Tomb Raider: Deparamounted

[BoddaH1994]

^ok I may be traveling a lot but I thought the article said it was an amateur baseball team? And it is baseball season right? Not unless they play on the ice. Well I could not find a web site for them and I was curious, so fill me in. I have to be at the park by 8:00 and it is 7:35 (Denmark) so I will keep an eye on this thread later. Thanks.

Ha... I see what happened.

The Cincinnati Steam are a minor league baseball team, the Queen City Steam are a Jr 'B' hockey team.

[Monroe]

^Ha.......I guess you do have to wait for the ice to form!!!!!

[DeLorean Rider]

He could be talking about the control board for the ride. The program is run by a pc but the actual commands come from a separate board that is usually a series of relays that tell the ride what to do. (what motor to run and in what direction).

Also by saying "The boiler is not on" do you mean the Steam?

SOB_TOM is correct. The ride is run by a series of PLC's all linked through a desktop computer. The program for the ride is created in a program called Ladder Logic. It can be edited, changed, reprogrammed at the touch of a button. Though there are many relay cabinets, there is no ONE master board that just "went out".

Also yes the boiler is not on. As steam is created by Boiling water, yes the boiler is not on means no steam. The boiler has not been inspected since April of 2006 (as of the inspection log on the boiler), even though the boiler has not been used since the 2005 season. This bums out employees as the heating of the building was also connected to the boiler.

As for the scenery, like said, it is ALL on large casters so that it can be eaisly moved as it is every off season. There are two 20ft roll up doors on either side of the back wall of the building.

Fun fact: In winterfest the parade was run the same way every night. Because of this after the park closed it was run backwards to re-park the floats. However, if there was a storm or something that caused the backwards run not to be possible, the floats would be stored inside Tomb Raider.

[welchce]

Fun fact: In winterfest the parade was run the same way every night. Because of this after the park closed it was run backwards to re-park the floats. However, if there was a storm or something that caused the backwards run not to be possible, the floats would be stored inside Tomb Raider.

Actually, that was rather fun But would they have to park the gondola somewhere but the bottom to add more room for the floats or is there enough already?

[Monroe]

He could be talking about the control board for the ride. The program is run by a pc but the actual commands come from a separate board that is usually a series of relays that tell the ride what to do. (what motor to run and in what direction).

Also by saying "The boiler is not on" do you mean the Steam?

SOB_TOM is correct. The ride is run by a series of PLC's all linked through a desktop computer. The program for the ride is created in a program called Ladder Logic. It can be edited, changed, reprogrammed at the touch of a button. Though there are many relay cabinets, there is no ONE master board that just "went out".

Also yes the boiler is not on. As steam is created by Boiling water, yes the boiler is not on means no steam. The boiler has not been inspected since April of 2006 (as of the inspection log on the boiler), even though the boiler has not been used since the 2005 season. This bums out employees as the heating of the building was also connected to the boiler.

As for the scenery, like said, it is ALL on large casters so that it can be eaisly moved as it is every off season. There are two 20ft roll up doors on either side of the back wall of the building.

Fun fact: In winterfest the parade was run the same way every night. Because of this after the park closed it was run backwards to re-park the floats. However, if there was a storm or something that caused the backwards run not to be possible, the floats would be stored inside Tomb Raider.

A"PLC" is just a form of a control board, there are several names it can go by. DCU, PCU, UCI, MCU, PLC, I could go on for about 10 lines. All of them are run from an external program and control relays either internal or external from the individual boards. Just because some one knows what that control device is called, does not mean that that individual knows how it all works. I personally have not worked on TR;TR, but I have worked on rides that are very similar. All of them have been different from one another, so I can not say for a fact how the ride is controlled. If it does use "PLC's", then I would Imagen it has several boards with external relays. But that is just a guess.

The steam part I was talking about his avatar, I got it confused with the Cincinnati Steam, an amateur baseball team. The avatar is from a B league hockey team.

[tiggerow@bright.net]

when i went on earlier this year there was music and words. i just couldn't understand the words cuz people were screamin

[DeLorean Rider]

Fun fact: In winterfest the parade was run the same way every night. Because of this after the park closed it was run backwards to re-park the floats. However, if there was a storm or something that caused the backwards run not to be possible, the floats would be stored inside Tomb Raider.

Actually, that was rather fun But would they have to park the gondola somewhere but the bottom to add more room for the floats or is there enough already?

No you'd be surprised how much room is actually inside Tomb Raiders main building after scenery is rolled out. All the floats did fit easily.

A"PLC" is just a form of a control board, there are several names it can go by. DCU, PCU, UCI, MCU, PLC, I could go on for about 10 lines. All of them are run from an external program and control relays either internal or external from the individual boards. Just because some one knows what that control device is called, does not mean that that individual knows how it all works. I personally have not worked on TR;TR, but I have worked on rides that are very similar. All of them have been different from one another, so I can not say for a fact how the ride is controlled. If it does use "PLC's", then I would Imagen it has several boards with external relays. But that is just a guess.

I never said you were wrong. I know what a PLC is, I've been inside all the cabinets before, Hell I've seen the cabinets removed and lying on the floor, and YES I know how they work. I've watched as the program was edited, and changed, and changed some more. I've watched as relays were replaced and redirected. All I was trying to say was that the ride program is not just a bios on a circuit board that just went out. Infact there wasnt anything that just "went out." Well of course right now the ride is facing some troubles that could cause it to be down all season... But that's beside the point; and that doesnt have anything to do with the ride program or the show program...

[kjkjkj]

maybe while it is down they should fix some of the effects, since it is down already why not? like that will ever happen though...

[Deliriumbeast]

maybe while it is down they should fix some of the effects, since it is down already why not? like that will ever happen though...

You never know what Cedar Fair is going to do. Cedar Fair actually has intrest in the parks, and wants them to be the best that they can be. So I am thinking that they might fix the sliding doors to the preshow room, and a couple of other things.

[DeLorean Rider]

maybe while it is down they should fix some of the effects, since it is down already why not? like that will ever happen though...

You never know what Cedar Fair is going to do. Cedar Fair actually has intrest in the parks, and wants them to be the best that they can be. So I am thinking that they might fix the sliding doors to the preshow room, and a couple of other things.

Just so you know there is nothing wrong with the sliding door, it happens to work very well. The reason the Antechamber section of the ride is not used is because it requires an extra operator. Cedar Fair figures that they can save money by cutting out that operator and just sending people straight into the Preshow area.

[tigellinus]

^^A guy I knew who worked at PKI for like 3 years from 03-05 (in season pass processing, I think?) claimed you could volunteer for "a day" at KI (I don't know how long "a day" was), and in exchange you could get a free admission ticket to KI (presumably for a later date, and I don't know if there were restrictions) which you could presumably give to a friend who didn't have a season pass (if you already had one)....

So if this is all true, why not have a KI volunteer run this Antechamber room??

[The Interpreter]

To begin with, Paramount Parks aka CBS no longer runs Kings Island.

And I highly doubt you will ever see Cedar Fair using volunteers to run rides. I don't even want to think what the consequences of that could turn out to be. And don't even think that operating that door isn't considered to be a ride operator position. It is.

[tigellinus]

To begin with, Paramount Parks aka CBS no longer runs Kings Island.

Yeah, I know, but they did in 03-05 when my friend worked there...is it appropriate to call KI "PKI" if you're referring to it during the "P" years?? I dunno....

[The Interpreter]

That wasn't my point. My point is that Cedar Fair has changed many, many practices at the park, and the fact that Paramount Parks allowed something back then doesn't really mean much now. Cedar Fair has even changed the way it does things at its legacy parks...

[neo8820]

Does anyone know what part of the ride this theming is from?

[Monroe]

QUOTE

A"PLC" is just a form of a control board, there are several names it can go by. DCU, PCU, UCI, MCU, PLC, I could go on for about 10 lines. All of them are run from an external program and control relays either internal or external from the individual boards. Just because some one knows what that control device is called, does not mean that that individual knows how it all works. I personally have not worked on TR;TR, but I have worked on rides that are very similar. All of them have been different from one another, so I can not say for a fact how the ride is controlled. If it does use "PLC's", then I would Imagen it has several boards with external relays. But that is just a guess.

I never said you were wrong. I know what a PLC is, I've been inside all the cabinets before, Hell I've seen the cabinets removed and lying on the floor, and YES I know how they work. I've watched as the program was edited, and changed, and changed some more. I've watched as relays were replaced and redirected. All I was trying to say was that the ride program is not just a bios on a circuit board that just went out. Infact there wasnt anything that just "went out." Well of course right now the ride is facing some troubles that could cause it to be down all season... But that's beside the point; and that doesnt have anything to do with the ride program or the show program...

End Quote. From DeLorean Rider

Then why did you quote me in the first place and say that there is no ONE master board that just "went out", when I did not say there was just One master board, or any thing that just "went out". That is why I came back with the quote above. As for watching some one else program a "Ladder Logic" sequence, I have done that plenty of times. As a matter of fact I have programmed "Ladder Logic" to accept a sequence operation, it's called a DDC Direct Digital Control sequence. There are hundreds of programs just like "Ladder Logic", all of them use DDC. You are throwing around terms that sound fancy, but are really just every day control devices to those who work in the industry. On top of that, you are putting words on my keyboard, and I don't like that. That is why I wanted to point out that knowing a term or watching some one do some thing is nothing special and does not constitute knowledge of some thing. On the lighter side, I will cut you some slack if you can answer this question correctly. Is a standard wall light switch an analog or digital device?

I don't mean to get on your case, but it just gets my goat when some one acts like they know more than they really do. Granted I work in the industry and I may be a little more critical than others who may know very little on the control topic, but I also do not want any one to be miss led with big words. That is why I try to keep it simple.

[gnarkiller]

Yeah I saw some of the theming from tomb raider while riding The Beast. What do you think the new theming will be??

[DropZone99]

Hey Mitchell, Jennie says she loves you!, and about Tomb Raider... Pretty soon i could expect KI to be taking the sign down.

=]

[gnarkiller]

Yeah so what do you think they will theme it as.

[DropZone99]

An abanded gold mine!

[TOPGUN1993]

They arn't rethemeing it....... I know I'm mad too

[gnarkiller]

They arn't rethemeing it....... I know I'm mad too

Oh sorry i just thought that because parts the theming was outside.

[TOPGUN1993]

I spoke with Don and Josh while waiting first in line on the for The Beast ert ........ it's just being fixed/ worked on

[BoddaH1994]

^ He's right. They remove the themeing in order to be able to move equipment in there.

[neo8820]

Wow, I didn't mean to make everything think they were removing the theming for good. I was just wanting to know if anyone knew what part of the ride that theming was from. I have read that most of the theming is on wheels so they can roll it out when they need to work on the ride. However, I didn't notice any wheels on this piece.

[Pagoda Gift Shop]

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if you saw some volunteers operating rides during the slower months (April, May, September, October). KI has a program that allows groups to come and fundraise by working and I think you also get a bonus ticket or two when you do it.

This is somewhat commonplace across the chain. It's not true of every ride, but of some. It's thoroughly annoying to ride Millennium Force in October when it's being part staffed by sorority girls who don't know what they are doing.

[PKIVortex]

Actually the group volunteers were restricted to only working the exit position on rides in 1999, and completely restricted in 2000 entire from the rides department. Paramount started that after the few incidents that happened at Paramount Parks in 1999 on rides. That was also the brief period that we had to say check each time we checked a guests bar. That was horrible cause the guests would make fun of us bad.

[KIBeast]

and speaking of "de-Paramountizing"-- goodbye Nick-themes and HELLO Peanuts.

I thought that retheming "Beastie" to "Fairly Odd Coaster" was.... well.... stupid- but I'm not so sure that I'm ready to see "Snoopy's Red Baron Coaster"....

I think that CF will keep the license with Nick and maybe place those in their other parks. Peanuts is on its' way out same as HB. I doubt Peanuts will be coming to KI.

[DeLorean Rider]

Volunteers RARELY get sent to rides, doesnt mean it doesnt happen, it's just rare. As far as what they do, they're usually restricted to non-hands on work, ie greeter, separator, etc. EVEN volunteers get paid, however it is not them who recieves the money it is the organization they are volunteeing for. Kings Island would still have to pay a volunteer to work antechamber. A single position in rides costs about $14,000 to run per year, not having antechamber saves KI $14,000 no matter who were to run it.

[DeLorean Rider]

QUOTE

A"PLC" is just a form of a control board, there are several names it can go by. DCU, PCU, UCI, MCU, PLC, I could go on for about 10 lines. All of them are run from an external program and control relays either internal or external from the individual boards. Just because some one knows what that control device is called, does not mean that that individual knows how it all works. I personally have not worked on TR;TR, but I have worked on rides that are very similar. All of them have been different from one another, so I can not say for a fact how the ride is controlled. If it does use "PLC's", then I would Imagen it has several boards with external relays. But that is just a guess.

I never said you were wrong. I know what a PLC is, I've been inside all the cabinets before, Hell I've seen the cabinets removed and lying on the floor, and YES I know how they work. I've watched as the program was edited, and changed, and changed some more. I've watched as relays were replaced and redirected. All I was trying to say was that the ride program is not just a bios on a circuit board that just went out. Infact there wasnt anything that just "went out." Well of course right now the ride is facing some troubles that could cause it to be down all season... But that's beside the point; and that doesnt have anything to do with the ride program or the show program...

End Quote. From DeLorean Rider

Then why did you quote me in the first place and say that there is no ONE master board that just "went out", when I did not say there was just One master board, or any thing that just "went out". That is why I came back with the quote above. As for watching some one else program a "Ladder Logic" sequence, I have done that plenty of times. As a matter of fact I have programmed "Ladder Logic" to accept a sequence operation, it's called a DDC Direct Digital Control sequence. There are hundreds of programs just like "Ladder Logic", all of them use DDC. You are throwing around terms that sound fancy, but are really just every day control devices to those who work in the industry. On top of that, you are putting words on my keyboard, and I don't like that. That is why I wanted to point out that knowing a term or watching some one do some thing is nothing special and does not constitute knowledge of some thing. On the lighter side, I will cut you some slack if you can answer this question correctly. Is a standard wall light switch an analog or digital device?

I don't mean to get on your case, but it just gets my goat when some one acts like they know more than they really do. Granted I work in the industry and I may be a little more critical than others who may know very little on the control topic, but I also do not want any one to be miss led with big words. That is why I try to keep it simple.

Because my post was not all about you. Did I ever say you were wrong, no. I quoted you because I agreed with some of the things you said AND because you asked about the steam. It was SOB_TOM who mentioned the person that I was speaking of the "master-board".

Zach, I would love to know who your source is, however let me tell you somthing: I dont know who is calling a computer the "mega-board," but whoever it is is just trying to make themselves seem like they know what they are talking about. Its a desktop computer, nothing more. The control modules in the PLC room could have been removed, but I have never heard of a mega-board. However, from the sound of it, its a computer, a desktop computer.

Also if you read, all I said was,

"Though there are many relay cabinets, there is no ONE master board that just "went out".

In addition I was trying to say that the reason that the ride is down does not have to do with a problem within the PLC, "there was no ONE master board that just "went out."

In addition I wasnt trying to prove that there werent cabinets full of boards and relays on it, I was trying to say that the problem was not within the relay cabinets.

BOTTOM LINE:

The ride has many cabinets filled with relays, wires, and boards that are all programmed through a desktop computer with the ride program on it. Every time the ride runs the computer watches to make sure the ride hits every mark, doesnt trip any faults, doesnt exert to much power etc. Currently Tomb Raider the Rides problems, lie outside the realm of computer problems. Their current issues are a much more... mechanical...