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Tmcdllr

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Posts posted by Tmcdllr

  1. Here is a trip report for yesterday. Parking is now $25, which is ridiculous. We started off at The Joker. I asked if we could sit in the very back row, but they were doing assigned seating, so we got placed in the 2nd to last row. The ride itself was outstanding, with excellent hang time. Medusa’s line was quite long because at first they were only running one train and then decided to do test runs of both. The hour long wait is the longest I’ve ever had to wait for Medusa. While waiting in line for Monsoon Falls, the ride experienced technical difficulties and stopped working. Thankfully, the issue was fixed and I was able to ride it. I got absolutely drenched on Monsoon Falls and The Penguin (did them back-to-back), so I paid $5 again to use a dryer. Hammerhead wasn’t operating at all due to technical difficulties; the same was the case with Voodoo. Thrilla Gorilla was also down. On the whole, the lines were longer than when I’ve gone on previous summer weekend days. It was a Discover Card/Season Pass ERT event at the park, which may have contributed to the crowds being how they were.

     

     

    $25 for parking? Wth!

  2. I'm sorry but there was NOTHING wrong with this ride to begin with. It was what is was. A fantastic RETRO ride. Fast, smooth (enough) and simply FUN to ride over and over again. New paint was enough. The VTR is NOT needed and I do not want anything to do with it.

     

     

    Retro? OTSR's are not retro! The trains are identicle to the origin ones, and the VR is completely optional. It is NOW more like it originally was, regardless of the VR system.

     

    Yes! As you may or may not know dmax, the ride ORIGINALLY had NO OTSR system, it was LAP BARS ONLY. Now, it has returned to that state. How can you not appreciate that one fact, it has been finally returned to it's former glory! Forget the VR, just ride it for what it was and is again. Have you ridden it now that these changes were done or are you just basing this on opinion rather than fact---- I think you NEED to ride it now to get a whole new sense of the ride again, with no vr, just you and the train with no otsr.

     

    I think deep down you really do want to ride it again.

     

    I'm like you, I like the retro and don't really care for the vr, but I'll try it just because it's a new and different thing but I'll tell you this, I will ride it 90% with no vr because I want to experience just the coaster, just Revolution with LAP BARS ONLY, and now I can, and now you can, and I think you deep down feel the same way..... I think you do and I think you really don't want to turn your back on a coaster you really like...... still

  3. Schwarzkopf designed all of the brake runs/reduction brakes with push motors/drives/kickers to clear the brake block quickly. They turn on as soon as the speed sensors release the brakes. Switchable ECBs would have provided the same stopping power and the drives quickly cleared the brake block. Just really seems like a missed opportunity.

     

    Revolution does not have kicker motors at all. It originally had drive wheels set to govern the speed entering the loop's entry ramp, but that's it. The wheels you are referring to are not motorized. They release the anti rollback mechanism if the trains stall and try to roll back.

     

    Several of Schwarzkopf's coasters have this feature. Sooperdooperlooper, Shock Wave, Revolution, and Whizzer all use this system. SFOG Mindbender used to as well. Ever wonder why the anti rollbacks are silent except on the lifts? That's why. These coasters originally had silent lifts as well but they have all since had this mechanism removed giving us the traditional clicks. A very keen eye will still be able to spot where these little tires used to be attached to the lift hills on all of these rides except Whizzer. The only way those wheels ever spin is when the trains roll over them. They will continue spinning after the train has passed on their own momentum.

     

    1977 footage from the movie "Roller Coaster" shows the wheels when they were still on the lift hill.

     

    Thank you so much!!!

     

    I have been wondering about that for YEARS on all of the hills with anti rollbacks and these wheels, and I could not understand what they were for or did as there were no motors driving them, yet after trains passed over them you could see them still turning. I too thought they were kicker wheels to help the trains crest the hills or 'push' them over if they ever stalled, but it didn't make sense too me there was nothing driving them.

     

    Could you elaborate a little more on how these wheels release the anti rollbacks on the hills? I'm still trying to understand that one.

  4. Matt Ouimet has totally changed the direction of Cedar Point from super-unreliable Intamin rides, to more reliable slighly-but-not-too innovative B&Ms.

    Although I find these big B&Ms generally boring: they do look nice, are easily marketable, high capacity, and much more reliable than the Intamin contraptions they were building before. Can't say I blame him, I wouldn't want to run a business where thousands of people are pissed off every day and many demanding refunds if I didn't have to. I am a little surprised though that they are building a dive machine at this height, I think that if any park is eventually going to break the 500 foot mark it would be CP and a dive machine seemed like a safe and reliable way to do that (and there is plenty of space where Mean Streak is now).

     

     

    Super unreliable? Please list example of exactly what you are talking about and compare them to rides from other manufacturers that have never ever had problems.

    Dick Kinzel stated in an interview with NPR that building Top Thrill Dragster was the worst decision he ever made as CEO. The ride was SBNO for half the summer the first year it was open, major disappointment. Can you imagine the amount of people that were not only upset but also went to guest relations and demanded refunds? Maverick was built the during the season in 2006 and still didn't open with the park the following year. Had to be re-profiled before it opened and was extremely unreliable for a long time. That Shoot the Rapids ride had a huge accident that made national news. Xcelerator has been SBNO more times than I can count. Intimidator 305 had to be reprofiled and rarely ever ran more than 1 train when it was new because the wheels were literally melting. Wicked Twister (and all the other impluses at the time) had to add supports. Both TTD and Xcelerators cables have frayed while the ride was running causing major PR nightmares and Millennium Force's cable has snapped while it was operating as well (although I can't really verify if this is Intamin or CF's fault, probably a mix of both). I haven't been to CP in years but last time I was there Maverick, TTD, and MF all opened late and all 4 Intamin's broke down while I was in line for them (Maverick broke down at least 10x during the day).

     

    It's well known in the industry that Sandor kept giving Kinzel big discounts on new rides because of how unreliable the last ride they built was. It doesn't surprise me at all that now that they have a new CEO they have gone a much safer route.

     

    So no other ride by any other manufacturer has ever had any kind of lengthy downtime for any reason.... it's always only Intamin rides?

  5. Matt Ouimet has totally changed the direction of Cedar Point from super-unreliable Intamin rides, to more reliable slighly-but-not-too innovative B&Ms.

    Although I find these big B&Ms generally boring: they do look nice, are easily marketable, high capacity, and much more reliable than the Intamin contraptions they were building before. Can't say I blame him, I wouldn't want to run a business where thousands of people are pissed off every day and many demanding refunds if I didn't have to. I am a little surprised though that they are building a dive machine at this height, I think that if any park is eventually going to break the 500 foot mark it would be CP and a dive machine seemed like a safe and reliable way to do that (and there is plenty of space where Mean Streak is now).

     

     

    Super unreliable? Please list example of exactly what you are talking about and compare them to rides from other manufacturers that have never ever had problems.

  6. Ninja: I had a totally different conception of the ride from the POV, I was expecting loads of trees and a very secluded coaster. But even without the "green" setting, was nice and more intense that I was expecting.

     

    Just how many trees have been cut down around Ninja after the tree incident? I haven't been to the park in a few years, but the trees really added to the ride. Here's to hoping they don't cut down too many around Revolution during the re-do.

     

    Please, share your thoughts with me

     

    Nice to get a review from a new SFMM visitor, especially one from so far! Thank you.

     

    I'm not sure about Revolution, as I haven't ridden it, but I know that the trims on MindBender at SFoG are there because the ride is so forceful. Perhaps in the years since the older Schwartzkopf's were built - new wheel materials, lubrications, etc... have allowed the trains to travel faster than they did originally.

     

    Revolution is MUCH more of a family-oriented design than Mind Bender. Even with out brakes, there were pauses on all the hilltops. Mind Bender seems hell-bent on getting everything done quickly. The drop brake-overs on Mind Bender are more abrupt, giving nice pops of airtime. Revolution has very gentle and gracious drops. After Revolution's loop, things (are supposed to) get a little more action-packed if it weren't for the trim brakes. Even at full speed, I doubt Revolution would hit the lateral and vertical forces Mind Bender does...

     

    Think Whizzer meets sooperdooperLooper, and add a couple big but mild drops. Anton designed coasters that were fun but also beautiful and perfectly orchestrated for the land they were built on. Revolution takes it's time doing things, there is no hurry. It's not very tall, but HUGE in the way it's spread out and gives you a feeling of going some where.

     

    Revolution is an incredible design of perfection (as is Mind Bender in slightly different ways), dipping and twisting above and around the hills it was built in. Just a reminder, we are not going to get a rip-your-face-off intensity machine when the ride becomes New Revolution. Luckily for me, intensity doesn't always rule which coasters are my favorites, variety is my thing.

     

    With MindBender - if the brakes berfore the inclined helix and the last loop were off - the trains would come back to the station with a bunch of unconscious riders.

     

    That might be pushing it, but close! I rode the heck out of Mind Bender (still my #1 steel coaster) before, during and after the ACE Spring Fling this year. Surprisingly, the trims before the big helix were OFF! I've never experienced that. It was definitely a little more powerful than usual (the 2nd trim before the last loop was on, but seemed to be barely grabbing!). I've found I'm crazy over Anton coasters with or with out trims; they always give a great ride.

     

     

    I love that description. It's beautiful, graceful, picturesque, and iconic. Never meant to be fast and insane like newer rides. This ride has a reason for the way it was designed. Instead of just flying through the whole thing you get nice little drops and turns with pauses in between, to take in the scenery and take a breath. This design is a classic by the master. The loop is the crown jewel. When it reopens with the new trains I hope it will please new generations for a long time.

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