Anything wrong with Viper/Ricochet???

[Bob O]

Is anything wrong with these 2 rides, or have they had problems recently??? Both were shut down today with no working being fone on either ride, so I was wondering if the park is intentionaly not operating these rides to save money and reduce the ride options for guests, or if these rides have problems as I cant remember the last time Viper was closed all day.

[onyxhotel08]

Viper closed? All day? Is that a first?

[Aaron084]

Viper closed yesterday in the early afternoon and never reopened. I was on it right after park opening and it ran great. Park was packed yesterday and well staffed, including a full crew in the AM so something must have happened. Whizzer was also down from 1-6 yesterday as was AE Red from 4ish until we left.

[Coaster Justin]

My guess is one of 2 ideas.

1: Staffing Issues with Back to School.

2: Budget Cuts nearing the end of the Year to spend more On Fright Fest.

[025740]

Both viper and Ricochet were down for general maintenance issues. Nothing serious they’re machines with moving parts there’s going to be times where things need to be rebuilt and maintained regularly to avoid serious problems. As for Whizzer a sensor went bad which meant replacing it and running wires and testing. It all takes a while but like I said they’re machines just like a car needs maintenance done ever x amount of miles so do rides and roller coasters.

[BP317]

1: Staffing Issues with Back to School.

2: Budget Cuts nearing the end of the Year to spend more On Fright Fest.

Viper would never close for either of those.
The only nagging problem I know of on Viper is the turn into the brakes constantly needs major carpentry work, IDK why the ride is closed right now though.

Ricochet, well everythings wrong with it and has been for years. Im surprised they didnt remove it when Six Flags did the chain-wide flat ride clearance this year.

Both were shut down today with no working being fone on either ride

Just because there are not people physically out at the ride doesnt mean no work is being done, when I was the lead at Ricochet a lot of times when it closed for maintenence they were working on/making parts back in the shop.

[coasterkidd100]

Wow, I have never had Viper close or be closed while I was at the park. I have never heard of Viper ever being down. As for Ricohet I have seen that closed at least 1-2 times while I was at the park. But I guess all rides will be down at least a few times in their life time.

Whizzer I have seen down quite a few times, that does not surprise me.

Hey, 025740 do you work at the park or are you there so much that you know what happens to the rides when they breake down?

[Coaster Justin]

Couldn't they just increase the banking on the Final turn to reduce stress? Son Of Beast did that with the Helix's (This might be a bad Example) to have more Perfect banking with the forces in the center of the train than on one side.

[coasterkidd100]

They probebly could but then they would have to do work on it and it would cost them money and I don't think Six Flags wants to pay to have that done right now.

[Bob O]

Rides will break down and that cant be avoided.
But SF can easily work on rides when the park is closed, all night if possible to get them up and running for the next day, but im sure the park is too cheap to do for the enjoyment of there guests.

[BP317]

/\ Pretty much. SFGAm used to have a 3rd shift maintenece, im sure if they still had it rides would be much better about going up on time. It was cut awhile back, not sure what year. They keep building more attractions + cutting maintenece labor so rides opening late/having more problems during the day is going to happen. The only 3rd shift they have working in the park now are people who wash down the midways/clean the parking lot.
In 2006 when the new management took over they spent a whole bunch on new [stuff], then after a little while of the park being open they realized how much of a loss they were operating at and all of a sudden it was "oh crap" type moment and they started cutting like crazy. It seems theyve found a bit of an equilibrium considering there were a lot of rides broken or not running full capacity from mid to end of 2006, and as far as I know the only ride SBNO now is Shuttle (which the rides fulltime management has found creative ways to put to use ).

[Bob O]

"It seems theyve found a bit of an equilibrium considering there were a lot of rides broken or not running full capacity from mid to end of 2006, and as far as I know the only ride SBNO now is Shuttle (which the rides fulltime management has found creative ways to put to use )."

So what are these creative uses????

[025740]

Yes i am a mechanic at the park. As for a little inside to everyone the first shift group of guys which i am apart of get to the park at 5:30 in the morning to inspect, test and fix every ride in the park. When you think about how many rides there are and how much there is to inspect its hard to get everything up on time. Think about how many wheels there are on a given coaster train then multiply it usualy by 3 trains for most coasters. Then there is the brakes and lift and all the grease fittings its very very time consuming to say the least. As for viper the work being done was nothing to do with the final turn and both Ricochet and Viper are back up and running fine. Most of the work does take place back in the shop for a couple reasons. Seeing workers in the park makes some peple uneasy and resources such as tools and parts are in the shop so it makes it ten times easier if the work can be finished in the shop.

[CoasterCruiser]

Viper was closed on the 10th, too. I'm not sure how long, but when I reached that area around 5pm, there was a chain in front of the enterance with a sign that said closed. I don't think the ride was running that day, but i'm not 100%.

[rct2wizard360]

WAH WAH WAH

sorry. I'll approach this in a mature fashion.
rides. break.
oh, and you might want to read the back of your season pass/ticket.

[coasterkidd100]

^ Ya we no that rides break down.

[cycamps]

^So then there's obviously no reason to make a thread about it...

[coasterkidd100]

I think the thread is fine, if i found it usless i would not post on it. But the only thing he was saying is that rides brake down, yes they do and we all now that.