Kings Island Closes "The Crypt (Formerly Tomb Raider the Ride)"

Jeff and KPJB have done better than I ever could at explaining the drive. With those sorts of rides, the old way was to use hydraulic motors. Now, they use electric motors, but the motors have to have their controllers synchronized...not just between the two arms, but between the multiple motors on each arm. Anybody remember the first gen Chance Inverters, how noisy they were? That was because of excessive gear lash caused by drive motors that were out of sync and literally arguing with each other. I'm not saying that was a problem on Crypt (because I don't know what the problems were with the Crypt) but that is definitely a challenge with a ride like that.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Greg Scheid tweeted that the ride is already gone. Probably dismantled in pieces and taken out the garage doors on the building.

http://twitter.com/#!/KIGMGREG/statuses/170317951814217728

The question is, did said dismantling involve a cutting torch, or is the ride now for sale? :)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I didn't think the ride was too bad when I rode it over the summer. It makes me wonder where. it's going though. I know a lot of Kings Island locals are hoping for a Skyhawk type ride or a wild mouse ride.

I doubt anyone would want it. It seems like the only success in the giant series was the frisbee, and even then, only two were built (right?). I wonder how those are holding up. I believe they have six hydraulic motors driving them.

Huss sold a few more around the world of those Giant Frisbee.It truly was a good success for Huss and they are sitll selling them in China when they open a new park. They go for either the Huss or Intamin version.

Bobbejaanland in Belgium got the second model in 2004. After, Nagashima Spaland (home of Steel Dragon 2000 in Japan), who already had a regular Huss Frisbee, still introduced a Giant Frisbee with a similar color scheme to the KI one. Fuji-Q Highlands introduced a silly Pizza themed Giant Frisbee. The Happy Valley group in China, which is building parks like crazy, got a Giant Frisbee in their Beijing park.

Huss has been lining up failed rides like crazy since 10 years. The Topple Tower are a disaster, the Airboat got operational issues, etc.

Actually, the Giant Frisbee has six electric motors driving the pendulum. I wrote an article about it for PointBuzz when maXair was under construction.

It's surprising that the Airboat would have issues, when it's basically nothing more than a small Troika, and *those* things are running all over the place. Although if it had the same lap bar as the Bee Bee or the Break Dance, I can see where that could cause some problems. Whoever thought that guillotine mechanism was a good idea......

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

They're electric? I thought there was all kinds of hydraulic pumping stuff in the adjacent building. Then again, the conduits in the leg probably aren't big enough for hydraulic hoses.

I'll never forget how excited Jeff Siebert was when showing off the new attraction. He posted this (closure) news to his FB, and I was reminded of how cool TR:TR was when it opened and functioned properly. I also remembered getting home and posting to CB that I felt like I'd been shaken upside-down by a schoolyard bully trying to extract my lunch money. Good times! :)

edited for clarity... ;)

More to the point, if they were using hydraulics, Jeff, they'd probably only need two motors, rather than six. I think the platforms may be hydraulic, and the release system for the shoulder bars is pneumatic...but the tank and compressor are actually mounted on the center of the ring. Anyway, I based that on the statements in the manufacturer's advertising material, which they graciously sent me when I was working on that article.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I could have sworn there were hydraulics in that building for maXair...wasn't the fire (or one of them, can't remember if there were multiples) in there caused by some fluid issues, or was that completely misrepresented?

I really thought it was too. The floor I'm pretty sure is pneumatic, as I seem to recall tanks down in the pit.

Yep, the floor is pneumatic, with 2 large air tanks down there.

The issues with the Airboat come from what I heard about the recent Sea World San Diego installation. Basically, when the ride is loading and unloading, the cars can still swing, so the park had to have ride operators hold the cars so that the guests don't trip and fall. The park later modified the cars so they don't swing on the ground and made the ride cycle longer since loading is much faster.

I really like the Giant Frisbee, but I consider the Intamin version to be better. The motors are more powerful and you get swinging faster and stronger than on the Huss model. http://data.sphosting.ch/Intamin/Media/Gyro%20Swing/Gyro%20Swing.pdf . Its sad no parks in the US bought one!

2nd-Gen Intamin Drop Towers are the only flat ride I'd rather see than a Giant Frisbee.

The standard Frisbee is so inferior to it's bigger relative, I just pass them up. I don't think I've even bothered to ride one since my first time on Delirium. The Mondial version (Revolution) is a lot of fun as well.

I only rode the ride as The Crypt. Not sure I would have thought TR:TR was that much better- I'm just not a fan of top spins. They look cooler than they ride (IMO).

Was the reason they got the giant top spin (rather than the normal one) due to increased capacity? If so, I'm surprised they didn't get a "double tier" one like at CW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl_V5JPWfdc

There haven't heard nearly as many problems with that model than with the one at KI

BullGuy said:
I only rode the ride as The Crypt. Not sure I would have thought TR:TR was that much better- I'm just not a fan of top spins. They look cooler than they ride (IMO).

That's a bummer. As Tomb Raider, the ride was more of a conveyance device to place you at the right scenery than anything else. There were essentially three distinct scenes that (very loosely) told a story that put you up against icy stalactites and hanging over "lava." It was pretty cool, I thought.

And the "finale" of just being held in front of the statue and watching lightning shoot from its eyes was incredibly intense and awesome.

Tomb Raider fascinated me.

jonnytips said:
Was the reason they got the giant top spin (rather than the normal one) due to increased capacity? If so, I'm surprised they didn't get a "double tier" one like at CW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl_V5JPWfdc

There haven't heard nearly as many problems with that model than with the one at KI

No. Granted "Riptide" opened first, it is a different make and manufacturer than "The Crypt/Tomb Raider". They also offer different ride experiences (though somewhat similar).

"TR:TR" was a HUSS Giant Top Spin whereas "Riptide" is a Mondial Splashover.

I liked Tomb Raider a lot, too. I normally pass on the Top Spin, not my favorite, but as Jeff pointed out this one didn't have the traditional moves. The original gondola was massive, and the interior of the building was huge, so it was scary and thrilling when it would suddenly move to the next scene. Riders would be suspended on their backs or upside down for an effect then treated to a flip or two. It could be very disorienting.

Crypt sucked - toward the end the ride was not much more than a giant ferris wheel in the dark. The building is perfect for a haunt, tho, and it's already half decorated, (I thought the queue seemed made from hand me down scenery and figures left over from Hallowe'en, anyway.) The hallway entrance is elevated, and I picture scareactors lurking below the path for a good fright. The big room would be effective as a multi-level walk-thru. It seems like a waste of prime park real estate, though, for an attraction thats only open for a month.

Swiss company abc rides has an interesting concept they call a vertical dark ride, basically a frog hopper style ride that rotates or moves throughout the building, lifting or dropping riders from scene to scene. They say Alton Towers may be using this system on a new ride, and it sounds perfect for this space at KI. They could return to the original concept of the ride without (hopefully) the unreliable hardware.

Here it is if you haven't seen it, looks like fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHUyquMJGFU