Do we over look Intamin?
Six Flags America: Yes, Intamin is so sweeeeeet.... but I'm starting to notice some down-time on one of their coasters... tell me if you see the same for Intamin coasters you're close to.
My home park (SFA, of course) has one Intamin coaster (I won't go into details with why I'm disappointed with the park), Superman: Ride of Steel. So far this year, I've been to SFA 4 times since April 26th, opening date. I'm pretty sure 3 out of the 4 it has had "technichal difficulties" of some sort.
Opening day): waited an hour 15 minutes for them to finally get it working at the beginning of the day.
2nd trip): no problems
3rd trip): finally testing the red train (had been running blue only the whole year), but having problems with it. Tried to put the mover back in place, too dangeorus. at least broken down 4 hours throught the day all together.
4th trip, yesterday): running red train, then at around 5, the blue train got stuck on the lift, while RED train stuck at brakes after the ride. MY STATISTICS are this; the red train couldn't move, so they had to stop the blue train from finishing the course. broken down then for 20 minutes. I got to ride it, but after I got off, the same thing happened. They closed it for 30 minutes, and they did that so they could put the red train on the other track. They evacuated everybody from the que, then.
This is just an example. Do you ever find problems with your Intamin coaster (If you go on one frequently)?
Oh I can think quite a few right off the bat. Volcano-KD, Kingda ka-sfgradv, TTD-CP.
Launch/catapult coasters are more likely to have issues due to the level of technology involved. So, KK, TTD, Volcano all have to "pass a test" that lift coasters don't. I'm surprised there isn't MORE down-time. (NOTE: The experience is worth the wait!) You have to wonder how many more launch coasters will be built. Intamin AG is obviously the leader, but these rides are rare, expensive and prone to breakdowns (meaning fewer happy riders, less guests, less profit, etc.) I hope they aren't a dying breed. (For now, the novelty should keep the existing ones running for a while, even if they are expensive to run.)
I don't see too many problems with Cedar Point's rides. Dragster had it's problems in the beginning but has become a lot more reliable in recent years. I've never heard that Wicked Twister ever had extensive downtime. Millennium Force has the occasional problem with it's cable lift system, but again, downtime is minimal. Let us not forget also that Intamin designs and builds a lot of other types of rides.
Intamin has brought about a lot of technology that other coasters just don't have. Cable lifts, magnetic brakes, various launch systems...etc. Naturally these rides, like every other one, would have a shakedown period. It's not whether or not the rides malfunction, but what the park does to prevent and fix the issues.
No, not all boost coasters from Intamin are a... well, not a waste, but a... a 'letdown'. Look at Stormrunner. It rarely brakes down. When it does, they get it right back up and running right away. Oh, Christy, sorry about Volcano, I forgot. Sadly, though, stormrunner is the only one I can think of. How is Xcelerator doing? After all, that was #1. I want to ride it, though!
This discussion has been archived, and is not accepting additional responses.
