yay or nay - vampire at chessington
Was surfing at rcdb and noticed they removed the bodies from the Arrow suspended cars so they are now "floorless". Looks like a great idea. Would love wind around that German town on BBW like that.
Should this be done to all Arrow suspendeds?
Dale
having been on the vampire with the new and old cars, i personally prefer the old ones. the new trains are designed by vekoma, and they are headbanging in many places already, and the front seats have been closed off for most of the season because they were too rough at some points.
also, you cant really tell that the trains are floorless unless you bother to look down and see your feet which isnt really where you look when riding something like that.
plus, the new vekoma carriages are taller than the old arrow ones, and so trenches had to be dug for clearance reasons, now most of the ride area seems like someone has gone on a rampage with a bulldozer! vekoma also increased the price at the last minute, so the ride looks very unfinished in some areas due to the increased train cost. they were also delivered late and so the ride opened about 3 months late.
IMHO, there isnt much point in these new trains. the ride experience is not much different, and due to the typical vekoma muck ups, the ride is now ruined, its lost all of its old charm.
to see someone elses opinion on the new vampire, this page has the best review on the net:
http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/lane/xxg01/coasterkingdom/html/vampire_main.htm
hope that helps!
Dale Picolet said:Should this be done to all Arrow suspendeds?
I don't see where the return on investment would be. It might increase ridership on a particular ride, but I don't see how it would increase attendance, or revenue significantly. Maybe if you had a suspended with really, really low ridership in your park, but I can't really think of any that would fit that.
I'd imagine it be a pretty costly retrofit, and I don't see where the return on investment would come in most cases.
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If the shoe fits, find another one.
I was unaware that the change was done by Vekoma, let alone w/Vekoma cars....
I haven't been on a suspended since BBW was new, so I can't recall the makeup of the Arrow chassis, but what keeps them from just removing the fiberglass bodies on the Arrow cars?
Dale
due to the design of the arrow chassis', if the fibre glass bodies were removed then the seats would also have to go as they are attached to the body and not seperate.
i have tried to find a pic, but there are no good ones around.
laurence said:
due to the design of the arrow chassis', if the fibre glass bodies were removed then the seats would also have to go as they are attached to the body and not seperate.
i have tried to find a pic, but there are no good ones around.
The seats are attached to fiberglass? That doesn't sound very structurally safe.....
I was imagining them to be attached to the metal column that comes down behind each row of seats.....
Dale
Not only is the flight of the Vampire now taken in unsympathetic swinging purple picnic chairs, but instead of swooping over the trees, shrubs and long-grass of before, you instead scrape your way over messy channels, muddy puddles and scaffold platforms.
Quite the bleak take on the wonderfully 'improved' ride. That editorial is hilarious. I was excited to hear about the alteration at first, but after reading that, it certainly doesn't seem like it was a good idea. Or perhaps the idea was good, just not the execution.
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-Vater
Track Record: 116
and the front seats have been closed off for most of the season because they were too rough at some points.
Thats wrong actually, the offical reason why the Front Seats were closed is because the train was receieving a nasty jolt when engaging the second lift hill, basiclly the wheel under the trains were not lining up properly with the undercarriage on the lift hill, and you would then be bashed to the side, As I have been one of the lucky people to ride the Front Seats when it was open, I did notice the jolt, but it never seemed to bad at first. However it eventually got worse, and Chessington receieved loads of complaints about it, so they were forced to close the front seats . Vekoma have since returned to the park, and have made the train virtually stop to a halt on the brakes just before it engages the second lift, although this has now improved things, the front seats are still closed, and wont now reopen until Next season.
they were also delivered late and so the ride opened about 3 months late.
The Trains were actually delivered on time, and the only reason it was delayed was because of Vekoma going through its bankrupty, and the ride only opened 1 month late(not 3 months)
IMHO, there isnt much point in these new trains. the ride experience is not much different, and due to the typical vekoma muck ups, the ride is now ruined, its lost all of its old charm.
I complety agree with you, The Ride has now been virtually ruined, and Chessington should be ashamed of the job they have done, I mean they had a WHOLE season to make the changes, and its somehow been made a lot worse.
My View on the Floorless trains are that they are OK, but nothing spectacular, they do make the ride experienece a bit better(especially now at the front) but elsewhere, it feels exactly the same as before. Also Chessington didnt bother to paint the supports or Track, and its just Horrible, Also the queue line is in such a discusting state as well, Its full of rubbish, and has been virtually untouched all throughout the refit. The Station isnt much better either, and they broke the Organ Guy :(
I really hope that Chessington get their act together in the off season, because this refit could and should have been so much better,IMO All they need to do it tidy up the queue line, paint the supports, fix the Organ Guy in the Station and then everything will be just like how it was in the old days of the Vampire :)
Guess Arrow is planning for this anyways. I'm wondering if its for new coasters or if it works as a retrofit???
http://www.arrowdynamics.com/products/suspended/bodiless.php
Dale
PaulD said: Thats wrong actually, the offical reason why the Front Seats were closed is because the train was receieving a nasty jolt when engaging the second lift hil,...and you would then be bashed to the side
Hey, maybe I'm wrong, but isn't that the same thing as "the front too rough at some points?" A nasty jolt to the side sounds like roughness to me...and it doesn't really sound like he was wrong at all.
-Nate
*** This post was edited by coasterdude318 on 10/11/2002. ***
I've been on Vampire with both sets of trains, and honestly, I really did like the modifications a lot. We sat towards the back and didn't have much roughness at all...at least none that wasn't normally part of the ride.
We did think it was pretty funny that they couldn't load the front seat because of the jolts that car was getting when it hit the 2nd chain lift! So yeah, there is some typical 'Vekomaness' with the design! =)
I really thought it would add something to rides like Ninja or Top Gun. The trains seemed a lot less 'claustrophobic', and they were comfortable.
--Robb "Did I just say something nice about Vekoma???" Alvey
And...oh, yeah....Robb Alvey's 2002 Coaster Videos are now available....
www.themeparkreview.com
although this has now improved things, the front seats are still closed, and wont now reopen until Next season.
I know I posted this yesterday, and at the time, I actually thought it was confirmed that the front seats would not reopen until next season, but I'm very pleased to announce that the Front Seats on Vampire have now reopened as of Friday 11th October, and I took a trip to the park today for good measure :)
Anyway, I managed to get a front row seat, and its a lot better now, The Jolt which you normally receieved when engaging the second lift hill has complety disapeared, and the train now glides up the lift hill very smoothly. Basiclly Vekoma came back and altered the Guide Rail so that the wheel under the train does not bash into it anymore, this also means that the train is not stopping to a complete halt before the second lift hill either :)
Hey, maybe I'm wrong, but isn't that the same thing as "the front too rough at some points?" A nasty jolt to the side sounds like roughness to me...and it doesn't really sound like he was wrong at all.
the Actual Ride is quite smooth(At least I think so) and it was only in that one small part where the jolt was happening, Its not really roughness at all, It was just a jolt and a bad blunder by Vekoma when they placed the Guide Rail slighty off target with the wheel under the train when it was engaging the 2nd lift hill thats all. Anyway on my ride I took today, the Ride was again quite smooth, and The Jolt has disapeared :)
I really thought it would add something to rides like Ninja or Top Gun. The trains seemed a lot less 'claustrophobic', and they were comfortable.
I agree it would be great to see more of these on other suspended coasters, I would love to see them on Iron Dragon at CP, Can you imagine gliding round that Helix in a Floorless Train over the Water, HEAVEN OR WHAT :)
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Formerly known as CoasterCrazyOne
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SFNE Central- Online Six Flags New England Resource
http://sfne.licensetothrill.net
Devoted Intamin Lover for Life!
I rode it the opening week and I thought the new trains were much better. Not that I rode the original, but I've ridden Ninja, Top Gun, BBW, and Draggin Iron. I rode it in the front seat, and it was very smooth (except before the 2nd lift, but that wasn't too bad).
Just because one site gives it a bad review, doesn't mean to say the modifications are no good. The review on www.coastergrotto.com says that the changes a good and that it would make other suspendeds much better.
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Adam Black | adam@mouseinfo.com
www.americacoasters.com | www.mouseinfo.com
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