Apollo's Chariot
- Thread starter Zachary
- Start date
I strongly agree with @Thomas as I’ve had some insane rides on Apollo in the cold, but I think the ride just needs to warm up to fully deliver the hyped up ride experince. I almost always skip AC until later in the day because it just doesn’t have the same out of control experience where the trains race through the course that commonly occurs during the afternoon and evening. Maybe it’s just due to the sun going down that the ride seems faster, but it feels so much more sluggish in the morning, deliving moderate floater airtime at best on some of the hills. I’ll return later that night and the thing absolutely hauls through the course. The ride just seems more aggressive, especially on the first half and turn around, combine that with the darkened setting and it is by far the best night ride in the park.
Don't we have an Apollo ride op around here somewhere? Maybe they know when she runs fastest?
Anecdotally, my best rides seem to be late nights in the fall with full trains and non-three trains ops. No idea which of those factors actually impact Apollo's speed, trim, and midcourse situation though.
Anecdotally, my best rides seem to be late nights in the fall with full trains and non-three trains ops. No idea which of those factors actually impact Apollo's speed, trim, and midcourse situation though.
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Slight deviation from the conversation about temperature and speed: I love riding Apollo on cool summer nights after a hot day. Whenever the train passes over the water, you can feel the heat emanating off the ride. The sudden switch from warm to brisk air makes for a one-of-a-kind sensory experience that you can only get from Apollo.
I ran apollo one season, but honestly I never got any feedback about how fast/slow the ride was running.
Also @AlpenChariot you can't get that same angle from the cruise. The water is too shallow and there is not enough room for the boat to turn around. Occasionally, on a very calm day, the captain could go down that wing a bit, but again, not that far. Also, the wine cruise mostly makes circles between the golf course and the apollo bouy. Last thing you want on your wine tasting cruise is to suddenly hear limbs and branches scraping the bottom of the boat and reaching into the boat and hitting you.
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Maybe it's a captain by captain/day by day thing because I did the wine cruise 3 times now and have a similar picture from a similar angle while we were turning around.
And thats certainly possible. I'm just pretty sure that no captain has taken guests that far down that branch of the lake without upsetting some guests. You can certainly go down that branch further than the normal cruise route, about to the bottom of the drop. I've done that, and I was mediocre at driving those boats at best. The guys that have been there forever told me thats where they they turn around unless its windy and could get blown into the trees. Anyways, this seems like a discussion for the Rhine thread...
My past three visits have all been in the former, sadly. I really wish I could get some good rides on this thing; the layout is fantastic, but it does nothing for me.
You have summoned me. Air time is also determined by how far you have the harness. If you pull that thing tight on you then no real air time. A barely latched harness (cleared by the system) and nice warm night might just be the best experience. The brakes ruin any type of speed after the first drop.
Interesting take, but that seems kind of odd to me as I've definitely experienced air time with a well secured harness - guessing a rider's physical proportions are a factor.
Watching a few ElToroRyan videos it seems that a factor of the speed of a ride, and thus airtime, is how warm the wheels/track are. I'm sure there's some geometry mixed with physics explanation for that.
Watching a few ElToroRyan videos it seems that a factor of the speed of a ride, and thus airtime, is how warm the wheels/track are. I'm sure there's some geometry mixed with physics explanation for that.
Yes, this all day. Apollo varies so much from front to back. All rides vary a lot, of course, but Apollo is just SO different. It's (IMO) a casual outing in a rolling BarcaLounger up front and a solid hoot in the back. So much tamer up front.
I only sit in the back or front, I don't even entertain the thought of a middle row.
So what might the spread be on the max speed? Officially it is 73mph, but it seems like we are saying that it goes faster on very warm and very cold days - or is the speed in the first drop not affected by the weather so much as the helix and final airtime hills? I know of course there is no way to be certain, but maybe 70-75mph?
Certainly possible to have a +-2 mph difference. I know that TTD at CP is usually anywhere between 120 and 122mph normal operation and somewhere around 124-125 mph morning cycles.
Volcano would normally fluctuate between 76/74 and 69/68 for it’s first and second launches. If she only hit 68 in the first, she would abort the second launch (usually).
