Tricoart

1) Soft openings don’t exist. 2) SW did everything right and all complaints are for nothing.

I think I remember that sign (unless if there’s another one), it was mostly saying that you can’t fly drones near SW within the helicopter tour operating hours.

And you haven’t? Because I seem to recall, only yesterday, you deciding that soft openings just don’t exist, that SW did everything right, and that all complaints are for nothing.

Every ride has to be tested & looked over a certain amount of times before opening, Levi has been opening late (assumedly) because of issues arising in that pre-opening period, and closing early because of the issues compounding once guests are boarding. Also, ⬇️ We know about as much as you do about how opening schedules are managed, they managed it wrong and other examples already given have managed it right. The only ‘example given on why things are like that’ that you’ve given pulling from a highly technical, innovative ride from Disney that goes down a lot, trying to say that it’s not right to complain about Levi going down as that ride does too. When, in actual fact, the main discussion about that ride is that it goes down a lot, because people inevitably get annoyed when that happens. And, with the other actual examples given for better managed opening schedules, a lot of Levi’s issues could’ve been smoothened out by opening with a soft opening/passholder preview, possibly negating most of the complaints entirely.

Okay, but Joker at SFDK both: - had a soft opening (4 days before official open). - is a regional, thrilling attraction opening at a Six Flags chain park, not subject to a country-wide advertisement campaign aimed at families and holiday trips. Yes, it can happen to any ride, but it could’ve been handled better, and might’ve had less of an impact if so. And, again, that’s coming from someone who was also there on Levi’s opening day, and was able to ride it more than once, so the idea of me not being able to ride it right now isn’t the thing that I don’t like. Families don’t know if/when to wait a month, it’s just “the holidays have started and there are cool new rides for us to go on at Sea World, let’s book a vacation there and go on ‘em”. That’s what has already been happening, and that’s what I don’t like.

I think the point they’re trying to make is that you don’t make those billboards for a set date until you are sure the ride can comfortably operate on that set date, and until then keep it as ‘Rising Soon’, delegated to mostly socials and local advertising (e.g. billboard out the front of the park). And I understand the park wanting to advertise ASAP, because the sooner the better, but with 2+ years of delay, I can’t help but think they could’ve at least added some more leniency and not had it be so rushed & unfinished.

Yes, they had the extra pressure because of the previous mistakes they’d made with opening announcements, and that pressure would’ve stayed the same whether the opening date was the 2nd of December or Boxing Day. But, the later the date, the more catching up they could do on what they were clearly underprepared for. If I had to take a guess, though, they chose to set the opening for as soon as they could after the ride was scheduled to pass basic commissioning, and rushed the area to be as prepared as it could be, disregarding any issues that may occur as a result of the ride/ride crew not being properly accustomed. Which is what, assumedly, led to the issues that are occurring.

To be fair, though, Levi’s technology is new to its current staff members. With that being said, that is one of the many benefits of a soft opening/passholder preview, to get staff accustomed to the ride and its technology before the grand opening, and work out any kinks the programming may have. Also, despite the difference in technological advancement, people continuously complain if RotR goes down at Disney, like they are with Levi. It’s just the reasons that each ride goes down that is drastically incomparable.

Same deal here, felt like I might be too big for the Timberliner’s restraints, but just passed clearance. Didn’t know about the test seat when I first rode, though, but if you’re worried it’s worth a try before queueing.

It’s a much more simpler way of saying “The management decisions made for the opening schedule of DC Rivals (among other opening schedules, like that of Steel Taipan) were more thought out, planned, better implemented, and certainly more well-recieved than the management decisions made for the opening schedule of Leviathan, Trident, and Vortex, also known as the New Atlantis precinct (though, mainly Leviathan is under scrutiny in current context).”

Also, I believe everyone here recognises that SW and MW are both owned and operated Village, but that’s pulling at straws to think that nullifies the fact that MW handled DCR better than SW’s been handling New Atlantis. And I’m one of the lucky hundreds that got to ride it multiple times on the opening day, so I’m not personally affected by it not being currently operational. It’s just a fact that the way it’s currently operating is unsuitable for it’s grand, widely-advertised opening.

If Rivals & Steel Taipan had soft-openings/passholder previews (and, if I’m not mistaken, even Dingo Racer had somewhat of one), why is it so hard for some of y’all to admit that Levi should’ve had one too? Cause yeah, new rides obviously have teething issues, but just blatantly speaking, the ride shouldn’t have been marketed to families, interstate or not, for months to hold it’s grand opening on a date where it wouldn’t even be close to properly operational. Having an unpublicised soft-opening/passholder preview before the grand opening makes it abundantly clear that any early guests are lucky to be experiencing an ultimately unfinished & ‘alpha’ experience, thus any resulting issues/faults are to be expected and rectified before opening day. MW knows to do it, DW knows to do it, AW knows to do it, most global parks know to do it, why is it a point of contention as to if SW should’ve? Maybe it’s just my current distaste for SW (after coming back from a very unpleasant stay there) speaking, but IMO there’s just been fumble after fumble with how they’ve managed New Atlantis’s opening from the get-go.

JL is open, with the only noticeably unoperational effect in the queue line being the news screens behind a barrier before the main cattle pen. Will edit when off, but I’m not super knowledgeable on the ride so I may miss things that aren’t working as intended. Edit: Most effects seemed to be working to me, and a decent amount of hits were registering.

The worst thing I saw was, seeing as the exit dumps you right beside the main queue helix, there were people riding, exiting, ducking under the outer helix railing & skipping most of the queue, then riding again, for the entire first day.

I was thinking the testing might be for that too, but if it’s running 2 train ops for the Christmas party, it should be able to run 2 train ops for the following operating day

Crumb of good news, Levi was test cycling with (seemingly) two trains consistently for about half an hour before park close. Hopefully this means the issue has been fixed, and it’s fit for (somewhat) normal operation come tomorrow.

Workers are now walking the track with a bucket and a paintbrush, brushing the running steel with something (maybe water, maybe some lubricant?) Update: Officially closed, queue emptied. Wind definitely not the reason, the ride is faulty.

If wind truly was the concern, it’d probably be in the mindset that it’s better to test an empty train with the current wind speeds, than run w/ guests at immediately and risk an evac if it does rollback. Either way, there’s almost certainly more going on than just wind.

An app called ‘Ride Forces’. Also, Levi’s thrown a fault and is currently completely down, after already intermittent operation yesterday (wasn’t under operation for a large portion of the day, and around 30+% of trains sent were empty from what I saw. Supposedly was only due to wind yesterday, but with the actual faults today I don’t buy it), and further intermittent one-train operation today. I was on the last train of yesterday, the ride threw a fault then and we were gonna get evac’d, but they eventually got the second train to dispatch and we were able to slowly roll into the station and unload. Something’s definitely wrong. I’ll wait in the queue and update when there is one ig.

Halfway, it’s a big op booth.

Sea Jellies, you can see ‘em in the photo with the red scribble (reflective on one side, black on other). Oh, also Dockside’s reopen.

There’s some bins on the other side of the station, you just chuck ‘em in there and pick them up once you get off. They’re at the bottom of this photo, near the news guy’s legs. Oh nice, I must’ve missed it in the panic. I’ll queue again and see if I can grab a photo

[[SPOILERS AHEAD]] Just got off my first walkthrough/ride of multiple today, so I’m far from an expert on the topic, but I’ll try my best to cover the bases. Theming The whole theming of the area is great, for current-day Village. There’s still some pretty open areas, and as the concept art shows, it could use some more trees to make it feel less empty. Garden of Cyphers is a nice place to sit down, but I’d imagine it gets loud, due to… Leviathan The queue for Leviathan is split up into 3 distinct sections: Queue (the blue shade structure inside of the helix), a sort of Holding Zone, and the walk to/station. There is no single-rider queue, and a mention for a disabled entry, but it isn’t the main queue or the exit. Starting with the Queue, it’s pretty and is mostly enclosed in the helix. I’m sure this will be fine once it’s been open for a while, but it’s certainly caused a lot of overspill now. As for its theming, it’s surrounded by faux rock & plants on all sides, with the ride itself being just above said walls. It’s certainly good looking, but I can’t help but think it’s a bit too short (and, just quietly, the ride isn’t quiet, and people were already getting irritated at the near-constant ride noise from being surrounded by the coaster). The Holding Zone is pretty self-explanatory, after being advanced from the queue, you’re put into a little hallway and wait to be allowed into the station. If you’ve been to Fright Nights, it’s basically just the wait between the queue and entering the maze. If you haven’t, it’s a mixture of Scooby Doo’s post-warehouse queue, and the second boarding row in Steel Taipan’s station. Not much to say about it’s theming (it’s just a hallway), but I noticed there are names on the bolts on Levi’s supports, which is cool. Last queue section, the walk to/station. Seeing as this is completely indoors, it’s definitely got the best theming of the 3. You enter through the sliding door, and are surrounded by faux rock and cool blue lighting, as you advance up the staircase to the station. The station is where it shines, smoke-filled with faux rock blended into the advertised screens, where Leviathan swims around and tells you off from time to time. This is, by a decent amount, the best theming I’ve seen in Australia. (Sorry for blur in the photos, it was completely indoors and I had to keep moving) Now, the ride itself. As you dispatch, more smoke billows out in front of you. Small dip, lift hill, Leviathan says ‘Ride With Me’, then you’re in the layout. Being a wooden coaster, the layout is (as expected) far less forceful than the likes of Superman, DCR, or ST. Thus, it’s more fun and rerideable than insane and physically tolling. Also, being a wooden coaster, it’s not the smoothest thing ever, but it’s luckily far from uncomfortable. I didn’t notice any big potholes, nor did I feel scrambled after riding like you would on Cyclone. It’s a great, rerideable, fun, family-thrill ride, from the drop to the brakes. I’m not skinny by any means, but I’m not the heaviest person either, and it was a bit of a squeeze to fit, so if you’re overweight you might have some trouble getting your restraint locked (and there’s no test seat, so you’ll have to queue before you know). In case you’re interested, here’s its vertical and lateral force graph. Once done, Leviathan tells you you’re worthy and you exit through a similarly-themed staircase to the one you entered through. Then you’re spit out into a maze of tight painted work walls, walk through the ride photo booth, past the main queue area, and are spat out the way you came. Vortex Vortex hasn’t changed since it originally opened, so if you went on it then, you know the experience. If not, it’s just a decent flat, a worse Wipeout with rather generic ‘ocean’ theming (though it fits in more now that the whole area is open, ofc). Also, they may have dulled its squeaking? Idk, but I haven’t heard any. Trident As discussed elsewhere, Trident wasn’t open due to high winds, but the ride experience is pretty predictable if you’ve been on a swingchair before. The theming is a step above Vortex, with a colosseum-style ride platform, some nice murals/detailing work, and Big Man. All in all, the details are good (but the trident at the top should’ve been larger).

Garden of Cyphers the Seaworld VQ says Leviathan is a 5 minute wait. Is that accurate or is it looking like hours to ride it? Hours, and there’s no single rider queue If it says 5mins it’s either just a glitch or no one’s realised that virtual queue would be on today and will be a free fast pass essentially. Also, the like currently stretches out into the plaza, so good luck everyone there. As in it doesn't exist or they're not operating it? Yeah it’s about a 3hr wait