Screamin_Eagle Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 (edited) Hey everyone, was sitting here at my desk waiting patiently for the next round of snow to arrive, and was organizing my photo albums. I came across some old photos I took of coasters over the year and the album also included shots of a few now defunct coasters...want to see them? as rough as Shockwave was, I really did enjoy this coaster.. Loved that first drop on Shockwave! another favorite from the past, the Orient Express! and of course there was that odd coaster "Flashback" and last but not least, the Zambezi Zinger, and here is one of the trains a shot of the ride and one on ride shot.. Edited March 21, 2010 by larrygator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDcoasterMAN Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 ^ Great Pictures. If I had access, I would post my recent pictures of Big Bad Wolf. I wonder why they tore Shockwave down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screamin_Eagle Posted February 8, 2010 Author Share Posted February 8, 2010 I would imagine that the park removed Shockwave to make room for a new coaster. Shockwave had run it's course, and was down towards the bottom of the list as far as popularity goes, and Im guessing that they felt they could scrap that one and replace it with a new and improved coaster. not to mention it was rough as can be. the whole track vibrated when the trains made their way around the course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technfxrick Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Superman Ultimate Flight now stands where Shockwave stood, they talked about taking out Whizzer, but eventually settled on taking out Shockwave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjaco Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 ^ Great Pictures. If I had access, I would post my recent pictures of Big Bad Wolf. I wonder why they tore Shockwave down? Â Â Shockwave was a terrible mess the last few years of it's life. It really beat the heck out riders. Â Originally, or so the rumor goes, is that Superman was going to go where The Whizzer is. Once wind of that got out, the general public went nuts, and Shockwave lost out. It sat along the hill by the employee lot for over a year before they finally decided to scrap it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airtime&Gravity Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Nice photos of some forgotten rides. Even though it was a terrible ride, Shockwave was still a far more intimidating ride to see looming over Orleans Place and Carousel Plaza than Superman: Ultimate Flight. Although, I'm still glad it was taken out instead of Whizzer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smells_like_team_disney Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Awesome pictures! I still remember my ride on Shockwave back in '97. It felt like a less-refined version of Viper (at SFMM) yet still a lot of fun at the time. Â Would have loved to ride the Orient Express. It just seemed like such an iconic ride that left an impression. Can anyone tell me why it was removed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screamin_Eagle Posted February 9, 2010 Author Share Posted February 9, 2010 The last year it was opened it was plagued with problems, including a derailment. they removed it and I believe they replaced it with Mamba... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 ^Mamba was built in '98, Orient Express was removed in '03 and Spinning Dragons was built the following year in '04. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Peck Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Orient Express had some major structural problems. They didn't want to take it out, they had to as the repairs outweighed the value of the ride. I think it was Spinning Dragons that replaced it. Â Ridership and costs played a major part in Shockwave's removal. They were planning on relocating it elsewhere or selling it. They took it down with care. Im not convinced that they truly were going to remove Whizzer, I think it was a publicity stunt. Engineers would have had to survey that site at least a year prior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelinwood Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Great pictures! I always love to see those nostalgic melancholy ones. They tell alot about how parks used to be. Do you have any more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downunder Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Nice photos, didn't they have two arrow loopers at the same time, albeit very different sizes? Maybe they'll re-ignite the tradition with two stand-ups - though I hope Iron Wolf gets reduced to molten steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike541x Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Awesome photos. It's weird because yesterday I was trying to look for more Shockwave photos on Google. Orient Express looked like a cool ride too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screamin_Eagle Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share Posted February 10, 2010 just these 2 shots are the only other ones I have... Â here is a video of the ride for any of you that didn't get a chance to ride it.... Â Â and here is a video I found of the Orient Express in action including a POV, I always loved the first drop on OE, great airtime! a picture of the sign for the ride, (always loved this logo) a shot of the ride being dismantled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screamin_Eagle Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share Posted February 10, 2010 ^Mamba was built in '98, Orient Express was removed in '03 and Spinning Dragons was built the following year in '04. Â Â thanks for clearing that up for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjaco Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Nice photos, didn't they have two arrow loopers at the same time, albeit very different sizes? Maybe they'll re-ignite the tradition with two stand-ups - though I hope Iron Wolf gets reduced to molten steel. Â SFGAm has Shockwave and The Demon. Â Totally agree on Iron Wolf. It's worth more in recycled material now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pirouettes907 Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 ^ That may be, but I hope they wait to take it out until after I've ridden it (which will be hopefully this year; crossing my fingers)! I know I'm asking for a beating, but I've always wanted to ride it since it's B&M's first (I think? Am I right on this?) and I'd be curious to see how much better they built their rides compared to this. Â I like seeing old photos of now defunct rides (and I have to agree with you, Screamin_Eagle, that I love Shockwave's logo too!). The track layout of Arrow coasters like Shockwave always seems redundant with the three vertical loops in a row, but they are definitely a marker of the way things used to be, when bending a track into all sorts of crazy inversions was the hot new thing. Â They're all coasters I never had the chance to ride, and I wish I could have, especially Zambezi Zinger. But what is this about a derailment on Orient Express? Don't think I've ever heard about it. Can someone enlighten me? Â ~Megan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screamin_Eagle Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share Posted February 10, 2010 Back in 1999 I think it was, The Orient Express derailed on the last stretch of track I believe it was. Nobody was killed, just some injuries occurred.   Roller coaster derails at amusement park Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jul 18, 1999 by CHERYL WITTENAUER  Several people injured at Worlds of Fun, but none receive life- threatening injuries.  The Associated Press  KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Fire fighters rescued stranded riders from cars dangling from the Orient Express roller coaster at the Worlds of Fun amusement park Saturday night.  Eighteen people had been riding a six-car train on the coaster when two cars derailed shortly before 10 p.m.  Two people were taken immediately to North Kansas City Hospital, and a nursing supervisor said one was in good condition and one in fair condition. Six others were treated at the scene and taken later to hospitals. Related Results  * Accident caused by beam fracture  None of the injuries were life-threatening, said Brad Humston, spokesman for the Kansas City Fire Department.  Fire crews reached the scene about 10:30 p.m. and raised ladders to extricate stranded riders, Humston said.  Two cars carrying four people dangled at a 90-degree angle about 20 to 30 feet above the ground, and crews used chains to secure the cars to the track before helping the riders down.  By 11:30 p.m., just two riders remained to be rescued, park officials and Humston said.  Debbie Ruth, 18, of Eudora, Kan., and a group of friends heard and saw the accident.  "We were right underneath the ride when we heard a really loud noise, then we heard people screaming for help and we saw them hanging off the side," Ruth said.  Humston couldn't immediately say how other riders had reached the ground. Rick Rau, the park's marketing director, disputed witnesses' reports that one person jumped and one was thrown from the car.  Rau said the incident was the first he could remember involving the Orient Express since it was installed in 1980.  The Orient Express takes riders on a two-minute, 30-second ride on a 3,470-foot track at speeds up to 50 mph. The track rises 117 feet and descends 115 feet on the first drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Did the coaster ever operate again after that incident, or was it immediately dismantled? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Did the coaster ever operate again after that incident, or was it immediately dismantled? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Peck Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 ^ It ran for a couple more years afterward Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 ^It operated another 4 years before being closed after the 2003 season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypercoaster2000 Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Wow. This thread has me feeling nostalgic. I will always feel bad about Shockwave, especially considering its fate and the roughness it got as it aged. The Shockwave was originally designed to go into New Jersey at the site of Great American Scream Machine. The world from Six Flags during the design for GAdv was to save as many parking spaces as possible in the parking lot so we squeezed everything into a very compact footprint. At the last minute, something that I can't remember happened to make it impossible to build the ride in NJ, so the ride was moved to GAm. We went out to see the site at GAm and i immediately asked to redesign the ride for GAm's more spacious parking lot, but was denied. so the ride designed for GAv's cramped parking lot was built at GAm. that ride was our first above 150', i think it was around 165 or so ( it was meant to be the world's tallest but i think something taller opened in Japan earlier that year and so it was billed "the world's tallest looping coaster"), we were still learning how the really big rides behaved and it turned out that they were a little faster than we thought, with the greater height and length of the ride amplified the effect of extra speed and forces on the ride that probably factored into its early retirement. we made a little change in the ride for GAdv the next year to open it up and suck up some more energy (and also use more parking spots). thanks for letting me share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffonluv Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 The one coaster that is now defunct that I wish I could have ridden is Drachen Fire. Although people say it was rough as hell, they also say it was such a fun and creative ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorkscrewFoley Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 There seems to be a few of us young and old who didn't get to ride Drachen Fire (myself included). I still think Shockwave should have been replaced by a sitdown B&M looper instead of Superman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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