Roman Rapids

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horsesboy said:
Still hasn't opened they were testing again today with no staff on the platform so not training. curiously some of the rafts appeared to have dummies loaded I'm different seating arrangements including one with only one side loaded. I have heard of possible concerns about the stability of the new rafts that might support those rumors.
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This is part of the standard testing procedure. Due to the randomness involved in these types of rides, and the incidents that have happened historically; its normal to run several hundred cycles with as many combinations of loading as possible.

This is something that will change by manufacturer. I recall mine blower from GG testing for only a couple days before opening, however some of the big manufacturers require hundreds, into thousands of cycles.
 
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Zachary said:
At this point something HAS to be wrong, right? Reopenings don't just get delayed by a full month without cause, no?

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I keep hearing vague rumors of stability concerns related to the new rafts but they are all the I heard from someone that heard from some thar saw it type of thing. I haven't heard from anyone that has seen anything themselves. But I can confirm it waz testing with full team including all the towers manned a few weeks ago so I feel fairly confident that staffing issues can be ruled out.
 
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Zachary said:
At this point something HAS to be wrong, right? Reopenings don't just get delayed by a full month without cause, no?

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Maybe they haven't paid Intamin for the rafts yet...... As I type that I'm not really sure if I'm joking or not.
 
Did they recently do renovation to it? Do you think there is a chance that it could see the boot? What was the ride's attendance throughout the past summer seasons? I really love how BGW has a great play on the Roman mythos theme.
 
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MikeLovesKD said:
Did they recently do renovation to it? Do you think there is a chance that it could see the boot? What was the ride's attendance throughout the past summer seasons? I really love how BGW has a great play on the Roman mythos theme.
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They got new larger capacity boats this year, and it sounds like some issues may have come up in testing them.
 
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Zachary said:
I'm still very much under the impression that they intend to open it this year for the record. It's just... Going very poorly.
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I am positive they intended to open it but given that we are less then two months from when it would close I think they are very likely to cut their loses and leave it closed and take their time addressing the issues.
 
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I can't recall if it was Sunday or Monday, but from the lift of Apollo we could see that there were a handful of engineer types (think office/field attire, not maintenance) in hardhats with clipboards visible in the area walking along the course where all the new PVC looking pipe was laying around.

Could be a whole lot of nothin', but I just recalled seeing them.
 
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Yeah, that tracks. The place was totally dormant from what I could see on Wednesday. After weeks of extensive testing, I suspect that's a bad sign too. I'm very skeptical of Roman Rapids in '22 at this point.

It's my impression that the Roman Rapids project may sorta be ballooning in size/scope thanks to the continued issues with the new rafts. Must be super frustrating for BGW. Intamin sold BGW these new rafts—theoretically as a plug and play solution—and it seems like they just simply don't work.

Anyway, hopefully we'll see things actually fixed for the long-term in '23.
 
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Congo is having issues too, just wanna put that out there, they where gonna give it new rafts but all this makes is very unlikely, maybe just new larger rafts for both and they send these back to intamin?
 
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DuelingGwazi03 said:
Congo is having issues too, just wanna put that out there, they where gonna give it new rafts but all this makes is very unlikely, maybe just new larger rafts for both and they send these back to intamin?
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If memory serves me correctly doesn't Congo already have bigger rafts?
 
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Zachary said:
Whelp, I guess that's that then. See you in 2023.

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That change to "Temporarily Closed" tells us what we already know, that a Rapids opening is not likely in 2022. So assuming it opens in May of 2023 it would be the first time since SEPTEMBER 2019! Has there ever been a ride in BGW's history that has been in SBNO status for that long?

Btw this is disappointing news but safety always comes first. The elephant in the room now is what happens between now and next summer for the ride. Do they send the rafts back, make modifications to safely operate with the new rafts, or invest in revamping the ride entirely? I would assume they can't afford to lose another ride in their portfolio right now after Cradle suddenly closing and Battle of Eire closing.

But let me just ask this, is there any possibility that the park gives up on Rapids and permanently closes it? Hopefully not, but it's worth asking as SEAS continues to take an aggressive strategy on cost cutting across it's parks to maximize margins.
 
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