Heads up: SkyRush down for 2012

Apparently SkyRush is having some trouble and won't be back up in time for the end of the season. Hershey has taken the ride off the list of rides available for Hershey Park in the Dark:

http://www.halloweeninhershey.com/hersheypark_in_the_dark/rides.php

Intamin strikes again!

If it won't be back up by the end of the season, shouldn't the title be "SkyRush down for 2012?" Or, and I pray that this isn't the case, is there information somewhere that it won't be open at all next year either?

BREAKING NEWS: HEADLINE MORE DRAMATIC AND CONCERNING THAN CONTENT OF ARTICLE.

More at 11.

Fail on my part. Obviously it should read 2012. Feel free to subject me to merciless inside jokes that aren't funny.

I fixed the title so as to spare you from such hurtful ridicule.

I rode Skyrush my one and only time on Labor Day, and it went down for maintenance for about 20 minutes while the train I was riding in was stuck on the brakes. I might be able to tolerate the painful lap bars for a few minutes during a ride on this piece of crap, but twenty minutes was more than I could stand. I totally hated everything about this ride, except that it looked cool.

All day in the park I overheard people talking about how bad Skyrush's lap bars hurt. I would venture to guess that it is now a commonly known problem, and that the park decided to take action of some kind to fix it. Could that be the case, or is it something more?

I wish we had more info. This is pretty interesting.

I would like to think modifications to lap bars could hold off a few more weeks until the park closed for the season.

I don't get excited at all about Intamin's latest rides... I miss what they used to do around 2000 with the SROS's, MF, Goliath (Holland), Expedition GeForce, etc... Not the stuff today like I305, Skyrush and even Maverick (although I like Maverick, sometimes...).

They made solid, great attractions around 2000. Now they tend to push a little too hard to make extremely rides and it is showing. Reliability, comfort, terrible trains, etc... Not what they used to be 10 years ago.

Give me modern B&M's anyday... I like Intamin, but not the direction they have been going in the last few years. Off-topic a bit, but I am SO glad the "Intamin days" at CP are over ride wise and we finally get a new B&M. Cedar Fair in general seems turned off from Intamin lately as well if you look at the latest additions... Goliath, Leviathan <3 , Gate Keeper, Patriot, Intimidator and Silver Bullet to name a few. I think CF is learning that although they cost more, you don't have so many issues down the line (or at start-up). Look at what they have had to do with I305... Or Dragster... Or Xcelerator... Perilous Plunge.... Shoot the Rapids... Maverick... The list goes on.

Sadly, Hershey is loving Intamin... Not a big fan of Storm Runner or Fahrenheit, and have no desire to go get on Skyrush.

Funny, I'm the complete opposite. Give me the balls-out-insanity of Maverick or one of the new Intamins over a newer B&M any day.

I've always preferred the B&M rides over Intamin, even though I would call out Millennium Force as an overall favorite (likely for sentimental reasons). They're fascinating to watch even, as the classic "well oiled machines." The only one that has ever disappointed me is Hydra, and that has to be a quality control problem in manufacturing.

Today I learned: Outback Steakhouse sponsors Sidewinder.

Did Outback's marketing team lose a bet?

I remember when everyone returned from their initial laps on SkyRush, me saying something along the lines of "I'm getting there before they tame it."

I said the same about I-305.

I got to both in their v1.0 format, and we know what happened to I-305...it got better (apparently, I have yet to get back to KD since). Hopefully, this downtime is in an attempt to fix the restraint issues. I love the "carp" out of the Intamin intensity, but their restraints often end up hurting me...and seemingly lots of others.

I'm thinking it would take more than different restraints to fix the weird feeling this ride does to your legs. For a ride that is really about only a minute or so you do leave feeling like you have had enough.

IMO, the restraint would be mostly fixed if they simply rotated that triangular "padding" (using that word liberally) so that there was a flat surface broadly spread across a much wider area of the thigh. The narrow strip of restraint that now smashes the thigh bone simply has 1/6-1/12th the surface area it needs to have to be comfy...or so goes my working hypothesis.

Jeff said:

The only one that has ever disappointed me is Hydra

Batman: The Dark Night is the worst I've been on by B&M. I remember liking Hydra when I rode it though.

I think Raptor and Kumba fall right in the B&M sweet spot for me, after that, things started to lose the edge.

I'm all about B&M, but to be fair, the only big problem I have with Intamin is their reliability.

Well that sucks for me. I am going to HP for the first time in about a half dozen years in two weekends. I was looking forward to experience the crushing personally. I had even forewarned my friends that are going with me about taking a spin on ThighCrush.

I did not think Hydra was that bad honestly for what it was... It had quirky elements for sure, but when I rode it opening year (and the year after I believe) it was smooth and never noticed any terrible rattle or vibrations. Not like those bother me much anyway. I find Hulk at IOA for example much worse than any rattle on newer B&M's. I liked it better than Medusa, but not nearly the caliber of Batman Knight Flight or Kraken.

Leviathan on the other hand is probably the smoothest feeling B&M I have ridden to date. Might be the wheel compounds used for the colder weather last weekend, but it just felt so silky smooth unlike any other ride I have ridden before. Even the other four or five B&M speed-coasters I have been on prior.