48" Safety Concerns

[markr]

I still love KI. However, I admit some sections of the park do need a little TLC, especially Coney Mall. I am very hopeful that Windsurfer (Hope I got the name right.) will bring new life to that neglected area of the park just as DB brought new life to Rivertown. Hopefully, maybe they will do a total makeover of the Coney Mall area like they did to Rivertown which will make a whole lot of difference. Also, a fresh coat of paint on rides like Racer and Flight Deck sure would go a long way.

Despite some complaints, this topic led to a nice discussion, didn't it?

[bkroz]

WARNING: This is a Crypt post, and is in response to a few other Crypt posts in this topic that simply begged for a response. If you don't care, don't want to know, and don't want to hear anymore about it, then pretend this does not exist.

The Crypt is the most frustrating thing in the world to me, because what we're talking about is a ride that is literally already rigged with hundreds of theatrical lighting fixtures, fog machines, sliding doors, lasers, an eighty foot carving of a goddess that lights up, faux "tomb" paneling for the walls, water jets, a pre-show-equipped room (already containing projectors, synchronizable lights) and more. It's not that that's a list of things I'd like to see added - that's a list of what's already there. I understand that the ride cannot interact with water. Does that mean that the former "lava pits" cannot even be filled up and just let the water cycle through (as the former splashdown on Backlot Stunt Coaster is doing?), perhaps even "bubbling" via the pneumatic devices already in place? Illuminated red, that simple pond of water would be played off as a "pool of blood." And don't discredit the Crypt in that regard - you still do fall backwards towards that former lava pit, and the stalagmites that are jutting out of it - that usually does elicit a scream or two from the riders.

On the "Kings Court" thread, someone suggested something so great and so "in the vein" of what the Kings Court was about - why not just have some sort of giant "plastic wrap" sort of material stretched out across those lava pits with a fan on it, simulating "water" and again light it up red?

Replace the "icicles," paint them grey, and voila - stalactites. There are already lighting fixtures set to light them up, so why not use them? They needn't even be synchronized to the ride cycle - just have lights on the "blood," lights on the "stalactites," and the lights already present in the goddess' eyes all pulsating through the entire experience. Then have the ride do even one more flip, even if it's another "locked" flip, which appears to be the only one its capable of. If the ride chamber can have a bit of theatrical fog, all the better - the lights that are already going off through the ride (blue, red, green) would be incredible disorienting as they brighten and dim in the fog.

When it comes to that ride, I could go on and on (and, as you can imagine, was absolutely positively ecstatic to run these and similar, even cheaper ideas past people who actually had power. That ship has sailed). Simple, simple fixes would make it a good ride. What people are going "That's IT?!" about is the lack of what used to be, and the brevity of what currently is. Adding a few cheaper, theatrical illusions that replicate some of Tomb Raider would be incredibly simple, and adding even one more flip would create 150% longer ride, squelching many people's complaints all at once. And if these things are absolutely, positively impossible, I want to know why... Don't you? Perhaps this is a discussion for another place, but it's where this thread had segwayed to, so I responded here.

[calakapepe]

Yeah, perhaps the original topic has been abandoned.

[Dieseltech20]

I love going to KI and became a fan THIS year. My entire family has passes and we eat and buy merch in the park every visit.

Tomorrow I will ride Crypt to see what all the fuss is about.

[BavarianBeatle]

Yeah, perhaps the original topic has been abandoned.

That's not always a bad thing, especially in this case.

[DeLorean Rider]

*sigh* I remember working on Tomb Raider in 2005 when the boiler was still on and the steamers still worked. That was the last year for that. That was also the last year the antechamber was used. After that, quality of theming began dropping like a rock.

[bkroz]

*sigh* I remember working on Tomb Raider in 2005 when the boiler was still on and the steamers still worked. That was the last year for that. That was also the last year the antechamber was used. After that, quality of theming began dropping like a rock.

Like someone a while ago mentioned the ride's spark effect, I love hearing about things like this... In time, we lose track of what the ride really had to offer, and the incredible attention to detail. In the soundtrack, when you hear the electrical equipment short-circuit, sparks reign down from the top of the room. The ride was truly, truly revolutionary. I mean, really.

And as I've said, I have a feeling that no one at Cedar Fair experienced the ride before they came into possession of the parks (especially from 2002 - 2005, when it was in its prime). If Mr. Kinzel had ridden Tomb Raider: The Ride even once, I feel as though he would've known what he was coming into control of and done what he could to keep it around. Like I said, Tomb Raider could still be featured on billboards. "Do you know the secret? What is Tomb Raider: The Ride? Only at Kings Island." It could still be marketed even years later.

[AZ Kinda Guy]

The Crypt is great as it is now. It sucked back when it first opened.

[calakapepe]

Why do you say that?

First time using a special emoticon.

[bkroz]

Do you mean back when it first opened as The Crypt? If so, I agree. I actually don't mind the ride cycle we have today. I live for that "kick" you feel just before you flip backwards. The ride is still thrilling. Even after riding it so many times, I'm still never really sure when the flips will initiate. The ride still has what made it mechanically interesting - it's enormous size, it's mystery until it's in motion, and it's lack-of-a-track (which leaves riders completely unaware of what's going to happen).

When it flipped nine times in 2007, it really was just "too much." The nine-flip cycle is mildly fun on Kings Dominion's Crypt, but it's maximum height is 45 feet, while ours is 80. So what it amounted to was our much heavier, much loftier, much larger machine trying to do the same thing that the smaller, acrobatic model at Kings Dominion does. Instead of feeling acrobatic and quick, it felt much too forceful and very sluggish. The time it took for our gondola to 'swoop' down, and the force that built up behind it was absolutely incredible. Too much so. I have often sworn that, if there were a live elephant at the bottom of the chamber and The Crypt swung down as it did back during the nine-flip days, the elephant would be obliterated. Completely gone. It might just turn into dust, with absolutely no damage whatsoever to the ride. Of course, I'm joking, but that's the sheer force of the ride back in those days.

So yes, I prefer the two-flip cycle to the nine-flip. What I would suggest (doubtful that it's possible) is that the ride return to its Tomb Raider cycle (but perhaps without the hangtime, since that's what hungup the ride so often). It was really great - at first it swung back and forth, gaining momentum and creating a great "Skyhawk" experience. Then it stopped in front of the goddess and the axels unlocked, allowing the gondola to hang separately for the four-flips (including one backwards flip, giving the same about-to-hit-the-volcano impression that riders get today). It was thrilling enough to be a 4, the perfect length, and gave you and oppurtunity to enjoy the scenery - the volcano, the goddess, etc. Even without the special effects, it would still give folks more "bang" for their buck.

Which just makes me think... Could the ride be programmed to pretty much be a Screamin' Swing that just happens to lock and unlock a few times for flips?

[Creed Bratton]

So yes, I prefer the two-flip cycle to the nine-flip. What I would suggest (doubtful that it's possible) is that the ride return to its Tomb Raider cycle (but perhaps without the hangtime, since that's what hungup the ride so often). It was really great - at first it swung back and forth, gaining momentum and creating a great "Skyhawk" experience. Then it stopped in front of the goddess and the axels unlocked, allowing the gondola to hang separately for the four-flips (including one backwards flip, giving the same about-to-hit-the-volcano impression that riders get today). It was thrilling enough to be a 4, the perfect length, and gave you and oppurtunity to enjoy the scenery - the volcano, the goddess, etc. Even without the special effects, it would still give folks more "bang" for their buck.

Which just makes me think... Could the ride be programmed to pretty much be a Screamin' Swing that just happens to lock and unlock a few times for flips?

I too prefer the two-flip cycle GYK. I loved when the gondola stuck at the goddess and rocked.....then loved flipping. Even if it was just that part of the TR:TR cycle, it'd be great! I do believe as well the hangtime is what killed the ride. The ride can be programmed to do that, but the reality of the park actually doing that....haha! I love the park and all but don't see any work happening to the Crypt anytime soon.

[SOB_TOM]

I'm assuming when you talk about the "hangtime," you are referring to the lava pit scene. However, my statement still is true. The problem was not completely the lava scene's fault. Coming out of the lava scene, after it caught upside down and started to accelerate, the arms would lose sync. At 2 degrees, the bolts would break off and the gondola would fall, thus why at 1/8 of a degree difference, the ride would E-stop. Essentially, one motor would spin up faster than the other motor on occasion, causing the E-stop. The lava scene would only screw up on the first cycle of the day (back when there were 3 rows and all the seats were present and accounted for.) It wouldn't catch entering the scene, causing an e-stop when the ride went to find the gondola for the exit flip.

[bkroz]

I'm assuming when you talk about the "hangtime," you are referring to the lava pit scene. However, my statement still is true. The problem was not completely the lava scene's fault. Coming out of the lava scene, after it caught upside down and started to accelerate, the arms would lose sync. At 2 degrees, the bolts would break off and the gondola would fall, thus why at 1/8 of a degree difference, the ride would E-stop. Essentially, one motor would spin up faster than the other motor on occasion, causing the E-stop. The lava scene would only screw up on the first cycle of the day (back when there were 3 rows and all the seats were present and accounted for.) It wouldn't catch entering the scene, causing an e-stop when the ride went to find the gondola for the exit flip.

So would the ride still have problems with a "lava pit"-esque scene? Or has the removal of a row helped that? Or did it really only happen the first ride of the day every time? Truly, I think that the ride's best possible cycle (from what I've come to understand, and assuming that a "hangtime" / "lava pit" movement is now possible, would be this:

• Start by having a "swinging" portion, like a mini-Skyhawk - move back a few feet, then forward a few more, then swing a bit higher backwards, then forwards a bit faster and more forcefully, then backwards, and then swing forward all the way up to the goddess' face.
  
• On that sixth swing forward, the gondola pauses in front of the goddess.
  
• There, the axels unlock, allowing the gondola to slightly rock back and forth as the goddess eyes light up red. (They could even paint over the rest of the goddess black so that only the red eyes are visible).
  
• Then begin the first half of the ride cycle we have today - with the gondola unlocked, swing down and under, and rotate around the room (complete with that pop of airtime at the top) once. On the second time around, have the gondola lock and do a forward flip, just as it does now.
  
• Then, slow down above the "pit of blood," stop, and do a "hang time" scene (maybe with a few skulls floating in the pool, or some bubbling pneumatic jets at best).
  
• After the hangtime, release the axels and proceed with what is currently our "second half": swing up towards the goddess with one complete rotation. Just as we do today, the second time around lock the axels in front of the goddess and do the backwards flip towards the blood and past the hanging cave stalactites.
  
• Decelerate at the bottom and begin the homing procedure.
  

So basically, that is just a "swinging portion," our current first half, a little hangtime, and then our current second half. It still flips twice, but it would add a good forty seconds to the ride, give a different experience (with the swing & the hangtime) and give the ride more "meat" without putting the physical Top Spin over the edge... Right? And all that it's contingent upon is filling up the old lava pits with water and aiming some red lights at them, as well as red-lights being replaced in the goddess' eyes.

Give it a slightly elongated soundtrack, maybe even just looping the current "drum" music that really does fit the ride's atmosphere pretty well, and voila.

See, that's the kind of thing I'd love to offer to Kings Island's staff - I would not only gladly discuss something like this with them, I would REALLY like to! It would be virtually cost-free in the scheme of things, and likely, greatly improve guest experience... It's very frustrating that they won't even hear us out when the things we have to say are not expensive, not crazy, and not unrealistic... I truly feel disheartened, which is about the worst thing you can feel with an amusement park.

[ahank]

See, that's the kind of thing I'd love to offer to Kings Island's staff - I would not only gladly discuss something like this with them, I would REALLY like to! It would be virtually cost-free in the scheme of things, and likely, greatly improve guest experience... It's very frustrating that they won't even hear us out when the things we have to say are not expensive, not crazy, and not unrealistic... I truly feel disheartened, which is about the worst thing you can feel with an amusement park.

Which is the reason why 5@5 was such a brilliant idea. It gave the park guests/fans a way to communicate their stresses, concerns, and ideas. It's really a shame that such a great program had to be taken away. It was a great way to contact the park about things guests cared about.

Things come and go, I guess.

[bkroz]

And sometimes, there's a lot more going than there is coming...?

[ahank]

Seems like it!

Things come and go I guess.

[The Interpreter]

Some perspective is needed here, in my opinion. Something is operating today at Kings Island. It's truly a wonderful and grand experience, as it is. Five years from now, it won't be and it will be sadly missed. People will post on the Internets how much they miss it. And it, too, won't be coming back.

Put another way: These, too, are the good old days. Enjoy what you have.

Nothing is forever.

Terp, who saw part of a lifthill and a loop on Friday, and cried...

[AZ Kinda Guy]

I meant the ride sucked when it first opened and is great now.

[jdawg1998]

I have a question. How did we get this topic from an annoying complaint about safety concerns, to how The Crypt sucks and how it should change?

I am officially stumped.

[The Interpreter]

Stumped? And here I promised not to engage in punnism in this thread....

Sigh...and I have so many good ones (for me...)

[bkroz]

And notice how Terpy said of that ride's operating status, "Five years from now, it won't be and it will be sadly missed."

Hmm....!

GYK, KICentral's biggest (and only?) fan of The Crypt (and, as such things are usually understood, its biggest critic).

[The Interpreter]

Terp never spoke specifically of a ride in his observation...only that "it" was operating Sunday and won't be five years from now...

[Dieseltech20]

Crypt was closed all day yesterday (SUNDAY) while I was there, 10:45 to 6:30.

[bkroz]

^^ Context clues, my friend. They're what I live for!