Attraction Scorpion

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Attraction Type
Roller Coaster
Attraction Status
Defunct
Attraction Manufacturer
Schwarzkopf
Attraction Model
Silverarrow
Man. Truth be told, I'm pretty upset about this. I hope another park can buy it, but I'm not confident that's even going to be an option.

In terms of the park itself, I feel like it's a pretty significant loss. As others have stated, this was many rider's first inversion, and none of the other coasters at BGT really fill that same niche. I don't think they're going to replace it with another small looper, either. If I had to wager a guess, it'll probably be replaced with another family coaster or some flat rides given how small its plot is.

It *does* seem to be pretty close to what looks like some maintenance buildings and an employee parking lot, but I'm not sure if the park would be willing to give those up for a new attraction.
 
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mtpelepele said:
But if something catastrophic had happened, wouldn't it be closed *now*?
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Hahah good point, maybe they foresee something catastrophic in the next year that will require particularly expensive preventative maintenance.
 
... that's a picture of a perfectly normal friction brake fin. They are designed to wear, thats how friction works.
 
The train overshooting is just a Schwarzkopf thing.

The nail in the coffin here is most likely the train needs to be replaced. The cost of that combined with higher maintenance costs and low ridership just was too much.

Probably means Kumba is much safer from being removed now...
 
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Gavin said:
Does Scorpion park itself in the station?
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I'm not sure if it's a computer controlled park or manual. Most likely the ride started with manual parking but was updated over time. Those friction brakes can slip more when they heat up.
 
SDL at HP was a Schwarzkopf and got a wonderful retrofit when they couldn’t find anymore trains or parts.
 
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The replacement trains for SDL, Revolution (MM), and Mind Bender (SFOG) all seem to have mixed reviews and seem to have issues that the original Schwarzkopf trains did not.
 
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GAcoaster said:
The replacement trains for SDL, Revolution (MM), and Mind Bender (SFOG) all seem to have mixed reviews and seem to have issues that the original Schwarzkopf trains did not.
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They are on the smaller side for SDL and Mind Bender but it’s like all older steel coasters that get replacements. They were only designed to be a certain size.
 
So they’ll pay up for these B&M and intamin coasters but won’t pay for a new train?? There is no excuses for this. I just dont get this company anymore. They better pay when it’s time for Kumba since the manufacturer is still there.
 
bfgfgd said:
So they’ll pay up for these B&M and intamin coasters but won’t pay for a new train?? There is no excuses for this. I just dont get this company anymore. They better pay when it’s time for Kumba since the manufacturer is still there.
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If you had the reigns at Busch Gardens Tampa and were confronted with a theoretical emergency bill for new Scorpion trains, were aware that Scorpion would need extensive track/support replacement within the decade (likely), had relatively low ridership and guest satisfaction numbers (likely), had an aging, questionable foundation in Florida that could be an issue in the years ahead (likely), and were given the option to either shut down Scorpion for a year and invest many millions of dollars into a comprehensive renovation or put that money towards a larger cap-ex expenditure on the next major attraction, I suspect you may make the same choice.

I'm super sad that Scorpion is dying, but I also get it. It's not even close to the level of prestige required to justify a comprehensive overhaul of the attraction (like Nessie was in Williamsburg) and the options facing BGT in the years ahead re: Scorpion are all, likely, pretty grim. Credit where credit is due, they kept Scorpion running well for a really goddamn long time. Letting it die is likely, simply, the correct choice.
 
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bfgfgd said:
So they’ll pay up for these B&M and intamin coasters but won’t pay for a new train?? There is no excuses for this. I just dont get this company anymore. They better pay when it’s time for Kumba since the manufacturer is still there.
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B&M and Intamin are still in business and making trains and parts. Schwarzkopf has been gone for a LONG time so new trains and replacement parts are all expensive since they have to be custom made. The same money to buy one train for Scorpion could probably replace all three on Kumba.
 
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Zachary said:
If you had the reigns at Busch Gardens Tampa and were confronted with a theoretical emergency bill for new Scorpion trains, were aware that Scorpion would likely need extensive track/support replacement within the decade (likely), had relatively low ridership and guest satisfaction numbers (likely), had an aging, questionable foundation in Florida that could be an issue in the years ahead (likely), and were given the option to either shut down Scorpion for a year and invest many millions of dollars into a comprehensive renovation or put that money towards a larger cap-ex expenditure on the next major attraction, I suspect you may make the same choice.

I'm super sad that Scorpion is dying, but I also get it. It's not even close to the level of prestige required to justify a comprehensive overhaul of the attraction (like Nessie was in Williamsburg) and the options facing BGT in the years ahead are all, likely, pretty grim. Credit where credit is due, they kept Scorpion running well for a really goddamn long time. Letting it die is likely, simply, the correct choice.
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The downside of daily operations is a pain sometimes. A ride with better capacity would be pretty nice. Three rides with one train opereting is already enough for guests to deal with for a park that draws large crowds.
 
Zachary said:
If you had the reigns at Busch Gardens Tampa and were confronted with a theoretical emergency bill for new Scorpion trains, were aware that Scorpion would likely need extensive track/support replacement within the decade (likely), had relatively low ridership and guest satisfaction numbers (likely), had an aging, questionable foundation in Florida that could be an issue in the years ahead (likely), and were given the option to either shut down Scorpion for a year and invest many millions of dollars into a comprehensive renovation or put that money towards a larger cap-ex expenditure on the next major attraction, I suspect you may make the same choice.

I'm super sad that Scorpion is dying, but I also get it. It's not even close to the level of prestige required to justify a comprehensive overhaul of the attraction (like Nessie was in Williamsburg) and the options facing BGT in the years ahead are all, likely, pretty grim. Credit where credit is due, they kept Scorpion running well for a really goddamn long time. Letting it die is likely, simply, the correct choice.
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what do you mean exactly by pretty grim? Other than maybe Kumba, I don’t know of any other coasters on the chopping block.
 
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The first entry in this thread is a WikiPost. As such, it can be edited by anyone with the appropriate permissions.
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