I really do hope SF has at least considered giving these to some of the lower tier parks in the chain that would feasibly still be around in the long run. Michigan’s Adventure and Great Escape could really benefit from them.
Attraction The Flash: Vertical Velocity
- Thread starter ConolyCoasterDesigns
- Start date
This question might be the opposite of intelligent, but is it too late for a dual station?
TECHNICALLY it is possible, but it definitely doesn't look easy. Vekoma doesn't seem to have designed the layout with dual stations in mind so implementing one seems like it would require some convoluted modifications.
I think there's enough clearance to do a single-wide turntable in the station area to feed into two new stations platforms, but something like that would require the complete demolition of the current station, construction of an entirely new station, a good handful of new track, a super large turntable, and a full queue redesign.
There's definitely the ability to add a second switch track beyond the current maintenance switch to send trains to two different, new load platforms. That would require a good handful of new track, a large new station, and a full queue redesign.
The silver bullets for either of these plans is both the exorbitantly high cost with no marketability and that any of these more complex implementations would add a ton of train parking time to each cycle—cutting into the theoretical hourly capacity gains.
Realistically, the answer is probably to wish for Flash to be shipped off to a smaller park and be replaced with something designed from the start with higher capacity in mind.
They never added any additional theming to the inside queue house either... so sad.
I pretty much felt the same way. I got 5 rides in last Saturday. I was really excited to finally try this crazy ride. Though, it wasn't anywhere near as crazy as I thought it would be. I knew it wasn't too wild, but I was underwhelmed. I wouldn't wait more then 30 minutes at max for this, in my opinion.
My favorite part was the backwards hangtime and the backwards spike. It's fun but the capacity is awful. Like others have said, this type of ride will be perfect for smaller parks. Overall, fun but not really my thing.
Honestly if it was like…..5 mph faster through the double down/double up and banana roll…..it would hit better than it does but it just crawls through those elements.
Okay the way they do the VIP tours on this attraction seriously needs to change. When I visited yesterday I went to Flash first thing, still probably waited 40 minutes for the damn thing which is expected but as I'm in the station for the ride this VIP group comes in. I wasn't even aware Great Adventure had this as an option, which is fine whatever, but they let this VIP group of 6 people take up an entire cycle on the ride. Nobody else waiting was allowed to ride, leaving 18 seats completely empty. I'm not sure if this is how they do it on other rides as well or if this is even how things normally go but this seriously needs to change. On a ride with such poor capacity letting 6 people ride on their own is just a slap in the face to everyone waiting. I know it's supposed to be a "VIP experience" but it seriously holds up the line on Flash because the ride is a shuttle.
I went to Great Adventure today for the first time since 2024 and was blown away by Flash. Our strategy was to start with Flash becuase of the single train and the possibility of a line forming later in the day. The park barely got crowded today so it was a good day to go all around. We rode in the back car on our first ride and that initial backwards launch up the tower in the back car is one of the most intense elements in the park. The ride is so much better than I was expecting. When it was announced I thought they could have done better, but boy was I wrong. The scale of the elements feels nice, the speed is good, the train is comfortable, the lights and speakers on the train are all above and beyond. I am now a Vekoma super fan.
I agree it's a great coaster—I think a lot of people do—but I do definitely think the capacity issues make it a very bad fit for SFGAdv. If Vekoma could have delivered a slightly modified layout with the ability to run two trains, I'd be fully onboard.
I love flash but unfortunately the capacity means that its not something I ride every visit. My honest hope is that as time goes on the lines will disperse elsewhere in the park. I remember Joker being similar when it first opened, crazy lines that first year but its gotten better as time has gone on. Now I just don't go on Joker because I don't like it, not because the line is too long lol. Might be wishful thinking but even if the line was closer to 30 minutes I would be more willing to wait for it.
Imagine if it was dueling, à la Chiller, and it was Flash vs Reverse Flash
Cinema. Sadly, it only lives in my dreams.
I think the legacy of dual-track ride failures still scares manufacturers and parks away from them. Mack rides has been a late exception with a few, like Stardust Racers, but they're more like woody racers than a Chiller or Flash-style launch. Flash with dual tracks would be amazing. Can't see anyone ponying up for how much it would cost at this point in the coaster market. It's too bad. Hopefully they come back in the 2030s or 40s.
Dual tracked shuttle coasters are great for capacity in the first couple years they're open, but as the ride loses popularity, the park usually just ends up closing the second track to save on maintenance and staffing costs.
A second station would've been a bit better
A second station would've been a bit better
im surprised six flags great adventure didnt go with this when building flash
In fairness, is it even something the manufacturer offered? Does Vekoma have any other models that have a spinning platform?
The Flash was purchased last minute as a relatively cheap 50th anniversary addition, and presumably the ride was already fabricated by the time Six Flags had bought it since it came from a cancelled project overseas. Any layout modification such as dual stations would've added pretty significant extra costs, which Selim era Six Flags was not about, and they would've missed their goal of it being a 50th anniversary addition (which I know they missed anyways, but that had more to do with the merger than anything else).
Yeah in all likelihood Flash would have opened in late July/early August had the merger not gone through. Flash to me is going to end up being one of those final remnants of the old pre-merger Six Flags. Really wish they would go back and add in some theming elements, especially in the queue house but at this point I can't see that happening. Is it the perfect fit for great adv? no not even close, I might not even call it a good fit. But it's a fun ride, I just hope the 90+ minute wait dies down after being open for a couple of years.