A.J.

For all we know Intamin could have been like, "Hey, we'll buy back Giraffica if you buy a new coaster from us".

I don't know, it doesn't look much longer - if at all - than the Vekoma train.

There are two shoulder belts per seat in between the red lap restraint and the top of the seat back. They look like black backpack straps, similar to those found on that Shock Therapy suspended looping coaster in Australia.

Because it's Six Flags...=/ Intamin designed the ride tho, and most of their coasters of the last 8-10 yrs have OSTRs. Even Superman the Escape now has them after having only lapbars for 14 years I know that since storm runner they pretty much used OTSRs on all their accelerator coasters but that was a ride with inversions and if they saw the lap bars worked just fine for TTD and Xcelerator I'm still confused why they did it. To my knowledge (and please correct me if I'm wrong) - Top Thrill Dragster and Xcelerator appear to use a haevily-modified old-style mega/giga coaster (Millennium Force-era) train design that has been lifted and given a new body to accommodate for the brake and launch fins (Isn't this sort of cut-and-shuck job typical for prototypes?). They just have normal mega/giga coaster seats with a headrest attachment plopped on the top. They don't have a pilot car - the front car has two sets of wheels instead of one. Top Thrill Dragster's LOOKS like a lead car but it's actually just a normal car with a row of seats removed. But, but, A.J.! What about the mega coaster trains with pilot cars like on Goliath at Walibi? Those were put on before Dragster! Well, those coasters have the open/close brakes with the fins on the sides of the trains. Even the Mega Lite coasters still use those, and the last one of those was built only a few years ago. So, Intamin probably needed a new train design that they could apply to a crap ton of coasters (with inversions or otherwise) that could handle using magnetic brakes that are built into the top surface of the track instead of on either side. So, we got the accelerator design. It has a pilot car, but more importantly it has solid back and headrests that are built into the train from the start. Because of that, they have a place to anchor the shoulder harnesses all the time, every time - and they can do launches and vertical lifts thanks to the headrests. This is also probably why Intamin's newest looping coaster trains as seen on this coaster have overhead lap bars instead of T-bars (that and probably T-Bars won't fit without making every guest become a contortionist). The overhead bar is anchored in the same place as the shoulder harnesses would be. Why they put the rubber harnesses on instead of the vests though, I have no idea.

I'm not a big fan of how high the seats are compared to the track, but I love how open the trains are. EDIT: Maybe not! Shoulder belts! DUN DUN DUN...

This is a really good point - part of the reason that shoulder harnesses exist is to keep riders in an upright seating position at all times.

Considering that they haven't even started testing yet... You probably know where that sentence is going. EDIT: Maybe not. Who knew?

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad?

Based off the photo, it looks like the cables for the lasers are running through the guard so that's probably why. That, and the trains don't have fronts. Without the shin guards riders would be able to extend their legs and hit stuff.

I don't usually do this, but I'm going to side with the "bubble-wrapping" people on this one. I understand the "you choose to ride at your own risk" mentality and that you should simply shake it off if you wipe out or whatever, but people could seriously get hurt if those tubes get airborne and don't land properly. Verrukt returns to the same level it was at at the bottom of the first drop, which means that it will probably still be going really fast at the bottom of the second hill.

Actually this is very different. RMC train's lap bar is U shaped but LR's train is more like a T+U shape. I'm pretty sure that the trains WERE designed by the same team though. They're obviously going to be slightly different because Outlaw Run and Goliath run on a flat steel top while Lightning Run runs (heh) on a tubular rail. Different train hardware.

In fairness, the first time I rode El Toro was in 2012, so I've only ever ridden with the lift slowed down at the top. It's still my #2 wooden coaster, if that means anything.

Yeah, it definitely smells like a permanent Renaissance Fair attraction. Still cool, though.

Eh, I wouldn't bet on it honestly.

Knoebels has the same setup with Stratosfear. I think it's because Fear Fall and Stratosfear are park models, so the bases of their "platforms" are actually several feet underground.

If it only adds an extra few seconds or so to the dispatch, why is that a problem? I for one think that it's annoying when no one is excited to ride. Roller coasters are supposed to be fun for everyone!

So far, everything points to overhead lap bars like on the newer El Locos.

I'm not sure - I thought the same thing after seeing Skyrush under construction but it wasn't really intimidating once I sat down in the seat.

It saves a lot of space compared to a traditional lift hill, and it's more exciting to a bunch of people too.

I'm probably going to open up a can of worms, but... Sheesh, those lap restraints look restrictive. I'd rather have trains with closed fronts instead of those shin bar thingies.

Does anyone know - when it comes to getting a MagicBand, does it matter what resort you stay at? I'm planning a "quick" trip to Walt Disney World in a few months to try the FP/MM system with a MagicBand (as opposed to just using the MDE app) and I want to stay at one of the value resorts so my wallet isn't completely incinerated.

I kind of agree with this. Skeptical A.J. is skeptical due to the sheer number of huge attractions being proposed for China (the UAE too). They all look like top-notch parks but it's a matter of whether they get built to the scale and standard presented in their proposals.

2009 The Dark Knight, if I'm not mistaken. And even then, the Dark Knight coasters were canned Mack Wild Mouse layouts that were designed to fit on an exactly rectangular plot of land. I think that the last time Six Flags cloned a previously-custom coaster was in 2003 for Six Flags Magic Mountain - Scream being a clone of Medusa / Bizarro.

I'm baffled too. You should read the rules and Board FAQ to learn how to fix it.

More content, please! A quote of text a thread does not make!