SOB_TOM

There are more motors on fof than just the lim motors. Keep that in mind.

No smoke has been reported leaving the building. I'm thinking, if anything, a small electrical fire or someone lit a trash can on fire

Could be anything at this point. One would think that the news stations picked up the story from the radio calls, meaning in house fire Dept couldn't handle it. The ambulances responding are just standard practice so those mean nothing.

Could be anything at this point. One would think that the news stations picked up the story from the radio calls, meaning in house fire Dept couldn't handle it. The ambulances responding are just standard practice so those mean nothing.

That brought back some great memories. Made some great friends that year.

Years ago, Screamscape was very uninformed.... Seeing that video brings two memories back for me: All the memories I have of being a ride op on that ride (my first ride crew,) and the news story of almost that same exact section being blown over by wind....

New paint a new ride does not make. Calling a ride by its current name, as to not confuse the new KICers, appropriate it is.

Or, or, instead of businesses wasting their money on an anti-bullying campaign which, I may point out, WON'T work because it is giving the bullies what they want (attention,) and switch that around and teach kids life lessons that they are not learning at home and by interacting with other children outside of school during their preteen and teenage lives. I'm sorry if people don't agree with this point (I really couldn't care less to be honest, its my opinion,) however the generation growing up right now are trying to learn everything with a controller/mouse in their hand, and you can't learn life lessons that way. The only way that these lessons will be learned is through face to face interaction, and learning how to deal with bullies and stand up for yourself is a life lesson. In conclusion, instead of trying to run BS campaigns, lets turn this issue around where it belongs.... THE PARENTS, and how society is flowing.

I don't know why I'm admitting this, but back in 2002 I got stopped while going to break by a woman standing under the Eiffel Tower Woman: "Excuse me, where is the Eiffel Tower?" Me: (Without thinking) "In France." (Kept walking) Quick question: Why is this in rumors?

It depends on the design of the coaster. Some are designed with two final brake runs, so that the trains can "stack" and not be stuck on the MCBR. Its neither typical to put one on or not. Kind of like designing a house with or without a designated office, depends on what the designer/buyer wants.

McSalsa, you are ALMOST correct on your thinking of why SOB never ran 3 trains. The problem wasn't with RCCA, it was the original designs. Parks want an empty block (section of track that can only have one train in it at a time, normally ending in some sort of braking system to prevent two trains in that section,) in between each car, that way the ride will be a complete circuit and won't stop at a MCBR. The problem with SOB was that there were only 4 blocks programmed into the computer (front of station to top of lift, top of lift to MCBR, MCBR to final brakes, final brakes to station.) Given this slight issue, you could not run 3 trains because one would be continuously stopped at the MCBR, thus breaking the ride into two sections and not giving a complete run for those who were riding. Now, if the design included a secondary brake set before the station (I.E. Diamondback, Beast, or Vortex,) then the ride could have easily ran three trains. Alas, this was not the case. Also keep in mind that designers will put the maximum trains they can put onto a track in order to make the ride seem like it will hold more people, which works great in principle, but when you start thinking in terms of reality, it rarely checks out.

After working on the train crew for a year, I can say that if it wasn't for the water park stop that it makes, ridership would be so far down, it would not be feasible to keep the train in operation. While, as a worker, I wasn't thrilled about working the water park stop (hot, little to no shade, quite honestly some of the most drunk and idiotic guests I've ever had the honor of working around,) the fact remains that the average guest is not interested in just riding around the train. My proof? Ride the train before the water park opens in the morning, and in between 9-10 at night. Most of the time, we ended up just sitting on the train for an hour waiting for people to show up to ride.

That is not entirely accurate. While yes, they are looking for people year round, the vast majority of people get hired on (or their applications kept from) the first hiring push they have at the beginning of the year. I'm pretty sure that there is a point early on in the season when they stop accepting applications all together, but don't quote me on that.

The lifeguard hiring, if I remember correctly, takes place a little later than the rest of the park, due to the waterpark opening later. It might have changed since 2011, but I was hired on to lifeguard in May. There are two different levels of lifeguards out in the waterpark: Slide attendants, and lifeguards. Slide attendants are trained in first aid, and take care of the tops of the slides, making sure people go one at at time, ect. Lifeguards go through the classes and are the ones watching water over 2 feet I think it is.

People, at some point in your life, you have to take what the 16 year olds that are running the rides that you are riding and apply something that is not common anymore: Common sense. Lets say that the parks plan is 100% positive to be a giga in SOB's place. First, SOB has to leave (duh,) which is going to take awhile. Sparky could give you a time frame, and I trust his judgement on it, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that it is going to take awhile. THEN, after SOB is gone, prep has to be done to the grounds for the new coaster (some terraforming, removal of some, if not all, footers from SOB, ect,) then vertical construction will commence. If you can remember Diamondback, and how long it took from the point that it started going vertical till first testing. Common sense dictates that this guy was full of it. So next time the Dip N Dots guy (who is probably 15,) or so and so from whatever ride (most likely under the legal drinking age,) do everyone a favor: THINK! I will miss SOB (my first ride crew,) but I knew it was coming one day and I have said my goodbyes. On the flip side, I can safely assume I'm one of a handful (if not the only one,) who worked on the SOB crew AND the TR:TR crew.

I hate to be the one who says this, but after hearing MULTIPLE first hand accounts from some trainers that were working that day, what happened was her fault. Yeah its tragic, but what happened was preventable by the girl following what the park had set as rules for being around and in the water, she did not follow them, and she tragically lost her life over it. End of story.

After working down there for about 6 months on Spiderman, I can tell you that there are requirements for amputees. It depends on where the amputation took place (above/below the knee, elbow, ect,) and the restraint system. Example: If it was a double amputation above the knee, and someone wanted to ride Mummy, most likely they would not be able to because of the restraint system. On the flip side, if they wanted to ride, lets say, Storm Force (teacup style ride,) they most likely would be able to. *Note: I was sent over to Mummy once, never worked Storm, so therefor I do not know their policies for amputees. Do not take these for the Gospel truth because I'm not sure what their policies are. These are just examples I thought of. In any case, every attendant is told that if they see someone who is either borderline to ride, or has an amputation (fake limb, whatever,) to contact a lead or a supervisor, and they will make the decision. The lead and supervisors, from what I have been told, are told to border on the side of caution (duh) so that no one gets injured. If this lawsuit wins, then what is stopping the ADA from suing any other park because the rides do not allow those with certain amputations to ride, and therefor are not ADA compliant?

...Did someone just blame people's stupidity on an institution? I fear for the next generation.....

There has always been a small clearing back there for the SOB graveyard. Its nothing new.

Easiest way to describe the difference is this: Ride stops are designed to put the ride back in the "home" position and allow passengers to disembark without any other issues. These are used mostly for unruly guests, or in some instances when a certain set of parameters are met in the ride computer. Power is kept onto the ride during a ride stop. Emergency stops are used when a certain set of parameters within the ride computer is met, and the safety of those aboard might be threatened. Also, the operator has an E-stop button available for parameters not set by the computer (someone jumping over the fences and entering lockout for example.) Almost all the rides at KI must be reinspected by maintenance after every E-stop situation, no matter if it is accidental or not. The reason for this is an E-stop is very harsh on the electrical systems of the newer style of rides, and maintenance wants to ensure that an accidental E-stop will not cascade into a bigger issue, or whatever caused the E-stop is fixed and did not trigger other issues with the ride. Most of these are 5 minute restarts (goes in, checks the ride computer, checks the circuit breakers, buttons it up, puts it to manual.) The only rides that I can think of off hand that do not have a hard maintenance reset are mostly "carnival" style rides that are up at the park, mainly due to the fact that for safety reasons, the E-stop is engaged in order to load and unload guests. The one that springs to my mind immediately is Kiddie Carousel. On that attraction, for safety reasons, the E-stop is pressed in after the ride cycle is done, and for further safety measures, the key is also removed until the ride cycle is ready to go.

^ That's what I was going to say. Sounds like the transmission is just getting old. Hopefully it lasts all year.

We can go with that, sure.... Yeah.... A tour...

BB1, I want to see those rainbows because KI is full of what are called tornado locations. Every person who works at the park is instructed on where to take the people on the ride and in the queue in the event of a tornado. Some are above ground (Festhaus is considered a Tornado Location,) however there are some underground. For example, the turntable of WWC has a trap door that can be opened, and when this is opened, it has enough room for about 200 people (estimation on my part, IDK the actual count.) Also, the tornado location for dark ride (Boo Blasters) is the center room, which is a maintenance room that is technically underground. There is a tornado shelter under the stage near the fountains. And of course, the one in the Tech Service storage area underneath Action Theater, which is built into the side of a hill. Where is my unicorn?

Adding to the list of tornado structures, underneath WWC's turntable is another one. There is so much power in a lightening strike that regardless of whether or not there are lightening rods on top or not, there will be issues electrically afterwards. The point of lightening rods is to give a path of least resistance for electric to flow from the top of a structure to the bottom. That being said, stray electricity will still flow throughout the structure, just not nearly as much as without them. WindSeeker was not struck by lightening.

I think it is more likely to be a swinging ball, not a dropping ball.