ALT2870

Agreed it's pretty short but for the location and the park, reasonable. For those wondering what it looks like from in town here you go.

Defiance has officially opened with the grand opening here on July 9th. Trains look super spiffy. Full article below. Side note there is a lot more coming with the project. https://www.9news.com/amp/article/life/style/colorado-guide/roller-coaster-glenwood/73-4138d00d-967e-4d2b-883d-bb962dfbb859

The enclosure is pretty much full now. Can't confirm is pieces are going up to but trucks are still coming. Edit: There's a crane up top so vertical construction has begun.

In somewhat less depressing news, track pieces are starting to arrive for the new coaster. Took a quick pic as I had to meet someone at the hotel next door.

Having done this trip in reverse (outside of Kentucky Kingdom) I'd strongly recommend staying on the west/northwest side of Louisville. Not only do you get two nights in the same hotel, but the time change is much simpler as you can kinda pretend to stay on Eastern Time.

I saw that and was like, "Uhhhhh, you know the world we're living in right?" Ya, it is going to be a nightmare to say the least.

I'd recommend reading the report too JJLehto: https://cdle.colorado.gov/press-releases/media-advisory-division-of-oil-and-public-safety-releases-report-of-findings-on Fascinating dive into exactly what happened. Very clear cut with no technical stuff. Anyway, the ruling isn't surprising, they took it the wrong way. I understand they want to go for the big one but it isn't always worth it. I'll be curious if they come back with something else though as they should.

You do it either on the app under "My Six Flags" or you can do it through the pass holder site at sixflags.com/member. For Over Texas here are the upgrade prices: Plat: $20 Diamond: $70 Elite: $140

Good news, after you activate the pass, you can then upgrade it to any tier still at flat rate.

Just as an additional note here even though they are calling it a season pass in reality you are just paying for a year of membership which of course is more then fine. So you will get all the perks of a membership and get a membership card. So best of both worlds here.

Yes, we have been discussing this in the Six Flags Corporate thread on and off since August. They have finally done an about face and at least until next week you will get "upgraded" to a Gold Plus Season Pass which is the same as the membership which brings back the original season pass benefits. https://www.sixflags.com/stlouis/store/tickets

Good to see they finally came to their senses, guess those pass sales were low. I'm in Dallas till Tuesday so I'll be heading out there this weekend.

Yep, got another renewal offer. Either pass sales are falling flat or it is just something they do if you don't renew. Always have renewed via Labor Day so haven't been this late before. Me and you Bert are holding out for the same hope of multi-park.

Would highly encourage some of the more recent posters to go back and read the full report I linked to. I'm not saying the park is cleared of all responsibility but the report makes it extremely clear that nearly all the fault lies within the operators. Contributing parties include BOTH the park and the manufacturer more or less due to improper documentation. If the first opetator had done their job correctly like they were told to by the park, this would have not happened, period. So get a grip and read the report then come back and we can have a discussion, I'm all for it.

Sooooo, the Post Independent article was updated and is now painting a slightly different picture. I hate that news first mentality, get it out quick and fix it later. Anyway, at this point I'm going to get my hands on the actual report and see what they are really saying. Edit: Here is the link: https://cdle.colorado.gov/press-releases/media-advisory-division-of-oil-and-public-safety-releases-report-of-findings-on

For those who don't want to enter an email to read the article, here's a another version: https://coloradosun.com/2021/09/24/operators-failed-to-check-seatbelt-before-girl-died-amusement-park/ or https://www.postindependent.com/news/report-finds-operator-error-insufficient-guidance-in-haunted-mine-drop-accident/ It is an understatement to say it is unbelievable how many times the ops had a chance to correct the situation. The zip ride has a similar message (if not the exact same) and every time it happened, I would unload the guest and send it empty and double check everything. (You can usually clear it that way but sometimes you would have to manually do it if I recall, but never with guest.) If there is any fault always call maintenance. (I'm curious if that happened here but I would doubt it since no one said anything.) These guys should have never cleared a fault and then send it with guest, that just blows my mind. (Especially a seatbelt related.) That being said, these two people will now have to live with this the rest of their lives and I hope their names DO NOT get released. I'm sure many years are mental therapy are ahead. Like we've said before, these tragedies affect more then just the victims. If I remember right the training docs have to be signed off on as well before the ride is first commissioned. If that is the case there is blame to be put there as well. People always say things like this will dramatically affect the park but that usually doesn't hold true. There may be a temp drop but usually after time they rebound. Then there is the fact (unless it is a sketchy place already) that people trust it even more because you know the protocols with be even higher. In the end, this was an unnecessary tragedy that didn't need to happen. Lessons were learned at a high cost.

Yep, the top is the only way to get out, and they are pretty well recessed as well.

Agree 120% Elissa, when I worked there I would never force a child on and would recommend quite the opposite if they were very scared. I would always explain the ride and we'd go from there. Park did open back up today. Something I find very interesting is that all evidence of the Mine Drop has been completely removed from the website. As well on Facebook nothing has been said. I get there isn't much to say but the radio silence really isn't the best PR move. A simple message both on Facebook say something like, "The park has reopened, at this time the Haunted Mine Drop will remain closed until further notice." Just flat out removing it from the site is just showing people you are trying to hide something and doesn't look good.

Might of missed the post I talked about this in, but yes, there are cameras monitoring the ride including the top. (I want to say four in total if I remember right.) The argument then becomes when do you shut it down? There is plenty of squirming going on a regular basis so what's the line here? I would agree at some point you would see they are breaking free but it might be too late. The floor retracts within about five-ish seconds after the show sequence begins. At this point if you break free it's a straight fall. The ops can hit the emergency stop but it won't bring the floor back. That will have to be another button press and time. I can't see a requirement requiring the floor to be called immediately on the e-stop as that could lead to other serious consequences. I'm not sure the ops could of caught her in time, at least one person should have eyes on the cameras at all time. But trying to pick her out and seeing if she is really escaping would be hard to tell. Like I said, people get squirmy all the time. It also might have happened right at the drop in which case it would be impossible for ops to prevent. In this case they would watch in horror. In regards to Soaring Eagle's liability the waiver isn't a 100% clear and they could capitalize on that possibly. The full waiver is online FYI on the site so read up if you'd like. It will almost certainly clear the Caverns. (Read the seat belt especially.) Am I saying this is all alright if the park is found negligent? No, and I would like to think they would help pay but that opens a whole can of legal worms. One other thing that annoys me about some of these articles that are now popping up with this attorney is this: “What is the incentive for them to make sure you as a patron is going to be safe?” he said. “The answer is none. They have no incentive.” What an absolute load of B.S., at least for amusement parks. The incentive is that you don't have a park with a body count. Of course they want to be safe, who would go to a park that reported five deaths in a week? That statement is just a bunch of saltiness.

Yes, this has been a thing since the first attractions opened in the mid 2000's. It was really mainly because of the Alpine Coaster but it makes logical sense to continue it to all future attractions. Waivers like this wouldn't be necessary if people could behave like descent humans and not sue someone because they ran around in laser tag (against the rules). It was funny because we'd get lawyers say occasionally it wouldn't hold up in court which it has. I do want to mention the waiver is only needed for the rides. You can ride the gondola and do the cave tours without a waiver. Anyway, people have started harassing the park of course despite the fact we have no conclusion reached. However evidence is starting to mount that she was trying to wiggle out. The family (whether they were told by a lawyer or know what happened and won't lie) haven't made a statement against the park. They do have a verified GoFundMe which is linked in the article I'm posting. https://www.postindependent.com/news/gofundme-set-up-for-family-of-child-who-died-at-glenwood-caverns-adventure-park/?__vfz=medium%3Dstandalone_top_pages

More details here as well: https://www.postindependent.com/news/glenwood-caverns-haunted-mine-drop-passed-regulations-inspection-less-than-three-months-before-death-of-6-year-old/ So indeed they either climbed down the ladder or jogged the carriage down. Absolutely devastating for all parties involved. Based on preliminary findings would not be surprised to see the other Soaring Eagle drop towers closed until the investigation wraps. @SharkTums unfortunately this is a very real probability if the child was thin and short enough. With the plastic seating if enough struggle is given even with the belts super tight, it could happen in my opinion. If the ride operators did their due diligence checking both height (when I worked there that was a high priority obviously especially with all the families) and seat-belts then it will fall under Soaring Eagle and not having an appropriate height restriction. In the end this is all speculation of course. There is a camera feed that monitors the top and bottom so a conclusion will probably come quick. (And yes, the ops have this feed in-case something happens so they saw the event sadly as well.) Edit: Should also mention the ride has verification if the seat-belts are locked. This won't tell you if they are tight enough obviously but the ride sequence will not go if not buckled.

Thanks for the laugh. lol

How about we post the actual article? https://www.postindependent.com/news/fatality-reported-at-glenwood-caverns-adventure-park/ Based on the information the article provided saying employees rendered aid, she didn't fall out as they would have to do this from the top. There is difficult access from the top but one would figure this would be mentioned but who knows. Very possible medical condition. Either way this is horrible for everyone involved. Huge respect to the park for closing completely down for a couple days. This will be tough to process for everyone.

Yep, my thoughts exactly. The real question is will they make the connection? I could see next year when people realize they don't work at other parks they back track and allow it but not willing to take the risk.

100% agree.