Bring Back the Skyride

[Mushroom]

Dumb thought, but could they use a coaster as a transport ride, assuming cost wasn't a constraint?

Not sure how it could be done without block brakes everywhere and not having that interesting of a layout or elements so that it'd be just as likely that kids would be able to ride alongside grand parents and pretty much everyone else.

I’ve always played with this idea in my mind too (not for KD, but just as an idea in general). The biggest obstacle I keep running into, besides the cost, is what to do about loose articles. Nearly everyone carries at least a backpack or souvenir bottle around the park, and given how strict parks are regarding loose articles for even the tamest rides, I don’t know how guests would be able to transport their belongings with them.

 

[bill s]

Actually they already have a bit of the ideal system:

Family Ride | Snoopy's Rocket Express | Kings Dominion

Step onto this rocket-themed aerial monorail that gives your entire family a view high above Planet Snoopy! Learn more and plan your visit to Kings Dominion!

www.kingsdominion.com

 

[Jonesta6]

Actually they already have a bit of the ideal system:

Family Ride | Snoopy's Rocket Express | Kings Dominion

Step onto this rocket-themed aerial monorail that gives your entire family a view high above Planet Snoopy! Learn more and plan your visit to Kings Dominion!

www.kingsdominion.com

It's not technically a monorail, but I don't think it's a scalable solution to the challenge of providing a transport system across the park - right-of-ways, station placements, and ride path clearances would be a huge issue. I'd also guess that this thing would gobble up electricity with a relatively low throughput (even if it were sped up, would guess they'd have to enclose the cars for safety thus increasing load/unload time and lowering capacity) making it expensive.

However, maybe as a short scale version they could possibly stick something running along the length of the path between Dominator and Planet Snoopy... Though I'm not sure what that'd accomplish.

 

[Crunchewy]

I especially like sky rides. They are relaxing, give great views and they are fun to use as transportation. The HP type are fun too and I always ride it, but it's disappointing that you end up in the same place as you started. I guess I just really love a sky ride and I love that SFGAdv has one still. If the line isn't too long it's actually useful as transportation too, but that's not really the main point.

 

[mwhinva]

If the park would go the monorail route, we're not talking some high end public transport model or Disney level system.

This would be a scaled down version. I think there are amusement attraction companies that build "people movers" for parks. It would be on that scale or slightly larger.

Take a look at Intamintransportation.com and their PeopleMover P6. It is the smallest of the 4 People Mover models by Intamin. They remind me a little of the former Safari Monorail trains. Except the tracks are elevated.

 

[Nicole]

I like this. But I am biased, because Gilroy Gardens is so charming:

Sky Trail Monorail | Gilroy Gardens

www.gilroygardens.org

 

[mwhinva]

I like this. But I am biased, because Gilroy Gardens is so charming:

Sky Trail Monorail | Gilroy Gardens

www.gilroygardens.org

For me, I posted a type of monorail that was within a possible budget a regional theme park could afford. The Gilroy Gardens monorail would work at an even more basic level than Intamin's version. Not sure what manufacturer made the GG model.

Intamin's monorail versions can be open-air or enclosed with AC. The trains can be 3 cars up to 12 cars in length. Each car seating 6 adults. Not sure about the exact interior seating arrangements. It appears to be bench seats, 2 rows per car.

There are youtube videos of the Intamin P6 in operation. One from a park in China with just a 3 car train. But, they have 7 trains to use. The other video was from a park in Germany. The stats said they had 3 or 4 trains consisting of 10 or 12 cars each. I noticed the doors had to be manually opened and closed. Not sure if that would work with staffing issues. If the doors were automated, I think the manpower would not be an issue at the stations. Maybe 2 people in each station (One on the entrance side and one on the exit). Intamin stated that the trains could be automated or you could have a driver in each train. For liability reasons, I would expect a driver in each train.

Given Virginia weather, I lean toward an AC equipped model. But, if the ride is only a 4-6 minute ride between stations, then KD could get by with an open-air version.

It might be cheaper to operate a skyride than a monorail. You have all the drivers and station crews to staff for 3-4 stations and whatever number of max trains you can run at one time.

In any case I am not against either a new skyride or monorail system for in-park transportation at KD. One or the other is fine with me.

 

[super7]

I think a Skyride would be less damaging to the park. Sky rides can go over trees. I feel a monorail through the park would lead to mass tree removal. The trees at KD are one of the things that still make it a very nice park despite the Paramount damage.

 

[Jonesta6]

I think a Skyrim would be less damaging to the park. Sky rides can go over trees. I feel a monorail through the park would lead to mass tree removal. The trees at KD are one of the things that still make it a very nice park despite the Paramount damage.

I wouldn't be so sure about that - with the way KD has developed and where potential stations would be located... And where maintenance/evacuation access would have to exist, I'd expect a decent amount of tree loss.

And, unless I'm mistaken, KD doesn't need to get tree removal approval or at least doesn't have nearly as many hoops to jump through as BGW as they don't have an RPA buffer or any suburban developments to deal with.

 

[Riboflavenus]

I’ve always played with this idea in my mind too (not for KD, but just as an idea in general). The biggest obstacle I keep running into, besides the cost, is what to do about loose articles. Nearly everyone carries at least a backpack or souvenir bottle around the park, and given how strict parks are regarding loose articles for even the tamest rides, I don’t know how guests would be able to transport their belongings with them.

Every ride at WDW has storage for loose articles, and they work very well. It's actually disappointing that other parks don't incorporate this more often.

 

[b.mac]

Every ride at WDW has storage for loose articles, and they work very well. It's actually disappointing that other parks don't incorporate this more often.

Big difference between WDW and a regional amusement park is that a regional amusement park rarely has 35 associates at a single ride and there's not many attractions in the Disney Parks that warrant a strict loose article policy. You're not gonna see stories about a kid losing half their teeth getting hit with a flying cell phone on Big Thunder Mountain compared to something like Twisted Timbers, i305, or in a literal real world example El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure.

 

[EdK]

Big difference between WDW and a regional amusement park is that a regional amusement park rarely has 35 associates at a single ride and there's not many attractions in the Disney Parks that warrant a strict loose article policy. You're not gonna see stories about a kid losing half their teeth getting hit with a flying cell phone on Big Thunder Mountain compared to something like Twisted Timbers, i305, or in a literal real world example El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure.

That almost happened to me on El Toro. I was sitting near the back and I almost got hit in the head with a cell phone on the first drop. It seemed like a lot of debris was flying past my head on that first drop in addition to the cell phone (I think I saw earrings as well). This happened around 2007.