Myself and a small group were planning on visiting Idora Park in 1984, but heard about the fire that took part of Wildcat, so we wound up going to Cedar Point instead that year... Nice re-creation of a ride that at least I never got to experience!
This is great! I see there are two ‘dislikes’ and I can’t imagine why! What an outstanding piece of work. We’d love to have permission to use it as a video during our next museum opening. Of course you’d be credited - The Idora Park Experience.
when i was 16, i managed to snag a copy of "roller coaster fever", basically a yellow pages of major coasters all over the US. this was way before the internet and i'm sure i scoured that book thousands of times. the idora park wildcat was featured well and became one of my most sought after rides. if i could have only managed a trip to youngstown to ride it but sadly, never made it. i was super sad when i heard about its demolition.
Maybe you couldn't reproduce it, but the wild cat a MCBR that was angled at 45 degrees, that was the craziest part of that coaster. I don't think there has been anything like that Brake Run on any coaster in the world, and let me tell you when you hit that part it felt like you were gonna fall right out of the car. There were no seat straps either just a bar to hang on to. The only coaster where I though I was gonna literally fly out of. That being said you did a fine job. especially since there really is only one POV video floating around out there about the Wildcat.
We took complete VHS POV and off-ride of Wildcat, Jack Rabbit and lots of other defunct wood coasters in 1982 during a large coast to coast trip. I wonder if the video you speak of is the one we took?
@@crooked-halo I rewatched the vid and yes it is, I see where you have the mcbr now. It's been many years for me since I rode it. It just seemed like the MCBR on that angle was longer and more pronounced. Still this is a fantastic vid of the ride.
@@brucensuz If MCBR is "mid course brake run" Wildcat did not have one. There were a couple of anti-rollbacks that to some may look like brakes, but Wildcat was brake-free from start to finish. I actually don't think our video is anywhere online except a private Facebook roller coaster group. I've seen Paul Greenwald's great Wildcat video online, but have never seen ours. Ours, taken by in 1982, is a little better than Paul Greenwald's, but both are fantastic. Wildcat is one of the greatest roller coasters I've ever ridden, having ridden most of America's wood coasters since 1980.
Amazing recreation. My pu**y uncle would take me here when I was a little kid and said it was “way too dangerous” for me to ride - it’s like holding a piece of chocolate cake in front of someone’s face and saying they can’t eat it. I could at least enjoy it here.
Two things. There is a moment in the middle where the car is tilted / banked to the right but it's after the turn and not during. I remember that and it's done very well. ....on the other hand The Wildcat was very jerky and I would think that is hard to do in this sim animation. Also when the cars went up the first hill as it was connecting to the chain assist, it would really jerk the cars fairly well. That is missed here. Otherwise, great job with this animation.
It is so awesome that you got to ride this. Sadly, there are some realistic things the simulator just can't do. While it can simulate shaky rides, I turn that off so it doesn't distract from the POV. As for the jerk when catching the chain, that's something you'll only get to experience in real life.
@@RaptorAlex Here's one. The other main Coaster at Idora was the Jack Rabbit. You've done a great simulation of it already. Did you get the message that near the end of the park, they turned the cars around so that you were looking backwards? The Back Wabbit it was called. I'm guessing that this sim can't do that :-(
@@RaptorAlex BTW, there is a movie version on youtube of the Idora Wildcat that shows the shaky part. I'm going to assume that you've seen it. I posted your sim recreation vid on a facebook site and got 470 likes and 97 comments in about 20 hours. So, it's a hit with us old Youngstowners :-)
@@RaptorAlex another dumb comment. Is there a sim for carousels? Right beside the Idora Wildcat was the Idora Park Carousel. It's been reconditioned and is now working in Brooklyn...... called Jane's Carousel.
Fun fact, in 1999 the owners of conneaut lake park wanted to buy and relocate ether jack rabbit, or the wildcat to conneaut, sadly, this never came to be.
haha, I made the mistake of telling my friend that I hadn't ridden any roller coasters and he took me on the Wildcat like 8 times in one day. It was a quiet day at Idora and we'd get off and go right back on. There are a few places where the overhead beams weren't very far above the tracks and you wouldn't want to stand up. hehe...
There was the fire but many of these old "Trolley Parks" could not compete with the bigger amusement parks that had newer & faster metal coasters and water slides. like Geauga Lake and Cedar Point that were close enough for a day trip. Luckily, the carousel from Idora was saved, fully restored and is being enjoyed. in Brooklyn, Ny.
Myself and a small group were planning on visiting Idora Park in 1984, but heard about the fire that took part of Wildcat, so we wound up going to Cedar Point instead that year... Nice re-creation of a ride that at least I never got to experience!
This is great! I see there are two ‘dislikes’ and I can’t imagine why! What an outstanding piece of work. We’d love to have permission to use it as a video during our next museum opening. Of course you’d be credited - The Idora Park Experience.
Yes, please show it at The Idora Park Experience. I visited a couple of years ago and loved your museum!
Excellent job! It was a great woodie
when i was 16, i managed to snag a copy of "roller coaster fever", basically a yellow pages of major coasters all over the US. this was way before the internet and i'm sure i scoured that book thousands of times. the idora park wildcat was featured well and became one of my most sought after rides. if i could have only managed a trip to youngstown to ride it but sadly, never made it. i was super sad when i heard about its demolition.
Thank you for this great work!! It's perfect!
1st coaster I ever rode at like 10 or 11 years old. I remember it was super fun
Nice thing about these classic woodies from yesteryear is there's not a trim brake anywhere.
Great job!
That is awesome! Great job!
Maybe you couldn't reproduce it, but the wild cat a MCBR that was angled at 45 degrees, that was the craziest part of that coaster. I don't think there has been anything like that Brake Run on any coaster in the world, and let me tell you when you hit that part it felt like you were gonna fall right out of the car. There were no seat straps either just a bar to hang on to. The only coaster where I though I was gonna literally fly out of. That being said you did a fine job. especially since there really is only one POV video floating around out there about the Wildcat.
We took complete VHS POV and off-ride of Wildcat, Jack Rabbit and lots of other defunct wood coasters in 1982 during a large coast to coast trip. I wonder if the video you speak of is the one we took?
@@crooked-halo I rewatched the vid and yes it is, I see where you have the mcbr now. It's been many years for me since I rode it. It just seemed like the MCBR on that angle was longer and more pronounced. Still this is a fantastic vid of the ride.
@@brucensuz If MCBR is "mid course brake run" Wildcat did not have one. There were a couple of anti-rollbacks that to some may look like brakes, but Wildcat was brake-free from start to finish. I actually don't think our video is anywhere online except a private Facebook roller coaster group. I've seen Paul Greenwald's great Wildcat video online, but have never seen ours. Ours, taken by in 1982, is a little better than Paul Greenwald's, but both are fantastic. Wildcat is one of the greatest roller coasters I've ever ridden, having ridden most of America's wood coasters since 1980.
Amazing recreation. My pu**y uncle would take me here when I was a little kid and said it was “way too dangerous” for me to ride - it’s like holding a piece of chocolate cake in front of someone’s face and saying they can’t eat it. I could at least enjoy it here.
What a tease!
Two things. There is a moment in the middle where the car is tilted / banked to the right but it's after the turn and not during. I remember that and it's done very well. ....on the other hand The Wildcat was very jerky and I would think that is hard to do in this sim animation. Also when the cars went up the first hill as it was connecting to the chain assist, it would really jerk the cars fairly well. That is missed here. Otherwise, great job with this animation.
It is so awesome that you got to ride this. Sadly, there are some realistic things the simulator just can't do. While it can simulate shaky rides, I turn that off so it doesn't distract from the POV. As for the jerk when catching the chain, that's something you'll only get to experience in real life.
@@RaptorAlex Here's one. The other main Coaster at Idora was the Jack Rabbit. You've done a great simulation of it already. Did you get the message that near the end of the park, they turned the cars around so that you were looking backwards? The Back Wabbit it was called. I'm guessing that this sim can't do that :-(
@@RaptorAlex BTW, there is a movie version on youtube of the Idora Wildcat that shows the shaky part. I'm going to assume that you've seen it. I posted your sim recreation vid on a facebook site and got 470 likes and 97 comments in about 20 hours. So, it's a hit with us old Youngstowners :-)
@@RaptorAlex another dumb comment. Is there a sim for carousels? Right beside the Idora Wildcat was the Idora Park Carousel. It's been reconditioned and is now working in Brooklyn...... called Jane's Carousel.
@@bilbobaggins5704 You can turn the cars around in the simulator! I considered doing that for Back Wabbit, but it's low on my to-do list.
Love this your have great talent
Fun fact, in 1999 the owners of conneaut lake park wanted to buy and relocate ether jack rabbit, or the wildcat to conneaut, sadly, this never came to be.
That would have been something! I bet it was really deteriorated by then.
I rode this many times when i was a kid. And it was a lot more jerky on the bends than this lets on. but good sim,
That's cool! It looked really fun.
haha, I made the mistake of telling my friend that I hadn't ridden any roller coasters and he took me on the Wildcat like 8 times in one day. It was a quiet day at Idora and we'd get off and go right back on. There are a few places where the overhead beams weren't very far above the tracks and you wouldn't want to stand up. hehe...
That second hill would pop u outta your seat like crazy
Why did it close ?
It was damaged in a major fire that took out a portion of the park.
@@RaptorAlex oh.
There was the fire but many of these old "Trolley Parks" could not compete with the bigger amusement parks that had newer & faster metal coasters and water slides. like Geauga Lake and Cedar Point that were close enough for a day trip. Luckily, the carousel from Idora was saved, fully restored and is being enjoyed. in Brooklyn, Ny.