AndyGiles Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 Why don't the coasters on Superman: The Escape and Dreamworld's Tower of Terror travel so far up the towers any more? When I went on S:TE back in 2000, it went really far up. I've just looked at recent videos of these two rides and the cars barely made it half way. Are they simply not launching as fast as they used to, or is the some kind of braking system on the tower, which kicks in to slow the ride earlier? Was it Intamin who instructed the parks not to launch so far up the towers? It seems such a shame to have these 400ft towers but not use them fully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfmman2000 Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 Actually I think lately, this year and last, they have been going pretty high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterlover420 Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 ^Definitely. This summer, Superman was almost hitting the trim brakes at the top of the tower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_Hollibone Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 You can actually see in one of my video's how high the Tower of Terror Goes, and that was shot last year. Link: http://www.thrillhistory.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124 It was actually going way higher than I was originally anticipating. And according to the little sign in the Station, the ride was launching at 158KM's (which is pretty close to what it was designed to do). So In conclusion, I believe the Tower Of Terror is shooting riders at an acceptable level, and I don't have any problems with it. (P.S) For the video, you need to be a member to download the video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the sound Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Question for person who started this thread. How do you even know if this was happening? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Whoa, all my years of training are now coming in handy. For starters, yeah, it's definitely happening, and while guests may see the big red sign down here on the TOT that says "158km/hr", don't forget that a difference of three k's an hour is a huge difference in metres when you're propelling something vertically. Essentially we're looking at anywhere between five and twenty metres difference, but its interesting to note that guests don't actually perceive the large difference of height as you would from afar due to the pod's seating structure. While there's about a million different factors involving the gradual decline in speed on both roller-coasters, the major contributor is ageing. I'm sure plenty people here know about the backup magnetic braking systems behind the station incase something happens to the main brakes, well anyway, with more of a gradual decrease over time with the ride's sensory stability, more and more e-brakes become mainplace with the ride due to the way the PLC systems work. With that in mind, it's far easier for the parks to decrease the speeds of the pods (in a nutshell) and make it easier for the computers to calculate the magnetic fluxes and the likes needed at certain points in the ride. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyGiles Posted August 21, 2006 Author Share Posted August 21, 2006 ^^Thanks, that's really helpfull. The reason I knew it was happening because I went on S:TE in 2000 and have a photo of it really high up the tower...when I saw it running in 2004, it made it only around half way. I also remember a news report about Tower of Terror when it first opened showing the cars go nearly to the top. I checked out some videos on Youtube yesterday and they seemed to go just over half way. The ageing theory does make sense though. I guess another explanation may be that the parks are simply trying to save on electricity costs as these rides consume a huge amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Nah, running costs are actually really cheap. In terms of per run, you're looking at about $50-90 AUS for about 2 megawatts of power needed during the launch, which isn't something parks need to worry about, especially ones which are rolling in as much dough as SFMM and Dreamworld are. I will say for the record though, with an empty load you can still tap the magnetic brakes at the top of the tower. I had the opportunity to ride a few times by myself early 2005 and it was definitely a more forceful and amazing experience; the additional 30 or so metres makes it go from "a pleasent view" to "WTF am I doing up this high with just a lapbar?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurricane Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Ahhh... The Famed Bog Area, Ben, I have also tapped the Brakes once when i had 6 other People in the POD First Thing in the morning. Nothing like 5 rides in front row without having to get off Also that little light that has the Speed isn't working YET AGAIN. I dont think they have broken the Exit elevator... Yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptorcrew2002 Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 July 17th 06, slightly over half way up the tower on superman. Not sure but I agree the ride has to be running slower. I know in 99 we where just short of the trims. I know at Cedar Point MF has a history of trying different wheels, and some of them have dropped the speed noticeable "cough roll back on the island 02 before opening, but in defense it was also cold that morning". They do that to find hardware that lasts longer so who knows maybe they have been trying different materials? Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the sound Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 ^^^ Apologies. Mayby sometimes it just doesn't get enough momentum, like a rollback on TTD or Kingda Ka, so on, so forth. Dan, you work at dreamworld, ask your employer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 Pfft, if anyone in Australia I'd be the only one who will happilly answer your questions about Tower of Terror. Momentum plays a small part, but again its a result of the decrease in the ride's launch models keeping the ride with a full load safe. Of course it's going to be faster with a static cycle, but then again we don't have the extra 1050kg average of passengers loaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunder001 Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 ^HAHA...sorry if this sounds nasty Slick...but you have built yourself up as a self confessed Dreamworld Fan (which we know you are). But as I read your post on page one, something did not seem right...error in buttons I think. Just for the record, the Tower of Terror uses 2.2Megawatts of power during the launch...not 2kw as you mentioned before, as that is about what my toaster uses. As I said, incorrect buttons used, but I could not help myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 Haha yeah, sorry, knew that didn't sound quite right, but alas 2.2mw, or as the ads say... "enough to power a small town for 10 seconds." By the way, the actual cost of 2.2 megawatts in Brisbane currently is actually around $80 Australian according to today's reports, but yeah, considering Dreamworld is on par and does exceed Disneyland in terms of its unbelievable public relations department (even though some other departments such as ride maintenance lack) it's not hard to call such a nice place a second home in alot of aspects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the sound Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 but then again we don't have the extra 1050kg average of passengers loaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 but then again we don't have the extra 1050kg average of passengers loaded. Which is co-incedently the same average weight of one ACEr. You don't want to see one of these struggle with fifteen of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palavos3 Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Superman:The Escape's car never ever reached 400 feet. Maybe 350. It we are talking strict height definitions and since I consider Superman a coaster than it was sort of the first gigacoaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palavos3 Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Superman:The Escape's car never ever reached 400 feet. Maybe 350. It we are talking strict height definitions and since I consider Superman a coaster than it was sort of the first gigacoaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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