had made you feel like it was going to fling you halfway across the park.
One thing I'm considering about popularly complained-about coasters is the context. Shockwave was the only looping coaster at KD for 4-5 years until Anaconda. Then came Hurler which wasn't at all terrible but I definitely remember just thinking "why?". It wasn't until after Dominator that these rides properly started seeming like icing on the cake, though not for long..
There always seems to be that one stand up for everyone that agrees with them. For me its green lantern, all the others ive been on rattle my head something terrible. Not been out west yet, but soon i hope.
Oddly, I too found Green Lantern to be enjoyable. Not a bad spot on the ride for me personally. My friend said the same thing. We thought we were going to get our asses kicked, but really liked it.
I truly think there is a magnifying effect with these rides, where slight variations in body type, riding position, etc. make huge differences in rider experience. Way more than other large coasters.
I truly think there is a magnifying effect with these rides, where slight variations in body type, riding position, etc. make huge differences in rider experience. Way more than other large coasters.
We went to KD this weekend and my wife asked "whatever happened to that stand up coaster - the one with all the duct tape". The first time she rode it was in the mid 90's. I remember when it first opened it was pretty good but I can only imagine how it aged into the 2000's. The front "seats" were the best.
this ride was sweet, they should bring it back. i loved the way the seat felt when i got airtime, it just gave me chills everytime, anyone else?
I got it at the start when you need the chain to pull the train along the flat part.
Considering the layout changes they had to make to the end of that ride to accommodate the dolphin theater, that's not surprising.