coasterbill Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 Sad news, the park is reopening soon. (May 22nd) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
booink Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 It could be worst, imagine if Vipère was also opening The canadian-american border is still closed though, so La Ronde will have to do (for me) for the moment... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT325 Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 La Ronde is such a beautiful location... such opportunity. Now if someone else had it, like Cedar Fair. It would be all clean, user-friendly and operational. And I love Monstre as well; with it's weird slow sections and car-crash bits, great views, a coaster with surprises - the way Bill Cobb meant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricklap77 Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 I dont know if Le Monstre will be open this season. It was closed all last (short) season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
booink Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 It's hard to say, they have not announced anything regarding closed rides this year. Last year there was a list of rides closed for the season on their website, but the list is gone now. If I had to guess, Le Monstre will probably stay closed again for the year, which is fine with me, it sucks with its PTC trains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricklap77 Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 It can't be good for a large and old wood coaster to be closed 2 years in a row. Yes it ran much better with the Morgan trains! But I heard a couple years ago the park inquired about having it RMC'd, but it somehow fell thru! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricklap77 Posted May 22, 2021 Share Posted May 22, 2021 The park is opening today and again this season just like last season, Le Monstre is closed for the season! Sad news. The park doesn't have many rides now. SuperManege was scrapped in 2019, Cobra a few years ago, and the new old coaster from SFMM is not up yet and might never be! It's always been an overcrowded park and now with less rides! Anyway I don't know what to think about Le Monstre. I doubt they will take it down as it is a staple at La Ronde and a real eye catcher for drivers on the bridge but they do spend a lot of time and money maintaining it. It seems it is the case for many big woodies from the 80's. With the Morgan trains it tracked very well and was enjoyable to ride but when they switched to the PTC trains they started to have a lot of tracking and structural problems. I hope they take care of it and bring it back to life soon. RMC drafts were done a few years ago to have it transformed but apparently RMC could not work in Canada for some reason!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted May 22, 2021 Share Posted May 22, 2021 ^ Canada didn't give them tax breaks, possibly, like filming tv and movies seem to get. like here in Vancouver (X-Files; Arrow; The Flash; Supergirl; Batwoman...). That could be a Big Reason they didn't come up to do it. Back then. Things could be different, now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted May 22, 2021 Share Posted May 22, 2021 12 hours ago, ricklap77 said: the new old coaster from SFMM is not up yet and might never be! Loving the optimism. I hope you’re right. As for Monstre, it’s absolute garbage and it’s just a giant waste of space. I feel like an RMC is almost inevitable if for no other reason than to save them money maintaining it. Or they could leave it rotting forever like half of the other things in the park. Lol I really do think RMC is coming eventually though. It’s just begging for it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricklap77 Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 11 hours ago, coasterbill said: I really do think RMC is coming eventually though. It’s just begging for it... Yes I think it's a matter of time. It would fix the coaster for good and give them a NEW COASTER! And Six Flags NEEDS to bring in cash into the park and bring it back to its glory days like in the 80's. A lot of things are not right about that park! But with the money being lost in the pandemic, I don't have much optimism about SF pouring money into the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
booink Posted May 24, 2021 Share Posted May 24, 2021 (edited) On 5/22/2021 at 7:55 AM, ricklap77 said: The park is opening today and again this season just like last season, Le Monstre is closed for the season! Sad news. The park doesn't have many rides now. SuperManege was scrapped in 2019, Cobra a few years ago, and the new old coaster from SFMM is not up yet and might never be! It's always been an overcrowded park and now with less rides! Anyway I don't know what to think about Le Monstre. I doubt they will take it down as it is a staple at La Ronde and a real eye catcher for drivers on the bridge but they do spend a lot of time and money maintaining it. It seems it is the case for many big woodies from the 80's. With the Morgan trains it tracked very well and was enjoyable to ride but when they switched to the PTC trains they started to have a lot of tracking and structural problems. I hope they take care of it and bring it back to life soon. RMC drafts were done a few years ago to have it transformed but apparently RMC could not work in Canada for some reason!?! I have no way of confirming this (I don't work at the park nor do I know anyone that does... pure speculation on my part). I believe that Le Monstre has been closed the last two years because of COVID restrictions, not because of poor maintenance. It had actually started to run fairly reliably again in the last few years before the pandemic hit. I think they're keeping it closed because the capacity of the PTC trains is only 20 riders per train at best, and they usually ran a single train per track, alternating dispatches to lower stress on the structure, so the capacity was atrocious. If they were to run it with an empty row in-between rows of riders, the capacity would be 5-10 people per train. The lines would be insane. However, I wouldn't care if it was demolished and I would love if it was converted to an RMC, (a man can dream). I used to like Le Monstre, but as you stated its new trains ruined it. Edited May 24, 2021 by booink Re-phrase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abovethesink Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 There has been the rumor that RMC can't work in Canada for a while. If I remember right, it was something to do with needing to contract a certain percentage of the work to Canadian contractors and the company not being able to, or at least not being interested in doing so. It sounds plausible so internet pundits kept repeating it for a long time but comments from the company itself seem to suggest that there isn't much truth to it and that they could work in Canada if someone paid them to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abovethesink Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Also, from a meta-coaster nerd perspective, I really always enjoyed Le Monstre. It never did enough to get rough enough to be a real problem and the way it just sort of pointlessly meander that massive structure was always really funny to me. Le Monstre is my "movie that is so bad that I love watching it" coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 I know nothing about this but my gut is heavily leaning towards this... Quote There isn't much truth to it and that they could work in Canada if someone paid them to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricklap77 Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 Just went to La Ronde yesterday for the first time in 2 years and have to admit it was a great experience! With spots reserved online ahead of time we got there at 10am and the park was pretty empty! We got to go on so many rides many times and even if more people came in later in the afternoon it was still not really crowded, just very enjoyable. Throughout the day most rides including coasters you could just get on and not wait at all! Rarely seen that there! Le Monstre was open (both tracks!!!) even though it said it was closed on the website and at the entrance. So it was a bonus! We tried both tracks. A lot of new track work was performed since the pandemic and it ran pretty smooth, especially in the back. The chain lift is fast compared to before and the PTC trains start faster on top so it seems to help them navigate through the course. IMO it doesn't need an RMC treatment! RMC could come just in and build a coaster from scratch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
booink Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 On 6/26/2021 at 6:22 AM, ricklap77 said: Just went to La Ronde yesterday for the first time in 2 years and have to admit it was a great experience! With spots reserved online ahead of time we got there at 10am and the park was pretty empty! We got to go on so many rides many times and even if more people came in later in the afternoon it was still not really crowded, just very enjoyable. Throughout the day most rides including coasters you could just get on and not wait at all! Rarely seen that there! Le Monstre was open (both tracks!!!) even though it said it was closed on the website and at the entrance. So it was a bonus! We tried both tracks. A lot of new track work was performed since the pandemic and it ran pretty smooth, especially in the back. The chain lift is fast compared to before and the PTC trains start faster on top so it seems to help them navigate through the course. IMO it doesn't need an RMC treatment! RMC could come just in and build a coaster from scratch! Good to hear that you had a good time and that Le Monstre was running well! I have been dreading this coaster in the last few years, perhaps I will give it another chance next time I go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricklap77 Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 Le Monstre is smoother sitting in the back. You can totally feel the difference in smoothness where it has been retracked. The first drop has topper track and is very smooth! I think topper track all over on both sides would make it perfectly smooth. I still like walking to the station in the queue and being surrounded by the massive structure (especially track1) or when riding it and seeing timber everywhere. Night rides in the dark on this coaster are the best! I've always enjoyed Bill Cobb designed coasters! They look different and are beautiful IMO and have different and weird elements! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sphantom91 Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 Hey all, Was possibly planning a trip to La Ronde for Fright Fest but don't want to make the trek if Le Monstre is not going to be open. The standard park website says that the ride is closed, but the Fright Fest website says it will be an available ride. Does anyone know what the truth is? Looks like above that people are saying the ride wasn't supposed to be open but was anyways? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
booink Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 ^Despite what the website says, Le Monstre has been open for most of the summer. My last visit was in late August and it was open. So unless something happened recently that I'm not aware of, you should be able to ride it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sphantom91 Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 I'm glad to hear that. I would hate to make the trip and miss it. It would be nice if they would up date the website at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricklap77 Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 As far as I know it's been running pretty much all season long! And both sides too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
booink Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 Good news came in today! La Ronde has confirmed that Vipère (Green Lantern) is cancelled. According to this article (in french) https://www.narcity.com/fr/montreal/la-ronde-donne-des-nouvelles-de-la-montagne-russe-vipere-qui-devait-ouvrir-en-2020 Translation by me: Quote Given the current situation that is affecting many businesses, we are re-considering several of our long term projects. Therefore we have taken the decision to cancel the construction of Vipère, the roller coaster that we had planned for 2020. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canobie Coaster Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 I was actually looking forward to this IF they could allow it to run like the ones in Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 Wonderful news! 29 minutes ago, Canobie Coaster said: I was actually looking forward to this IF they could allow it to run like the ones in Europe. If a ride is being run like dog shit and you're looking to La Ronde of all places to do it better then you need to let that dream die. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 It's kind of impressive that they've just given up on erecting a coaster they already own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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