Flamingo Land: General Discussion

[LiamC]

The website seems to imply it's an off the shelf design. TBH, if someone wanted a custom designed flying coaster, they wouldn't go for this ride system.

Thanks for that.

I know what you mean re. ride system, it looks a pile of crap. I just wanted to know if you could deviate from the design if you wanted as the few I've seen (I think there's two in existence plus this one now?) all seem to have the same layout

 

[BigAl]

^ Would that not entail paying extra for something custom? Would anyone want to pay extra for a system that's supposed to be budget? The cheaper the better when it comes to things like this!

 

[DiogoJ42]

The lift system is nothing new. Mack use the same set up on Eurosat and Euro Mir at EP. The only difference is that they clad the rotating thing with a drum and enclose the whole lift track in a tower. And add an epic soundtrack, of course.

 

[Adam]

Bloody hell!

I know the park have gone downhill since I've last been, but that thing just looks tragic...

 

[Ian]

The lift system is nothing new. Mack use the same set up on Eurosat and Euro Mir at EP. The only difference is that they clad the rotating thing with a drum and enclose the whole lift track in a tower. And add an epic soundtrack, of course.

And they understand the concept of rider comfort (As far as lifts go on that pair anyway ), so have their trains park and wait for the catchcar to come around before moving off. Zamperla on the other hand take the "Meh, just launch the vehicle out of the station with some kickers and let it roll/crash back into the lift. It'll have to come around sooner or later!" approach.

You know it's bad when you need massive shock absorbers on each end of the lift!

 

[Tom]

It's quite refreshing to see a rollercoaster take elements at speed as opposed to slow lumbering B&Ms which have bored me since 2003. It might not offer the best ride experience or theming, but it will capture the imagination of much of the public and be a commercial success for Flamingo land.

I can't believe this thing cost £8m. Maybe that was the price tag for all three coasters.

 

[Poisson]

What an utter pile.

Looks ugly and uncomfortable. And what is with the face cage? Would you have to be mad enough to ride that you need preventing from biting?

 

[HaydenCR]

Still looks nicer than The Smiler's queue.

Couldn't be any worse. At least it looks like you can climb out of it easily if it all becomes too much for you (whether that be because of the queue length, heat getting to you or the sudden realisation that you're queuing for a Zamperla Volare)!

You cant escape even if you are suffering because those metal fences look to be hotter then a stove!

 

[Dave]

Still looks nicer than The Smiler's queue.

Couldn't be any worse. At least it looks like you can climb out of it easily if it all becomes too much for you (whether that be because of the queue length, heat getting to you or the sudden realisation that you're queuing for a Zamperla Volare)!

You cant escape even if you are suffering because those metal fences look to be hotter then a stove!

People who have issues with Smilers queue forget Rita's and have never been to portaventura

Though this does look uninspired even for Flamingo Land... But that's not surprising.

 

[DiogoJ42]

At the risk of going off topic, I'd rather a Porta style cattlepen that at least lets you know how far you have left to go, than the maze style of most Merlin queues. And personally, Rita's queue (while horrific) is the lesser of two evils next to The Smiler. The difference is that Rita is not worth waiting more than ten minutes for, whereas The Smiler is worth waiting for simply for the newness factor.

[desperate attempt to get back on topic] I genuinely think this queue looks better than The Smiler's. The throughput will be worse, of course, so the wait will be longer. But give me a switchback cattle pen over a maze cattlepen any day. [/desperate attempt to get back on topic]

 

[Sam]

I think Diogo's argument has merit. Queues should be designed so that you're always moving towards the station, rather than back-and-forth like The Smiler's queue. The latter is much more frustrating for the guest.

Sent from my HTC One V using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[Alastair]

Speaking of throughput, I find it hard to believe that this can manage 600pph (as listed on Zamperla's site). Even with 6 trains (which also seems a push) on track at once, it seems a little high for a coaster of this kind.

 

[Bear]

Speaking of throughput, I find it hard to believe that this can manage 600pph (as listed on Zamperla's site). Even with 6 trains (which also seems a push) on track at once, it seems a little high for a coaster of this kind.

I estimate they'll be dispatching a car every 90 seconds or so, which could give them a new record low of 160 riders per hour! On busy days it'll more likely be about once every minute, making the ride's capacity pretty much in line with Kumali and Mumbo Jumbo (unconscionable by anyone's standards).

 

[Alastair]

Speaking of throughput, I find it hard to believe that this can manage 600pph (as listed on Zamperla's site). Even with 6 trains (which also seems a push) on track at once, it seems a little high for a coaster of this kind.

I estimate they'll be dispatching a car every 90 seconds or so, which could give them a new record low of 160 riders per hour! On busy days it'll more likely be about once every minute, making the ride's capacity pretty much in line with Kumali and Mumbo Jumbo (unconscionable by anyone's standards).

Depressing throughput levels basically. :'(

 

[Benzin]

And probably checking the restraints when the cars come back into the station as well...

Yay for Mingo getting low throughput rides with their operation standards!

 

[Jonesy85]

Yesterday hero opened to the public along with the owner and staff testing it out.

 

[WillG]

^
Typical. I have no idea why (probably because I've not yet sampled one of these bizarre looking contraptions), but I'd quite like to give this a go, and I KNEW it looked almost ready to go last weekend (although there WERE still support bolts being screwed down!)

Worrying thing is, it looks like the best coaster Flamingoland have installed in at least 7 years...

Although, navigating track on what's essentially one of these...?

STUPID Flamingoland...

 

[Nathan]

I can't believe this thing cost £8m. Maybe that was the price tag for all three coasters.

It cost around £2.8m.

The rest has gone on Dino-Stone Park, which actually looks half decent to be fair. A lot better than their recent efforts anyway.

 

[WillG]

Once Dino park's finished, it will be FULLY decent, it was one of few areas deserving of praise. The first thing I'd like them to do is fix the area speakers - I really liked what I could hear of the Jurrasic Park style music, but because of the damage they've already done to the sound system, it was VERY distorted and... more annoying than atmospheric.

 

[HaydenCR]

Once Dino park's finished, it will be FULLY decent, it was one of few areas deserving of praise. The first thing I'd like them to do is fix the area speakers - I really liked what I could hear of the Jurrasic Park style music, but because of the damage they've already done to the sound system, it was VERY distorted and... more annoying than atmospheric.

The sound engineer inside me wanted to smash those speakers with a comedy cartoon hammer. I never got the chance. Dino park is a decent area and the animatronics are cool. But that ferris wheel looks out of place, twistosarus floor (a mess of steal) needs sorting out and the ride lineup is far too tame for my liking. Terrodactyl is NOT a thrill ride.