SFNE Cyclone - Not running to capacity

I was at SFNE on friday, 8/30, and the line for Cyclone was unusually long. Part of this was due to the implication of the new Lo-Q system. Now riders have to wait in the queue at the bottom of the ramp, with an employee letting an allotted amount of riders up before each train. This causes problems in and of itself, because many people would wait for the front and back, leaving empty seats on each car.

But the main problem it seemed, was that the second car and the back car on every train was closed. I was told that this was due to weight issues - i.e. if the there was too much weight on the train, it wouldn't brake right.

Didn't SF fix this problem in 2000 when they re-profiled the track? I seem to recall them closing the back car in the '99 season for the same reasons. Does this mean the re-profiling failed?

If anyone works there, preferably someone from the maintenence department, could you tell us what you could about this problem? Could this be the end of the Cyclone, or just a minor problem that could be fixed by next season? The ride just didn't seem as fun without the extra weight. Thanks.

Cyclone never has had good capacity, it only has one train and now eight seats are blocked off. I got seven rides on Thursday (8/29) but only because the weather was outrageous.

One thing I noticed is that the "launch" on the second hill was unusually strong. I think some people might really get hurt if they sat in the back seat. The other thing I noticed on the brake run is that the third and fourth cars were lifting up off the track and crashing back with a loud thud. No idea what was going on with that. Next year is 20 years for our beloved Cyclone, hopefully it will get the care it deserves.

*** This post was edited by JDB on 8/31/2002. ***

We were at SFNE on August fifth and yes, the Cyclone cars most certainly lift off the track on the brake run! I'd never experienced anything like that in my life...

-----------------
www.coasterimage.com
Dorney Park visits in 2002: 16

LG, two other coasters I can think of do that....KG's Twister and SFoG's GASM...(jeremy's GASM-I)...

I've ridden in the back plenty of times this season and it was surprisingly smoothe. I always sat towards the front but for some reason I tried the back and it wasn't that rough at all. It was a little rough of course because it's Cyclone. And sitting in the back you get a great view of all the cars lifting off the track at the last turn into the brakes. I love this ride. I would hate to see something happen to it as long as whatever happens to it makes it more maintainable.

-----------------
TOP 5
1. Alpengeist, 2. Magnum XL-200, 3. Superman: Ride of Steel (SFNE), 4. Nitro, 5. Volcano: The Blast Coaster
Close Calls 1. Apollo's Chariot, 2. Grizzly (PKD), 3. Medusa (SFGAdv)

Very interesting info, rollergator. I'm going to Knoebel's tomorrow and SFOG in October. More sheer terror!

-----------------
www.coasterimage.com
Dorney Park visits in 2002: 16

LG, have a great time at KG (impossible not to)....

on Twister, leave your lap bar up a bit - I know, preaching to the choir, LOL.....but the AMAZING thing is how tight the springs are, those laps will NOT come down....allows you to "jump" out of your seat on the brake "hop"....no other coaster that I'm aware of has springs like that....IIRC, Dick K. had Tom Rebbie special order them for the trains....

On Phoenix, just find 1-3, tighten the restraints a bit more than usual, and HANG ON.....awesome....

We got weathered out of our trip to KG. As I type this it is currently 58 degrees and raining here in Allentown. (I bet Dorney is flat out empty today) We decided with weather like this just to put if off for today. We'll probably end up going one of the last few weekends in Sept. But now that I'm armed with official rollergator advice, I can't lose!

-----------------
www.coasterimage.com
Dorney Park visits in 2002: 16

Does anybody have the layout for cyclone. I know there is a model but where

-----------------
Member of RCT InSomniAcS

Man, I hope they get the back cars open on the Cyclone again soon. It was bad enough to see SF reprofile the first drop, closing off my favourite seat is even worse!

And speaking of tight springs on laps, what about the HP Wildcat? I think that thing has Twister beat, or at least it did last year. I wish all parks would get springs like that standard, it makes the ride much more enjoyable to not have the bar ratcheting down on the first drop IMO.

Um... RollerGator? The Phoenix has single position lap bars, so how could you possibly tighten them more than normal? Not trying to sound cocky, just curious as to what you mean.

-----------------
Yes I'm 15, no I'm not childish, I'm not being sarcastic, well maybe I do have somewhat of an ego...