Project 2021/Drachen Spire: Intamin Multi-Launch Shuttle Giga Coaster [Cancelled]

Jonesta6 · May 3, 2020

Imagine if they took the time and investment to fully embrace cad programming and computerized precise fabrication techniques instead of trying to copy from a support structure they didn't comprehend or have experience with and tried to force together pre-fab ride elements to create the new ones required...

Yeah, the new ride deserves the color scheme if it's going to honor the idea of what could have been, otherwise they should go for something completely different. Only the part over 60' needs to be within the JCC guidelines, right?

Zachary · May 3, 2020

Reminder: We know the approved color scheme for “Drachen Spire.” The palette @Adam created is near the bottom of this article.

GrandpaD · May 3, 2020

I'm not worried about the color palette of the ride itself.

But, as recently discussed in Finnegan's and Pantheon threads, what needs to be accomplished is the landscaping, etc. Look at the DF picture again...anything within eyesight of the guests was landscaped. No gravel, no bare land...it was almost like they cared back then.

halfabee · May 3, 2020

Zachary said:
Reminder: We know the approved color scheme for “Drachen Spire.” The palette @Adam created is near the bottom of this article.

Thank you for this reminder. With all the craziness in the world recently, I actually had lost track of how much is known about the ride!

Drachenwolf · May 4, 2020

DF interacted with the pathway and looked great all along it, but it was a pathway strictly leading to the ride itself... that is, there was really no reason to be walking it unless one was en route to ride the ride.
These interactions are more worthy and interesting when they interact with areas that are common to all / multiple routes / main thoroughfares.
I can see the like it or hate it appeal of FF, for this reason. Abundant gravel and exposed machinery sucks, especially in such common areas.

Zachary · May 4, 2020

I don’t disagree with you at all @Drachenwolf, but given a choice between them being there and not being there, I’d rather have them than not.

r757chan · May 4, 2020

Go on Google Maps right now and look at the street view of the bridge to Ireland, it's from before Finnegan's Flyer. I like Finnegan's Flyer but that area looks terrible now. I know the pipeline is there so they're restricted but I'm bummed out every time I see an old picture of the park with all of the trees and compare it to today.

I'm excited about Pantheon and 2021 but I'm almost at the point where I'd rather them just plant some trees.

Jonesta6 · May 4, 2020

At least from all depictions of @Zachary's ride plan articles show they intend to only cut enough trees between the station and spire for the ride envelope, most of the band of woods should stay intact.

Still not sure if they plan on doing something more to hide VB's building though maybe that's what the berm is for?

warfelg · May 4, 2020

Jonesta6 said:
At least from all depictions of @Zachary's ride plan articles show they intend to only cut enough trees between the station and spire for the ride envelope, most of the band of woods should stay intact.

Still not sure if they plan on doing something more to hide VB's building though maybe that's what the berm is for?

Invadr's plans and Pantheon's plans showed the same things and the trees didn't survive either of them.

Jonesta6 · May 4, 2020

Not that I'm defending what they did, because I think we'd all prefer trees in those spots, but thanks to the track layout and where construction equipment needed to go is possibly why so many trees were knocked out on both sites. I can't remember Invadr's space before, but I'm guessing there wouldn't have been many trees left standing that weren't in the ride path, Pantheon there weren't many trees on the field anyways (Though there was a strand near the water).

The thing with the shuttle is that they could cut a wider path through the woods for construction next to the ride path and still preserve most of the trees there.

GrandpaD · May 4, 2020

I think what would be a great enhancement would be for them to preserve as many trees on both sides of the "valley launch". First, trees in fairly close (lawyer speak for far enough away so no one can be hit by limbs, etc.) would give a perception of more speed for the riders and, two, for the observers the train disappears as it "pluments into the dark forest of the dragon (or whatever)".

Drachenwolf · May 4, 2020

Seems they tend to avoid trees entirely if possible...
perhaps they consider even if they're far enough away to be of no threat to riders, there are still potential chances of branches or even entire trees falling close to or on the ride, all the time, at any given time. Best to avoid that altogether by clearing wide.

halfabee · May 4, 2020

My understanding is that during a past decade (80s? 90s?), the park removed quite a few trees in the general vicinity of certain rides to avoid any problems with toppled trees actually affecting ride operations.

Now... Potential problems? Actual problems? At least one of those tree related stories is rather intense. I don't have an independent way to corroborate it, so I'd rather not perpetuate it unless someone else has something concrete to back it up. But it seems the prospect of a vertical tree suddenly becoming horizontal does indeed factor into the determination of how wide a swath to clear near a ride's path.

Zachary · May 4, 2020

The tree landing on LNM's track and the train hitting it with guests on board did happen. I believe there are newspaper articles in the Nessie thread.

Edit: Here ya go.

LOCH NESS MONSTER HITS TREE; 5 INJURED

Five visitors to Busch Gardens, The Old Country, were injured Tuesday afternoon when the Loch Ness Monster roller coaster slammed into a tree blown onto its tracks by a storm. The most seriously in…

www.dailypress.com

Drachenwolf · May 5, 2020

Yuup.

Jonesta6 · May 5, 2020

I totally missed that story in that thread, though I have heard from an uncle that they got stuck upside down in one of the loops (highly doubt), and that my family (including myself) were about to get on a train when lightning nailed the track about 100 yards (or so goes the story) behind it when I was about 3 or 4 years old.

As to clear cutting - to me it's one thing if they make a reasonable right-of-way during construction and do their best to encourage growth so that you can't really see what's coming next (while still trimming back any problem limbs or rotting trees), it's another when they take out all the trees out of an abundance of caution.

GrandpaD · May 5, 2020

My suggestion of trees bordering the valley, I wasn't thinking as close as the original trees surrounding LNM. As you see in this aerial of a portion of Hagrid, the foliage is back far enough yet close to add a perception of speed.

ControlsEE · May 5, 2020

Zachary said:
The tree landing on LNM's track and the train hitting it with guests on board did happen. I believe there are newspaper articles in the Nessie thread.

Edit: Here ya go.

LOCH NESS MONSTER HITS TREE; 5 INJURED

Five visitors to Busch Gardens, The Old Country, were injured Tuesday afternoon when the Loch Ness Monster roller coaster slammed into a tree blown onto its tracks by a storm. The most seriously in…

www.dailypress.com

Aaaaaaaand that's why all the trains are cycled once after a Weather-1.

Jonesta6 · May 5, 2020

Curious, but aren't there cameras now covering most of the track on most rides so an op could spot an obstruction before obliterating an empty train and causing a long downtime issue? Not to mention also help scan for guests with loose objects...

Also, the story sounded like they were in the middle of shutdown and not reopening after weather. I'm guessing the MCBR and 2nd lift weren't able to hold the trains for an evac as soon as the weather shutdown was called based on ride programming, or it was a poor judgement call.

ControlsEE · May 5, 2020

Jonesta6 said:
Curious, but aren't there cameras now covering most of the track on most rides so an op could spot an obstruction before obliterating an empty train and causing a long downtime issue? Not to mention also help scan for guests with loose objects...

Also, the story sounded like they were in the middle of shutdown and not reopening after weather. I'm guessing the MCBR and 2nd lift weren't able to hold the trains for an evac as soon as the weather shutdown was called based on ride programming, or it was a poor judgement call.

1. Cameras are only in places where a train can stop normally, ie. Lift hill, brake runs, launches, etc. The story seems to indicate that this was after the second lift, before the drop into the second loop. No camera would have spotted that.
2. You don't evac for weather shutdowns, this happened to be a freak accident where a probably dead tree got loose due to winds before they shutdown. Even for a high wind shutdown, they still just stop boarding.Doing a ride evac instead of stopping boarding would put more people in danger since that would take longer than letting people finish the ride.
3. It was also in 1989, which means that PLCs were just becoming popular and LNM may not have even had a program yet.

Anyways, this seems to be getting off the FHP coaster topic...

Project 2021/Drachen Spire: Intamin Multi-Launch Shuttle Giga Coaster [Cancelled]

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