kenban
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Posts posted by kenban
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I personally like the Skywarp Horizon, and it seems like it would be more economical than the other two models for sale. I can literally imagine a whole area of some theme park with all three models
While it might be the cheapest to build, I think eclipse is the easiest to manage and might be cheaper to operate. Eclipse is the only model with a single platform with only one entrance and exit. Everything else will have two separate stations, and two lines, or a split.
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And for sure they do not wish to carry the dubious honor of being the first park to scrap not one but two classic B&M inverts, right? Really, I think Universal needs the money to build whatever will be replacing Dueling Dragons. Why else would they scrap a functional B&M invert?
Because if I'm not mistaken, behind Hulk, DD had one of the highest operating times of any B&M in the world? And with that much operating time comes a highly fatigued machine that was mostly only designed to operate for a certain lifetime.
The problem is that people do not seem to understand the decisions were made for business reasons. The company does not care about enthusiasts or about any history related to the rides. All that matters is if the rides are going to drive ticket sales, annual passes, merchandise etc. It makes no difference if the rides were in good enough shape for another 20 years or even another 50 years.
Why scrap a functional B&M invert? Because they care more about the returns from a possible replacement then the existing ride. Why scrap it instead of selling it? Likely because they do not want another park to get what used to be a signature ride. Also used rides are often sold for a fraction of the original cost, the small return is just not worth it to a company like Universal.
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Starting to think this is poorly worded. I had forgotten Jeff Pike who is the president of Skyline attractions was the person who designed the layout for Mystic Timbers.
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I am a little confused, did a TV station in Orlando just accidentally announce Kings Islands 2018 attraction?
A new bread of #RollerCoaster from #Orlando: Join us on @MyNews13 tonight inside @SkylineAttrax, w/ @KingsIslandPR & @sixflagsDK 2018 ride.So is Kings Island getting a Skywarp? Any chance someone in the Orlando area watched the news or is there any chance it's possible to watch it on demand somehow? I checked the channels website and I do not see anything.
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If anyone is going to haunt on a Friday and does not have an annual pass they have a pretty good deal this year. A $99.99 all inclusive ticket, you get admission, parking, a single meal, fastlane, and fright lane.
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Going back to the Dragster situation, it took me a second look to realize one of the pictures was a mangled brake fin, not a rag. Ouch.
I have no experience with Intamin rides to know how fast these repairs can be made, but I wouldn't doubt the capabilities of a park like Cedar Point to get things going sooner than we think. The best thing they have going for them is that they are closed Monday-Thursday. As for the park employee who shared these photos, I wish them the best of luck when they are confronted by their superior. Not a good image for the park right there.
Often the limitation in a case like this is spare parts. The park will have spare brake fins but do they have enough to replace all of the destroyed fins? When the incident on Kingda Ka occurred the downtime was mostly due to waiting on parts.
If the park has the right parts I could see it being open this weekend. If their supplier has the items in stock it is mostly shipping time. If the supplier has to make them or have them made then being down the rest of the year is very possible.
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For some reason I thought I heard the catch car was replaced at the start of the season.
Not sure why people think the ride would be removed if it was decided that the hydraulic launch or cable system was either unsafe or not reliable enough. If anything the park would just replace the launch with an LSM system like on Red Force. There is only a 50-60 foot difference in height and about a 10 MPH difference in speed.
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So this is basically the same thing that happened to Ka right after it opened, right?
Completely different issues. From what I have heard about this incident, it is the catch cars brake fins which are damaged. The catch car became misaligned and shredded the fins.
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From what I was told all of the Dinosaurs Alive attractions are being removed. Kings Island was the first park to have it installed and is the first to have it removed. Assuming they are closing in the same order they were built, I expect to see Cedar Point, Dorney, Kings Dominion, and Canada's Wonderland at the end of 2018. Followed by Carowinds, Valleyfair, and Worlds of Fun closing at the end of 2019.
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The rumor that is going around is they are replacing both Attitudes and the Coney Potato Works with a smokehouse restaurant similar to what was built in the water park for this year. No one is actually sure Attitudes is being torn down at this point, there is a belief it will just be gutted. There is a wood fence around both buildings but only the Potato Works has actually been torn down right now. Seems a little large for just a restaurant, Attitudes on its own is 100' x 100'. Total we are looking at around 100' by 170'.
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A photo taken by a visitor to the fair minutes before the accident shows the crack. My understanding is that the ride had been operating for sometime before this photo was taken so it's hard to know if it was visible when the ride was inspected.
The other information that came out though might be more disturbing to me. The Columbus Dispatch is where I got the photo but it also includes this information.
Investigators reported finding a can of red paint and a wet paintbrush under the ride, but they never concluded that the crack was what was painted that day.What was painted will make a huge difference in how I feel about this accident. If the crack was just painted over there needs to be criminal charges. That kind of negligence needs to be punished. I find it strange that there does not appear to be any information on what was painted.
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I will be going to both IOA, USO, and HHN between Thurs Oct 12 to Sun Oct 15. How are the crowds on these days for all the parks? Is the specific days I should go to any of these? May do the the deal of IOA and USO 1 day combined then HHN another night. Will I need fast passes for any? Would like to ride and see everything! Any tips/strategies?
In previous years there has been a late night express pass for HHN which is not advertised. Just talk to one of the people selling the express passes and ask for the after 9 or 10 pass, they can sell them at any point but it is not valid until the stated time. I always buy it first thing and do shows, shorter lines, etc until the time I can use it. What time they start working is based on the closing time that night so it does vary but typically it is only good for the last 3 hours of each night. The advantage of doing this is that they are half the price of the regular express pass. These are only available at the park the night of the event.
There is only one way I know of to get all the houses in one night without an express pass and while I recommend doing this, it is still a good idea to get an express pass. First make sure you are in the park when it closes, you can go wait in one of several holding pens, typically the first houses will open 15-20 minutes before the gates open, often there are 2 or 3 extremely early houses with the house next door opening a about 10 minutes later. I have gotten 3 houses done before the general public even enters. If you hurry between houses and rush to them before the crowd builds you can sometimes get a large number of houses done very quickly. Last year I had one night where I had done 6 houses in the first hour of the event. But warning this is not normal, and I go multiple nights and still buy at least one express pass every year.
So how do you see the rest of the houses? Sometimes waiting in lines but also the crowds die down towards the end of the night. Experience and understanding what the hot properties are helps. Do not show up an hour after the event starts and be surprised you see almost nothing. Saturday nights are more expensive for a reason, the park is packed, friday nights are not much better.
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I was at Kennywood last weekend and had a chance to ride Log Jammer. It is still a great log flume and even though it was only around 55-60 out there was still a line. But the trough was looking very worn down in areas. The fiberglass looks like it needs replacing and I cannot imagine how it's cost effective to do so.
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Take another look at the video. The bolts were cut, you can see heat damage to the paint and a chunk of the plate is missing next to where one of the bolts was located. Pretty sure they are just doing it this way so that it is easier to transport to the metal recycler.
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BEST SHOWS
Dollywood Pigeon Forge, Tenn. 46%
Six Flags Fiesta Texas San Antonio, Texas 18%
Silver Dollar City Branson, Mo. 5% (tie)
SeaWorld Orlando Orlando, Fla. 5% (tie)
Disney’s Hollywood Studios 4%
I can actually understand how Dollywood can get the award for best shows. But how did ANY Six Flags park make it as number 2?
EDIT: Take a look at number 10 on the best steel coasters, Maverick is listed as being a B&M.
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I suspect the problem with the Golden Ticket Awards is actually one of demographics. The average voter is likely different then the individuals which visit coaster forums. If the average voter was maybe 10-15 years older then the people commenting here I would expect to see a preference towards smoother slightly less intense coasters. Basiclly a preference for B&M vs an Intamin.
I believe this is the same reason the awards are dominated by US parks and attractions. If the majority of the voters live here they will naturally spend more time at US parks and will then more often vote for those parks.
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The announcement states that the replacement will be a "live action experience". Combined with the size and shape of the building makes me think Terminator will be replaced with a show. Live action also seems to imply actors so I do not believe this will be an attraction based on a 3D or animated movie.
My guess is either a show similar to Terminator which features live actors combined with a 3D movie, or a stage show of some kind. Bourne is a Universal property, but at the same time so is Pitch Perfect.
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Kings Island put the season pass renewal options up. They are now offering the season long fast lane plus option for 2018. It is $499 which is what I expected the price to be. If you visit frequently on Saturday and Sunday I could see how it might be worth it. Knott's also added the season long option at $499 so that only leaves Cedar Point without ability to purchase a season long Fast Lane.
At least for Kings Island, 2018 platinum pass renewal, Dining plan, Drink Plan, and Fast lane Plus brings the total to just over $850 with taxes and fees.
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So has anyone else seen the post made on Screamscape relating to Carowinds and some new North Carolina law?
http://www.screamscape.com/html/carowinds.htm
They are speculating that they may have too close some rides on Monday due to a new inspection law relating to the Ohio fair accident. Not sure how credible it is but it would really be crazy thinking a major theme park having to shut down a majority of rides.
This should have no effect on Carowinds at the moment. The quote states that the testing is needed to get certification to operate in the state. All of the rides at Carowinds already have the needed certificates to run. Unless the state revoked existing certifications it will not matter until next season.
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^^ At Coasterstock it was announced one haunted house would be closing which is why the list looks so similar. The house that is missing is Sorority House which is located in the back of the attitudes building.
There is a rumor attitudes, Coney Potato Works, and the Coney Confections buildings will be torn down to make room for the 2018 construction. At this point Screamscape is reporting return of the antique cars, and I have also seen reports of a smokehouse similar to what was built in the water park. Both of which actually seem likely to me.
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The more I think about this on a boring Saturday, the more I'm leaning top scan. I believe Carowinds was used and refurbished that was added this year, was Knotts (Sol Spin) as well? Or was that brand new?
Sol Spin at Knott's is brand new and custom. It has an extra seat on each arm and was designed to fit the bolt pattern of Windseeker.
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And when I say keep the midcourse, I mean only for block purposes like when the ride originally opened and not as a trim in the middle of the ride like it was used for later down the road.
Modern safety rules do not allow for this to occur. The actual reason block brakes slow every train that comes through is not to actually slow down the train but instead to verify that the brake is still functioning. Basically the block trimming the ride is just a side effect of verifying functionality.
I'm calling bull on that. Pandemonium at SFSTL allows cars to go unbraked through each block. The brakes go through a brake check every couple of hours to verify that they work by cycling the brake after a car has passed.
I guess I should clarify my understanding is that is a Cedar Fair rule.
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And when I say keep the midcourse, I mean only for block purposes like when the ride originally opened and not as a trim in the middle of the ride like it was used for later down the road.
Modern safety rules do not allow for this to occur. The actual reason block brakes slow every train that comes through is not to actually slow down the train but instead to verify that the brake is still functioning. Basically the block trimming the ride is just a side effect of verifying functionality.
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Cares has published the actual safety bulletin. It has four Procedures the first of which requires sandblasting the interior of the gondola support to inspect for corrosion and cracks. If it requires sandblasting the inside of the arm to be able to see the cracks I can see how this issue has been missed.
Also this bulletin only allows the rides to operate until December 31, 2017. I suspect we are going to see some design changes to reinforce the arms.
Photo TR: Kings Island WinterFest, Dec 3, 2017
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
^ Kings Island did not offer an unlimited fast lane pass for 2017. When season pass sales started this year for 2018 was the first time it was offered.