pkiridesmaint

Back in the paramount days when I worked there, they pulled us rides maintenance workers as ride operators when the rides kids went back to school, the plus side is if there was a 29, we’re already there lol

There’s two words associated with that head banging... ball joints, rougarou along with a lot of early B&M coasters were built with ball joint Connections to supports unlike flanged connections today. Tolerances weren’t as tight as they are now, ball joints allow a lot of movement during installation in case the support wasn’t in the exact alignment but also causes the track to slightly move during operation causing that head banging...

Action theater has been neglected for so long that it would Require a complete overhaul and I don’t see Cedar Fair using any CapEx on it, it’s been used as storage for years. when I worked in Tech Services in the paramount days it was already in bad shape.

The brake is from Vortex but the panel was not

VFD’s are used more than what you describe, VFD is a Variable frequency drive, which means in dumbed down terms the motor can be sped up and down by adjusting the voltage AND frequency while maintains the same level of torque. almost all coasters at Kings Island have a variable speed motor on their lift. Ever notice the change in speed as you’re ascending? On The Bat, The Beast, racer, Mystic Timbers? That is because the Programmable logic controller is controlling the lift motor and varying the speed depending on the location of the other trains in the blocks. B&M uses VFD motors in the block brakes and station because they can slow the motor way down and accurately park the train in the same position every time. Older coasters rely solely on their brakes to stop a train in the correct position which never produces consistent results

lift motor was installed as lift hill was constructed, they don’t do clearance testing with a car, they have a cutout that they place at all areas that could come in contact. Drive tires were pre-attached to the VFD drive motors on the individual sections and delivered that way.

Look closely in the video and you can see where the spine has been cut after the first drop and before the turnaround...

It was either in their 2018 q4 or 2019 q1 conference call, I’m trying to find the source atm

It is known that Cedar Fair a year or so ago asked each general manager at every park to nominate an attraction that they saw fit to be removed and replaced...

There is a company in California that refurbishes coaster wheels including a lot for Kings Island... other than that the park has to make custom parts... uremet.com

You’re probably right but that was 18 years ago, I just remember removing all the ride control equipment in early February and the roof was still there...

That was taken in February of 2002, I remember the day they removed the roof from the station, they were being careful with everything during removal hoping to sell the ride

Tennessee tornado was the first Arrow coaster designed by computer

Dave did retire but was a forced retirement, paramount gave him no choice shortly after Tomb Raider was complete

The only thing I see a concern is false reporting by the GP, with how fast rumors spread on social media I’m sure they’re concerned mainly about people starting rumors that the entire park is being torn down, or other false rumors like they’re tearing it down because someone died or a major accident