• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

2018: General Discussion

Status
This topic has been locked. No further replies can be posted.
@themeparkfan welcome to the year of “It’s better than nothing”

Pretty sure someone said the theming was removed due to the vandalism, this should of been realised when it was installed but then people should be able to control themselves.

Galactica is embarrassing in this years form, if they continue the VR charade next year they need VR / non VR queue lines from the entrance.
 
Last edited:
ringo said:
@themeparkfan welcome to the year of “It’s better than nothing”

Pretty sure someone said the theming was removed due to the vandalism, this should of been realised when it was installed but then people should be able to control themselves.

Galactica is embarrassing in this years form, if they continue the VR charade next year they need VR / non VR queue lines from the entrance.
Click to expand...
Multiple ride hosts have said the vr is being removed, they sounded 100% sure about it, almost as if management have said something

Sent from my Swift 2 X using Tapatalk
 
ihaveaspergers said:
Multiple ride hosts have said the vr is being removed, they sounded 100% sure about it, almost as if management have said something

Sent from my Swift 2 X using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Finally a positive change. But then that leaves the question of what next?

Revert back to Air or stick with Galactica and risk guest turning up expecting to ride the “worlds first rollercoaster fully dedicated to VR” or a new theme
 
ringo said:
Finally a positive change. But then that leaves the question of what next?

Revert back to Air or stick with Galactica and risk guest turning up expecting to ride the “worlds first rollercoaster fully dedicated to VR” or a new theme
Click to expand...
Personally I'd say Galactica is a much stronger brand so should remain.

Sent from my Swift 2 X using Tapatalk
 
I like the brand of Galactica, but I must say there it doesn't feel the same as when it was air (the station being enclosed and all) but at least we have some on ride theming now.
 
ihaveaspergers said:
Multiple ride hosts have said the vr is being removed, they sounded 100% sure about it, almost as if management have said something

Sent from my Swift 2 X using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I had heard that they were having issues with the weight of the VR equipment. This actually consists not only of Samsung VR systems, but a custom charging rail which adds excessive weight and was a leading cause of the issues. Apparently it was causing the motors on the lift hill to wear out at a much faster rate which lead to the extended period of downtime around or just after last easter (or around then I think) for a month or two as they thought through how to keep the ride operating. Apparently for this reason they took multiple rows of equipment out instead of just keeping the option to leave the headset in the pouch as you board. Stress due to weight on the hill also still adds to downtime, along with the concerns about trees becoming too close to the ride track at the left of the ride entrance but that is gardenings’ issue and not maintenance’s.

I also heard that the Wicker Man issues were mainly due to braking systems (with a few issues with sensors also causing the lift hill to stop occasionally which was a seperate issue). The issue was originally worse with the third car for some reason so they pulled it and ran on a two car system for a while immediately after opening. This was also why three rows were left empty - this reduced the mass of the cars and thus the momentum so reduced the requires rate of momentum change on the cars as p = mv. Then they started to have issues with the brakes being too strong but they quickly fixed this. The period of flames being off was due to a broken part on the right shoulder (when looking from the shop) of the Wicker Man structure. This has since been replaced. Any issues now with the flames are just a lack of gas or that the operator hasn’t enabled them. There’s actually an entire staircase inside of the structure on the right side (again when looking fromthe shop) with around a 4 foot door entering onto each shoulders!

I don’t have any more info than that, at least not that I can think of, but perhaps this gives an insight into the operations of Galactica this season!

EDIT: Just remembered - plans were drafted to install optional VR on nemesis just after the introduction of Galactica to offer a new twist to the oldest of what was at the time a member of the “big six” (now the big seven) as it was thought that this would drive footfall to the ride which had mainly shorter queues. These were scrapped due to Galactica weight issues.

Also, Spinball has had a couple of issues. Mainly minor, these were due to a sensor situated at the end of the ride which would regularly become loose and drop down slightly due to the vibrations of the braking system above. This would cause the safety system to stop all cars and close the attraction temporarily. This has been fixed with a few zip ties!
 
Last edited:
ringo said:
Pretty sure someone said the theming was removed due to the vandalism, this should of been realised when it was installed but then people should be able to control themselves.
Click to expand...
What theming are you referring to, out of interest? Whatever theming it is, I'm sure Merlin Magic Making are manufacturing a replacement as we speak!

With regards to Galactica, I'd like to see the VR go, but the theme remain. I actually rather enjoyed the VR when I first experienced it in April 2016, but I wasn't quite so taken with it in July 2017. I admire Merlin for going out there and putting VR on Air, but I don't think the VR experiment has gone overly well for them, if I'm being honest. The ride seems to suffer much more downtime post-VR than it ever did pre-VR, and the fact that they have reduced the VR capacity for this season kind of implies that they're either having problems with it or that it's been less popular than they'd hoped.

I adore Galactica's theme, however! The portal, the soundtrack, the queue; it's all just so nice, and I'd hate to see those elements of the experience go!
 
Merlin celebrate work rollercoaster day by...... closing the buzzing themepark at 6pm surely if there was one day to extend opening times today would be the day? ?

Sent from my SM-J320FN using Tapatalk
 
Matt N said:
What theming are you referring to, out of interest? Whatever theming it is, I'm sure Merlin Magic Making are manufacturing a replacement as we speak!

With regards to Galactica, I'd like to see the VR go, but the theme remain. I actually rather enjoyed the VR when I first experienced it in April 2016, but I wasn't quite so taken with it in July 2017. I admire Merlin for going out there and putting VR on Air, but I don't think the VR experiment has gone overly well for them, if I'm being honest. The ride seems to suffer much more downtime post-VR than it ever did pre-VR, and the fact that they have reduced the VR capacity for this season kind of implies that they're either having problems with it or that it's been less popular than they'd hoped.

I adore Galactica's theme, however! The portal, the soundtrack, the queue; it's all just so nice, and I'd hate to see those elements of the experience go!
Click to expand...
They are on about the posters on the walkway to station 1.

Sent from my Swift 2 X using Tapatalk
 
WL18 said:
I had heard that they were having issues with the weight of the VR equipment. This actually consists not only of Samsung VR systems, but a custom charging rail which adds excessive weight and was a leading cause of the issues. Apparently it was causing the motors on the lift hill to wear out at a much faster rate which lead to the extended period of downtime around or just after last easter (or around then I think) for a month or two as they thought through how to keep the ride operating. Apparently for this reason they took multiple rows of equipment out instead of just keeping the option to leave the headset in the pouch as you board. Stress due to weight on the hill also still adds to downtime, along with the concerns about trees becoming too close to the ride track at the left of the ride entrance but that is gardenings’ issue and not maintenance’s.

I also heard that the Wicker Man issues were mainly due to braking systems (with a few issues with sensors also causing the lift hill to stop occasionally which was a seperate issue). The issue was originally worse with the third car for some reason so they pulled it and ran on a two car system for a while immediately after opening. This was also why three rows were left empty - this reduced the mass of the cars and thus the momentum so reduced the requires rate of momentum change on the cars as p = mv. Then they started to have issues with the brakes being too strong but they quickly fixed this. The period of flames being off was due to a broken part on the right shoulder (when looking from the shop) of the Wicker Man structure. This has since been replaced. Any issues now with the flames are just a lack of gas or that the operator hasn’t enabled them. There’s actually an entire staircase inside of the structure on the right side (again when looking fromthe shop) with around a 4 foot door entering onto each shoulders!

I don’t have any more info than that, at least not that I can think of, but perhaps this gives an insight into the operations of Galactica this season!

EDIT: Just remembered - plans were drafted to install optional VR on nemesis just after the introduction of Galactica to offer a new twist to the oldest of what was at the time a member of the “big six” (now the big seven) as it was thought that this would drive footfall to the ride which had mainly shorter queues. These were scrapped due to Galactica weight issues.

Also, Spinball has had a couple of issues. Mainly minor, these were due to a sensor situated at the end of the ride which would regularly become loose and drop down slightly due to the vibrations of the braking system above. This would cause the safety system to stop all cars and close the attraction temporarily. This has been fixed with a few zip ties!
Click to expand...

Fascinating post. Thanks so much. Much more informative than a thousand posts of pure speculation
 
WL18 said:
Just remembered - plans were drafted to install optional VR on nemesis just after the introduction of Galactica to offer a new twist to the oldest of what was at the time a member of the “big six” (now the big seven) as it was thought that this would drive footfall to the ride which had mainly shorter queues. These were scrapped due to Galactica weight issues.
Click to expand...
I'm glad that never happened. Don't ever tamper with Nemesis!
 
The Galactica queue tunnel is a mess. They really should've been smarter when deciding on materials that were suitable.

As for the VR, it would be miles better to have a few extra signs, and the guy batching giving some instructions. Nobody seemed to know what was going on, and trains which we could've been on went empty. It's also a shame when you have mixed groups, with VR/non-VR

The portal didn't have lights or mist when I was last there (one of the few gloomy rainy days where it would've really benefitted to have them on), which is a shame because it's a good theming piece and adds extra interest to the area.

The ride is better now than it was as air, but it's still a way off from being excellent I think.
 
Galactica theme change. In the tunnel you go though a portal to the planet Htrae 73, which has the nickname of earth 2. Due to it similar climate and vegetation. Also the area of Htrae 73 you visit look remarkable like a theme park in north Staffordshire :D

Sent from my SM-J320FN using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
AT86 said:
Ah Matt, you do make me smile!

It must be in a queue behind all the other theming they are busy replacing that was left to rot over the last 10 years.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I'm glad I make you smile!

My personal take on it is that they replaced Dragon Falls' theming, which was a much bigger job, so I don't see why they wouldn't replace Galactica's theming!
 
Matt N said:
My personal take on it is that they replaced Dragon Falls' theming, which was a much bigger job, so I don't see why they wouldn't replace Galactica's theming!
Click to expand...

tumblr_pdkhxkNfy61tbddkyo1_1280.jpg
 
Status
This topic has been locked. No further replies can be posted.
Top