Journey to Atlantis problems?

I was at Sea World Orlando the other day and JTA was closed (as a big sign at the front gate stated.) As I was walking to Kraken I noticed JTa was running with water filled dummies. Now, I know that the ride can run fine without the use of added weights, but why would SW be using water dummies (normally used for pre-opening testing) on a ride that has been open for over 2 years?

Any Ideas?

A loaded vs. empty train can very drastically affect the dynamics of any ride. I watched Millennium Force crawl through the brakes empty. Water rides would likely have a bit too much air when empty if the boats are light.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

I realize that, but why not just standard weights, instead of full sized water dummies?

I ope they fix the audio and special effects while the ride is down...and figure out a way to make the story flow. (no pun intended)

It'd probably give a better feel in terms of weight distrabution then just throwing weights in there.

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Randy Hutchinson
You build it, I'll ride it

It's most likely just a much needed refurb. Having been open for 2 years, it may not have had an extensive shut down, cleaning, and maintenance. Since we in Orlando are in the off period (at least until early December) several rides start doing their annual full maintenance around now. Probably will only be down for a few weeks, sorry you didn't get to ride.

-Shady
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Remember, no matter where you go...there you are.

Randy is right on... it's all about the weight distribution. The ride's motion dynamics are based on weight being in certain places. It's engineered to have a certain weight in a certain place.

I've heard that Intamin will consider your warranty void if you use anything other than their water dummies. With the sustained forces on The Force or Volcano, you can see why they would be picky about it. Hundreds of pounds of shot on the floor of a train will place the trains center of gravity lower than if there were "people" in the seats. It could create weird stress on the chassis and wheel bogies over time.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
*** This post was edited by Jeff on 10/6/2000. ***

I got stuck on Journey to Atlantis when i was there back in August.We had just been loaded and started to move about 10ft,when the ride just stopped.There was some message over the loud speaker,i dont remember what it said.All the ride opps grabbed wrenches and left us siting there for about 10 min.2 ride opps happened to come from up stairs and let us out.It looked like they had no idea what was going on,they looked shocked to see us sitting there and no attendants around. *** This post was edited by hockeyman on 10/6/2000. ***

I rode Journey To Atlantis in August too and we got stuck at the bottom of the first lift for about 10 minutes. The ride had problems all day. However, the ride was still VERY good. Sea World is now one one of my favourite parks. I expected Kraken to be alot smoother though!