Home
Contact Us
Login
Register
Store
Exchange
Browse The Scrapyard
Forum
Donate
Rollercoaster fans don?????????????????t usually complain about being jostled around, but Gwazi, the jaw-rattling wooden rollercoaster at Busch Gardens, had been getting a bad rep for beating up the riders. On Thursday we took a preview ride on the newly revamped, smoother Gwazi ????????????????? outfitted with new Millenium Flyer trains ????????????????? before it officially opens to the public on Saturday.
The jackhammer has been quieted.
About a dozen rollercoaster enthusiasts who blog on the topic obsessively were also invited to the preview, looking like the cast of the next Judd Apatow movie.
????????????????This is a much better Gwazi,???????????????? said John deHaas, a blogger for Theme Park Review. ????????????????This is much more rideable, smooth and fast.????????????????
It was three years in the making to repair the tracks and replace the cars that ride over 1.25 million feet of twisting lumber, said Bob Dean, one of the engineers from coaster manufacturer Great Coasters International.
Under the old design the wheels of the train ????????????????were literally beating the track up???????????????? as they slammed around the circuit, Dean said. (So it wasn?????????????????t our imagination that Gwazi was getting harder to sit through since its opening in 1999.)
By coaster standards, this 50 mph ride is considered a slower ride, compared to the 70 mph screamer SheiKra. But Gwazi ????????????????? the Southeast?????????????????s largest and fastest double wooden roller coaster ????????????????? is loud and feels fast, and it doesn?????????????????t do any upside-down turns or twists.
One issue that may come up in the redesign, however, is this ride is not for extremely heavy folks. It?????????????????s a snug fit in the molded seat. If the lap bar that comes down can?????????????????t click into place because of the rider?????????????????s girth, they?????????????????ll be asked to step out. The same issue was met with anger last summer when plus sized riders were turned away from Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Orlando?????????????????s Universal Studios theme park.
One of the bloggers at the Gwazi preview had to sit out the initial test ride until he learned the trick from his cohorts, leaning back and sucking it in until the bar clicked.
Busch Gardens spokeswoman Jill Revelle said it?????????????????s a tricky business designing a ride that can safely carry all sizes, but she said there will be a sample seat at the entrance so riders can tell if they fit in.
David Fake of American Coaster Enthusiasts was also there, gushing about the new open sides of the car.
????????????????I love the open feel of it,???????????????? Fake said, ????????????????you are just out there.????????????????
--Sharon Kennedy Wynne
The jackhammer has been quieted.
About a dozen rollercoaster enthusiasts who blog on the topic obsessively were also invited to the preview, looking like the cast of the next Judd Apatow movie.
????????????????This is a much better Gwazi,???????????????? said John deHaas, a blogger for Theme Park Review. ????????????????This is much more rideable, smooth and fast.????????????????
It was three years in the making to repair the tracks and replace the cars that ride over 1.25 million feet of twisting lumber, said Bob Dean, one of the engineers from coaster manufacturer Great Coasters International.
Under the old design the wheels of the train ????????????????were literally beating the track up???????????????? as they slammed around the circuit, Dean said. (So it wasn?????????????????t our imagination that Gwazi was getting harder to sit through since its opening in 1999.)
By coaster standards, this 50 mph ride is considered a slower ride, compared to the 70 mph screamer SheiKra. But Gwazi ????????????????? the Southeast?????????????????s largest and fastest double wooden roller coaster ????????????????? is loud and feels fast, and it doesn?????????????????t do any upside-down turns or twists.
One issue that may come up in the redesign, however, is this ride is not for extremely heavy folks. It?????????????????s a snug fit in the molded seat. If the lap bar that comes down can?????????????????t click into place because of the rider?????????????????s girth, they?????????????????ll be asked to step out. The same issue was met with anger last summer when plus sized riders were turned away from Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Orlando?????????????????s Universal Studios theme park.
One of the bloggers at the Gwazi preview had to sit out the initial test ride until he learned the trick from his cohorts, leaning back and sucking it in until the bar clicked.
Busch Gardens spokeswoman Jill Revelle said it?????????????????s a tricky business designing a ride that can safely carry all sizes, but she said there will be a sample seat at the entrance so riders can tell if they fit in.
David Fake of American Coaster Enthusiasts was also there, gushing about the new open sides of the car.
????????????????I love the open feel of it,???????????????? Fake said, ????????????????you are just out there.????????????????
--Sharon Kennedy Wynne
http://www.tampabay.com/things-to-do/bl ... h-gardens/
http://behindthethrills.com/2011/01/gwa ... e-1-20-11/
Big thanks to http://behindthethrills.com and http://www.tampabay.com
Its about time they got rid of those ugly PTCs mabyes Gwazi will be more like Lightning Racer instead of the wannabe Mean Streak.
by 