Skysthelimit

I’m not surprised that the second train would cause issues with the magnetic brakes and block system, especially since the brake run is comically short. It had issues with the old trains coming a little too close together on hot days and I’m sure the weight of the brand new train/slightly less new trains are different than the original. I just don’t understand how you spend this amount of capital on a new train for a ride that has mechanically and systematically struggled to run two trains throughout its entire life without thinking about the likely challenges. If they had shifted things 3 months earlier they could have had 2 trains running by Memorial Day. This should have been commissioned with buffer time to troubleshoot back in April, work out the miscellaneous kinks in May, and be running decently well by June. I also don’t get the 5-6 minute dispatches. In 2009 and 2011 when a second train did become available (2010 was blue train only), we would routinely have the next train ready to dispatch as the train ahead exited the 1st helix. Operations also refused to have maintenance take the second train off unless it was mechanically necessary or the rain was so severe and the trains were slipping. It CAN be done! It’s a shame because the leadership team at the park is so tenured and strong but the labor pool and strategic planning at a corporate level is just so unfortunate.

You got your second train now, enjoy. Never thought I’d see the day. credit: amusementescape (IG)

Do you have any sense of how the management contract between Six Flags and EPR properties (the owner) works? I’m just wondering if it’s pure profit for SF to manage or if they have any skin in the game from a risk management perspective.

They really can’t be used interchangeably with MF…. The seating configuration is different on both S:ROS and ROS’s trains than Millennium Force. The seats on the first row of each car on the Superman/ROS trains (both the original and new Superman) are closer together than the second row. Millennium Force’s first row is just as wide as its second row if you compare photos. This inherently changes where the hydraulic cylinder components are located for the lap bars. The more prevalent difference is that Millennium’s trains are built to accommodate the catch car assembly (I believe under car 4) whereas the hyper coasters have several chain dogs. It would be cool if Darien Lake got both SFA trains for 2026 and then used the current blue train for parts, given it’s already approaching ten years old (so weird how time flies). We were having fatigue issues with the original Darien Lake trains back in 2009 (10 years old back then) that required some expensive part replacements. It would definitely get the park ahead of the game for once. When SFA adds the red train to the track, I’m curious to see how it does. The brake run is so short that any extra train weight on a hot day and the trains just might gently love tap or cause a fault.

^ Yeah I believe the new ROS train’s inaugural season was 2016 and that both the original red and blue trains retired after the 2015 season. When I worked at the park from 09-11, I recall that stress fractures found during NDT were often the reason why one train wasn’t ready to go at the start of the season. I’m sharing that because I think you are spot on that the SFA trains are at the end of their service life. Also, Darien Lake’s have the Dragster style T-bar and not the ankle shackles, so it’s not like they’d keep an original SFA train and ship Darien’s down as a second train. They’re different models.

^ I agree 100% and given the portfolio of parks, even if it did fit and the track was in decent enough shape, I don’t think this would be the park of choice. Dare to dream I also have intentionally moved to areas around better parks so I don’t care that much tbh at this stage, but do wish the park my best.

Given the legacy CF leadership team seems to have the upper hand at SF now, I could see Green Lantern potentially getting converted to a floorless and moved to SFDL. I don’t think it’s incredibly likely and I don’t know the dimensions off the top of my head without going to google maps to see if it would fit. But, I could see them placing this at about a 45 degree angle in place of the go-carts, between Viper and Skyscreamer. The lift hill could easily go over the campground, which is oversized to begin with. They really need a higher capacity ride to rebuild their somewhat tainted reputation from surrounding areas the past 2 decades. I was a rides supervisor/manager from 2009-2012 so I’ve always had a tendency to discuss “what-ifs” to turn the park around, and as this thread seems to continually illustrate, the improvements come in small, gradual doses. On a separate and personal note, the removal of Grizz, Giant Wheel and Thunder Rapids was inevitable but quite a blow to the lineup, especially with the 1-train ops since my departure years ago.

As a child of the 90s, this releases so much serotonin. My visit to BGW in ‘97 kicked off my enthusiast journey between riding Big Bad Wolf, Alpengiest, Drachen Fire, and of course Nessie. Should round out the collection really well too, as their family coaster line up hasn’t been quite as strong as BGT in recent years.

Hey all, hoping for some advice from the west coast locals on here. We recently moved from Orlando to Colorado for a change of pace and would love to take advantage of the short flights from Denver to LA for a quick getaway to Knott’s. I have only visited once and that was back in 2015 while Ghostrider was under its major refurb and will be my hubbys first time. Are crowds typically pretty light on weekdays in October assuming you avoid Scary Farm? I recall it being dead last time we were there in November but it was almost a decade ago. We’d love to ride Xcellerator while we still can and while all signs look good there for the time being, I noticed Silver Bullet is closed with no reopening date. Any intel on what’s going on there?

Surely the 5% surcharge has generated enough cash to keep Scorpion running.

Thanks so much, Bert!

Hey all, my husband and I are visiting SFOT tomorrow Saturday 8/17. We already bought our tickets and Flash Pass but was curious if anyone has any recent tips on the park. We visited once about 4 years ago and enjoyed it, but we’re definitely more familiar with the east coast parks. It looks like everything should be open, but there website is a little unclear on the loose article policies. Does anyone recall if lockers are mandatory and if so which rides? Also, is Mr. Freeze still running one train forward and one backward? Appreciate any recommendations for the day, especially if there are any operational “quirks” we should be aware of!

^ We’ve always errored on the side of caution and have purchased QQ even on weekdays at BGW and have never considered it a waste. Apologies if this is common knowledge, but did want to share two things about QQ at this park. If you do have a higher tier annual pass, you can get as much as 50% off daily QQ for you and your party. We live in Orlando and do this at BGT several times per year. The issue though is that the website doesn’t consistently apply the discount, and at BGW specifically we had to go to Guest Services to purchase with a discount. Second, most if not all of the QQ lines route you through the exit rather than via a merge point right at the station. I suppose if’s fundamentally better than Millennium Force’s merge point which is a half mile away, but there’s still that 20-seconds of awkwardness while you budge in front of those in the standby line. It’s nowhere near as pleasant of an experience as say FL+ at KI and I also don’t recall them accepting row requests either. For what makes us happy for a day at the park, it’s still 100% worth it though - especially if you don’t like to be in close proximity to sweaty people lol.

I went for previews yesterday as well and got 3 rides. One in the front, one in the middle and one towards the back. It’s a little obvious that they had to get creative when shoe-horning the ride into a building that wasn’t meant for this attraction, but I thought SW did an A+ job with what they had to work. The ride fills a void in the park’s lineup and we agreed that the dark ride section into the first launch was the highlight. That said, I can’t get over how rattly this thing is. Sitting in the front seat, you see B&M track in front of you but it feels like you are on a family coaster from the mid-90s given the level of jank it has. Further back in the train it isn’t quite as noticeable, but it’s still pronounced. If I was a SW exec riding this for the first time, I probably would have been pretty pissed with B&M. I’m not sure what they or Clermont Steel have been doing lately, but their work has been less than stellar. On a brighter note, Mako in the front seat still smooth and gracefas can be.

We visited Parc Asterix during our honeymoon last fall. Honestly, it was our least favorite park of the trip (I found the aesthetics a bit.. off..for my taste and the people rude) but their operations were just wild. Three trains were just flying around the layout of Oziris where we were basically forced into our seats the moment the gates opened, old school Raptor style circa 1998 (minus the DJ booth). There also wasn’t any lollygagging or foolishness with the visual scans or waltzing around the platform with a confused look despite possessing an associates degree in IROC training.