The "Will Superman be open?" Questions

LOL...good idea Gonch! Since no one goes to SFDL for any other rides why not just put SROS over by the campground and dump the rest of the park?

*** Edited 5/12/2004 10:52:09 PM UTC by Mamoosh***

While I agree that it would seem SFDL has the most to lose by S:ROS being closed, I wonder exactly how much attendance will be affected. I'm sure some will stay away, but ... it's a funny park. Kinda a resort, in the middle of nowhere, with a popular on-site hotel and campground/RV area. Plus some pretty major concerts all through the summer.

And based on my experiences there, by early afternoon a healthy percentage of the patrons are too looped to notice if a coaster is still standing, much less operating. Perhaps a more relevent question for SFDL's management is not how Superman's closing will affect attendance, but will it affect beer sales ...

Well..if Superman is closed, why isn't Millennium Force? It is obvious that after this incident people the safety department would wonder but its been decided that it was the operator and riders fault.

I went to Darien Lake before. It was fun, not nearly as fun as it is now, (err.. last year) but whithout Superman alot of the fun is gone. I mean yes, superman isn't the only ride. But it's not like we have a drop tower, a cool flat ride other than a top spin, a good inverted coaster, a beemer, a larger selection of coasters. Superman is what made the park a bit more complete and my friends were excited to ride it because a few of them had never been before but now its all screwed.

School has been a PITA. Finals and regents are coming up, and I finally get one day of fun to spend with my friends when they can all go and my dad is willing to take us. Then Superman is down. Go figure. It was going to be perfect. I'm not asking them to go to CP, just SFDL when the good rides are open. Do you blame me for being a little mad/upset/depressed about this?

If it's open this weekend I will seriously go to church for 3 hours and thank god.

SFNE is my home park I go all the time but with SROS closed I won't go. IMO those trains are fine the way they are lets face it some people should not be on coasters. People die everyday on the highways we don't close all the roads. I feel sorry for his family but he's not the first to die on a coaster and he won't be the last. I'm going to call SFNE on Friday to ask when it's going to open.

Exacly ^

At SFNE there are signs on the road before you enter the park property claiming that Superman will be closed, so this way people arent entering the park with out knowing about it being closed. Very classy touch in my opinion.

The bottom line is that it can't happen again, and if that means shutting down the rides while improvements are made, then so be it.

I've brought this up before, but a lot of people try to make the bad analogy between cars and roller coasters. When's the last time you needed a roller coaster to get to work?

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Ride of Steel said: Can you give me one reason why a person would drive more than 45 minutes if Superman isn't open? Most people go to parks for thrills. But they have to add other rides to suit people in those groups who don't like coasters.

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I'll give you 4 reasons for SFDL alone: Mind Eraser, Boomerang, Viper, and Predator. Yeah S:RoS is the STAR attraction at SFDL, but it's far from the only attraction. In fact I bet more people go for the water park than the coasters.

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bigboy said:

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BATWING FAN SFA said:
What I meant was to remove the rides alltogether & have them replaced with B&M's that have the same layout....not replacing the Intamin trains with B&M ones.

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Wow, thanks for clearing that up. It makes complete sense now.

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Well done, bigboy....you didn't even NEED one of these...;)

ROFL....replacing the coasters is MUCH easier than just fixing the trains/restraints....:)

Sorry for the consecutive posts here but...

Ride of Steel, get over it. Go to SFDL. Ride MindEraser. Have a blast. Check out the SlingShot. Watch the Batman show. Superman will probably be closed. What would you have done if you went to the park and it was down for whatever mechanical reason? Say the restraints randomly were stuck open and they couldn't figure out why? Would you gripe and moan to guest services that "the damn ride is fine as it is?" I MAN DIED and they are trying to make sure it doesn't happen again. Yeah, it sucks that S:RoS is closed for a while at 3 parks while they modify them. Ya know what else sucks? Being on a train and witnessing another rider who was there for a day of fun get ejected to his death right next to you. Know what sucks even more than witnessing that or S:RoS being closed? Actually being the person thrown. But know what sucks most of all? People's selfish attitudes that Superman Ride of Steel not being open will RUIN their entire vacation. It happens. Adjust, move on, whatever you need to do... Let it go. Enjoy the parks for what they have to offer. Remember, a day at (insert theme park here) is always better than a day at work (or school)!!

Shane, alot of what you said is true, and I may be over reacting, but I must say that what happened was preventable. But not from a maintenance standpoint. From an operation standpoint. And I am upset that they are changing the lapbars because its unnecessary. And don't get me wrong, I feel so bad for the people who witnessed this accident. I couldn't imagine being thrown from Superman. It must have been terrifying. I am mad that the employee didn't check the restraint (and the man himself). But everyone makes mistakes.

Changing the lapbars unnecessary? The authorities who know a lot more than you or me disagree. And that upsets you? They are trying to make the ride safer for you and me. What if the person who died was a friend...I bet you would feel quite differently.

Sorry if this has already been answered, but can someone tell me just how the TTD style restraints are different than the ones on S:RoS? They seemed to look and feel like the current ones, but I'm guess that there's some internal differences? Thanks

Indeed, everyone does make mistakes. Having been a ride op, I can't imagine the burden that the S:RoS op now lives with.

Flyinback, Dragsters have a curve in the middle of them, and are little thicker. MF,SROS, etc. have a straight bar. Essentially the lapbar is the same though.

http://www.pbase.com/image/16188546
vs.
http://www.thepointol.com/cgi-bin/schlabo/sp.pl?info=Millennium_Force&src=http://www.thepointol.com/images/jMF7.JPG

Peabody, you are right. But why would they change the restraint if it has been said that it was the fault of the rider/operator?

FlyInBack- From what I understand and remember, the newer TTD lap bars have a contour to them to fit the thighs, and the bar from the floor to the lap bar is curved so it comes up and over the lap bar. This also helps relieve the "testicular pressure" that Jeff likes to talk about so much...

Ride of Steel- I understand being disappointed. It's been a long off season, and I couldn't wait to get to SFDL to ride the coasters. And I also understand that this could have been prevented. But, there's a reason that peanut butter has a label on the jar that says "Product may contain nuts." People make mistakes, and unfortunately, some people are ignorant. I'm glad Six Flags is trying to make these rides a little more idiot proof. Of course I'm also surprised that Millennium Force at Cedar Point isn't closed as well. But hey, at least they didn't just deem these rides as unfixable and TAER IT DOWN!!1!

So is the only difference in restraints in that of the 'mold' of the yellow piece? Is there also a difference in the hydraulic locking mechanisim,etc..or not?

Yea Shane you are right. But I get this weird sense that this whole restraint thing is just a cover up and just isn't going to make a difference to prevent this again. I feel like the shorter seatbelts is the best move then maybe retrofit larger seats and lapbars like TTD to accomodate more riders next year but to safely allow those who can safely ride this year without shutting it down.

The hydraulics are the same. The difference is the mold, the larger handle, and the bend in the metal part of the lapbar making less pressure on your little people.

The most recent Intamin Mega Coaster installations, Expedition GeForce, Goliath (SFH), and Thunder Dolphin, all feature a curved bar not unlike TTD in addition to MF's inline seating arrangement. I wouldn't be surprised if the modifications made to the Supermen are similar to this evolution of the Mega Coaster train (if they decide to stick with the T-bar).