Jodon wrote:First off, in my opinion this is a terrible idea, though I'm actually ok with Samsung and SFGAm putting VR on a coaster. However, Raging Bull is one of the only coasters in the park that has good capacity despite the parks lackluster operations. The dispatch times are going to be horrific to try to get 30+ VR headsets to work per train.
Plus there are so many logistical issues: -Where will the VR headsets be charged/stored and given to guests? The RB station is not large at all. I can't imagine where they will put the cabinets for all the headsets and chargers in the actual station. I wonder if they will use the little patch of land between the exit and the stairs past the Flash Pass merge point to house and hand out the headsets. They might be able to use some of the exit side of the station, but even that doesn't have a ton of room.
-Will there still be 3 train operations? My best guess is that the park will assume that dispatch times will be so bad that they won't use the 3rd train, which is awful in my opinion. On the other hand, if they are using 3 trains, my guess is that the park will need at least 400 VR headsets, and I don't see the park being able to maintain and clean 400 headsets with any semblance of regularity.
All in all, I'm really disappointed the park chose to put VR on Raging Bull. I truly believe that it is the worst possible coaster for them to chose. Demon was and is the obvious choice for this. Still can't believe that Six Flags thinks its a good idea to put VR on some of their flagship attractions, here and SFNE. It's just bad, and the more I think about it as I typed this, the more ticked off I get at the parks short sightedness.
Exactly. All if the rides getting the Superman story are flagship rides. Whereas most of the ones getting New Revolution are pretty much ailing rides. I don't know why a ride that regularly hits 90 minute waits despite being 18 years old gets the VR nightmare
I think this is a great idea on less popular coasters but not on Raging Bull.
As for the reason, I believe its all got to do with the tie in for Samsung. I bet you Samsung is paying for all the headsets and even may be giving Six Flags money to put these on their coasters.
As for how long? I suspect they will be there as long as Samsung continues to pay for it.
There will be twelve dispatches an hour on a good day. I posted in the 2016 thread since somebody else brought RB's VR up in there. But Goliath was horrendous in dispatching at La Ronde. This coming from an already poorly executed park.
It seems like the other side always wins on American Eagle Also, I've ridden Goliath 23 times in one day. HBU? (Sorry in advance for unnecessary commas and parenthesis every where)
Tardis1972 wrote:^ As I said before I can see this being gone by Fright Fest.
Maybe. But think about this - Great America is adding this after it's already gone into a bunch of other Six Flags parks, right? People going to the parks may disagree, but it seems clear to me that Six Flags thinks this is working out ok or else there's no way they'd be expanding it, so that makes me think it's unlikely it would get taken out in just a few months.
I just did the VR at SFOG and let me tell you....it was awful. The video didn't sync up and it froze halfway through the ride....so from my honest opinion, I hated it. Not a fan of it at all.
Jackluver18 wrote:I just did the VR at SFOG and let me tell you....it was awful. The video didn't sync up and it froze halfway through the ride....so from my honest opinion, I hated it. Not a fan of it at all.
Who even came up with the idea of having VR on a rollercoaster?! It's stupid! This is a terrible decision. I'd rather spend money on a new show to be honest
Mack Rides was the creator of VR Coasters. Beginning with Galaxie Express, it had a screen you looked at on the ride(powered coaster). It wasn't until 2014(?) when Mack decided to put the modern VR we see today on Europa Park's powered coaster. Apparently, it's the best one there is from what I hear.
VR adds value to any ride it's implemented on. If it doesn't work properly, let's fix that. But let's not pretend that it's a bad plan. It gives SF the ability to 'update' older rides with new experiences. Also, let's not forget who the target audience for this is. It's the GP, not coaster enthusiasts or SFGAM junkies. No, this is for people who were thinking of going, but who need something cool and new to draw them in. This will be used to draw those people year in and year out, new attractions or not.
^But this is on a coaster that's already one of the more popular attractions. Honestly, I'm not too worried on the VR itself. It's a custom VR for us, so there's that. I'm more concerned on how they could fit in the cleaning/hand out stand, and how capacity will be affected.
I tried it on Revolution at SFMM. It was interesting, but in the long run I don't think it will be worth it. It seemed to cause the line to slow down tremendously ad other people have pointed out. I'm also worried about the reliability of the headsets. When I rode Revolution, my headset warned me that it was overheating but gave me the option of overriding it. Of course I overrode the warning and went with it on the ride. If this becomes an issue, the headsets will be failing rather rapidly and cause a lot of people to be unhappy when there isn't a full set of headsets. Seeing a potential blunder, I ended up selling my SIX stock. I think it will be bad enough to effect the bottom line of the company, and don't want to risk my own money on it.
^None of us have any clue whatsoever. No work has been done to the station, I don't think anything was added to the trains, and I have yet to notice any change in the staff's behavior. In fact, some of the RB crew didn't even know about it.
I'm still wondering when this is going to start. Not that I plan on trying it out anyway. Also RCDB now has Raging Bull categoried as virtual reality and it mentions that the VR goggles are optional to wear.
How long does it take to set this VR system up? I could see SF closing a marquee attraction down in the peak of summer just to do this . And if they are waiting for a Fall/FF run, then I believe they are just asking for trouble
Maybe they can utilize this time of the valleying to implement the VR system on the other 2 trains. The other can either wait or not even bother with the VR.
Guy_With_A_Stick wrote:Maybe they can utilize this time of the valleying to implement the VR system on the other 2 trains. The other can either wait or not even bother with the VR.
Three train operation with VR? Don't make me laugh...