I think most people (and by people I mean theme park enthusiasts) would agree that Vampire’s a shadow of what it was. But I still think it’s a decent coaster and certainly entertaining. The fact it can still get a three hour queue shows that a lot of people do find it entertaining, although granted it’s not worth queuing three hours for.
It’s throughput has declined from what it was when it had three Arrow trains running and for a major roller coaster its current throughput (about 600 an hour I believe) isn’t great, but it still just about has the highest throughput in the park; perhaps similar to Tomb Blaster on four trains (Dragon Fall’s throughput is considerably lower than has sometimes been reported on the forums). Its throughput is still a bit higher than the park’s other major roller coaster, Dragon’s Fury.
Of course we’re not specifically talking about throughputs here. I think Vampire is often seen by enthusiasts as one of the weaker Arrow suspended coasters because it’s one of the gentlest, but it’s still pretty wild in the tunnel (perhaps not as wild as when it had the heavier Arrow trains) and for a ride with a 1.1 metre height restriction it is intense (which I suspect is partly why it gets such long queues).
The layout gets criticised for the mid ride lifthill. Whilst I do agree that it disrupts the flow a bit, it certainly doesn’t stop it from being a decent coaster. Quite a few family coasters do have multiple lift hills including most, if not all, Vekoma mine trains. With a family coaster it either needs to be powered, short or have multiple lifts (unless you can do some kind of family friendly mid ride launch or if you were to dig it into the ground). Whilst the second lift is largely due to planning issues, it wouldn’t be a family coaster if it were twice the height and a lot faster. Plus, the way Arrow coasters have lasted it might have torn itself apart by now were it taller and faster.
Even without any theming I think Vampire would be a fun coaster with some nice interaction with the Transylvania midway and a tunnel at the end. Aside from the midcourse lift potentially disrupting the flow it feels like a coaster with decent pacing, where the highlight of the ride (the tunnel) comes at the end. It’s like Nemesis in that respect.
It is a big shame that Vampire’s lost most of its theming, but it might still be the best themed Arrow suspended coaster. Most of them seem to be at Six Flags or Cedar Fair parks and have pretty much no theming to speak of. I didn’t ever get to do Big Bad Wolf or Eagle Fortress, which are generally regarded as the best of Arrow’s suspended coaster. Out of the three I have been on Vampire’s my favourite. Personally I’d like to see them give it a major overhaul, but I don’t think Vampire’s boring or beyond redemption and if and when they do get rid of it I can’t see its replacement being any better.
It’s throughput has declined from what it was when it had three Arrow trains running and for a major roller coaster its current throughput (about 600 an hour I believe) isn’t great, but it still just about has the highest throughput in the park; perhaps similar to Tomb Blaster on four trains (Dragon Fall’s throughput is considerably lower than has sometimes been reported on the forums). Its throughput is still a bit higher than the park’s other major roller coaster, Dragon’s Fury.
Of course we’re not specifically talking about throughputs here. I think Vampire is often seen by enthusiasts as one of the weaker Arrow suspended coasters because it’s one of the gentlest, but it’s still pretty wild in the tunnel (perhaps not as wild as when it had the heavier Arrow trains) and for a ride with a 1.1 metre height restriction it is intense (which I suspect is partly why it gets such long queues).
The layout gets criticised for the mid ride lifthill. Whilst I do agree that it disrupts the flow a bit, it certainly doesn’t stop it from being a decent coaster. Quite a few family coasters do have multiple lift hills including most, if not all, Vekoma mine trains. With a family coaster it either needs to be powered, short or have multiple lifts (unless you can do some kind of family friendly mid ride launch or if you were to dig it into the ground). Whilst the second lift is largely due to planning issues, it wouldn’t be a family coaster if it were twice the height and a lot faster. Plus, the way Arrow coasters have lasted it might have torn itself apart by now were it taller and faster.
Even without any theming I think Vampire would be a fun coaster with some nice interaction with the Transylvania midway and a tunnel at the end. Aside from the midcourse lift potentially disrupting the flow it feels like a coaster with decent pacing, where the highlight of the ride (the tunnel) comes at the end. It’s like Nemesis in that respect.
It is a big shame that Vampire’s lost most of its theming, but it might still be the best themed Arrow suspended coaster. Most of them seem to be at Six Flags or Cedar Fair parks and have pretty much no theming to speak of. I didn’t ever get to do Big Bad Wolf or Eagle Fortress, which are generally regarded as the best of Arrow’s suspended coaster. Out of the three I have been on Vampire’s my favourite. Personally I’d like to see them give it a major overhaul, but I don’t think Vampire’s boring or beyond redemption and if and when they do get rid of it I can’t see its replacement being any better.
