Zonga, Thriller, Taz

[speedracer]

^ just say no!

 

If this is a legit inquiry, I would seriously reconsider another option besides Zonga (Bullet as someone else mentioned would be a good one!). There are very valid reasons why SFMW hardly operated and prematurely removed this ride, might want to think twice before inheriting all the reliability issues and costly headaches. Was once a great attention grabbing coaster, but those days are long gone.

[robbalvey]

I'm not sure what the cost difference would be from shipping Bullet from wherever it currently is in Europe to shipping Zonga from the bay area to Oregon, but knock on cost of how much might be required to get both rides running to the point where they won't injure your riders might balance that out.

 

If you need a contact point for where the Bullet currently is, let me know!

 

--Robb "And yes, Ed is a legit person!" Alvey

[LOVE SFKK]

Its a Schwarzy so....................................BUY IT!!! and RIDE IT!!!!!!!!!

[kitsch transporter]

But Bullet was such a vicious machine that it ate spare parts for breakfast. There must have been a reason why Flamingoland limited its daily operations and had an extensive inspection every afternoon.

[robbalvey]

But Bullet was such a vicious machine that it ate spare parts for breakfast. There must have been a reason why Flamingoland limited its daily operations and had an extensive inspection every afternoon.

Yup, there was. Some of it had to do with local noise and height restrictions.

[speedracer]

The big difference is Bullet can still operate with the more confortable accordian shoulder restraints. Thanks to the significant modifications done to Zonga and the resulting new clearance issues it created, it can never again ever operate without those restrictive bulky brutal shoulder harnesses.

 

Quite a big difference when you compare how one will absolutely generate huge repeat interest, while the other is a "one ride was enough", which Zonga clearly was at SFMW, when it was operational at all.

[jamesdillaman]

^I don't understand how it can't go back to the old trains. I'm sure for a price they could be bought somewhere. would there really be clearence issues? How much did SFMW change Thriller?

 

-James "Never rode it out there" Dillaman

[speedracer]

^ The first drop, two first loops and pull out were all raised 12ft to reduce the infamous 6.7g's to around 5g's. With such drastic modifications, there were now clearance issues where older supports were now way too close and the only way to ensure that no one could simply reach out and injure themselves was to utilize the current tight bulky restrictive harnesses.

 

And IMO, it does make a huge difference. Was always fun to watch people coming off the ride, rubbing their heads and ears complaining of pain from the brutal beatings. Unlike Roar and Medusa, wasn't a ride I saw anyone running back in line to ride again, the general reaction I witnessed was one ride/beating was more than enough for most of the GP. With low ridership, high maintenance and serioius reliability issues, SFMW simply gave up on the mess SF created out of this once great masterpiece and removed it from the park to save face (looks bad for a park to have their newest coaster, which everyone had to pass to get into the park, constantly closed).

[Rollerholden]

^ That's a good way of putting it. I apologize if my comments earlier in this thread sounded harsh. The ride itself was decent...and the banging, from what I remember, was only on the 2 last loops.

[TCKR]

Are padded extensions of the type used on the Texas Cyclone and American Eagle out of the question? That would certainly facilitate a return to lap bars + accordions.

[Tmcdllr]

I rode it a few times at SFMW, although it was painful due to the OTSRs, I enjoyed it. A coaster with back to back loops like that is a rare thing and would be a unique addition to any park- if only the OTSRs could be removed or modified to be more comfy. And with the cars being quite small to begin with, they really make it a lot more cramped than it needs to be. In my oppinion.

[stormrider]

Instead of bullet, they should get a Vekoma Boomerang. The public should be more impressed by a cobra roll and loop than just a plain old loop. Of course I hear that bullet is great and all, but the public needs more than one loop.

 

If you do get Zonga, it would probably look great in commercials but when people ride it, they'll come off feeling weird.

[buttonman700]

^

We are looking for portability as well as a good ride. A boomerang offers neither.

 

As far as the Bullet, I am looking into it. Not sure if is portable?

 

I want to thank you all for taking the time to respond.

 

Ed Roberts

Thrill-Ville USA

[SharkTums]

^Bullet is portable, and has operated at:

 

- German Travelling Fair Circuit (see portable!)

- Florida, Boardwalk and Baseball

- England, Flamingoland

 

[apollo210]

I knew that bullet was transportable already, I looked on schwarzkopf coaster net and they said bullet was portable. I hope you guys get this bad boy!

[Double0Kevin]

I operated the ride both years it operated at Six Flags Marine Worlda as Zonga. We had some die hard fans that rode the ride over and over with no complaints, but the majority of people would get off saying it was too bumpy. However you would see the people who complained ride the ride mulitple times. Zonga was also one of the only rides in the park that had a consistant line all day everyday. I personally wish the park didn't remove it, i always thought it was fun, just a little rough in certain sections.

[stormrider]

Haha , ouch vekoma:

 

"A boomerang offers neither"

 

Well, I liked Zonga alot better than the Boomerang. Don't ask me about the Bullet, I'll just stick to reading this topic now.