I can't imagine GL without the monorail

I will be really wierd not seeing it there. It probably has seen better days it still was a unique relaxing ride. I believe the monorail was one of the first new additions to GL after the purchase in 1969

ok........

Along with the skyscraper...

Monorails first year was 1968. It was routed so it went around The Whip and The Scrambler on the lake side midway that year. Skyscraper was installed in 73 or 74.

It's not that hard to imagine. It's easy if you try.

What are they going to put in place of it? AND why are they taking it out?

GL used to have the whip? Man, that was one of my favorite rides at Dorney Park.

CPboy77 said:
What are they going to put in place of it? AND why are they taking it out?

The answer to the first question is, nobody knows... except for the powers that be. Good chance it won't be anything, at least for 2007.

As for question number two, there are lots of reasons: it's prone to breakdown, maintenance costs are prohibitive, replacement parts probably have to be custom manufactured, it's an older ride with low ridership, the layout doesn't make sense given the enlarged footprint of the park, and they're clearing space for future attractions.

That's all I can think of.

i think you put it to rest Ensign ;)

Somebody had to. It was just my turn. ;)

Don't worry Ensign, when school lets out tomorrow and he's allowed to use the computer in the day care room he'll complain to you about not letting him have an opinion about it being removed.

We should make "Why is ____ being removed?" a FAQ... ;)

If anyone had ridden the monorail shortly before it closed for good you could see the majority of the ride took you through was the old Hurricane Hannah area which shortly after WWK opened became pretty ucky. If you liked looking at old moldy water slides, stagmit water and an ancient abandoned water park it was a great ride.

I will however agree that it was a relaxing thing to do especially with no sky ride at GL. The monorail made that part of the park fit in with the "50's" type theme they had going.

Jo
Lifetime Raptor flights: 1163 :)

The best part of the monorail was operating it. When it worked, the ride was extremely easy to run, and it was a ride I really enjoyed working.
It is sad to see the ride go, but it has had better days.

One of the fun things to do while operating the ride was making fake explanations as to why the ride slowed down next to Rt. 43.

For me, it is more sad to see the monorail go than X-Flight.

-Sam

By the way, it wasn't really a monorail, as there were actually 5 rails on that ride.

*** Edited 12/12/2006 8:15:20 PM UTC by Avalanche Sam***

I must say that my strongest memories of the monorail involve the "timely" breakdowns that occured with regularity. Like when it caught a racoon on the track... not too pretty. Or when it shut down just before closing and folks were up on the rail for an hour or two after closing. It will be strange not having on top of the Potato Co., but if they weren't up for the costs of a quality refurb then it's best for it to move on.

We have to look at the positive part of removing the Monorail. Granted I never rode it, but when I did it was just as relaxing as the Skyride at Cedar Point. At least now that the monorail is gone they can think of a new transportation system. Maybe they could bring in another skyride and make it go to the other side to WildWater Kingdom.

I too will miss the monrail as I dont rember GL without it. But it needed to go so I am hoping there will be something to replace it someday. I do not think that a skyride type ride over the lake is feasable though. In case of a malfunction it would be difficult to get riders out over the lake. They could go around the lake, but that seems unlikely. The possibliity of a train has been brought up and it seems like a very family friendly ride to add.

The problem with building on the lake has always been its soft bottom. As it was explained to me, because its a "natural spring lake" the lake bed is mud for quite a bit down; which i think is also part of the source of rumors that they can't measure how deep the lake is. Either way building something that needs footers any distance from the shore is not feasable in the slightest. Or so i've been told by many who know more than myself.