Six Flags is cleaning up

^ Nice!

*** Edited 11/30/2007 3:52:01 PM UTC by Rob Ascough***

Ronman said:
From what I understand Shapiro wants to save old favorites. Demon G.A. Shockwave S.F.O.T are getting retracked, in a 3 to 5 year plan. He promises a better guest experience in 2008. I'll

Hmm... Would be nice! And please, for the life of Arrow, reprofile the corscrew entrance on the Demon.

While he's at it, put some money into Whizzer and Revolution!!! Those are classics...

When was the last time a steel coaster was re-tracked? And I'm not talking SP->PR style retracking.

Hobbes: "What's the point of attaching a number to everything you do?"
Calvin: "If your numbers go up, it means you're having more fun."

^Does TotC to Demon count?
Does Maverick count?

I guess what I'm asking is...what constitutes a re-track?

*** Edited 11/30/2007 7:32:56 PM UTC by rollergator***

ApolloAndy said:
When was the last time a steel coaster was re-tracked? And I'm not talking SP->PR style retracking.

Space Mountain at Disneyland is the only steel coaster that I can think of that got retracked.

Retracking doesn't really happen with steel rides because if you retrack it, you might as well just start from scratch and basically rebuild the ride from the ground up (see Space Mountain: Disneyland for this example). You may "reprofile" a certain section of a steel ride to attempt to make the ride smoother or function better, but it would make no sense to retrack an older ride and not replace the maintenance issues at the same time, like the outdated lift and blocking equipment.

And at that point, a park would do what Disney did and just tear it down and rebuild it with a new system. It would just happen to be very similar to the old ride if it was popular enough. Outside of Disney coasters though, I don't know of many coasters that a park would actually have a benefit to tearing them down and redoing them like Disney did.

Ronman said:
From what I understand Shapiro wants to save old favorites. Demon G.A. Shockwave S.F.O.T are getting retracked, in a 3 to 5 year plan. He promises a better guest experience in 2008. I'll see if he's telling the truth or blowing smoke in April. As for rides leaving Great America the ones mentioned are part of a 2009 bigger plan. Besides most of 2007 they where closed anyway, what's the loss?

I haven't heard of that. That sounds quite stupid to me. Why is Demon worth saving if you are just going to retrack the entire ride? It's still going to be that short ride that everyone thinks. How is this helping either of those rides? And new for this year, Demon is the same ride, but there is new track. The people will be rushing to get to the park now.

It's not like Space Mountain when you get a 40 minute line in the off-season of WDW, and they are running both sides on top of that. Thus, they are retracking it because it's still so popular.

My question is, if retracking (in the same sense a wood coaster is retracked) a steel coaster is even possible, why would Shockwave, of all coasters, need it?

If, in fact, a reprofiling is planned as the authority Ronman has suggested, the same question stands...why?

Steel coasters never get totally retracked. Small sections may get replaced but if the ride is bad enough to need a total retracking, it will get removed and either rebuilt from scratch like Disneyland's Space Mountain or not rebuilt at all. Demon and Shockwave are not getting retracked.

While they're at it, do they want to change the name of their new coaster, or be the first ones to name a coaster after a dead celebrity? Does it matter?

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/7509664?MSNHPHCP>1=10637

Space Mountain at Disneyland is the only steel coaster that I can think of that got retracked.

Nope. It was entirely replaced, not retracked.

Rob Ascough said:
Demon and Shockwave are not getting retracked.

Yeah, I know. Just pointing out the stupidity of the original comment. The long-winded way, I guess.

Who knows? Demon may have 'parts replaced' for all we know. I read in some forum how a piece of Shockwave was used to replace the entrance to Demon's corkscrew b/c it was rotting away from years of being wet from the waterfall.

Either way, the Demon is pretty damn popular. It's almost a legend of a ride around here. People love their Demon! And the first drop is still the wickedest moment in the park (and the California Demon's drop has since been neutered.)

Mamoosh said:
Space Mountain at Disneyland is the only steel coaster that I can think of that got retracked.
Nope. It was entirely replaced, not retracked.

Um, yes. If you read the rest of my post, I referenced this fact twice.

I said:
...and basically rebuild the ride from the ground up (see Space Mountain: Disneyland for this example).

I also said:
...a park would do what Disney did and just tear it down and rebuild it with a new system.

And, wouldn't entirely replacing a ride but making the new ride the exact same layout and everything as the original essentially be retracking it, which was my point to begin with?

I suppose that some people might count Space Mountain as two different rides (before and after), but I think that the vast majority of people just think of it as Space Mountain still. The ride building didn't change, the interior to the building only received minor updates and not a full out re-do. Ultimately, it's about as close as you can get.

In the case of Shockwave or Demon, you would end up rebuilding an entire ride, and in neither one of those cases would you start with a ride with issues that consistently draws lines of 30+ minutes on low days and replace it with a ride that is operationally much smoother and still gets lines of 30+ minutes on low days.

Sorry, but I have to disagree about the demon. It sucks besides the tunnel and the drop. I wish the ride ended after the second loop.

Kevin Max said:
Sorry, but I have to disagree about the demon. It sucks besides the tunnel and the drop. I wish the ride ended after the second loop.

U think? Have you been on Raging Bull? It's big and looks nice, but it's a raging yawn. How bout Superman? Lame lame lame.

Viper? Now there's a kick butt ride after the 100th time...

Demon is more or less 32 years old and still is one of the top rides in ridership at the park. I think replacing the trains would be more likely. it runs alot better with new wheels then worn ones.

Whats funny is how many of you think I'm on drugs. Shapiro mentioned this to indusdry folk while at DollyWood, for the Golden Ticket Awards. This is not new news, in fact most people riding Demon in 2007 should have had a smoother ride, after the corkscrew. Last winter the test track was applied and I sure noticed the difference. No it's not that the red train was rehabed.To me all the trains feel the same. The banging going into the final brake was removed. Demon will stand long after Bulls gone, it's a staple in this park. So instead of debating it, just be glad it's happening. I know my friends in Texas where relieved that ShockWave would live on. The Eagle is always getting retracked, nobody notices. Even the Eagle Loading Station received a new Blue Roof, I noticed, did you? That's right my eyes are open when I go to the park. I know most guest just want to get on a ride, so they miss changes, or lack of, which ever is the case. O.K. now back to your debate, have fun.