Goodbye Kingda Ka?

So since SF is deciding to remove all of their coasters that have mechanical issues and stuff, do you all think maybe within a couple years they will remove Kingda Ka? It might not happen but who knows.

Who knows? They are dumb enough to do it.

Highly doubtful!

Parker17 are you related to BATWINGSFA? You really think that they are going to give up a record breaking coaster that has been running pretty reliably for them?

Another news site has said that KK may be safe because it's popularity justifies it's high maintenance costs. KK moves many more riders through the lines than Chiller did too. I believe that it is safe.

Sorry for such a noisy post.

It's possible--remember, there's no need to keep your best, most satisfying rides when they require a little extra maintenance.

ZOMG!!1!!11 SIX FLAGS IS TAERING DOWN RIDEZ!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Roller Coaster Tycoon has ruined an entire generation of minds. Chris Sawyer should have added some code to the game that showed what happens when you spend more money on unreliable rides than you do on maintaining the park, hiring qualified staff, training the staff, etc.

No way. It anchors a whole area, it's incredibly popular, and you don't give up your record breaker, which I think will stand for a long time. It was also running pretty reliably this summer too on our visit.

There's also a huge difference in price between taking down Chiller, and taking down Ka, which required specialized cranes and highly specific wind conditions to work in. *** Edited 11/10/2007 7:19:18 PM UTC by Intamin Fan***

Much like TTD at Cedar Point, the ride's popularity justifies the cost of maintenance. Kingda Ka is the reason why some people visit SFGAdv, but Chiller isn't.

Kingda Ka and TTD are both very maintenance intensive rides, but the overall view of the rides have been very positive. I can't talk to much for Kingda Ka since I never been there to ride it, but TTD has ran for four seasons and it still captures the most attention by far from the guest.

Listen to Six Flags' quarterly results calls...you'll have a good idea about what is actually going on with the company!!

Besides, for me, KK was running virtually all trains with very little down time the 6 days I went to GAdv this year...TTD on the other? ehhhhh......

It's an ok one trick pony ride :)

Would rather see rolling thunder racing, or a nice knevil type woodie.

^^ I was under the impression TTD was only down like three or four half days the entire summer.

I rode TTD five times this summer and KK zippo. KK was down the entire day we were at the park.

The TTD operating days chart was posted somewhere on Pointbuzz. I can't seem to find it though....

^^ I was one of the lucky ones opening season of TTD. I kept hearing that the coaster was down. I was reading trip reports about how it was closed all day. The 2 visits I made opening season it had it's problems, but I managed to squeak in 4 laps without more then a 45 minute wait.

I have had that same luck with KK. I have visited at least once every season since it opened, and always managed to get multiple rides. Of course I had to pay for the Flash pass to get multiple rides. My last visit early in the Spring it seemed to be running flawless all day.

Some people are lucky and some people aren't when it comes to being able to ride the new attractions. I have been lucky. ;)

*** Edited 11/11/2007 4:54:43 AM UTC by Coasterfantom2***

It is a strange feeling to be able to look at how TTD ran this season compared its dark and gloomy past. The rain was its biggest enemy all year long.

I think it is going to be very interesting to see what happens to these giants in say 10 or 20 years. They are one-trick-ponies, no debate there, but will there maintenance costs fall as the parks get to better understand their intricacies? And will they still excite and attract riders when they are dwarfed by even larger behemoths?

I for one think that we wont see TTD or Ka in 15 years.

I still think they'll be the tallest coasters around for the next decade or two if only because of cost. It cost $25 mill. to build TTD and all CF got out of it was a tower and a launch system. With inflation now on steel prices, I can't see how CF or SF will be able to spend a substantially larger chunk of money to actually build a strata-coaster (or a giga-coaster for that matter) that actually has elements. With the popularity of Maverick and El Toro, I think many parks will start to think about the fun experience of a ride as opposed to it's record-breaking qualities.

Ka is already rough enough, I don't even want to know how rough it will be within the few years.

^It's not a wood coaster. It might just be a matter of adjusting bolt-tensions and more frequent wheel replacement.

When I was in their parks, Chiller: Batman, Deja Vu, Flight of Fear, Rockn' Roller Coaster, and Volcano were all down for the whole day. When I was in their parks, HyperSonic XLC, Incredible Hulk, Sidewinder, Storm Runner, and Top Thrill Dragster were all down for 20 minutes or more. I have never been in line or on any coaster that didn't have a short-lived problem, but the "launch" rides seem to be worse. I really believe that they have more down time. However, I don't think that any park is going to remove it's big draw, especially if they spent $25,000,000 to build it in the first place. I would guess that they would get rid of any other "problems" first.