Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

[DLRP_bopazot]

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According to this rumor i'd love to see those trains on Gwazy . Never been on a coaster with that kind of train .

that's what those Millenium Flyer Trains looks like :


Kentucky Rumbler has opened this year at Beech Bend Park in Kentucky .

[Peabody]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

Not are they super cool, but those trains are some of the most comfy trains to ride in, and...most importantly, they track better than any other wood coaster train out there.

What's tough to tell from that picture is that those are "single bench" trains. Meaning that there is only 1 row per car. 99% of wooden coasters have 2 or 3 bench cars. They track so fluidly and smoothly it's hard to beleive. http://www.coastergallery.com/2002/DW11.html

But...that being said....these trains are not the solution to Gwazi's problems. It suffers from bad upkeep. A good wooden coaster takes a lot of time, money and most importantly a healthy dose of TLC to run well and smoothly. Gwazi has not recieved that, and delivers a poor ride compared to what it is capable of. There are bigger, faster, and older coasters that are glass smooth, thanks to fantastic upkeep. (The mind-blowing woodies at Holiday World and Silverwood come to mind first)

[figment1986]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

Not are they super cool, but those trains are some of the most comfy trains to ride in, and...most importantly, they track better than any other wood coaster train out there.

Maybe i can take a nap in one.... lol Imagine sleeping on Gwazi...

But...that being said.... these trains are not the solution to Gwazi's problems. It suffers from bad upkeep. A good wooden coaster takes a lot of time, money and most importantly a healthy dose of TLC to run well and smoothly. Gwazi has not received that, and delivers a poor ride compared to what it is capable of. There are bigger, faster, and older coasters that are glass smooth, thanks to fantastic upkeep. (The mind-blowing woodies at Holiday World and Silverwood come to mind first)

[Peabody]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

Figment: That's not a valid argument to me because a lot of TLC that goes into good wood coaster upkeep is on a daily basis. I've spoken to the gentleman that is in charge of 3 of my favorite wood coasters. That's his full time job, he's in charge of those coasters and spends his full time tending to them. He goes above and beyond just a simple walking the tracks every day....he rides each one multiple times a day and notes what he doesn't like and what he feels he should do....That's the TLC I'm talking about. The park chooses to invest in this gentleman caring for those rides and it pays off in the riders reaponse and their standing in theindustry. A long off season is not the key to keep a wood coaster great.

But, in the end, you're right....some good off season love is also required too, but not months...at most a few weeks. Especially in FL where you're not repairing stuff from ice and snow! In the end it's what's important to the park. Have a coaster open 51+ weeks that sucks, or a coaster that's open 48 weeks that rocks. You see?

My point is they choose to keep Gwazi in the shape it's in. Year round or not. M-Flyer trains won't change that alone.

[figment1986]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

My point is they choose to keep Gwazi in the shape it's in. Year round or not. M-Flyer trains won't change that alone.

[Peabody]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

That's something else I don't understand....what is with the loading on Gwazi? I've ridden over 100 other wooden coasters...most which have those same PTC trains and no other park loads that slowly.

[figment1986]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

setbelt check.... ok.. now for lapbar check...

Busch lawyers... no shortcuts.. Actually didn't it load faster in 99?? when the lines were long.. (I road it within a month of opening.. great back then)

[Hector]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

That's something else I don't understand....what is with the loading on Gwazi? I've ridden over 100 other wooden coasters...most which have those same PTC trains and no other park loads that slowly.

THUNDER RUN at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. Seatbelts before lapbars (two rounds of checking) and two people to work the ride (*hint*the control op never left her seat...)

TLC is what's needed most. PTC trains are not that bad (not as bad as the Grestlaur ones at least) but the parks need to keep up the maintenance *cough* Mean Streak at Cedar Point *cough* no matter which train they have running.

[DLRP_bopazot]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

That's something else I don't understand....what is with the loading on Gwazi? I've ridden over 100 other wooden coasters...most which have those same PTC trains and no other park loads that slowly.

i heard on El Toro at SFGAdv they check the seatbelts and the lap bar very slowly .

I Haven't been to SFGAdv since Nitro Opened but i want to go back there to ride on Kingda Ka and el Toro .

[Peabody]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

DLRP - I attribute that to your standard crappy Six Flags operation. They love running one train pre coaster and using ride ops whose combined intelligence doesn't equal Koko the Gorilla, and whose speed could be topped by well trained turtles. During my recent trip to SFMM their brand new flagship attraction was using 2 trains with 2 separate stations and despite that advantage, due solely to the crew, was making 5-6 minute dispatches. I believe they were given horse tranquilizers prior to starting their shift.

Hector: First, Amen about Mean Streak, which in it's 1st 3 years was a world class ride. But....despite the ride it gives, CP sure knows how to run rides. Opposite of Six FLags, sometimes it seems like they give the Raptor crew performance enhancing drugs. They move with a speak that's hard to imagine....and they keep it all day.

Anyway, back to Gwazi. Even if the Busch lawyers require 2 separate checks, they could still run that ride with a good efficiency. It would require proper staffing, training, and effort. They have a great coaster on their hands there, but due to the way they choose to run it and upkeep, it's a fair ride at best.

[JPTexan82]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

I will tell yall this about this coaster. It is a great ride but ruff. I know for a fact at Hershey Park, in PA that they have these new cars on thier racing coaster there and they are great. I really think they are the smothest wooden coaster I have been on, way better than Gwanzi. Right across the mid-way at Hershey they have the Gwanzi type cars on the WildCat, and its just as ruff as Gwanzi.
It doesnt matter the amount of time riden, those cars are just plain bad. All the racer there at Heshey goes through more temp changes, than Gwanzi ever has and is still smooth.

[Peabody]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

JPTexan you are wrong. The trains do not make Gwazi or Hersheypark's Wildcat rough. Those are standard PTC wood coaster trains. I've ridden them on about 100 other wooden coasters. Some are smooth as glass, some beat you within an inch or your life. It's the upkeep, not the trains.

[JPTexan82]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

Peabody: Are you telling me Hershey would take better care of one ride right across of a other, better. NO its the cars that make it the most on these Wildcat is only one years older than the Racer at Hershey. But I do know that the RACER cars are smoother for a fact. It will help at TB.

[Peabody]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

No, that's not correct. First, Wildcat is 4 years older than Lightning racer....that plays into it...not 1 year. I would agree that MFlyer trains are not as prone to tear up track as fast as PTC trains, but they will just the same in time. Like I've said...I've ridden nearly 100 other wooden coasters with the exact same PTC trains as Gwazi and Hersheypark's Wildcat. Depending on the parks level of upkeep and TLC they can be smooth as glass. If they don't invest the time, and money to do that, they can go to crap like Gwazi. Shoot, even Lightning Racer was a lot rougher than it used to be last time I rode it. It could use some work as well!

[JPTexan82]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

Yes I would agree with that. I mean look at Texas Giant, it was not always that bad, now its horible and the MEAN Streak at Cedar Point I couldnt wait for that thing to be over after the second hill.

[Peabody]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

I agree. Wood coasters are complex things. You are correct, trains can be a problem. Bad design can also be a problem. Bad Upkeep can often be a problem. Usually, it's a combination of all three to some extent. You're totally right...Mean Streak and Texas Giant were AMAZING their first 2-3 years. Their problem is cheifly design. Summers/Dinn built amazing looking rides that tore themselves apart ater a few years. I would argue that CP and SFOT could keep those things running awesome, but it would take a rediculous budget to do so.

I would still argue that Gwazi's problems are 95% upkeep. GCIs rides are engineering marvels. New Mflyer trains will require slightly less wood upkeep, but are not a "magic fix" to it's current problems. That being said, I still hope it gets them

[mrcoaster]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

It's sad to think about what Texas Giant once was.

Gwazi could have been a great wooden coaster. It's a shame it's never lived up to the billing.

[SpaceMTFan]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

Millennium Flyers on Gwazi would be the best news ever for that poor ride. The PTC trains don't really work on "twister" coasters and the Millennium Flyers won't beat the track up as much.

[Peabody]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

SpaceMtfan....PTCs can run like butter on twisters, if they are maintained well. I could name plenty of them. But like you said, Mflyers can track more smoothly and result in less wear.

[SpaceMTFan]

Re: Busch Gardens Africa : New Trains on Gwazy rumor ?

Which "twister" rides are they good on? I only know of Twister at Knoebels. Roar! at SFA is not too good from what I hear, Wildcat at Hersheypark was rougher than Gwazi when I visited in 2004.