willthethrill

I don't think anyone outside the park knows 100%. Unless someone can say different, there's been all sorts of different stories to running both types of cars from the start to having both running backwards for the first 6 months then switching back to one of each. Personally I don't see the point to the old cars anymore. The ride wasn't popular with them- which is why they're making the change. It would be totally counter-productive. Unrelated: if it were me, I would have reclined the seats 45 degrees so that when the car goes vertical, you're facing more straight out like a traditional freefall ride. [_\_\_\_\_>

I don't know about anyone else but I love talking about this ride from a technical standpoint; its just so fascinating because it was such a prolific ride and the park has never disclosed very many technical specifications about it. Regardless of who saw what or what the brakes actually do, I enjoy just listening to the (usually) professional and informed discourse. What I love most is that even after close to 15 years there is still no consensus on the rides issues even among enthusiasts. Cant wait to ride it at WCB. GLund - loved reading your post!

Ah, well now we have a source-backed, cited, and apparently definitive answer. I guess we can put this one to bed now.

^^^ not 100% and I can't vouch for the accuracy of the original statement but I heard somewhere on this forum or at a WCB that Burkhardt said the reason the OTSR's still exist on Revolution is because once they were installed (early 90s) that set the minimum acceptable restraint apparatus or some crap like that, and that we can dash all hopes of a Revy running without them. Maybe someone else here can clarify?

With regards to the old trains and them ever being used again, I'd say its safe to consider them scrap for a couple of reasons. Pretty sure California law says that when an amusement device is modified to be fitted with OTSR's it cannot operate again without them regardless of its operation history. (consider Revolution) Second, the old cars won't weigh the same meaning they will require different programming to get them up the tower. I don't see the park wanting to deal with re-programming issues every time they want to swap a car. Third, the new cars will have very little in common with the old ones, meaning they couldn't even be used for spare parts. The rare-earth magnets on the undercarriage are probably worth a lot more recycled than sitting in the boneyard.

I just weep anytime a park removes fully grown adult trees. Looking at ariel footage on google maps of the site I just stare at the screen and wonder, "really? That's the best spot the could find?"

You're entitled to your opinion and its one I agree with. There are some things that are indeed inexcusable and you named quite a few. But I never base my conclusions on the results of one experiment, just like I wouldn't rule out a trip in 2010 based on one TR and I certainly wouldn't draw a comparison to the 'dark ages' based on ONE persons ONE trip. 'alls I'm sayin...

Its mid-january. It doesn't get much more "off-season" than it is right now. Let's take the following into account, then wait till WCB to pass final judgement. After-all that seems to be when they "showcase" the park for the upcoming official Summer Season. Management shake-up and change Addition of 3 Coaster installations Loss and need of licensing changes (at corporate level, forced on park) The recent extremely inclement weather probably left the park in a mess Aside from general operations, this can be quite a bit to deal with. Also I find it funny how much clout Rob has when he makes a visit and posts about it here. This one TR generated a good 8 pages of comments and speculation about a random trip on a weekend in JANUARY. -- and for god's sake people, they're just SIGNS!

So is anyone else really impressed with the way SFMM has managed their coaster collection over the last 5 years? For a park with that many coasters (over 15, some extremely technical) its very difficult to maintain a lineup with very few "mediocre" coasters, and (imo) zero bad roller coasters. We all have our complaints about flat rides and infrastructure, but I am extremely pleased that we have so many quality coasters with very little sbno time among them. I think it would be silly to *not* expect the Rocky treatment for colossus in the next couple years.

The banking of the track has no effect on the forces are applied to the superstructure when a train passes. All that matters is train mass and speed. Regardless of how severely a track section is banked the force applied to the supports is the same. Only the train and its riders are affected by track banking. That being said, this coaster is in a sad state. Its deplorably un-ridable these days - I can usually only have a single go during my trips. I do consider myself fortunate to have ridden it in its hey-day... it was one magnificent beast.

Viper was just repainted a couple seasons back, and still runs quite well. It was always the best of those mega-loopers. I don't see it going anywhere for a while; its a record holder (tallest loop), contributes 7 inversions to the parks total count, and is the only traditional sit-down looper (aside from Rev) in the park. It has a role and fills it quite nicely, not to mention it just has a very striking visual appeal.

...its definitely different

FYI,IDK WTF most of this says, but if SFMM opens GL ASAP, then the GP will definitely be "OMG," or even "OMFG," and totally forget about X2. The wait could be longer if the ops go AWOL, or put up a BRB sign. BTW, IIRC, if everyone brings their BFF, then the lines could be huge, and you might need some TLC. You could also check out SFMM's FAQ page, or IMHO, just ask yourself WWJD? I just hope SFMM changes their policy to BYOB next season so I could get FUBAR.....as long as I don't get a DUI. But then again, DILLIGAS? Maybe I'm J/K though. Not to be rude, but what does AWOL, IIRIC, TLC, IMHO, BYOB, FUBAR, DILLGAS, and J/K mean? Thanks for your input though. Alright I feel a little bad for the kid. SFMM fanboy - just gonna come out and say this whole post was a big clown on you cause you used so much shorthand in your post. and fyi: awol = absent without leave, iirc =?, tlc = tender loving care, imho = in my humble opinion, byob = bring your own booze/beer, fubar = f*cked up beyond all recognition, dillgas = ? and j/k = just kidding (really? you didnt know this one?) [really hope I'm not being trolled by this kid]

Along the lines of what ernierocker wrote: We can assume that 99% of the people viewing this POV and commenting on this coaster experience will most likely ride an Intamin launched coaster here in the states that will be built in the near future that matches or beats this speed record before they ever step foot on a plane to the mid-east. It would be a real bitch to buy your plane ticket to ride this coaster only to find out that a north american park has something lined up even faster and bigger for "next year". Chances of this are likely.

what was said: next year what was meant: 2012 When it comes to socal "next year" is always sooner than it seems.

I know nothing specific has been released, but what are we expecting at Knott's next year? Something epic? Some sort of giant Intamin apparatus? I'll be honest, I think I'd rather see the Texas Giant treatment given to Colossus (if its successful out there) along with a sweet drop ride before a humongous new coaster capital expenditure. 'Most' is great, but 'best' collection is achievable at this park now. ...admittedly an Intamin Giga along the back would complement the skyline quite nicely me thinks. edit: clarity

Well then, I was definitely wrong. But am never-the-less really quite happy with the development. I really love how management is making extreme efforts in making their collection the best it can be. We can only hope for a Colossus 2.0 --then we really will have nothing to complain about and will be the most spoiled market in the world as far as Roller Coasters go. But apparently I and others here are "f***ing retarded" for engaging in a conversation about a completely unconfirmed rumor and not reading one post out of over a thousand pages in this topic that would clue in the ignorant masses about the parks plans. Not the classiest post I've seen from a moderator...

^ excellent use of space for this post. Thats quite a bit of information. I think we can consider the entire Anaheim Resort "Disneyland" in the sense of expansion and change. As long as something is happening at either park its a good thing.

bah. gotta be more to it... whatever they do needs to be MARKETABLE. Feasibility is all about imagination. I dunno, use a third control rail like X, or independent system like the vekoma flyers. Just tryin to toss new ideas around.

I like this... but to elaborate on this idea a little... Keep the seating configuration the same as it is now during launch then as the cars are accelerating down the track tilt/recline the seats on their back so you're then facing towards the sky as you start your ascent up the tower. Now you're upside down for the ascent up to the top and fall back to earth head down facing away from the tower. Far-fetched yes, but what an frickin awesome and unique feeling! and actually seemingly feasible...

^^ didn't discount, just didnt think that was relevent. No other major manufacturer (B&M, Vekoma, Arrow, S&S, MACK) have sections in Wikipedia for Safety incidents. Scientific? No. But it does tell us something...

^^"actual facts" 4 deaths in a span of 5 years 1999-2004 (Sorry, *almost* annual occurrence) Superman launch issues, numerous cable snaps on several different ride types (causing injury) over several years and other countless reliability and safety issues, most recently Exped GE quite literally falling apart. I like their coasters tho... Lawyered.

^^ The model T performed as Ford claimed it to. Superman, not so much. Matter of fact, I'm truly shocked at how Intamin sold as many rides as it has in the light of its rides killing so many passengers and so many parks having issues with their technology. ^ You're facing forward and the body can naturally brace for the brake run impact. Also the moment of deceleration is much more gradual than the "boost" of initial propulsion on any launch ride. Simple physics shows the two scenario's are not the same. One is an object at rest with a directional force applied to it (launch). The other is an object already in motion in one direction with a gradual force applied in the opposite direction (brake run). Negligable differences perhaps, but with regards to forces acting on a object, not comparable because of the properties of inertia. Its not that it couldnt be done and work, but I would assume theres a good reason we havnt seen a reverse launch ride in any capacity. I for one would ride it and would actually like to see it happen.

Remember Freefall? Think of a big version of that. Your stomach would move just like any other drop ride.

^ Is this feasable? Probably, but they'd have to install otsr restraints if they were considering it at all. The problem is, it doesnt matter if there are enough forces to hurt anyone or even cause discomfort, a person simply has to say my neck hurts after riding and any PI attorney worth his salt could make a plausable case that it was caused/aggravated by Superman's setup - BAM! settlement. Not even worth it.