Gordon Bombay

In 2000, the year Son of Beast debuted, it would've been the fourth longest roller coaster in the world, but the second longest wooden roller coaster in the world. When Voyage debuted in 2006, it fell just behind Son of Beast. So, during SOB's lifetime: World's Longest Rollercoasters: 1. Steel Dragon 2000 2. The Ultimate 3. The Beast 4. Son of Beast World's Longest Wooden Rollercoasters: 1. The Beast 2. Son of Beast 3. The Voyage

Wonderful. Thank you for the insight!

I love this thread. There is some great information in here. There's also some silliness. You guys are way overthinking the this whole notion of reasons as to when, where, and why the track would be moved/show up.

Such a vestige of a different era. When the ride opened, I had no interest in riding it. I was way too scared as a 7-year old, but I wanted to see the queue and set up so bad. I was absolutely enthralled (and X-Files was huge at the time): the building, the hangar, the queue storyline, the mysterious train launch, and the employees in military uniforms. Didn't even need to ride to have a good time. Over the years, and when I was still at the park, several heartfelt attempts were made to maintain and help clean up the scenery by various groups. Last I heard, it was still looking pretty good. But nostalgia is a personal thing. Diamondback is now 10 years old and I'm sure some will view this modern era in the way others look back. "Remember when Cedar Fair built all those B&M coasters? The 2010's were weird, man."

Not a criticism, but just curious how you might be defining "service life." SFGAM and SFGADV removed their mega loopers, but the SFMM one still remains (Viper) as do Arrow coasters older than our 1987 Bat-replacement. I never particularly cared for Vortex as a ride (the headbanging ruins what would otherwise be a really cool experience), but in my experience the reliability and capacity benefits kept it going. When you say "service life" do you think it's a matter physical age or more of a matter of space/benefit ala: it's outlived its usefulness and the site could be utilized for something better? For me, that seems to be the biggest benefit of removing Vortex: a large plot of land is free'd up. The Dive Coaster thing seems to fit in line with how other parks have been developed within the chain (it also adds yet another high capacity, reliable ride with an enjoyable and unique guest experience). I'm curiously watching the Mack case at Carowinds and how that ride holds up in terms of reliability, etc. Anyways, just curious if you have any insight as to how "service life" may be defined. Universal stated that their dueling B&M inverts had outlived their "service life," but there are B&M inverts even older that are still running just fine. Firehawk was also said to be "at the end of its service life," but that ride was always an unreliable piece of junk. On a personal note: if Vortex is staying, I think it'd be nice to see it get refreshed. Throw on some fresh paint (maybe a new color scheme), add in those comfortable Vekoma trains, clean up the station, tie it in with the whole nostalgia thing.

Same here. I always understood that Fearfest/Haunt was both popular and lucrative for the park, but could never get past the things you described. Hopefully that doesn't happen with Flight of Fear. The saucer queue is a shadow of its 1996 self, but it provides a reprieve on warm days and some entertainment that distracts you from how long the line may be. Plus, it's like a 90s time capsule. Wonderful.

I hope not. Haunt makes the park looks so trashy. No need to ruin another perfectly good area of the park for 1.5 months of nonsense.

My guess is that this new ride (like a lot of B&M's) is going to be a "people eater." Even in slow operation, it's going to move a linn relatively quickly. There may be a few weeks/months where temporary queues are needed ala Diamondback 2009, but just via proximity—Flight of Fear is probably going to see an uptick in interest/ridership. Unlike a reliable B&M ride with three trains that can each seat 32 riders, Flight of Fear's two small trains don't move people as quickly. It may need the additional space of Firehawk's queue for a season or two to handle crowds in that area. Like Dominion, KI should add a third train to FoF, but that was a losing battle years ago.

Thanks! I see it now. Trying to envision how the crew will change out all the trash cans using those stairs. I imagine all trash will have to be bertha'd away to the nearest food stand, and then the next closest when the first food stand is already backed up with weeks of un-emptied dumpsters and decaying ice cream. Big if true. Thanks for the clarification and insight, the wall was definitely throwing me off. Appreciate it!

I wonder if they're assuming that FOF's ridership will skyrocket simply via proximity or if Firehawk's former queue will be overflow for the new ride until things die down? Fun fact: FOF's "pre-shows" were designed to only be heard once. There are two: the radio programs that played outside and the video inside. In theory, with four trains running at full capacity, riders would be moved along quickly enough to hear the outdoor recordings once and see the video once before entering the saucer. Not that the ride ever ran with four trains, moved that efficiently, or had that much up time at the outset... @BSBMX - am I interpreting the above drawings correctly in that the exit path of Project X will lead to the Firehawk queue stairs (which used to lead you down and to one of the stations)?

Did you get LaRosa's though?

Appears to have been July 26, 2014.

Why go with quality when you can probably just scrounge up some second-rate Gerstlauer trains for cheap?

Thanks for this photograph and your continued insight, @BSBMX. Off-topic question: The re-tracking of The Racer seen in that photo-has the ride improved at all and was it done by a particular company? On-topic question: One of the comments repeated on KIC since 2007 has been that XBase needs a restroom. Have these blueprints revealed the potential of any restrooms being constructed? On-topic followup question: If the park does build restrooms in X-Base to go along with this new ride, will they be somewhat shorter, abbreviated, and only almost as good as their Canada and Carolina counterparts?

2 + 2 = 5

I notice a severe lack of wings that have a little kick to them. Will not be attending.

There should be a book one day, because man oh man.... you wouldn't believe.

haha, totally get it. And I hope they pull it off well. Food at the park should be unique and an experience just like everything else. They've made great strides over the years. Just need to maintain and deliver on their goals.

Hope it has a little kick to it. Yes, but will the food... Actually be any good? Actually be available? Be prepped and delivered by adequate staffing?

Thank you, @AZ Kinda Guy. Any insight on generators and power redundancies?

Depends on the ride model (@pkiridesmaint please correct me if I’m wrong), while most are pneumatic, I don’t think Diamondback/Banshee’s are? Or they may be pneumatic, but are configured differently than “pinch brakes” seen on rides like Beast and Racer. I also believe that the Arrow coasters (AE/Vortex) don’t have default position of closed. I.E. in some areas of the ride (stations I believe), the trains have to be chained up at night because the air drains from the brakes (by design) and is no longer holding the train in place. That’s what I remember, but again @pkiridesmaint—feel free to correct. I’m also not sure that the generators automatically kick on? By default, the coaster’s will come to a stop at their prescribed brake locations, but even if a generator were to start up, the ride does not continue operating as normal. In the event of a power outage, they’d be more likely to evacuate the ride rather than get it running again. Not to get way too off topic, but I’m not sure which rides have generators. I know Diamondback has the Kohler that’s visible by its lift hill. I believe Flight of Fear has one too. The Crypt/Tomb Raider had one as well.

Diamondback has a Kohler Diesel Generator situated nearby. Several other rides have a similar one. However, these are rarely used. In the event of a power outage—so long as the trains are in a normal stopped locations with proper accessibility—they’d most likely just evacuate the guests and wait for power to be restored before firing up a generator.

That's my bad, @BSBMX. I mistakenly thought "Hot Shot" was "Big Shot." Could totally be a similar/updated product, but I was remembering the wrong company.

You mean Grand CarnEvil, a season long celebration of the classic Haunt maze.

Edit: Don't listen to my ramblings. Go to the park and have fun.