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Yes, exactly my thoughts too. The seats and restraints are actually Gerstlauer and designed for their coasters. It seems unlike most drop towers, when it hits the brakes most of the vertical force will pull the rider towards the gap between the seat and the restraint. (sorry for the terrible diagram)

^Exactly. ^^Yeah, they know that, they're just showing that due to the tilt PLUS the forces on the brakes is why he slipped out.

I know, and I think DougMJr knows that too, but what I mean is that when you're perched on a little hump/ledge because of the tilt and the restraint being in that position, you're more likely to slide down and under the restraint when you're slowing because of the g-forces pulling you down.

It seems to me that the manufacturer didn't take the tilt into account when determining the restraint tolerance/threshold. The victim's body type only allowed the restraint to close to what looks to be about 30 degrees shy of vertical, closely matching the tilt of the ride. There really wasn't much in way of the victim falling out, aside from the little bump molded into the front of the seat. While I do think that the ride operators should have erred on the side of caution upon seeing how high the restraint was, my opinion is that the manufacturer holds most of the blame here. My thoughts are with everyone involved. I cannot imagine how traumatic this situation was for anyone who happened to witness the accident.

Wow, this is shocking and heartbreaking. I won't hazard a guess about what happened but I am very curious how this will all shake out. Sounds like having an air-gap between the restraint and seat was probably not the way to go for a ride that tilts you like a dump truck.

I watched a few of the Orlando bloggers ride this; and I thought the seating position for some of the larger riders looked questionable. Not an engineer but in my opinion having that belt between your legs helps a lot with rider confidence as well as keeping ride operators mindful to rider size issues. I will not watch that video. My thoughts are with the family.

WARNING: Be careful looking up this news. There's video and it's... Just, don't watch it.

so it's been crazy busy at work due to end of QTR .. .but day ends on a great note! My Bonus from work got deposited today (wasn't expecting it today..and the took out less in Taxes than I assumed they would). and then got a work email noting that due to popular demand, the "recharge" days they tried out in 2021 (but made you use Vacation for.. but basically they encourage everyone to take those days off)... were such a success they are bringing them back this year. But, due to feedback from folks, this year they will be paid days! Best part? 2 of the 3 days recharge days are days I had already taken off (for a major trip, and for Dragon*con) - the 3rd day is the day of the FrontLine Assembly concert - so I now can head downtown really early to get parking and eat at Casino El Camino before the show. But I basically just "gained back" two vacation days! and I now have 5 days off remaining I can use during Thanksgiving/Holidays, instead of barely having 3 Yay!

So 400m down the road was Wolmi Theme Park. After 3 viking rides and 3 tagada rides as well as being owned by the same company as the previous park, I was curious what rides they would have to differentiate from their sister park being so close together. Looking up old videos online, the park was hope to a pair of S&S towers, which would be a little unique for Korea and a Chance Double Inverter.... I remember Submission at Alton Towers being one of my least favorite flat rides but again it would be a ride that was unique to Korea. 400m down and we've already arrived. Notice the yellow curves on top of that building? That's where the other park is located. To answer Northwind's question, yes that is a monorail. Welcome to Wolmi Theme Park. These two rides do stand out and can be seen all along the sea-front. You may have noticed already that one of the towers is missing. Giant ferris wheels aren't as common in Korea compared to Japan,but there are quite a few parks that either have them or keep them SBNO for over a decade, cough, Everland, cough, to look pretty. This one had a more unique carriage design at least. Here's the monorail from earlier. It runs along most of the island, but it's a one way system and trains seemed to go about every 10 minutes. Corona here was 500,000 a day and the stations looked busy so sadly we skipped it. It's a shame, because it went right around the perimeter of the park and this would probably give great views of hereand of the rest of the island. I love little seaside monorails, I remember riding one in Yokohama with little curtains on the window and seeing Blue Fall (RIP) approach as we went to sea paradise. So the original space-shot was removed, which was a shame but at least there is another S&S space shot in Korea (future spoilers). However they left in Hyper Drop, which would be unique to Korea. Unfortunately it was closed despite it being a busy Saturday due to fireworks. It's still listed on the site and ticket box so maybe I was just unlucky but the space-shot next to it had recently been removed. Let's move on to the open rides.... and it's another Tagada. So this is the 4th one in one day. Plot twist though, there's also a mini one. Korea starts them young on training for this ride. Let's look for another completely unique ride that hasn't been seen 3 times already in this TR. OK, joking aside let's now move on to other flat rides of the park. There's a jumping ride just like the one 400m down the road. A old school simulator... I think I saw another one of these somewhere. And the Universal Studios log flume. I didn't take a picture in the last park but would it surprise you at this point to know that there was also one of these (minus themeing) at the previous park? If you didn't believe me before that this is Universal Studios Log Flume, well Spider-Man is also there plus you get lightly splashed in the face just like most Universal rides. Notice the trampolines/rolling pin slide in the background, that was where the space-shot used to be. There were a couple of rides unique to the park. A road train was here, which are fairly common in areas where families visit. And an assortment of children's rides and indoor play area under cover or inside for when there's bad weather. Up on the roof to overlook the park. The boat ride is probably not running today... Spin Coaster, the islands only credit. This ride is where the Chance Double Inverter used to be. The park seemed to be mostly visited by families and with Cyberloop replaced by this coaster, the Space-shot replaced by trampolines, I would not be surprised if Hyper Drop was actually closed for good. I'll close out this TR with some shots from the Ferris Wheel. Some high tech air-con in here. Like most indoor rides, it was covered in grafitti. Was hard to tell why the ride was closed, no-one seemed to be working on it and I can't find any recent videos of it from after my visit. The Hyper Drop may be the tallest ride on the island. You can see how small the park is from the top of the Ferris Wheel. For a seaside park thread, I haven't shown much of the sea... That's because the view is under construction.... If you look in the center of the picture you can see the drop tower and Viking of the other park to show how close the parks are to each other. Ok, I'll wrap this park up with some final views and thoughts of the island. If your coming to the island for rides, you'll probably be disappointed. It can be a little trek from Seoul but it's not too bad to get her overall. It is close to the airport though so can always be a first port of call if you're flying in. Although I didn't visit there's also a very small indoor park called Wonderbox even closer to the airport. China Town is also located at the entrance to the island. If you just want to eat some food, enjoy the sea views and just get a break from the city life though, it's probably one of the closest seaside parks to Seoul. See you next time Wolmi Island.

That drawing perfectly captures what I was imagining in my head for how this happened. I don't dare watch the video and never will. What a horrible, horrible accident. It's 2022 and this should not be happening. And the ride has been operating for barely 3 months. It never made sense to me that this does not have the redundancy belt that clips to the restraint, when the slingshot immediately next door features the exact same seats and restraints and has a seat belt. I hope this ride gets those redundancy belts, and perhaps even a separate lap belt underneath the restraint. I would 100% welcome that change. Slowing down so abruptly at that angle really was a strange and unnerving feeling, versus a regular drop tower where you are completely into your seat or like Falcon's Fury where you are completely into your restraint. This puts you in between the two. What an awful, awful thing to happen. I can't imagine what the poor family is going through, or the bystanders who witnessed it.

^It does tilt, but 30 degrees I read today, not a full tilt onto your stomach like FF. That said, I can't believe such a ride does not have also have a secondary seatbelt restraint. Less than 3 months of operation and this ride already killed someone. Unbelievable.

Oops, thanks for the correction! And yeah, still plan to try... Cant hurt! But the fact that Intamin has a height limit due to that support, which could have been designed to be non-issue, is just so... Intamin.

This is a complex situation. Doesnt this ride tilt like falcons fury? The restraints on this ride are not appropriate for the tilting and Im sure its because this is a less expensive brand. This repurposing of existing parts was exacerbated by the 14 year olds size. After seeing the restraints and tower set up I would not have ridden this personally. I really only trust Intamin and S&S towers. Sad and traumatizing experience for everyone including on lookers.

^ You get a vest, you get a vest, YOU get a vest, EVERYONE GETS VESTS!

The difference is Thunder Road was an old (and fairly boring) coaster that hardly drew a crowd. Nobody really gave a hoot that it got the axe, save for a few of you weird ones. Xcelerator is iconic to Knott's and is extremely high-thrill. You can't think about Knott's without associating Xcelerator with it. Yeah it's short but it packs more punch in those ten seconds than I did on prom night.

It's a horrifying and terrible accident. Clearly the restraint and body shape of the boy did not work. A seatbelt might have helped but we have seen this exact accident before. I'm sure we'll see FunTime add seatbelts to all of their towers now but we also have to be careful with OTSR's positioning.

I agree with everyone else, do SeaWorld.

Xcelerator isn't going anywhere, especially since they just spent a bunch of money to repaint it!

Apparently they repainted it during the off season

A couple years ago I was in practically the exact same boat - went to SA for work, hotel was right by Sea World, and needed to use Uber/Lyft. Only difference was I had a full day Saturday so I was able to squeeze both parks in. I agree with Bert - stick to Sea World. SFFT was fantastic but it's 15-20 minutes away (depending on traffic, which can be brutal at times in SA), and I needed a larger time window to enjoy it, and that was pre-Wonder Woman (I missed its opening weekend by one week - grr) and with re-rides on only Iron Rattler. I was able to use Lyft to Sea World with no issues (they dropped me off practically right by the park entrance in the parking lot and managed to fit everything with multiple re-rides on my favorites into a roughly 3-4 hour window (pre-Sting Ray, but should still be doable). Follow Bert's advice to get the Quick Queue so you can make the most of the visit. You'll have a blast!

^Just to be clear, he's talking to a different group of riders about seat belts. Their friend didn't want to ride and even states to the man he's filming to get their reaction because he asks the worker if they'll return to the same position they left which the crew member confirms. That's why the screenshot above is angled like that. You never see the workers speak to or interact with the boy who was in the accident. The video is presumably shot after restraints have been locked. You can see a blue coated worker pull down a restraint in the background on an empty chair. The middle rider of the group being filmed does pull down on his restraint to check he's locked in for certain and looks like he pulls up as well. Hard to tell from a video but they do look locked from that rider doing that. The only restraint checks that are actually on the camera is with the 3 filmed riders. The worker does pull on one of the 3 riders restraints shortly before the ride starts and another where he pulls lightly on the 2 men's restraints but not the girls just seconds before the ride starts to climb the tower. The internet is already full of pitchforks for the workers and a lot of claims 'They didn't check restraints' or taking his joke about seat belts as a sign the workers didn't fasten the boy's (non existent) seat belt. His joke sounded like he was pretending there was a belt next to the girl... something like Did you check your seat belt?.. on the left side, seat belt seat belt) and comments seem to be running with that meaning he didn't properly do checks.

Thanks for describing what happened (and for the warning) - so it appears he might have submarined under the restraint? Looking at that screenshot, it seems unbelievable that the restraint can actually lock at that position, and when you consider the seat tips forwards 30 degrees, the bit between your legs would essentially become a tiny, slippery perch with nothing stopping you sliding out. The operators' words will haunt them for ever.

I've never Ubered, since I drive from Austin. . but I'd assume they would be able to drive you from the Hotel up to the Main Parking Lot and drop off. (The "main Gates" to the park are a bit away from the Parking Lot, but it's just a short walk). Worst case? they drop you at the Parking Lot Booths entrance, and you have to walk to the front gate from there. . . slightly longer, but still not bad. Just be sure the Uber doesn't drop you off by the SeaWorld sign at the street. . you need to AT LEAST be at the Parking Lot Booths. . as the Parking Lot Booths are a good bit away from the main "street" entrance (by the SeaWorld sign).. and you'll be walking a good 25 minutes just to get to the front gates from the street.

While SFFT is by far the superior park, in terms of Rides/attractions? 1) Your hotel is directly across from SWSA. 2) SW has what I think is the best Wooden Coaster in Texas, Texas Stingray. 3) SW has in total 4 Coasters (5 if you count the kiddie) and only 3 adult Flats + 2 water rides. VERY easy to do in a few hours, if you only care about the rides, and purchase Quick Queue (you'll need it for Wave Breaker: Rescue Coaster - as that family coaster gets huge lines & Rio Loco - a very good rapids ride). 4) Seven Seas Food Festival starts tomorrow, and will be running when you're there next weekend. So EASY choice for me here. . . buy quick queue, buy a Seven Seas Lanyard, and eat and ride to your hearts content in those 4 hours. ^edit to add: one of those 3 adult flats is the brand new Tidal Surge - the Tallest and Fastest Screamin Swing in the world. . . and it's pretty damn fun.

Lose Haunt, get a Scrambler

Meh. Especially on a low intensity ride like this, most of the fun is gone if you can't communicate with your friends. Sitting silently between a group of strangers is much less fun. Just try to take the whole train, nobody is going to care. On second thought. Just assess the situation. Does it feel appropriate to take up the whole train? How will people judge you? Do you want to sit in your friends lap. What will happen if you ask to sit in your friends lap? Can you still be friends, or is this a road you can't go back on? Think this over very carefully, it could change your friendship forever.

In somewhat less depressing news, track pieces are starting to arrive for the new coaster. Took a quick pic as I had to meet someone at the hotel next door.

My son and I made our first visit to Lake Compounce on Saturday. We were there maybe two and a half hours. It was an abbreviated visit because we were also cramming in Quassy and SFNE in the same day. I don't know how much I can judge the park as a whole because we just rode the coasters and the ghost shooting ride, but nothing we did will have us coming back any time soon. I was really excited for Boulder Dash, but it just didn't deliver in the front or the back. It was pretty neat how it absolutely tore through that course and of course the setting was awesome, but despite the ridiculous feeling speed we just got no airtime whatsoever. Worse, there were a couple unexpected moments, especially in the back, where I was very jarringly tossed hard into the side of the car which didn't feel good on the ribs. This isn't some super rough woodie by any means, but it has its moments and just didn't do anything fun with its layout other than the feeling of speed. We took a ride in the back and then the front and decided that was enough. I know from here and elsewhere that it used to run much better and I really wish I got to it back then. As for the rest, Phobia was my second Sky Rocket II and it was definitely superior to Tigris at Busch Gardens Tampa due to the more relaxed restraint system. I didn't care for Tigris but enjoyed Phobia. Zoomerang was... a boomerang. I will say something felt very off about the restraints in the seat I was in. They lifted strangely high after being locked, much more than I am used to one "click" being in those old restraints. I wasn't worried though. It isn't like you fall into them on a boomerang. You'd stay in the car without them just fine due to the forces of the ride. Last for the day was Wildcat. It was going to be first, but it broke down when we were next in line. Then it reopened right as we were about to leave the park. This one met expectations. I expected square wheel jackhammering and that is what I got. I knew how to ride defensively (I secure the lapbar tight and then "stand up" with my legs. You can't actually stand up, but this lets my knee joints absorb a lot of the hammering naturally) and got to be entertained by my eleven year old freaking out about how rough the ride was the whole time at least. I am just shy of 200 credits and that was probably my second most intense jackhammering experience behind Predator at SFDL a decade or so ago. So yeah, we were underwhelmed. But at the same time, if they ever add anything interesting or I read Boulder Dash has been returned to its former glory, we will be back. It wasn't a horrible experience by any means. It is also worth noting that the park was well kept and we enjoyed the shooting ride too.

^It's not fair to punish the ride for his actions but it seems that's where we're heading with everything. The Vessel in NYC has also been closed a bunch and is closed currently due to people jumping off of it. Let's fix mental health in this country before rides and buildings!

Since it's Intamin, be sure to book your tickets for August and not opening day.

Appalling news that a 14 year old boy died after falling from the Orlando Free Fall last night. As an enthusiast I can normally mentally piece together what happened when there is an accident but I'm drawing blanks as to how someone can fall from a 4 month old ride with overhead restraints. A tragic story, whoever and whatever is to blame. Teen dies after fall from drop tower ride at Orlando's ICON PARK, authorities say A teenager fell to his death while riding an Orlando-area drop tower attraction, according to officials with the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Several law enforcement officers, firefighters, and paramedics responded to ICON Park late Thursday evening after a 911 caller reported the incident at the popular tourist attraction on International Drive. Witnesses on the scene told deputies that someone had fallen off the Orlando Free Fall ride. The Orange County Sheriff's Office later confirmed that a 14-year-old boy was transported to the hospital, where he died from his injuries. Source: https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/orlando-drop-tower-ride-death

The word is Xcelerator will be down for an extended (several months) period of time again. It's currently listed as closed on their website. Bad news with Monte being closed until next year.