PKD Drop Zone down - CoasterBuzz

I was at Kings Dominion yesterday. During midday a big rain downpour occurred and I don't know if it was because of that, or because of something else, but Drop Zone had people on it, and they were stranded at the very top. It never released them down. And they were stuck at the top for a good 5 to 10 minutes. I was in line at Hypersonic when all of this was happening. Finally they began to slowly lower the ring down, but that was no quick trip either. It seemed like they were being lowered at a rate of 2mph.

Anybody have any idea what may have gone wrong. The ride was down the rest of the day. I don't think the rain did it because they had dropped people before it happen when it was raining. I have no clue. All I know is that it was the parks 3rd day of operation and Drop Zone was already down for the count.

I would love to be stuck at the top of it.. great views of the park

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Sounds familar, kind a like PKI.

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CBCon Quote "We didn't even get wet"......30 seconds later you hear plop, then splash!!!!

Or worse like Acrophobia.

Remember what happened last season when Acrophobia was hit by lightning which fried the main panel for a while resulting in the ride getting stuck with passengers on it for over an hour.

I just hope this is a rare problem for DZ & won't become the norm because I don't want to go there only to have the ride down for the entire day.

Thats really funny!
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I'm not surprised... this seems to be a common problem with most of the Intamin drop towers. I've personally seen Pitt Fall at Kennywood get stuck up there a few times, and plenty of people on these forums have written about their experiences getting stuck.

That's not funny I know what it's like I was stuck on PKI's Drop Zone for 2 hours. That wasn't fun at all.

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Joe Barnett
Forum Moderator/Editorial Writer
www.pkiunlimited.com

BATWING FAN SFA said:
Or worse like Acrophobia.
Remember what happened last season when Acrophobia was hit by lightning which fried the main panel for a while resulting in the ride getting stuck with passengers on it for over an hour.
Ouch.... I bet they won't be able to have children :)
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"Grit Your Teeth, Bare The Load, Enjoy your ride, on Thunder Road"

I got stuck on the PKI for an hour and it was not fun cuz you dont know what wrong and if you do drop the brakes might not work and its just plain scary.

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R.I.P. Greg. We will miss you.

Um, the brakes are fail safe, the brakes are magnetic, so if the ride were to drop even with the power out, the cars would come to a nice stop, just like any other ride cycle on an Intamin Drop Ride.

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Nessy: Ride of Steel
Webmaster of Digital Coaster - http://digital-coaster.com

yes, Nessy WE know that but to a casual park goer who doesn't understand the workings of the brake system, that might be a thought that would cross their minds...

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--George H
---Superman the ride...coming to a SF park near you soon...
Currency tracking experiment... http://www.wheresgeorge.com (Referring to The "George" on the $1 bill - Not Me)

ThunderFun said:
Thats really funny!

See how funny it is when you're up there, frying in the hot sun and needing to go to the bathroom.

I was stuck for 10-15 minutes on Tower of Doom. That was more than enough, thank you. Fun for the first few minutes to look around, but the really boring!

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- "I used to be in the audio/visual club, but I was kicked out because of my views on Vietnam........and I was stealing projectors" - Homer Simpson

BATWING FAN SFA said:
Or worse like Acrophobia.
Remember what happened last season when Acrophobia was hit by lightning which fried the main panel for a while resulting in the ride getting stuck with passengers on it for over an hour.
I just hope this is a rare problem for DZ & won't become the norm because I don't want to go there only to have the ride down for the entire day.

Acrophobia was not hit by lightning. The entire park had a power blackout.

redman822 said:
yes, Nessy WE know that but to a casual park goer who doesn't understand the workings of the brake system, that might be a thought that would cross their minds...
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--George H
---Superman the ride...coming to a SF park near you soon...
Currency tracking experiment... http://www.wheresgeorge.com (Referring to The "George" on the $1 bill - Not Me)

I know about the brakes but when your terrified of heights like me and you get stuck up there you freak out.

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R.I.P. Greg. We will miss you.

Damn Intamin crap:)
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If you have a problem with clones, the solution is real simple—Stop traveling.

I saw the lifting mechanism get stuck at the top a couple of times, but not the ride vehicle itself. When they finally got the lift moving again it came down very slow as well.

I've seen it happen. Even on S&S towers.(Turbo Drops)

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Don Camaro has lost his mind

Wow, it lasted three days! That's gotta be a record for an Intamin. ;)

Kidding (or am I?)...I know crap happens, having worked on a Giant Drop for a few years...the first seasons are always the worst!

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"No honey, the monkeys have already done enough damage on this trip." - Guy coming out of front gate at SFGAd

To the thread starter, did you get on Hypersonic? I was there once and they had to close it due to hydroplaining.

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Love,
The Mole

Maybe I looked over it, but I think PKD was closed yesterday (Sunday, March 30th) and this was unplanned as far as I know. The weather was supposed to be pretty nasty from Saturday night through Sunday, but I'm not sure if that's the reason the park was shut down. Anyone know? I guess they wanted Drop Zone to continue that record for awhile longer, Joe. ;)

-Danny