TopThrill182

What do you mean by "rail tolerance?" Are you thinking the rails could be crooked?

I'm no engineer, so I apologize for using potentially inaccurate terminology, but could this free rotation issue be compared to how buildings are designed to sway in wind rather than remain rigid? Regardless, it seems like the general consensus is that the ride has gotten rougher in the years since its conversion. Given that it seems unlikely the actual guide rails have deformed over time, I'd argue the trains themselves have worn down in some way. Would scrapping the audio and shaving a few additional pounds help at all? I realize this is a small part of the train's wait, but given the dismantling of Bizarro's audio at SFGAd, I don't think it too far fetched to think that X2's could be on the way out as well.

Looks like a nice park! Do they own any of the adjoining land for future expansion, or will this be the size of the park for the foreseeable future?

Whoa! What's with all the Plunge hate? Sure, the ride was unreliable. And yes, dispatch times were awful. And yes, it killed someone. But hey, when you were actually on it, I thought the experience was awesome. And I actually thought the ride was anything but an eyesore. To me, the entire ride area was beautiful, and it really epitomized California for me. Maybe I'm crazy. ha I haven't been a fan of this Boardwalk expansion since day one; however, after visiting the park on Sunday, I have to admit that the whole area really does look quite nice. Between the bright colors, the string lights stretching over the midway, and the combination of grass and water elements, I agree that the space is very inviting. And to be honest, I thought the whole park looked incredible. Granted, I've always been a fan of this park for its picturesque qualities, but I found this to be especially true during my most recent visit. Seriously, I couldn't find anything that looked run down or in need of refreshing. The landscaping, paint, buildings--everything looks great. The park seems to be doing a great job.

I'd argue the issue is most visible when the train first leaves the station. Does anyone else notice how the cars roll forward and backward in quick succession on the turn to the lift? Considering the guide rail that controls the seats' rotation is in the same position throughout this turn, it doesn't seem like there should be any substantial shimmying during this part of the ride. Rather, it seems like the cars have a tolerance for rotational movement independent of the designated rail. When the forces of the ensuing ride come into play, it seems like the cars' free movement is kicked into overdrive, as evidenced in the final raven turn when the seats jerk forward and backward so quickly and forcefully that your head and legs bang painfully against the seat. Is there no way to "tighten" the train mechanisms in such a way that the seats can't rotate so freely? Though I got five rides in on Monday, enjoying them all thoroughly (I still think the unique experience makes up for the uncomfortableness), I agree that it won't be long before the ride's roughness takes a hit on it's popularity with the GP. I heard several people commenting on the painful experience upon returning to the station.

I, too, visited the park on Monday. While I agree with most of what has been said of the park in recent weeks, there are a few points I want to emphasize. What's the deal with X2? As others have mentioned, the ride was running pretty violently (in terms of forward and backward shaking). I'm curious why this is the case. IMO, the ride has returned to pre-conversion roughness, even though I was under the impression that the lighter trains were supposed to alleviate this issue. Is the park not doing as much maintenance as they should be doing? Do the trains tear themselves apart? I'm no expert on the mechanics of the ride, but it looks like the trains need tightened somehow so that they don't rotate so freely... I really enjoyed my Colossus ride! The ride was surprisingly smooth and provided a good deal of fun. TBH, I'm not sure how I feel about the rumored Rocky Mountain conversion. As much as I'd love to gain an intense Iron Rattler / Texas Giant experience, I'd also hate to lose this classic, more family friendly offering. Made use of the single rider line for GL and LL:DoD, but boy, do those two rides have low capacities! Park was pretty dead (X2 and Tatsu each had one or two train waits during the day), but these attractions still sported a decent wait. Overall, had a blast during my visit! Employees were friendly, efficient (albeit many rides were only doing one train), and the park, for the most part, looked pretty good.

That video would be so much better if it were of Perilous Plunge instead. #RIP

Haha your post cracked me up! At least the fenced-in area will have plenty of light!

Really? Is this a California specific guideline? Thinking of Cedar Point, Wicked Twister (http://www.coaster-net.com/pictures/cedar-point/wicked-twister-pQYo.jpg), Top Thrill Dragster (http://s435.photobucket.com/user/sukisays88/media/favdragpic.jpg.html), and Maverick (http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1001/1404549017_17cf65bde5_z.jpg) each has a more tasteful fence for its low areas. I understand the need for a fence, but the tunnel fence looks like the ugliest and cheapest fence they could have possibly picked! I just hate to see that beautiful area of the park look like a permanent construction zone.

^^ They're artsy lights.

I agree that the fences look awful (particularly, in my opinion, the chain link one surrounding the entrance to the tunnel). The mountain was one of the few areas in the park that had some beautiful aesthetics. Sad to see they aren't trying to make the ride's infrastructure a bit more aesthetically appealing.

I just don't understand how the park is justifying only having two trains when one will have to be out of service for a good period of each year.

I'm really anxious to try out the wingrider vests... I can't imagine how painful they could be, but everyone seems to be saying the same thing!

On CP's FB page, there do seem to be a lot of complaints about this being a "bad day." Obviously, it sounds like a lot (if not all) of the downtime was due to weather, but more interesting are the numerous complaints about the park being "disorganized" today. Can anyone comment? I'm guessing this was a combination of the park being understaffed and the crowds being huge.

Am I the only one who thinks that SF is overusing this "let's turn the coaster car backwards and call it a new attraction" gimmick? Won't this start losing its effect if it becomes overdone? Also, just to clarify, the ride is only operating with one train now? Or are there two trains total, only one backwards train?

For those of us who don't keep constant tabs on the park, would someone be kind enough to post a brief summary of the Timberliner train situation from the beginning? My understanding is that the trains were first announced for the 2010 season and have been "testing" ever since... What on earth could possibly be taking this long? Do we have any idea what the problem(s) is / are? And if it's just a matter of testing, why can't the park keep the ride closed for the first few weeks of the season, finish testing, and roll them out before the busy summer season?

Are these the left over canopy structures that they were going to use for tunnels on X2?

While it IS funny - I do want to say that I hope the person isn't a TPR member... here's why - these kinds of jokes and humor are fine on TPR, because that's what TPR is all about, but I honestly don't think it's appropriate to write that on an official park page. TPR humor belongs on TPR - Meaning on the website, forum, our FB page, a TPR event, etc.... the same jokes don't always carry over to other places, and it may come off as insulting or obnoxious. Thanks for hearing me out! --Robb I don't know; I actually find that comment pretty benign in comparison to some of the stuff I've run across on company FB pages. I'm not saying the park will necessarily like it, but then again the Internet would be pretty boring if positive feedback were all that were ever posted!

Sad to see Catapult go... I always thought it looked like a nifty contraption and always wanted to ride it, though never got to SFAW / SFNE in time. Has there been any update as to Goliath's new train?

If only! ha

Haha I chose to look at the matter far less practically. All I see is the park replacing an awesome ride experience with a not so awesome one (at least in my opinion!). . I could care less what is "more popular with guests." PP was more popular with me!

Ugh... To think that the park sacrificed PP for... that! Sorry, but I remain unimpressed with this expansion. The only thing I can think of is that Knott's is trying to position itself as the low-cost alternative to Disney. And though I don't expect it to happen, I dream that one day we'll see GhostRider given a Rocky Mountain treatment! Considering how Knott's is tight on space, I feel like it's the perfect CF park to receive a Rocky Mountain upgrade: a new ride, essentially, without needing any additional space.

Sorry if this is a stupid question (I admit that I haven't really followed this thread...), but is the tunnel for noise?

I see Mondial sub-contracted TOGO to design and build Windseeker's evacuation contraption? haha That has got to be one of the strangest / ugliest amusement park-related devices I've seen in quite some time... I certainly hope they store it far, far away from anywhere within public view. And I still don't understand why it's even necessary. Shouldn't the ride feature some sort of emergency release button / setting that would allow the gondola to fall slowly to the ground? After all, I'm unaware of any drop towers that feature this sort of thing... I'm actually a big fan of Boomerang's new colors, though, and I love how a flower bed has replaced the RC cars.

I read on the update posted on another site that the ride's capacity is only 750-800pph?! While I appreciate the new additions, it seems sort of cheap that SFMM is putting in coasters (I'd certainly include Green Lantern in this category) which they know can't really accommodate a sufficient number of guests during their busy days...