Ferrari World Abu Dhabi set to open at end of October

RPM said:
It amazes me how jaded and pestimistic some people are on this site. Do you actually enjoy seeing a new coaster open anymore? Or do you just want to be the first person to post 'meh' when anything new is announced?

If the point of Fomrula Rossa is to simulate a ride in a race car, I think the layout does just that. If the ride was a little closer to home, I would be excited to give it a try.

My reaction to your reply: meh....

Meh. I prefer realistic, not jaded. I would love nothing more than for Formula Rossa to be a huge success, world's greatest ride type of thing, but knowing 1) the layout and 2) the problems that have existed with rides of similar size and similar durations of time spent at high speeds, I prefer to let logic, engineering knowledge, and years of being a nuts-and-bolts sort of coaster enthusiast dampen my excitement in cases like this, where all three point to DANGER WILL ROBINSON.

I mean, I'm fantastically excited about the Hurucan @ Belantis and Speed Car @ Happy Valley Beijing (while we're talking 2010 rides), and equally pumped for the GCI and TGG coasters coming to China in 2011, despite the fact that the chances I'll actually get to ride any of them -ever- are kinda remote. I'm excited because, in addition to looking like awesome rides, they're coming from manufacturers with proven track records and nothing about the rides themselves scream of potential trouble spots to me.

Trust me, if I ever do make it out to Ferrari World, I'd love nothing more than for Formula Rossa to be there, operating to its design speeds and delivering a balls-to-the-wall ride experience. I'm just skeptical that it will be.

Well, said! Ditto to that entire post above.

My thing is, this seems like kind of a Disney (or Busch, even) type thing, where the coasters are part of the whole package. Understandably, maybe not so much for non-car enthusiasts. But I'd love to see what the whole place offers; riding the coasters would be secondary.

I think the park as a whole is Disney/Universal/Busch-esq, sure. In fact, I'd like to go to the park. But the fastest coaster in the world that just meanders around a course without many moments of airtime, and a brake after the launch just doesn't thrill me. Granted, Ka and TTD, while fun rides, just aren't great coasters (Well, I can comment about TTD, Ka was down on my visit), and this looks to be in that vein.

Because we know exactly how it will ride, how?

I sometimes sit back and think how lucky I am that I haven't been able to visit as many parks in the last 3 or 4 years as I had years previous. Makes me appreciate the coasters more when I do get the chance to ride them. I dunno, I understand the 'one trick pony' attitude towards rides like KK and TTD, but hell, the launch and speed to me is fun, especially when I don't sit around afterward and dissect and analyze each element and compare them to every other coaster I've ridden. Over-saturation sucks.

Guess I'm more of a 'GP' dude than I used to be...and I kinda dig it. It's more fun this way.

Vater said:

Guess I'm more of a 'GP' dude than I used to be...and I kinda dig it. It's more fun this way.

Another one comes to our side... Must be a drummer thing. :)

I don't over analyze coasters by any means, and when a ride is announced that people complain about like a new wooden coaster, or even a B&M hyper, I think people complain to complain.

This, however, is launch and meander. I like speed and launch, but this launches, brakes, and then overbanks into 3 hills that based on previous coasters by the same Mfg., probably won't have any major airtime. And much like TTD, I'd ride it once or twice and be done with it.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, TTD is a great ride, but I think it's a sucky coaster. This looks very similar.

To me, it's like if they were building a Vekoma Roller Skater with a unique layout and a Ferrari theme. I like roller skaters, and never miss one, but I woulnd't feel much more than 'meh' about it because I'd know basically what to expect.

Tekwardo said:
I don 't over analyze coasters by any means, and when a ride is announced that people complain about like a new wooden coaster, or even a B&M hyper, I think people complain to complain.

Wholeheartedly agree. Nothing screams coaster snob to me like someone complaining about a new B&M, hyper or otherwise. Oh, sorry, you have this incredible (if familiar/predictable) ride coming to town. It's like someone whining that daddy bought them a Mercedes instead of a Ferrari. And I say that even after my previous comments re: this ride, which brings me to...

This, however, is launch and meander. I like speed and launch, but this launches, brakes, and then overbanks into 3 hills that based on previous coasters by the same Mfg., probably won't have any major airtime.

...see, that's not what I see here. I see pre-neutered I305 minus the Maverick-style snap transitions. I see a ride where a majority of it is spent mere feet off the ground, screaming by at speeds that the vast majority of coasters *never* reach, crushing you with Gs, broken up by welcome gasps of floater air, possibly with ejector on the very final hills. As someone raised on the delightfully brutal Steel Phantom, and a not-so-closet speed freak, that sounds amazing.

However , here 's where the skeptic kicks in. The most comparable existing coaster in scope and scale to Formula Rossa is I305. I305 spends most of its course low to the ground, at very high speeds, screaming through high G turns. Formula Rossa spends most of its course low to the ground, at even higher speeds, screaming through high G turns. Let's ignore blackouts and assume that Intamin is familiar with ASTM F 2291 and the associated G combo/duration limits well enough to know that even if people occasionally go a little grey, the ride's safe (I maintain that I305, while intense, was not in any danger of hurting anyone when operated pre-trims).

So that leaves us with the wheels. If I remember right, it was speculated that part of the reason for the trims on I305, regardless of what the park said, was due to it eating through its wheels at an incredibly fast rate compared to other, slower coasters. Again, I'm operating on reports that came largely from coaster forums (this and others), but I also seem to remember it being such a problem that trains had to be taken out of service mid-day to replace wheels with alarming regularity. Formula Rossa goes faster and it looks to spend as much if not more time going Really Fast. Air conditioned station aside, it's also in Abu Dhabi, not Doswell. I can smell the wheel melt from here.

So if that *does* become a problem, what's the easiest fix? Launch slower, or put more trims on that first hill. Slow the ride down. Doing that kills the high speeds through most of the course, kills or weakens all the air, and leaves you with...

launch and meander.

...and it's tough to get excited about that. I'd love to be wrong though!

So wait...because this ride doesn't look exciting to me and is thousands of miles away in a park I'll never visit, I'm a coaster snob?

Of course not, though admittedly perhaps my interpretation of Tekwardo's complain-to-complain comment was a little more special case than he meant it. That said, if your homepark were getting a Behemoth clone and you decided to pop online and whine, I'd be inclined to think you were being a bit of a coaster snob.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUiDe-qz8_8

A recreation!

I can honestly say that after seeing a bit more detail on the layout, it does look a little more fun to me. Didn't know it had those 3 bunny hops towards the end. Like the 2 on Cali Screamin, that could save the ride.

Found this test video of Formula Rossa's first run (more like a teaser that shows just the launch). To me it looks like the video speeds up, but it's hard to say because the thing is traveling at 150mph. Looks pretty nuts (and loud!).

I dunno... check out this video of the entire launch. To me it looks like the preview video isn't sped up, they just cut out the middle few seconds of launch.

Damn. That's fast.

That looks awesome. I'll be honest.

I have to agree. Very cool.

I clicked on a few other related videos, one had some actual photos of the main "dome" it was so covered with sand that it looked more pink then red.

Makes sense.