TexasParkman Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Oh.. and thanks for the pictures.... brings back a lot of memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKO Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 It wasn't built as a Panda Express, it was something else. That building has been there for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWFan Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 If anyone is in the park today, Mr. Freeze did valley at approximately 11:15 or so. Per SOP, Thunder River immediately closed to facilitate access to Mr. Freeze by the necessary maintenance vehicles. Thunder River should be up by 2:00, but I would *guess* Freeze will be down until tomorrow. This is only the second time I've seen it valley. The first was during a power surge last year, but I don't know what the cause was this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 ^Well... it's better safe to turn it back around for a while, then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjfinazzo Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Does anyone remember what panda express used to be? Panda Express was previously themed as a racing restaurant when the park opened. The sports version of the Moon Cars were directly across from it. The Flag Stop or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbmchl Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 We arrived at the park on Saturday around noon and the crowds were insane! All lots were full except the far southeast lot. I dropped the family off in the drop off lot where there was a line from there all the way to the metal detectors. It appeared all metal detectors were open with huge lines for each one. It looked like there were some long lines past the metal detectors leading to the ticket booths and gates. We figured it would take well over an hour to get in, and would then be facing long wait times for rides and long lines for lunch, so we left. Was there anything going on except the first nice day in a while plus bring a friend free on Fathers Day weekend? If anyone braved the crowds I would be curious what the ride wait times were like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbmchl Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 ^Well... it's better safe to turn it back around for a while, then. I agree with Prozach. Time to turn the trains back around. We just got back from Disney World and did Rock 'n' Rollercoaster half a dozen times. A reminder of how much I miss Mr. Freeze's forward launch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 ^Well... it's better safe to turn it back around for a while, then. I agree with Prozach. Time to turn the trains back around. We just got back from Disney World and did Rock 'n' Rollercoaster half a dozen times. A reminder of how much I miss Mr. Freeze's forward launch. Unfortunately I doubt we'll ever see the day, brother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HARLEYGUYJB Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 that would be awesome if they could have 1 side operating with the forward launch and the other side with the reverse launch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKO Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Does anyone remember what panda express used to be? Panda Express was previously themed as a racing restaurant when the park opened. The sports version of the Moon Cars were directly across from it. The Flag Stop or something like that. Thanks Jeff, but I'm looking for what it was right before Panda Express. But we can talk about that more Sunday at the meeting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveStL Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 that would be awesome if they could have 1 side operating with the forward launch and the other side with the reverse launch. That makes too much sense, so unfortunately it will never be considered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkjunkie Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Does anyone remember what panda express used to be? Panda Express was previously themed as a racing restaurant when the park opened. The sports version of the Moon Cars were directly across from it. The Flag Stop or something like that. Thanks Jeff, but I'm looking for what it was right before Panda Express. But we can talk about that more Sunday at the meeting. Panda Express used to be Wok & Roll... just another Chinese restaurant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWFan Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 that would be awesome if they could have 1 side operating with the forward launch and the other side with the reverse launch. That makes too much sense, so unfortunately it will never be considered I believe TNT explained all of the details before. Basically, that's not really possible. It has to do with the way the brake/launch fins are aligned or something. It just isn't possible. What Sounds like it Makes Sense =/= What Actually Makes Sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNT Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Deleted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixFlagsTimeWarner Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 ^ When I was there on Monday it looked like it still had the lights for the jack 'o lantern up. Of course it wasn't lit, but just an observation I made. Actually both the regular white lights and Fright Fest orange lights stay on Colossus all year long. That is one of the nice parts of having the new, longer lasting LED lights. Without it, it would be a LOT harder to do the lights in terms of taking them down and putting them up each year. I had noticed the clock program hasn't been on for a while now. (During the 55 hour weeks, it seemed like the giant clock was almost mocking me as I left each night, counting down my hours of sleep.) I will go ahead and look into it tomorrow and report back. Did you find anything out on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sf-Dad Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 that would be awesome if they could have 1 side operating with the forward launch and the other side with the reverse launch. I must be missing something here. Are you suggesting one side launch forward and the other side launch backwards? There is only one train if I recall correctly. Wouldn't they need to turn it around each time? How are a they supposed to do that? A turntable like Thomas the Tank Engine? Think that might cut into capacity at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Password121 Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 that would be awesome if they could have 1 side operating with the forward launch and the other side with the reverse launch. I must be missing something here. Are you suggesting one side launch forward and the other side launch backwards? There is only one train if I recall correctly. Wouldn't they need to turn it around each time? How are a they supposed to do that? A turntable like Thomas the Tank Engine? Think that might cut into capacity at all? Woah woah slow down... dual loading station. Platform moves to load one side while the other operates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ytterbiumanalyst Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 There are two trains. The problem with this is that the launch fins are not centred on the track. So to launch forward, they would have to be moved. That process takes many hours of work, and the ride has to be closed. So no, it's either both forward or both reverse. Honestly I kind of like the reverse launch. Staring down at the track on the spike is so much more intimidating than staring up into the sky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbmchl Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 that would be awesome if they could have 1 side operating with the forward launch and the other side with the reverse launch. I proposed the split launch on this thread over a year ago and there were a number of people in the know posting as to why it would be difficult technically. Brilliant idea though! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbmchl Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 There are two trains. The problem with this is that the launch fins are not centred on the track. So to launch forward, they would have to be moved. That process takes many hours of work, and the ride has to be closed. So no, it's either both forward or both reverse. Honestly I kind of like the reverse launch. Staring down at the track on the spike is so much more intimidating than staring up into the sky. I agree, sitting in the front car staring down at the ground is pretty cool. Sitting in the last car, all the way at the top of the spike is also cool. Did both numerous times the first couple years of Reverse Blast. The reverse launch is a little uncomfortable, but I can handle it. But I am over the gimic of the reverse launch, cool view from the top of the spike. Bottom line is the forward launch, as the ride was designed, is awesome, as I was just reminded at WDW RRC. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theymitbgi Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 We arrived at the park on Saturday around noon and the crowds were insane! All lots were full except the far southeast lot. I dropped the family off in the drop off lot where there was a line from there all the way to the metal detectors. It appeared all metal detectors were open with huge lines for each one. It looked like there were some long lines past the metal detectors leading to the ticket booths and gates. We figured it would take well over an hour to get in, and would then be facing long wait times for rides and long lines for lunch, so we left. Was there anything going on except the first nice day in a while plus bring a friend free on Fathers Day weekend? If anyone braved the crowds I would be curious what the ride wait times were like. I really wasn't goi g to talk about this visit, because all my others this year have been amazing, but definitely not this one. I should have known better than trying to go on a bring a friend free day. Anyway here's my quick recap. We arrived around 2:30 and could tell it was super busy by looking at the parking lots. 3-4 of the parking booths were open. We parked all the way in the "overflow" lot on the HH side of the lot. Security lines were all the way to the concrete pillars that seperate it from the parking lot. We did make it through security in about 10 minutes. Immediately after exiting security and bag check area, we were directed into another line for entry. This line kept moving but still took at least 30 minutes to get to the main gate. Once in the park we headed straight to Johnny Rockets to try and eat lunch, we were in line by about 3:15. It took almost an hour to place our order at whichtime the cashier said we couldn't use our dining passes, I explained to a supervisor we were in line well before 3:30 and with some register magic, we only paid for the upgrade portion. Trying to get a drink refill was quite a task also, after awhile an employee stepped to the side of the counter to help guests with refills only. Anyway after eating, we decided we were going to leave and not try to fight the crowds. We went to get our threee bags of cottton candy, which seem to be getting progressively smaller, so small we took all three bags and combined them into one bag. We walked by JL:BFM just to see the line and surprisingly it was only at the 75 minute point. We headed immediately for the exit and were on our way home by 5 pm. I' m not sure if the park was understaffed or just poor staff. This was by far the busiest I've seen the park, including FF and Jesus concerts. Also on the way in the daily update board showed Hurricane Bay and the tube slides were both closed for the day. I assume Hurrice Bay was closed due to a pump problem with all the rain, but the tube slides were closed our previous visit also. I can t imagine what to do int the waterpark with the wave pool and major slides closed. The waterpark was overflowing with people as the line was going all the way to the main entry plaza. Anyway lesson learned NEVER attend on a bring a friend free day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbmchl Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 We arrived at the park on Saturday around noon and the crowds were insane! All lots were full except the far southeast lot. .... If anyone braved the crowds I would be curious what the ride wait times were like. I really wasn't going to talk about this visit, because all my others this year have been amazing .... Anyway lesson learned NEVER attend on a bring a friend free day. Thanks Theymitbgi for the reply. I thought there would be more posts about this because as I said, and you said, it was insane. Other than my youth when the park first opened and the trams were running to the far reaches of the parking lots, I have never seen anything like it. HWfan, did the park break any modern era attendance records on Saturday? sure looked like it. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sf-Dad Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 (edited) that would be awesome if they could have 1 side operating with the forward launch and the other side with the reverse launch. I must be missing something here. Are you suggesting one side launch forward and the other side launch backwards? There is only one train if I recall correctly. Wouldn't they need to turn it around each time? How are a they supposed to do that? A turntable like Thomas the Tank Engine? Think that might cut into capacity at all? Woah woah slow down... dual loading station. Platform moves to load one side while the other operates. Cool, I understand now. That makes perfect sense. So in order to achieve this a redesign of the launch system/trains would be necessary. Regarding the crowds, I have gone on a couple of bring a friend days last year and while the park was definitely busy it was not a major problem. I suspect the overcrowding was more due to pent up demand with all the rain recently. "Jesus Concert" days I definitely find a problem not due to the number of people but just the large packs of kids traveling in groups of 15 or more. Of course they all want to walk side by side instead of two abreast. WWJD? Edited June 24, 2015 by Sf-Dad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theymitbgi Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 We arrived at the park on Saturday around noon and the crowds were insane! All lots were full except the far southeast lot. .... If anyone braved the crowds I would be curious what the ride wait times were like. I really wasn't going to talk about this visit, because all my others this year have been amazing .... Anyway lesson learned NEVER attend on a bring a friend free day. Thanks Theymitbgi for the reply. I thought there would be more posts about this because as I said, and you said, it was insane. Other than my youth when the park first opened and the trams were running to the far reaches of the parking lots, I have never seen anything like it. HWfan, did the park break any modern era attendance records on Saturday? sure looked like it. Mike I can't imagine attendance records were broken, I remember hearing stories of when they still had "real" conncerts, that the park got so busy it practically shut down the highway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroGravity55 Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 HWfan, did the park break any modern era attendance records on Saturday? sure looked like it. Even if the park did break some type of record in terms of attendance, HWfan probably can't say anything other than it was really busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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