neil009

Guys, it's not going to be a drop tower. Let it go.

Question. Six Flags more than anyone else in the industry seems to really be pushing for that high school/college age demographic, based on how and what they advertise, the merchandise they sell, blasting club music across the midways after the sun goes down, YOLO, etc. The problem is, those kids aren't the ones with money to spend on tickets and season passes, adults are, and I could see many adults being turned off by the whole image Six Flags as a chain is projecting. Does anyone else think this could be part of what's hurting them?

If I say it enough times, I can will it into existence. Hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper

Someone's never heard of the Voyage...... [EDIT] My bad, you said with steel...... Basically most people seem to be hoping for a launched Voyage made of steel with a couple inversions thrown in. This is seeming less and less likely. Unfortunately, say what you will about the relative intensity of B&M's products, but I believe the one thing they have never done is true, balls-to-the-wall ejector airtime, so you can scratch that off the list of what to expect. Also, those lightning fast transitions like you find on Lightning Run, Maverick, etc? Don't get your hopes up for that either.

Ha! "I don't want to answer that question" + a coy smile = nondisclosure agreement. Probably right when talks of this project were getting going. Yup, my guess is locked in. Yeah because Dan Koch came to this agreement with B&M at IAAPA 2012, gets fired less than month later before any formal ride designs can be presented to the park and actual contracts are signed. New management, who is in a lawsuit at the time with Dan Koch over control over the park, has the exact same vision as he does (even though neither side is speaking to each other) and decide to move forward with the ride he wanted to build. Seems likely Or the talks between B&M and HW started early in 2013, after new management was in place and they get the design of the ride they want. Not saying your guess is wrong, but your reasoning for being very confident in that assumption are a bit off. I forgot the management did change during that time, but major coasters are often planned out years in advance, and it is possible whatever plans the park had for expansion were handed off from one management team to another, isn't it? Four years later, Intimidator would have costed a tad bit more with inflation. Not that big a difference, 22 million is still reasonable for a hyper. Also, please, please, please stop saying "costed".

Why? Intimidator was 23 million.

Ha! "I don't want to answer that question" + a coy smile = nondisclosure agreement. Probably right when talks of this project were getting going. Yup, my guess is locked in.

...After all that, it really is going to be a wing coaster?

Evidence that B&M may at some point build a launch coaster is not evidence that this ride will be a launch coaster. Nothing in the clues hint at a launch, nothing written in the blog hints at a launch. Price tag, probable size of the layout, manufacturer, how they keep talking about it being one BIG thing, all of this says hyper to me. "First hyper with inversions" would be a very big deal. That's ma guess.

Nothing is pointing to a launch coaster besides a row of footers that could also be a break run. People were saying "launch coaster" before we even knew it was a coaster at all, and have been looking for any evidence to support that claim ever since, despite the fact that we know the manufacturer, which has never built a launch coaster before.

I agree! I have a very hard time imagining anybody slipping out of Skyrush's restraints. Thighs are much less fatty than waists, the bar can squeeze down and get a solid grip regardless of size.

^Yes we will! I've been giving this more thought and I'm definitely sticking with my "hyper with a twist" idea. I just don't see a park dropping that much cash for their first steel coaster and not getting a hyper. Nothing sells better with the GP than 200+ feet, 70+ mph.

It kind of reminds me of the "Paul is dead" phenomenon of the sixties. I'm pretty sure the teal thing is a coincidence. There are references to birds in the clues, but there are also lots of references to wood, water, weather, etc. All the references to the sky and watching the clouds would also fit for a coaster that's very tall, I.E. a hyper. Many people have speculated that a flyer would be an odd choice for your first steel coaster and honestly I tend to agree, I think it would be easier to sell something with impressive height/speed stats, I.E. a hyper. Also, gigantic footers. The launch would be exactly the same as on any S&S tower except lying down, and that goes for whether you're facing the ground or the sky.

^I don't understand how facing the sky makes it more unique/daring than facing the ground. I'm not saying you're necessarily wrong, I'm just saying you're arguing a little more vehemently and defensively for your guess than anybody else is, like you're trying to get everyone to agree with you, and I don't think it's particularly more or less likely than many of the other guesses have been.

^I'm nearly positive it was to accommodate a wider variety of body sizes/shapes, and to prevent another S:ROS incident. Their only thought was "safety!" not "comfort!", but I do think the restraints will eventually be overhauled. EDIT: Also, it feels less secure but it most definitely is just as secure, and probably more so, because everybody's thighs are basically shaped the same way. Securing someone at the waist area, as we've seen, comes with a few more variables.

The president of Intamin disagrees with you: (Skip to around 3:10) Like I said, the lift hill was specifically designed to make you slide back in your seat so the restraint would fall where the designers intended. At least one person is claiming you can keep this from working, personally I would never try it myself because it is clearly not the safest way to ride. I wouldn't recommend anyone else try it either, because you have to remember, being wedged firmly between the lap bar and the seat is the only thing standing between you and certain catastrophic injury/death. Who's to say you won't slide backwards on one of the ejector hills, leaving just enough wiggle room for you to slip out? Sure, say it's impossible, but would you have said the same thing if I'd asked about the likelihood of someone being ejected from NTG at the beginning of last year? It happens when the restraint system doesn't work as intended, which is exactly what's happening when you ride this way. Also, Sidewinder operated for twenty years before getting a completely different restraint system. New restraints for Skyrush are definitely not out of the question.

We're placing final guesses, right? I have a couple. The ride will be called The Storm, I'm fairly certain of it. I believe it's going to be the first hyper coaster with inversions. I don't think there's ever been any coaster advertised as such, giving them the world's first claim. (I know there's Eejanaika and Griffon and possibly a couple others, but neither of those were advertised specifically as a hyper.) The trains will have the new Banshee style of restraints. Nothing in the clues specifically points to this, but nothing in the clues specifically points to anything, and there's been a ton of references to "huge" "big" "vast" "sky" etc. Also no one else has guessed this so I want to have bragging rights in case I'm right. I don't think it will be a launched flyer. If a launched flyer is ever made I'm pretty sure you'll be launched facing the ground. It would be way more exciting to see the land rushing past beneath you then to just be looking up at the sky, I mean that really doesn't make any sense, especially considering B&M flyers start out facing the ground. Why would they flip you around to launch you?

I saw some construction going on on the other side of the lake from the sky ride. What's that all about? I could definitely see a coaster going in there, something long and thin like Fahrenheit. Oh and, loved my first trip to LC, for anyone who hasn't yet made it out there for Boulder Dash, I can tell you that it is absolutely one of the most ferocious, intense, wild, incredible rides I've ever been on, especially at night. YOU MUST GO.

^I guess we should both be thankful Intamin made the restraints idiot-proof.

I'm pretty sure all you're doing is keeping the ride op from stapling you. My theory is that how stapled you are at the beginning of the ride vastly effects the amount of leg pain you end up with, because the forces at the bottom of the first hill pulls the lap bar further down a set amount regardless of how much puny leg flesh is in the way. I'm dubious that you can STAY scooched forward the entire ride, because someone from Intamin said in an interview that the lift hill was intentionally designed steep and fast to push everyone back in the seat as far as possible, to keep scalawags such as yourself from intentionally riding incorrectly and undermining the restraint system.

While we're on the subject of speculation, am I the only one that thinks Backlot Stunt Coaster is the coaster that most badly needs to be replaced? It doesn't make any sense since there are no other movie-themed rides in the park. It's ugly, outdated, takes up a lot of land, it's redundant (right by two other launch coasters), I'm sure it must be pretty expensive to run with multiple launches and the effects. Makes that whole area feel closed off, the ride experience itself is "meh"... need I go on? I know between the aliens and NASCAR that end of the park is mixed-up theming-wise anyway, but Backlot *particularly* feels out of place, like a wannabe Disney Hollywood Studios ride.

Huge footers? Any chance this could still be a hyper? Maybe B&M's first hyper with inversions?

Which one? All 3 of them? The one in Georgia is decent since it fits with the landscape. Sorry to steer the thread off topic. Only been on the one at SFGAdv. Everytime we get to the pretzel loop I'm like "Oh yeah, this part is kind of neat", then we crawl through the rest of the course and I'm sitting on the break for what feels like an eternity, all my weight on my stomach/chest, and I think "Wow, this seriously, seriously wasn't worth it." I find it more uncomfortable/unpleasant than any SLC or stand-up. But as for the ride Busch may actually be getting, that non-inverting loop looks pretty ridiculous. Again, can't wait to ride.

It's hard to say, but it's true that the line typically becomes shorter than most of the other major coasters by the afternoon/evening (often even getting beat by Comet). It has a much higher capacity than either Fahrenheit or Stormrunner, but still, I think it should probably be more popular than it is given it's a hyper and it's only two years old. I think for a disproportionately large number of people it's a once and done, and that's largely due to the restraints. Getting better restraints would certainly be possible, Skyrush is going to be there for a long time and it's not at all uncommon for a coaster to have multiple types of restraints during its lifetime. However I would NOT be in favor of any OTSR, including those on I305. Having your upper body free is half of what makes this ride what it is.

I totally take everything I said back, I thought we were talking about the B&M flyer S:UF. Hate that ride, hopefully you can imagine why I was so confused. I apologize for posting out of ignorance. I've read good things about the SFDK version and would love the chance to ride it. I still think it's odd that Busch is building a clone, but at least it's a very compact ride, I can see why they'd pick it if they have a very narrow plot of land to fill. It's almost more like they're adding a flat ride than a coaster, to me anyway. That's why it's sort of ok that it's a clone.