Great Adventure Outpost
Industry => Miscellaneous Discussions => Topic started by: dkny6363 on October 08, 2009, 11:04:59 PM
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I've noticed alot of talk lately about suspended arrow coasters. Especially BBW of course.
In the past year the BBW closed down, and Eagles fortress is currently closed for the year (I'm betting on for good.) All that remain are Vortex, Flight Deck, Ninja, Vampire, and the ever boring Iron Dragon. So what I'm wondering is with how popular these rides seem to be why doesn't S&S or another company bring back this model. The way it's going they will all be gone within 10-15 years. That would be a shame. You would think they could not only bring them back but improve on the design.
I complain all the time about the coaster selection at CW but at the same time I'm thankful that we have Vortex, I just wonder for how long.
Give me your thoughts on who could bring suspendeds back, and why nobody has so far. Is it cause they aren't gimmicky enough. Not thrilling to the eye? These are some of my reasons. Tell us some of yours.
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Do not mistake popularity with enthusiasts with popularity among parks' target demographics. Flight Deck at Kings Island, for instance, rarely has a line and can usually be walked on on all but the busiest of days. Yes, a suspended coaster is a great starter coaster for families with young children, but many of them are still intimidated by one.
Ride companies exist to serve their customers, who are the parks and park companies, not riders directly. If there were an unsatisfied demand for such rides, B & M, for example, would have a model. Oh, wait, they do. They see their inverted rides as the improved model of suspended coaster. And, in many ways, they are.
The old Arrow suspended coasters then become wonderful, historic anachronisms. Fun to ride, appreciate they while they are here. The day will come when all are gone.
Is it impossible that someone will begin building them again? No. Likely? No.
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technically the new suspended coaster is the inverted B&M model. What's better about them is that they can reach higher heights and have special track elements like loops and rolls, not just helixes. That and the excitement is brought out easier without the need for speed in the corners to make the suspended swinging coasters swing (lateral G's, am I right?).
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Paging Matt please......
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I agree that B&M inverts are adveanced versions of suspendeds. But the things that make susp. great B&M's don't deliver.
The problem with suspended is that they need a nice terrain to make the ride. Nice terrain is hard to come by.
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That's why BBW was so good.
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Then there were those parks that created terrain. See Canada's Wonderland:
http://www.rcdb.com/65.htm?p=9653 (http://www.rcdb.com/65.htm?p=9653)
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The crazy thing is that there is a mine train that runs in that mountain. Flight Deck and Vortex are identiacal but from what gather the terain makes vortex far better. You can still wait 1hr.+ during the summer season. for vortex. I believe this will be the last remaining suspended one day as CW has never removed a coaster. Although if you check out thier line-up of coasters they should probably scrap about 6 of them.
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Flight Deck and Vortex are NOT identical. This is a very common, often repeated, misconception. To begin with, the Canadian coaster is seven FEET taller. It is also longer and much faster. Having ridden both many, many times I could tell this the very first time I rode Vortex at Canada's Wonderland.
When I got home, I searched the statistics, and Voila!, I was right. I then saw Ron Toomer at IAAPA one year, and asked him flat out if they were identical. He laughed and laughed and said maybe if you are very, very near-sighted you might think they look alike, but they are not identical.
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Top Gun/Flight Deck I thought was probably the best coaster at KI...haha! I wish Eagle's Fortress was still open as I might be in Korea for a couple months next year.
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I take it you didn't ride Fairly Odd Coaster?
GADVwow, being 2/3 serious...
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^ You have to admit they are very close.
Vortex is 9 feet longer, 7 feet higher and 4 mph faster. Although Vortex does feel faster than its posted as. I've never been on flight deck but the layout from what i've seen in pics, and vids is very similar.
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^^ Fairly odd coaster aka silver streak at CW is better than it looks. Obviously yuou would never ride it more than once, but you don't feel like such a loser getting credit for it.
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Why would I obviously never ride it more than once?
GADVwow, who has often ridden Fairly Odd Coaster several times in a row (why do I suspect that some here don't know what an odd duck I can be? QUACK!)
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Where is the fairly odd coaster?
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The one we are talking about is at Kings Island. Chuck brought up the park in reply 9...That Fairly Odd Coaster will soon get its fourth name. Before the current name, which must go since Nick is leaving the park, it was called Beastie and before that Scooby Doo.
I always thought, though, that Fairly Odd Coaster would have been a much better name for Son of Beast, which may or may not also be leaving that park. Too bad Cedar Fair doesn't utilize a Spider of Doom in its parks....makes things a bit simpler...
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I mistook fairy odd coaster for rugrats runaway reptar... due to the suspended talk I guess, and the fact they are both jr. coasters. They have a jr. woodie at CW as well called the ghoster coaster and I can see riding that more than once, buts its a strech. Silver streak is Rugrats runaway clone, and that the one I couldn't see riding twice in a row, in a day, or even a year.
GADVwow, is KI your home park?
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No, Great Adventure is my home park, in many, many ways. Kings Island is far, far, far from my home park.
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I go on one big trip each summer and i'm trying to decide if this year I should go to kings island. I know more or less what it's all about. I think it's going to depend on whether or not SOB and other coaster are open or not next year.
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How did I miss this thread?
Arrow suspended coasters, Anton loopers and speed racers... These are the rides I'd resurrect if I had the power.
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I don't remember it but apparently I started it.
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No schwarz Matt?
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^ Anton was his first name. Anton Schwarzkopf
Paging Matt please......
I did page you Matt ;)
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He's worse than the navy! It took him over a year to find this thread and I'm on my 176th day waiting for a response from them.
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See Anton loopers and speedracers above. Anton Schwarkopf FTW!
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Vekoma has their version of the swinging coaster, but they cannot fill arrows shoes!
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They could; they just never tried hard at all.
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They like affordability... Very rarely they go out and build a custom coaster.
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They could; they just never tried hard at all.
Vekoma has their version of the swinging coaster, but they cannot fill arrows shoes!
Well, given that Arrow is both bankrupt and kaput, that's a very good thing.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcXM864gB-E#noexternalembed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcXM864gB-E#noexternalembed)
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cool find! i love looking at old coaster commercials.
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The audio sounded like it belonged to a fright fest commercial or a haunted park.
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That has to be during Halloween. I don't know of a park that has that voice as a normal promo
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check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWjXBQKaueE#noexternalembed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWjXBQKaueE#noexternalembed)
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That just doesnt look safe at all.
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Hard to believe the Big Bad Wolf was a child of that engineering....