Kingda Ka Closed again???

In other news...on Friday KK was down all day, Superman ran one train for much of the day, and Nitro was closed for the evening (I left around 8 so I doubt it came back up after then, with the park closing at 10). Also, while waiting in line for the always entertaining Stuntman's Freefall, a non-riding friend of mine observed that it was taking crews on average about 5 minutes to unload, load, and launch again the side of Chiller that was running. We didn't even bother.

We had a fun day regardless but once every 3 years or so is definately all I need at GAdv. Although I suppose I'll be going down next year for the woodie - I'd like to think that it will run pretty well at least the first year it's open before GAdv's mantinence team gets their hands on it.

Being that I'm one of the friends Moosh mentioned - KK was a disaster - after leaving the line at around 10:45 we went to Rolling Thunder - closed. We went to Superman - 1 train op - 1 hour wait min, skipped it - we went to Nitro - closed temporarily due to a technical glitch, went to Batman closed for the day. Went back to Nitro - two train op but q-bot riders made what should have been a 15 minute wait into a 40 minute wait.

I'll correct Moosh's statement about the park being dirty because it wasn't - it was spotless and the upkeep and new plantings are all looking great. Employees weren't ambilivant but they all seemed helpless. The ops were a major issue. When we left at noon the parking lot was about 20% full and continuing to fill up. It was a very very disappointing misadventure.
Sigh.
jimvid *** Edited 8/22/2005 9:10:18 PM UTC by jimvid***

I was in the station at 9:05 am on Friday they were only using 3 trains they all tested fine at 8:30 at 9:07 the first 2 pulled out and launched, still running fine. The 3rd train pulled out to launch an nothing happened so they backed it into the station and unloaded all the trains and closed it for the day.

I agree Moosh, I am one that thinks SF should have never have bought the intamin rocket in the first place. They have so many little neglected parks. I think SFEG, SFKK, SFAW all needs a coat of paint, and maybe a new flat or little coaster. They have been neglected for so long.

It's why I would rather spend my money at any little park where I know I will get my money's worth.

Katie

why are we complaining? KK was up and running at least while i was there in the morning sundayt. I know because i went on it .

IT was actually doing pretty good and fats. too.

Jim - thanks for the clarification, I guess I misheard you when we spoke on the phone.

Six Flags Astroworld has been neglected? How? They got two new rides back in 2003 and last year they repainted three of the coasters. Six Flags Elitch Gardens got the half-pipe waterslide this year, and the Intamin Halfpipe coaster last year. And the Flying Coaster came before that. If you want to point out neglected Six Flags parks, then I would look to Fiesta Texas, who hasn't gotten a major ride since Superman Krypton Coaster and Darien Lake whose last major ride was a Top Spin.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm not saying you're not right that the money could've been better spent and distrubuted throughout the chain.

I think a lot of people see it that way, I-fan. Putting that kind of money into SGFAdv while ignoring other parks is like only feeding the lead in a dogsled team.

The entire reason TTD was down for nearly an entire month in June of 2003 was because the servo valves kept jamming.

The problem was caused by the reverse configuration. It caused the oil to be exposed to a vaccum and vaporized. This oil vapor damaged all of the pumps and motors. Then in the first week of June, a valve finally jammed. The valve had so many chunks of steel and bronze from the pumps that it finally seized. During the first 3 weeks of June, they fought it replacing valve after valve, pump after pump, and motor after motor.

Then after some tests they found the cause of the situation and eventually fixed that problem. It wasn't untill this summer that TTD has gone much of any period without any serious mechanical problems.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the new "reliablity engineer" position in maintenance that was posted last year on CP.com. I heard a rumor that the new guy used to work at a Six Flags park.

In any case, Kingda Ka is fixable. The real issue is whether or not Six Flags is willing to put enough money into the ride to keep it going.

Everything about Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster is astronomical. I estimate that each launch costs $1.20 in electricity alone. The hydraulics produce enough heat to keep 10-20 homes heated on the coldest of nights. There are so many moving parts. If any fail, the ride will go down.

In the end, these rides are a real pain in the ass to keep running.

Isn't the point of new technolodgy to lower the number of moving parts and friction, to create an effiecent machine...? So why haven't Intamin caught on to that. Also, is the system overly complicated, is there a easier way to launch a coaster using hydralics?

And Six Flags knew what they were getting into, so they should be willing to put money in it... or they are not doing their job. *** Edited 8/23/2005 12:33:13 PM UTC by Keith2005***

"Buzzer - if I have a legitimate complaint I always pay a visit to Guest Relations."

That is what I was meaning, Moosh. Did you go to the guest relations and complain about how dirty SFGadv was? Or tell them that the staff is not very friendly?

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Keith2005 said:
Isn't the point of new technolodgy to lower the number of moving parts and friction, to create an effiecent machine...? So why haven't Intamin caught on to that. Also, is the system overly complicated, is there a easier way to launch a coaster using hydralics?

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Not neccesarily. Often times technology is used to allow more moving parts to work together to do something never before done. It's called innovation.

I went on Wednesday the 17th. The sign said that KK was closed for the day. The ride started testing around noon and opened for the majority of the afternoon and evening. The ride closed two or three times for about 40 minute intervals during the day. I got 2 rides on it.

That is what I was meaning, Moosh. Did you go to the guest relations and complain about how dirty SFGadv was? Or tell them that the staff is not very friendly?

I haven't been to SFGAdv since 2001. I don't know if my friends who visited last weeeknd stopped to complain or not.

For some reason I had it in my head that you went last weekend. I guess my point was, if you're not letting them know how to improve your visit, then don't complain.

There's more coasters than Kingda Ka you know...

Go out and enjoy 'em! Dragster had many problems before too when it first open, and is doing pretty good now. Kingda Ka will do the same hopefully (although it is six flags that's running it...) *** Edited 8/23/2005 6:34:15 PM UTC by Dr. DOOM 1289***

I went yesterday and the ride was awsome, the only problem was the wait. What should have been and hour to hour and a half tops was 2 hours 45 mins because the ride broke down about 7 time while I was waiting. Did get 3 rides though. Everytime it brokedown the fins on the brakes wouldnt lower making the train roll into the station slowly, then the operator would say "brake lock reset" everytime, something is wrong but my opinion is more the computer system than the ride itself, maybe its too sensitive. *** Edited 8/23/2005 10:25:46 PM UTC by Coasterfreak2***

I was there today and it ran all day with no problems. Well I left at 6pm and it only had a few regular 20 min down times. I did not get to ride it cause the line was insane and the 1 ride op said it was 3.5 hour wait.

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Mamoosh said:
I think a lot of people see it that way, I-fan. Putting that kind of money into SGFAdv while ignoring other parks is like only feeding the lead in a dogsled team.

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It's more like putting more money into a high yield acount rather than one which charges you to keep it open. GAdv has ALWAYS been the biggest money maker in the chain, keeping many of the little rink-dink parks afloat. Spending $50 million on GAdv and $35 million on GAm has been a good investment as evidenced in the the huge attendance increases discussed in the SF conference call the other day. Even with KK down for 2 months of Q2, GAdv had an increase in attendance of 240,000 over LY. And GAm had a huge increase as well. Together they make the most money (1/4 of SF's total revenues), so they get the biggest investments. *** Edited 8/23/2005 11:37:10 PM UTC by GAcoaster***

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matt. said:
In other news...on Friday KK was down all day, Superman ran one train for much of the day, and Nitro was closed for the evening (I left around 8 so I doubt it came back up after then, with the park closing at 10). Also, while waiting in line for the always entertaining Stuntman's Freefall, a non-riding friend of mine observed that it was taking crews on average about 5 minutes to unload, load, and launch again the side of Chiller that was running. We didn't even bother.

We had a fun day regardless but once every 3 years or so is definately all I need at GAdv. Although I suppose I'll be going down next year for the woodie - I'd like to think that it will run pretty well at least the first year it's open before GAdv's mantinence team gets their hands on it.

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Damn, that sounds like a REAL bummer of a day. I went 8/13 and everything was running. Only KK and Superman had any real wait. Medusa was a walk on and Nitro was about a 15 minute wait. The ride ops tend to suck big time. I'm not surprised Chiller was taking so long to launch. Everytime I wait for Superman, it takes them 4 minutes to launch a train. That's ridiculous. Even the KK ops were slow. Four trains loading simultaneously didn't help speed up the line.