Zonga modifications revealed in AT
Ken Rutherford
official word on what modifications were done to Zonga, aka Taz, Thriller.
It appears that the first 2 loops will be raised 9ft off the ground, thus
shortening the first drop by the same. Kinda like what they did with Wild One
some time ago.
The entrance and the exits to the first 2 loops were modified and 30+ support
columns were also replaced or modified. All in all about 200 ft of track was
replaced. Premier Rides did the work. Also, the over the shoulder restraints
were modified to be rider friendly.
Sorry if this was posted earlier. I breezed through a couple weeks worth of
post and couldn't find anything.
Ken
Rastus O'Ginga
Now, had Premier replaced the restraints too, THAT would be awesome.
Sounds promising, but the restraints I've seen don't look friendly.
Rastus O'Ginga
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Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.
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The Tallyman
>>look friendly.
That's because you have not seen the new shoulder harnesses. From an inside
source, the new restraints where tested at SFAW in October before the move.
They where the best of the 3 different restraints they tried. There was only
one prototype built and it worked well so they ordered more for the move. Three
trains (purple, blue and green) where modified to accomodate the new shoulder
restraints using the existing framework and modifcation made before the move.
SFMW has to modify 2 trains if they choose to do so... installing the new
harnesses will be very easy since all they have to do is attach the harnesses
to the existing mechanisms on the three modified trains. The other trains
require extensive modifictions including fiberglass work to cover the side
light holes.
I was a Taz's Texas Tornado MCO 1998 and 1999. I worked at the park from 1995
-1999. .
Matt
Jason Knutson
"The Tallyman" <indco...@aol.comcoasters> wrote in message
news:20030312223909...@mb-ba.aol.com...
Correct, none of the trains have the new harnesses installed as of yet
(well, at least in the last batch of photos available on the net). The ones
I saw of trains in CA were from the failed Schwarzkopf mod.
Jason
http://www.coasterphotos.com
Rastus O'Ginga
wrote:
>>>Now, had Premier replaced the restraints too, THAT would be
>>>awesome.Sounds promising, but the restraints I've seen don't
>>>look friendly.
>
>That's because you have not seen the new shoulder harnesses. From an inside
>source, the new restraints where tested at SFAW in October before the move.
Interesting. So, if the restraints were fixed, why change the track?
Wimpy Californians?
Jason Knutson
inside
> >source, the new restraints where tested at SFAW in October before the
move.
>
> Interesting. So, if the restraints were fixed, why change the track?
> Wimpy Californians?
Don't know if this was the reason or not, but that wonderful senator Markey
referred to Texas Tornado many times as the coaster with the highest
g-forces in the United States. Will be interesting to see what it's like
after the changes....if I ever get out to SFMW.
Jason
http://www.coasterphotos.com
Rastus O'Ginga
But, TTT's first THREE loops are circular, right? So, the third will
still be a g-force monster, albeit, less than the first 2. But,
ultimately, it will still have that unbelievable roll over to the
first drop and down. That alone is worth the price of admission.
Dave Althoff Jr
: Just looking through the latest issue of Amusement Today and noticed the
: official word on what modifications were done to Zonga, aka Taz, Thriller.
: It appears that the first 2 loops will be raised 9ft off the ground, thus
: shortening the first drop by the same. Kinda like what they did with Wild One
: some time ago.
: The entrance and the exits to the first 2 loops were modified and 30+ support
: columns were also replaced or modified. All in all about 200 ft of track was
: replaced.
It will be interesting to see how different the ride looks. I'll bet most
people won't even notice even if they had seen the ride before. 9' isn't
a whole lot!
: Premier Rides did the work. Also, the over the shoulder restraints
: were modified to be rider friendly.
I find it very strange to see the words "over the shoulder restraints" and
"rider friendly" used in the same sentence. That said, it has to be a
whole lot better than the garbage that Schwarzkopf came up with. Please
tell me they are also replacing the seat base cushion and eliminating
those sharp points! The 'crotch bump' also looked downright evil on that
seat; but there is a chance it wasn't as bad as it looked...
: Sorry if this was posted earlier. I breezed through a couple weeks worth of
: post and couldn't find anything.
As far as I know, you're the first to mention it.
Now if my AT would just get here, I'd be able to read it myself! 8-)
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Whose AT is always a couple of days late, but it always gets here.
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Jason Knutson
> still be a g-force monster, albeit, less than the first 2. But,
> ultimately, it will still have that unbelievable roll over to the
> first drop and down. That alone is worth the price of admission.
Correct. I think they are counting on a slight slower speed due to the
9-foot shorter drop to reduce the g-forces. Also they will be running 5-car
trains instead of 6-car trains that were run at AstroWorld. I'm sure
that'll affect the g-forces somehow.
I also agree that the twisting first drop would be worth the price of
admission! I sure do miss that drop!
Jason
http://www.coasterphotos.com
Wolf
inside
> source, the new restraints where tested at SFAW in October before the
move.
> They where the best of the 3 different restraints they tried.
What three arrangements did they try?
I suppose if anyone could rebuild a ride to make it tolerable, it's Premier.
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-Wolf
Old Crow
were treated to a small construction tour yesterday at SFMW's Season
Pass Preview. You can see pictures on my site
http://home.surewest.net/acraig/
The coaster's target opening date is mid April.
On a side note, you haven't ridden Roar if you've never ridden it in
the dark and the rain. It must have been going an extra 5 mph
yesterday in the downpours.
Locoboy5150
Also, I was looking at that photo on your site of the two idiots on
Revolution. In all my life of riding roller coasters, I have never seen
that before. Oh man! :-(
Steven Wilson
Locoboy5150 wrote:
>
> Thanks for the behind the scenes photos.
>
> Also, I was looking at that photo on your site of the two idiots on
> Revolution. In all my life of riding roller coasters, I have never seen
> that before. Oh man! :-(
In another thread just days ago, I mentioned that I had captured on film
another one of these geniuses standing up on a wooden roller coaster.
Like the photo on Scott's site, it was just by chance that I happened to
be photographing the ride at the time and caught the guy on film. The
REVOLUTION photo, however, is even more shocking because of the riders
freeing themselves completely from the over-the-shoulder restraints.
Steven Sky Whirl.
eze...@yahoo.com http://americas.best.vwh.net/mga/skywhirl.html
Rastus O'Ginga
wrote:
>
>In another thread just days ago, I mentioned that I had captured on film
>another one of these geniuses standing up on a wooden roller coaster.
>Like the photo on Scott's site, it was just by chance that I happened to
>be photographing the ride at the time and caught the guy on film. The
>REVOLUTION photo, however, is even more shocking because of the riders
>freeing themselves completely from the over-the-shoulder restraints.
While the photo is insane, I really don't think they have freed
themselves completely. Most likely, their hips wouldn't fit through
it easily. I think they really have just moved to a MUCH more
exciting ride position, while still being secured to some extent. NOt
that I condone it, but it's not like they would just fall right out
that way.
Chris Kearsing
> In another thread just days ago, I mentioned that I had captured on film
> another one of these geniuses standing up on a wooden roller coaster.
> Like the photo on Scott's site, it was just by chance that I happened to
> be photographing the ride at the time and caught the guy on film. The
> REVOLUTION photo, however, is even more shocking because of the riders
> freeing themselves completely from the over-the-shoulder restraints.
Where is this Revolution picture? I can't find it on the site...
-Chris K-
Joe Schwartz
http://home.surewest.net/acraig/revostand.html
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Chris Kearsing
> > Where is this Revolution picture? I can't find it on the site...
>
> http://home.surewest.net/acraig/revostand.html
Thanks, Joe. That's absolutely unbelievable. If Magic Mountain
originally added the OTSRs to Revolution after they became aware of
the fact that guests were standing-up during the ride then I can't
blame them at ALL because standing up is obviously an issue on that
ride. It seems to me as if standing-up on Revolution is akin to an
"urban-legend" among local visitors. Perhaps some people know that
it's possible to stand-up on Revolution and attempt to defeat this
challenge. If that's truly the case then Magic Mountain had no choice
but to respond. Sadly it looks as if the problem still isn't fixed.
-Chris K-
Marcus Sheen [UK]
> Sadly it looks as if the problem still isn't fixed.
Where there's a will, there's a way. I feel that without padlocking riders
in straight-jackets, there's always a way people can get out of restraints.
For example, at Thorpe Park, the ride the restraint didn't open properly on
a seat on their Detonator Fabbri drop ride. As the operator noticed and went
to get the tool to open the restraint, the kid wiggled his way out of a
securely fastened over-head restraint.
If you look at this general picture of the seats:
http://www.thorpeparkguide.com/parktour/rides/detonator/pics/detonator5.jpg
shows the seats. You'll note that the seats have arm-rests and the lump
between the legs.
Whilst the kid wasn't endangering himself or others by getting out with the
restraint still closed, it goes to show that however secure the restraint,
I'm sure people can wiggle their way out of anything.
Regards,
Marcus
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