Jump to content
  TPR Home | Parks | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram 

First Defunct B&M?


Recommended Posts

^ O.K. if Universal decides to sell or scrap the "Dueling" Dragons they would have get rid of both instead get rid of one or the other dragon!

 

As the Vortex stand up clones at Great America and Carowinds, I say the Great America one gets scrapped and the Carowinds one gets sold to a non-Cedar Fair park!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 140
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

^ I don't think Duelling Dragon is going anytime soon. Even if it's no longer duelling, it's still an immensely popular attraction. Plus, its new name, Dragon Challenge, doesn't even mention the duelling part. It can still run as two distinct coasters. Just because the coaster had lost a part of its purpose doesn't mean that it should be automatically scrapped completely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Neither of the IOA coasters are going anywhere, they're not even fifteen years old yet. I think B&M shelf lives are far longer than your average coaster product. As Rob said there are Arrow coasters far older still running worldwide. Don't forget the several Vekoma coasters still in operation. B&M coasters are built so well I can't see too many coming up for scrap anytime soon. As for Led Zeppelin coaster, let's hope it will find a new home before it's too late.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While certainly mediocre compared to the other B&M sit downs, I think that if it can happen in the next couple of years, Led Zepplin is bound to be relocated. As several have said, that would be a major ride for many smaller parks that otherwise couldn't afford a B&M or anything that big. That said, the clock is definitely ticking there and a lot of that speculation depends on how much or little the ride has been maintained over the last four years... My money would be on one of the Vortex twins, but even then I could still realistically see either of those ending up in an international park in the near future. They may not be the greatest, but they're still relatively young and still have years of life left for anyone willing to maintain them. I'd be willing to bet several Chinese or South American parks would take up that offer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I much rather see Magic Mountain's Batman clone, go to another park, like Darien Lake (That coaster would be a good replacement for that Vekoma headbanger they call "Mind Eraser"!). But as for the first B&M coaster to sent to the junkyard "theme park", I'm going to say that Great America's Vortex or Time Machine would be the first B&M to scrapped!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why would a park like Six Flags Magic Mountain get rid of their Batman though? It's a popular ride that they recently painted and likely isn't a huge maintenance hog. Some of the roughness is probably due to the rolling stock. I wouldn't be shocked to see it running in reverse for 2014 if the SFGam gimmick goes well. And, Great Adventure's Batman regularly pulls in a huge line and is arguably the best ride in the park.

 

This topic is speculation of course, but parks just don't remove coasters for the hell of it. Vortex at Carowinds isn't going anywhere soon either. And hell, if I age as gracefully as Kumba I'll be doing alright.

 

What you see now is older Arrows leaving because they've reached the end of the lifespans. B&M coasters have a longer life span, so unless something happens that necessitates a removal (i.e. HRP closed), they're probably going to stay or switch parks for the next half a century. I can't wait to ride a "historic" Batman: The Ride.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Robb,

 

Do you think who ever owns Free Style Music Park would allow You or someone from TPR to shoot a video/photo update of the park and it's rides? I mean it could be pitched to them that we will help them get more coverage and hopefully increase their chances of finding a buyer. I really still am and always have been confused by why no one can just purchase the rides. I thought they were going up for auction and then news dies down again. Maybe Ed Hard can go talk to them and bring it over to KK.

 

I would to see a video of the rides running (if the rumor is true that they are keeping up the rides).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So Dueling Dragons doesn't duel anymore? Does it still run two trains or what is the story behind that?

 

From what I've heard about Dueling Dragons not dueling anymore, is that riders were throwing small objects like coins or wads of gum back and forth between dragons, so Universal decided to take the "duel" out of Dueling Dragons and rethemed the coasters after Harry Potter!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The dueling actually ceased after an accident with a rider. He was struck in the eye during the ride by a foreign object and lost sight in that eye if I'm not mistaken. The park decided to stop dueling to avoid future liability problems. Sad how after so many rides since 1999 without incident that this one freak accident would stop the feature that this ride was designed to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^*Facepalm* ugh, don't people ever pay attention to the "no loose articles on rides" rule, if Universal had enforce that rule better, the Dragons would still be dueling!

 

O.K. enough about "Dueling" Dragon Challenge, I wonder how good of condition is Time Machine from Freestyle Park since it has been SBNO since the park closed. If it's still in operable condition maybe it would find new a home (*cough* get it Darien Lake!) or if has been rotting like the Batman Intamin stand up that's at Darien Lake then it would be the first defunct B&M coaster!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The dueling actually ceased after an accident with a rider. He was struck in the eye during the ride by a foreign object and lost sight in that eye if I'm not mistaken. The park decided to stop dueling to avoid future liability problems. Sad how after so many rides since 1999 without incident that this one freak accident would stop the feature that this ride was designed to do.

Now, whose fault was that? Just because a guest screwed up doesn't mean the ride experience has to be ruined for the rest of us. I understand it was a safety concern letting them duel, but really there should be more consequences for guests that break the rules, that way operations won't have to change in the future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^ They could never figure out who or what exactly hit the guy in the eye. Some @$$hole ruined the dueling for everyone and pretty much got away with it. Both dragons are still great B&Ms even though they don't duel like originally intended, this incident had nothing to do with the HP retheme just an idiot and a safety precaution thereafter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^*Facepalm* ugh, don't people ever pay attention to the "no loose articles on rides" rule, if Universal had enforce that rule better, the Dragons would still be dueling!

 

Blame the stupid American court system in which anyone can sue over the stupidest things and WIN! Honestly the park had nothing to do with this, if anything the guy should have sued the guy who threw the object.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

^ I agree with you there. From the reviews it doesn't sound like it'd be a major loss.

 

To my knowledge it wasn't a one off thing, but a few injuries within a week or two of each other. Since they couldn't determine the source they stopped the dueling, although I don't see any other outcome regardless of the UFOs origins. It had been posted on screamscape but can't find it anymore.

 

EDIT: here's a snippet from the site one should never use as a valid source:

 

Wikipedia

"During the summer of 2011, there were two accidents (one serious) caused by what is believed to be loose objects hitting riders while riding the roller coaster. The most serious accident was when a man got struck with an object and had to get his eye removed due to the amount of damage. On the same day that the man got hit, Universal Studios announced that the coasters would not duel until an investigation was completed. For two months the coasters were dispatched separately and in mid-October 2011, Universal made the decision to remove the dueling aspect of the ride permanently without any explanation to what caused the injuries.[12][13] No injuries have been reported since."

 

I also found a thread relating to the timing of the incidents:

 

Dragon Challenge Incidents

 

"A few weeks ago a man was struck in the face with a random object on Dueling Dragons. The man unfortunately is going to lose the use of his eye due to it. Universal took action and temporarily shut down the ride to see where the object came from, which didn't yield anything. About a week after that a man got struck in his foot where the two coasters loop next to each other. The man had a nasty bruise to his foot but he is okay other than that. Again, Universal shut the ride down to find the cause again coming up with nothing but the idea of someone throwing an object at the trains."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use https://themeparkreview.com/forum/topic/116-terms-of-service-please-read/