[RiDeWaRrIoR]

I talked to a couple guys yesterday from Va. and they were telling me that the restraints arent bad. I still think the OTSR would suck, and I see that a lot of people do agree with this. They also said without the OTSR that you would be thrown out. I guess its all in option huh? They said that it very INTENSE, and ours isnt intense, which I do agree I dont think it to be intense at all and I dont mind that because its so smooth and relaxing. Maybe will will get a launch coaster that is more intense in the future... I like our lapbar restaints, and the fact that when you sit down your feet are not onthe ground, so its almost like a FLOORLESS HYPER. Anyway I hope to get to go ride I-305 just to experience it and see how it compares, but I would also love to go to bush gardens, cedar point, kings island, and SFOG. Oh well, our intimidator is great, IMO, so I am happy with it!

[Jonathan]

^^ but can you really fault the trim on i305 due to it's absolute necessity? Obviously that ride was built to have a trim there, a pretty serious one at that, or the return run to the brakes would tear the ride apart. Not only would the right to left transition be completely over the top (more so than the 90 mph one earlier in the ride) but the train would slam into the brake run and put huge lateral force on the straight up/down supports holding up the brakes (it already shakes a little when a train rolls in).

Not sure I agree with this. The ride goes through turns very similar to the last two at a much greater speed prior to the trim brake. But either way, it's irrelevant. If Intamin can't design a ride without having to put a massive trim completely killing any potential airtime on two of only three hills on the ride, that's not my problem. Whether the brake is necessary doesn't matter at all in my book; all I can do is judge the ride as it is, and that brake along with the restraints were the two overwhelming factors that make that coaster only good to me when it could have been one of the best rides in the world. I know others disagree and absolutely love it, though, so to each his own.

They also said without the OTSR that you would be thrown out.

This reeks of fanboyism. Why would you get thrown out without a shoulder restraint? El Toro has airtime ten times stronger than anything 305 (or any other ride I've ever been on for that matter) produces, and so far no one has been ejected. A well designed lapbar is 100% safe. I know this topic has been beaten into the ground, but it keeps coming back up and I'm going to keep shooting it down. This kind of thinking is the reason why rides like Revolution at Magic Mountain were ruined by removing the lap bars and installing shoulder harnesses. It just seems dumb to me to design a ride that is made up almost entirely of rapid left to right and right to left transitions yet has overhead restraints. My shoulders have bruises on them after 8 rides. The best part is that the restraints on 305 are essentially a traditional lap bar with shoulder straps mounted onto them, so the shoulder restraint part serves literally zero purpose other than to act as an object for you to smash your head or shoulders into during the turns.

[bgwfreak]

I'm finally popping up in this thread, Friday I had some incredible rides on Intimidator.

My first train out I had (literally) the entire back half of the train to myself. No trims came on and it was the most intense and air-filled ride to date.

I've been on Intimidator 40 times now, and never have I had a bad experience with the second trim. It was firing Friday, but not so much it was killing air or whatever or making the train shuffle on that hill like some have told me.

It may be they were just tweaking it, but I can't honestly complain about any of my 10 rides Friday.

I finally felt the full force of this ride, and by the 8th ride I was starting to feel a little weak in the knees, well more weak in the quads would be more accurate. Those g's on the valleys definitely will take their toll on you after continuous rides (no complaint though).

Overall Intimidator is still sitting atop my No. 1 spot on my steel list, and honestly I thought it might be a top 5 at best when we were looking at it test that day ACE went out there.

[Skycoastin Steve]

The best part is that the restraints on 305 are essentially a traditional lap bar with shoulder straps mounted onto them, so the shoulder restraint part serves literally zero purpose other than to act as an object for you to smash your head or shoulders into during the turns.

I'm going to jump in one this one. The OTSRs on Maverick and I305 serve the purpose of allowing larger guests to ride. Think about a regular lap bar, or just for argument's sake, the Intimidator lap bars. They pull down from in front of the rider's legs, and if the person has a large mid-section and/or legs, the lap bar isn't going to pull down far enough because the legs and/or mid-section get in the way. With the OTSRs, it pulls down from over the head, therefore automatically eliminating any resistance from the legs, and as long as it pulls down far enough for the seatbelt to lock, it's good to go.

As a good point of reference, I have a couple of family members who are larger than the average person (but not fat by any stretch of the imagination) that were easily able to ride Maverick last year, yet didn't come anywhere near being able to fit on TTD or MF. Granted, the problem with those coasters was the seatbelts, but those were designed in conjunction with the lap bars (in other words, they made the seatbelts only long enough to fit people who could easily and safely fit in the lap bars).

I won't even get into the potential hazard of the insane lateral forces on Maverick and I305 and the injuries that probably would have ensued if they only had lapbars.

Also, on the subject of trims, I don't think the trims ruin either Intimidator, but that's just my personal opinion.

[jasonwilson88]

^ Anyone that believes i305 needs those awful neck slammers hasn't ridden the ride. As Jeff intelligently pointed out, the bar comes down and hits your legs while flimsy neck straps (I saw someone grab a chunk out of one of them during the ride) get nowhere close to touching you until they slam you in the neck. The bar is even seatbelted down to the seat! Intamin has proven with this ride that they really don't care about designing a decent lap bar, neck slamming be damned. I even heard a person behind me in line questioning why FoF next door doesn't have shoulder straps yet it flips, while i305 doesn't, this isn't just an enthusiast complaint. If your legs are pinned to the seat, and the shoulder straps make no (desirable) contact with riders, they are clearly there only for the illusion of safety.

i305's intensity and speed are quite amazing, unmatched in my opinion, but I know from experience now that as I come down the 2nd hill into the twisty section that I must be prepared to avoid the straps or just take a beating in the neck multiple times at 90+ mph. The transitions in this twisty section are AWESOME and designed so perfectly that you should get airtime on each one. Instead of throwing my hands up and yelling like a madman during this intensely fun section I'm not stuck bracing myself against the bar.

i305 would be the world's best coaster imo with lapbars, but for now it's just great. I'm not calling for the return of Intamin t-bars (as amazing as they feel when you ride TTD or MF) because the design is obviously flawed to the point where tiny cloth seat belts are being used to restrict fat riders. There is absolutely no reason Intamin couldn't design a lapbar that manages to pin even large guests to the seat (think X-Car) without the need for a chintzy belt check. As a very skinny person it's hard to feel that we aren't having our rides ruined because America continues to get more and more disgustingly out of shape, but I know the true blame should be placed on Intamin.

[Skycoastin Steve]

^Well, I have ridden it. In fact, I was on the 6th train on opening day, 2 trains after the auction riders finished, and Jack Falfus escorted me onto the ride. But that's beside the point.

The point I was making was I305 has OTSRs because of a combination of two reasons. 1. They allow for larger guests to ride and 2. they prevent riders from experiencing any kind of *significant* injuries going through the S-curves. They'll take some sore shoulders and red necks (necks getting red, not rednecks) over people getting thrown either into each other or parts of the car. I personally witnessed a man come back into the station on Maverick with a dislocated shoulder because of the laterals. How much worse would it have been had his range of motion not been limited?

It's either your body stays upright and only moves a few inches side to side, or it's your entire body bending sideways at the waist to one side and then quickly bending the complete opposite direction immediately after that. Think about what happens when you're in a car and you take a turn too quickly, and then amplify it and imagine doing it at 70+ mph with nothing there to stop you. Sure, some enthusiasts might be able to "lean" with the turns and avoid this happening, but do you really think a majority of the GP would be able to? Or children? Or any older people that ride who don't have as much body control anymore? The injuries and complaints would be tenfold what they are now.

Please, someone help me out and cue up the violins for everyone complaining about restraints and/or trims. It's called safety. Get over it or just don't ride and the line will be that much shorter for me.

[coasterdave]

^Well, I have ridden it. In fact, I was on the 6th train on opening day, 2 trains after the auction riders finished, and Jack Falfus escorted me onto the ride. But that's beside the point.

Someone name dropping on here now? Please do tell us why you where personally escorted to the train cause I am sure some would like to hear and you would love to tell us since you did drop the name.

[Skycoastin Steve]

^I had gotten in with a couple guys who bought spots in the auction and gave me and a friend of mine their free tickets (which allowed us to go back there with them, something my Platinum Pass wouldn't have done). My friend and I were waiting at the entrance as the auction riders were going, and Jack Falfus spots my West Coast Bash 2010 shirt that has Knott's Berry Farm on the back. Since he was at Knott's for a slightly shorter period of time than Strom Thurmond was in Congress, he says, "This guy has Knott's Berry Farm on his shirt, let him in now." I asked him if my friend could come, too, and he said, and I quote, "Is he really your friend?"

Anyway, he led both of us up to the station and we got on in the 2nd row right in front of the random cheerleaders they had there. On the way up, he told me that Magnum will always be his #1 coaster and that he thought I305 was better than Millennium.

[chargercrazy]

Called out for name dropping ITT. LOL. Don't be dropping names around Dave, he'll put you in your place

[Skycoastin Steve]

^How did he put me in my place? I just told him exactly what happened.

[KenB]

^^And don't use your camera / Iphone to get a POV on a ride in front of him either.

Sunday I got some "pretty good" rides on Intimidator, with the 2nd trim not firing at all. Probably one of the best was after I ran into Wormy where we got assigned to row 6. I liked it a bit better than my row 4 ride earlier in the day.

I'm a bit torn still on where I like to sit - the back is definitely better on the drop and more forceful overall. I so love hearing people back there thinking the ride is over on the MCBR yelp when the train jumps down the drop into the helix. The airtime in the back tends to be a bit like the back of Hurler, where it comes on a bit late and then yanks you down the hill. I prefer the float you get towards the middle and front more, but the first drop gets worse the closer to the front you get. And several spots just don't have the force they do in the back.

I still find that the turnaround and helix do nothing for me, and seem to exist mainly to get the ride from Point A to Point B. The helix is probably just going to be like that since it follows the midcourse, but I'm hoping the turnaround is a bit more forceful if the ride picks up some speed in the summer heat.

[Mountain3307]

Well myself and my daughter got some rides in late Sunday afternoon. The first trim hit very lightly and added to the "floaty time" on that monster hill. To our delight, the second trim was off. Add that with a strong tailwind and you have great air and speed on the camelbacks. IMO, even better than Media Day... I have found if you look down in the middle of the turnaround, it takes the dullness out of it. Furthermore, you realise exactly how high up you are..

[RctWeekly]

This a a little off topic but does anyone think it is weird how we started a Intimidator Experience Thread and then KDFansite starts a Intimidator 305 Experience Thread?

[RiDeWaRrIoR]

I love to sit in the outside seat but on the inside of the turnaroundand look down, all you see is all the supports going to one footer, looks pretty sweet. It almost makes you feel upside down lol. The turnaround it probaly my favorite part of the ride. I cant wait to see what its like in the dark and those lights shining up. Maybe at scarowinds they will put some strobe lights in it, or just turn them off all together...

[carowindsman6654]

Whatever happened to the parking garage Dani said we were getting?