Devious Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Well, I guess technically, they could have made it an LIM launch. I believe one Schwarzkopf shuttle loop has been redone that way. Still, sad to see another one go, but maybe Gerstlauer will introduce their own version with an LIM/LSM launch one day if someone asks. And I mean not as a special project, but as a catalog item. I've been thinking that too. It'd be great to see the shuttle loop concept be brought back to life with modern technology. How would a park market it though? To go off GigaG, you could also market it by taking a page out of PAX's book and doing something funny with the spikes (EG, making the front and back spikes curve to 95/100 degrees, or even just straight-out vertical like the GIB's are from vekoma Something as little as that with the standard lap bar (Or a slightly modified one) could make the simple shuttle loop even more fun & thrilling, or do things like the mindbender and have half the train forwards and the other half backwards. Plenty of options and possibilities, but a park has to actually want one first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midgetman82 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 I think for marketing purposes, the coaster could be extended further. It'd probably be something like a Mr. Freeze coaster, which wouldn't be a bad idea with a newer layout. Marcus, thanks for the photos. No problem! Really glad to see how much attention it's getting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jray21 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Thanks for the pictures! It definitely doesn't seem salvageable. It'll be interesting to see what they put in its place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveydo5172 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Premier DOES make shuttle loop coasters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 LIM/LSM's are not cheap to operate...probably out of the price range for what SFKK is looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted July 14, 2013 Author Share Posted July 14, 2013 I hope that whatever KK does get to replace the coaster is at least in the same height restriction. It might not be what most "coaster enthusiasts" want to hear, but think about it, when the park was owned by Six Flags, they had a good balance of coasters for different ages... 36" - Roller Skater 42" - Mouse Shuttle Loop 48" - Thunder Run Twister Sisters 54" - Chang T2 Now with the shuttle loop gone and what SF has taken with them they are left with: 36" - Roller Skater 42" - Nothing 48" - Thunder Run Twister Sisters (opening later) 54" - T2 Don't underestimate how important that 36" - 48" age bracket is, and how frustrating it is to be a parent with a kid that's like 44" and they are not tall enough to ride the 48" rides, and they think the 36" rides are for babies. Personally, I'd rather see them get a nice family ride, like a mouse or a mine train, than another "thrill ride" that will isolate families. --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midgetman82 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 T2 was 52" iirc, and I totally agree agree with everything else you said. It'd make for a really bad day when almost every ride you take your kid to turns them away and leaves them with only small flats meant for the much smaller ones. I saw it a lot at Cedar Point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArundelHigh Coasters Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 As sad as I am to see Greezed Lightnin leave, I'm excited to see that Kentucky Kingdom is finally being re-opened next year . I mean, look on the bright side. After many failed attempts, this parks is finally re-opening guys! I'm really excited to go there next year!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megametal Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 ^ And the next coaster may be really good! Hey, if it's something more than another boomerang, it should be good for the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfkk Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 I do agree that the park needs to get another family ride, but I think they should get a thrill rollercoaster first. They already have lots of family flat rides like the flying shoes, blizzard river, Thrill Park Theater, the pirate ship, and a few others. Also, if kk does not get a thrill rollercoaster in 2014, thunder run will be the only thrill coaster when the park opens. I think the park should get a launched looping coaster like full throttle. Then in 2015 they should get a family coaster in the leftover space from chang that is not being used for the waterpark. But whatever they get, I will be happy to have the park back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoopScreweD Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Bullshit the ride was corroded through the supports looked fine track spine was normal looking the rails were seriously muffed up with rust the launch mechanism i cant comment on but i don't support this decision one bit not that it matters....Now its up to cliffs amusement park to finally do something with Astroworlds shuttle loop. Rest in Peace Greased Tidal Viper Lightning Wave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfkk Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I understand that people had a very high sentimental value for gl. I would have loved to see it be saved as much as anyone else, but all rollercoasters must close eventually. If Ed Hart had saved greezed lightnin, then he would have spent a ton of money that may have sunk the park into a money pit. If Ed Hart didn't reopen the park, then the coaster would have just rusted away until it collapsed. So in reality it was either have the park back without greezed lightnin or have nothing back at all. This is why I am still supportive of him. If anyone was to save the coaster it would have been six flags, but they chose to take the mouse instead, so it was clear that they recognized that the ride had come to the end of its life also. It was 35 years old, there were very few parts, and it is just not something that a park that is independently owned and on a budget can afford to get involved in. I know that it is very sad to see for great america fans, but we all new that it would happen eventually. Even if ed had fixed it up, it would have only lasted a few years as parts were getting extremely scarce. At least this will help montezooma's revenge live longer because, according to the kk facebook page, another park inquired about the train. I am thinking Knotts because they seem to really want to keep montezooma arouna as long as possible. I only rode the coaster once, and all I can remember is the hang time from the second time the train goes through the loop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 ^The point of parts and trains can't be the major reason - there are still companies around which are happy to deliver like Gerstlauer (SooperDooperLooper, Turbine) or SAT-Rides (Teststrecke). On Turbine Gerstlauer replaced the whole flywheel launch assembly with a modern magnetic one. I can of course see that as a park who needs to make the most of its small budget didn't have the capacity for it. Parks with better fiscal grounding are optioning to keep their classic but I guess no park would buy a coaster like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Those parts can't be cheap since they are most likely made to order. I can't imagine there is a huge stockpile of parts just laying around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaster1227 Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 ^^You could argue that the ride could have remained in its current location until the park had established itself enough to invest money back into the ride much in the same way Walibi Belgium took so long to reopen Turbine. That being said, it appears that the only part of the ride that was retained to bring Turbine back online was the track itself with the launch system, brakes and trains being brand new--with the park maintaining and carefully keeping up the ride during its closure. Comparing the two rides, Turbine had the benefit of attention on its side, while Greezed Lightnin' had been neglected and left to rust for four years. At the end of the day, the cost of practically rebuilding this ride from the ground up didn't seem to win out over tearing it down and starting from scratch. And as much as I'm bummed to see another one of these neat looking shuttle loops lost (I've still not been on one), it seems to be the wisest move the park could have made given the situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Bullshit the ride was corroded through the supports looked fine track spine was normal looking the rails were seriously muffed up with rust the launch mechanism i cant comment on but i don't support this decision one bit not that it matters....Now its up to cliffs amusement park to finally do something with Astroworlds shuttle loop. Rest in Peace Greased Tidal Viper Lightning Wave. The only BS involved here is in reference to that awful grammar. C'mon TPR, we can do better than this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Westate Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 So sad. I got to ride it at SFKK and SFOG. I understand how it goes though. The first ones came out in 1977, that's 36 years ago and the fact that any of them are still operating just shows how smart Mr. Schwarzopf really was. The one from my home park Carowinds is still running down in South Africa. This now leaves Monetzooma the only Schwarzkopf shuttle loop left in America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveydo5172 Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 ^Hopefully not for long, as long as Cliff's lives up to their promise to resurrect Greezed Lighnin' from Astroworld! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Westate Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 ^Hopefully not for long, as long as Cliff's lives up to their promise to resurrect Greezed Lighnin' from Astroworld! Hmmm... we'll see. That ride hasn't operated since 2005, and Greezed Lightnin' looked terrible so I can't imagine this coaster being any better. I hope they can bring it back, but we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_kelly Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 They will probably replace it with a Boomerang... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfkk Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I am pretty sure that boomerangs cost less than 7 million dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilsam1993 Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 They will probably replace it with a Boomerang... Return of The Vampire? Sike!..well maybe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Peck Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 You know, a Boomerang is about $7 million, they have the exact amount of room as before since the Skycoaster and Roadrunner are gone. Not saying it will happen, but it's entirely possible. EDIT: Here is another news article posted yesterday: http://www.wave3.com/story/22846458/shuttered-theme-park-now-showing-signs-of-life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Westate Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Don't even speak it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PalmTree55 Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 You know, a Boomerang is about $7 million, they have the exact amount of room as before since the Skycoaster and Roadrunner are gone. Not saying it will happen, but it's entirely possible. EDIT: Here is another news article posted yesterday: http://www.wave3.com/story/22846458/shuttered-theme-park-now-showing-signs-of-life Full Throttle only costed SFMM 6 million $ too. Hopefully we could see a good Premier Launched Coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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