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Cheetah Hunt


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Latest update from RCPro....

Cheetah Hunt Update 1/11/11

Mid-course brake is in place, the exit for the heartline is in place, as well as the third launch. The biggest news is coming from Gwazi, however. A sign has been placed in front of the entrance that says, "The cheetahs are coming, but these big cats are about to unleash their own NEW Breed of Speed! Re-opening January 22". Could the long rumored Millennium Flyer trains finally be making their debut? Keeping fingers crossed. Gwazi goes down every winter around this same time for re-tracking purposes and always reopens sometime later without any fanfare or acknowledgement, afterall its just a winter refurb. This time around there was a significant amount of re-tracking done to both sides and new anti-rollbacks put into place on both lift hills (these re-replaced when they tested the millennium flyer train last year, however the old roll backs were put back into place after that). Here's hoping that there is good news coming out of Tampa in about 2 weeks!

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As for those rumored new trains for Gwazi, johnnyupsidedown sent an interesting photo intoScreamscape yesterday.

2011_0111_GwaziSign.jpg

While I don't doubt that its Millennium Flyers on the way, is it industry-standard to announce a specific re-opening date (and one so soon?) if new trains really were happening? Wouldn't significant testing have to be done? Could the trains really on the track and ready for human riders in ten days? I don't know what the precedent is...

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Guest rcfreak339

^It really depends when they could test I suppose.

They COULD do it in that amount of time, but CAN they? What else can be done to it in the short amount of time that would be worth an announcement? Trains are only thing I can think of.

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^^Testing of Millennium Flyers you could technically say has been done already. They tested the trains last year for a bit during the maintenance period. So i can imagine there wouldn't be much testing needed to be done this time around. If they do need to do full fledged testing with these new trains, they have plenty of time after park hours in the next 10 days. I for one hope it does get the trains, especially if i take my trip to Florida in June.

Edit: Looks like it is happening after all. A picture has been posted to GCI's Facebook page of a teal Millennium Flyer lead car.

GCI's Facebook link

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While I don't doubt that its Millennium Flyers on the way, is it industry-standard to announce a specific re-opening date (and one so soon?) if new trains really were happening? Wouldn't significant testing have to be done? Could the trains really on the track and ready for human riders in ten days? I don't know what the precedent is...

As tycoonrebel already posted, they did test a Millennium Flyer over last winter while one side was down for rehab. I would guess that its possible they determined what was needed to know then regarding how the trains would perform on the ride and such. On the matter of testing, I would think that it would boil down to them cycling the trains a particular number of times prior to letting guests on board. I can tell you that Manta required 180 cycles per train before the first public riders were let on. Not sure if that same requirement would be true for Gwazi or not. Even if it were, it appears as though the ride will be ready to start cycling trains (new or old) anyday now. I'd go out on a limb and say that they may only focus on one train for each side, possibly even one train period due to the low attendance days that are typically seen this time of year. That would still give them a few weeks to prepare the others before the popular Bands, Brew & BBQ event begins in February. Sooooooo excited that this is FINALLY happening!

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Guest rcfreak339

^^Testing of Millennium Flyers you could technically say has been done already. They tested the trains last year for a bit during the maintenance period. So i can imagine there wouldn't be much testing needed to be done this time around. If they do need to do full fledged testing with these new trains, they have plenty of time after park hours in the next 10 days. I for one hope it does get the trains, especially if i take my trip to Florida in June.

Edit: Looks like it is happening after all. A picture has been posted to GCI's Facebook page of a teal Millennium Flyer lead car.

GCI's Facebook link

Good!!

Gawazi looks like it can be an incredible ride but due to the trains Iv'e heard it's a has been. Hopefully this will make it more wild then ever.

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Park officially confirmed today. TPR had the official press release along with some pictures.

Gwazi Announcement and pictures

I'm anxious to see how the new trains change the ride. I have always enjoyed the layout and actually more recently we've had a few decent rides on it. It'll never be a top ten ride or anything of the such, at least not for me, but I think it'll once again be a very fun and enjoyable experience for more guests. Hats off to BGT for making the investment finally!

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As a former BGT employee, I can say that they do a lot of overnight testing when they receive new coaster trains.

Kumba and Montu both while I worked there each received a new train and they were tested overnight. If I remember correctly, new coaster trains must be test ran a minimum of 24 hours in Florida before transporting guests.

Rhino Rally's river portion also was the subject of overnight testing sometimes.

Fun Fact: Kumba and Montu both have 4 trains. However, they only run 3 at a time. This is so they can operate the ride at full capacity while performing required repairs or maintenance on other trains.

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And then there's Firehawk (or more appropriately, X-Flight) which reportedly arrived with three trains, one of which was immediately disassembled to use for spare parts... So it uses two, with a dual loading station... And they still can't get the darn thing to work properly!

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And then there's Firehawk (or more appropriately, X-Flight) which reportedly arrived with three trains, one of which was immediately disassembled to use for spare parts... So it uses two, with a dual loading station... And they still can't get the darn thing to work properly!

Pardon me, but Six Flags long ago cannibalized the third train for spare parts when the coaster was still X-Flight before Kinzel & Associates bought Geauga Lake.

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X-flight did attempt to run with 3 trains, I remember being stacked in the brake run in the hot sun.

X-Flight ran three trains the first couple of seasons at least. My point is that it was Six Flags, and not Cedar Fair, that cannibalized the third train. That happened long before Cedar Fair entered the picture, even at what was then Six Flags Worlds of Adventure, later to become again Geauga Lake and then later "For Sale."

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  • 2 weeks later...

And then there's Firehawk (or more appropriately, X-Flight) which reportedly arrived with three trains, one of which was immediately disassembled to use for spare parts... So it uses two, with a dual loading station... And they still can't get the darn thing to work properly!

Pardon me, but Six Flags long ago cannibalized the third train for spare parts when the coaster was still X-Flight before Kinzel & Associates bought Geauga Lake.

By immediately, I had meant when it was constructed at Six Flags. Obviously that's not the case, but I absolutely know it was Six Flags and not Cedar Fair.

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That ride looks like it will be a fun ride. Too bad, I likely won`t be getting down to Busch Gardens Tampa for a while. If I`m lucky, I will be hitting its sister park in Virginia sometime this spring... Which, I know is likely a year before their rumored new coaster opens too.... (As well as returning to Kings Dominion for the first time in eleven years).

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Latest update posted today at RCPro. In the past 4 days they have installed a substantial amount of track due to crews that are working over night. All that remains is the drop off of the tower and the short span between trench 2 and the Edge of Africa bridge. Things are looking good now!

Cheetah Hunt Update 2/4/11

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I`d like to go down there again, Jesse. Although not in the middle of the summer. (Thats right when Coney is kicking off, and the way things have been at work of late, I`ll be fortunate to be able to take my vacation days when I want to take them). And besides, I`m trying to get out to Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens Williamsburg sometime this year. Not sure if that road trip will happen or not. I need someone to go with, and it most likely will be a long weekend trip. Ie, Friday through Sunday evening. That way I maximize my vacation days at work.

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