X-Flight opening delayed

Well, if SFWOA would start building a new coaster in September/October, instead of December/January, the ride would be open. I don't know how they did it last year with 4 new coasters.

I am surprised and shocked at the amount of complaining in this thread [although I guess by now I shouldn't be]:

There is NEVER a guarentee that ANY ride, new or old, will be open when you visit a park. Yes, it is frustrating to show up and find out a ride you like is not open but it is a chance we all take. Most if not all parks will let you know if a ride is down for scheduled maintanence. However sometimes something unexpected happens. You can't blame any park for keeping a ride closed if it is not safe to operate. Any time you plan to travel acoss the country to visit a park you're taking your chances. You have to just roll with the punches and make the best of each day.

After Stark Raven Mad I am travelling to SFWoA and Kennywood. It appears I will miss X-Flight, Phantom, and Thunderbolt. Am I disappointed? Of course I am. But I am not going to let it ruin my trip. Any day I am at a park with good friends having fun and riding coasters is a good day. None of those parks are going anywhere and the coasters will be there on my next visit.

Just relax and enjoy life as it unfolds. its better that way.

Man, talk about being picky...

At least SFWoA GETS new coasters. Sheesh!

OutKast, If I would have called the park when I booked my trip in Janurary (you have to buy plane tickets in advance, you know) they would have said the ride would be open on May 5th (or 4th, depending on when they thought opening day was then)

I'm sorry but if you scheduled your trip based on their opening day you're not a wise person. Read any park brochure and it tells you that certain attractions may be closed, even new ones. The park is under no obligation to have any attraction open, let alone the new one. This is exactly why I didn't travel to PKD to ride Hypersonic XLC on opening day and why I still haven't made the trip there. Are you aware how many steel coasters Vekoma has made this year? I think the count is 11 including Hammerhead Stall. That's a lot of track pieces, trains, supports etc. to make. In other words, everyone had to wait their turn to get parts for their coaster.

Exactly right Intamin Fan.

No, that's crap. People have a right to be upset if they wish. I personally made travel plans to be there opening nite. I consulted the parks "official" schedule (via their website) and they said they would be open on May 4th @ 5pm. So I made my travel plans and planned on taking a vacation day. Then, over a month and a half later, they decide not to have the park open at all that day. *THAT* pissed me off because that was a completely wasted day.

Now granted, I didnt really care about X-flight being open. I didnt even think it would be *close* to ready based on when they started construction. But if you are going to make announcements, then you darn sure better meet them. *ESPECIALLY* when you go and target a specific date! If things are unknown, give a 'non-committal' answer like SFMM w/ Deja Vu opening "this spring". SFWoA was under NO pressure to release an exact date, but they did and they should be held to it.

And as an engineer, I know that things can come up. But barring any major catastrophic failure, that "foul up time" is supposed to be scheduled into your plans. If their schedules were so tight that they could not accomodate delays and still meet their target, well then that speaks volumes to their scheduling practices.

NOTE: To this day SFA has yet to announce an 'OFFICAL' opening day for Batwing, and I've heard few complaints...
lata,
jeremy
--who was once told by a wiseman "Piss Poor Planning Produces Pain"

Amen 2Hostyl!!!

From SFWoA's schedule on their website right under the calendar: "Dates and hours information subject to change without notice." Yes it sucks, but you can't say you weren't warned.

Matthew
--who learned the hard way long ago never to go to a park's or ride's opening day unless it was near me.

The managers from SFA told me May 26 for Batwing, although you're correct that it hasn't been officially announced Jeremy. I think it bears repeating that going to a park on opening day to ride a new attraction may not be the smartest move, especially with a relatively new design like X-Flight. Unforseen problems can creep up on you. These are multi-million dollar hi-tech rides. Look at it this way; Hypersonic is still not operating consistently to my satisfaction where I would make a trip, Phantom's Revenge isn't finished even though the park is open, etc. In an ideal world everything would open opening day and would actually work right, but we don't live in that world. Besides Jeremy there are solutions. Rent National Lampoons Vacation and take notes then travel to SFWOA. If you follow Chevy Chases lead I'm sure they'll open the park just for you:) *** This post was edited by Intamin Fan on 5/7/2001. ***

Ok Guys Who All here is Going on the 19th? What Should we do if they Arent Open On the 19th? I would definately Complain. You really have to give it to these guys for TRying although I dont See why Tehy Could Get The Villain, B:KF, And S:UE Up in One Winter And not X-Flight. As for the managers, how the hell do they know? only the construction workers can tell...

Oh yea, If any one is Going on MOthers Day, Email Me.... TBSSteve@cs.com
thanks

Personally, I work fifteen minutes from the park, so I could care less. I'm in no hurry.

However, the park is indeed marketing the new ride on TV and radio, and I do have a problem with that.

As far as trip planning, who gets good deals booking a week in advance? With the exception of various fare-saver programs, no one does. You have to book travel well enough in advance if you don't plan to get screwed.

Rides open late, and I accept that, but I don't think anyone at Six Flags even for a moment from the announcement of the project thought that it would be done for opening day.

And while I don't care to rip on this park, I would like to mention that acceptance of half-open parks isn't right. Rides go down mechanical, sure, but half-open parks aren't worth your money. The other two big Ohio players opened with everything open (not sure about King Cobra at PKI, because I don't even remember bothering to look at it), I'm guessing (or know) that they ran their rides for dozens of hours before opening to the public.

Mediocrity sucks when it's at a park with such good rides.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

I'm still having a hard time believing someone would travel to ride X-Flight. Stealth was mediocre at best, and this one looks only "slightly" better. I would love to have seen the disappointed looks on people faces had it actual been "open". Maybe you whiners should count your blessings and hop on Villain for another ride. Good grief...

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Charles M Schulz(1922-2000) You were the best!
RIP

Read the thread, OutKast – obviously people do travel… maybe not JUST to ride X-Flight, but they do travel.

Remember, construction projects finish on time all over the world every day: from skyscrapers, to single family houses, to rollercoasters. There are only two reasons why they should be late (three if you count owner re-designs and changes): catastrophic failures or poor planning. SFWoA didn’t have the former, so I’m betting on the latter.

From SFWoA's schedule on their website right under the calendar: "Dates and hours information subject to change without notice." "Yes it sucks, but you can't say you weren't warned". Did YOU read the thread? Mamoosh makes an excellent point. You may not like it, but delays happen all the time, you just don't hear about it. Sure, hypersonic opened on time, but how often was it down? If a coaster is not ready, it doesn't open, period, regardless of the reason. Like I said before, SFWOA has a bunch of other coasters to ride ;)

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Charles M Schulz(1922-2000) You were the best!
RIP

1) As for marketing a ride, PKD has been shoving Hypersonic down peoples throats on TV, even though it wasn't open many of the times I saw the ads 2) Many construction projects don't get done on time due to weather, money, permits, design problems, and final approval 3) Outkast you're allowed to have your own opinion about Stealth, but let everyone else who hasn't rode Stealth ride X-Flight (or Batwing) before telling everyone how to feel 4) Where is the outcry over Phantom's Revenge? They've had way longer than everyone else to finish their coaster, yet it's not done. And much of the coaster was already built. I see how it is we wouldn't dare insult Kennywood's planning process. 5) Why can't anyone spell the word definitely on this site? Are they teaching spelling to kids in schools these days? *** This post was edited by Intamin Fan on 5/8/2001. ***

Kip099: I was not aware you are a construction expert. Maybe you should be a consultant to all these stupid parks that don't know what they're doing. I can think of at least two other reasons why X-Flight, Batwing, the Deja's, and Phantom were delayed. But what do I know...I'm not an expert like you.

I never said I was an expert. However, I do work in the construction industry, so I do know at least what I’m talking about. When a project does not go out on time, there is Hell to pay: owners get pissed, clients get pissed… and they should. I’m just wondering why everyone wants to defend the parks who cant get their rides open… and not just SFWoA, there are a LOT of parks with late rides this year. Check out Jeff’s post about half open parks – I think he hit the nail right on the head.

Think of it this way: say they were building a new highway that would cut a half hour off of your commute to work. They say it will be completed on a certain day. When that day comes and you go to drive on it they say “whoops, sorry, we wont be done till next year” I think you’d be a little upset.

BTW: I never said I scheduled my trip for opening day – I won’t be there for another 2 weeks – so (presumably) X-Flight will be open.

Kip099, I work for the my city, and you'd be surprised how many delays in constructions there are, especially involving roads(just try driving through a major city). You can't call the "theme park police" because SF decided to build their coasters during spring, and released a date they couldn't make. I don't blame people for being a little peeved, but as I sit here in Nor-Cal with the threat of serious summer electrical problems, I can blame our state government all I want(for poor planning and management), but unfortunately that won't keep the lights on. Let's keep some perspective, there are more serious issues to worry about.

*** This post was edited by DWeaver on 5/8/2001. *** *** This post was edited by DWeaver on 5/8/2001. ***