Valravn Goes Vertical--Construction Starts

Tony was just Periscoping about it.

Here's a link to the Periscope to replay.

Those hearts got annoying in five seconds...

Things to note:

• No Sand filled track
• 103 track pieces
• Lift is at about 200 feet, lift and drop will be tentatively finished by December 25th
• No coaster clubs for a media day, working media event only
• Some theming (lights/sound) not unveiled yet

I wasn't sure if he was saying none of the track would be sand-filled, or if the lift would not be. I didn't catch the whole thing, if someone had asked later.

CP Maverick said:

I wasn't sure if he was saying none of the track would be sand-filled, or if the lift would not be. I didn't catch the whole thing, if someone had asked later.

He did confirm later in the video that NONE of the track would be sand-filled. He specifically said "it'll roar... but probably not as loud as Raptor."

Ah ok. That does make sense though. The spine is much larger, so the sound will be deeper, and there are less wheels on the track creating less vibrations.

Tony also mentioned there would be a gift shop withing the exit of the station like with GK or Fury. How will this work with Valravn? The station is pretty small as it is...

^ maybe it will be similar to Millennium with a station for loading and unloading, but all connected, making the station longer, and adding more space for a gift shop

The only area I could think of would be the space between Bluestreak and the exit path of Valravn.

^^Considering there are 0 B&M coasters I know of off hand, I doubt this will be the case with Valravn.

CoasterGuy15, I'm thinking the same area too, once occupied by Calypso.

Go Intamin said:

^ maybe it will be similar to Millennium with a station for loading and unloading, but all connected, making the station longer, and adding more space for a gift shop

I've been on 3 dive coasters and none have had separate load and unload stations. The small trains really don't need it. And we have all seen how fast a good crew can unload, load and send a B&M train. Also, as someone may have pointed out, I don't believe a single B&M uses duel stations other then some flyers. And they've even stopped designing flyers with duel stations of late.

They don't need much space under the station for on-ride photo and some shirts, shot glasses etc.

There was Led Zeplin at Freestyle Music Park and I think that's about it for the seperate load/unload.

I believe Sheikra loads two trains at once, ala Maverick.

Sheikra does have the capability to do so. When I visited a few years ago, there were no signs of recent use. I asked a ride op and he said they only load two trains at the same time when it gets very busy.

Dueling Dragons/Dragon Challenge also has separate load and unload stations. But I agree, I'm not expecting that with Valravn.

There's only one station for load/unload. And it should be the "funkiest" station we have at the park. (Your definition of "funky" may vary.)

Final drawings for gift/photo/exit combo are not yet complete, but I anticipate sharing that closer to park opening.

More to come!

Keep in mind that when Shiekra opened, it wasn't with the floorless trains. I also think this was the first time for the 8 across seating arrangement. So I imagine the unload/load process of each train took longer because the rows weren't as open as opposed to the floorless. I'm guessing that once the change happened there wasn't a need to use the dual loading/unloading station.

I'm really excited for this ride, can't wait for it to open! Watching Shiekra operate was pretty awe inspiring to me, due to the size of the trains.

Due to there only being 3 rows per train, I would imagine there will definitely be employees assigning rows for groups of people (similar to how Power Tower operates). It also would not surprise me if they don't allow waiting for the front row (at least for the first couple seasons).

One way to try and get a desired seating even if not "permitted." is to say you'll wait for it. When they're looking for rows, let people in front of you fill the train where needed. When they have room to place someone in row one, let them use you then. If they decide to not use you or your group, well then they're just being a bit rude. I've only had one ride op get a bit posh when I told them my group of four would wait. The rest see it as no big deal and let the line keep moving while you wait off to the side.