Gwazi @ BGT

Maybe i was just there on a bad day, but isnt the point of a dueling coaster to run them at the same time. Have they never done that or was I just there on a bad day when something was broke?

I'm not really sure if this is true, but I heard a few reports from people that BGT were getting so many complaints from people with the Loading/Unloading Times on this coaster, and so apparently the crew on Gwazi has been ordered Not to Duel the Coasters anymore to speed up Dispatch times etc.
I gotta admit, I went last year, and it was terrible, Loading Times were horrible, and you sat on the brake run for upto 5 mins. People were complaining like mad, and even the ride ops were complaing about the Tiger Crew because they were going slow when the Lion Crew were actually going quite fast, Quite Hilarious.

Like I say, I dont know if this is 100% true, but from your Report, It seems like it could be true after all, which is a shame as the whole point of the coaster is to Duel them. Still Without the Duelling, Loading/Unloading times will be grately improved and you will never be sitting on the BrakeRun for about 5 mins anymore

I was there this summer and I was incredibly disappointed with the loading times. First of all, the lap bars won't go down until all of the seatbelts have been checked, then, all of the lapbars have to be checked. If the lap bars would be able to go down right when you got in the car, they could check both at the same time. That would cut off about 3-4 min in the brake run at the least. It makes no sense. Montu has a OTSR and a betwixed the legs seat belt. Once you get in the seat, you are able to pull down the OTSR and attatch the seat belt. Then, they pull your handle bar and tug on your seat belt and it goes really fast. GWAZI has the longest loading time I have ever seen. It sux. They should really do something about it.
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Georgia Cyclone-The Most A Coaster Can BEEEEEEEE.

I really dont understand why they even use seat belts on this ride, It really isnt that wild of a ride compared to Twisted sisters @ SFKK and they only use lap bars with no loading problems.

Difference b/w Gwazi and Montu:
Simple, the belts on Montu dont adjust. When I rode Gwazi, the old fart who was checking my restraints actually *tightened* the seatbelt to the point of being uncomfortable. (he also proceeded in stapling me later...)

Difference b/w Gwazi and Twisted Sisters:
The "U" bar on the G-trains provides a "total circumference" restraint for people. The "L" bar on the PTC trains is *supposed* to give that same sense in conjunction with the seat divider. BUT if the bar isnt down far enough, one could easily slip around/over the seat divider (I've done it *unintentionally* on Grizzly @ PKD many times, as their PTCs run seatbeltless.)
lata,
jeremy
--And you showed me, Jesus, what it really means to love...

ya I guess that I forgot they used U bars on Twisted Sisters.

I was at BGT last February, and didn't notice any unusually long lines/loading times...and the trains were dueling.

Perhaps I got lucky?

Lord Gonchar: You definatley got lucky. We waited 2 hours for Gwazi, it's a great ride, but the loading/unloading times are pathetic. Besides, the only time the dueling thing really did anything to me was the first turn out of the station. The rest of the times it goes by too fast to even notice, but if eliminating duleing equals reasonable dispatch times, then so be it, but it would kind of take the point away from a dueling coaster.

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"Thank you for challenging the Raging Bull. We hope you enjoy the rest of you're day, here at Six Flags Great America."

I have visited the park twice, once in March of '00 and once in March of '01.

In March of '00, Lion ran two trains and Tiger ran one train, and no dueling took place, or was even attempted. Dispatch times were horrible.

In March of '01 both sides ran two trains, and the ride dueled perfectly. Dispatch was bad, but better.

I've been to BGT 3 times in the last 2 years and have never experienced a problem BUT, I can see how things could get messy with all the safety checks.... It's ridiculous....

The dualing effect is half the fun of the ride....!!!

When I was at BGT in January, Gwazi was duelling, and there was no line at all. I rode about 8 times in a row, and did it so many times. I guess I was lucky. Ohh, and I did think that checking the seatbelts and lapbars seperately was dumb. But the crew was great and they were very enthusiastic, giving high fives and stuff, making it very enjoyable.
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I was there in April, and Gwazi was dueling but the dispatch times were horrible. I waited an hour in line, and the wait should have been half of that.

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Kennywood Insider's Guide
http://kennywood.coaster-mania.com

2Hostyl said:
Difference b/w Gwazi and Montu:
Simple, the belts on Montu dont adjust. When I rode Gwazi, the old fart who was checking my restraints actually *tightened* the seatbelt to the point of being uncomfortable. (he also proceeded in stapling me later...)

 

That happened to me as well, the guy checking my seatbelt really tightened it up quite tight and it was almost uncomfortable, I was'nt having any of that, so when no one was looking, I loosened the seatbelt myself, EASY.

But I agree with someone else, what is the point of that seatbelt anyway, those lapbars are enough to keep you in the train quite well, so I think that BGT should get rid of the seatbelts alltogether, because this is the real reason of the long loading times, Some people dont notice them, until the ride op comes and does it up for them, some people  do them up, but dont do them up tight enough, this causes more delays. So if BGT just had the LapBars, they could continue with the Duelling, Loading/unloading times would be dramaticlly improved, No more sitting on the brake run for ages, and Complaints would be at an all time low, PROBLEM SOLVED.

i realy dont know i'll be there this weeked
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http://bigtimecoasters.cjb.net

As I've said before, because of the horrible loading procedures I hope if BGW gets a woodie it's a CCI with Gerstlauer trains so then they only have one thing to check....and I HATE the g-trains...
jeremy

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"Nobody writes about the planes that land." Steve Salerno Washington Times 7-10-01

Is Gwazi a dueling coaster or a dueling/racing coaster?

I was at Busch Gardens on August 24th and the coasters are still not dueling.  In fact, it was a slow day at the park and they only had one train going on each side.  This really pissed me off because I really enjoyed the dueling when had ridden them before.  It almost looked like they were taking their sweet time to make sure the coasters didn't duel.  At one point when I was in line, they could have synchranized them, but it actually turned out that the second train into the station was the first to leave.  I could not see any good reason why this happened.

As far as the seat belt/lap bar issue, I feel that the seat belt will not keep you in if the lap bar fails for some reason.  I'm sure it would not fail, but it just seems like a waste to me.  The same restraint system is used on the Dania Beach Hurricane here in South Florida, but lines are never a problem because the roller coaster is a pay per ride and the capacity of Boomers is not anywhere that of any amusement park.

*** This post was edited by Sandrock LQ on 9/16/2001. ***

I think the y need to invite ride ops from other parks that operate wooden coasters that run two side by side and train thier ops how to run a fast and efficient operation while keeping the dueling aspect of the ride intact. There is no reason they can't run it the way it was meant to be and still be able to do so at a reasonable loading speed. They just needs to get the lead out and do it. If other parks can run quick and efficient ride operations there is no reason Busch Gardens can't

Hershey runs their Lightning Racer in sync on every dispatch.  It is also a GCI coaster, the trains are loaded by separate crews and include seatbelts and lap bars.  If you are stopped in the brake run, it is for less than a minute.  This coaster features an amazingly fast moving line....even when the line backs up into the queue house (which there is a series of ramps into the station after that), it is only a 20 minute wait. 

This coaster is the same concept as Gwazi, 2 coasters leaving the station at the same time, ride length is about the same, so what is the problem at Busch?

anthohy: Gwazi id dueling ONLY.

super7: the difference is on Lightning Racer, the attendants only physically check the lapbars, while only visually inspecting the seatbelt.

On Gwazi the attendants walk from the front of the train to the back, checking seatbelts. Then they return to the front of the train and walk to the back of the train, this time checking the lapbars. This more than doubles the time to check the restraints. Hence the line moves pathetically slow.

But Gwazi is a better (read more intense) ride than Lightning Racers.
lata,
jeremy