Tiki Twirl and Bumper Cars Questions

So I don't know if this is already being discussed or not (sorry if it is) butI have a few questions about the recent announcement regarding the movement of Calypso and Dogems to the WT midway.
• Will Wicked Twister's entrance area change? I mean the little ring with the WT flags around it. It seems like Tiki Twirl may block of some room in that area. I may be wrong.
•Will the Blue Streak area even remain open this year? Just a thought, since it seems like the only things in that area will be Blue Streak, the cars, and Chickie and Pete's.
Thanks! If you have any questions about the new changes, post them below.

Don't know about the WT entrance. Why wouldn't the Blue Streak midway be open? I can't see them closing Blue Streak and letting it sit this year. That midway will be empty, but Blue Streak will still be running.

Someone - I don't remember who - but someone specifically stated that the WT flags were history. Probably Tony.

The Turnpike Cars by Blue Streak will be removed too.

45Wheelgun said:

Someone - I don't remember who - but someone specifically stated that the WT flags were history. Probably Tony.

It was Tony on Twitter during his Q&A Monday night.

It looks like Tiki Twirl will not exactly block the entrance to Wicked Twister, but will take up a good portion of that WT "plaza", if you will.
Which is kind of strange placement to me- big round flat rides with backdrops are normally positioned on the midway with their backs to a wall so to speak. In other words, guests don't have easy access to the area behind the ride and usually can't walk all the way around it. In the carnival industry they're called "back-end" pieces. Funhouses, dark rides, and side shows fall into the same category.
Granted, Calypso over the years has lost a lot of its flash and the large heart covered backdrop (which I always thought was so cool) is long gone. The original Tiki Twirl traded the hearts for a grass cloth motif with cut out palm leaves for the sign. From what I can see from that photoshopped rendering of the new midway, the new ride should have a similar look.
I still think a better place for Tiki Twirl would be in Chaos' old spot where 3 Point Challenge is now. Regardless, I'm grateful for its rehab and longevity. Maybe there's plans to landscape around the ride so it doesn't seem so stuck out into the open and Wicked Twister's entrance will still seem inviting.

Tony also said on Twitter that any time they give rides some love, they also spruce up the landscaping around them, so it should look pretty decent. :)

Here is a link to a picture of the old Tiki Twirl (Fixed)

Weird, my post somehow changed back. But since Pete posted it, I don't need to anymore. Why can't we post TPR links here?

Neither of those pics is working. :/

Edit: This post is moot now.

Although i think Tiki Twirl will look great on the new midway, it is odd placement. If the backdrop for the ride is as big as the old one, Wicked Twister's station will all but be hidden. I'm sure CP has a plan for everything they do, but it will be interesting to see how they work it. You can't really see any of WT in the photo of the new midway, not even the part of the queue that sticks out.

Yeah thats what I thought. But yes, the old Switchbageenngengin(however the hell you say it;)) and Chaos area would be a better fit for Tiki Twirl. I mean honestly, I rarely see anyone in that 3-Point shootout, unlike the one at the front and in Frontiertown. And I didn't mean that the entire Blue Streak plaza would be closed, just maybe they could add in a small wooden wall,like Disney uses, to cover up the area where Calypso and the Turnpikes were. I am highly interested though, to see what the future of the Wicked Twister plaza/viewing area is...

And just think, with the recent trend toward breathing new life into these old-assed flats we might still have our beloved Schwabinchen , Bayern Kurve, Satellite Jets, and lord knows what else if they had just hung on a bit longer.
Witches Wheel is rumored, but maybe Matterhorn and Super Himalaya will receive nice rehabs sometime soon...

Or not.

I just hope they restore the "roofs" to the cars. I think they look great that way. If you watch old movies of the ride they added a great visual when the patterns painted on the tops spun.

http://binged.it/1AB31dt

If you look at the image (map) linked above you can see that the position of Tiki Twirl will back up against an already fenced off area. I would assume the ride will be right about where the lockers are located under the blue awning.

What if they forgo the inserts on the backstop, possibly leaving the poles, so that while the posts extend upward as to support the sign, the space between remains open (above 42" above the platform) thus preserving the view?

Also, note just how plain the Tiki Twirl was compared to even the current Calypso, with none of the overhead lighting or the other missing elements. The only thing the Tiki Twirl in the photo has that the current Calypso lacks is the center pole and the roofs on the cars.

Oh, and I can pretty much guarantee we won't be seeing those neat pretzel-rail fences. Such a shame, but that's the way safety codes tend to work.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

The only pieces of flash left on Calypso are/were the fountain shaped lights around the circumference of the platform and the sign, of course. And the sign is the neatest thing about the ride.

The original Calypso, the one first changed to Tiki Twirl, had considerably less flash to begin with. The hearts on the backdrop had tiny light bulbs in them, though, and lit up (when not burnt out). It also had the large center piece but it was removed for the makeover. That's a shame, too, because that thing was simple but great visually.
I hadn't considered the fence rails. And I think we can give up hope that the little round rooftops will be restored. (Does anyone remember that Schwabinchen also originally had little roofs over the seats? They were square and covered every other seat. They gave the ride a top-heavy look, and each one had a different design and color scheme)
I'd like to see a picture of Palisade's Calypso, which had a music theme and was named Hootenanny. The hearts on the backdrop were replaced by black musical notes, but other than that I dont know. I think it was a factory theme, but it's the only one I ever heard of.

And you say makes sense, Dave, as the current Calypso has no back walls anyway. In the rendering it even looks like some of the rake to the platform has been taken down a little, putting the entire ride closer to the ground. I'm trusting that that's just the rendering's fault and the new Tiki Twirl will still have the full tilt. Hoping, really.

I always thought the female centerpiece on Schwabinchen gave the ride its top heavy look!

Shades said:

I always thought the female centerpiece on Schwabinchen gave the ride its top heavy look!

I seem to remember she looked like she was cold too.

Anyone remember when Calypso had a center piece at one point? You may have all ready pointed that out, sorry if I missed it. Also is it just me, or whenever you look at the Scrambler, you see giant pencils?