ilrider

Supposed to get you through security faster, as there are about 4 lines reserved only for gold pass members. Kind of depends when you arrive though. It seems a bit faster than the GP lines, but who knows. Not too exciting, though, because if you get there before the main gates open like we usually do, you are then waiting with the rest of the herd anyway.

Actually, the Gold Pass line is not an early entry line at our park. Maybe they did it once when you we there, but not anymore. It has opened at the same time as every other line every time I have used it, and I even asked management once if it got us in early and they said no. Once you are through security, which is really what the Gold Pass line gets you through, all the lines are together in the same area now. They do have early entry for GP holders in some parks, like SFStl when we visited last year. It would sure be a nice perk.

Those Justice Leagues don't come cheep... some will argue that they are saving production cost money (mostly by splitting the bill over so many clones) by building so many, but those motion base vehicles they are using come with a pretty hefty price tag. While I don't have an exact price tag, I'd venture that the Justice League attractions cost about as much (if not more) than a decent size coaster and likely cost more than the S&S Free Spins they have been building. I have read the JLBFM ride itself is about $7 million, and it's another $3-$5 million to convert or construct the building, including the exterior, so about $10-$12 million total.

Judging by a video of the Joker at SFGAdv, the next car begins going up the lift hill as soon as the previous car crests the hill. So you have 2 cars going at once, with 3 cars waiting on the bottom. Based on the times in the video, it looks like the cars are dispatched every 40-45 seconds. Using the 40 second dispatch time, that gives the coaster an hourly capacity of 720 riders, which is the capacity listed on the S&S website. Thanks. I thought it was 2 judging by the video but was not sure.

Does anyone know how many cars can be on the ride at one time? I know there are 5 cars holding 8 a piece, but was not sure how many can be actually up in the air at once.

Discussion on SFA thread about possibly (I think it was more of a joke than anything) getting our Jester's Wild Ride and Orbit next year. Does Orbit have more life left in it after 40 years? I would feel bad if they got yet more of our hand me downs. They do have a Mardi Gras section that could use Jester's, though.

This is speculation at its absolute worst. 1) No matter what, you're still ASSUMING the net killed the boy at this time. 2) You're ASSUMING that protecting a piece of metal frame with thin mesh netting would have saved this child's neck from injury. If I were to wrap a baseball bat in a single sheet of netting and hit you in the side of the head with it as hard as I could it probably wouldn't end any better. The facts that we know are very limited at this time as to what killed the child, other than he died of a neck injury. However, people still continue to draw conclusions on no information. This thread is like a train wreck and somehow I can't look away, despite my distinct apathy for the entire situation. The "neck injury" is now a confirmed decapitation: http://time.com/4444447/caleb-schwab-verruckt-water-slide-death/

^ ^^That, or the front, if not the entire raft, went airborn, and his hitting the netting ripped him out of the restraints, which is also possible. It is all interesting, but just to soon to reach any real conclusions.

Some more details from a supposed eyewitness: http://abc7.com/news/gruesome-details-revealed-in-boys-water-slide-death/1462000/

Interesting. I did not know they had modified the slide this year. Now, you say the fatality happened on the back of the raft, but I have read the riders are normally placed in order of increasing weight from front to back, which would have placed the victim, whom I assume was lightest, in the front. Was that not your experience on the ride?

^There was an engineer working with the park owner on the ride. I saw his name in an article last night.

I would hit Justice League at park open, then Goliath. We did that in June and not only did we get on JL before 10:30, but Goliath was only about a 15 minute wait after it. JL gets very long lines later in the day (over 2 hours), so hitting it first is a great idea. You will be at the back of the park after Goliath. Rides that get long lines quickly include Superman (but that is at the front of the park) and Raging Bull, though Bull's line generally moves quickly (Superman's doesn't). Some of the other lower capacity rides include Batman: the Dark Knight and Vertical Velocity. So, you will have to decide if you want to just circle the park after Goliath and take your chances on lines, or jump around a bit, if riding everything makes a difference. Going one way, you could hit Eagle, Raging Bull, and Viper after Goliath, or going the other way, you could hit Batman and Vertical Velocity. Are you getting Flash passes? That would help with lines on some of the lower capacity, busy coasters.

There is no age requirement to ride Verruckt. It's not on their web site anywhere, and others have said it was planned initially but dropped. The only requirements I have seen are to be at least 54" tall, and the raft with 2-3 passengers must weight 400-550. http://www.schlitterbahn.com/kansas-city/rides/all-new-verruckt

^I'll let others handle some of your questions, but this ride was controversial from the beginning, as its engineering was somewhat suspect, with the second hill having to be reprofiled and rebuilt since it was literally launching rafts weighted with sandbags off the ride. The designers, which includes a Schlitterbahn owner, admit they engineered it based on coaster specs, and that did not translate well to a waterslide. We don't know exactly what happened yet, so I am not necessarily blaming the design, but let's just say this ride has an interesting history.

^^No, unfortunately it's not. Horrible. Shot of some, at least, of the netting being removed by crews. Looks to me to be on the downslope of the second, smaller hill:

The person who tweeted this IS a reporter for Fox 4 Kansas City. And she hasn't removed her tweet about it being a decapitation. So sad and I'm sending good vibes to his family. I've seen retweets of her post with comments about his head becoming caught up in the netting. I can't even imagine the sheer terror for everyone involved. Would seem to require a harness failure, ejection, and striking the metal supports holding up the netting or some hole in the netting, if the outcome being tweeted is accurate. Such a tragedy.

I am kind of skeptical, when ride operators are the alleged source of this info, with nothing from the park itself.

I love it too, for its intensity, interesting layout, and length. I have tweaked a neck or shoulder muscle in minor fashion on it here and there, but that's partly my fault when I ride with my hands up; it is stil one of my favorite coasters of all time. Just rode it again in June.

All rumor at this point, though I have seen a source claiming the ride op on Orbit claimed tonight is its last night of operation for good, though another said tomorrow is its last day of operation for good. I am surprised the park would not give more notice about this, to "get in your last rides," even if it is just a flat ride. It is one of the park's original rides. Opening up the space where Jester's and East River Crawler are located would be interesting, and of course the former Rajun Cajun plot is just across the midway from those spots. If it ends up being true, guessing it has something to do with 2017.

It appears the park has come to their senses and is moving the VR experience from Raging Bull to Demon. The theme is Rage of the Gargoyles.

I'm sure it goes down at times, with the amount of technology it uses, and I have heard of certain effects not working at times (i.e. the fire), but I have not really seen it down at all this season on days I have been there, and I have not heard of extended downtime like plagued SFStl's iteration last year. We got on this one on our first attempt this season, while it took 3 tries to finally get on it at SFStl last season.

Not that I know of. I think overall it has been pretty reliable here.

I think only the Hershey bar tower is a combo tower, based on the presentation.

Yes, 189ft.

I really enjoy the S&S towers too!