Busch Gardens Tampa | Iron Gwazi | RMC Gwazi | 2022
- Thread starter MakoMania
- Start date
Hutch
Strata Poster
And now we have Scott's onride video:
One thing I didn't realize until just yesterday was the lack of those murderous Vengeance-style bunny hills that RMC likes do. Rather here it's basically all big element after big element. Super excited to ride this at some point this year!
One thing I didn't realize until just yesterday was the lack of those murderous Vengeance-style bunny hills that RMC likes do. Rather here it's basically all big element after big element. Super excited to ride this at some point this year!
James F
Hyper Poster
Hutch
Strata Poster
Matt N
CF Legend
Wow, that’s a surprise… it looked pretty fast in the video!
I’ll admit that it didn’t look to have the strongest focus on airtime compared to other RMCs, but knowing RMC’s designing style, I’d have expected there to be a few hidden pops in there.
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy it…
Pear
Strata Poster
If you're gonna troll at least make it funny
I could well be missing sarcasm here, but the ride is not open to season passholders yet. Passport to thrills event for those who qualify tomorrow and Sat, with previews beginning Sunday.
It's not sarcasm, so much as a **** joke.
Lori Marie Loud
Giga Poster
It's also likely a lie, considering he said he bought Buzzsaw for his estate, and I doubt said estate is a theme park in Victoria (where Buzzsaw actually IS going).
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Ahh, yes, the type of guy who only goes to the States on business trips but still retains a season pass for the overseas parks ... even when the country is closed to international visitors. What a season pass it must be too, since it gets you on the coaster during a media preview day.
Last, a little funfact: Admins can look up the IP adress a post was posted from. This one was posted from an Internet connection somewhere in England. Back from the States so soon?
Also gotta love "rode it today" in a post submitted barely past 2 PM in the timezone the park is located in. Not a long day at the park, I take it?
Last, a little funfact: Admins can look up the IP adress a post was posted from. This one was posted from an Internet connection somewhere in England. Back from the States so soon?
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TPoseOnTantrum
Giga Poster
Did a quick capacity calculation based on the POV above.
From dispatch to when it hits the brakes, the duration rests at about 110 seconds. The minimum point at which the train in the station can be dispatched is right after the other train clears the layout block. It takes another minute for the train to leave the station. Let's actually round this 110 seconds up to 2 minutes for design purposes, and provided that it takes nearly a minute for the second train to navigate its way back to the station. If we look at it like this, and the operators are able to somehow keep consistent 60 second dispatches with two trains, then this will generate a theoretical hourly capacity of 720 riders per hour.
My projections since this thing was first announced have been a lot lower, not exceeding 500 kph, so this is a rather pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, given its location as one of the closest rides to the park entrance, a massive hype draw, and not very much else in its immediate vicinity to spread out crowds (barring Gwazi Gliders), the coaster is likely just barely going to be able to handle crowds. That's a more optimistic prediction than what I made in 2020, plus this extended soft-opening phase for passholders is going to help a lot with first-rider demand.
In short, I'm rather optimistic that this opening is not going to be a sh*tshow, and with two years to work out mechanical kinks, a gradual opening, plus a hopefully well-prepared operations crew, Iron Gwazi will probably be a good hit. That 720 pph probably won't be consistently dependable on handling crowds - especially this year - but we should be fine. Although my Ohio bias places Steel Vengeance as the superior RMC (suck it Florida gang), this is generally going to be much better run.
From dispatch to when it hits the brakes, the duration rests at about 110 seconds. The minimum point at which the train in the station can be dispatched is right after the other train clears the layout block. It takes another minute for the train to leave the station. Let's actually round this 110 seconds up to 2 minutes for design purposes, and provided that it takes nearly a minute for the second train to navigate its way back to the station. If we look at it like this, and the operators are able to somehow keep consistent 60 second dispatches with two trains, then this will generate a theoretical hourly capacity of 720 riders per hour.
My projections since this thing was first announced have been a lot lower, not exceeding 500 kph, so this is a rather pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, given its location as one of the closest rides to the park entrance, a massive hype draw, and not very much else in its immediate vicinity to spread out crowds (barring Gwazi Gliders), the coaster is likely just barely going to be able to handle crowds. That's a more optimistic prediction than what I made in 2020, plus this extended soft-opening phase for passholders is going to help a lot with first-rider demand.
In short, I'm rather optimistic that this opening is not going to be a sh*tshow, and with two years to work out mechanical kinks, a gradual opening, plus a hopefully well-prepared operations crew, Iron Gwazi will probably be a good hit. That 720 pph probably won't be consistently dependable on handling crowds - especially this year - but we should be fine. Although my Ohio bias places Steel Vengeance as the superior RMC (suck it Florida gang), this is generally going to be much better run.
FistedColossus
Hyper Poster
Don't think it looks slow tbh in fact quite the opposite.
Also back row POV's >>>> Front row POV's
110 seconds could be generous on train dispatch - those RMC lap bars are a doozy, and can cause longer time in the station. One perk to Iron Gwazi - at least they're not relying on an MCBR for throughput. Steel Vengeance still has yet to really resume proper, 2-train on the course operation as hyper precaution after the Opening Weekend Bump fiasco.
Matt N
CF Legend
Out of interest, why is it that RMCs have a different lap bar procedure to other coasters with similar bars? Surely it could be just like the likes of GCIs and B&M Hypers, where you pull your own bar down and the host merely comes along and pulls up on it to check it’s secure?
To put on my High Ropes/Climbing Instructor hat and be frank - it's because they have some of the most aggressive g-force design in the history of roller coasters, especially for roller coasters that use lapbars instead of OTSR, that has killed someone due to loading procedure error. This is why the lap bars weigh so much. This is why the restraint system has so much tension/resistance. This is why there are metal detectors and ride-op-pushing-down-the-bar-for-you process.
The very thing we celebrate in RMCs, the aggressive/unfettered airtime and speed, is a huge risk if not followed to an exacting policy. People are put at risk and die otherwise.
*Removes sobering, High Ropes/Climbing Instructor Hat*
Matt N
CF Legend
Cheers for the explanation @Hyde; that does make a lot of sense! Though don’t some of the recent Intamin rides, and rides from other companies such as Mack and Vekoma, also have some pretty intense negative forces with a lap bar/non-OTSR, and they don’t seem to have the same procedure?
Or are the RMCs on a whole different level compared to the aforementioned?
I guess the death does cause the RMCs to be different, although Intamin also had deaths in the 2000s on rides with their t-bar restraint, and that never seemed to change procedures.
Or are the RMCs on a whole different level compared to the aforementioned?
I guess the death does cause the RMCs to be different, although Intamin also had deaths in the 2000s on rides with their t-bar restraint, and that never seemed to change procedures.
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