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I would think that with the greater vehicle power needs of a go kart vs. a Le Mans style car -- and even net of recent improvements in battery cost, robustness, and capability -- keeping an outdoor battery-electric solution not just operating but highly available across perhaps 50 medium-speed karts would be something of a costly nightmare.

There are plenty of electric go karts in the world, some with cool features like 2 minute battery swaps and snazzy drive units. Their capabilities easily outpace theme park go kart needs, at least in the speed department (if not distance). But do those karts get mistreated by strangers on a daily constant-use basis like theme park/FEC karts do?

I'm inclined to believe that comfy kiddie-speed cars, center guide rails, and batteries/motor guts that prioritize longer distances at lower speeds would produce a battery electric attraction with the best chance of still being around in, say, 7 years.

There are some cool advantages of a battery electric kiddie car ride. The permanent infrastructure probably requires little beyond basic upkeep and occasional paint once installed, with all the less future-proof tech contained within the vehicles themselves and some type of central master control unit.
 
Looking at the Gould Manufacturing website, which is the company that built the Kings Island antique car ride, I found a couple interesting things.
1. The attendant controls are on the left hand side of the car so the cars have to go in a clockwise direction if loading from the outside of the track.
2. The radius of the turn can only be a minimum of 35 feet, so comparing the 50' pipeline easement to the turn in the lower left of the map, that's about as tight of a turn as this thing can make and with the service road where it is, it would have to make an immediate left hand turn to avoid crossing it.
3. Average length of the ride is 1,000 to 1,200 feet.

We know from the CBPA RPA that it can't get any closer to the water or else it would have been included on the waiver. We also know that they plan to move the service road but not remove it entirely and if that large green path is a double track portion, there's not a ton of room there for these cars to turn around.

Playing around a little bit measuring distances on google maps, an out and back layout from the plaza area to roughly the end of that service road is about 1,200 feet.
 
Counterpoint: that land would otherwise go pretty much unused. Why waste one of your prime expansion plots that can handle almost anything when you can do this on an otherwise difficult to work with area
I looked at the website; it does look like a relatively low cost option

Counterpoint: that land would otherwise go pretty much unused. Why waste one of your prime expansion plots that can handle almost anything when you can do this on an otherwise difficult to work with area
I was thinking more along the lines of when escape from Pompeii is closed
 
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When Escape from Pompeii closes (within the decade) I'd wager it'll be replaced with something related in the near future after its closure. Whether that's a new boat ride, a water coaster, or Zachary's idea, I doubt BGW will wait long to reuse the building. With how hard they've been leaning into nostalgia, it would be malpractice to not reuse that building and theming for something big. You have (essentially) free Disney/Universal level theming right there. I feel like BGW is thinking a few steps ahead, and I love it.
 
From what I remember of lemans, it was low capacity but man would people queue for days for it, so it was good for keep a lot of people in queue. Probably one of the benefits...
That's 100% behind my desire for more flats. More ride options means that more people are waiting at other rides and alternative options for coaster riders when those lines are long. Everybody has a better experience with lower wait times
 
When Escape from Pompeii closes (within the decade) I'd wager it'll be replaced with something related in the near future after its closure. Whether that's a new boat ride, a water coaster, or Zachary's idea, I doubt BGW will wait long to reuse the building. With how hard they've been leaning into nostalgia, it would be malpractice to not reuse that building and theming for something big. You have (essentially) free Disney/Universal level theming right there. I feel like BGW is thinking a few steps ahead, and I love it.
Wow wow wow hold the f up. Pompeii is scheduled to close within the next ten years?! Son of a .....
 
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