West Edmonton Mall opens custom Gerstlauer spinning coaster

I find it a little worrisome the photo in the newspaper clearly shows someone within the low zone of the coaster while it is operating. You'd think the mall would be more strict with safety after having a pretty horrific accident there.

He appears to be stooped over, actually working on something. Methinks it's a construction worker, not a rideop.

*gawks photos from RCDB*

WHAT?!?!?!? You mean Gerstlauer actually makes custom spinning coasters? Besides the model they built at MOA? I'm shocked :)

-'Playa

It almost looks like people are allowed to walk straight under it
Is there net between the ride and the floor of the mall to keep objects from falling down that is blurred in the picture?

it's a photographer

You bet Playa,

Next you'd think Edmonton will be getting a Eurofighter too!

In the photo from the newspaper, the person in the coaster area appears to be a photographer, not a construction worker. Whenever I visited, the construction workers were kitted in very bright colours and orange hard-hats. The area he's crouched in is a platform in the middle of the Mindbender that used to hold a spinny flat ride, but now holds the figure-8 finale of Galaxy Orbiter. (See pic.) During normal operation, no one should be there and it would be alarmed. It seems silly that anyone was allowed in during any operation, media or not.

I should mention that no nets under any of the coasters in Galaxyland, and they all (except for the Dragon coaster) cross pathways. There is a sidewalk through one of the loops on the Mindbender (pic). Both Autosled and Galaxy Orbiter cross significant chunks of the park, crossing countless paths. Ride-ops work closely with security and any trouble-makers (spitters, coin-tossers, etc.) are immediately removed, not just from the 9-acre park, but from the 120-acre mall. The park is small, so it's easy to find trouble-makers, and mall security are very experienced at removing them. The mall also hosts theaters, night clubs, and a casino: security operations compare more to Las Vegas casinos than your typical mall rent-a-cop.

"WHAT?!?!?!? You mean Gerstlauer actually makes custom spinning coasters? Besides the model they built at MOA? I'm shocked"

Um, you are really pathetic Coaster Player. That argument is probably 2 years ago and you are still mad you lost and nobody came to your rescue?

http://rcdb.com/ir.htm?model=219

Both Worlds of Fun and Camp Snoopy's coasters are the same model and are listed as such. It was nice not having you around to read for a year. And no one seemed to miss you. Go back to avoiding Coasterbuzz and do all of the rest of us a favor, dude.

And who are you, exactly? First post and signed up today? You're not even pointing out anything that he, or any of us didn't already know.

And it's Playa.

It's always nice to know that somebody's still waking up every day, whining and moaning and pitching and tossing over posts on the internet from two years ago.

AND has the 'courage' to post anonymously.

What does it feel like to have me rattle around in your head every day?

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

Anyway--I don't recall 'arguing' about whether or not The Park's coaster was cloned at MOA. I wouldn't have to. It doesn't take an enthusiass, just someone who's been to the place before and after TT was built to know it was custom-built for the place. The first drop rounds a support/ventilation column. The lil' ziggy-zaggy interacts with the same column. About 30 feet below is a high-speed turn around the same column again. It rounds the former Kite-Flying Tree, which has been standing in the same place for the last 15 years, it dips below the Ripsaw--which of course, was also already there--then around the column that was always there holding up the roof before cruising back to the station.

I wouldn't argue because I wouldn't have to. The answer is plain as day.

So what if they built a copy at WOF? Six Flags kept building near-clones, too. Over and over again. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's a good layout! As if a knockoff makes it any less fun. As with damned near anything enthusiasses toss and moan about, who among the normal in the real world cares? Really, who?

I can just see the panic now, when I visit WOF with a bullhorn. "Run from Spinning Dragons, people. It's a clone! IT'S A CLONE!" People will trample each other stampeding from the queues. Some random guy will hold his head and scream Noooooooooooooooo!! to the heavens.

And that night? A mob will march in with lit torches, demanding to burn the coaster--nay, the whole park--to the ground for such an unspeakable act of coaster heresy. Rigggggggggght.

Nobody cares except you and your fewer than five friends, buddy. I like Timberland Twister and I like Spinning Dragons and as a matter of fact, I happen to like WOF. Look at the photo in my user information page. Guess where it was taken?

Now go crawl back under a rotting log.

-CO

This is definitely not a clone. (Isn't that what "custom" means?) The track layout looks looks like one of my bizzarre Roller Coaster Tycoon creations, weaving over and around several other attractions, requiring three lift hills to complete the circuit. Can't wait to ride it.

The West Edmonton model is definitely not a clone...for once!
Every other model in North America is a very close cousin to the model in that other mall the G brothers operate here in the States.

-'Playa