Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (SCBB) Discussion Thread

[jray21]

Awesome report! It's great to see all the behind-the-scenes pictures. I'm hoping to head back out there again this year. Have to get one of those S'mores again!

[Meteornotes]

I miss living close enough to be able to drive over and visit this place whenever I wanted.

 

dt

[robman]

Awesome pictures! I would love to go on a backstage tour there, it must be interesting how much they do down in those basements.

[sfmman2000]

^ Thanks!

 

They really have an incredible amount of stuff going on in the basement. Maybe if TPR comes back to the Boardwalk on one of their trips, they can arrange a tour...

[Sheep-O-Matic]

Great pics! Thanks for sharing! So missing the old rides now. But they had to make way for the new.

Speaking of which, have they mentioned anything about the new coaster that's going to take the spot of the Hurricane? I think it's into summer enough for them to say something...

[RoCo]

Very cool look at the backstage stuff! So great that the've kept some of the old ride posters, sign pieces, etc. Love SCBB!

[disneyfan1313]

Love the backstage pics!!! So cool to see how things are run and maintained in different parks. Thanks!!!!

[Sheep-O-Matic]

Apparently, the Dipper had an accident. Trains bumped at the station or something and yadda yadda yabadabadooheresthearticle:

http://screamscape.com/html/santa_cruz_beach_boardwalk.htm

[megalyte]

^ Interesting! I hope that nothing major happened!

 

Anyway, the reason I'm posting was to see if anyone has heard anything on the new coaster or the date it is going to be announced?

[cal1br3tto]

^^Wow, what a shame! I feel bad that the group had to miss out on such a great ride (hey, even if it's not the "cool" group here, I'm still sympathetic).

 

I really hope this does not affect operations in any way, capacity-wise or experience-wise. This is one ride I would hate to see change (unless the original Prior & Church trains are involved...ah, wishful thinking).

[Blue Fire Guy]

I wonder if this had anything to do with the skid brakes (or anything related to braking). Giant Dipper is a very moody coaster in terms of speed variation. When it's running like a snail, the train hits the skid brakes and comes to a complete stop before it turns into the station. When it is running well (maybe too well in this case) the train hurtles through the station, sometimes (in rarer occasions) overshooting the loading area and plunging straight into the tunnel for another lap (given that there isn't a train sitting in the station). The only change I'd ever want to see is the addition of fin or magnetic brakes in place of the skids. I hope they don't neuter my old wooden friend with trims...

[XYZ]

I went to SCBB yesterday and Giant Dipper was open!

 

There was one-train operations on Giant Dipper since the blue train seemed to get damaged in the zero car. This was noticable since the front car was in the transfer track in the station without a zero car and you can see the notches and connectors for the zero car that aren't on the other cars. While in line, the red train stopped too late with the sixth car in the fifth car's line, so the riders got an additional ride. This caused a kid to throw up in the last car.

 

The Giant Dipper ran much smoother than last year as those turns that usually bang you to the right were very smooth and was fun.

 

I rode Double Shot which as usual gave ejector air-time. Hurricane was very rough when I rode it and looked like it wasn't very well maintaned, more because of how it is for sale. I got dizzy for the rest of the day because of Hurricane's helixes. The Haunted Castle was running fine as usual and the effects are as good as last year. Crazy Surf was running but broke down at around 7pm. Rock & Roll still has the "No Rocking" rule.

 

Also, on Mondays & Tuesdays after 5pm in the summer, all rides are $1. My family of 4 only spent 13 tickets on all the rides which lasted 2 hours. $13 of entertainment for 4 people for 2 hours seems like a really big bargain for me. So, give it a try.

[Tmcdllr]

Don't the concerts start up here pretty soon?

[Sheep-O-Matic]

^

The concerts are usually more July-ish. But I do miss them. The kept most park guests off the rides, so I got to go crazy... NO LINES!

 

As for that new ride... Well, it wouldn't be fair to ask about the new coaster plans right now, being that we've barely gotten into summer... (although since I live in Phoenix, I started summer pretty early...)

But as they said, late summer for new coaster news/details. My money's on a spinning wild mouse. Just got a feeling. In fact... we should make this kind of a game... we should all post what kind of coaster we think will be announced by late summer...

 

My guess: Spinning Wild Mouse

 

Anyone else?

[rolercstrluvr]

I'm placing my bet on an El Loco.

[Angry_Gumball]

I'm thinking El Loco, Spinning Mouse, or Eurofighter. My rodent senses are tingling however.

[cfc]

I'd like to see an El Loco at the Boardwalk--especially if it features the more comfortable cars of the Green Lantern ride at Movie World. I really like the layout of these rides, but S&S seems to have trouble making trains that are comfortable for humans.

[rcdude]

My first guess for a new coaster would be a spinner. I'm hoping they'd opt for a Maurer Sohne design instead of a standard mouse. If the park is looking for something a bit more thrilling, I'd say El Loco. A Eurofighter would also be possible, but that would probably require the removal of a couple additional rides since those generally have slightly larger footprints.

[Blue Fire Guy]

I'd love to see a ZacSpin (32.5m version), it is the one ride I can think of that packs the most punch into Hurricane's tiny footprint. Using Google Earth's ruler tool, I found Hurricane's deck to measure about 170 x 55 feet. The brochure on Intamin's website lists the dimensions of the model as 40m x 12m (approximately 131.23 x 39.37 feet). It would be an awesome addition, though I don't know if the Coastal Commission would be so happy about its height (32.5m = 106.63 feet, plus being elevated by the deck). Does anyone know the height limits at the 'walk?

[sfmman2000]

See page 50 of this thread for a similar discussion.

 

I don't think the city has any official height limits for amusement park rides. Although, if something tall were to be built again, it would have to pass through a variety of agencies.

 

I think we'll be seeing a standard Maurer Sohne SC 2000, as well as some reorganization and removal of kiddie rides on the deck.

[Sheep-O-Matic]

That's another thing. The new ride can't be too tall because it's already on top of the deck.

I heard Double Shot was supposed to be 150 feet or taller but they had to make it shorter because the city people were worried about the poor sea gulls ramming into the thing...

[ScottBrown]

The city of Santa Cruz itself doesn't have any height restrictions on the Boardwalk that I know of, remember the original plan for Double Shot was over 200ft. however the residents are another story . . . The height of Double Shot was lowered to match the highest element already found at the SCBB the flagpole on the casino building which from what I have read is also too tall in many SC residents eyes . . . so I would think it is safe to say that we will never see anything at SCBB over 125ft . . .

[Tmcdllr]

Does Prudential also live in Santa Cruz?

[ScottBrown]

No Santa Cruz is a whole different batch of crazy . . . what you ask could be worse than Prudential? A city full of environmental activists and rich people who want unobstructed views . . . you know just like San Diego

[Sheep-O-Matic]

Haha. Wow. I guess it's those same people who didn't want the Boardwalk to expand.