Attraction Phoenix Rising
- Thread starter thomasellerjr90
- Start date
I can confirm that the ride was turned over officially to Busch Gardens Tampa and Park Operations/Maintenance today from B&M. Expect an opening announcement imminently.
Also, supposedly this thing has an Semiens panel?! PRKS hasn't used them in a hot minute AFAIK...
Also, supposedly this thing has an Semiens panel?! PRKS hasn't used them in a hot minute AFAIK...
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TIL elsewhere that Freedom Flyer is actually rigidly mounted, with a lean to the left for some reason, so BGT’s claim to “tallest family invert” was a valid contest, and they are the rightful holders of this narrow superlative.
It’s not actually haha, it’s cause the trains are new and don’t reset because the pistons are stiff still. I rode in the back and watched them “swing”, so that statement saying it’s rigid is very much not true. That left lean is because of the transition into the station making the train “swing” to the right side due to the lateral forces there.
Ah, my source on Freedom Flyer not swaying/swinging was this: https://www.reddit.com/r/rollercoasters/s/JTjRjtGnIu
Yeah no, I can confirm it does “swing” it’s just more of a slight drift than an actual swing because it’s more pistons than shock absorbers. I rode the original train and it didn’t do the weird lean because it was broken in. The new train hasn’t been broken in yet, so that doesn’t help
Side note: The comment I linked to was part of my rant about the B&M family invert being an invalid concept, which got downvoted into the toilet. I realize I was in the wrong there.
Family launch coasters - as in Penguin Trek and DarKoaster, not Cheetah Hunt and Verbolten - serve to introduce riders to forces without the added fear factor of heights, and have been a welcome trend. Family inverts, designed to deliver the sense of heights in motion without wild forces, are the logical counterparts, and exactly what the roller coaster world could use a few more of.
At BGT, this will be the perfect step between Cobra's Curse and Cheetah Hunt.
Family launch coasters - as in Penguin Trek and DarKoaster, not Cheetah Hunt and Verbolten - serve to introduce riders to forces without the added fear factor of heights, and have been a welcome trend. Family inverts, designed to deliver the sense of heights in motion without wild forces, are the logical counterparts, and exactly what the roller coaster world could use a few more of.
At BGT, this will be the perfect step between Cobra's Curse and Cheetah Hunt.
The theming on this thing is immaculate, but it has a neat (but comparatively lengthy) 15 second pre-dispatch sequence that will jack up dispatch times. I'm under the impression that full circuit, non-stop testing allowed about 25 dispatches per hour, so this is gonna be a rough one wait time wise. However, on the positive, I've heard that it's incredibly smooth with no noticeable rattle at this point due to a different wheel composition than Penguin Trek.
I used to understand the argument of having the single train over 2 due to the short layout and not having to stack on the brake run for no reason, but even just those extra 15 seconds coupled with the low height requirement and BGT’s generally atrocious operations and I honestly can’t really find any silver lining with this one. Add in the fact that it’s a prototype train with onboard audio that’ll undoubtedly have some kinks to work out. This is going to be a nightmarish queue to wait in, especially around opening in the peak of summer season.
So 500pph under unrealistically optimal conditions for a family coaster with a super wide audience? Awful.
Doesn't Pantheon use Siemens? It is unusual for a B&M though; they are so often Allen Bradley especially at SEAS.
Pantheon and DarKoaster are both indeed Siemens! However, everything else in the chain that has been either Consign (Texas Stingray, InvadR, Iron Gwazi, Tempesto/Tigris, etc) or Altec (Emperor, Pipeline). Additionally, many of the older coasters in the chain got Consign panel upgrades- Montu, Kumba, SheiKra, Apollo's Chariot, Kraken, etc. Intamin products were the only major additions that used Siemens- until now, it appears. It is interesting we're seeing Siemens products appear on other ride models.
apparently july 12 is Phoenix Rising media day, 13-15th ish for Passholder previews, official opening on the 16th/17th is what I'm hearing from an in-park source....
Two different Instagram posts advertising two different grand opening dates currently up on the main BGT account is laughable. Between that and originally advertising that the seats would swing like a suspended coaster, and having billboards all over Tampa advertising it as “Florida’s tallest and fastest family inverted coaster”, it’s not even funny how much the park has absolutely butchered the PR for this coaster.
Attachments
The media event was cancelled at the last minute, presumably for reasons like this: