gemini trims

Last night the gemini had its trims off and it was one of the best rides ever. We went throught the first set of brakes and we were like whoa, it was much better and at the end before the helix with out the trim brakes is so much better no one was ready going into it though. Any one else ride it last night??

Gemini has trims? Where?

During the turnaround.

And when I went yesterday during the day, The trim on the turnaround, and the trims before the helexes(sp) were slow the trains down so much they would JUST make it to the top! It was 2 very bad rides for me. :(

Hmmm...Most of the rides I have taken this season have been a really good combination: No trim on the high turnaround, then a heavy trim just before the helix. I've been through the helix with no trims; quite frankly, I appreciate it more trimmed.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I'm with Dave on this one. Those helixes at the end are a bit rough with the trims fully off -- they're still great, but it's just a bit too rough in the pullout at the end.

Like Ken said,

Those helixes at the end are a bit rough with the trims fully off

and I agree with him. But it is a great ride with the trims off at the turnaround.

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Mozilla may have taken two years to reach v1.0, but it is more stable and secure than IE will ever be.

The b-side helix (oddly enough, they are called "spirals" in the Gemini handbook) is especially rough. I refused to test ride it last year because the trims weren't on (because of empty trains cycling) and it hurt like crazy. I often wonder, in the same breath, if it would be possible to make the helices smoother. I know it would be a rather substantial investment, but it would help the ride a lot.

Another interesting line of thought came from one of my supervisors last year who wanted the helices taken out completely in favor of extra trim/safety brakes so we wouldn't have to fudge with the trims before the final turnaround. This would increase airtime on the final hills dramatically and would substantially reduce downtime (yay for stacking, eh?) It would also kill the ride's climax and lower capacity (boo for stacking, eh?)

I love the Gemini, and I still partially think that one of its best features is its extremely erratic nature. Sometimes, it is incredible; other times, it is rough and slow. I suppose that knocking a good ride is frivolous, but I can't help but wonder if a few calculated track changes would make a good ride...umm, gooder.

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I am still the Geminazi!

rawr!

I love the ride without trims, whenever I see the ride with the little light on by the ride op, I make sure to hop on...the helices never disappoint.

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June 28th: LocoBazooka Tour (Sevendust headlining)
July 11th: Korn, Puddle of Mudd, and Deadsy

The red train was stopped on the track at the first set of trims tonight. Only the blue train was running.

Actually upon closer examination, one of the red trains was parked starting up the lift, one on the midcourses and one was valleyed in the helix???..... anyone know how this happened???

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~ Josh M. ~
3 footers + Fence = 400' Ride? (Even Ms. Cleo couldnt call that one!)
"I will never doubt the forces of physics again"~Passenger leaving MF

Ripcord Crew '02
'02 MF Rides: 00
'02 Wicked Twists: 00

Gemini rolled back yesterday from what I hear and what it sounds like here. Maybe it was as they were transferring off for the night or something - I'm not really sure what time it happened.

-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

As they re-build the ride I think some calculated changes have been made. That front-end turnaround (over the station) has apparently been lowered a little on the right-hand track about half-way through. I noticed that one last season. It's a very subtle change, but it makes that blue train just sort of take off halfway through the turn...

Personally, I think Gemini may be the most totally engineered coaster in the park. Every detail of that ride is carefully planned, much more so than on the more recent rides. Right down to the pedestrian traffic flow through the entrance and exit ramps (which, in case you hadn't noticed, are shaped like the Gemini logo). Ever notice that when Gemini is running six trains it is more of a 'dueling' coaster than Lightning Racer...and it's still a side-by-side racer?

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Ride man your an idiot if something is on the inside of the track it's gonna go faster around the track because it got a shorter distance to go there for it takes less time for it to go through. So no matter how much you want to think that they changed the track they didn't.

Ooops...another 13 year old who doesn't know grammar or punctuation, AND has no idea who he's responding to.

I suggest you read the TOS, little one, before you get booted.

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead

Idiot? Hardly. I'm sure he has been on the ride enough to know if changes have been made, and frankly could make you look really stupid if you wanted to talk tech. He isn't stupid, he knows the inside of a circle is smaller.

Besides, the track is a figure-8, so both tracks are in fact about the same length.

OldCPer said:

I suggest you read the TOS, little one, before you get booted.

Too late!

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP, Sillynonsense.com
"We used to hate people, now we just make fun of them. It's more effective that way." - KMFDM, "Dogma"
*** This post was edited by Jeff 7/10/2002 2:37:07 PM ***

Actually Bus, they did change the track several years back. And i have to agree that the gemini is a great ride with the trims off, IF you are prepared for it. To a normal guest that has no idea about trims and what they do or where they are, those spirals are rough with the trims off.

I have a question to throw out to you guys, a guest approached me and told me that a long time ago she used to work the gemini and they ran 8 trains instead of six (before seatbelts were installed) is this true? In some ways I see that being completely possible but in others I think it is insane. Let me know if anyone knows the answer to that. thanks

Dana
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Camp Snoopy ATL '00
Camp Snoopy TL '01
Gemini TL '02

I don't think Gemini has enough blocks to run more than six (in fact, in Another Park I Can Name, it doesn't have enough blocks to run six!). Okay, sure, there is a brake on the transfer table which could potentially serve as an additional block, but the track is level there so if the train stops on the transfer table, it has to be pushed off...and the timing is wrong. Mine Ride was built to run five trains, but Gemini can't run more than six. Besides, the interval with six is almost insanely short as it is, and with 3,300 PPH running through the ride the riders literally can't keep up with it even with both entrances open.

As for changes to the ride...I know that a number of years ago (ca. 1996) the block brakes in the middle of the ride were moved forward a few feet in order to allow the trains to easily roll out of the brakes without the need to push them. Of that much I am certain. I'm less certain of the thing I noted earlier (and got flamed for by bus). Yes, the inside train has always crept ahead on that turn by virtue of being on the inside of the curve. Starting last year something else was happening there...I think the 'downtrack' end of the curve has been lowered slightly. It's very slight, and it is equally possible that they just tightened the curve slightly. If you've ever watched Gemini wake up on a cold morning, you can see why they might do such a thing to that curve. Remember, all of the supporting structure there has been replaced......

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I rode the Gemini back in the early 80's. It is true about the seatbelts. I remember mom telling me that all that was needed to hold me in was the lapbar. I seem to remember the single seatbelt being added in the late 80's. This was in conjunction with a lot of other changes; seatbelts on the turnpike cars, flat rides, Giant Wheel and Blue Streak. There must have been a law passed or some changes to Ohio's safety codes regarding amusement rides.

I don't remember what year the seat belts were added, but it was fairly recent. I don't think it was a law change, but Cedar Point's standards have changed a little. The year that they added the seat belts, the ride opened with individual seat belts just like the ones on Magnum, and that's how it ran...with four trains...until the first week of June. As soon as they tried to run it with six trains and seat belts, they switched to the shared belts that the ride has now.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.
*** This post was edited by RideMan 7/11/2002 10:14:46 AM ***