i_love_KI Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Why did they take out the backwards Racers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McSalsa Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 It was supposedly "for safety reasons" because the coasters were not designed to go backwards. What makes it BS is that there had never been a major accident on the ride, and it was doing fine even with a backwards train. I'd still say Cedar Fair has done a great job overall, but some of their choices aren't that smart. Good Stuff Cedar Fair has done for KI: -Diamondback -Firehawk -Saving Flight of Fear (Paramount wanted to scrap/modify the ride) Bad Stuff Cedar Fair has done... -Detuning some rides (Backlot Stunt Coaster, and way de-tuning Crypt) -Turning around the Red Racer Good & Bad... -Making KI more like its original 1972 form. It could be good or bad, depending on your tastes. Yep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigacoaster2k Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 There was never more than one backwards Racer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McSalsa Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 There was never more than one backwards Racer. I know, I was thinking of other rides not a KI, like Rebel Yell at KD and such, and forgot this was just about KI...I fixed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast1979 Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 It was supposedly done to "Keep it consistent with other racing coasters in the chain". Gemini at the time was the only racing coaster that ran both sides forwards. There are many other theories as to why Cedar Fair did it. The 2 I think are most logical are these. PTC (Philadelphia Toboggan Company), the people who made the trains, made it clear that the trains were not meant to run backwards. Taft flipped one side for the weekend as a publicity stunt, and it stuck. The one I think is most likely correct, for Insurance. What do you think is harder to insure? A forwards or backwards running roller coaster (Especially one not meant in the first place to run backwards)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Sigh. In the state of Ohio, park operators MUST follow ride manufacturers' recommendations for a ride to be licensed to operate. Period. No choice. None. As was pointed out by Mr. Nick Lacastro and Mr. Helbig at the recent RWCW event, PTC recommended the ride not run backwards. Also, the name of the ride is The Racer. There are no "The Racers" at Kings Island. This is a pet peeve of many at the park. "The Racers" grates the ear...especially if one has ridden The Racer nearly 12,000 times.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedarPointer Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Then, just curious, how was Paramount allowed to run them backwards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Probably for the same reason my daughter rode a few rides for a couple years then was told for her safety she was not tall enough to ride them anymore when Cedar Fair took over. Hard part for her to understand that year was that she rode the same type of rides at other non-Cedar Fair parks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Then, just curious, how was Paramount allowed to run them backwards? Not really the right question. The right question would be "Then, just curious, if Paramount still owned and ran the park, would Racer be allowed to run backwards?" Answer: Probably no. PTC had not yet made the recommendation that its classic wooden coaster trains not run backwards... Now, as to why they made that recommendation, you might want to read Mr. Avatar's post above very carefully.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luff Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 My son got caught in the ride height change too. One year you can ride it and the next year it is unsafe at certain parks. Of course he could ride the local Arrow looping coaster at 42" tall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopThrill Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 When they said they were going to run both side forward, I could not have been happier. The ride was meant to run forward, I rode the backwards a few times and didn't like it. It was rough as hell, and that was the front seat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIfan1980 Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 And I for one was sad. I thought the Backward Racer was a great ride experience in any seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dare-to-fly Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Also, the name of the ride is The Racer. There are no "The Racers" at Kings Island. This is a pet peeve of many at the park. "Many" definitely includes me. It's almost as annoying to me as the pointless trim at the turnaround...but everyone on here seems to know how I feel about that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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