Mack has a handful of bobsled coasters including one in their own park in Germany so parts will be easy to obtain.
Avalanche is staying put for now.
Volcano Goes Extinct
- Thread starter b.mac
- Start date
Mack has a handful of bobsled coasters including one in their own park in Germany so parts will be easy to obtain.
Avalanche is staying put for now.
I'd hope that Cedar Fair's newfound relationship with Mack (Copperhead Strike) means Avalanche will have parts for years.
EDIT: Unagi beat me to it.
Thinking of how a replacement coaster could be done - any idea if they could build track over Flight of Fear's launch / return?
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I totally agree with this and think that it's even more reason to field the possibility of something happening to Volcano other than complete destruction.
Kings Dominion and Cedar Fair have shown a long-term willingness to invest heavily into Volcano. They have already invested oodles of money into the mountain. If they can retain the benefits of even a fraction of that investment, it seems like they would.
Lets say Cedar Fair was confronted with having to rebuild the launches (heavily rumored to be the case), reconfigure the station again to increase capacity (rumored), and do some intermittent track/structure replacement (random guess). At some point maybe you just tell Intamin to keep what makes sense and build a new coaster utilizing what's worth saving?
Lends credence to the fact that from what I've been told Volcano will stand quiet for 2019, and there's already talks with multiple companies about a future project. My biggest concern is the entanglement between Volcano and the mountain itself. Engineers and contractors have to be very careful of how they treat this project if they want to retain the original mountain.
It’s really a shame they already have a drop tower because an S&S tower coming out the opening would be an awesome use of it.
Just make it a projection mapping show. That's all the rage nowadays.
Well, this announcement made me come out of semi-retirement to make a comment.
Volcano will always be unique in the annals of coaster history. BUT, the problem with this ride has always been capacity and down-time.
When Volcano opened in '98, electro-magnetic launch technology was still in its infancy (FOF had just opened 2 years earlier in '96). Intamin choose LIM motors for this coaster. LIM Motors, it appears, are not good at handling exposure to moisture/weather. If you notice that new electro magnetic launched coasters today use LSM motors which seem to be hardier operating in the elements. Plus, the ride was under-powered the first season (remember 2 seat train cars instead of the 4 seats it was designed for).
Volcano was, and 20 years later, still is Intamin's prototype full-circuit, electro-magnetic launched, suspended coaster. So, anything from diagnosing issues to fabricating replacement parts took a long time. Hence, down times that were like an eternity.
Given that train capacity was just 16 and having an active ride area consisting of one "safety block", the trains were always stacked in the station area. The only way I could see potential capacity improvement was to have split load/unload areas where 2 trains could be loaded/unloaded at the same time.
But, it will be interesting to see what CF/KD does with that area. Does the mountain structure stay or does it get scrapped also? If it stays, does it get another coaster to replace Volcano or does the mountain get a multi-year refurb with a new set of dark rides / flat rides. AKA, the return of the "Lost World"?
Volcano will always be unique in the annals of coaster history. BUT, the problem with this ride has always been capacity and down-time.
When Volcano opened in '98, electro-magnetic launch technology was still in its infancy (FOF had just opened 2 years earlier in '96). Intamin choose LIM motors for this coaster. LIM Motors, it appears, are not good at handling exposure to moisture/weather. If you notice that new electro magnetic launched coasters today use LSM motors which seem to be hardier operating in the elements. Plus, the ride was under-powered the first season (remember 2 seat train cars instead of the 4 seats it was designed for).
Volcano was, and 20 years later, still is Intamin's prototype full-circuit, electro-magnetic launched, suspended coaster. So, anything from diagnosing issues to fabricating replacement parts took a long time. Hence, down times that were like an eternity.
Given that train capacity was just 16 and having an active ride area consisting of one "safety block", the trains were always stacked in the station area. The only way I could see potential capacity improvement was to have split load/unload areas where 2 trains could be loaded/unloaded at the same time.
But, it will be interesting to see what CF/KD does with that area. Does the mountain structure stay or does it get scrapped also? If it stays, does it get another coaster to replace Volcano or does the mountain get a multi-year refurb with a new set of dark rides / flat rides. AKA, the return of the "Lost World"?
Replacing an iconic coaster with a few flats is a terrible idea that will anger many. It has to be a new coaster to live up to its predecessor.
Okay dude, this is a park icon we’re talking about, not Shockwave. It’s insulting to take out a beloved ride and put in a screen simulator in its place.
A B&M invert/flyer/whatnot would be a much more worthy addition and successor to it.
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You know that the mountain pre-dates Paramount...
Hypersonic I dont consider being replaced by anything, it was removed then later something built in the same area. Shockwave was removed for the new ride to be put in that location. As far as either being a superior replacement for me I disagree. I rode Shockwave just about every visit to the park, the Claw ride that replaced it I have never ridden and have zero interest to. The Skyflyer I also have zero interest in. Again just my opinion.
Oh crap I forgot. Then it was one of the original management who poorly designed that area.