Parc Asterix Discussion Thread

I love how people that have never been on the ride know more about it than people that have. Trust me, new restraints or whatever will NOT make this a "good" ride. It is one of the worst coasters on the planet. I just cannot see how replacing some track will make this ride better. Unless they're replacing all the track, and that track is from Intamin, and the ride is called Expedition GeForce 2. That might work.

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May I repost my POV took last year, because TPR's one cleary doesn't show how rough the ride is:

 

 

This was taken with the GoPro chesty, and see how shaky it is! Beside the vibrations, the top of the inversions are taken way too quickly, making some bad postive g forces.

 

I don't expect the retraking to take this ride from worst to best, but wait and see, maybe this... thing will be ridable again.

Cool camera!

...but yeah, I see how rough it is and what puzzles me is how the track "drifts," especially through the boomerang. I got to be honest that I wanted this coaster to be worth salvaging because it was a sad day for me when the Steel Phantom lost its loops and when I discovered I could never ride Drachen Fire. The mega loopers are dying and for good reason it seems.

I'm going to the park tomorrow. Any chance to see / meet up with any TPR reader out there ?

The kiddie coaster Ronde des Rondins is being scrapped (or maybe sold), and will be replaced by a new area for children.

The new area will feature 3 new rides, including a mini flume.

Source

Has anyone here ridden Goudurix since the re-tracking? If so how is it? Better? Worse? Same?

Aw man, another Tivoli bites the dust. That makes me sad.

^Yes, it was nice-enough kiddie coaster.

Has anyone here ridden Goudurix since the re-tracking? If so how is it? Better? Worse? Same?

I rode it in July. Would you believe it was tolerable? I didn't actually know that it was retracked until this thread got bumped by your question. But I haven't ridden it since 2002, so I figured that some work have been done on it over the years.

By no means was it smooth. But it was rideable, and even somewhat (I stress somewhat here!) enjoyable -- which is a major improvement.

It's still not going to be making any top 10 lists. But maybe it will move up from the very bottom tier, once enough people have ridden it. Of course, most enthusiasts who have the credit probably won't ride it again, which means it will never jump up much in Mitch's poll, since they'll be ranking it on the pre-retracking rides.

^^ It was my favourite coaster in Parc Asterix, lol!

Anybody who's been to PA this year: How's Tonnerre de Zeus been running this year? I know the ride has a reputation for being extremely temperamental, how sometimes it runs amazing and other times (I've heard of how bad it was during the ECO 2002 tour) it runs like crap.

^ On my visit, it was even temperamental between the two trains. One train was definitely rougher than the other. I mostly rode in the back two rows. On one train, the second to back row was as rough as the back wheel seat on the other train. And the back row of that train was OUCH! (It also didn't help that the rougher train had a much tighter seatbelt in the seat I generally rode in.)

It was definitely rough. But it was more aggressive than bad rough, to me at least. And it was a good enough ride that I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting to. I've gotten a lot less tolerant of rough woodies over the years since the ECO. I enjoyed it back then, though the wheel seats were rough. I expected to give it a token ride or two to see how it was running, and then probably leave the park. But I was enjoying it enough that I rode it a good half dozen times, with 20-30 minute waits.

I probably still have a lot more tolerance than most enthusiasts for a rough ride, if it's also a really good ride. Remember, Voyage is my #1 wood by far, though I've only ridden it early in the season during HWN and an ACE Con, before it got really rough. So take my opinion from that perspective.

So, I have some bad news concerning Tonnerre de Zeus, the CCI woodie once ranked #1 in the world and praised by many. I know that the ride has had a reputation for being temperamental, but most of the time has reportedly been a great woodie. First, here's Robb's 1997 footage of the ride:

As you can see, the ride is INSANE, filled with airtime and laterals, and out of control from start to finish. It even ends with a bang with the violent brake run, which (this is how I think of it) provides a great sense of finality, that the mayhem caused by the wrath of Zeus is finally over. If I rode it in this state, it would most likely become my #1 woodie quite easily. Then, in 2002, during the ECO trip, it wasn't running so well. Here's a couple of quotes I dug up from the forum, from way back in 2005:

OMG! Tonnerre De Zeus is BACK!!!!

 

Wow, I couldn't believe it! A woodie that was firmly in my top 5 (or at least in my 'A' category) from '97 - '00 fell SHARPLY in 2002 when it was performing terrible. It was rough, sluggish, and overall just a huge let down.

 

I'm happy to report that today Tonnerre De Zeus was BACK to it's old self!

 

In fact, after riding it, it easily plants itself into the top of my "A" list along side other woodies such as Balder, Pheonix, Colossos, and Raven. It was THAT good! Crazy airtime all over the place, insane laterals, it was running FAST like a bat out of hell. I'm not sure what was wrong with this coaster in 2002, but I'm happy to see that it's back in top form now! It might not be quite as smooth as when it first opened in 1997, but it certainly is NOT what I would consider 'rough' or 'sluggish' like it was in '02.

Source: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=17136&start=460

Bums me out that Tonnerre De Zeus started running really well soon after our group left. It was pretty bad on the ECO. I wanna go back to Asterix because I know Tonnerre has a kickass side.

Source: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16885

--Ride that I had to rethink my opinion of in 2005:

 

Tonerre De Zeus - which once ran AMAZING from '97 to '00 then ran like CRAP in 2002, ran AMAZING again during our visit in 2005.

Source: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21474

Then in 2005, it was running awesome again, and up until recently, I have heard much praise for the ride. Here's the TPR footage from I think 2008:

Here, the ride still appears to be running very well with only very few rough spots it appears. And here is where the bad news comes in, starting with this mounted POV from coasters, shot in 2012:

You may notice that the ride is much slower in this video than in the previous ones. The squealing sound in the turns indicates a lack of grease, which significantly slows the ride down. Just watching the POV, I can see airtime moments that used to be there (especially later in the layout), but have vanished due to the slowness. And the crazy brake run finish is gone, and while I understand that the new brake fins that were installed are supposed to lessen the violence of the moment, it takes away from the "end it with a bang" nature of the finale.

Then I saw this while reading the Parc Asterix thread in the Coasters World forum, and it horrified me:

Above, this is classic : seat , armrest , side and rear seatbacks foam covered with imitation leather. It is very comfortable , cushioned ca pretty good jolts but the problem is that one day everything can be HS . Simply the smallest object a little sharp to tear the leather . Not to mention vandalism, the metal parts of jeans or a belt come in a few days / weeks operating damaging them . Anyway, so it's much maintenance , many spare , and sometimes it causes places convicted day ...

 

Downstairs, it's brand new : seat, armrest, very compact and hard just like handrails side and rear seatbacks foam (or even worse I think) . Basically, it is hard plastic , so I have no doubt about it that their life will be several seasons saw the strength , but against discomfort level ca may really be felt ( fortunately the train will much slower than in the past altogether ) . Well, you tell me the news ! I myself just sitting static like that, with practice I laché 50cm high ( used in foam seat ) , bah I doing wrong lol . By cons , there are now huge gaps between the seats and backs , I think the belts will spend their time to fall in these areas , it will be a hell belt HS . Knowing that to replace a belt, ca takes between 30min and 1:30 in the worst case for a technician. We shall soon set at the first operating day anyway ...

Source: http://forum.coastersworld.fr/parcs-et-attractions/(parc-asterix)-discussion-generale-quoi-de-neuf-en-2013/75/

Translated with Google Translate, crappy translation, but enough to let you know what's going on.

In the later pages of the forum, there were many complaints of how Zeus ran this year:

The new seats TDZ make the ride just horrible, it's kind of hard foam (at least as hard as the harness SMM2 is to say), and since it is faster this season, it's not helping things. In addition I got a ride with the blue train, it means that it is worse with red. Short TDZ = I do not like.

Tonnerre de Zeus! Well it's thunder, it is the little sleet here ... It is incredibly slow, the last bump you wonder if it's on every train, no airtime, trains plastic hurt, only the first drop is nice.

Zeus I was very disappointed when I came in April, with a very sore ribs so it blows in from the corners.

Once again, crappy Google Translate translation, but at least it can be understood.

Here's another mounted POV, this time from 2013, and it appears the speed (and therefore the amount of grease used) hasn't changed much from the 2012 season:

I know Ghostrider become rough quickly due to a lack of proper maintenance, but to see Zeus hold up so well for so long and fall from grace in just the past couple of years is really saddening. I put the blame squarely on La Compagnie des Alpes for refusing to spend the money on proper maintenance of this (by design) masterpiece. And I am not alone in saying that, here's some more quotes I dug up:

Sadly, Compagnies des Alpes is the worst theme park operator in the world. They don't do maintenance until a complete rehab or train change is required. They don't add new rides. They invest on stupid things. All the profits from the park pay for new ski lifts at their skiing resorts.

Source: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=22263&p=712801

The main problem with Parc Asterix is that its now owned by "la Compagnie des Alpes". Compagnies des Alpes is an almost public company that owns a lot of amusement parks (which they invest PENNIES in them!) and skiing places (need a new chairlift? Here's 20 millions!). Compagnie des Alpes is runned under the mentality "we're not here to make a profit", so they only invest when its really needed. Seeing that Parc Asterix is still getting 1.6 million visitors...

 

Kudos to that! Compagnie des Alpes is probably one of the most uninterested and boring theme park operators in the world. They make absolutely no effort to change what they consider already 'good enough,' and have extremely poor guest relations/support.

Source: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=39800&p=484112

All this really saddens me, as I am going to visit Parc Asterix for the first time in July of next year. Unless La Compagnie des Alpes puts a pile of money into retracking Zeus (I don't care who does it, be it in-house, GG, GCI, RMC, anything to retrack it), restoring the original leather seating, and greasing it properly (very slim chance of that happening), Tonnerre de Zeus will not deliver to me or anybody who rides it from now on unless the track is soaked in rain before taking a ride. Parc Asterix as a whole looks very nice, very well themed, has a very cool collection of rides and attractions, and I really looks forward to visiting net summer, but to see its star attraction and main draw for me join the other "fallen CCIs" disappoints me. Considering CdA's habit of doing only the amount of maintenance needed to keep things running, I also wonder if they are to blame for Oz'Iris being so rough and SCL-esque when TPR rode it back in 2012, just something to think about.

According to RCDB, Parc Asterix's Tivoli coaster is being relocated to Fraispertuis City, not scrapped.

^^ It's a real shame to hear that about Zeus. It's one of the rides very high up on my "To Ride List." I wonder why so many of the CCI coasters are simply turning into crap now? I'm a huge fan of CCI, and it makes me extremely sad to see these rides change for the worse.

I also wonder the same. Not that I did not enjoy Ghost Rider (Another what was once highly ranked CCI in its early years) at Knott's but I know what I experienced is only a faint shadow of what the ride used to be. My first ride on it was April 2013. I'm not sure if it's the wood that's used (lesser quality, Southern Yellow Pine) plus lack of maintenance that's basically causing the ride to tear itself apart or what.

Do PTC trains usually do heavy wear and tear to the track? It's actually a bit amazing how some of these older coasters (Dipper, and even SFMM's Colossus) are smoother than today's woodies. Not that I want to thread jack or take things off topic but Colossus was actually smoother than Apocalypse! I also hear that they are using a different type of wood (Douglas Fir, which I hear is a better grade wood). As we know, Apoc uses Southern Yellow Pine.

^ Most of the newer wooden coasters use Southern Yellow Pine because of cost and availability. If I'm not mistaken, Dinn Corp. was the pioneer of the use of the pine. Fir is a much harder wood that holds up a lot better. Many of the older wooden coasters were originally built with it.

I know that both Giant Dippers, Colossus, and I hear that the Silverwoodies (which I hear are part of the now mere handful of CCIs that still run well) use Douglas Fir, which is more expensive, yet doesn't get torn apart as easily as the cheaper Southern Yellow Pine. Tonneere de Zeus and GhostRider both are built Southern Yellow Pine, as were many CCI woodies (Silverwoodies, again, being the exceptions).

How well a woodie ages depends on many different factors...the natural climate of the region, the length of the season (GhostRider is a victim of this one in particular), how crazy the layout is, what trains are used, and of course, how well it's maintained. And to properly maintain a woodie, a park must give it LOTS of frequent attention, love, care, retracking, greasing...and that all requires money. According to the research I have done (reading the French coaster forums, seeing more recent POVs) Compagnie des Alpes has no interest in keeping grandpa Zeus in good health at the moment, cutting on maintenance. They've invested piles of money in the past few years though with Psyke Underground (always good to resurrect one of His creations), the new Egyptian themed area in Asterix, and some other improvements, but nothing towards taking care of Zeus.

I'm really hoping Zeus gets some attention this off season, because it only appears to be a shadow of its former self right now. If it's running like it did before 2012-ish (that is, 77-80 seconds from top of the lift to the brake run, right now it's running at around 90 seconds...) in 2014 (which happens to be the park's 25th anniversary), it could fight Gold Striker for my #1 woodie spot. Doesn't seem like it'll happen, but I'm not giving up hope.

Here are some photos from the new children's area. It looks fantastic IMO.

Also the rumor says the park will be getting another big ride in 2016!

I really want to try this type of ride, they look very good, and the ride experience seems to be awesome from a family perspective.

The theme in this new area is really great!

Magic bikes.

This looks awesome!

This is so cute.

Source

That log flume drop looks so cute.

That's a very cute area indeed, I especially love what they did with the mini-flume, while most parks have only a plastic canal out of the ground.

That is a trashcan that aspires everything you put around the half-circle of the bucket. Pretty fun! And moreover, it has smoke, sound effects and bubbles.

_Koppen, I think the Zamperla Barnyards are pretty fun family rides, but the "Grinding" Sound can be a little unsettling.

Holy hell I love that mini log flume idea.

Why haven't more parks gotten those yet? They look like a perfect addition to pretty much any kids area.

_Koppen, I think the Zamperla Barnyards are pretty fun family rides,

Nice to here

but the "Grinding" Sound can be a little unsettling.

Damn those Italians!

The park's manager has confirmed a new "big coaster" for 2017.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKFy_dA0uo0

quick summary of the video:

- Oziris opened in 2012, but still very popular

- the ride cost 20 million euro, and was the biggest investment in the park's history

- 10 percent extra visitors

- park manager says it's important to have a masterplan for the next 20 years

- every 5 years, a "really big ride"

- in between, rides for the whole family and new shows

- 2015 will have new shows

- 2017 a "big coaster with lots of adrenaline, a great experience"

Wow it is great to see this park keep expanding. When I was there, Oziris was amazing and I can't wait to see how they one-up it.

Any news on Goudurix?