Shoot the Rapids: "The boats didn't fit the flumes"

Holy cow.

OMG! Wow, Intamin. You have reached a new low.

So since the boats were outsourced, do we think the company that built them didn't follow the specs, or do you think the specs Intamin gave were bad?

Probably one of the two. :)

There's a 50/50 chance that one of those is the correct answer.

Ill just say this again, the true stupidity is with CF. Over the last 11 years they have ordered these rides from Intamin:

-Wicked Twister: Had to be seriously modified due to too much swaying in each arm
-Millennium Force: The one ride that was a grand slam
-Xcelerator: Took 10 years to expose a serious flaw but volia its there
-Perlious Plunge: Pop goes the guest
-Top Thrill Dragster: I dont need to go into a description on this one right?
-Maverick: Oops, turns out that heartline roll would cause serious structural damage to the train over time
-Intimidator 305: So far no problems
-Shoot the Rapids: Oops our boats are too big

What company in their right minds would continue to do work with someone who has delivered 6 out of 8 rides with serious structural problems? The incompetence is stunning.

History can guide you to the more likely of the two...

Touchdown said:
Ill just say this again, the true stupidity is with CF. Over the last 11 years they have ordered these rides from Intamin:

-Intimidator 305: So far no problems

Actually, everything I've been hearing is I-305 has problems with the wheels on the trains...constantly replacing wheels or something like that, which has caused a lot of one train operation. So I'd say the jury is still out on I-305 at best.

That isn't really a huge problem, I'm sure any coaster going that fast with those forces was bound to go thru wheels. If that's I305's biggest issue, then meh.

-Wicked Twister: Had to be seriously modified due to too much swaying in each arm
-Millennium Force: The one ride that was a grand slam
-Xcelerator: Took 10 years to expose a serious flaw but volia its there
-Perlious Plunge: Pop goes the guest
-Top Thrill Dragster: I dont need to go into a description on this one right?
-Maverick: Oops, turns out that heartline roll would cause serious structural damage to the train over time
-Intimidator 305: So far no problems
-Shoot the Rapids: Oops our boats are too big

I'm not taking up for Intamin, but that list is kind of flawed:

WT-Was the first double twisting Impulse. Plenty of coasters have been modified, but it didn't suffer from a malfunction and was fixed in time. Even Beemers have had to have parts of the track replaced...at the same park

XCelerator-This was an issue with the actual cable used, not the ride, Correct? Plus it was kind of a prototype.

Perilous Plunge-Yeah, they should have used better restraints, can't argue there.

TTD-again, unproven tech, from a prototype, and this was still a first of it's kind ride.

Maverick-Shouldn't Stengel have figured that out in the design phase? Can't put all the blame on Intamin for that one, I wouldn't think.

People give Intamin crap, and when it comes to restraint flaws, I agree with them, but look at the amount of Intamins out there. And then look at the types of caosters they make. Parks want them because the innovate, and they can't just go out and build a prototype of every coaster on the factory lawn and get it right.

They have some issues, but I'd love to see numbers from the last decade that shows coasters built and maintained properly that malfunctioned vs. those that never had issues over the same amount of time.

Thanks for mentioning Stengel. Let's not forget that Intamin is a broker and not a designer or manufacturer of these rides. Isn't Giovanola still doing most of the steel fab? Intamin is like the Dell of the amusement world -- aggregating third party solutions and selling the package.

Don't forget to add to the list the "towel bar" support added to Xcelerator after the first few months of crazy ass top hat swaying.

I've spoken with some high level Imagineering VP's and they said that after all of the problems they had with the two Intamin installs at DCA and the one at DAK that they would *never* work with Intamin again.

/m

Tekwardo said:
That isn't really a huge problem, I'm sure any coaster going that fast with those forces was bound to go thru wheels. If that's I305's biggest issue, then meh.

Yes, of course, and I've seen the boxes of wheels in train sheds before, but extended train downtime during the middle of an operating day resulting in only one train operating doesn't quite seem standard to me. I can honestly say I've never seen anything less than all trains operating on Diamondback, for comparison.

All rides have some issue during construction & testing. They'll fix it, and life will move on.

I've spoken with some high level Imagineering VP's and they said that after all of the problems they had with the two Intamin installs at DCA and the one at DAK that they would *never* work with Intamin again.

To clarify, are the Disney Intamin rides referred to California Screamin' and Grizzly River Rapids at DCA and Kali River Rapids at DAK?

They spent the last week altering the boats. If the boats were too long, what did they do? Cut & paste? :)

By Sunday, only two of the boats had been retrofitted. The ride uses four boats.

"Four" boats? Please let that be a typo.

According to the renderings, each boat holds 10 riders.

So wouldn't that be the same as a standard flume running 8 or 10 'logs' at a time? (which doesn't seem unreasonable)

ShiveringTim said:
To clarify, are the Disney Intamin rides referred to California Screamin' and Grizzly River Rapids at DCA and Kali River Rapids at DAK?

I believe the Wonder Wheel knock off is Intamin, isn't it Moosh?

Kali River Rapids is definatly an Intamin ride, saw the patch on the boat just this past week. I assume Grizzly is too.

Maybe I don't have a good sense of the length of this ride from the pictures and webcam. I would expect you could have a boat in the following locations:

Heading toward lift one

Between lift one and two

On lift two

Between lift two and the station

Outside the station waiting to deboard

Boarding

That would be at least six boats, no?

As to Gonch's point...I think you are right about 8-10 logs but I think the more contsant movement of the line makes it seem like you are moving along pretty well.