Magic Mountain’s X2 gets flamethrowers + other effects

I was wondering what was going to be different about the ride. Mmmmm I don't know about the flames, however, the Volcano ride at Kings Dominion Virginia has flames but I don't think they shoot out when the ride is passing by. I've been on X before. I watched the video on SFMM home page...it doesn't look like the seats flip as much as it use to. *** Edited 5/6/2008 10:13:49 PM UTC by ScreaminRider***

^ Seats don't look like they flip as much as they used to from the video?

You have to be joking? The seat movements are controlled by the second set of rails, not by the train. The new trains won't change the movement of the spinning.

Um, ok. I liked the tunnels idea better. Surely that was cheaper than computer-controlled pyro effects.

I think the flames will be a cool effect. Also, the park is looking the best it has in years, and 2008 looks to be even better. I must say that I've heard great things about the employees this year too, not just at Magic Mountain, but at all the parks. However, lets try to remember when X2 opens that the main purpose of this project (the new trains), was NOT to make the ride smoother, but increase reliability and capacity.

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Goliath Freak said: the park is looking the best it has in years, and 2008 looks to be even better. quote]

Well that's good to know. I'm going to the park in less than two weeks. Haven't been there in a while. I'm taking a first timer and someone who hasn't been to the park since they were 12 yrs. old. Too bad X2 won't be open at that time.

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Goliath Freak said:
However, lets try to remember when X2 opens that the main purpose of this project (the new trains), was NOT to make the ride smoother, but increase reliability and capacity.

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Thats what worries me the most about this project the most, the capacity issue that is being addressed is good, but my ride on X was a one and done thing.

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kRaXLeRidAh said:
^ Seats don't look like they flip as much as they used to from the video?

You have to be joking? The seat movements are controlled by the second set of rails, not by the train. The new trains won't change the movement of the spinning.

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I agree that it's highly unlikely that the seat flipping changed, but technically if the gear size on the seat axle were different they could have created a smaller or larger version of the same flips.

Removing two coasters and the classic free fall are some of the "impressive changes"?

Still, it sounds like things are looking up at the park. I hope Jay finds a way to bring Revolution back to at least acceptable form. Not surprised at all to hear the coasters are running at capacity, as Jay is a stickler for that.

^^ My hopes are still that the new trains will provide a smoother ride -
The roughness of X wasn't just due to the way the track is designed but also due to the physics of the interaction between the track and the rotation mechanism of the seats.
There were these odd motions in which the rotation seemed to shake itself into place, so to speak, the worst spot being the high-speed apex of the second raven turn.
I hope this will be different with the new seats - even though the testing video unfortunately doesn't look very promising.
Well... we'll see!

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ApolloAndy said:
but technically if the gear size on the seat axle were different they could have created a smaller or larger version of the same flips.

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Can someone explain this in different terms? My brain isn't wrapping around a "smaller" or "larger" flip.

Think of a truck pulling a trailer with small wheels, even though the truck and trailer are traveling at the same speed the wheels on the trailer are spinning a lot faster then those on the truck.

This works in principle the same way on X. A smaller rotating wheel would rotate quicker and spin the seats faster, a larger wheel would do just the opposite.

This sounds right in theory although I don't know how this would work out pratically.

The wheel size and the speed of 4D seat rotation have nothing to do with each other -
there is an additional wheel assembly running on the 4D rail, but it is used only to "read" the position of the rail and transfer it onto a moving vertical toothed bar, which is connected to gears that sit on the horizontal axle the seats are attached to.
Thus, the speed of the seat rotation depends on nothing else but the speed of the train along the track.
The amount or speed of rotation on X can hardly be changed by scaling (e.g. by using another size gear on the seat-axle), as it needs to be in exact coordination with the forces the track layout produces,

What remains to be hoped for however is that the dynamic system between the track, the wheels, the vertical bar and the physical behavior of the seats can be optimised to provide a smoother ride.

*** Edited 5/10/2008 7:31:02 AM UTC by superman***

^Smart man!

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superman said:What remains to be hoped for however is that the dynamic system between the track, the wheels, the vertical bar and the physical behavior of the seats can be optimised to provide a smoother ride.

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What I'm hopeful for is four rails surrounding a "Zorb" ball, and being sent down the track in between the rails......Ultratwister in 4-d. :)

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Acoustic Viscosity said:
Removing two coasters and the classic free fall are some of the "impressive changes"?

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The two coasters that were removed (Flashback and Psyclone) were two of the most hated coasters in the park, possibly on the west coast. Flashback hadn't run since 2003, and didn't run for a full year even before that. It was long overdue for removal. Psyclone was notoriously rough, and wasn't popular at all. Free Fall from what I've heard, those rides are near impossible to get parts for, unreliable, and have high maintenance costs, which would explain why every park that had one scrapped or tried to sell (Cedar Point) theirs. The removal of unpopular and unreliable attractions is a step in the right direction, and there is no doubt in my mind that those spots WILL be replaced by new rides, it just takes time. I'm glad that they are focusing on cleaning up the park, and they are doing all the right steps to success, including great customer service *** Edited 5/13/2008 2:46:50 PM UTC by Goliath Freak***

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superman said:
The amount or speed of rotation on X can hardly be changed by scaling (e.g. by using another size gear on the seat-axle), as it needs to be in exact coordination with the forces the track layout produces,

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I wasn't saying they should. I was just saying they could.

^ yeah.. (my comment had kind of a smartassy tone to it - sorry about that).

BTW, I was at SFMM yesterday - I just wrote a little TR.

The park has updated its "X2 transformation" page and you can see they've yet given us a new surprise following the flame thrower effect...

You can see newly integrated speakers in the coach frames for on-ride audio.

Less than a week until it makes its debut!

http://www.sixflags.com/magicMountain/rides/X2transformation.aspx

It is kinda interesting that we are only one week away from the opening of X2 and we really know nothing about effects or even the newly intergrated speakers(Big surprise) Magic Mountain is really going all out on this one. I like what i see...