Knott's to remove Xcelerator? RUMOR

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

Please note that this topic should have a MASSIVE "rumor" tag on it. The comment very much read like it was hearsay, but then again this is how some of the rumors of Kingda Ka's demise came out. I don't intend any harm to come from this topic so please treat it as the hearsay rumor that it is.

 

I recently read a comment from a Knott's Berry Farm guest who spoke to a "reputable source" who said that Xcelerator is on its last train. They continued to say that the park has halted the ride's lifetime maintenance planning/budget that would be responsible for ordering new trains/train parts. Once this newest train fully breaks, it will not be repaired and a new train will not be ordered. The source gave Xcelerator 3-5 years and mentioned that the wheels are wearing faster than expected.

This could all just be a random commenter with a source that knows nothing, and I fully accept that. If anyone knows more about how that coaster works and its history please let me know if any of this sounds right or wrong! Six Flags is doing awfully with their financials so it is well within the realm of possibility that the future funding for major maintenance needs like this are being halted. I'd bet that this could be what happened with most of the rides lost in the 2024 Ride Purge, and we all know how that turned out for Kingda Ka.

If I can find a way to link directly to a YouTube comment then I'll post it here since I am but a tertiary source at this point!

[I...am SteVe]

I wouldn't be surprised if this happened. Early Intamin hydraulic launchers seem to start having major problems around the 20 year mark.

[Captain Nemo]

New trains are a few Million and they need at least 2. That doesn’t look likely under the new Six Flags. Hate to say it but I think the rumor may have merit if true.

[WoodVengeance]

Unfortunately, I believe Xcelerator's fate is pretty much inevitable regardless of any rumors. It also doesn't help that Knotts' is extremely land-locked, so they need to remove attractions if they ever plan on putting in any new ones. I would hope that Xcelerator could get the Zamperla treatment, given that TT2 has been running pretty well now, but I wouldn't get my hopes up.

[SonofBaconator]

I don’t think Xcelerator is going to last forever. With Six Flags already taking down the world’s tallest hydraulic launch coaster in New Jersey, it seems like the writing’s on the wall for Intamin’s hydraulic coasters in general. They’re maintenance-heavy, parts are harder to come by, and Xcelerator was the prototype.

If/when Knott’s replaces it, there are some interesting directions they could go. In theory they could go the TT2 route if they wanted to preserve the ride- and add some length and duration with a swing launch.

If they were looking to completely demo and rebuild- an S&S air launch could deliver the same burst of speed with far less downtime. Or, Knott’s could even be a test site for something like the S&S Axis coaster, which would give them a real marketing hook.

With all this said, I can’t help but wonder if Siren’s Curse would’ve been a better fit for Knott’s than Cedar Point. I know Cedar Point will always get the massive record-breakers, but Siren’s Curse might have made a bigger impact at Knott’s. I think it would have felt different enough from HangTime to stand on its own.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

I think Siren's Curse might've had some of the same issues at Knott's as it had at Six Flags Mexico, which is why it went to Cedar Point. Permitting and available flat land are probably the biggest answers of why it didn't get sent to another park under the Six Flags umbrella. SFM couldn't get permits, Knott's probably didn't have the land or the permit ability, Magic Mountain and Kings Island aren't flat enough, and Carowinds and Great Adventure probably hadn't been told to purge their ride collections yet.

If Xcelerator goes down for good, I think they should replace it with another small launch coaster after the money becomes available.

[Coastercrush]

14 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

I don’t think Xcelerator is going to last forever. With Six Flags already taking down the world’s tallest hydraulic launch coaster in New Jersey, it seems like the writing’s on the wall for Intamin’s hydraulic coasters in general. They’re maintenance-heavy, parts are harder to come by, and Xcelerator was the prototype.

If/when Knott’s replaces it, there are some interesting directions they could go. In theory they could go the TT2 route if they wanted to preserve the ride- and add some length and duration with a swing launch.

If they were looking to completely demo and rebuild- an S&S air launch could deliver the same burst of speed with far less downtime. Or, Knott’s could even be a test site for something like the S&S Axis coaster, which would give them a real marketing hook.

With all this said, I can’t help but wonder if Siren’s Curse would’ve been a better fit for Knott’s than Cedar Point. I know Cedar Point will always get the massive record-breakers, but Siren’s Curse might have made a bigger impact at Knott’s. I think it would have felt different enough from HangTime to stand on its own.

Maxx force closed earlier this summer for the year, lmao

[DJSkyFoxx]

I fear that most Intamins, regardless of model, may see the axe a lot sooner than we want them to. Considering a lot of the "greatest hits" are now 20+ or close to that age mark now, most of them being prototypes or early technology users, I fear we may see a lot more of them get taken down in favor or lower cost/higher reliability rides. Maybe I am overreaching on this mentality, but I really don't think I am. This is a chain in absolute dire straits from everything we've seen so far. I have zero faith they will invest in anything they see no profit from or anything that is going to cost them more than it's worth if they can get away with it. Even if said coaster is historic/popular, I simply don't see them caring if their bottom dollar has to suffer to improve or upgrade something that is over 20+ years old. Six Axes seems to know no bounds. 

 

[SmartCat7162]

I feel like a lot of enthusiasts dislike the Six Flags corporation because they won’t work with Intamin, but I don’t blame the executives or whoever is choosing not to work with them. Intamin has had so many different opportunities to prove that they are a different brand and they are more competent now. Especially with quantum accelerator and Georgia gold rusher. Beyond the fact that both rides didn’t open on time which probably has more to do with the park they have still had problems. It just doesn’t make sense to work with a brand that can’t deliver and that has major downtime almost every single project. From what I’ve heard also the parts are hard to get and take forever so it makes sense to phase out rides that are expensive to maintain and don’t have spare parts on hand. While they may produce quality rides that are awesome to ride they just seem to be so maintenance heavy and always seem to have a lot of problems. While new rides usually have some problems they shouldn’t have to see extended downtime.

[johnjniehaus]

5 hours ago, SmartCat7162 said:

I feel like a lot of enthusiasts dislike the Six Flags corporation because they won’t work with Intamin, but I don’t blame the executives or whoever is choosing not to work with them. Intamin has had so many different opportunities to prove that they are a different brand and they are more competent now. Especially with quantum accelerator and Georgia gold rusher. Beyond the fact that both rides didn’t open on time which probably has more to do with the park they have still had problems. It just doesn’t make sense to work with a brand that can’t deliver and that has major downtime almost every single project. From what I’ve heard also the parts are hard to get and take forever so it makes sense to phase out rides that are expensive to maintain and don’t have spare parts on hand. While they may produce quality rides that are awesome to ride they just seem to be so maintenance heavy and always seem to have a lot of problems. While new rides usually have some problems they shouldn’t have to see extended downtime.

I absolutely love Intamin and their rides are still be best to ride in my opinion but yes the delays of opening new rides and getting replacement parts for old ones would make people want to stop working with them. For example all the straddle coasters went down, Pantherian was waiting on a part for half the year, I think Millie had a lengthy wait for a part, the river rapids rides at numerous parks have been down for 6 months or longer the past few years at numerous parks waiting on Intamin to get a replacement part