What's New for the 2011 Season?

Shades said:
I don't think anyone has a problem with re-rides if everyone is given the chance to re-ride. Currently it seems as if only a select few individuals get that chance.

I think this is where perception and reality diverge. One perceived instance of it does not indicate a conspiracy theory in favor of the single riders.

I think the point is that it should be the 1st and last instance of special treatment. I agree that they don't deserve any special privileges. If I'm single riding it at the park, I consider Dragster and Millennium allowing single riders to jump in empty seats to be enough of a privilege.

Maniaman said:
I waited in line Sunday for 3 hours to get on Maverick. Got to watch a mechanic replace part of a drive wheel motor on the brake run and do testing. Finally got on the ride around noon. I was 5th in line and pretty sure everyone in front of me was a pointbuzz member.

I was one of the few there at the front. It was quite entertaining watching that guy fix that drive motor wasn't it? ;)

My favorite part was when the man on the catwalk shouted "You good Mark?" to which the man in the cherry picker said "No" and the other man pressed a button on the control box and made the brake fins drop taking "Mark" by surprise and nearly throwing his balance off the picker. I'm betting the guy on the catwalk thought he said "Go". lol :D

Adam, what's new on TTD? I see a screen that looks like it's over the track. What is it? I hope it hasn't been there all along and I have missed it the past few years.

Jason Hammond said:
Did anyone else notice the Parade route striping was gone. It looks like it was blasted with a power washer. I recall the striping being there in during the summer before. I'm wondering if they just want to redo the striping or maybe the parade is gone.

They blasted the striping away before the start of the season last year as well. Not sure about the year before that. But the lines do get repainted every year before Halloweekends starts.

crazy horse said:
Disaster and mean streak also do not open till 11 am. Add in the fact that millennium force and maverick don't open on time eather, they should just open the park at 11am.

You know that would just mean people would bitch that the park doesn't open early like it used to in the "good old days".

On sunday, none of the early entry rides even opened untill noon. Millennium force never did open.

Wasn't the weather to blame for that?

Frankly, anyone who went to the park opening weekend should have known they were taking a pretty risky gamble. You win some, you lose some. Not sure how crappy weather is the park's fault.

MagnumFan said:

Shades said:
I don't think anyone has a problem with re-rides if everyone is given the chance to re-ride. Currently it seems as if only a select few individuals get that chance.

I think this is where perception and reality diverge. One perceived instance of it does not indicate a conspiracy theory in favor of the single riders.

Unfortunately my perception reflects reality. To be fair I really don't have a complaint against any of the single riders. They are there to ride. Unfortuantely so am I. I have ridden with Daryl on Raptor many times. I have watched him get re-rides when I was explicitely told I could not by the ride ops.

I have watched the ride ops on Millennium Force hold the gates open and holler out for Single Rider Bob to jump on the train waiting in the station. I don't see them offering this service for me when I am a single rider.

Not saying there is a conspiracy. I am saying this happens and I have a strong hunch others can provide their own examples to back up what I have said. Simply put - the treatment that these folks is given by the ride ops is not fair. Re-rides should be on an "all or none" basis.

If it's any consolation, I've always had the impression that ride ops give some of these guys special treatment because they pity them, rather than revere them as celebrities.

I mean, Rotor Man got re-rides as well, but I don't think anyone wanted to trade places with him...

djDaemon said:

crazy horse said:
Disaster and mean streak also do not open till 11 am. Add in the fact that millennium force and maverick don't open on time eather, they should just open the park at 11am.

You know that would just mean people would bitch that the park doesn't open early like it used to in the "good old days".

On sunday, none of the early entry rides even opened untill noon. Millennium force never did open.

Wasn't the weather to blame for that?

Frankly, anyone who went to the park opening weekend should have known they were taking a pretty risky gamble. You win some, you lose some. Not sure how crappy weather is the park's fault.

Thank you DJ!

To clarify, here is Sunday's weather for the CP area:

Rainfall = 0.11"
While this may not seem like a lot (though it certainly is), this is 73% more rainfall than normal values for this day. And along the lines of what Walt posted in the WS thread, the month-to-date totals for May are 3.22", which is nearly double the normal amount of rainfall by mid May. That's insane.

High temperature = 55F
This is a full 13F cooler than normal. And the low for Sunday was only 11F warmer than the all-time record for this day. In other words, Sunday was close to being a record-setter in terms of cold, wet & crappy.

Again DJ, thank you for understanding that sometimes it's just out of our control. Like I said earlier I was itching to get my ride up and running all day but there was just no way it was going to happen. I can also tell you that pretty much every other ride host I talked to in the cafe on Sunday shared my thoughts.

I can't complain about opening day. I rode every coaster I wanted to, including the big three, TTD, Maverick, and Millennium. I don't know, maybe I lucked out, but I didn't notice much downtime. I knew better than to try for Dragster early, so I didn't get in line for it until 8, which paid off since it didn't open til 4 (or so I was told). I'm glad I didn't go Sunday, yikes that weather was rough.

Erik Lee said:
Adam, what's new on TTD? I see a screen that looks like it's over the track. What is it? I hope it hasn't been there all along and I have missed it the past few years.

A screen? What type of screen? And where did you see it? The only new things I know of is new belts on the trains, a new and very quiet catchcar, and a fence thats now attached to the transfer track (I assume was states doing). There's a few more things I can't really divulge but that's pretty much the jist of it.

djDaemon said:
To clarify, here is Sunday's weather for the CP area:

Rainfall = 0.11"
While this may not seem like a lot (though it certainly is), this is 73% more rainfall than normal values for this day. And along the lines of what Walt posted in the WS thread, the month-to-date totals for May are 3.22", which is nearly double the normal amount of rainfall by mid May. That's insane.

High temperature = 55F
This is a full 13F cooler than normal. And the low for Sunday was only 11F warmer than the all-time record for this day. In other words, Sunday was close to being a record-setter in terms of cold, wet & crappy.

I agree that the weather (wind and rain/mist) caused problems but I don't see how temperature can be the culprit. There are days in October that 55F would be considered hot.

Is comparing the rainfall for a particular day to the average for that day valid? The average rainfall is made lower because of the number of days through time in which the rainfall for May 15 was 0.0".

Adam! I thought you were going to spill the beans.

Shades said:
I agree that the weather (wind and rain/mist) caused problems but I don't see how temperature can be the culprit. There are days in October that 55F would be considered hot.

Cool temps combined with rainfall (water evaporation makes things cooler) are a pretty rotten combination when it comes to roller coasters and the like. A coaster may be able to run in a light rain in August when the temperature is 75 or whatever. And a coaster may be able to run in October when the temps are in the 50's and it's dry out. But if you combine the two, the problem is exacerbated.

Is comparing the rainfall for a particular day to the average for that day valid?

When people are complaining how much the park sucked that day (and in fact placing blame on the park for said suckiness), then yes.

Kevinj said:
Adam! I thought you were going to spill the beans.

Why would he do that when he can keep pointing out that he knows something (he thinks) no one else does?

Shades, It wasn't necessarily the temperature, or the rain that was bad. Most of the rides were closed due to the wind. Cold+Rain+Wind=very few rides operating :(

Yes, water evaporation makes things cooler. But on a piece of steel that is at ambient temperature, the evaporative affect on the temperature of that steel is essentially neglible. Temperature is not the issue.

And 0.1" of rain in a day is not much. In fact given the average rainfall of approx 1.6" (1/2 of the 3.22" referenced above) that equates to 0.1" per day over the first 15 days of May.

Just went to CP yesterday on Monday. While any significant rain held off for the day, the weather was pretty bad, leaving most rides closed or in miserable 1-train operation. It was fun looking for the things that people pointed out as new / changed though.

It may have already been mentioned, but Power Tower got replacement covers on the restraints that made the ride look brand new.

And yes, one of Blue Streak's trains looked brand new, with the new orange lap bar covers really standing out. The other Blue Streak train had the old faded lap bar covers still, so it really made the other train stand out. Oh, and as stated, Blue Streak was delivering a GREAT ride. Easily one of my favorites of the day.

For those that care, Disaster Transport was disappointing. I always hope for improvements each year to the ride (and sometimes they come), but this year, nothing. The chasing lights on the lift were out of sync, some burnt out, and they need to go. Also, some half burnt out white square lights were on the lift too (from the original Avalanche Run coaster?). After the lift, the ride was complete blackness, and the coaster was running a little rougher than normal...it had a hop, as if the wheels were older. This ride frustrates me, as there are such simple things that could be done to bring this coaster back to life; it's as if they're letting it go...

TTD 120mph said:

Erik Lee said:
Adam, what's new on TTD? I see a screen that looks like it's over the track. What is it? I hope it hasn't been there all along and I have missed it the past few years.

A screen? What type of screen? And where did you see it? The only new things I know of is new belts on the trains, a new and very quiet catchcar, and a fence thats now attached to the transfer track (I assume was states doing). There's a few more things I can't really divulge but that's pretty much the jist of it.

On the TTD webcam at night, there is what looks like a screen flashing. I don't know if it is the finish line sign or not, but it is right were one of the strips of concrete are. If I've missed this in the past years, then that's my bad, but I didn't ever notice it before.

You're probably seeing the finish sign.:)

djDaemon said:Why would he do that when he can keep pointing out that he knows something (he thinks) no one else does?

Well I might know very few small things. The rumor I heard regarding Dragster was that it might run 6 trains. Not that big of a deal but we shall see how that goes. And the only other thing I heard was regarding the new trail going through the Iron Dragon. Some might already know what it could be but if it is what it seems to be, it'll be announced soon enough. I'd never claim to know something or spill the beans on something if it was a really big deal. As far as that I know no more than anyone else.