Why did they do that?

[Fallen Heretic]

I've been inspired by the trip to Pleasure beach Blackpool, from which I have just returned. I finally got my Infusion credit and noticed something that really bugged me. So, I thought I would post it on here and see if anyone else has any little bugbears about rides which get under their skin. Not major things like a badly maintained ride, just the little things that make you say "Why the hell did they do that?"

 

So, Infusuion then. Now the only other SLC I've been on was T2 and I cant remember if it did the same thing or not. When leaving the station, the train starts to move off about a second or two before the floor starts to drop. This means that if your particularly long legged (like the unfortunate chap sitting next to me) your feet are dragged along the floor a little way before it drops.

 

And then, on the way back in, the train stops, and the restraints unlock, before the floor starts coming up again. A few folk dropped down onto the floor only for it to lift them up and push them back against the seat (the floor moves up and back in a quarter circle). Why in the name of blue hell does it work this way? Was it always like that? Had it just slipped out of synch for the entire day? What gives?

 

Ahem. Ok. Thats me done for now. Anyone else?

[kraxleRIDAH]

I don't get it...

[Fallen Heretic]

The floor is supposed to drop before the train moves off. It bothers me that it doesn't. Then I'm asking what quirks bug people about other rides. Other than it being crap, or something obvious like that. Like a "What grinds my gears" but with coasters.

[Goliath513]

On Intamin Impulse coasters, the floors don't drop out at all because they just have the seats raised. As for the SLC situation, I have never seen the floor drop out before the train departs.

One thing that bugs me is on Vekoma/Arrow standard coaster trains, the restraints leave no room to put your hands up.

[kraxleRIDAH]

I think it's obnoxious how Xcelerator has queue rows for each car, not for each ride row. It's a mess.

 

Something like that?

[Wes]

I hate when you have to wait in a line to ride something. So annoying. Also having to sit down and stand up to exit the car, isn't there some way to automate this? No food or drinks rules too, I paid $7 for this hot dog, I'll eat it where I damn well please. Also, my preferred coaster riding method is shirtless with my bare feet sticking out of the side of the car, they need to accommodate me.

[Axman]

I can't figure out why The Rattler was butchered into oblivion. Why did they do that?

[steel]

Arrows that have pointless safety-belts on their horsecollars.

[ginzo]

I hate it how parks always find the most annoying bastards in the park to ride near me. The last time I rode Fire @ IOA I had to sit next to some drunk white trash woman who was hitting and berating her son. She made an event of unfastening the belt that safeguards the OTSRs, and then called her son a "chicken" for having his seat belt properly fastened.

 

Then there was the kid that sat behind us on the mine train at SFMM and screamed, "It's so intense. Mother. Mother. We're all going to die. It's so intense. It's so intense. Mother. Mother." He did this for the entire ride cycle. Why I didn't strangle him is beyond me.

 

Then there are the random morons that scream for the entire cycle, even during completely not scary parts of the ride.

[Airtime&Gravity]

I can't figure out why The Rattler was butchered into oblivion. Why did they do that?

 

One word: Lawsuits

 

Wait, another word: America

 

Well actually, I think it was that, and also that the coaster would have torn itself apart if it wasn't re-profiled.

 

 

 

I just don't get trims on hills on a steel coaster.

[WillMontu]

Why did they put G-trains on SOB?

Why do Cedar Fair parks have so many trashcans?

Why won't they put Millennium Flyers on Gwazi? It would do wonders to the smoothness and capacity of the ride

[bobafett]

^^ Hey ginzo, I'm one of those morons that scream while on the ride the entire time,even when I get strapped in. Sorry about that, I'll try not to do that so much in the future. By the way, I love your avatar! Judging by it you are a fan of Arrested Development. It is a shame that they took it off the air.

[KGA29]

I have always been annoyed by the lack of space to put your hands up on Arrow and Vekomas (as already mentioned). Some others:

 

-Why run 3 trains on Corkscrew (CP) when all 3 stack?

-Why put stupid seatbelts on Arrow Mad mouses and Arrow loopers

-Why does SFGAm's Ragin Cajun only hold 3 adults per car when other spinning mouses hold 4?

-Why do they make kiddie coasters with a maximum height requirement. Don't they know that us credit whores need those coasters!

[Goliath513]

Why do Cedar Fair parks have so many trashcans?

Because it's the cheapest form of theming.

 

Why are "sky coasters" so damn expensive. $35 for a single ride. I mean c'mon SF you don't need to let us all know you're THAT desperate for cash.

 

Why not just provide shelves for our loose articles instead of charging us rip off prices for lockers that just take your money and eat it? (Happened to my mom on X)

[Carnage]

-Why does SFGAm's Ragin Cajun only hold 3 adults per car when other spinning mouses hold 4?

 

Back in August they were only letting two adults on at once.

[RIP Psyclone]

OTSRs on coasters that don't need them. SFMM's Revolution and DCA's California Screamin' come to mind.

[christianscoasters]

^I don't get why the restraints on Revy have to be so freaking high! I mean, no matter what height, you're guaranteed head-banging!

 

I don't get the point of trim brakes. If the ride is going to fast, then why did you make it like that? Trims are painful, and just make the ride suck.

[kraxleRIDAH]

OTSRs on coasters that don't need them. SFMM's Revolution and DCA's California Screamin' come to mind.

 

The insurance companies would beg to differ.

[texcoaster]

OTSRs on coasters that don't need them. SFMM's Revolution and DCA's California Screamin' come to mind.

 

The insurance companies would beg to differ.

 

Screw the insurance companies. Revolution ran perfectly fine for YEARS with a single lap bar.

 

Rev has ONE vertical loop.

A Schwarzkopf shuttle has the same kind of train, uses only a lap bar, has a single vertical loop, and it goes through it twice... forward AND backward without mishap.

 

The one time that one in Belgium got stuck upside-down, the plain old lap bars held everyone in just fine... for about a half hour!

 

So no, insurance company people, Revolution does NOT need freakin OTSRs.

[texcoaster]

I hate when a ride's queue line dumps everyone right at the front seat queue. People want to wait for the front, they block the rest of the queue, and the line stretches out into the distance, while the whole rest of the train is going out with empty rows because nobody can even get to that part of the queue.

 

Astroworld's Viper was about the worst example of this nonsense I've ever seen, though there are others.

 

 

 

The other queue line crap I can't stand: not allowing me to choose my own seat. I don't want to have to go back around multiple times just to get the seat I want on luck of the draw. Even worse is when the kid that ends up in the seat I want starts screaming "NOOOO, not the front, I'm scared!!!" and instead of the ride op asking "would someone else like the front seat?" she talks to the little brat and convinces him that it will be better up there.

[Loco]

Why did vekoma design those horrible trains for their boomerangs? Everytime I get on it I feel all claustrophobic.

[RCFreak]

Arrows that have pointless safety-belts on their horsecollars.

 

They are not as nearly as pointless as you obviously think.

[CGM]

One thing that bugs me is on Vekoma/Arrow standard coaster trains, the restraints leave no room to put your hands up.

 

Why did vekoma design those horrible trains for their boomerangs? Everytime I get on it I feel all claustrophobic.

 

Annoying, claustophobic and very uncomfortable I agree but there is a very good reason for it. The clearances on most older Vekoma and Arrow coasters would not be anything like large enough to safely have open style trains. The most obvious example of this is on Vekoma Corkscrews, particularly the first turn after the drop.

 

The other queue line crap I can't stand: not allowing me to choose my own seat. I don't want to have to go back around multiple times just to get the seat I want on luck of the draw.Even worse is when the kid that ends up in the seat I want starts screaming "NOOOO, not the front, I'm scared!!!" and instead of the ride op asking "would someone else like the front seat?" she talks to the little brat and convinces him that it will be better up there.

 

Now this is something that annoys me. Why should you have any right to choose which seat you want? It is not your coaster, you do not have any more right to ride in the front seat than the so called "little brat" who is also a paying customer. Just because you are an enthusiast doesn't mean that you are somehow above the other customers in the park.

 

Just be happy with the seat you get and live with it, that's how queueing works. Plus while you're doing all you can to try to get your way to x seat; waiting off a few rides or asking the operators, you're holding up a whole load of people in the queue with your time wasting.

 

Anyway, my gripe is when ride ops don't use the airgates properly. At Flamingoland, it is not unnusual that they don't use them at all but just open them and load you straight from the queue line. In Germany, they do the opposite; they queue people up behind each airgate which probably increases throughput but is really confusing and makes it difficult to stay in a group

[slither37]

Now this is something that annoys me. Why should you have any right to choose which seat you want? It is not your coaster, you do not have any more right to ride in the front seat than the so called "little brat" who is also a paying customer. Just because you are an enthusiast doesn't mean that you are somehow above the other customers in the park.

 

I understand this to a point, however, I remember the first year Raptor opened at CP. Was the first inverted I had been on. Went through the line once and sat in the first available seat,The next time, I wanted to wait for the front. I was told I could not wait for the front seat and to get on the ride. This did not sit well with me. I told the employee that I spent some cash to get into the park and if I wanted to wait 10 hours for a ride in the front, I should be able to. This was all futile. I got on the ride and then went to Park Ops, who agreed with me and called the ride and I was told that if I went through the line again, I would be permitted to wait for the front. Unfortunately, I did not have time to wait again. Yes, you are correct that it is not our ride, however, it WAS our money used to get into the park. I do not ask for special treatment and am willing to wait, but there are some rides, like inverteds, that I would like to ride the front seat.

[easytoremember]

I hate it when a train pulls into the station and the cars get out of wack with the rows so it becomes confusing to the people around you as to which car to go to. This happened to me on GA Cyclone. I was waiting for my favorite seat and the train got all out of wack so some people took the row I was waiting for so the ride op told me just to go to another row.