californiaroar

It is arguably a better design to have to continuously hold the buttons. On my ride, you wouldn't believe how many times we have to stop the train because a guest tries to enter the station platform while a train is either dispatching or advancing into the station. For me it's a peace of mind thing. I've just seen many situation where if I had to push another button to stop the train a guest would have been seriously injured.

If you would like to know my source, I'm fine with that. I actually work at Magic Mountain. Not all rehabs take that long, but that is the average. I know over those weeks the trains are not being continuously worked on. Apocalypse took so long to get the second train back because it kept getting put off because of other projects. Coaster trains are a bit more complicated than a frame with wheels. There are a lot of small sensors that have to be aligned just right and a lot of time is used to adjust them properly. Also, some of that time is spent waiting for parts.

This year the parks maintenance team was very busy getting their three new coaster experiences ready. They had to assemble the trains for Green Lantern, Road Runner Express, and Superman. Then they finished the apocalypse train. It takes fifteen weeks for a train to be fully rehabbed. Scream is getting worked on now because it needs it more than Tatsu. They have one dedicated team for rehabbing trains and they just work on the ride that needs it the most.Running a park the size of Magic Mountain is not easy. There's a lot more to it than just turning the power on and opening the main gate.

Don't expect three trains on Tatsu anytime soon. It's in fifty pieces in storage for rehab.

I can answer this one. Tatsu is actually running both sides on a daily basis now. It really helps capacity. The only time we don't run both sides is when we are short on certified operators or on low attendance days.