Flight of Fear

[amusementparkexplorer]

The description I have read on today's event seem to indicate that it stop on the break run at the top and that guests were evacuate from the platform next to it. This appears to be a completely different and much more normal situation then what occurred yesterday when it appeared to have stopped at a place that was never planned as a possible stopping point.

Unfortunately it wasnt the break run it was the top of the spaghetti bowl where it has valleyed before they have a cat walk up there to get us down they used a ladder to get each one of us down kinda neat seeing flight of fear from different angles we where at the the top before the mid course break run had a really good laugh too

 

[I305Evan]

Just to add - Kings Dominion and Kings Island have catwalks at two of the high valley points - right side in the dip after the Immelmann and another on the right side just before the bunny hop that goes sorta over/ in between the cobra roll. Allowing park maintenance very easy evacuation access. Also, easy access for recovering the train. Based on how quickly the ride seemed to have reopened, if the comments were correct, the train was just before the bunny hop which is the 2nd tallest point of the ride I believe. Maintenance could easily winch the train over the small bunny hop and let it coast into the block brakes.

 

[MrBradferd]

I know not possible but I always have a fear of another train being sent after 1 valleyd. I mean I guess smiler happened. Do the ops on FOF have tv screens or how do theyb know the coast is clear

 

[Coasternerd]

I know not possible but I always have a fear of another train being sent after 1 valleyd. I mean I guess smiler happened. Do the ops on FOF have tv screens or how do theyb know the coast is clear

Rides are programmed with block sections. At the end of each block section is a method to stop a train. Only one train may occupy a block section. This is the system that ensures safe operation of the ride. So for Flight of Fear’s case, the next train couldn’t be sent until the train ahead clears the mid course brakes, as that is a block section. The ride physically won’t let them send a train. But also there’s timers in the ride systems that track how long a vehicle has spent in the ride track, at least on newer attractions and notifies operators if running too fast or slow.

 

[Gavin]

Even with a block system, board operators/controls/OP1/whateveryourlocalparkcallstthisoperatorposition are trained to keep track of their trains for any situation.

 

[CoasterAuditor]

I know not possible but I always have a fear of another train being sent after 1 valleyd. I mean I guess smiler happened. Do the ops on FOF have tv screens or how do theyb know the coast is clear

Please refer to ElToroRyans Problematic Roller Coasters series for all relevant information. You will never ask that question again after that or have that concern again.

 

[golfburner]

The brakes at the top of the bowl were pretty strong on Saturday.

 

[CoasterBroCam]

I'm honestly really wondering if and how they'll incorporate this thing into Jungle X in 2026… We'll probably just have to wait and see. The fact that they didn't change anything on the inside is seriously offputting.

 

[Zachary]

I think Backlot is far more likely to get an overhaul than Flight of Fear at this point.

 

[jwranson]

I'm honestly really wondering if and how they'll incorporate this thing into Jungle X in 2026… We'll probably just have to wait and see. The fact that they didn't change anything on the inside is seriously offputting.

I love the Alien theme, and hope it never changes, personally.

 

[CoasterBroCam]

I love the Alien theme, and hope it never changes, personally.

Honestly, I love it too, and I kinda wish they just kept the Project 305 name and made it a space theme with like dark blue track and grey supports, and theme the trains to rockets

 

[rideopsarecool]

This could've been an option. (I absolutely love what they've done with Jungle-X, but I'm elaborating on @CoasterBroCam's wishes.)

 

[horsesboy]

I have already been hearing increasing rumbling that the die has been cast and Flight of Fears days are numbered. I would highly recommend that fans ride it this year

 

[warfelg]

I have already been hearing increasing rumbling that the die has been cast and Flight of Fears days are numbered. I would highly recommend that fans ride it this year

Despite my bad back, I can handle most coasters. These are one of the few models I cannot tolerate. Also, I think the ride experience in the bowl is horribly boring.

Anyways:

Potentially RIP you bastard of a ride.

 

[CoasterAuditor]

I like FOF but it is routinely skipped and a Vekoma STC would look really cool in that spot. Or a Jungle X expansion.

 

[CoasterBroCam]

If it gets removed I will forever miss the feeling of being blasted off into pure darkness while being trolled by the rideops by a false countdown

 

[Mushroom]

I love FOF. It’s one of my favorite coasters anywhere. The launch, the disorientation of not knowing which way is up and down, the crazy boost of speed it gets at the end of its course — it’s so much fun. Losing FOF would be a huge blow to the park’s lineup for me.

That said, I recognize that both FOFs are prototypes (don’t forget that they were the very first modern launch coasters ever built) in an era where SF has no patience for these types of early experimental rides. I also have sadly noticed that FOF seems to be having a ton of downtime lately, especially this season.

My only hope is that, if FOF gets removed, SF finds a way to keep the building. The indoor element is definitely the coolest gimmick of the ride. Since KD and KI have identical footprints, that means SF could theoretically develop a new coaster that shares its development costs across both parks. I have no idea if demolishing and then constructing a new coaster inside an existing building is remotely feasible (though the latter has been done, see DarKoaster) but I hope it’s something they’re at least seriously considering. And unlike Volcano’s aging mountain whose infrastructure was inseparably intertwined with the coaster structure, FOF is just a coaster in a big box.

Edit: Not sure how most people would respond to this, but a major indoor flat ride inside the building could be cool too. I’ve been pining for an indoor flat ride in a Virginia park for years — and this one could be a big one.

 

[CoasterBroCam]

I love FOF. It’s one of my favorite coasters anywhere. The launch, the disorientation of not knowing which way is up and down, the crazy boost of speed it gets at the end of its course — it’s so much fun. Losing FOF would be a huge blow to the park’s lineup for me.

That said, I recognize that both FOFs are prototypes (don’t forget that they were the very first modern launch coasters ever built) in an era where SF has no patience for these types of early experimental rides. I also have sadly noticed that FOF seems to be having a ton of downtime lately, especially this season.

My only hope is that, if FOF gets removed, SF finds a way to keep the building. The indoor element is definitely the coolest gimmick of the ride. Since KD and KI have identical footprints, that means SF could theoretically develop a new coaster that shares its development costs across both parks. I have no idea if demolishing and then constructing a new coaster inside an existing building is remotely feasible (though the latter has been done, see DarKoaster) but I hope it’s something they’re at least seriously considering.

I think that they will almost certainly keep the building. I mean why spend the money to paint the facade if they’re just gonna tear it out the next year?

 

[Mushroom]

I think that they will almost certainly keep the building. I mean why spend the money to paint the facade if they’re just gonna tear it out the next year?

Honestly, one of my biggest concerns is that they didn’t do anything to the show building itself. They just painted the facade at the entrance. The building is the same big, plain, white eyesore it always has been (or at least visibly so since Volcano was removed). If I were part of the Rapterra creative team, I would have pressed hard to at least paint the Whey Foundation logo or big block letters that say “Research Center” or something on the side, to make it less of an eyesore — if I knew for sure the building was staying.

In theory, the main building could be demolished and the facade could stay, although I agree that even that seems like a lot of effort they put in just for a facade with an uncertain future.

 

[CoasterAuditor]

I do think Flight of Fear is a great attraction it even threw me off my equilibrium on the corkscrew once and it absolutely adds to KDs “charm” at this point.