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Whar is the deal with them not racing the racer


CoasterXtreme
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I have been three times to pki this year so far and what is the deal with them not racing The Racer. I am kinda of upset with this since that is the whole point of the ride. Are they going to race anymore? Has anyone else notice this or have I just went on day they have not been racing Please let me know.

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The one time I've gone this year so far, they were racing, but then again it was only once. I'd say theres a bigger chance of them racing on weekdays when crowds are down. On weekends there is too big of a capacity issue with the racing.

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There is always the capacity issue....if one side is taking to long to load or they have to do something then the other side will not wait, too long at least. And if the trains aren't in the station, loading, at the same time then they won't wait. I do not know if this is the case or not, I am just guessing.

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Back when I was growing up in the mid-late 80's, they always raced The Racers..... it was operating policy and considered part of the "show" and was not optional. It's one of those things that changed when Paramount took over, like the elimination of costuming. Then again, this was before lap bars were used on wodden coasters and they always had two trains on the track, so I don't think they had to worry about capacity issues or slow loading.... there was always a train waiting to be loaded when one was leaving the station.

Cris

Edited by Crispy1979
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I think that they try to race as often as possible. I also think that who`s driving each side has a lot to do with it. On days that they are racing, some times they won`t race at certain times. For example, if they are checking someone`s hieght on one of the sides, usually the other side`s train will be sent out without racing.

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Crispy plaese refresh my memory as to what type of restraint was used in place of the lap bars back then. There had to have been some type of restraint on The Racer because it would almost be suicidal to run the trains that way given all of the excellent air time especially on the top of the switch back.

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Crispy plaese refresh my memory as to what type of restraint was used in place of the lap bars back then. There had to have been some type of restraint on The Racer because it would almost be suicidal to run the trains that way given all of the excellent air time especially on the top of the switch back.

I remember riding it when it still had Buzz bars (single restraint for the whole row) which were the standard restraints on wood Coasters at the time. Beast also had the same restraints.

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Actually the big reason they don't race The Racer is b/c of staff... during the operating hours so far we still have a lot of staff in school and don't have enough to run both sides. Hopefully you will see alot more "racing" from The Racer starting now. We do our best to keep them Racing. Of course, if you have read the other posts in the forum, you can find many reason why they don't race if both sides are opened.

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Hey Magic. I had never heard the term "Buzz Bar" before. you learn something new everyday. But yes, it was just a bar that would flip down and give you something to hold on to, but other than that, there were no restraints.... this was the same for all wooden coasters in the country before they started installing those orange lap bars around 1990. So if you're wondering why they have those "Do not stand up" signs at the top of lift hills, it is because you used to actually be able to stand up in you car since there was no restraint. And coster riding has changed since the advent of the lap bar.... your butt no longer leaves your seat when you go down the drops.

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CoasterXtreme, it's not "lazy" of the park when they don't race The Racer when there just isn't enough people to work both sides... it's just a case of numbers; who is trained to run the ride, how many people are there to run it, what ride should they shut down to race The Racer (if the employees running those other rides are trained in The Racer) and many other things...

Like I said before, it's written down and posted in a lot of places that certain rides may not be operating or will open late... The Racer is actually two rides, not one, remember.

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When both sides are opened and they aren't racing, it's b/c of reasons already posted... would guests rather have it racing or just get on the ride and go? Sounds like they would prefer to wait until the other side is ready. Oh well, the ride is great, IMO, racing or not.

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Well I dont think it has to do with staff issues.Go up north to cedarpoint and they always race theres,I was there this past week and they were racing theres.Um I think that they have employees still in school to.Its just plain and simple they dont want to race them cuz either lazy or impatient.Racer usually doesnt have that long of a wait so if one side is holding up thn wait.I have to say cedarpoint to me thee lines move way faster than pki. coasterfans

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I was told that the reason they do not race The Racers is because of capasity. Whenever there are big crowds at PKI and long lines, the park wants to have the lines as short as possible. This means not waiting for the other side.

Dragonlord, the numbers thing shouldnt be a problem anymore. Most schools let out before or on Friday.

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>>>I was told that the reason they do not race The Racers is because of capasity. Whenever there are big crowds at PKI and long lines, the park wants to have the lines as short as possible. This means not waiting for the other side. <<<

So I guess if this is true, then we could say that The Racer doesn't race do to a change in Park policy sometime in the last 10 years. (when racing the trains was require operating policy and not optional)

Cris

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  • 4 weeks later...

I was told by a supervisor that they will not hold a train and wait for the other, Which I think to Crap. Who are we just the paying public. I have made a complaint, everytime I have went and they are not racing! I just feel that is the whole reason to ride The RacerS. I have been riding that coaster since I was 5 and I want them to race once again. So I encourage everone to complain to the park about it so we can get that policy changed! I will not rest until they race once again.

P.S. Some things should just not be messed with!

Edited by CoasterXtreme
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But if they wait for both trains, every time it will slow it down a lot. You will have long waits, the queue doesn't effect the wait. It will kill capacity because you will get no where near enough cycles and riders in the hour... they have to meet a certain amount of cycles.

I see them race often...if not head to head then within one car of each other.

Edited by matt3224
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The whole point of the ride is racing! I could careless about capacity. It is a racing coaster there for they should race period if they are not going to race them then they should take them out. That is just stupid to have a racing coaster and not race them due to capacity.

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Hey chill down dude, you can't expect a park to meet your every little expectation. If they did it your way and your way only PKI wouldn't get half the guests they normally get. Most of the time they do try to race, but for one reason or another they sometimes don't race. Besides, if I got my way all the time you'd be outta here so I don't have to listen to you complain about how the park doesn't meet your perfect expectations. In other word, just get over it. It's a great ride even w/ out the racing.

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Not racing them DOES make the lines shorter...because no one in my family rides it if they're not racing!

In my opinion, by today's standards The Racer is not really that thrilling...the racing aspect of it IS what sets it apart from the bigger coasters.

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