Viking's Revenge closure

[Theme Park Girl]

Seems odd that the Flume ride has no reopening date for maintenance? Last week it said 20th November....

Edited November 6, 2016 by joz

[bladex]

maybe they are getting rid of it

[MaxxTheMonster]

Given Skyway is gone and the cinema has not been very popular for a while...  Hmm...

[Santa07]

Let's hope they're not pulling a Storm on us again. Not saying I think it's going to close but in the small chance that they do close it I hope they announce it's closure this time.

[themagician]

I really do hope that they don't remove the ride. Come Christmas the queues for the kids rides, JR and Storm would be beyond crazy. Maybe as they started the maintenance they came across an issue and are waiting for new parts, and aren't sure how long it will be before they arrive. If they are removing it, then hopefully they would remove the Castle and can't install a new ride in that area.

[joz]

I've got a feeling that this would have something to do with what happened at Dreamworld.  Like Thunder River, the Flume at Sea World is an in-house design.  The cost of insuring an in-house is probably about to go through the roof.  The other thing if something were to happen, Sea World would be fully exposed.  You'd hope that they do whatever they can to get the ride running again, whether that be getting outside risk assessor and engineers to sign off on the ride/design or getting on the phone to MACK about refurbishing/rebuilding the ride.  It's not really something that Sea World can afford to lose in it's current depleted state.

[Theme Park Girl]

Possibly. Although worth mentioning that the ride closed for maintenance prior to the Dreamworld incident, and the November 20th date was still there afterwards. That said, I'm sure what happened may have changed their reopening plans. 

Wild West Falls is continuing to operate, although that may be due to the extended maintenance/refurb work it already underwent recently. 

ETA: remember at one stage the Flume ride was scheduled to undergo about 4-5 months straight of maintenance later next year? 

Edited November 5, 2016 by Theme Park Girl

[joz]

Wild West Falls is newer, and isn't in house.  If there's an unknown design fault that creates a problem, that's on Hopkins.  The same wouldn't be true of the Flume.

 

Again having said that, they'd have to be total mental patients to close that ride with the park the way it is at the moment.  Whatever it takes to keep it going would be worth it.

[razza1987]

4 hours ago, Santa07 said:

Let's hope they're not pulling a Storm on us again. Not saying I think it's going to close but in the small chance that they do close it I hope they announce it's closure this time.

Storm?

[Santa07]

4 minutes ago, razza1987 said:

Storm?

Now that you mention it Bermuda is probably a better word, not Storm, ie closing a ride during maintenance without notice.

A few years ago Sea World was completely land-locked, now after the reclaiming of land, Sea Viper's closure, the waterpark closure, and potentially this, it's been completely reversed. Sad times.

Edited November 5, 2016 by Santa07

[razza1987]

33 minutes ago, Santa07 said:

Now that you mention it Bermuda is probably a better word, not Storm, ie closing a ride during maintenance without notice.

A few years ago Sea World was completely land-locked, now after the reclaiming of land, Sea Viper's closure, the waterpark closure, and potentially this, it's been completely reversed. Sad times.

Bermuda Triangle was my favourite ride. I was so sad when it closed 

[JeffreyMoore]

19 minutes ago, razza1987 said:

Bermuda Triangle was my favourite ride. I was so sad when it closed 

same but i was even more sad when they closed the great gremlins adventure at movie world and the looney tunes river ride to be honest

but looking at it now im sort of glad they have closed these older atractions becouse there is less chance of a incident happening like on the thunder river rapids with the rides been so old etc

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

two most recent major ride incidents at our parks include:

Accident on TRRR - a ride over 30 years old

Accident on GL - A ride less than 5 years old.

 

Age isn't the factor here. Otherwise LPM would have to close the scenic railway.

[Brad2912]

I don't think age has anything to do with the TRR tragedy, nor does the age of attractions increase the likelihood of incidents providing maintenance is occurring 

[joz]

Thing is if a ride is well designed and maintained and age isn't really something that makes a ride more dangerous.  Sure you have to replace components as they reach the end of their service life, but just because a ride is old doesn't mean it's dangerous.  On the other hand, shoot the rapids at Cedar Point. 

 

Replacing an older ride with a new one is fine too.  But we're still waiting for replacements for the Corkscrew, Skyway, Pirate Ship, Train and the Plunge.  Closing one of the few rides left in the park would be an incredibly poor move.

Edited November 5, 2016 by joz

[JeffreyMoore]

29 minutes ago, joz said:

Thing is if a ride is well designed and maintained and age isn't really something that makes a ride more dangerous.  Sure you have to replace components as they reach the end of their service life, but just because a ride is old doesn't mean it's dangerous.  On the other hand, shoot the rapids at Cedar Point. 

 

Replacing an older ride with a new one is fine too.  But we're still waiting for replacements for the Corkscrew, Skyway, Pirate Ship, Train and the Plunge.  Closing one of the few rides left in the park would be an incredibly poor move.

i don't think there will be any replacements for the skyway - pirate ship or train sadly

yes i dont wont to see the vikings revenge close too

[razza1987]

3 hours ago, JeffreyMoore said:

same but i was even more sad when they closed the great gremlins adventure at movie world and the looney tunes river ride to be honest

but looking at it now im sort of glad they have closed these older atractions becouse there is less chance of a incident happening like on the thunder river rapids with the rides been so old etc

The gremlins ride terrified me lmao. I agree with you on the River ride

2 hours ago, joz said:

Thing is if a ride is well designed and maintained and age isn't really something that makes a ride more dangerous.  Sure you have to replace components as they reach the end of their service life, but just because a ride is old doesn't mean it's dangerous.  On the other hand, shoot the rapids at Cedar Point. 

 

Replacing an older ride with a new one is fine too.  But we're still waiting for replacements for the Corkscrew, Skyway, Pirate Ship, Train and the Plunge.  Closing one of the few rides left in the park would be an incredibly poor move.

Which ride is plunge?

[XxMrYoshixX]

Well, based on tradition from SeaWorld who close rides for maintenance for extended periods then tear them down, Vikings looks like it may be on the chopping block. I'm not holding my breath on this, but it could happen, like Corkscrew and Bermuda before it. If that happens, then that means there are no log flumes left in the park, and the only rides left in the park are Storm, Jet Rescue and the Spongebob rides.

Also @joz didn't SeaWorld base Vikings' design off Arrow log flumes?

I seriously hate how SeaWorld, and VRTP as a whole, close rides without warning, it is a grand example of trolling and gives park guests the middle finger.

Edited November 5, 2016 by XxMrYoshixX

[Brad2912]

I don't think the park is going out of its way to troll guests... (I'm sure that term has never been raised in a VRTP marketing meeting). 

 

[Flynn_Smith]

to be honest, this ride was grand but old. I think it needs to be pulled down in replace for a new thrill attraction or mid thrill attraction. Just a thought.

[Tim Dasco]

Not going to be good for SW if this is removed. Especially when the Commonwealth games happen. Unless they plan on a major attraction to come to SW replacing either Corkscrew or Vikings. However I doubt VRTP are going to have money left considering all the $$$$ they are spending for MW.

Does Mack offer a buy one get one free on their coasters?

[Flynn_Smith]

3 minutes ago, Tim Dasco said:

Not going to be good for SW if this is removed. Especially when the Commonwealth games happen. Unless they plan on a major attraction to come to SW replacing either Corkscrew or Vikings. However I doubt VRTP are going to have money left considering all the $$$$ they are spending for MW.

Does Mack offer a buy one get one free on their coasters?

Geez you have to hope so. VRTP need to focus on SeaWorld a bit more as it is failing and will be a major draw card in the commonwealth games. We don't want people having a bad impression on our parks. If they remove this ride, it may not be good short term but it could open HUGE opportunities in the future, and maybe they might just take that buy one get one free offer from Mack? 

[Jamberoo Fan]

Whilst it is a sudden change in scheduling, I'm going to assume something unexpected arose relating to maintenance. Looking back when Bermuda Triangle closed, Sea World made it very clear from the start that new attraction development for it's site was underway (but it did actually take them a while to actually start demolishing the ride). Sea Viper said the same thing as Viking's Revenge currently but they were actually trying to fix the ride before deciding it was time for permanent closure 7 months later - that decision though was made public immediately.

Viking's Revenge also intertwines with 2 other rides - Storm Coaster & Spongebob 3D. If Viking's Revenge is to be demolished, at least these 2 rides would also need to be closed (at least temporarily) as:

• Viking's Revenge moves around Storm Coaster's support structures. That is very narrow land for machinery to move through to demolish it's flume and might be considered a risk if Storm Coaster was operating at the same time.
• Spongebob 3D is located inside the castle which Viking's Revenge is located on top of & also travels through its 'towers' - can you imagine the effort required to remove the flume off the castle? It would be very logistical even if they kept the castle.

I am just going to hope that it isn't going to end up like Eureka Mountain Mine Ride in an 'extended' maintenance period 

Edited November 5, 2016 by Jamberoo Fan

[loki75]

On 11/5/2016 at 2:18 PM, joz said:

I've got a feeling that this would have something to do with what happened at Dreamworld.  Like Thunder River, the Flume at Sea World is an in-house design.  The cost of insuring an in-house is probably about to go through the roof.  The other thing if something were to happen, Sea World would be fully exposed.  You'd hope that they do whatever they can to get the ride running again, whether that be getting outside risk assessor and engineers to sign off on the ride/design or getting on the phone to MACK about refurbishing/rebuilding the ride.  It's not really something that Sea World can afford to lose in it's current depleted state.

Would it be possible this has anything to do on the governments safety blitz. If the ride was already down for maintenance could that period be extended to complete a safety audit?

Does anyone know the procedure for these audits? Are they done during the daily pre-ride?

Vikings Revenge is a Flume like the Log Ride and we know media bash up it copped in light of the TRRR tragedy.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

4 hours ago, loki75 said:

Are they done during the daily pre-ride?

Loki - daily pre-ride inspections usually involve maintenance checking certain points around the ride, usually pre-determined by the manufacturer - ie: check all safety pins are in place, check all harnesses lock down, and then depending on the ride - things like track walks to ensure it is free of obstruction and nothing is misplaced, and then running the ride in manual mode, making it do certain things to ensure it operates the way it is supposed to.

A safety audit is usually an external person with experience in site safety etc coming in to see that everything that should be in place, is in place - making sure regular maintenance is performed when it is supposed to, and identifying any hazards that exist. This isn't done daily. In a perfect world, daily maintenance and annual refurbs done in house would be all that is required - however - when you do the same thing day in and day out you can get complacent. Safety audits are designed to ensure complacency doesn't happen, by letting a set of fresh eyes into the workspace to see things that people who do it daily might not see.

As a little side note - to give you an idea of a 'typical' sort of daily maintenance check, here is the daily maintenance check for the old Bush Beast at Wonderland: