Gazza

Err, hi.... We have a forum specifically for introducing yourself: http://www.parkz.com.au/forums/in...hp?showforum=34 Dont post stuff like that in other places.

Hope I dont sound too critical, but the main point of doing a recreation is to accurately portray a park, rather than having one that pulls in people (It doesn't matter that you could only get 1000 people) Though what you have done looks awesome, I guess you could always just delete the rides within the buildings when you are done.

It could also be that B&M hold a patent on the Clamshell design they use. Intamin could have played around and adapted the inverted U shape they use on El Toro for Accelerators too since that would be a design Intamin would consider safe if they are willing to sell a ride like it. But as you said It mightn't be feasible to redesign them, many accelerators are being built with inversions anyway. Personally I like them using the "lap 'n' strap" design simply because trains can be loaded faster than lap bars which require two checks (seatbelt, then the actual bar) This made things very slow on Xcelerator compared to SE.

In the meantime, can you give a run down of the segment.

Yes, it could be its own topic, but IMO they should refit all of SEs trains with the newer design: http://www.rcdb.com/m/ig3617.htm?picture=25 The section of the straps where the neck is has been made wider which could help with comfort, though I think a padded sheath should be on top of this too.

Well they could try and do something with the slide to make it different from the Rip (If we are getting cannon bowls), if it's a dual installation they could push a competitive aspect in a similar manner to Speedcoaster, or they could enclose the ride and add lighting effects (Like Disco H20 at WnW in Orlando) and push that aspect. It could also simply be that they want to have a new ride they can market when WnW inevitably advertises the Halfpipe. I too would rather see other slide types at this point, but hey its all extra capacity.

I can sort of half get what you are saying (I had thought spring loading would help since all the wheels don't touch the track at all times which would have to contribute a bit) Basically, are B&M/Intamins smoother because the wheel assemblies on each side of the train can twist indepentently and are completely separate (like the wheels on shopping trolleys) whereas on a Vekoma/Arrow the wheels on each side of the train are always parallel and in the same relative position because the assemblies share a mechanical linkage?

Somebody cut off Daffy Duck's foot! In seriousness though think we are getting Cannon Bowl slides (1 or 2 person raft) and ta for the pics BTW. The oddly shaped saffron coloured section next to the ute (pic 2) and the pink one (pic 3) look like the sections that are placed where the tunnel transitions into the bowl: Since they are both the same we could be up for a dual installation. I would hope though they make them enclosed though to set the ride apart from the rip. In the fourth pic you can barely see this, but behind everything else you can see the flatter sections that would make up the rest of the bowl. Harden up mate Its the only truly extreme ride at the park, and here you are complaining about others not "riding anything decent"

^Agreed, though a cheaper fix could be just to replace the wheel assemblies with spring loaded ones, and as T-Bone said change the restraints. It could be hard for the park to justify this expense though since it wont do much else other than make the people who ride it happier, maybe if it were packaged with perhaps a theming upgrade and new effects then they could market the ride as a better version then.

Perhaps this could explain why SE has had such a good run reliability wise when compared to other Accelerators. The GCs climate must lend itself more to better operation than some of the European and North American Accelerators.

What's even worse though, you missed out on the new coaster by a month .

I think you just offended every ride op on this forum.

Was that aimed at me? I dont have my personal name in my forum account, but I use my real name for when I submit galleries here etc.

But then again your profile has a link to your businesses website which makes things a bit easier in identifying you. Still, if somebody had a strong desire to spill the beans on stuff they could do it if they gave nothing away...but I guess then people wouldn't take them seriously then

Is this that Sesame St area John Menzies mentioned in an interview?

It's hard to tell from the photos, but are we sure its going to be a hydraulic launch like other accelerators? The launch track doesn't seem to have the central catch car rails, and there is no sign of a bunker room for the hydraulic motor. What could you see from your visit? Good pics by the way, annual passholder again now?

Ah, but DW has hundreds of employees, how could they pin down one?

Yeah, but his pass was $79.00.

I dont think he is acting like that at all, he is just saying what he can and I think some people have got a bit of tall poppy syndrome happening, here we have a member who is knowledgeable and people are cutting him down. Actually, I think it is the opposite, people are acting as if he knows nothing just because he isn't in management. I mean how many times have we heard about other members who work at parks telling us about stuff that has been stuck up in the staff room, in newsletters etc. Just because parks are secretive toward the public and media doesn't mean they would be the same way toward staff. But the funny thing in all this is that we pretty much do no nothing except for what Richo has been able to gather and put in articles, we are all just speculating. Whereas DW ride op has first-hand sources.... I think this stems from the fact that a lot of members here are young and don't understand the way workplaces operate simply because they have never worked in one before. They arent all autocratic monsters. IMO it is really stupid to say that Management would be the only ones to know about the new ride at this late stage. Yeah maybe this would have been the case a few months back when nothing was happening, but the thing is half built so of course they would have to answer staff questions, tell them changes etc etc.

I thought I'd put this here since it is more relevant, but here are some pics to show just how much better GDs theming used to be, with things to do in the queue, thematic elements outside, even op uniforms that looked the part:

I dug around, it was a while back but it was from this post: http://www.parkz.com.au/forums/in...ost&p=30890 I got the figure wrong from what i read by saying 150k. The main thing I was saying to TOT was that the cost of theming for rides is often far less than the cost of the ride itself, so you wouldn't gain much by not spending money on theming. PS, $269000 is probably wrong too, but that isn't the main point of what I am saying anyway.... And T-Bone is right, newer attractions such as the Claw, Wiggles World etc look pretty good. But the older stuff like GD, TOT has become ugly. The new version of the vintage cars looks pretty bad too.

Well, obviously not all the nuts and bolts, but in this context you were using it to say he wouldn't know a terrible lot about the new ride. In other words you were dismissing what he had posted, even though this would be something he did know

Come on people, cut the guy some slack, in the HS article I posted they were talking of a September holidays opening, which means we are less than 3 months out from opening. To put into perspective at my work we were told we were getting major new system at work 5 months before it was actually implemented. I'm positive DW ride op (and all the other operations folk) would be pretty well in the know at this late stage. I mean, he is in a better position to know the go than everyone else here since management would be more likely to divulge facts to employees than the media (which is where we get a lot of our information from, on a side note there is a general feeling that Mac Leisure is particularly secretive with the media, but who is to say that they are this way with employees too, for all we know it could be very open within the company) . And lets face it, what he is saying is plausible. That doesn't mean anything, Intamin already has got one of their ZacSpin's (Ball Coaster) in operation, and another under construction, but still nothing on the company website. You cant be serious. Hmmm, from what you have heard....So DW Ride op has heard it from management, and you? Where all this confusion is coming from is how the ride is marketed versus what the ride actually is. Make sure you see a distinction. Obviously from the size most coaster enthusiasts would see it as a family ride. However the park could market it any way they wanted, and at current its all just hearsay to say if they are going to go one way or the other. There could be merit in saying its a "big six" ride as it makes the parks lineup seem more impressive, but there is also merit in marketing it in a non threatening manner so more people (eg families, 8-12 year olds) are willing to try it.

Just letting you know to watch your spelling/grammar there mate, you're supposed to do that on this site Yes, you can go to the big brother house, but only during the off season, when they offer free tours. You access the house via a path through the bush, which you can see in the picture I put in my last post. Have a look at http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/ride.php?rid=254 as it has plenty of info on the Big Brother house when it is open to the public.

250m