Viking's Revenge closure

[themagician]

MDMC is just faster at launch (72km/h), but becomes much slower as the ride goes on, and as you say is much higher up. While JR launches at 65km/h and is much lower to the ground, with the second launch boosting it to 70km/h, and its tight and quick turns makes it a much more enjoyable ride.

[Intimidator305.]

Bottom line, Sea World has lots of gaps and needs more rides, no matter how you look at it.

And removing them isn't very helpful... I really don't want the park to continually remove rides...

[Jobe]

Think its about time that they seriously think about relocating Surfrider to Seaworld, as per the original  plan. Its compact, and its a great fit for the park as a spiritual succesor to the Pirate Ship.It is also a quick fix to Seaworld's temporary reduction in thrill rides. Make it happen i say!!

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Its a good idea, but I have to wonder whether the cost \ benefit aspect is really worth it.

They barely run it as it is, and from what I understand it is plagued by maintenance issues too. I'd hate to see them pay to relocate it only to have it sit there.

[jake_hunt]

A medium to large coaster and a thrilling flat in the area vacated by Sea Viper and Pirate Ship would be ideal imho. That's assuming they don't demolish VR. If this is the end of Viking's, they'll need another family ride probably to fill that demographic of kids not quite ready for Storm, but sick of little rides.

[SunshineTom]

This ride is too valuable to the park to close. A complete refurbishment is needed but closing it would leave a serious blackhole in the park. Don't do it SeaWorld, don't do it!!!!

[Reanimated35]

16 minutes ago, SunshineTom said:

This ride is too valuable to the park to close. A complete refurbishment is needed but closing it would leave a serious blackhole in the park. Don't do it SeaWorld, don't do it!!!!

Buying 15-30 new fibreglass logs/boats would be extremely expensive on what's already a very old ride. Is it worth the potentially multi-million dollar upkeep? Or would SW be better of scrapping it and spending the money on some new attractions? 

[SunshineTom]

Just now, reanimated35 said:

Buying 15-30 new fibreglass logs/boats would be extremely expensive on what's already a very old ride. Is it worth the potentially multi-million dollar upkeep? Or would SW be better of scrapping it and spending the money on some new attractions? 

 

I always felt like the log ride was the main, central attraction. It's the ultimate family ride, something everyone can enjoy. It also brings heritage and nostalgia to the park. Yes i absolutely think it is worth the upkeep. Bring on the new boats and a complete refurbishment and new theme! That whole area is way too strangely shaped to utilise it fully with another attraction or attractions plural. 

[themagician]

Looks like the ride has officially closed forever. It has been taken off the rides listing and maintenance page.

Rest In Peace, Vikings Revenge Flume Ride (1979 - 2016)

 

[joz]

On 03/12/2016 at 3:39 PM, reanimated35 said:

Buying 15-30 new fibreglass logs/boats would be extremely expensive on what's already a very old ride. Is it worth the potentially multi-million dollar upkeep? Or would SW be better of scrapping it and spending the money on some new attractions? 

What sort of ride can you buy for the couple million they saved?  Anything that you know will be as big a hit as the flume ride?  Certainly nothing as big as the flume, probably nothing as family  friendly, and certainly not something that's seen as a tradition or right of passage ride at the park.

 

I think they've officially lost the plot out there now.  What is their ride collection now?  Two coasters that manage to be intimidating enough that they don't work as family rides, but aren't thrilling enough to keep thrill seekers entertained, and a small collection of kiddie rides.  The monorail is the only genuine family ride in the park, and that runs slower, and at reduced capacity compared to what it used to.  This is very sad for a park that for a long part of it's life ran 4 transport rides, 3 thrill rides, 2 water rides (one of which was also probably the country's best dark rides), a couple kiddie rides and a free water park with 4 totally different types of slides and 2 pools.  

 

I'm not against change, seriously I'm not, but whatever changes they're making should make the park better, not worse, and it's clear as crystal that the park is a shadow of it's former self.  Just run a white flag up the flagpole out the front of the park and be done with it, although there probably isn't the budget for flags, that flagpole has had nothing on it for a few years now.

[pushbutton]

I completely agree with the last post. Frankly they might as well play the last post all day in what's left of poor old Sea World. 

Presumably they have found some sort of potential safety issue with Vikings Revenge. If so then maybe it has to go, but now more than ever they seriously need a proper investment program.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

@joz did you forget, or intentionally exclude battle boats?

4 transport rides? Chairlift, Monorail, Train, ...?

[joz]

Ferries.  Admiralty been closed for a long time, but for a large chunk of the park's life that was a thing.  It's fair to say that the park was a bit stagnant for quite a time before the current regime, but that doesn't to me justify the accelerating downwards trajectory the park is on.  

 

I did forget battle boats, I don't think 1 ride that's borderline a kiddie ride really changes the broader narrative though.

Edited December 9, 2016 by joz

[Reanimated35]

@joz - poor wording on my part, I should have said put the money toward new attractions, not meaning to imply it would cover the complete cost sorry. 

[Tim Dasco]

I think this might have something to do with TRRR incident. Considering the Log Flume, TRRR and VR are all in-house design. So maybe since the TRRR accident the insurance have gone through the roof. (The Log Flume has been removed from DW's map now)

[XxMrYoshixX]

Well, I'm sure everyone saw this coming, as soon as the ride was announced to be closed for maintenance indefinitely it was gone. We're now staring down the barrel of four rides/attractions at SW closing without a replacement, and since after Corkscrew closed SW has been ripe for something new. If Vikings doesn't get replaced, then it is an extremely poor move on VRTP's part to remove one of the few rides left in the park.

I think VRTP as a whole should be looking at actually closing rides with some warning in the near future instead of unceremoniously shutting them for maintenance (when in reality they are shutting them for good) while we hope they will get reopened. This has happened with three rides now and the strategy is getting tired really fast.

If they've been able to close a Batman simulator with prior warning, then surely they could do it to any ride at their other parks?

Edited December 9, 2016 by Richard
Maybe don't goad people into replying if you'd prefer they don't reply.

[Tim Dasco]

They need to add something there with the Commonwealth games around the corner or this will be a bad look for them.

Edited December 9, 2016 by Tim Dasco

[pushbutton]

13 minutes ago, Tim Dasco said:

They need to add something there with the Commonwealth games around the corner or this will be a bad look for them.

Only a year to go. Not really enough time to do anything particularly impressive unless they've been planning it for a long time and they start construction immediately. Even then they'd be struggling. 

 

[Jamberoo Fan]

Sad to hear about Viking's Revenge but I think we are going to see the ride SBNO for a long time:

On 06/11/2016 at 1:31 AM, Jamberoo Fan said:

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.

So until Storm Coaster & Spongebob 3D are put on the maintenance webpage (or for the latter's case, announced as permanenty closed too), Viking's Revenge will be SBNO.

2 hours ago, Tim Dasco said:

Considering the Log Flume, TRRR and VR are all in-house design.

I'm not sure which VR you're referring to but I think MW's VR isn't an in-house design but DW's is.

Edited December 9, 2016 by Jamberoo Fan

[Brad2912]

1 minute ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

I'm not sure which VR you're referring to but I think MW's VR isn't an in-house design but DW's is.

VR = Viking Revenge... 

[Santa07]

2 hours ago, pushbutton said:

Only a year to go. Not really enough time to do anything particularly impressive unless they've been planning it for a long time and they start construction immediately. Even then they'd be struggling. 

 

I agree with push here, if they didn't have any plans before now it would be very hard to whip something up in time for the games.

[Brad2912]

16 months is enough time to at least get a couple of flats in there to at least boost the ride count. 

It probably is too late for a big addition, but money talks and could bump up a production timelines if they wanted it to 

[GoGoBoy]

Really sad news today to hear of the closure of both DW's log ride and SW's classic flume. I have something to add about the flume ride that I've been meaning to discuss on here for some time (ever since the DW tragedy), but never got around to it. So way back when I was a kid on a trip to the Gold Coast, and Lassiter's Lost Mine Ride was still a thing, I would literally go between both rides -- Lassiter's and the flume -- and ride them all day, usually accompanied by my poor dad. I absolutely loved them. Anyway, on one particular trip, there was an incident on the flume ride that occurred when we were right at the end of the queue. Two boats were apparently released at the same time from the two separate channels on the platform. They both converged together where the flume becomes one channel and essentially jackknifed. One boat in particular was on quite an angle. It understandably caused a lot of commotion, with the ride attendants and members of the public running in to try and assist and dislodge the boats. Nobody was hurt.

I remember thinking at the time that it had more to do with the sensors than an operator error, although obviously I don't know exactly how the ride works. I understand the ride uses a reflective-beam sensor system that detects a boat when it passes, and thereby operates the block sections using the metal gates and, in the case of the top of the flume, those metal arms to stop the boats. I remember thinking at the time that the sensor may not have registered that the first boat had passed, so the gates then released the second boat, thinking that the channel was clear. You can see how I think this could be relevant to Thunder River Rapids, as I'm pretty certain most boat rides use a similar sensor system. I'm not sure how frequent an occurrence it was for this failure to occur on the flume, but if it was a known issue and there was any chance it could happen again you can see why Sea World would be wary. Two boats colliding would not be a good look after everything that has happened. Even more so if it is found that a faulty sensor played a part in the DW accident.

Edited December 9, 2016 by GoGoBoy

[Park Addict 93]

Quote

 

The Vikings Revenge Flume Ride that has excited families that have visited Sea World since 1979 has been permanently closed following an extended maintenance period.

Sea World finalised this decision this morning, and subsequently removed the ride from the website. The ride signage and ride restrictions and information were removed in November. It is understood the ride required significant investment to continue operating.

As Sea World's first ride, this was also the first theme park ride in Australia.

The removal of Vikings following the removal of Sea Viper (Corkscrew) and the Pirate Ship leaves Sea World with a major gap in rides for those in the Teenage and Family Markets whilst Sea World has world class animal exhibits, shows and Nickelodeon Land we hope this space or the land formerly occupied by Sea Viper is redeveloped quickly to provide a thrill ride or a family ride. 

VRTP refused to comment for this story, but a general statement is expected soon. This story will be updated when such is provided.

 

Cant link to my own site but yep, there is the whole article.

SW Guest Services told me they were informed it is public information now and a media statement was to be sent out this afternoon. Although I certainly did not receive it.

Edited December 9, 2016 by Jordan M.

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

53 minutes ago, Jordan M. said:

Cant link to my own site but yep, there is the whole article.

http://gcthemeparks.com.au/blog/2016/12/vikings-revenge-flume-ride-to-permanently-close/ would this be the article on your website? 

Edited December 9, 2016 by Theme Park Ninja