X difficulties - CoasterBuzz

CP makes an effort to acctually FIX the ride. TTD was only down for a few days, Its been running amazingly well the past few days. But TTD is a NEW ride, as in just built. I dont consider X really that NEW anymore.

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-Dennis
www.Drinkduff.com

Exactly. The problems with TTD so far are absolutely *minniscule* compared to what has been going on with X for the past couple of *years*. TTD opened on time. X didn't even open to the public the same year it was built. Huge difference. The Deja Vu problems are exaggerated. From what I can tell, the ride just isn't operating now just because the park doesn't want to open it. Let's face it, SFGAm is *not* happy they own that ride, so I honestly think their solution is to just not open it. But hey, I don't expect anyone to ever buy one of those again either.

-Nate

I am sooo glad I got to ride it when I was there in May. We rode it twice. It was closed the last day I was there and my friend complained but I told him we were lucky to even ride it once, you know?!

Not arguing. LMAO =D CP does a MUCH better job at taking care of these sort of issues. Just trying to not pick on SF for once ^_~

As for Deja Statue, as I call it, I almost half HOPE SFGAM gets rid of it. It sucks going to the park and having to look at that big nasty green and blue mess and not see it running. Pointless. That's one expensive coat rack. ;)

The whole thing with X just sucks altogether. I hope they can come up with some way to handle this in a better fashion. It's so dissapointing when you go to a park to ride something revolutionary and it isn't open.

Big D, Are you saying that SFMM is NOT making efforts to fix X? That's insane. Every day it is down, there are maintainance workers crawling all over the track and trains. And you don't consider X to be something new anymore, gimme a break.

X has problems, that's obvious. But like many others have mentioned, prototypes don't always work right the first time. Most get running well enough in the first few years. This whole X situation reminds me a lot of The Bat at PKI. Yes, The Bat was dismantled, BUT the suspended coaster concept was not abandoned, just modified. In the case of The Bat, the designers of the track layout out did the designers of the ride vehicle. The layout caused massive stress on the trains, which made them replace parts far more often that originally planned. (sounds familiar) Future suspendeds were built with moe banked track and less swinging of the cars.

I'm sure future 4-D's wll incorperate much of what they learned from the mistakes of X. With any luck, X will not suffer the same fate as The Bat.

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SCREAM with me... in 2003!

Kenmei said:
Now at least CP makes an effort to post on the website and attempt to communicate the problems with the general public, but they're not perfect.

http://www.sixflags.com/parks/magicmountain/rides/x.asp

Not sure if this has been brought up, but the SFMM website confirms X will be closed every Wednesday.
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Superman: Ultimate Flight Count (SFGAm) = 46
Dave
http://www.SFGAmWorld.com

The point is that is was closed Monday and Tuesday and many other days. The website makes it seem like it is only closed Wednesdays. Honestly, if I knew it would be open on Saturday, I would choose Saturday without a doubt. And the advertisements that imply its open do not help either.

X is ahead of it's time. Tear it down.

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YOUNGSTOWN 2010

--The point is that is was closed Monday and Tuesday and many other days. The website makes it seem like it is only closed Wednesdays. Honestly, if I knew it would be open on Saturday, I would choose Saturday without a doubt. And the advertisements that imply its open do not help either.--

Someone knew what I meant = )

jkpark said:
X is ahead of it's time. Tear it down.
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YOUNGSTOWN 2010

Thats the spirit :)

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-Dennis
www.Drinkduff.com

I don't understand how X is "ahead of its time". With all of the insane computer tehcnology we ahve now-a-days, I think X fits in just fine! Just the fact that it was designed, built, and runs properly proves that anything is capable. Clearly, computers can not predict some of the troubles that this ride has had, but haven't roller coasters always been like that?

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I play in a really awful garage band, but it's still fun.

I take it, Big D, that you didn't actually read much of the thread, which is why your post at the top of this page basically made the thread lap itself.

Comparing X's issues to TTD's, then blaming SF over CP for the problems, is insane. Either way, i see no valid reason to tear it down, the track itself seems solid. It's the trains that need the redesign.

I'm secretly hoping that next time I go to the park, I see plastic air ducts installed feeding air to the wheels :)

Craig the Coaster Freak said:
I don't understand how X is "ahead of its time". With all of the insane computer tehcnology we ahve now-a-days, I think X fits in just fine! Just the fact that it was designed, built, and runs properly proves that anything is capable.
Okay, which ride are you talking about? Because X was absolutely *not* designed and built properly, nor does it run properly! It's an ill-functioning piece of Arrow junk. And nobody else is ever going to buy one.
-Nate

I have a feeling a park already has.................

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Judgement, Superiority (ego), intolerance, and Hostility.........Makes CB the "Jenny Jones for "Coaster Trekkies" LOL

How can you say X was not designed properly? The amount of work put into this ride was huge. You make it seem like 5 drunk guys got together and decided to build a crazy roller coaster, but it is not like that. The trains can clear the course at the correct speed, and the seats rotate, that sounds like it is functioning properly to me. Sure, the trains need some strengthening and there were some suspension problems, but EVERY new ride has issues. MF got new wheels, TTD has had it's obvious share of problems, Hypersonic had tons of issues, Goliath had wheel issues, and the Deja Vus all have their problems. Yes, the ride doesn't run enough, but from what I have heard it is one of the most incredible rides out there. X will NOT be a failure until it is torn down. Jeez, I can't believe I just defended SF; I guess I have been humbled by TTD's problems.

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I play in a really awful garage band, but it's still fun.

How can I say it wasn't designed properly? Because it doesn't work. It hasn't worked well from the start. It never opened to the public its first year at all, was down for four months last summer, and now operates only a few days every week. Does that sound like a properly functioning ride to you? This is well beyond any of the problems TTD, Hypersonic, MF, Goliath, etc ever had. A ride that is designed properly works, from the beginning, with minor issues. X iclearly does not fit that profile.

The Arrow 4-D *is* already a failure because nobody is going to buy another one. I don't know how else you define "success" and "failure" than something that works, and something that obviously does not.

-Nate

One thing that never seems to come up -

The problems with X aren't really in the design. They're problems with the overdesign safety systems. Could X run constantly, every day and not valley or fall off the track? Sure! But, the chances of it *not* valleying or falling off the track or bending and cracking go from 0.9999 with the current state of downtime and rechecks, etc, to something like 0.9. It's not a complete failure, its a failure in terms of being sufficiently overdesigned so as to be very safe.

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"As soon as you design something that's idiot-proof, the world will go and design a better idiot."
--Brett

All I am saying is to give the designers some credit. They came up with an incredible ride and that in my book is success. It may be a failure for SFMM, but I think it is a success for the 4-D coaster because, as with all prototype- you ahve to start somewhere. If it crashed to the ground: then I would say it is a failure.

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I play in a really awful garage band, but it's still fun.

How can someone call X a success? I'll tell you how. Go to the park on a Sunday and RIDE IT! You will then know the definition of "success."

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SCREAM with me... in 2003!

Okay, maybe if it's open that day... ;)

-Nate