trevRN 0 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Okay, so I couldn't come up with a proper title for this, but I was at Kings Island this past Saturday (June 2, 2018). Towards the middle of the afternoon, I was on WindSeeker, and I noticed that there was a group of people standing in the grass between The Racers where the two tracks split. One man was taking pictures toward The Racers facing in the direction of the station, another person looked like they was carrying one of those orange tripod things, people use when surveying land, and then another I'm assuming a park manager or something just standing there with papers. Did anyone else see these people? Speculations on what it could be? Possible RMC conversion of The Racers? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tera Ryzing 367 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Lord I hope so! 1 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evy0311 74 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 I highly doubt they would do an RMC conversion of racer... But I do think they're going to be remodelling it and refreshing it. That thing is falling apart. Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WWC2003Amy 323 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Either that or another ride that is going to interact in some way with The RacerSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tera Ryzing 367 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 One historical wood coaster is enough IMO. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gforce1994 2510 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 1 hour ago, trevRN said: Okay, so I couldn't come up with a proper title for this, but I was at Kings Island this past Saturday (June 2, 2018). Towards the middle of the afternoon, I was on WindSeeker, and I noticed that there was a group of people standing in the grass between The Racers where the two tracks split. One man was taking pictures toward The Racers facing in the direction of the station, another person looked like they was carrying one of those orange tripod things, people use when surveying land, and then another I'm assuming a park manager or something just standing there with papers. Did anyone else see these people? Speculations on what it could be? Possible RMC conversion of The Racers? Yes, well, there’s a few things to note. When surveying it is always important to take photo of the sight lines just Incase there are any potential obstructions. Case in point, I had a two day experience where the first day the site was absolutely clear, second day the site was covered for College Game Day broadcast. However with any surveying project, you need some base point or reference point to refer elevations to. The base point is usually where someone sets up their tripod, focuses the laser on the base marker and starts surveying. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Outdoor Man 2553 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 parts of it look like they are using the oil/grease as a paint color. Several of the coasters there could use a good bath and paint job. Firehawk's mask is meticulously being pulled back to reveal X-Flight. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlondyRidesOn 1810 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 I sure hope it's not an RMC conversion. That ride still gets good ridership. Would love to see a GCI retrack of it though, maybe reprofiling by Martin and Vleminckx and some Millennium Flyer trains like Wildcat at Lake Compounce or Ghostrider at Knotts. The ACE Landmark plaque is back outside the entrance to the ride, so hopefully it's not the end. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SonofBaconator 13248 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Rmc can add topper track and I wouldn't care since it would still be considered wooden. What Racer really needs is a gci or a gravity group retrack which wouldn't be an issue considering how iconic the ride is to the industry. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tera Ryzing 367 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 What has gravity group done in the states the last decade besides a small woodie for fun spot. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kenban 2385 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Oscars Wacky Taxi, Switchback, Roar-O-Saurus, and Zippin Pippin are all recent builds by the Gravity Group in the US. Ravine Flyer II is 10 years old this year. There is a chance I missed something as well. But I am not aware of any relationship between Gravity Group and Cedar Fair so I doubt we would see them working on The Racer. I am leaning towards something interacting with The Racer, or maybe even just a lighting package, or painting the coaster. 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlondyRidesOn 1810 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 22 minutes ago, Tera Ryzing said: What has gravity group done in the states the last decade besides a small woodie for fun spot. Kings Dominion Rebel Yell retracking in 2016/2017. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shaggy 5031 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 I'm pretty sure I know who they were. If I am correct, then no, they had nothing to do with a new coaster. They were taking pictures... that later got posted to FB and a website... One was there for purposes related to another attraction at the park. 3 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SonofBaconator 13248 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 16 minutes ago, Kenban said: But I am not aware of any relationship between Gravity Group and Cedar Fair As far as I know, the only CF coaster they've touched is the late Rebel Yell. I'd say Cedar Fair has a stronger relationship with GCI at the moment as they've been the go-to for wooden coasters for over a decade now 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gforce1994 2510 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 18 minutes ago, Kenban said: Oscars Wacky Taxi, Switchback, Roar-O-Saurus, and Zippin Pippin are all recent builds by the Gravity Group in the US. Ravine Flyer II is 10 years old this year. There is a chance I missed something as well. But I am not aware of any relationship between Gravity Group and Cedar Fair so I doubt we would see them working on The Racer. I am leaning towards something interacting with The Racer, or maybe even just a lighting package, or painting the coaster. Gravity Group redid Thunderhawk at Dorney. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OTTER9919 116 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Sweet,I was at the park on Saturday too,I finally rode Banshee and Vortex,I hope we get something great in that area of the park 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maverick44 7646 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Pics or it didn't happen! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gannersdaddy 2775 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 1 8 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheRickster 560 Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 I'd say racer got a good amount of track work over the offseason and is running rather well. They'd be pretty crazy to change it. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlondyRidesOn 1810 Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 What if Fred Grubb was here because Rocky Mountain Construction has been traditionally retracking The Racer? Either way, it wouldn't make much sense to close the ride shortly after it got a good amount of retracking. Still hoping for a Ghostrider style treatment if any changes are being made to the ride. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
That_B&M_Roar 10 Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 I’d be down for either Gravity Group Timberliners or GCI Millennium Flyers on The Racer. I’m sure this way to cart before the horse to be discussing. But that would be sweet! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CoastersRZ 5856 Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 21 hours ago, BlondyRidesOn said: What if Fred Grubb was here because Rocky Mountain Construction has been traditionally retracking The Racer? Either way, it wouldn't make much sense to close the ride shortly after it got a good amount of retracking. Still hoping for a Ghostrider style treatment if any changes are being made to the ride. Carowinds had spent quite a bit of time, effort and money fixing up Thunder Road. And then they tore it down to make room for their Carolina Harbor water park expansion. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Oldschool75 7305 Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 As Mr. Dylan said “The Times they are a-changin” Question is, how?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlondyRidesOn 1810 Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 1 hour ago, CoastersRZ said: Carowinds had spent quite a bit of time, effort and money fixing up Thunder Road. And then they tore it down to make room for their Carolina Harbor water park expansion. Thunder Road had major structural problems due to the wood structure being unprotected and untreated for years. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MagnesiumPC 4 Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 On 6/4/2018 at 1:23 PM, Tera Ryzing said: What has gravity group done in the states the last decade besides a small woodie for fun spot. Wooden Warrior @ Quassy, Switchback @ ZDTs, Ravine Flyer II @ Waldameer, Roar-O-Saurus @ Story Land, Oscars Wacky Taxi @ Sesame Place, as well as various other retracks. They appear to be focusing on family & unique rides, rather than the massive rides. I almost wonder if the age of Mega Wooden Coasters is over. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shawn Meyer 1318 Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 ^ Well I noticed that one side of racer was smoother than the other side so maybe they're planning on closing one side and re-tracking that side for next year to make it smoother. It's still a fun ride to ride, but yes it needs a paint job badly. Someone also mentioned Firehawk needs some love as well, so I would love to see them repaint that as well. If Kings Island took care of those two roller-coasters in the off-season, I wouldn't care if we get something new or not for 2019. I know that sounds crazy, but anybody else agree? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlondyRidesOn 1810 Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 I watched the Coaster_Net video regarding this topic. They mentioned officials from a company the works on lighting packages walking around The Racer. I forget the company's name, but there may be a restoration effort in progress for the ride. It's worth noting that most RMC conversions have the footings on the old ride marked with spray paint to mark which supports to remove. None of that is seen on Racer. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlondyRidesOn 1810 Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 Sorry for two posts in a row, but doesn't Rocky Mountain Construction do traditional wooden coaster maintenance as well? In fact, their Topper Track technology, and eventually the I-box track, were developed because there were sections of roller coaster track that kept having to be replaced. I'm not saying The Racer is getting Topper Track, I hope not at least, but with Fred Grubb possibly being here, could it be possible that he was looking at the ride to replace the old track with new wood for a 2019 restoration project? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
King Ding Dong 10301 Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 Yes RMC has done traditional track maintence in the past. A few years ago they did some work on The Boss at SFSTL, not that it did much for the ride overall though. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IndyGuy4KI 14647 Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 I heard RMC did normal track maintenance on Hoosier Hurricane about 5 years ago at Indiana Beach. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.