Maverick

[Rustbucket]

When I was at CP last week, I noticed that the light effects during the mid course was not working on Maverick. Did CP stopped doing this effect or was this an isolated case?

It is quite common for CP to not keep up with themes like Millennium Force music after 3 years although they brought that back upon many requests by people. (Myself included) The light and fog on Magnum is long gone now. BLSC effects are inconsistent now in all three parks.

[KICoasterGirl]

I've noticed that the light effects haven't been working all season, but the launch is still great!

[markr]

I think the light effects were working on Maverick when I was at CP Labor Day weekend. As far as keeping up on theme music, however, you may have noticed that you can hardly hear that wonderful Maverick score-I wish they would turn it up-in my opinion, best queue music anywhere.

[bkroz]

Those lights have been the bane of my existance for far too long. I know this sounds outrageous, but you all know me, so hopefully it makes sense - with the lights on, I consider Maverick one of my top five favorite roller coasters. Without them, it truly does drop several spots.

The lights truly are an incredibly cool touch... The way they simmer red, turn blue, and then "stretch back" and turn white as you launch, giving the impression that you're going even faster than you really are... Even the simple "railroad" lights as you enter the tunnel. But just like when the house lights are left on inside Backlot Stunt Coaster's tunnel, it just makes me ask "Why?" What reason is there to leave them off? Does it save on an operations budget? Does it take too much work? Is it not as simple as touching a button on the control panel, or going down a set of stairs and pressing something or flipping a switch? Why wouldn't you turn them on?

In fact, most times that I enter the station with someone who's never ridden before, I ask the seating attendant if they're on. Usually, they hop across the train, ask the ride operator, and then return to tell me "They weren't, but they are now." It's highly appreciated. I just don't understand why they need someone to ask... It should just be part of the ride's operation. The flames & water on Backlot? I understand that they go out from time to time and may not be priority number one for maintenance, but something so simple as an automatic light show? Come on...

But again, it's not even really worth it to talk to guest relations about it. I just sent a message to Busch Gardens the other day asking about an effect on Curse of DarKastle. I've already recieved the response that it's being looked into, and fixed. But the first sentence of my email was "Please understand that if this were something at Cedar Point or Kings Dominion, I wouldn't even bother bringing it up, because this message would be skimmed over and erased." The same can be said of this issue, I think.

[PhantomTheater]

Every time I've ridden Maverick, the effects weren't working. The effects that need to be fixed is DISpatch mASTER TRANSPORT's, they haven't worked for 15 years.

[coaster_junky]

^that's not true about disaster transport, last time i went to Cedar Point (early august, '08 season) i'm about 100% sure that all the theming was working throughout the que and ride itself. (there was this giant robotic-like arm about halfway through the ride, close to one of the mid-course brake-runs, that i'd never seen before.)

[markr]

There used to be more theming in the queue area for Disaster Transport. For example, there used to be a robot ( kind of like C Threepio from Star Wars ) who would do an introductory schtick

[bkroz]

^that's not true about disaster transport, last time i went to Cedar Point (early august, '08 season) i'm about 100% sure that all the theming was working throughout the que and ride itself. (there was this giant robotic-like arm about halfway through the ride, close to one of the mid-course brake-runs, that i'd never seen before.)

You don't know the half of it! The ride had so many effects, only a portion of which were still active when I started riding it in like, 1998. Apparently, he lift hill had a robot at the top who announced that something had gone wrong just as you plummeted down the hill, a star-field was projected at the top of the lift, there were strobes and disco balls (producing star fields) in many of the tunnels, effect lighting, animatronics, etc. Half of the queue isn't even open anymore and has been permanently taken over by a creepy abandoned toy factory, but when the entire queue was open, I can almost understand selling 3D glasses... The handprint tunnel, the groovy travel posters to Atlantis, the robot in the first room of the queue setting up the pre-show, the room full of boxes, the dripping-paint tunnel...

You are right that they finally have turned on some of the effects in the main showroom, including the gigantic, wrecked space station (the one that, according to the ride's story, you're going out to rescue some astronauts from), which is lit in pink and yellow and actually does look like it's eerily suspended in space. Of course, years ago, there were stars all around it (you can still see the little LED lights hanging down, not turned on), space noises & music inside the ride, glowing planets (one of which I think they turned on) and illuminated pieces of the scattered spaceship floating all around you.

It's a shame, really... People always ask, "What's the point of even having it indoors? It would actually be more fun if you could see [the unique bobsled configuration]." And yep, I agree. But when it first opened as Disaster Transport, it really was an experience on-par with Space Mountain... or so I'm told.

[Rustbucket]

^that's not true about disaster transport, last time i went to Cedar Point (early august, '08 season) i'm about 100% sure that all the theming was working throughout the que and ride itself. (there was this giant robotic-like arm about halfway through the ride, close to one of the mid-course brake-runs, that i'd never seen before.)

You don't know the half of it! The ride had so many effects, only a portion of which were still active when I started riding it in like, 1998. Apparently, he lift hill had a robot at the top who announced that something had gone wrong just as you plummeted down the hill, a star-field was projected at the top of the lift, there were strobes and disco balls (producing star fields) in many of the tunnels, effect lighting, animatronics, etc. Half of the queue isn't even open anymore and has been permanently taken over by a creepy abandoned toy factory, but when the entire queue was open, I can almost understand selling 3D glasses... The handprint tunnel, the groovy travel posters to Atlantis, the robot in the first room of the queue setting up the pre-show, the room full of boxes, the dripping-paint tunnel...

You are right that they finally have turned on some of the effects in the main showroom, including the gigantic, wrecked space station (the one that, according to the ride's story, you're going out to rescue some astronauts from), which is lit in pink and yellow and actually does look like it's eerily suspended in space. Of course, years ago, there were stars all around it (you can still see the little LED lights hanging down, not turned on), space noises & music inside the ride, glowing planets (one of which I think they turned on) and illuminated pieces of the scattered spaceship floating all around you.

It's a shame, really... People always ask, "What's the point of even having it indoors? It would actually be more fun if you could see [the unique bobsled configuration]." And yep, I agree. But when it first opened as Disaster Transport, it really was an experience on-par with Space Mountain... or so I'm told.

You bring back some memories for me about this ride. Not quite to Space Mountain degree... You are right about the themes. The Disaster Transport commercial used to make the ride sound like a space ship crashing somewhere and going through some unknown place. It was quite a bit more entertaining during the opening year with many lights and 3D glasses.

It was not very popular with many on that opening day in 1980, however. One person who rode Disaster Transport on that day told Dick Kinzel, "It was a disaster." (I posted this one before.)

I am wondering if this exact incident was the reason why Cedar Point and Cedar Fair in general stayed away from the themes on their rides for a long time.