Flipper

No offense intended, but on those aforementioned days following Quantum's shutdown was when Tidal Wave had a day off, Detonator had a day off and then Zodiac (which I'd forgotten about) took a few days out.

Just to clarify your post which I sort of understand where many don't. LC is saying if 50% of each ride is R&R, a 30 minute 'normal wait' for Stealth will become an hour. In the hour you're virtually queuing in the normal queue, he could RNR Stealth, for in an hours time (assuming the RNR time is for an hour) and thus ride Stealth twice, in exchange for an hour of queuing, in exchange for riding twice over the form of queuing for 30 minutes, twice, if RNR wasn't operating. Although just being blunt here your philosophy is flawed. If RNR is 50% of main queue, a 30 minute queue would become 15 minutes worth of 'people' for a non-RNR day as the other 15 mins will be using RNR. Double the time to allow that it's 50% allowance to both, and thus, you're in a 30 minute Stealth queue still - so I don't understand your point. The virtual queue takes 50% out of the queue, and in exchange makes the main queue line the same length as if RNR wasn't running if you follow what I'm saying? But who cares, Stealth isn't working anyway at the moment so as Mark9 said, if you don't like RNR and only like Stealth, might as well go to Towers.

I might be wrong though, but I'm pretty sure there hasn't been a day yet this season with full ride availability...? Considering Slammer, Quantum, Detonator, Tidal Wave, and Stealth have all spent a day / days closed. I think the only exception was the day that Slammer returned and Quantum died for a bit, for all of about an hour.

Very true. You probably wouldn't see an Intamin coaster hanging on by the skin of its teeth like that given its records

I'm speaking on the terms of online reviews, and general attire of attitude of enthusiasts whom have. Although Benin has lovingly made a point to agree.

I know what you're saying LC. And it is lose-lose, but I still feel within myself the standby queue is hindering; but then with the points you've made you give good reason to have it. I doubt it will run through Summer Nights though, and since its free might as well use it during the day?

I think both incidents are a real shame. I think Mark9 can agree with me that it feels quite surreal that a roller coaster can so spectacularly have an incident as Ninja has, especially when you think it was merely weeks since I rode it (Mark you rode it shortly after me, didn't you?). It's lucky that it actually stayed where it was, as the photos suggest it was held on by one wheel, if any at all and perhaps just the car connector. But equally with so many trees amiss it's ride area, mixed with it's swing and speed it always did feel like you'd hit the trees, just still in shock that it actually has (although I appreciate the tree has fallen). Equally shocked with the ZacSpin. Considering it's bars I'm struggling to understand how it's failed. I've never been on the ZacSpin at SFMM and never visited another park with one (I have no intention to ride one either), but this is yet another nail in the box of Intamin Accidents. I'd almost suggest that they must be pushing their luck as being one of the manufacturers with the most incidents now, no? I do feel deeply sorry for the Icelandic family whom lost their child though, must be such a horrific event.

Thing is, and I'm expecting people to stab at this comment but this is my opinion; it's all well and good offering Reserve and Ride on every ride going, I don't mind; but it needs to drop the 'standby' queuelines. At first, it was RNR and thats it. Now you're trying to juggle two, which makes RNR'ers wait, and main queue lines in excess of an hour and a lot of grumpy people. I'd personally like to see the mentioned rides be RNR only, no standby, whilst keeping other rides available such as Zodiac, Dodgems, 4D, Detonator, Rumba, Fish (why is it even on there?!) etc. so there's still enough to cater for people.

Depends on the ride. It doesn't give SLC's life. Woodie's yes. Colossus no. SAW, I still don't find it as bad on the whole as most do, but I do feel it occasionally (usually when the car has six people in). I still stand by my previous comment though. Gerst isn't a 'renowned to be rough' manufacturer; it just seems to be odd rides / elements. Ever heard of people complain about Takabishia?

Thank you! On paper, Swarm's baggage room isn't understaffed as it has to open with two. It needs more than two. It needs about ten people in there.

Considering it's fourteen loops, and it isn't exactly slow; I wouldn't particularly call it rough... I mean yeah, it has a jolt, but other than that it doesn't clatter your head around anywhere near what SAW can do, or even like a Vekoma can.

This whole 'Because its a gerst' crap around SAW is pretty unfair on the company to be fair. Gerstlauer have made very reliable, and very smooth rollercoasters (Rage, Cobra, Troublesome Trucks - I wont say Speed as I haven't ridden it) but the three forementioned alone prove that it's not a manufacture trait. Smiler is hit and miss, it has issues in the cobra yes, but other than that it is smooth. SAW just has issues with drive wheels and sensors. When you consider how many cars its running on it's circuit and that most Eurofighters around that time ran three cars, not eight, it's no surprise its never been perfect.

I'd stay open minded. Just because 'The Asylum' is gone, doesn't mean it can't be tweaked with a new 'story' and name, to be basically the same maze. It's pretty easy to put some actors pushing mesh with flashing lights and a guy with a chainsaw into a maze concept..

I've only ever used Single Rider on Nemesis and Smiler at Towers, and I find Smiler's is hit-and-miss but Nemesis can be quite well paced. Having said that, if someone says to me 'Row 6' I go to row six, sit down, bar down, belt in, with no bag or stupid footwear so I guess 'straightforward' guests like me make little issue. I do credit the way they seem to just shout 'Single' and the row number, when they need one. Smiler's I find can result in the station batching not being as good as it could be. Smiler should easily have two trains, if not three (like SAW should have three) trains batched in the gates. But the single rider, can stop this happening. Stealth's? I don't recall ever using. But I would say with Stealth's it'd be much quicker to try and place groups of three together, over three rows; and batch it well like that so you'll never exceed one empty seat on a train; over batching a train, filling empties, batching the next, filling the empties - flooding the platform and organising guests works much better I think - and nothing else is set up to cater for single's.

Carnage is it? Surely it should be accredited that things didn't go smoothly, they extended opening by an hour, and despite having issues all day, actually opened Stealth, weather it was for a day, or for twenty minutes during the time extension. Could have easily left it closed. Good on the park tbh there.

Just to highlight on this Swarm's bag room will not open on a one train operation, because it doesn't need to. Due to the nature of loading and offloading at the same place, people can leave their bags alongside the gates, ride, climb off, and take their bags with. I don't see an issue with that? On two trains, the bag room is open. It has to be. And always has a minimum of two staff in it, one loading one offloading. Offloading is slower because by the time everybody walks around from the far side, to the bag room, the next train can be in and offloading, creating queues when staff are dealing with probably best part of five-to-ten groups queuing at any given time, whilst the loading side, is battling it out trying to take bags in. Another big issue with Swarm's bag room is the fact it runs out of places to put bags. Even when you get groups to share, and with best part of sixty 'big bag' boxes, everybody has big bags now. Even handbags have become a lot more rigid and chunky, thus filling up boxes quicker. So, if you consider a backwards queue for six trains on each side, and each side potentially holding six trains of forwards seating each, you're looking at the potential of 168 people queuing in the station alone to ride, with a further two trains loaded, and the potential of another two equivalent offloaded and making their way round or queuing. It's a lot of bags, and thus it creates the bag room to run out of boxes - yes, it's a bad design for that to happen - but it can't physically fit any more boxes in. So it's tough tits basically, and the staff clearly try to do the best they can at Swarm with the limitations they have.

I was referring more pre-domintently to the standard use speed, so the standard speed used on Tuk Tuk vs the standard speed on King Pig's, but I value you're point.

Clearly it gained enough confidence to come out. Maybe Han's been giving it Valium

I would recommend Magic Mountain and Disney too albeit they're both about an hour - hour and a half in opposite directions from LA. But Universal Hollywood is an incredible experience, and whilst I'd prioritise the other two, I'd still make an exception for it if you can as it's only ROT:Mummy as a roller coaster, Jurrasic Park as a water ride, and incredible shows and simulation attractions. Re: Knotts. It's so weird, and it's a park I wouldn't care to visit again. Still the only theme park I've ever seen that openly sells guns and blades in a shop on the park.

Just want to throw this in there, with a layout example and statistics for a 1170. http://www.gerstlauer-rides.de/products/roller-coasters/infinity-coaster/ Claiming 1200. No, maybe it is not entirely accurate or whatever. But I'd say that it's pretty close to what you're saying Fred. Considering Gerstlauer claim SAW can get some crazy number similar to that; and Cobra at Paultons (Bobsled 450) can achieve 720 per hour, it's clear Gerst are very good at over-exaggerating throughput realism (although I do sometimes question if it's their prospective that things can be operated differently to how they are set up, like I know Cobra can run six cars over five, and have quicker dispatches but potentially more shutdowns for spacing) but that aside, Gerst claiming 1200 is pretty close to Fred's claim of 1k. So lets believe Fred. __________ That aside. I think it's a matter of wait and see with R&R. I think it'll work if they still keep a 'standby' queue strategy and also keep tweaking it. But time will tell and I think its unfair for people to cast the parks efforts aside before it's been given at least it's trials to prove itself. It's a new system for the park, and a relatively new approach to things for any park - and being optimistic perhaps, but who will be laughing when Thorpe pull this off to work even if just on quiet days?

It was running faultlessly today, except for a small power problem within that area of the park for a while; I believe it ran without any 'solo' issues. Got two rides on it. And found a rekindled love for it.

I CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL! Contrary to what I said yesterday or whenever. Went on Stealth today with Han. And I don't think she noticed, but *a second train* I don't know what number was out on the transfer, like fully out, as if it was ready to be put to use; and then in the afternoon it had been rolled to just poke its nose out of the workshop. So another train is around. But if it can run or not, is yet to be seen.

I'm not sure, watching that video of Tuk Tuk makes me think there's little difference in speed?

Its hard not to love Screamin' it's just an Intamin that has every good bit of Intamin in one ride and everyone can love it. I said it on your blog post, I'm gutted you didn't get on X2 as it's by far my personal favourite coaster ever although it is a marmite rollercoaster it gives you such a incredible adrenaline rush as you drop vertically the 180ft or whatever, whilst flipping straight over California is very underrated too; considering you have two Six Flags, Disney, Knotts, SeaWorld, and endless 'boardwalk' parks like Santa Cruz to visit and try

Well given the fact that one side of Colossus isn't fit to operate due to the track being in a dismal state where half of it doesn't even have track anymore then I'm not surprised. I first rode it back in 2013, forwards; and it was a good woodie but it was just too rough. And then this year when I visited I rode it backwards for the sake of it and it was even worse. Shame because they spent a lot of money allegedly having B&M create new trains for it. I wouldn't be surprised if it gets a modern refurbishment, but I think it'll need both sides back. Magic Mountain have killed Colossus but building Apocalypse* - which is a far superior woodie for the modern day, alongside taking out the fun racing element of Colossus (also I would have loved to have ridden it back when all the control boxes around the ride were in use). But as far as I'm concerned I'm not going to miss it next year. I wouldn't have ridden it this year if it wasn't for the backwards gimmick - which they've done every Hallowe'en for the last few years anyway.