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The Magic Springs & Crystal Falls Discussion Thread


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Man, I actually love this ride. I've been going to Magic Springs every year since it re-opened in 2000, and X is definitely one of my favorites.

As much as it would suck to be stuck upside down for that long, I'll still be riding it. But thank God everyone is OK, and that the lapbars did their job.

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2 things:

 

1.) I just don't understand when people say things like, "I will never ride it again!" Like this story, and when SheiKra just got stuck on the holding drop. I just don't see any point in that quote except to make the park look bad.

 

2.) When a park buys a ride (especially a coaster) isn't it an option to have a backup power source in case things like this happen? Im not sure on this, anyone know? Like on more ... 'regular' coaster lifts, it could just push the train over with a few mantince guys, or get patrons off the ride.

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I still want to know why they designed this ride to have a Vertical/Upside-down lift, I think it's one of the most stupidest ideas ever.

 

Hopefully after this Maurer Söhne will redesign these rides to "launch" the coaster instead of using the lift hill.

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I have to agree with MagicSpringsGuy, I absolutely like Sky Wheel, although it's the only X-Car I've been on. And personally, I find the lapbars very comfortable, especially upside down, compared to other rides with OTSR's.

 

Anyway, too bad they got stuck upside down.

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File another one under Maurer Sohne's "stupid/oops" file

 

One-man, restraint-popping, walkway-dropping spinners coasters to uncomfortable, almost universally-hated X-cars that require a very manual reset after a failed launch and defeat centuries old common sense failsafe systems... I wish they would just go back to building highway bridges.

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So, if something were to happen that couldn't be fixed quickly (like the lift motor burning out or a power surge taking out the PLC), this is their evacuation plan? I can't imagine any other coaster that doesn't have an easy way to get people off the lift in the event of a power failure that doesn't involve the fire department. Even the old-school SLCs have their own dedicated color-coordinated cherry picker to get people down from the lift.

 

You would think it would be pretty simple to design an emergency manual winching system to get the coaster off the lift once it goes past vertical.

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Yeah, this seems like a pretty bad design flaw. There should be a way to get the riders off the lift during an power outtage. Hanging upside down like that could give a person the worst headache of their life. Power outtages are extremely common during the Summer months when the power grid is taxed from all the AC running. The Summer months are also typically when coasters operate. So, go figure. I guess these people have never heard of the philosophy of planning for the worst.

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^ Same here. Drayton's X-Car had me in discomfort (and that aching dizzy feeling) just from the progression of the train down into the loop, and that was just a few seconds hanging upside down like that. I can't even imagine what I would be like after half an hour.

 

Glad nobody was hurt. Those lifthills are the stupidest gimmick ever.

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Just more proof that inverted lifthills are a seriously bad idea. After riding G Force, I had little desire to ride one of these again; after hearing about this power outage, I now have zero desire.

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The old Chance Toboggan cars were more comfortable than the X-car.

 

The engineers are probably congratulating themselves how nobody fell out due to the superior design of their restraint. Maybe they'll come up with an inverted launched lift hill next as another way to torture riders and prove how robust the restraint is.

 

It has never been and never will be fun to hanging upside down with blood trying to make your head explode.

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The engineers are probably congratulating themselves how nobody fell out due to the superior design of their restraint. Maybe they'll come up with an inverted launched lift hill next as another way to torture riders and prove how robust the restraint is.

If I was an engineer I would! Oh yea! Think about it, the restrains did their job, just as Maurer Söhne has advertised. Although unlikely, it could be used as a way to almost boast the coaster. Comfortable or not, those restraints held those patrons from a 200ft fall to their death.

 

Watch some videos on their website: http://www.maurer-soehne.de/en/amusement_rides.php?cat=x-coaster&sub=x-car

 

In a way, this is the parks fault. The situation has happened before, and nothing was done.

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I don't understand what's so great about that type of restraint. Schwarzkopf had been doing it safely for years

 

Of course, not only with the blood rushing to your head on the inverted lift, the restraints are countering it by cutting off circulation to the lower half of your body.

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After reading how painful the restraints are, I couldn't imaging being upside down like that for 30 minutes. At least no one got hurt, but it brought back memories of when Demon did the same thing back in the mid 90s. Rescuers had a difficult time with that, so I can't imagine the trouble to help these people who were stuck roughly 60ft. higher.

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To anyone who blames poor design from the manufacturer: You are WRONG!

 

Maurer Söhne has tested and offered four different ways to deal with power outages and/or the train getting stuck in various positions on the lift.

 

The situation Mamoosh described is the easiest solution: an emergency program, activated by pressing two buttons will lower the train back to the station.

 

There is a physical device to pull the train forward in case it gets stuck before or after the "dead-spot". Howerver these devices need a second, independent energy source. Gerstlauer says that every customer is aware of this.

 

They have also tested to evacuate the train in any degree of "stuckage". It is possible but its described by the manufacturer as the least safe and least convenient way to handle the situation.

 

So either the training of the employess was faulty or the park just failed to provide an independent energy source.

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The question is if Mauer Sohne offers a system for dealing with these problems, is it in fact installed and didn't work( due to training ?) or is it optional and the park chose not to install it. The worst thing a manufacturer can do is allow improper installation/implemenation of their product since the liability can always fall back to them.

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The emergency-systems are part of the design and not optional. However providing an external powerline is certainly not the responsilbility of the manufacturer. I also don´t think they are liable, as the operation of the ride lies in the hands of the owner and operator.

The negative publicity is big enough for MS, as you can see with the reactions on message boards worldwide.

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The emergency-systems are part of the design and not optional. However providing an external powerline is certainly not the responsilbility of the manufacturer. I also don´t think they are liable, as the operation of the ride lies in the hands of the owner and operator.

The negative publicity is big enough for MS, as you can see with the reactions on message boards worldwide.

 

I'd think that the ride wouldn't pass the state inspection if the emergency systems were not properly installed. But, then again this is Arkansas.

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