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[sdcfan88]

Been meaning to post a response some of you folks who made inquiries, sorry about that. I have been extremely busy these past two days editing and uploading footage for the TV station I work with and working my other job. Fortunately Shave and Swoosh took care of most of your questions.

Anyways, here was my footage from the announcement ceremony: https://youtu.be/SaLeUZfk3PA
The darn camera had some strange autofocus issues at the beginning but gets better over time after I did some adjustments. For those concerned about the spinning, yeah its no secret I was one of the most vocal ones being against the concept, but I am giving it a chance and I feel optimistic that they will fine tune this ride before, during, and after it opens for the best rider experience. If you fast forward 21 minutes into my video Brad is speaking to Dennis, one of the Mack Rides engineers behind this ride's development. During this conversation Brad was talking about how the test car that was used on Blue Fire at Europa Park was actually too intense for him and said that the only way this could work at SDC is for them to engineer a system to help keep the spinning under control with a braking system. It is essentially described as a magnetic clutch that will interact with a steel fin mounted on the gondola if the spinning attempts to get too violent. This will slow the rotation thus providing a controlled spin. It was definitely a topic of concern for people if we were to expect the same level of spinning as seen in the simulation, however it was also mentioned when I overheard a conversation that the spinning animations are likely exaggerated. You may simply experience a slower turning effect where you may turn and swoop into an inversion sideways instead of feeling like your are being tossed like your laundry in a washing machine.

Also I know many were excited for this as I certainly was, but here is the exclusive construction site tour of the coaster under construction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8VeT4gtyII
They were actively hanging several pieces of track and supports for the vertical loop while me and Shave was down in the valley. It was pretty neat to actually stand next to and touch the actual track and supports. haha

[sanddunerider]

sdcfan-- Great video of work site...  Guess i wont need to take anymore pictures.... ..

Question for you, shave, swoosh....  What was the "special" gift that Brad mentioned?

[shavethewhales]

The more I suss out about the theme, the more I'm liking it. Of course the name itself kind of sticks out at first, but it grabs attention and a lot of GP don't care anyway so it's perfect for marketing purposes. Lots of parallels to Wildfire here with a more serious story line that brings out SDC's creativity. It's different from some of the old tongue-in-cheek themes of the past, but it speaks well to the current generation. It's certainly influenced by steampunk, but that's ok as long as it ties into the city.

I'm surprised more people haven't talked about the second launch. I think it's kind of funny the way it's been setup. I'm sure there is a story to be told someday about how they had to redesign the last portion of the ride several times. Obviously they needed to get the cars back up the hill reliably and efficiently and they didn't want to cut the ride short after the first launch. It's just odd that this big launch section at the end of the ride only pushes it from 30 to 45MPH over 3.5 seconds - that's not exactly going to thrill any riders, lol. Probably just what they landed on at the intersection of cost, efficiency, ride value, and marketing. Maybe we can convince them to put a tunnel over it down the road - that's really all that is missing from this ride.

Lots and lots of publicity already for this coaster... every major news station has picked up the story, and I'm sure it will be talked about a lot next year.

[HikerDan]

 I could ride Time Traveler ten times in a row, eat a greasy burger, and go ride Outlaw Run, no problem.  My wife certainly could not, but she wouldn't mind if I did.

For myself the issue is not that TT could make me dizzy or nauseous, as I seem to be immune to that for now, but rather I just simply don't find spinning (controlled or not) with inversions to be something I'm very interested in with an amusement park ride.

If SDC wants to join in on the coaster/thrill ride wars then more power to 'em and I really hope TT is a hit with thrill seeking visitors here in the Ozarks and surrounding states. I'm sure the park is currently getting the exposure it's seeking on the national thrill ride stage and getting buzz around theme park industry websites.  It will bring in some enthusiest folks from far away to check out the ride and the park next year. But what I'll be watching is 2-3-4 years from now will this ride continue to consistently draw the local crowds to it like I hope.

You'll have to excuse some of us who aren't purely SDC lapdogs whom eagerly await their announcements with pom-poms and cheers on cue, and then whine about those not proudly cheering along with us.

My wife and I love the place and are about to make our 16th visit of 2017 on Sunday. We appreciate and praise many things and people around the city, but are also not beyond criticism and sometimes lack of interest with some things as well. 

Best of wishes to the park with TT in the coming years. I'll eventually ride that thing dozens of times and likely enjoy it in some fashion or another.  I just really hope that the 12-18 crowd ride it hundreds of times and go crazy over this never before seen attraction for years to come, that's the key.

[sirwillow]

I'm really starting to think that they need to remove the word "spin" from all of their stuff, as the connotation that people seem stuck on with the word is teacups-style fast, dizzying spinning.  And it seems that even when explained, a lot of people have a real struggle to get that image out of their mind.

Maybe change it to "rotating" or something like that?  Perception is so much, and with the word spinning people just seem locked in to what is an erroneous perception of what it's going to be doing.

[BackInTime]

Josh, Shave or Swoosh, from your site tour experience and having seen the loading station and current queue, can you tell us if there will be any observation areas similar to WF? With their desire to promote ridership, I would think they would want to give patrons a great view of the experience. Even with a strong opposition to the spinning concept, I still won't make my final judgement, or decision on whether or not to ride until I'm able to see it in action with my own eyes first. 

I will say it's painfully obvious that a sizable chunk of SDC's $26 million investment was eroded due to the work it simply took to place a coaster in this location. As others have echoed, I'm also a bit underwhelmed and confused at the lack of adding any thematic elements beyond the station. Even a simple building over a portion of portions of the ride would add greatly to it.

Beyond the drop out of the station, the spinning element looks to be the only thing remotely unique about it. Compare the ride statistics to that of Mack's Helix coaster and it's clear the majority of the budget for TT was simply spent on excavation, concrete and developing the magnetic control mechanism for the trains.

Call it presumptuous and/or subjective, but when all is said and done, I would bet the farm that Helix is a far superior ride experience. Just wish they wouldn't have relied on what appears to be a gimmick in an effort to drive sales. A coaster as simple as PK continues to proven that a thoughtful design simply utilizing the nature around SDC can provide a lasting experience that demands repeat visitors and ridership. 

Helix
$30 million
Height – 135 ft.
Length – 4,531 ft.
Speed – 62mph
Inversions – 7
LSM's – Two

Time Traveler
$26 million
Height - 100 ft.
Length – 3020
Speed – 50.3
Inversions –3
LSM's – 2
 

[Wildfire]

I am very disappointed in the lack of a tunnel or show building for this ride.  I have a hard time believing they will get a return on their investment enough to justify the price tag.  I would have much preferred a helix clone and think it would have a much longer life span of drawing people in.  I am hoping that the next coaster added will be a much needed giga.  Just all out speed, airtime, and no gimmicks.  I would 10 times over rather have a Fury or Millenium Force clone over this.  MF has been around for 17 years and still consistently ranked in the top 5 coasters by nearly everyone.  They have a great collection of coasters already but they all are so short.

[Tmboote]

I would 10 times over rather have a Fury or Millenium Force clone over this.

How can you say that when you've never ridden Time Traveler or anything like it?

I feel like too many people are just assuming this won't be a good investment just because they personally don't like spinning.

I just really hope that the 12-18 crowd ride it hundreds of times and go crazy over this never before seen attraction for years to come, that's the key.

There will be more people than just the 12-18 year olds going crazy over this ride. I'm sure my 61-year-old grandma and 71-year-old grandpa would love this ride. It seems like a lot of people on this board think that because of the spinning adults won't like this ride. Many adults love spinning just like younger people do!

[chittlins]

Josh, Shave or Swoosh, from your site tour experience and having seen the loading station and current queue, can you tell us if there will be any observation areas similar to WF? With their desire to promote ridership, I would think they would want to give patrons a great view of the experience. Even with a strong opposition to the spinning concept, I still won't make my final judgement, or decision on whether or not to ride until I'm able to see it in action with my own eyes first. 

I will say it's painfully obvious that a sizable chunk of SDC's $26 million investment was eroded due to the work it simply took to place a coaster in this location. As others have echoed, I'm also a bit underwhelmed and confused at the lack of adding any thematic elements beyond the station. Even a simple building over a portion of portions of the ride would add greatly to it.

Beyond the drop out of the station, the spinning element looks to be the only thing remotely unique about it. Compare the ride statistics to that of Mack's Helix coaster and it's clear the majority of the budget for TT was simply spent on excavation, concrete and developing the magnetic control mechanism for the trains.

Call it presumptuous and/or subjective, but when all is said and done, I would bet the farm that Helix is a far superior ride experience. Just wish they wouldn't have relied on what appears to be a gimmick in an effort to drive sales. A coaster as simple as PK continues to proven that a thoughtful design simply utilizing the nature around SDC can provide a lasting experience that demands repeat visitors and ridership. 

Helix
$30 million
Height – 135 ft.
Length – 4,531 ft.
Speed – 62mph
Inversions – 7
LSM's – Two

Time Traveler
$26 million
Height - 100 ft.
Length – 3020
Speed – 50.3
Inversions –3
LSM's – 2

Helix has escalators to get to the queue building for gosh sake. In the grand scheme of things, they're about equal.

OK, wasn't this suppose to be the first or three big additions or so some speculated back in late 2015/early 2016 when we thought the announcement was first going to be made. Did Fireman's Landing count as the first one and this the second major project?

[Hatfield McCoy]

"Lots and lots of publicity already for this coaster... every major news station has picked up the story, and I'm sure it will be talked about a lot next year."

I literally saw a "Time Traveler" watermark underneath a definition of a word at Merriam Webster that had nothing to do with "Time Traveler" the day of the announcement.  I don't know how that is even possible but I was still baffled. 

My Son and I will ride it, probably late in the day as to avoid ruining our entire trip.  We may love it....however that is the biggest complaint I think most have.  If you did a poll, spinning would have been last every time.  Sure some may love it, and most might be pleasantly surprised, but that is the whole thing from a marketing point of view.  A large portion of your patrons are hesitant because of the nausea factor.  It is also still okay to have an opinion on the matter as well.  I like the theme and very glad that SDC is making these major investments to keep the park relevant, but wish they would have dropped all the firsts and went for something a little different.  To each his own.

[chittlins]

"Lots and lots of publicity already for this coaster... every major news station has picked up the story, and I'm sure it will be talked about a lot next year."

I literally saw a "Time Traveler" watermark underneath a definition of a word at Merriam Webster that had nothing to do with "Time Traveler" the day of the announcement.  I don't know how that is even possible but I was still baffled. 

My Son and I will ride it, probably late in the day as to avoid ruining our entire trip.  We may love it....however that is the biggest complaint I think most have.  If you did a poll, spinning would have been last every time.  Sure some may love it, and most might be pleasantly surprised, but that is the whole thing from a marketing point of view.  A large portion of your patrons are hesitant because of the nausea factor.  It is also still okay to have an opinion on the matter as well.  I like the theme and very glad that SDC is making these major investments to keep the park relevant, but wish they would have dropped all the firsts and went for something a little different.  To each his own.

One of, if not the longest line at Hershey Park for the two days we were there was Laff Trakk, an indoor Mauer Shone spinner that certainly had a controlled feel to it. Maybe they know what they are doing

[sdcfan88]

Off topic a bit, I will chime in and say there apparently will be big changes to the SDC classics over the next 5 years from what me and Shave heard while at the media event. One being major changes to Flooded Mine come next year as more of the structure is coming down. People might or might not be happy with the coming changes.

More to be elaborated on in the future development thread later on.

As for the coaster reactions and publicity I am loving some of the ones I have been seeing on social media from the GP. Some of the best ones can be found on KY3's Facebook page. They are downright hilarious.

[sirwillow]

As for the coaster reactions and publicity I am loving some of the ones I have been seeing on social media from the GP. Some of the best ones can be found on KY3's Facebook page. They are downright hilarious.

I've found the comments on KY3's Facebook page to continually be hilarious as people hyperventilate over their misinformation, misconceptions, and often just plain silliness and stupidity.  lol  Witness the comments about the church that is moving from one location to the old Palace theater that went out of business and closed.  :-)

[BackInTime]

Helix
$30 million
Height – 135 ft.
Length – 4,531 ft.
Speed – 62mph
Inversions – 7
LSM's – Two

Time Traveler
$26 million
Height - 100 ft.
Length – 3020
Speed – 50.3
Inversions –3
LSM's – 2

Helix has escalators to get to the queue building for gosh sake. In the grand scheme of things, they're about equal.

Doubt it. If that proves to be the case, then the folks at Liseberg paid a few million bucks for a couple escalators.

[BackInTime]

Off topic a bit, I will chime in and say there apparently will be big changes to the SDC classics over the next 5 years from what me and Shave heard while at the media event. One being major changes to Flooded Mine come next year as more of the structure is coming down. People might or might not be happy with the coming changes.

More to be elaborated on in the future development thread later on.

As for the coaster reactions and publicity I am loving some of the ones I have been seeing on social media from the GP. Some of the best ones can be found on KY3's Facebook page. They are downright hilarious.

Well that's a juicy little nugget. Not a shock, but definitely great for continuing the discussion that's been swirling around this very topic here for quite some time. I'm definitely a very big fan of the classics, but wouldn't necessarily mind scrapping any of them IF the intent was to recreate a similar ride experience with new and more reliable technology. FITH will always hold a special place in my heart as it was the first "coaster" I ever rode. And as much as I love coasters, it's such a shame that parks these days tend to overlook the inherent value in the simplicity of well done rides that most of the masses can enjoy, e.g., a well done flume, or dark ride.

There is plenty of truth to addition by subtraction. Just hope whatever we would potentially lose might make way for the creation of something even better that could cement itself as a SDC classic for generations to come.