Apparently, the state inspectors came in this morning, and the ride opened at 11:15 AM.
The two train system is good, but it is pretty hard when they had to release the lapbars a grand total of 3 times on the same train becuase some morons kept pushing the lapbars down (ride ops, not guests push the lapbars on Xcelerator).
Other than that, the future looks bright for the one and only rocket coaster!
*** This post was edited by CoasterFanMatt on 7/2/2002. ***
Actually 2 train operation won't really get the capacity that much higher. From launch to brakes it's 25 seconds, and it doesn't take much longer before the train is waiting to enter the station. The train attempting to enter the station can not advance until the train ahead of it is on it's way down the top hat, and by the time it's fully parked I'd hazard a guess that the train ahead is in the second overbank, and about 15-20 seconds from being stopped to wait to enter the station. Fort Knotts should have built a seperate unload platform so people won't be stuck there, or they should have ordered a longer ride to use more of that kinetic energy.
-Ride_Op
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Round 2 of the NoLimits Tournament of Champions now underway at Ride_Op Coaster Productions! http://rideop.twistedrails.com
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"Escuse me, can you tell me where the heck the Mystery Lodge is"?
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A CoasterForum Member
www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/index.php?referrerid=211
I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. ;)
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"Escuse me, can you tell me where the heck the Mystery Lodge is"?
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Chris Knight
Jeff, Did you forget to feed the Raptor again? That Raptor is not in a good mood.
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Can we change the name of Top Gun to your mom so no one wants to ride your mom?
I love all the new rides that have come to SoCal, but they are all capacity nightmares. (Deja Vu, X, & now Xcelerator) Personally, I'm done with prototypes or first-of-a-kinds. Give me a solid well-proven design with a good layout.
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Nothing... NOTHING... can prepare you for... the Fourth Dimension!
Here, here Soggy!
Anyways,
Does the train sitting outside of the station sit around the turn while waiting for the other train to move? It can't sit on the brake run, because if there is a malfunction, won't the other train collide, or is that brake run split into two sections?
Seatbelts must be visually inspected and tested before the lap bars can be lowered... plain and simple..
Rob Coker and I rode XC on Tuesday, the 2nd. A very nice ride, but it needed to be about 800-1,000ft longer. There was plenty of room to add that extra track, trust me. I have photos of both trains, but I cant develop and post them until I get home Saturday morning. Ride time is 27 seconds, but the crew load times were 5-7 mins on the 2nd. Slow, but no where near the whopping 15 minute cycle time of Perilous Plunge (aka 5 point plunge :P)
And yes, the train sits about 10 feet from the back of the station waiting for the train in the station to launch. Be prepared to sit at least 4-5 mins waiting for that station to clear.
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WCUSA-The World's largest theme park is coming!
Theme parks will NEVER be the same!
*** This post was edited by Chris Godsey on 7/4/2002. ***
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Nothing... NOTHING... can prepare you for... the Fourth Dimension!
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Can we change the name of Top Gun to your mom so no one wants to ride your mom?
Yes, but CP wasnt under the spotlight after a ride death. Knotts is being very careful with both of their latest attractions. The ops are tightening the belts as much as they can along with using their weight to press the lapbars down far. On one occasion, the op actually caused Robert to go, "OUCH!"
I think the slow cycle time is just part of the operator's learning curve. Give them a month or two.. they will have that down to close to 2 mins. They also are not opening the ride when the park opens in the morning. On the 2nd, it didnt open till around 11:30.They were doing some work on one the rollback fins early that morning. We watched them cycle the trains several times, then both trains were backed up into the brake/transfer area until it opened.
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*** This post was edited by Chris Godsey on 7/5/2002. ***
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