Deja Vu SFOG 6/1 - CoasterBuzz

First of all, I too want to send out my condolesences to the entire Holiday World family.

I literally JUST found out about this tragedy, so please keep that in mind as I describe my state of mind during my time at SFOG today.

I set out mid afternoon to see if Delayja Vu -> The World's Largest Lawn Ornament (trademark Vekoma) was in fact <gasp> operational.

Sure enough, entering the ticket plaster, Deja Vu was NOT - again, I repeat - not closed!

Okay, okay enough with the grief. I headed over to Lickskillet and the queue line was open. Got in line and (wait for it...) and immediately was serenaded by the duclet tones of the "Deja Vu is temporarily inopertional" message.

However, this one was DIFFERENT. They recommended NOT leaving the station. So, naturally, 1/4 of the line left the station. Good to their word, within 10 minutes the ride was back up. There were a few other short stopages and I'll be darned if I can tell you what the cause was -> my guess is something to do with the restraints....more on that later...

It turns out that the visible fixes are two in number. Number one, the trains have been radically reworked. Seating configuration has stayed the same. The entire outrigger section of each train has been replaced with solid metal outsides and who knows what on the inside. The chair supports themselves seem different to me too, but that may just be my imagination. The loading procedure HAS changed: they have added a orange horizontal lap belt and the ride ops engage the harness for the riders.

Fix number two: the trains no longer go up the full length of the spike towers. They now go up only 177 feet. Doesn't really take away from the effect, but they don't hold you vertical any where near as long.

The end result: A BRAND NEW RIDE! Not quite B&M smooth, but far smoother than any Vekoma I have even been on. Virtually NO headbanging. The boomerang element is now travled much more quickly...it doesn't look like the train is on the verge of valleying every pass.

And, I was actually able to walk straight after riding! (for those of you who remember my quality staggering at press day)

All in all, color me impressed. Dispatch times were running sub 5 minutes, closer to 4. The ride op for most of my time in line - Justin - gets major props for the best ride spiel I have heard outside of the Point.

So, those are the highlights. No word yet on SFGA but based on the apparent resuls here it looks like all 3 may actually be operational this summer.

Chipster

Thats good. Isnt SFGAm's 176 ft compared to 196 ft at SFOG and MM. I guess its running the same height as ours now.

I was at SFOG on Friday 5/31 and was able to ride Deja Vu for the first time. I believe it was the first day in the season that it was operational. Having never riden it before, I found the ride to be very intense! Love the front seat and luv Q-bot for bypassing the huge queue!

I don't quite understand...if the trains aren't lifted as high anymore, how do they go faster?

Otherwise, it's great to hear that it's operational.

SFGAMan, they're all the same height, just advertised a bit differently.

Sky Whirl Guy,

Although I am sure Althoff can give a much better -> and more accurate -> explanation, the speed difference is a combination of the rebuilt trains and the lack of a pause on the towers before they drop.

I was at SFOG yesterday (Sunday), and was excited to see Deja Vu open again. Went right back for the ride, waited maybe 30 minutes and by the luck of the draw got a front seat ride. Awesome, glad to see it back up and running and with quite quick dispatches. I did notice that on the forward run the emergency brakes after the station slow the train a little. And on the backwards run the emergency brakes before the vertical loop slows the train a little.

I'm just so happy to be hearing this. I never got to ride it at SFGAm. I jujst hope it opens soon (mid-july). But I have until November 3 so who cares!

SFGAMan said:
Thats good. Isnt SFGAm's 176 ft compared to 196 ft at SFOG and MM. I guess its running the same height as ours now.

All three Deja Vus are 178ft. Six Flags claims SFMM's is 196ft but it is a lie. All three go 65 mph which means they are the same height.

There has been Orange Lap belts at SFGAM Since I can remember it opening.

Carlo

Measuring from the tip of the wheel on the end of the towers to the ground below, SFMM's Vu measures 196 feet, but the height from the station to the top of the towers are identical on all three.

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Vegas -- June 7-9
ACE Con-Quest -- June 11-22