What's causing the U.S Intamin drought?

[Superbatboy]

Chance, Vekoma, RMC, and Premier all making better coasters. Let the market choose who is best. I like B&M, but I am so glad to be seeing some new faces on the block

[DoinItForTheFame]

CH had that minor stalling issue on first turn. (Did we ever find out what happened with that??)

 

If I remember correctly wasn't it a rain poncho that was stuck in a wheel assembly?? Or a power outage... Or something like that??

[DirkFunk]

The Polar Coaster will also be a big feat. Another record for Intamin, and they remain the only company to "push the envelope" with limits. However, the coaster has to work. I think it will be fine because there are no launches or anything that could cause issue, but I said the same thing about I305, so we'll see.

 

I hate to be Debbie Downer, but I wouldn't get too excited about Polar Coaster ever happening.

 

They're building one in Orlando right now. Not sure if you meant that in a "nobody would ever build this way" or "it won't work" way.

 

They're building the Orlando Polar Coaster in the same way that Dreamvision is going up in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. There isn't any actual tangible progress that's been made in months.

[LiftThrill]

Well, skyscraper isn't set to open for 2 years...

[JonnyRCT3]

^And in another 2 years, it will be pushed back another 4 years.

[DJeXeL]

CH had that minor stalling issue on first turn. (Did we ever find out what happened with that??)

 

If I remember correctly wasn't it a rain poncho that was stuck in a wheel assembly?? Or a power outage... Or something like that??

 

Now that I think about it, the poncho story seems familiar. Thanks.

 

^And in another 2 years, it will be pushed back another 4 years.

 

[Paradox]

Yea I've always found the Orlando Poler Coaster to be a bit sketchy.

[Intimidated305]

Yea I've always found the Orlando Poler Coaster to be a bit sketchy.

I'm sure people thought 400-footers to be sketchy at first, but now they are the crowns of their amusement parks! Don't get too sketchy about it, i'm sure it will be a typical Intamin process: Open > Close for some maintenance issue > Opens again and people love it. Guess we'll just need to wait and see!

[chickenbowl]

Yea I've always found the Orlando Poler Coaster to be a bit sketchy.

I'm sure people thought 400-footers to be sketchy at first, but now they are the crowns of their amusement parks! Don't get too sketchy about it, i'm sure it will be a typical Intamin process: Open > Close for some maintenance issue > Opens again and people love it. Guess we'll just need to wait and see!

 

I don't think he is saying that the coaster itself would be sketchy, rather the reality of the entire project actually getting built in the first place.

[Paradox]

Yea I've always found the Orlando Poler Coaster to be a bit sketchy.

I'm sure people thought 400-footers to be sketchy at first, but now they are the crowns of their amusement parks! Don't get too sketchy about it, i'm sure it will be a typical Intamin process: Open > Close for some maintenance issue > Opens again and people love it. Guess we'll just need to wait and see!

 

I don't think he is saying that the coaster itself would be sketchy, rather the reality of the entire project actually getting built in the first place.

Yea the coaster itself looks great, but I'm still really skeptical about the entire project

[DirkFunk]

For anything to happen with the Polercoaster, they have to first close a few restaurants. Those restaurants are open. A buddy is a manager at one. Unless something dramatically changes, that ride isn't going up by 2017, or probably ever.

[Intimidated305]

Yea I've always found the Orlando Poler Coaster to be a bit sketchy.

I'm sure people thought 400-footers to be sketchy at first, but now they are the crowns of their amusement parks! Don't get too sketchy about it, i'm sure it will be a typical Intamin process: Open > Close for some maintenance issue > Opens again and people love it. Guess we'll just need to wait and see!

 

I don't think he is saying that the coaster itself would be sketchy, rather the reality of the entire project actually getting built in the first place.

Yea the coaster itself looks great, but I'm still really skeptical about the entire project

I understand what your saying, but i'm just trying to say only time will tell if it will happen. Even I am a little skeptical about it. I think if construction doesn't start by the middle of next year, I just don't see it happening.

[Password121]

There are more park-friendly options hot on the market right now. That's the simplest explanation.

[DoinItForTheFame]

For anything to happen with the Polercoaster, they have to first close a few restaurants. Those restaurants are open. A buddy is a manager at one. Unless something dramatically changes, that ride isn't going up by 2017, or probably ever.

 

Money can basically buy you anything. I would not at all be surprised if Skyplex didn't buy out the restaurants. I really don't think they would go to all of this work to release this project if they didn't already have everything lined up.

[Coaster Hero]

Glad to know I'm not the only one who's very skeptical about the Skyplex Project. The first question I asked myself after seeing the announcement is, "Yeah, this looks great and all, but will it ever really happen?" The whole thing just looks too ambitious to realistically happen, and it looks even less likely that it will happen by 2017. Just my $0.02

[DoinItForTheFame]

The whole thing just looks too ambitious to realistically happen...

 

The same thing could have been said about Top Thrill Dragster or even Millennium Force when they were first announced. If a park wants something no one else has, they are going to need to be ambitious, and do something no one else has done yet.

[larrygator]

If a park wants something no one else has, they are going to need to be ambitious, and do something no one else has done yet.

 

Such as, pay a lot of money if it is from an established company!

[Paradox]

If a park wants something no one else has, they are going to need to be ambitious, and do something no one else has done yet.

 

Such as, pay a lot of money if it is from an established company!

This was the first thing that led me away from the project. I've never even heard of that company before and for it to come out of the blue and announce a 500+ft tower with a coaster, zipline, and drop tower seems a little sketchy to me. It's like all of the Dreamvision stuff.

[DirkFunk]

For anything to happen with the Polercoaster, they have to first close a few restaurants. Those restaurants are open. A buddy is a manager at one. Unless something dramatically changes, that ride isn't going up by 2017, or probably ever.

 

Money can basically buy you anything. I would not at all be surprised if Skyplex didn't buy out the restaurants. I really don't think they would go to all of this work to release this project if they didn't already have everything lined up.

 

It isn't that they don't have the access to the land. It is that they don't have investor money to move forward with fabrication and construction, and thus there's no reason to even close the restaurants currently sitting there. Whether the money was dried up when S&S/Sansei left or did so after Intamin was brought on the project, I can't tell you. All I can tell you is that if this was to be open by 2017, you'd expect construction by now in September of 2015. Absolutely nothing is happening.

[Snovi]

For anything to happen with the Polercoaster, they have to first close a few restaurants. Those restaurants are open. A buddy is a manager at one. Unless something dramatically changes, that ride isn't going up by 2017, or probably ever.

Just because the restaurants are still open doesn't mean they haven't already purchased the land. The Polercoaster / Skyscraper / Mango's developers likely purchased all the land well before the project was even announced to get everything for the best price possible... if they were to announce the project and then attempt to purchase the land, the land owners would have demanded a higher premium on their land in order to get bought out. It's real estate development 101. The time it takes to go from open restaurant to completely demolished building and cleared land is less than 2 weeks. They are likely allowing the previous land owners to continue their operations up until construction is slated to begin.

 

It isn't that they don't have the access to the land. It is that they don't have investor money to move forward with fabrication and construction, and thus there's no reason to even close the restaurants currently sitting there. Whether the money was dried up when S&S/Sansei left or did so after Intamin was brought on the project, I can't tell you. All I can tell you is that if this was to be open by 2017, you'd expect construction by now in September of 2015. Absolutely nothing is happening.

Also, from what has been released through various media outlets, all the funding for the project is in place, so it's not a matter of whether or not they have the money, just a matter of when they will officially begin construction. The delays to the project haven't been from a lack of funding, but rather them continuing to add to the scope of the project.

 

Finally, just because S&S/Sansei were originally involved in the project doesn't mean they were funding it; it simply means they were contracted out to do the manufacturing. What likely happened is the Skyscaper/US Thrill Rides people sent out an RFP to several manufacturers and inevitably found a more attractive bidder (i.e. Intamin) and gave the contract to them.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Snovi

[robbalvey]

Ok, a few things to add here, mainly because I cannot stand threads like this where people who know very little about the industry are speculating on such huge things like "what ride manufacturers parks will and won't work with" which in almost every single case of one of these threads, everyone is wrong. Just going to put that out there!

 

I cannot tell you how many times over the years I've heard "Six Flags will never work with Intamin again...", "Cedar Fair will never work with Intamin again..." only to, guess what? Have that same company people make these erroneous claims about open a series of new Intamin rides just a few years later. Anyone who makes this claim is 100%, absolutely WRONG!

 

As far as an Intamin drought in the US? Um...

 

2012 - Lex Luthor Drop of Doom

2014 - Zumanjaro Drop of Doom

2014 - Harry Potter & the Escape from Gringotts

2014 - Falcon's Fury

2015 - The Orlando Eye

 

Last time I checked, every one of those projects opened in the last few years and they are all VERY huge projects. Either being "world's tallest" or an "area's tallest" or a giant prototype, or a landmark, signature ride.

 

So explain to me again how we have an "Intamin drought" in this country, which IMO every one of those attractions is a much higher profile item that almost anything that any other ride manufacturer has built in the US in the past couple of years.

 

People seem to forget that companies like Intamin build projects OTHER than roller coasters, and "the amount of roller coasters that a company is building" is not, I repeat is NOT synonymous with that company's success!

 

On another note about reliability and other "Intamin Issues" that people keep bringing up. Ugh...this is such an instantly STUPID argument!!! Let's not forget one thing... Intamin builds RISKY rides! That's just what they do. They build rides that other companies won't even touch. And when a park wants something that is different, unique, needs to really stand out, breaks records, and makes people go "wait...they are building...WHAT?!?!?" they go to Intamin! (Hello Falcon's Fury!) You want to play it a bit more "safe" with your project, you don't go to Intamin. And anyone who thinks that "Cedar Fair" or "Six Flags" is never going to work with them again is just ignorant on how this industry works.

 

When you have 11 of the top 20 roller coasters in the world, and have broken most of the marketable records in the world say whatever you want about Intamin, they are the ones pushing the envelope more than anyone else at the moment. The only other company I see even giving them a run for their money is RMC.

It's a shame it seems that Mitch isn't doing this poll anymore because it would be interesting to see how newer rides would stack up.

[robbalvey]

For anything to happen with the Polercoaster, they have to first close a few restaurants. Those restaurants are open. A buddy is a manager at one. Unless something dramatically changes, that ride isn't going up by 2017, or probably ever.

Just because the restaurants are still open doesn't mean they haven't already purchased the land. The Polercoaster / Skyscraper / Mango's developers likely purchased all the land well before the project was even announced to get everything for the best price possible... if they were to announce the project and then attempt to purchase the land, the land owners would have demanded a higher premium on their land in order to get bought out. It's real estate development 101. The time it takes to go from open restaurant to completely demolished building and cleared land is less than 2 weeks. They are likely allowing the previous land owners to continue their operations up until construction is slated to begin.

 

It isn't that they don't have the access to the land. It is that they don't have investor money to move forward with fabrication and construction, and thus there's no reason to even close the restaurants currently sitting there. Whether the money was dried up when S&S/Sansei left or did so after Intamin was brought on the project, I can't tell you. All I can tell you is that if this was to be open by 2017, you'd expect construction by now in September of 2015. Absolutely nothing is happening.

Also, from what has been released through various media outlets, all the funding for the project is in place, so it's not a matter of whether or not they have the money, just a matter of when they will officially begin construction. The delays to the project haven't been from a lack of funding, but rather them continuing to add to the scope of the project.

 

Finally, just because S&S/Sansei were originally involved in the project doesn't mean they were funding it; it simply means they were contracted out to do the manufacturing. What likely happened is the Skyscaper/US Thrill Rides people sent out an RFP to several manufacturers and inevitably found a more attractive bidder (i.e. Intamin) and gave the contract to them.

 

I will address this since I've been working with the builders directly.

 

First off - they do have the money. They have more money than you can imagine. Money is NOT the issue.

 

Secondly - Businesses have already been closed and the land has been purchased. The 7-11 on the corner was the first to go. The bowling alley, Galaxy Fun, the old Fun & Wheels site, etc, all those have been purchased and those businesses are now closed. They bought ALL THE PERKIN'S IN ORLANDO just so they could have that one on the corner. That's the kind of crazy money that's being thrown around here. All of those other restaurants on the land they need they now own and are getting lease payments from them.

 

Lastly - They have said since the beginning that nothing would be done on the Skyplex site until Mango's across the street opens, and it's getting VERY close.

 

Do I think that this project has a chance of being cancelled? Sure. Just like any other project. But I actually feel it has a much better chance of moving forward!

Edited September 24, 2015 by robbalvey

[Snovi]

I will address this since I've been working with the builders directly.

 

First off - they do have the money. They have more money than you can imagine. Money is NOT the issue.

 

Secondly - Businesses have already been closed and the land has been purchased. The 7-11 on the corner was the first to go. The bowling alley, Galaxy Fun, the old Fun & Wheels site, etc, all those have been purchased and those businesses are now closed. They bought ALL THE PERKIN'S IN ORLANDO just so they could have that one on the corner. That's the kind of crazy money that's being thrown around here. All of those other restaurants on the land they need they now own and are getting lease payments from them.

 

Lastly - They have said since the beginning that nothing would be done on the Skyplex site until Mango's across the street opens, and it's getting VERY close.

 

Do I think that this project has a chance of being cancelled? Sure. Just like any other project. But I actually feel it has a much better chance of moving forward!

Thanks, Robb! Glad you could finally chime in to officially set the record straight

[DirkFunk]

Just because the restaurants are still open doesn't mean they haven't already purchased the land.

 

I acknowledged this. Robb mentioned the 7-11, and that's 100% true. That was purchased and closed with the intent that this was moving forwards.

 

Finally, just because S&S/Sansei were originally involved in the project doesn't mean they were funding it;

 

I don't think I indicated that they were. This is more my belief about the people behind the project. Which....

 

What likely happened is the Skyscaper/US Thrill Rides people sent out an RFP to several manufacturers and inevitably found a more attractive bidder (i.e. Intamin) and gave the contract to them.

 

My assumption is that the bidding already took place when the original contract with S&S was signed, though obviously that is speculation on my part. I would think that they'd have done that from the get-go, but who knows? People do things. Did Intamin possibly come in because they were cheaper? Wouldn't surprise me. But then things.

[redfoot12]

I'm more concerned about the Intamin drought and vast reduction of snowpack.