How do Wooden Coasters Become RMCs?

After Hersheypark officially announced that Wildcat would be getting converted into an RMC Hybrid (now under the name “Wildcat’s Revenge”), it got me thinking about how a wooden coaster could find itself as one of RMC’s hybrid conversions. Of course, the biggest way would be a park directly asking RMC to work their magic on a coaster, but I’m talking more about the things that enthusiasts will bring up that makes them wish that RMC would come along sooner than later. After listing these reasons, I’m going to include a list of the wooden coasters I think are the best or most wanted candidates for an RMC conversion. Finally, I’ll talk about my thoughts on the future of RMC and the future of wooden coasters. Keep in mind that none of the criteria listed are definites and are based on my own perspective as a coaster enthusiast, as well as the sole “bad wooden coaster” experience I’ve had (which coincidentally was Hersheypark's Wildcat).

1. The coaster was built anywhere between the 1980s and early/mid 2000s or was built by a now-defunct manufacturer/wooden coaster division: It seems like this is the (current) sweet spot for “RMC-able” woodies. Makes sense given that companies like Dinn, RCCA, CCI were around during this period— coasters from these companies (mostly Dinn/RCCA) have a reputation for not aging well. Companies like S&S/Vekoma threw their hat in the ring during the early 2000s (Intamin too, though they had been periodically constructing woodies since American Eagle) quickly discontinued their wooden coaster divisions, with Intamin lasting a bit longer due to their Prefab woodies (of which a meager four have been built, and have evidently come with problems as they age). Like with the 80s-90s companies, the wooden coasters built by these companies tend to be anywhere from tolerable, but forgettable or straight-up bad (with exception to the prefabs, who are still popular with park goers). We even had some one-off companies like International Coasters, Inc throw their hat in the ring— responsible for the Hurler “twins”. Those two would be the only coasters built by the company before it folded; one got RMC’d, the other (literally) sits in the shadow of Fury 325. Looking at RMC’s portfolio, Colossus was the oldest woodie to be RMC’d, lasting 36 years in its original wooden form. Compare this to Six Flags Mexico’s Medusa— it only lasted a mere 13 years. I’d say that Colossus was an exception to the rule, given that it opened in 1978; most RMCs operated for over two decades in their original form. Personally, I’d avoid touching anything before the 1980s, as the woodies built before it are ones considered “historic” or “legendary''— and given the reputation of most pre-1980s wooden coasters, perhaps they’ve aged well or have been consistently well-maintained by their parks. As for woodies built after 2005-2009, I think a combination of better resources/techniques used by (mainly) GCI and Gravity Group (plus the fact that some of these coasters are less than fifteen years old) keeps most of them off the table for now. In short, it’s best to look at woodies built by defunct or non-specialized manufacturers; woodies that are nearing, have reached, or exceeded 20 years of age. From my personal experience, Hersheypark’s Wildcat was 26 years old when I first rode it, and it was the very first GCI-built coaster— a company that has majorly improved since building Wildcat and other early projects like the Roar “twins” and Gwazi. 
2. The coaster’s ride experience is noticeably rough, and re-tracking only fixes things in the short-term or seemingly has no effect: We’re not talking about a few rough patches here and there; most, if not all of the coaster runs rough. A little wobble/shuffle/bumpiness is not enough— this coaster is a one-and-done experience, something only done for the credit/with ppl who haven’t been on it/because it's the only coster without a line due to how unbearable the roughness is. Retracking especially bad sections only work for a few weeks before quickly decaying and/or doesn't make the coaster an overall smoother experience; Switching the trains out for newer, lighter ones doesn't help either. Now, roughness alone doesn't make a coaster bad— there are many beloved wooden coasters out there that have run rough at one point (The Beast and Racer, GhostRider, Legend and Raven, Zeus and Cyclops and Hades 360, Colossos, El Toro). Some parks are better at retracking their woodies (Knoebels, Holiday World, Waldameer) than others (most Six Flags parks, Mt. Olympus); in a perfect world, every wooden coaster would see a full retrack during at least one season in its lifetime, and larger portions would be retracked every season (Of course, if a wooden coaster has received a major/full retracking recently, I wouldn’t expect them to call RMC anytime soon). Additionally, Wooden Coasters will never be glass smooth because of their nature as a wooden structure and how they are constructed; steel coasters are prefabricated before being sent off to the park, and the sole example of prefabricated wooden coasters still have to deal with things like track rot, wood cracking/splintering due to fatigue, and uneven track/structure drying after rainstorms. In short, it’s best to look at woodies who feel like they’re riding on “square wheels” no matter what trains are being used and no matter how many times the “problem areas” are retracked. From my experience, there was not a single portion of Wildcat that was remotely smooth past the crest of the first drop. Not only did it feel like the ride was “fighting itself” with how poorly the trains and track were interacting, but there were at least 4-6 notable potholes throughout the layout. I’m shocked that I didn’t come off the ride with a headache; the moment I felt the train shake as it left the station, I should’ve realized that the enthusiasts were right about its awfulness. 
3. The coaster’s ride experience is unimpressive in comparison to the coasters around it/other wooden coasters: Maybe it’s because it’s an older coaster surrounded by younger coasters that have the benefit of new technology on their side, maybe it’s because the designers stuck to what they knew/did their job and nothing more, or maybe it’s because the park didn’t want it to be unique/ground-breaking. Whatever it is, what resulted is a coaster that dosen’t seem to do much. This coaster meanders along its course, with stop-and-go like pacing even without a midcourse break run. The coaster has a course that seems uninspired (and may even have copied from an earlier/more successful coaster layout). There may be some airtime and/or laterals, but these moments leave little impact. Riders likely come off the ride unimpressed, with nothing memorable about the experience (besides ironically remembering how forgettable it was). In short, look for a ride that’s a true “master of none”. Now, one positive I can say about Hersheypark’s Wildcat was that I thought its layout was solid— perhaps if I was able to travel back to when it first opened (and therefore was actually smooth), I might’ve been able to enjoy it. But a common sentiment I’ve heard about Mean Streak was that it was utterly boring if you didn’t mind the roughness— perhaps the best thing to come out of the layout was providing the framework for RMC’s "magnum opus", Steel Vengeance. 
4. The coaster regularly sees little to no wait in comparison to the coasters around it, even on the busiest days: This is perhaps the most important factor for a wooden coaster to end up as an RMC Hybrid— is the coaster unpopular with guests? This coaster has to consistently have a station wait or a wait time less than 15 minutes. Even on days when the park is crowded and the other coasters have multi-hour waits, this coaster is the only one with a bearable standby line— and it wouldn’t be wrong to assume that most of the ppl waiting in line are doing so just to ride something. Does this coaster’s unpopularity devalue the rides around it (i.e. ppl are unwilling to walk over to the area of the park it’s situated in because they’d rather stick to the handful of rides they like)? Does the park close the ride on non-peak days of the season/days where staffing is low? In short, it’s best to look for the coasters with short wait times— because if they’re not getting RMC’d, they might just be headed to the scrapyard. My visit to Hersheypark was in July 2021; even on a nice summer day, Wildcat was a station wait. Midway America (the area where Wildcat was situated) as a whole seems to be unpopular with guests (outside of Laff Trakk); I assume this will change once Wildcat’s Revenge opens next summer. 
5. The coaster is a full-scale “thrill” coaster: While RMC has introduced their Family I-Box Coaster to the amusement industry, they haven’t indicated on the product’s page that they can (or want to) convert existing family wooden coasters into RMC Hybrids, nor have they ever converted a family wooden coaster. I’d say the chances of a family wooden coaster being converted are very low, but not zero. Additionally, family wooden coasters by nature are built on a smaller scale. In short, it’s best to disregard family woodies for RMC Hybrid conversion considerations. I think family woodies serve an important role of being the first “big” coaster for many kids— and usually their first wooden coaster too! It’s good for kids to know how a wooden coaster feels in comparison to a steel coaster. While Hersheypark has no family woodies, I have fond memories of another Pennsylvanian woodie; Kingdom Coaster at Dutch Wonderland. One day I’ll return to see if it’s held up after all these years. 
6. The coaster is NOT the only wooden coaster at the park: This one is probably the least important factor for a wooden coaster being an RMC Hybrid conversion contender, but I still wanted to mention it. Does the park have more than one wooden coaster, and if so, how similar are they (classic vs “modern”, out-and-back layout vs twister layout, airtime-focused vs lateral-focused)? What will the park lose if they convert a wooden coaster? Having only one wooden coaster didn’t stop Fiesta Texas, Discovery Kingdom, Busch Gardens Tampa, Nagashima Spa Land, and Walibi Holland from converting it into an RMC Hybrid, but I personally believe that parks are better when they can offer steel AND wooden coasters to ride. In short, it’s best to look at parks that have multiple wooden coasters for park goers to enjoy. If you RMC one of your wooden coasters, the park still can offer a traditional wooden coaster experience. From my experience, Wildcat was one of three (technically four) wooden coasters at Hersheypark— and with how similar Lighting Racers was to OG Wildcat, those who miss the work of early GCI can walk over and experience a similar layout from coasters that are actually smooth. Also, a ride on the classic Schmeck-designed PTC-built Comet is always a treat. 
7. The park doesn't already have an RMC Hybrid coaster: This one is quite simple— if the park already has an RMC Hybrid, they don’t need another one. If a park still has a rough/boring/unpopular woodie on their hands, they either need to look into a full retracking, a more intensive refurbishment a la like what Legend at Arnolds Park is currently going through, or it may be time to demolish the coaster for something new (preferably to be replaced with a new wooden coaster by GCI/GG). In short, it’s best to disregard parks that have already let RMC do their work on a rough/boring/unpopular woodie. From my experience, Lighting Racers were basically more of the same— but with Wildcat now an RMC Hybrid, Hersheypark can focus on keeping Lighting Racers and Comet running well (not that Hersheypark had a reputation for treating their woodies poorly in the first place). 
8. The park has the (financial) means to work with RMC: As much as RMC Hybrid conversions are seen as a cheaper alternative to building a new coaster for the ground up, they’re still quite the expense. A park has to consider how much they can spend to renovate a wooden coaster in this manner; will it be cheaper to spend a large sum of money to convert it, or should they keep it as-is with the coaster’s current operational and maintenance costs. What type of owner also factors in— is the park owned by a family or part of a chain run by a corporation (and therefore would have access to more capital)? Is the park’s focus on vintage attractions, or do they want the newest thrilling rides (what types of rides have they added in the past? Do they like to keep older rides around or like replacing rides as soon as they hit their “end-of-service” date?) In short, it’s best to look at larger parks owned by someone with a large amount of capital to draw from, and parks that tend to replace their older rides for newer ones. While Hersheypark has a good amount of older rides (Comet, Coal Cracker, Trailblazer, Sooperdooperlooper, Skyview, Carousel, Monorail, etc.), they aren’t afraid to take out older rides (Reese’s Xtreme Cup Challenge, Flying Falcon, Canyon River Rapids, Miniature Train), and I think Hersheypark is known more for their newer rides than their classic ones. Additionally, Hersheypark is owned by the Hershey Chocolate Company (no duh)— one of the largest chocolate corporations in the world, and is evidently quite successful. 

Now that I’ve laid out all the reasons why a wooden coaster might find itself as an RMC conversion candidate, what woodies do I think would be ideal candidates in the near (or distant) future? Keep in mind that I’ve never ridden these coasters myself— I’m solely going off of parkgoers’ (enthusiasts and GP) opinions and looking at what criteria these rides meet. I’m also leaving out rides that have gotten GCI’s Titan Track placed on them (Wolverine Wildcat, Predator, Joris en de Draak), as to me that indicates that the park doesn't want to completely change that coaster (for now). So the coasters I think could end up in the care of RMC are…

• Mighty Canadian Minebuster or Wilde Beast
• American Eagle
• Le Monstre
• Timber Wolf
• Anaconda 
• Outlaw
• Hurler
• Stampida
• Roar
• Montezum
• Bandit
• The Boss
• Loup-Garou
• Thundercoaster
• Coaster Express
• Mammut
• Wooden Coaster Fireball
• Dauling Dragon

So for those who may think RMC’s out of the conversion game, I believe that there’s at least eighteen more wooden coasters out there that could really benefit from an RMC Hybrid conversion. However, only four of these are in the US— but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it means that other countries get to experience RMC’s signature product. Of course, RMC will continue making hybrid coasters even if there are theoretically no more wooden coasters to convert, as Zadra and ArieForceOne prove that ground-up Hybrids are just as good. 

Finally, let’s talk about the future of RMC and wooden coasters as a whole. As the years have gone on and RMC converts more coasters, they’ve begun to get criticism (mostly by enthusiasts, though I’d imagine some parks have their own set of criticisms for RMC based on operations/maintenance) about how they use the same elements over and over again, how their restraints are uncomfortable, and how reliability isn’t their strong suit. Additionally, wooden coasters have played second fiddle to steel coasters once the latter’s popularity picked up around the 1970s; there are less than 200 operating wooden coasters worldwide as of 2022, and RMC only serves to further downsize this number. While you can argue that RMCing a wooden coaster is better than outright scrapping it, either route means one less wooden coaster exists on earth. What can be done to ensure RMC’s longevity and prevent wooden coasters from going extinct?

1. RMC should look into diversifying their elements/ride layouts: While I personally think having a bank of proven elements to use in a coaster layout is a good thing, it would be nice to see conversions with elements we haven’t seen before; this could be elements traditionally seen exclusively on steel coasters or elements that haven’t been attempted before/in the modern day. While RMC Hybrids have structures made of wood, Iron Gwazi and Wildcat’s Revenge prove that RMC can utilize steel for some portion of the coaster’s support structure— if it can’t be done with a wooden structure, they can at least make it look like one. 
2. RMC should look into diversifying the types of rides they offer: Currently, RMC offers full scale and family I-Box coasters, Raptor track coasters, and has endlessly teased their T-Rex model. But what else can RMC do? Could we see inverted coasters? Wing? Flying? Spinning? Would RMC branch out beyond making roller coasters? While RMC can rely on I-Box Coasters and Raptors for the time being, I feel that sooner or later they need to show the world that they offer products beyond that. 
3. RMC should look into redesigning/revising their restraints: I’m not an engineer, nor do I find RMC’s I-Box train restraints to be uncomfortable, but I’ve seen many complaints on how restricting their restraints are (same goes for the Raptors). Intamin has proven that you can have a comfortable, free-feeling restraint that’s also safe with VelociCoaster and Pantheon’s restraint design— perhaps RMC needs to follow in Intamin’s example. 
4. RMC should look into improving their coaster’s reliability: While I don’t see the downtime most RMCs experience (aka not counting Lightning Rod) as egregious as   Intamin’s Accelerator launch coasters, I know they’re far from reaching the reliability that manufacturers like B&M have. I’m unsure if this is something that comes with experience (RMC has only been building coasters since the 2010s) or a result of RMC taking risks (kind of how Intamin trades reliability for innovation), but unreliable rides are a good reason for parks deciding not to work with RMC anymore— they don't care how “good” the ride is if it leaves parkgoers upset because it’s closed for a good chunk of the day (or doesn't even open that day to begin with). 
5. Wooden Coasters should continue being built to offset the RMC Hybrid conversions and scrapping of older wooden coasters: Just because RMC can convert wooden coasters into hybrids and even build ground-up I-Box coasters doesn't mean wooden coasters should never be built again. There’s something special about a traditional wooden coaster that RMC Hybrids can never replicate. In a perfect world, a wooden coaster should be built for every one torn down or converted— like planting a tree for every item sold. With GCI and GG being the sole wooden coaster manufacturers, I hope they continue seeing business (even if GCI has dipped its toes in partial steel track replacement for wooden coasters with their Titan Track) and continue to be appreciated by parkgoers and parks alike. 

In conclusion, I love RMC. I love how they’ve breathed life into these older rides, how these rides have gone from hated/ignored to beloved. Their coasters are modern classics. But I also love traditional wooden coasters. I love how GCI and GG are dedicated to their craft. GCI isn’t the same company who made Wildcat and Gwazi— just see how beloved Mystic Timbers is. GG gave us Voyage and Hades 360 right out of the gate, and more recently have thrown their hat into the prefabricated wooden coaster track ring. I even love how PTC continues to provide maintenance for their iconic wooden coaster trains despite having retired from making coasters in the 1970s. To those who wish for a world where RMC didn’t exist, to those who cry for RMC every time they ride a wooden coaster that dares to be a bit bumpy— why fight? RMC Hybrids and traditional wooden coasters should be allowed to coexist, and I wouldn’t want to be a coaster enthusiast in a world without either of them in it.