New S & S Spin Shot Retrofit

Check this out:

http://s-s.com/rides/spin-shot-tower/

The point being (if you choose not to read), S & S could swoop in and retrofit 1, 2, 3, or all 4 of Power Tower's towers with this design. Something old is something new.

I would certainly be all for it. Not for all the towers, per se, but at least 1, maybe 2. I have never had a chance to try a drop tower like Falcon's Fury.

Looks like fun. Do it to one of the "shot" towers as those generally have the least riders presently. I love spending the money for the Black Shirt Higher-ups.

Frankly, I'd be kind of surprised if they didn't do this to 2 of the towers. There is an overly large queue area that can be reworked to accommodate additional lines, and provide a couple new ride experiences for what one would assume to be a reasonable investment.

Unless there are plans to remove Power Tower in the relatively near future and use the space for something else, this seems like a no brainer.

Are there really fewer riders on the shot towers than on the drop towers, or does it just look that way because the shot towers operate at noticeably higher capacity due to a much shorter cycle?

Power Tower would be an ideal candidate for the retrofit, as there are four towers with two different rides. Retrofit one of each tower, and the complex would offer four unique ride experiences...maybe more if multiple rotation programs were offered.

Of course if they're gonna do anything with Power Tower they really should replace the signs on top with backlit versions, like Knott's has.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

^Dave, I don't even think it is close whatsoever as far as the ridership of shot vs. drop. Of course, all I have to go by is my "eyes judgement", no actual turnstile data. My sample size is 52 visits as of last weekend, granted Power Tower was not open on every visit. There was never a time that the shot line was longer than the drop line, even when they would have both drops operating and only one shot. And not just sightly more, usually drop had lines snaking through the queue, shot a few people waiting.

Did you do a "Ride Man" feature on Power Tower in the past? I'd be curious as to the time cited for greater efficiency of shot. It doesn't seem to be any quicker from load to end to me, however crew efficiency could be the factor.

One of each for retrofit would be nice, no double drop needed. On the other hand, some may want a double shot.

The thing is, unless the shot towers are idle of only partially loading, they will in fact give more rides in a given day than the drops because they have shorter cycles.

I just realized that I have never tried the "shot" towers.

Huh.

I like the view at the top, but in terms of "thrill" I actually preferred the old Demon Drop to Power Tower despite its much shorter stature. I would definitely welcome to the change.

I'll admit this was the first year I tried the power tower at all just never wanted to before. Didn't try drop but shot is awesome. I'd this upgrade would be awesome! But from an ops sense how much would it change the way the rides operate?

Granted they are just renderings but if the ride vehicle sticks out from the tower that much, I am curious the amount of modifications that would need to be done to the footprint to accommodate this type of upgrade on Power Tower. The fence around the towers is already close and beyond that the control booth is squeezed in pretty tight. That whole space with the queue, booth, operator areas, and exit doesn't leave much room for change. Would definitely be cool to see done though.

Yes, there is considerable difference in ridership from shot side to drop side. There was only a handful of days last season that drops ridership was less than shot. Whenever scheduled to run 3 towers, it was always 2 drop 1 shot, unless maintenance reasons said otherwise. That was the case for the few days shot beat drop

Just got back from CP. 99er is right, not much clearance space available between the four towers and the Operating booth to fit these new revolving seats & all that goes with it. Scrap the idea, Black Shirt Higher-ups can save that investment. Double-shots for everyone!

Today was an anomaly at Power Tower, the drop side was a walk-on for us and the shot side had about a 30 person wait.

Love Power Tower. Shot side is my favorite. And I would think it would be cool to see this happen to at least one tower.

I love those black shirt higher ups

Personally I am not a huge fan of flipping like this or that occurs on the freespin coasters. Just not my jam.

But I do see this being a great upgrade to Power Tower that could breathe new life into the ride. It'll be interesting to see if/when this happens and which park will be the first to receive it.