jetsplumber Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 how they do it out at SFMM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 ^I think I only noticed now that the fourth row of superman only has two seats . Anyone know why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro1118 Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Gave the park a quick visit last night. It was packed between 4-8, with wait times for Toro and Zumanjaro hitting an hour each. KK went down shortly after arrival and stayed down the rest of the night. As mentioned in my post last night, KK being down does not effect Zumanjaro's operations besides increased efficiency. While in line for Zumanjaro, I was surveying RT's spot for potential future additions. What struck me was the land directly behind the top hat. It is basically an empty, unused parking lot area with pretty good size. If you couple that with RT's old footprint and the old entrance to the safari, you got a really nice chunk of land. With that said, they have planted a bunch of plants in the RT footprint with sprinkler systems everywhere, which leads me to believe any additions in that area aren't imminent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 After visiting the park Wednesday and riding both Zumanjaro and Kingda Ka, I raised the question to my friends that Kinga Ka is getting noticeably rougher as time goes on. Which leads me to Ask how many years could you see it being around for? An what would happen to Zumi if that happened? Would they leave the supports of KK to make it a free standing drop tower? Or would they have to add to it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Kingda Ka still gets hour lines so it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Most non enthusiasts don't care that the ride is rough in some seats anyway as the experience is amazing and it's a short ride so any headbanging is short lived. That being said (and I'm sorry to keep saying this), just ride it in the front. This eliminates all roughness and makes the ride really awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 ^^I don't think it will go anytime soon. Sure it may be a headache sometimes (in terms of maintenance) but it was a big investment, it still holds a world record and although it might be rough in some seats, I don't see its popularity decreasing. ^Yeah, I fully agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 After visiting the park Wednesday and riding both Zumanjaro and Kingda Ka, I raised the question to my friends that Kinga Ka is getting noticeably rougher as time goes on. Which leads me toAsk how many years could you see it being around for? An what would happen to Zumi if that happened? Would they leave the supports of KK to make it a free standing drop tower? Or would they have to add to it? I might be wrong in this assumption but I think it's probably getting rougher due to the age of the trains, not the track itself, so they could potentially replace those at some point to somewhat extend the life of the ride. It will be 10 years old next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 ^Do they have to replace the trains to fix or improve the roughness? I know it's not the same but they seem to have dealt with Nitro's train C's roughness quite easily (if it really is true that it's fixed). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 ^Do they have to replace the trains to fix or improve the roughness? I know it's not the same but they seem to have dealt with Nitro's train C's roughness quite easily (if it really is true that it's fixed). I rode Train C Wednesday and as confirmed in my report a few pages ago, I don't think its fixed. It was the most rough ride I've had (though personally it didnt ruin the ride at all) but there was a definite rattle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsplumber Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 After visiting the park Wednesday and riding both Zumanjaro and Kingda Ka, I raised the question to my friends that Kinga Ka is getting noticeably rougher as time goes on. Which leads me toAsk how many years could you see it being around for? An what would happen to Zumi if that happened? Would they leave the supports of KK to make it a free standing drop tower? Or would they have to add to it? I rode TTD a bunch on mothers day, and to do a quick comparison, Ka is definitely way rougher. Hopefully SF can do something to make it smoother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsplumber Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 ^Do they have to replace the trains to fix or improve the roughness? I know it's not the same but they seem to have dealt with Nitro's train C's roughness quite easily (if it really is true that it's fixed). I rode Train C Wednesday and as confirmed in my report a few pages ago, I don't think its fixed. It was the most rough ride I've had (though personally it didnt ruin the ride at all) but there was a definite rattle where did you ride on Train C. Front, middle, back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJLehto Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 (edited) I always found KK rougher then TTD...I recall its first year people already saying "get as near the front as you can" if you want to avoid headaches. Shame about the Nitro rattle, ride used to be one of the best. Great Adventure and their wonderful neglect... Edited July 18, 2014 by JJLehto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro1118 Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 KK has been like that for years. In my completely uneducated opinion, it is more of an issue with the train design than its upkeep. They are way bulkier than TTD's trains, which cause them to track more poorly in the high speed sections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 We rode Nitro twice, once earlier in the day on Train C in the 2nd to last row. I just happened to get it when it was our turn and thought let's see what the hype is about and I noticed it right after the drop and into the first turned hill and on and off through the rest of the course. There was a noticeable rattle for sure. BUT it didn't make it a bad ride. We went back for a night ride and I don't know if we were on B or A but C was right before us and this ride (in back row) was noticeably smoother. I sat on the green train of KK in the very back and thought for sure I was going to die during the launch. I am sore and have red marks on my shoulders two days later and my buddy who was with me does not and KK is the only ride that I did but he didn't. edit: I'm also a lot taller than him (6'2 vs 5'8), so could have been one of the others with OTSRs but I'm going with KK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsplumber Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 We rode Nitro twice, once earlier in the day on Train C in the 2nd to last row. I just happened to get it when it was our turn and thought let's see what the hype is about and I noticed it right after the drop and into the first turned hill and on and off through the rest of the course. There was a noticeable rattle for sure. BUT it didn't make it a bad ride. We went back for a night ride and I don't know if we were on B or A but C was right before us and this ride (in back row) was noticeably smoother. I sat on the green train of KK in the very back and thought for sure I was going to die during the launch. I am sore and have red marks on my shoulders two days later and my buddy who was with me does not and KK is the only ride that I did but he didn't. edit: I'm also a lot taller than him (6'2 vs 5'8), so could have been one of the others with OTSRs but I'm going with KK. the OTSR suck. I wish they would take them off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterchitchat Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 The lap bars on Dragster are way better and the theming for Dragster is better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Kind of off topic but a funny moment that happened Wednesday that I forgot to write about til my buddy reminded me today. Upon boarding the Runaway Mine Train: Art: Wow, this ride smells really clean! Me: Like fresh Lysol clean? Art (confused): Um... yeah, I guess! Me (laughing): Like someone puked and they wiped down the train with Lysol? Art (horrified/disappointed): Awwwwww maaaaan, yeah. Me (hysterical): At least you know its clean!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Cow Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Heading to the park soon for my virgin visit. We are spending a Friday there after doing Coney Island the day before and are definitely planning on getting a FlashPass. Any advice on which kind to get and what to expect as far as crowds and wait times go? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rramstad Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Heading to the park soon for my virgin visit. We are spending a Friday there after doing Coney Island the day before and are definitely planning on getting a FlashPass. Any advice on which kind to get and what to expect as far as crowds and wait times go? Thanks in advance! I was there last Friday and I think the general advice on this board is sound. Arrive early so you can get into the park on time. You can either do Superman and Green Lantern now (we did not) or skip them and check them periodically later (probably the wiser course of action if you plan to ride Zum and not do Zum single rider). Zum first, if you plan to ride (we did not) Kingda Ka El Toro (probably a good idea to reride extensively in the AM as it can get a line later) Bizarro take the Skyride Nitro Batman can easily do Skull Mountain, Dark Knight as well head back towards the front of the park highly recommend Houdini check Superman, Green Lantern, if waits are less than 30 minutes, that's pretty good, early afternoon worked well for us I think that's pretty accurate. We didn't have a flash pass so that would change things a bit, not sure exactly what the effect would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rramstad Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Oh, and at least last Friday, there was a crush of visitors that arrived around 5:30 to 6 PM and at that point the crowds were unmanageable and so we left. You may find the same... or the FP might make it so you don't have as much of an issue... or maybe that was just a problem that one particular day, but I suspect not, it seemed to be the getting off work locals crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsplumber Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Heading to the park soon for my virgin visit. We are spending a Friday there after doing Coney Island the day before and are definitely planning on getting a FlashPass. Any advice on which kind to get and what to expect as far as crowds and wait times go? Thanks in advance! I was there last Friday and I think the general advice on this board is sound. Arrive early so you can get into the park on time. You can either do Superman and Green Lantern now (we did not) or skip them and check them periodically later (probably the wiser course of action if you plan to ride Zum and not do Zum single rider). Zum first, if you plan to ride (we did not) Kingda Ka El Toro (probably a good idea to reride extensively in the AM as it can get a line later) Bizarro take the Skyride Nitro Batman can easily do Skull Mountain, Dark Knight as well head back towards the front of the park highly recommend Houdini check Superman, Green Lantern, if waits are less than 30 minutes, that's pretty good, early afternoon worked well for us I think that's pretty accurate. We didn't have a flash pass so that would change things a bit, not sure exactly what the effect would be. glad to hear someone else say do not use the zum single rider line. when I used it last sunday 2 times, the standy by line went quicker then the single rider line. I will never use it again. even some other guests mentioned how slow the single rider line was moving, and some even had friends got in the stand by line to see who rode first, and the standy by que seemed to be your best bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Toro_Ryan Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 So, wouldn't it be a bad idea to have retracting brakes like on their accelerator coasters to avoid this "waste of energy" ? P.S. I'm sure intamin knows what they're doing but I felt like suggesting this. I imagine it's due to the possibility of retractable brakes failing to work correctly, which would lead to certain death. The static magnetic brakes are failsafe in theory, as they should never stop working unless something happens to the Earth's magnetic polarity, or so I believe anyway. That's what I thought too. But then it's the same with their accelerator coaster's brakes. Imagine it kingda ka's brakes failed to return to their default position during a rollback, it would be certain death too. The default position for the brakes on accelerator coasters are in the up position. The brakes require air pressure to stay down while trains launch. That's the hissing noise you hear when the brakes drop. With loss of power, the brakes return to their default position. It would be cool if these brakes we're put on drop towers as well but I guess fixed brakes were the better option in the scheme of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 ^^ I didn't know that they required air pressure to stay down and would come up it there was a power loss. I guess that only makes the fact that they don't use them more strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comeagain? Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 I would guess the added complexity and cost outweighs the benefit of a slightly larger lifting system to just "muscle through" the break run. I also was under the impression that the faster the car (for example) passed through the magnetic breaks the greater the force applied to the car is. So a slow moving gondola going up would have little resistance but a quickly dropping gondola would be slowed almost to a stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Earlier in the season rumors emerged of a new coaster out over the lake, possibly a RMC with an underwater tunnel and it got shot down by the state. So i'm guessing no new coaster? There has literally been no buzz since. I know the park has huge gaps to fill with flat rides, but I think it is almost time for a new coaster seeing the park's last original installation was Dark Knight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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