shepp Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 Went to BGT this Wednesday and had an excellent time, despite the miserably short hours. (I'd post a mini-TR, but the camera card is still in FL with the bf.) Offseason midweek, it was...well, empty. Everything except the mouse and the bumper cars was a true walk-on (except the front rows of Montu and SheiKra, which sometimes entailed waiting a whole train or two). Unfortunately, Kumba was still in rehab, but otherwise...I'd forgotten how beautiful the park is (much more so than BGW, IMO), I managed to get in 7 rides on SheiKra, Montu is still great, enjoyed Katonga - probably the best theme park live show I've ever seen - and even enjoyed Rhino Rally, thanks to our smartass guide. OK, 2 questions for old BGT hands. One side of Gwazi was, as expected, down. (Not surprising, since the other one was virtually empty). Do they alternate which side they run, or is it always Tiger? Does Gwazi ever regualrly run both sides, in or out of season? Or is it basically a mistaken investment for BGT? And...the "water feature" on SheiKra...it's the most elaborate ride element I've ever seen that is invisible to all the riders. (Unless they look over their shoulders.) Given the engineering, I doubt it, but when there's warmer weather, is the splash pattern ever altered so it's more beside the train? Oh, and...Wally rulez! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorisTF Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 well, when i was in Florida in 2004, they were running both sides of Gwazi (though not synchronised) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slacking Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 In my experience, both sides of Gwazi usually only to be running when its busy. But even then, they never duel the two sides. I have no idea when they stopped dueling the two sides on a regular basis. As for Sheikra's water effect, the riders can never see it due to the way that the "splash" is designed. I could be wrong on this, but I believe that the splash is created by tube designs on the cars themselves, so they would have to take them off and do something else if they wanted to change it. Again, I could be VERY wrong on this, but I thought it worked like that. As for the hours, they are usually not open late at all during slow parts of the year, but as you stated with the lack of crowds, the hours aren't too big of a deal. Glad to hear you had a nice visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chauncey Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 gwazi regularly runs both sides, even on light days. i've very rarely seen any side of gwazi down without there being clear evidence of maintence somewhere. however, i have seen it, and, yes, every time, tiger was the side they were running. and, to the person who says they never duel, they do try to duel them on occasion, but it never works! i mean it! they release the trains at exactly the time, and, yet, they're always completely out of synch. i don't know why, as it never happened when they were dueling regularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepp Posted January 28, 2006 Author Share Posted January 28, 2006 As for Sheikra's water effect, the riders can never see it due to the way that the "splash" is designed. I could be wrong on this, but I believe that the splash is created by tube designs on the cars themselves, so they would have to take them off and do something else if they wanted to change it. Again, I could be VERY wrong on this, but I thought it worked like that. Indeed, as I sat having lunch on the terrace of the Smokehouse, which is right next to the water effect, I could see that flangey doohickeys on the sides of the train's rear cut through the water and spumed up the spray. But it seemed so weird to have an elaborate "water effect" which to riders looks and feels like nothing more than a track going through an uninteresting lake. I suppose if I'd watched the ride before my first ride, I might have been nervously anticipating the splash, only to feel...nothing. So I thought maybe there were additional splash-makers added during the hot season. Guess not. Oh well, two very prolonged moments of floating air and a nice third pop midcourse more than make up for the H2O puzzle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 Gwazi usually alternates which side it runs on empty days in the off season. Recently, the only times I've known them to run both sides is in the summer and during their HOS event days. The dueling effect isn't really that amazing, and the ride is so annoying with Busch's loading procedure that I've honestly skipped the ride since like 2002. I believe on our visit there in October, they were only running Lion the whole day, which I believe was a Friday. As for Sheikra, the riders won't get wet, except if you sit in the back row, then you will get a little damp from the watersplash. It is because the tubes are located on the underside of the 3rd car, and as the water is pushed thru them, some flies up above car level. Its not very noticeable, though unless you sit towards the outside near the tubes I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianojohn Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 I was working at BGT on Thursday, and Gwazi's one side has been down since they are doing re-hab on it. You can't see that from the main midway, but you can from backstage. As for the water effect: I think it was added to give non-riders something to excite them, make them feel part of the ride. It has the same effect as the simulated splash on Hulk. I have never seen the water splash when I am on Hulk, but you can see it from the midway. And during the summer on Sheikra, the splash is the same. Once in a while, if you sit on the two far seats in the back row, you may get a little water kicked up as you pass over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyT Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 I have no idea when they stopped dueling the two sides on a regular basis. Glad to hear you had a nice visit. The stopped dueling both trains on a regular basis bacause they had to wait for both trains to load before dispatch, and took too long, and made lines longer for both coasters... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepp Posted January 28, 2006 Author Share Posted January 28, 2006 ^ Gosh, were you there Wednesday? Too bad I didn't meet you... In my admittedly fallible memory, the splash on Hulk is more apparent to riders. But you're right: passersby visibly loved SheiKra's impressive splash. So one more question: an rcdb photo of SheiKra's tunnel showed copious mist. That effect gone now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaparri Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 ^Snap! I was there on Tuesday. I know what you mean with the water though. It's such an awesome effect to look at, but you can't see it on the train. Even when I sat in the back row and looked back, I still had a hard time seeing the plumes of water. I must say, the funniest thing to see is a group of people walk into the "splash zone" completely obvlivious to what is about to happen to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterzak Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 3 weeks ago I just rode Gwazi and with the dispatches being with about 20 seconds of each other, we almost even dueled! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Upsidedown Posted January 29, 2006 Share Posted January 29, 2006 For clairification on the water splash tubes. Stated during a talk with VP of engineering at an event. In the summer they use a round tube that throws the water all over. Here is the round tube http://www.johnnyupsidedown.com/sheikra/sh401a.jpg During the colder winter months the have switched to a square tube that is throwing the water up but not out of the pond. They also have paddles that push the water to the side more than an upward motion http://www.johnnyupsidedown.com/sheikra/sh334a.jpg and it was also stated that they have a number of combinations that they use. Some tubes are square some point more outward some more upward. So some days different trains will produce larger splashes some will be different. Also depending on the level of the pond it can help to create a different splash. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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