Gemini being removed? ... Wildcat coming back?

WolfBobs said:

If they get a Mouse I hope they would keep the height to 40 or 42"...

Considering Knott's (a CF park) set 44" for their Mack mouse, there's no reason to think there would be a different requirement at CP. After all, Xcelerator & TTD are both set to 52", Silver Bullet & Raptor are both 54", Supreme Scream & Power Tower are both 52", etc.

That said, 44" is fine. That means by 6 years old most kids would be able to ride with parent or older sibling.

Gemini does not need a new control system from what I've heard - it uses dead simple relay logic and should be easy to repair. Not sure though.

^CF likes to be consistent, that's why they set Iron Dragon to 48" a few years back. Sometimes it makes no sense though, as Iron Dragon is a completely different ride than Bat. And also, SV and TT are different height restrictions despite, just like bat, being simply different scale/intensity variants of the same ride model. (Not saying TT should go up.)

bgiese said:
3. Left side of track gets much more use;so wear is uneven .

That’s just poor planning on CP’s part if it’s true. They could’ve alternated between Red & Blue to keep wear & tear equal.

That said, why does it ever seem like a good idea to run 2 trains on one side of the track opposed to 1 train on each track during slower times?

They used to run red and blue very equally. I think the change happened when the elevators were installed (only on one side) and now the blue side?? (elevator side) has to run when only one side is in operation.

^ The elevator goes to red, so when it’s one side ops it’s red.

Running two sides requires two crews. Two trains on one side is half the crew of one train on each side.

One side operation isn’t as common as they make it out to be. This past season especially, they had Gemini ready to go at 11am with both sides and two track operation went through mid-Halloweekends. Save for the bulk of May and the last few weeks of October, Gemini raced more than ever this year.

Magic Mountain decommissioned one side of Colossus years before the ride closed. Even the track started to show signs of decay while the other side rolled on. That is hardly the case with Gemini.

Cartwright said:
^ The elevator goes to red, so when it’s one side ops it’s red.

Running two sides requires two crews. Two trains on one side is half the crew of one train on each side.

One side operation isn’t as common as they make it out to be. This past season especially, they had Gemini ready to go at 11am with both sides and two track operation went through mid-Halloweekends. Save for the bulk of May and the last few weeks of October, Gemini raced more than ever this year.

Magic Mountain decommissioned one side of Colossus years before the ride closed. Even the track started to show signs of decay while the other side rolled on. That is hardly the case with Gemini.

For 2018, Gemini generally ran both sides until 8p.

Also, MM did not decommsion one side of Colossus “several years” before the reconstruction. Leading up to the final year they left the backwards trains on the left side and only ran it during Fright Fest.

A lot of days the trains ran half full and both sides were walk-ons.

^During the last Colossus Backwards in 2014, I seem to recall them using the right side of the station, the same side they used when I rode it forwards the previous year.

The right side of Colossus did not run at all in the last years of the life of the ride. The left side was the only operating track for both forward and backward rides. In January 2014 when I was there, the tracks and lift chain of the right track had significant rust on them that was not seen at all on the left side. I want to say the right side closed for good in 2011.

And why they run one side ops on Gemini with Red makes sense, I always wondered that. I do recall one time last year seeing it run blue only. I would guess mechanical issues with the red side.

^^By right side, I am talking about the right side coming out of the station, which according to a POV, goes up the LEFT side on the lift.

The current TC station is the former left station which is more like the right side of the former Colossus through most of the layout. That's the side that was closed IIRC.

Gemini is not going anywhere anytime soon. In terms of a racing coaster, it is the tops. The constant back and forth on the turns with the high fives that go along with it, makes it the best.

As for being 40 years old, big deal, the ride still gets great numbers of riders throughout the season. There is always a cost to replacing the ride.

Demolition costs and the cost of the replacement. Are you going to be able to put an attraction in that rectangular piece of property and get a bigger bang.

By the way, Blue side of Gemini rules, hands down. No comparison to the red side.

Just Coasting said:

There is always a cost to replacing the ride.

Demolition costs and the cost of the replacement.

These are relatively minor one time costs compared to an older attraction with high maintenance and operation costs.

Are you going to be able to put an attraction in that rectangular piece of property and get a bigger bang.

Gemini sits on nearly 4 acres. Maverick takes up a bit over 3.5 acres. The shape of the area is not a big deal. Designers are creative.

Why is everyone's say Gemini is old. Look how old Blue Streak is. Blue Streak will be at CP until the end of time :-) Gemini and SFMM Colossus opened the same year 1978. Gemini is a fun coaster, but I kinda wish Gemini had a similar layout like the original Colossus. after the first 180 turn all the drops go down to ground level with a double up and double down hills. That for me made original Colossus a better coaster. Especially during Colossus PTC trains days.

I think they’ll keep Gemini. If they put in a wild mouse coaster, they could put it in between the new stage by Windseeker & WT if they plan the layout the right way.

I don’t think maintenace costs are that high on Gemini. Most of the components are basic in operation compared to the newer rides. As someone mentioned above, I’m sure there’s mostly hard wired relay logic for the control system. The motors on the lifthills are nothing special, typical 480V 60Hz. Which I think they may have been retrofitted with VFDs to optimize energy efficiency.

Imo, if (and that's a big IF) they do anything with Gemini in the near future, it will be the Twisted Colossus treatment. And I'm sure it would be very popular for many more years.

Gemini needs to stay the same. Its a good coaster for kids building up courage to ride the bigger machines.

DRE420 said:
Imo, if (and that's a big IF) they do anything with Gemini in the near future, it will be the Twisted Colossus treatment. And I'm sure it would be very popular for many more years.

That would literally be a second Steel Vengeance next to Steel Vengeance.

Yo dawg, I heard you like Steel Vengeance so I put another Steel Vengeance so you could enjoy some more Steel Vengeance while you ride Steel Vengeance.

But the idea of RMCing Gemini to the point of twisted colossus doesn't make sense. Trackwork would be plausible, but I'm thinking more along the lines of refurbishing old track, and keeping the layout the same. New trains and whatnot. It's still a tame ride.