coasterkid124

Looks like a coaster, could feel like a coaster, but not really a coaster. I give them props for trying though.

Did Pinfari recently go bankrupt or something? Their website is still up, and they seem to have some new models as well. http://www.pinfari.com/pinfari.html The way it sounds, they may have been bought out by a company called Interpark, but they are still offering Pinfari models.

Galveston Island Pleasure Pier in Texas was the only one I've heard about so far.

1) The launch would be LSM motors, because hydraulics would be too expensive and unreliable. LSMs are more efficient than LIMs, as they do not need an additional braking system and can produce more powerful launches. A basic explanation of how LSMs work is that a magnet is mounted underneath the trains. When the train passes over an electromagnet (the white fins), the fin is turned on and reverses the polarity which repels the train. A control system turns each fin on at a certain point to ensure the train keeps going faster. If the electricity turns off, the fin acts as a brake and the magnets attract. 2) It depends on the layout of the coaster. If Dollywood is going for a terrain layout, the launch won't need to be as fast. If there is a big first hill involved, the launch will need to be faster. Thunderbird uses LSMs and goes 0-60 in 3.5 seconds. Its first inversion is 140 ft. However, it uses heavier trains, and they have more drag as the wings pick up wind resistance. This coaster could launch that speed a little bit quicker. It is just a question if the wooden structure can hold after years of repeated stress. It should, but it cannot be a super, crazy launch. Also, track formation will be a discussion. I-box track would make the most sense, as it is the strongest track style. But that would make it a steel coaster. Topper track is pure wood, but it would need to hold the stress of a launch. To make it smoother, the park could "cheat" and plop some polyurethane wheels on there (ala Goliath). 3) I don't think a strata woodie ever happens. The larger you build, the more the structure becomes a problem. Not an issue with steel, but wood would be kind of sketchy. It would be a huge hassle with inspections and maintenance, as it would be hard to check every single beam, and the tall structure would not last as long. Maybe a small launching coaster with a top hat, but anything over 250 ft would be insanity,

^ I used to play a drinking game, but I got alcohol poisoning and my doctor advised me to stop... As for the Super Loops Larson is personally inspecting all of them, and reopening them if they pass.

The last large Dive Machine opened 7 years ago, B&M very well could have slightly changed their track style by now. It's definitely a non-inverted coaster looking at the ties. Diving Coaster in China doesn't have flat cross ties either. It looks like Baron 1898 does not have flat ties either. B&M likely changed it just like their braking mechanism and holding brake for the ride.

A lot of parks have both a bowl and a funnel slide. Seems different enough to me. The funnel is more of a halfpipe element, while a bowl is just a swirling effect.

Well... you learn something new every day. I have no knowledge in the business aspect of things. What does this suspension mean? Can Cedar Fair do something to overturn this?

They already do have the trademark. It was the rumored name for Fury 325 for a while last year.

Phoenix and Twister at Knoebels have beams extremely close to the track Viper at Darien Lake has corkscrews so close to the trees that it seems like your head will scrape on them

In all honesty, I did not find Mean Streak to be that rough on my ride earlier this season. I could name a handful of woodies off the top of my head that I found to be more rough. More than anything, it is the layout of the ride that is pretty bland. Little airtime, even on the first drop, the turns were not too forceful, brakes were hard. I would see some sort of refurb happening more to modify the layout rather than fix the roughness. But it sounds like it is years off if it does happen. The park could end up just saying screw it, and start from scratch.

From what I've heard, all of the Super Loops installed this year will be down for a bit. Something mechanical failed at SFDK and Larson just wants to make sure that everything is working properly for all installations.

But at least Cedar Fair is a little more lax with the policy. I went to Cedar Point over Memorial Day weekend, and Rougarou had signs for this policy and a grouper. Even with a 90+ minute wait, the op was nice and asked me if I cared where I sit. I told him that I would prefer the back row, and he said that it was alright, even though there was already a full group there. I can see why parks want assigned seating in early years for capacity reasons, but there is no reason to be a stickler about it. Cedar Point allows the queue to fill up, then cut off the line, but still lets you choose where to sit.

Wow, that's so Six Flags. Force people to sit where they might not want to. I mean what if someone who's afraid of coasters wants to ride in the middle, but gets stuck near the ends. Hopefully this is just temporary until the park can get everything ironed out. Reason why I asked is because I'm planning a trip for August, and I might have hit this, but I think that I'll wait till next year to see if things run more smoothly op-wise.

That guy looks like Carrot Top Just a question. Is assigned seating just temporary to see how things run, or will it be a permanent thing? And if so, if I want to wait for say the back seat, I would have to wait another train to sit there right?

That's good to hear. I was always worried about the park not being able to keep building while managing the power grid, but that should make things a lot better.

Yeah, I totally get it from the financial point of view too. With the park's ownership and management in question right now, they are struggling to even add new attractions, let alone upgrade old ones. The park is finally starting to give up on the older attractions that need a lot of repairs and possibly a rehab to make them efficient once again. So until their are new owners who are committed for more expansion or upgrades that large (as in the power grid not an electric system for Boomerang), the only investments the park is likely to make would be small new attractions.

The switch to electric could pose a problem as well to the park's power grid. The park has small power issues, especially in the back of the park and once in a blue moon it could lead to a temporary outage. I don't know the stats for electric motors vs hydraulic, but a switch could be impossible if it drains a lot more. The outages usually affect Boomerang, Motocoaster, and Twister, and they might only happen once or twice a season, but a larger drain could be a major problem. This is a reason why the park picked Motocoaster for the location of the old pool. The flywheel launch allows a smaller power drain upon launch as the energy is stored.

That was another problem that I was thinking of, as the doors to the building that the hydraulic motors are stored in have been left open for the past couple of years, so it could very well be a combination of problems. If there is a leak somewhere, the motors may be overworking to try and match the pressure the ride should be running at. I think the best thing would be to shut down the ride early this year, and get the problem solved right. But for right now, although it is running poorly, the ride is still running safely and the park probably doesn't want to shut it down.

It is hard to see a leak as the hydraulic lines are covered by wood, however the lines lay in a little dugout and that has been filling up with hydraulic oil. Of course I cannot diagnose the exact problem not being close enough to the equipment, however, I am pretty sure about this as I used to work in rides maintenance and now in the engineering field. The ride itself received a citation from state inspection this year stating to replace a defective hydraulic line (I'll post the link). So unless the park did not replace it, which they probably had to, to get the ride to pass, the problem must be more extensive than just a bad line. It could be a bad coupling, or an in-system problem with the hydraulic motor which would require an expert to repair. But seeing that the issue is most likely a leak somewhere, the ride has lost a lot of pressure on the first lift and the catch car crawls up and down. http://www.labor.ny.gov/ride-safety/amusement-device-details.asp?dID=-1202549759 Here's the link for the inspection

Quick update from today... To start the park was checking bags today, as they wanted to take safety precautions such as other big parks have this weekend. For the 4th, the park was not packed at all. The most I waited for any coaster was about 3-4 cycles, so for a day like this one train ops were acceptable. However, still no sight of any of the other trains. The only ride closed (obviously besides Ranger) was Big Kahuna, which may be longer term as there were no rafts in sight, and no sign of work being done. The water park was the busiest part of the park, and I did not go in because of lines. Brain Drain had 3/4 of the stairs full, and that could be 1+ hour wait. Other then that, nothing really else to note. Boomerang is still in need of repair, as it is still leaking, and the crew is beating the catch car to the train by about 25 seconds. If feasible, it could benefit to switch this ride from hydraulic power to electric, like Boomerang at SFSTL did. However, there isn't assigned seating anymore so you can sit where you please. For it being a holiday, I enjoyed myself today and was pleased with the quicker operations on some rides.

Kudos to the park for taking the safe route here. While these posters are likely making these comments for attention, it is never wrong to be cautious about threats like that. The last thing you want to here about is people and/or attractions being harmed by attacks. And in reality, all other parks should follow in CF's footsteps here this weekend. Especially Disney, as they could be the largest target in the amusement industry. Checking bags for one weekend couldn't possibly hurt if it means saving lives.

I have the perfect solution. Put a countdown clock at the front of the station, and if the people cannot make it into their seat in time, the floor opens up and they fall into a tank of hungry sharks. Too barbaric??? Personally, I think the only way to get people moving quicker is by either banning bags from the station (ie Dragster at CP), or putting in place some kind of punishment if guests cannot make it in time, like not allowing them to ride. I do not see the latter happening as it would cause too much of an uproar or protest.

Wow, these things have had so many kinks that I actually feel bad for Six Flags. For once they try to build something with great theming and not cut on features to save money, but it is biting them bad right now. You have to think that we will not see any more of these being built until the kinks on the two the existing models get worked out.

The level of detail here is extraordinaire. Everything from the trains, to that cool dispatch lever, to the landscaping around it. The only thing that the ride lacks is a splashdown element, but all of the other theming makes up for it. It also seems like B&M is trying some new technical features. Instead of a double chain system for the holding brake, it uses the same chain as the lift. This may make the ride cheaper as only one motor is needed. Also, the brakes are not the traditional permanent magnets that B&M uses. Now they have used the retractable metal fins that Intamin uses on accelerator coasters. So the magnets are on the trains instead of the track.