simon8899 Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 On B&M standups: I've only ridden one so far and after many days on foot during my vacation I've to say that these type of coasters are bad when you already have sore feet.... On Schwarzkopfs: I think the track is nearly indistructable and even after 30+ years still quite smooth for its age. I lately rode a nearly 50 year old Wildcat at a carnival lately and there was no concern about the track. Problem becomes the rolling stock -you see more and more tape that helps keeping it together. But we also see new trains by SAT (Testrecke) and Gerstlauer (soon SDL) and I say with new trains they've another 30 years of lifetime ahead. The question is how many parks will invest into new trains? Or more likely building a fancy new coaster? Bad reputation could become an accident in for example South America were parks dont have the money for new trains and run the old ones with "hands-on"-repairs till they fall apart.... On Arrows: These coasters age quite badly compared to Schwarzkopf designs. But even here Vekoma has put out a quite comfy train with those new rubber-seatbelt like OTSRs like on the Speed Of Sound at Walibi Belguim. On flats: IMO its very sad that more and more Huss Ranger and Weber Traumboot got removed. I love hanging upside down with a lapbar only... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 It seems like parks are very reluctant to remove coasters unless they are completely hated by the public or have maintenance issues like constant breakdowns / lack of spare parts. New coasters are expensive which may be part of the reason why it's pretty rare to see coasters demolished. Even when coasters are removed, they are usually moved or sold. As far as Anton Schwarzkopf goes, how many continuous circuit Schwarzkopf coasters can you think of that have been demolished (as opposed to moved to another park)? I can think of Viper at Astroworld but that's it (and the entire park closed). There may be a few more but there aren't many. Those are durable coasters. Flat rides seem to come and go much more often than coasters. You have the classics like the Scrambler, Tilt-A-Whirl and Carousel but for the most part flat ride trends change all the time. Ten years ago, almost every park had a Chance Chaos. Now it's almost impossible to find one. I'm sure there are some trendy flat rides now that will be almost extinct in 10 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 ^Good point on the flats but with those since there are so many moving parts that need to be repaired replaced(depending on what the ride does & how forces have an effect on it) we can see why some have become harder to find lately....of course using the chaos as an example it was an issue of a flawed restraint design that led to parks taking steps to remove them unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalCoasters Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 ^Good point on the flats but with those since there are so many moving parts that need to be repaired replaced(depending on what the ride does & how forces have an effect on it) we can see why some have become harder to find lately....of course using the chaos as an example it was an issue of a flawed restraint design that led to parks taking steps to remove them unfortunately. If things continue, those flats begin with H and end with USS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I agree on the older HUSS flats such as Troika, Magic or Flipper - even if those are still around on european fairs and parks quite often today. But alone in germany there are about 30 Dancers and 10 Top Spin in operation so I guess those will hang around for some time. And both are still drawing crowds at our carnivals - even a small german fair isnt complete without a Dancer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I agree on the older HUSS flats such as Troika, Magic or Flipper - even if those are still around on european fairs and parks quite often today. But alone in germany there are about 30 Dancers and 10 Top Spin in operation so I guess those will hang around for some time. And both are still drawing crowds at our carnivals - even a small german fair isnt complete without a Dancer... Troika's don't appear to be plauged with the problems that the top spins & the giant frisbees have lately & don't forget we've got knock off versions of some of their rides being produced by other firms as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The SETGO Guys Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Rides with "Hosts/Skippers/Guides" Less than 10 years ago Orlando had: Kongfrontation Jaws Island Skipper Tours Discovery Island Boat Tours And in the past 10 years live "Host/Skippers/Guides" have been removed from: Living with the Land Backlot Tour I'm pretty sure I'm missing a few. It a shame that rides like this are being removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarTrekGeek Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 I also agree that the majority of the Arrow coasters still open will probably be next, with the exception of some of their signature rides (like X2 and Magnum). I also kind of see HUSS Topple Towers coming down soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liftsifter Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 On the idea that "Shwarzkopfs are indestructible." Great America just replaced huge chunks of track on Whizzer in 2011. So, I wouldn't say their indestructible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 One the one hand you've to impregnate each work of steel with rust-repelling paint every few years - maybe they did this too sparsley or the air there is quite salty. On the other hand most 1910s, 1920s wooden costers dont feature one original wood part anymoore so the replacement isnt a bad thing as long as they keep the classic ride... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastercrazy 9 Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 It seems like parks are very reluctant to remove coasters unless they are completely hated by the public or have maintenance issues like constant breakdowns / lack of spare parts. New coasters are expensive which may be part of the reason why it's pretty rare to see coasters demolished. Even when coasters are removed, they are usually moved or sold. As far as Anton Schwarzkopf goes, how many continuous circuit Schwarzkopf coasters can you think of that have been demolished (as opposed to moved to another park)? I can think of Viper at Astroworld but that's it (and the entire park closed). There may be a few more but there aren't many. Those are durable coasters. Flat rides seem to come and go much more often than coasters. You have the classics like the Scrambler, Tilt-A-Whirl and Carousel but for the most part flat ride trends change all the time. Ten years ago, almost every park had a Chance Chaos. Now it's almost impossible to find one. I'm sure there are some trendy flat rides now that will be almost extinct in 10 years. Didn't Zonga bite the dust, after some relocations? *EDIT* I hope that in about 5-10 years we can add SLC's to the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cal1br3tto Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 ^I've tried to do some research on that, but I couldn't find anything more helpful than RCDB, which states it's still operating, but nowadays only during a fair. Hopefully that's still accurate (you know, on the off-chance an enthusiast actually decides to go there). I was having trouble finding recent pictures or documentation of the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KI Kidd Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Didn't quite know which forum to stick this in, since we don't appear to have a Michigan's Adventure discussion thread, but I did get an email from the park today confirming that their Falling Star will not be operating this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerrykoala2112 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Didn't quite know which forum to stick this in, since we don't appear to have a Michigan's Adventure discussion thread, but I did get an email from the park today confirming that their Falling Star will not be operating this season. I guess it is good-bye to their tallest flat ride! Seriously, that ride actually had a nice setting in front of the pond, and was somewhat the only thrill ride they had. *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathbydinn Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 ^^ Not operating as in just closed for the season, or not operating as in completely dead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KI Kidd Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Not operating as in completely dead. Sorry for the confusing wording before. They stated that it will be removed from the park map (as of now it is still visible there) before the start of the season. Here's the text from the email: The Falling Star will not be at Michigan's Adventure for the 2012 season. The map on our web site is the 2011 version and will be updated as soon as the 2012 version is available. Thank you for your interest in our park. Have a great day! Guest Relations Michigan's Adventure Phone: 231 766-9959 Fax: 231 766-3804 Pretty sad to see this go actually. As stated before, it did have a nice setting, and was a very fun ride (especially before the ride cycle was shortened last season). Hopefully that patch of land will be home to a new ride for 2013. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lareson Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Yeah, that was a great ride. One of the first rides you see when you pull through the parking lot and had Chance's awesome lighting packages as well. From the way they un-formally announced it, it sounds like it was an unexpected removal. I know last year, they gave the whole structure a fresh coat of paint. They wouldn't paint something that they knew they were going to remove, right? There was a service bulletin released by Chance Rides in June about the Falling Star models, so don't know if that had anything to do with it. Here it is if anyone's curious about it: http://www.state.il.us/agency/idol/Bulletins/ChanceFallingStar.pdf Wasn't there an accident on one of these a while ago? I thought I remember hearing about one, which could of caused this service bulletin, but I can't find anything about it. I know it was relocated in '89 from Bob-lo Island and I have no idea what the manufacture year was, but I know it's one of the oldest rides in the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cal1br3tto Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I wonder if Falling Star rides really are on their way out. Apparently Wild Waves finally removed theirs after it suffered a lot of trouble and downtime in recent years. I don't know the whole story, so I'll post the Screamscape info. (1/30/12) According to a reader the Falling Star at Wild Waves may have already been taken down. As reported last June the ride suffered a serious breakdown which may have been the final straw, and was rumored to be seriously considering removing it back then. (6/24/11) I’ve been told that the Falling Star ride at Wild Waves suffered a major malfunction about a week ago or so, causing it to stop in place and the riders had to be evacuated. Apparently the ride has had more than it’s share of downtime issues over the past few years and after this last incident, the park may simply be ready to pull the plug on it for good. It would be a shame if these rides are dying out. Of all the magic carpet-style rides, I like some of the classic models the best. A lot of the modern ones (and some of the older ones like the Weber 1001 Nachts) are mostly uneventful or annoying, but the Chance Falling Stars and Huss Rainbows seem to have plenty of both lats and airtime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_s Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 It seems like parks are very reluctant to remove coasters unless they are completely hated by the public or have maintenance issues like constant breakdowns / lack of spare parts. New coasters are expensive which may be part of the reason why it's pretty rare to see coasters demolished. Even when coasters are removed, they are usually moved or sold. It's nice to be able to say you have a lot of coasters, although it could get established who has the most and the rest give up. But there are definitely more rides reaching the end of their lifecycles than ever before. So removal/replacement will be a big trend. I will be sorry to see most of them go, many are unique enough and are not without appeal, plus every park needs some short lines. If any NEED to go, it would be ones that are not merely uncomfortable but the ones that can really hurt you, which in my experience is not Vekoma or even Togo, it's Arrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 If you go by the rumors, it sounds like the trend is to remove more arrow multi-loopers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Zonga still operates in Mexico. As for Arrow multi-loopers, I'm not so sure, considering that the oldest Arrow custom looping coasters - the Cedar Point Corkscrew and the Great America Demon coasters - are still operating, I'm not buying a mass-removal rumor. Maybe Cedar Fair just wants to retire both Vortex and Anaconda at once because they're similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myself Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 I would be very surprised if CP removed Corkscrew. It's one of the most iconic and photographed rides in the park. Other rides may come and go, but I see it being one of the rides the park invests a significant amount in to keep it as long as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double0Kevin Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Plus if you remove Vortex and Anaconda, suddenly you have a lot of spare parts for your other Arrow loopers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArundelHigh Coasters Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 if Kentucky Kingdom ever does re-open, you better get your butt over there and ride it when you have your last chance!!. Aroow Loopers are next to go. I love the hell out of Vortex and Anaconda, but they will die ;(, everything that gets installed will be removed one day, unless it's a classic. Those B&M stand-up's like Vortex at CGA, and Carowinds will probably go too, even though Apocalypse was 'new" this year. Loch Ness Monster is also really old, i could see it going soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Mutts Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 I see Arrow Mega Loopers (Vortex Kings Island, Anaconda Kings Dominion, Viper SFMM) and Arrow suspended coasters that haven't been refurbished by Vekoma (All of them but Vampire at Chessington WOA) leaving soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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