Zonga Vs. Texas Tornado?

Ok, so they took TT out of SFAW why? I'm...way after the fact, trying to understand why TT spent almost an entire year not running due to mechanical problems...then they move it and it works fine as ZONGA.

I know the only time, typically, that they move a coaster is if they are replacing one, or there was an accident.(like the removal of shockwave from SMM to SFAW) Well, I know they didn't add any new coaster at SFAW, and to my knowledge no one was injured...so why does SFAW get the crap end of the stick?

I guess it just pisses me off because I never got to ride it due to it being down.....well that, and I dont understand why they would just up and move a great Shwarzkopf coaster?

well, that and

Thriller didn't like the nasty Texas weather, or so goes the word on the street.

--Madison

well crap on that...

Yeah, hell damn fart!

OMG I have a new sig!!!

Simpsons fan, eh? ;)

The ride had problems with the heat over at the Texas park. I believe it had to do with either the wheels or the tire-lifts. The move to Northern California was a good one. The cooler weather allowed for it to operate more consistantly and it was a good trade-off for both SFMW and SFAW (which debuted two new rides in place of Texas Tornado).

I don't know - couldn't it also have something to do with the fact that it was the most G-force pulling (6.5 G) coaster on the planet and they didn't want to get sued by people with spine traumata from the ride?
At least they refurbished the ride and raised the two first (near circular) loops making the first drop smaller and lowering the Gs in those loops. The other two stayed the same however - and to me, they were even worse.
I know poeple argue they have ridden Thriller / Texas Tornado countless times without problem, I received a (thank god temporary) problem with the spine at my neck from this machine. I rode it in the very first installation of its existence, in Freiburg, Germany, when the ride still had only Lapbar restraints.
The restraint system now seems to help keeping the riders torso upright, so problems like in my case will not arise anymore.
There are so many Schwarzkopf-Lovers out there, and he definitely is a great man of coasters, but this one definitely reaches the limit of what a rider can safely be subjected to physically.
If it was up to me, I would tear it down, and built something even more fun in its place.

The third and fourth inversions have also been neutered. The trains are shorter so both those inversions are taken at a pretty slow speed. I certainly didn't feel 6.5 G's anywhere on that ride.

I don't know if you could call it reliable at SFMW. I was there for two weeks and I never saw it run more than one train, and more often than not, it was down all day. There were a number of times when mechanics had to push a loaded train back into the station.

Hobbes: "What's the point of attaching a number to everything you do?"
Calvin: "If your numbers go up, it means you're having more fun."

I've been to Vallejo in the summer...it's pretty hot there, too. My guess: SFAW couldn't get the budget to keep the ride running.

mOOSH

Maybe the ride was designed for German weather?

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One more post till 400!111!1!!

It may get hot in Vallejo, but you can't tell me it compares to how hot it gets in Houston.

-Nate

***edit, coasterdude318 beat me to it.***

Vallejo may have a few hot days here and there, but I doubt it if it ever gets "Texas Hot." It's in the SF Bay Area for God's sake, cool, drizzly and breezy most of the year. I went to the three Six Flags parks in Texas in the Summer of '01, and let me tell you, there is no way that the average summer's day temp in Vallejo could compare with Houston. Not sure if that is the official reason or not, but it seems possible. *** Edited 11/26/2003 6:48:43 PM UTC by Soggy***

Pass da' sizzrup, bro!

It gets hot, but not as hot as in Texas. Us Frisco-ans are blessed with 0% humidity and that natural air conditioning from the pacific. There are times in the dead of summer where we have to wear jackets.

Be that as it may, the ride still is wack. Thanks to fellow buzzer (superman) for answering my question why they went to OTSR's. I never know it caused (or was prone to cause) back injuries. The trains are ultra tiny and were obviously not made for OTSR's. I had to do some contortionist manuevers to get inside them. Once inside my head was whacked to oblivion. Since they nuetered the ride they should just use Greased Lightning's trains.

Fate is the path of least resistance.

Everything posted does and doesn't make sense. I mean, for one...that particular coaster used to be a moving attraction, no? It traveled all over Germany, so I would be under the impression it was designed to with stand weather changes/different environments...however, it does get hot as all get out in Houston. The thing is, they could have made those adjustments that they're making now here. (raised loops, shortened trains)

Yes SFAW got two new attractions, but neither was a coaster. I'm a die hard coaster freak, so if you take a coaster from one of my Texas parks....I expect you to replace it with another coaster.

Guess it just doesnt work that way.

Oh, also...How much does it cost to transport a coaster across the States? If you figure in all of the costs, it just doesn't seem practical.

superman said:I don't know - couldn't it also have something to do with the fact that it was the most G-force pulling (6.5 G) coaster on the planet and they didn't want to get sued by people with spine traumata from the ride?

I don't really think that had much if any to do with the move. Shockwave up at SFOT pulls a little below that has been operating with no problems since 1978.

slowmotion said:Yes SFAW got two new attractions, but neither was a coaster. I'm a die hard coaster freak, so if you take a coaster from one of my Texas parks....I expect you to replace it with another coaster.

Parks aren't catering just to "die hard coaster freaks." Besides, there isn't much to complain about with the swap. Tornado never operated and now they have 2 rides that do. Sounds like a more than fair trade to me. And isn't it the non-coaster rides that help make the lines for the coasters just a little bit shorter?

*** Edited 11/26/2003 7:31:57 PM UTC by The Shy One***

The bigger they are, the harder they brake

hmmm, I guess you were hot diddly doo dad mad when they removed Joker's Revenge at Fiesta Texas. Trust me, you ain't missing much. I am sure that fly swatter you have in its stead is more thrilling.

Fate is the path of least resistance.

"Oh, also...How much does it cost to transport a coaster across the States? If you figure in all of the costs, it just doesn't seem practical."

You already said it yourself, it's a portable coaster.. it's DESIGNED to be moved.

Good Lord. It's barely even the offseason and we already have a vs topic. ;) Not to mention it's the same coaster against itself! :)

I've often wondered from time to time, how to write good poetry- and make it all... Work.

Alledgedly the texas heat caused the train to slide back down on the curved lift. Its hard to say anything against that...

The exit of the fourth loop was altered many times in the first years of operation and together with the retrofitted OTSR the ride was perfectly ridable. It was a wild ride and explored the limits of what the human body can stand. But that´s what made the ride so great and made it almost legendary. (The Crystal Beach Cyclone isn´t so notorious for nothing either).

Note that the ride had this stupid accordeon OTSR which would drop down on you during the ride. You got literally "depressed" by them. But they never caused any headbanging! I don´t know about the new ones, but I heard that they make it difficult to board the train.

I wonder why SF decided to bring the ride to California and to SFMW. If they decided to alter (castrate?) the coaster because people will take their lawyer to californian parks, they could have sent it to SFMexico instead or to Belgium. Those parks and their surroundings are not spoiled by huge multiloopers (and they don´t have flashy B&Ms and Impulses as their neighbours.

Adix said:
"Oh, also...How much does it cost to transport a coaster across the States? If you figure in all of the costs, it just doesn't seem practical."
You already said it yourself, it's a portable coaster.. it's DESIGNED to be moved.

Yes, but they laid supports for a more permanent installation...plus, just because the thing was originally portable doesn't mean that it moved itself. My guess on the cost to transport that thing...say using 10 trucks would be somewhere in the ballpark of 6000 dollars. They could have used that to repair the coaster, no? Plus think about the cost of installing it at the new park.

Anyway, pretty useless topic at this point...apparantly if a coaster causes too many problems at a particular park (in Six Flags eyes) they just move it instead of using the money to fix the problems.