Olsor
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Posts posted by Olsor
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I haven't been following this too closely, but I thought it was pretty clear once we saw pictures of water jets on the uphill portion that this thing wouldn't be sending rafts airborne. I mean that, and the fact that Schlitterbahn isn't Action Park.
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You have to slow some space in the schedule for snow days, Especially in the Midwest.
It's worth noting how historically bad the winter was in the Midwest. It was simultaneously the third-coldest and third-snowiest winter in Chicago history. Chicago hadn't seen temperatures that low in 20 years, and hadn't seen that much snowfall in 35 years. This was truly a once-in-a-generation type of winter, and not something you plan for on an annual basis.
That said, there could have been plenty of other things that contributed to the delayed opening, but if ever there was a year that weather was a perfectly valid excuse, it was this year.
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And since Geocities is no more, I'll repost the few pictures that were on there:
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Nice slideshow from Astroworld's earlier days here:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/slideshow/Early-days-of-AstroWorld-72994.php
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^ Topper track is basically a normal stack of wood that you would find on any other wooden coaster, except the top two layers (which are the running boards), are a steal beam. This steal beam is pumped full of a non-crack concrete grout, which basically ensures the track will not lose it's form or deteriorate over time like a traditional tracked wooden coaster. I believe topper track has been around for about 3-4 years now, and there is no evidence that the track has deteriorated on the coasters it's been installed on. The RMC trains are a another big component to this ride as well. They utilize a suspension system that keeps the wheels in contact with the running rails at all times, which allows for precise tracking. This keeps the train from bouncing around the track, like most standard wooden coaster trains do. On most normal wooden coasters, the train bouncing around the track is what causes the track to deteriorate.
RMC's whole goal is to create rides that ride like they do on opening day, twenty years from now. With all this technology, I say it's very unlikely that this coaster will become rough, but only time will tell.
But with all of the things done to produce that smooth ride (including using polyurethane wheels), does topper track provide an appreciably different experience from a straight-up steel-railed ride? Is there any advantage to building a new ride with topper track as opposed to i-box (other than maybe aesthetics)? Or am I just overthinking this and it's simply "because the park wanted to build this ride"?
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While many things were "nicer," remember that there were only 3 coasters (or 2 or 4/5, depending on the year you're thinking). I remember Tidal Wave and Demon having 45 to hour waits on the weekends, and Whizzer was always under 30 minutes (even with a full queue). The efficiencies now are probably 1/2 of what they were in 1980 (or even less, in Whizzer's case; compare 2,200pph compared to whatever they do now), BUT there were less rides.
Now that I'm thinking of it, Demon and Whizzer probably have longer waits on busy weekends now... but at least you have more to chose from these days
Very much THIS. I just took my nine-year-old nephew last week, and he could hardly tolerate any line longer than five minutes. I told him when I first went to the park in 1988, there were five roller coasters, and a half-hour line was considered short.
the American Eagle has one of the dumbest queues on any rideThis bears repeating.
Isn't it crazy that a queue for a Batman: The Ride is the one of the shortest in the park?And I remember when it opened and the line started in Orleans Place behind Cajun Cliffhanger... and was 2 1/2 hours long. I also remember Shockwave's line extending out into the midway and under the train bridge.
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Not to rag on the ride....but it's seriously small and a short ride. It does look wild for a bit; bit it reminds me a bit of a mine coaster with the first lift hill and such.
Why invest all that time into for that? It's cool to recreate the wood..but for the result? Ehh....I don't think the trade off is there. Are they going to see a boost in attendance that ...say Universal got from Harry Potter? I don't think so!
Long story short: Knoebel's is not Universal. They're not competing against Disney and SeaWorld for guests. They don't need to build multimillion-dollar attractions to sustain massive attendance numbers that make shareholders happy. Knoebel's is a small, family park committed to preserving classic rides.
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Why why why why why would someone do this??
Ride-induced amnesia?
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Love the "Hanno, take care of Kristen when we die."
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Fiesta Texas visitors mixed reactions
Saw this article today. It just seems to me the longer Iron Rattler stays closed, the harder it will be for Fiesta PR team.
And that article just goes to show how hard it is to ease the general public's conscience about this kind of stuff. They don't know the difference between ratcheting lap bars and hydraulic lap bars, and they don't necessarily understand how a heavier person could be thrown from a ride without the restraint failing. They also have a really negative attitude about ride operators, simply because so many are young. They think operating a roller coaster is like flying a plane, when reality is so far from that. It seems that all amusement parks can do is to add the illusion of added safety (seat belt, shoulder harness) and wait for the accident to slip from public consciousness.
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Very cool! Thanks for sharing, John!
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Very cool--thank you for sharing!
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^ They already dropped $22 million on Diamondback...
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These are Kings Island Rumors.
The classic "Vortex is sinking!"
People Died on the Bat.
I remember someone telling me (over 20 years ago) that the Bat was removed because it was sinking. That rumor has longevity!
Most of the myths I can think of had something to do with ride removal. There was always some sinister back story (e.g., someone died or was maimed) instead of the bland reality of the Six Flags ride-rotation program.
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Ducks into thread, shows avatar, ducks out of thread.
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It sits on Rolling Thunder's old site. If I recall correctly it was just a really long queue off the midway from Hometown Square.
That's my recollection as well. You just went under the train bridge, and there was the queue. A long, long queue.
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^ Yep. 100% agree. RCT 1&2 were great games that were grounded in somewhat realistic coaster and ride designs (even if it was cartoonish), the only big drawback was that it wasn't 3D and you couldn't ride the coasters/walk around the parks. RCT 3 added those, but became too fake and cartoonish. Just making a modern 3D/POV version of RCT2 would be a huge win.
^ THIS. SO VERY MUCH THIS.
Also, and the video covers this, but I like the ability to resize inversions. One of the downsides to the original RCT games was being limited to stock inversion sizes or stock track piece sizes.
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I quite enjoyed this. I thought it was funny that the reporter wasn't too impressed with the ride, saying, "Despite its size, it still cannot hold a candle to a good steel loop roller coaster."
This just in: your new wooden roller coaster sucks. I'm Ron Burgundy. Stay classy.
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Its too bad so many illiterate wusses (read the WARNING signs Y'all) couldnt handle a REAL ride.
You own a pair of Trucknutz, don't you?
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How did Sea World San Antonio make it into the top 25? When I went there was never anybody there.
The park is open almost year-round, so there's a lot of dates to spread that attendance around. I can't speak for the rest of the city, but I prefer to visit the local parks in spring or fall, when it's not 100 degrees every day.
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Would love to see those pics, mcjaco. I remember seeing pictures my friend's parents took opening season. The lack of trees is jarring.
/pours one out for Sky Whirl
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^ I'm going to guess there were a lot more kids doing this than just the ones in the three-year-old video.
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Best TR ever. Shut it down. Let's go home.
What's your favorite Robb Alvey line from a TPR video?
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
From a video of SFOG's Ninja:
"Why are we doing this to ourselves?!?"