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Diamondback Rumor


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I patiently waited in my seat for Drop Tower last year while a guy a few seats over was trying to shove down the restraint to no avail. He then proceeded to ask help from a operator to get it secured. When that wasn't enough they asked another operator to also help. Once they all decided to give up I heard him say something to the effect that it didn't work earlier in the day but he thought walking around the park would drop some weight so he could fit in the restraints......it was quite annoying.

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Anyway...

If I get too big for a ride, I have two options, lose the weight for it (which I am doing for Disney, I want no surprises there) or not ride it.

I always find it ironic when people say they're losing weight for Disney, because Disney is the most large-person-friendly park there is! I've been fortunate enough to have 5 trips to WDW in the past 8 years, and I have never had an issue with any ride there, unlike most other parks I go to. I have a friend who lost weight years ago for his first Disney trip, and we like to laugh about that. When he first told me about it, I said what I did above about it being large person friendly. He responded "Yeah, I found that out when I got there!"

Here is a great resource on WDW rides and attractions for people of the larger persuasion: http://allears.net/tp/ridsiz.htm Links on the left side of the page will take you to the sections on each park.

I did not know that. Well that makes me feel better, but I would still like to lose the weight. I fit at KI (as of last season) but things are starting to get tight. So if Disney is my excuse to get back to my "fighting weight" then Ill do it :) But thanks for the link! And go for it, I hope you drop 10 pounds to be lighter than the GK weight!

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DB did have issues stacking on some days during the season, I even believe I have video of it. If a train has to sit on the the safety brake (main brake for you guys) it's a stacked train. It should come to a controlled stop, slide through, and proceed to the ready brake (before the station) and through to the dispatch/station brake.

I do agree with the thought of the seat button not being pressed..Keeping count of riders that way does seem odd, especially IMO the ride op in controls needs to be paying attention to the ride, not watching the platform and counting any empty seats, which in some runs could be quite a large number. Turnstiles work quite well, and IMO should be used over this method. I will say both methods aren't perfect at counting riders. Some stupid kid spins the turnstile twice or more, ride op messes with it, etc. There is a margin for error. Hell if I dispatched every train on Corkscrew this station using the same setup, I'd have darn near record numbers, just saying.

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When I worked at Kings Island and operated Vortex, Adventure Express, and Top Gun (at the time) I made certain that I counted the empty seats correctly, but mistakes can happen. Especially if your sending an empty train and forget to hit the empty train button so it doesn't count. Also no offense to anyone, but in the last few years, Kings Island ride ops have been some of the slowest I have seen in years. Vortex stacks almost every train.

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Vortex stacks almost every train.

I had seen that a few times too many last year, unfortunately. :( One of those times was on Closing Day when I was trying to get a last minute marathon on Vortex during the last hour. When I was riding, the trains kept on stacking, which allowed enough time for the line to get a bit too long for even a short marathon. I would have been able to get another consecutive ride or two in if it weren't for the almost constant stacking that was happening a bit before and when I was on, all while having enough time to ride WindSeeker a couple times.

The stacking, and my semi-poor planning (I did not ride Vortex and 'Seeker until the last half hour, literally) were what got me my all-time low for Closing Day rides on Vortex (which was only 2 rides :( I normally get about 7).

Not trying to rant or anything, but that is the first time that stacking on Vortex presented a small but significant "issue" of mine on Closing Day... :unsure:

(...Now, about the main topic (DB), I don't quite know what to think about the seatbelts rumor yet. Carry on...)

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They should be able to dispatch Vortex so the train reaches B set at lift crest area by the time the first train is clear the MCBR

Btw Seeker is THE WORST when it comes to operations..Make the op in controls also one checking restraints causing them to go back and fourth, etc..just..pathetic.

One op should be in controls at all times monitoring the other ops on platform to release/lock restraints as needed, and also be watching the panel/ride itself for anything worth noticing. Also they don't seem to organize and get riders ready and stage them before opening gates to let them onto the ride..CP and the other parks seemed to do this well when I watched, but WindSeeker is just, ridiculous. One of the reasons they were the worst crew in 2013 IMO

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DB did have issues stacking on some days during the season, I even believe I have video of it. If a train has to sit on the the safety brake (main brake for you guys) it's a stacked train. It should come to a controlled stop, slide through, and proceed to the ready brake (before the station) and through to the dispatch/station brake.

I do agree with the thought of the seat button not being pressed..Keeping count of riders that way does seem odd, especially IMO the ride op in controls needs to be paying attention to the ride, not watching the platform and counting any empty seats, which in some runs could be quite a large number. Turnstiles work quite well, and IMO should be used over this method. I will say both methods aren't perfect at counting riders. Some stupid kid spins the turnstile twice or more, ride op messes with it, etc. There is a margin for error. Hell if I dispatched every train on Corkscrew this station using the same setup, I'd have darn near record numbers, just saying.

I see a re-occuring theme here in your posts that I will probably PM you about.

Any-who, yes. Diamondback stacked occasionally this past season. Your telling me in your whole career you have NEVER stacked trains at any ride you have operated?

Also, with the empty seat counter. Its in the programming, why not use it? The problem with turnstiles(other than what you have mentioned) is also the fact that a lot of people just escort others and slide through to the exit, or chicken out. Which also deems the turnstile method somewhat of a bust in my opinion.

I think Rides Operations is doing a fine job keeping count, staying safe, and working fast. We should probably leave it to them to think what is best. Whatever they are doing is working, and if it isn't they are aware and are more than likely working on making it better for the guests. Not to please other CF employees simply because 'thats not how we do it'.

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Diamondback gave 1,861,093 rides last year which represents the most rides given in one year on the tallest and fastest roller coaster at Kings Island.

Hear, hear! Diamondback was good to me last season. I didn't even have a pass last year. I was paying full admission for the few days I went, and I got my money's worth each and every time on Diamondback alone, like 4 or 5 rides each time I went, stacked up on top of everything else I rode. We'd be blessed to have another season like that.

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Anyway...

If I get too big for a ride, I have two options, lose the weight for it (which I am doing for Disney, I want no surprises there) or not ride it.

I always find it ironic when people say they're losing weight for Disney, because Disney is the most large-person-friendly park there is! I've been fortunate enough to have 5 trips to WDW in the past 8 years, and I have never had an issue with any ride there, unlike most other parks I go to. I have a friend who lost weight years ago for his first Disney trip, and we like to laugh about that. When he first told me about it, I said what I did above about it being large person friendly. He responded "Yeah, I found that out when I got there!"

Here is a great resource on WDW rides and attractions for people of the larger persuasion: http://allears.net/tp/ridsiz.htm Links on the left side of the page will take you to the sections on each park.

I did not know that. Well that makes me feel better, but I would still like to lose the weight. I fit at KI (as of last season) but things are starting to get tight. So if Disney is my excuse to get back to my "fighting weight" then Ill do it :) But thanks for the link! And go for it, I hope you drop 10 pounds to be lighter than the GK weight!

Better for you to do it now when it's just a little to lose rather than the amount I'd like to ultimately take off. Good luck, and thanks for the encouragement!

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Vortex used to dispatch rather uniquely, At one time, when you were travelling up the hill, you would pass the train ahead of you at the first cork screw. When did they discontinue this dispatch sequence?

That actually happened a few times during my trips last year! :D

Some times they dispatch early enough for the two trains to pass each other (especially in the morning/evening when there are very short/almost non-existent lines), some times they stack rather frequently, and most of the time it's in the middle (not very early, not too late). It varies.

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I think The Vortex line goes faster than any other line in the park IMO.

Vortex is the probably the park's biggest people eater. That combined with its not being quite as popular as Diamondback and The Beast lead to short, quick moving lines. Heck, even when it's backed up to Juke Box Diner, you're looking at a 20 minute wait if the ride is running at max capacity.

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^Adventure Express' line moves just as fast, even though it has one less train.

It also helps that both rides will start spilling into the midway even with relatively short lines, and when the average parkgoer sees a line overflowing into the midway, it often scares them off.

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Ahh, Arrow Dynamics coasters...such good capacity. :P In the case of Vortex & Adventure Express, you thus get a solid ride on a good coaster for 20 minutes or less unless it is uber-crowded or something goes wrong. Which makes them good rides to choose on a crowded day.

Oh no- a funny memory I have of Vortex just returned. It was around noon-ish, in 2012 I think. Our group was heading to Vortex and the line was spilling out of the midway near Jukebox Diner. A kid walked by and said "IT'S A 2 HOUR LINE!", scaring some people off. We got in line anyway. 25 minutes later, I was getting "looped". :P

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In other news, and to put this thread back on topic, tomorrow will tell the tale for the Carowinds side of the rumor. We just need a member to go to Carowinds and check it out for us...

"Paging merthecat, paging merthecat, your assistance is needed!"

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Based on a lack of denial...I feel like seat belts on Diamondback might be a reality...

There was never a denial for the B&M Wing Coaster named The Bat either, we never found out that we WEREN'T getting that until Banshee was announced.

Patience, padawan. All will be revealed soon enough.

(I'm still accepting donations of plane tickets to Charlotte... My offer to go to Carowinds and investigate this matter still stands) ;)

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Coasterama, it really would not surprise me.

However, I do not see the point. Unless B&M has gone back and installed seat belts on ALL of their Hyper Coaster installations.

This means, Behemoth, Leviathan, Intimidator (sp?), Goliath, Hollywood Dream, Raging Bull, Nitro, Apollo's Chariot, etc, will most likely all have seat belts.

"Please spay and neuter your pets and B&M Hyper Coasters."

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Look at that Boomerang.....erm uh yeah I could see how it could utilize seat belts. Though, I must say that it may inhibit the airtime that many rave about on D-Back.

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