@@TheWolfXCIX yeah like the only thing I’d buy from intamin is a blitz, a drop tower and maybe a Mega coaster. Who ever buys a Invert, flyer, or wing from intamin deserves a headache.
From a park perspective, it also means Intamin rarely ever says "no" to a client. Intamin prides itself in finding creative/innovative solutions to even the most ambitious requests from a park. Contrast that with B&M who is known to refuse projects (the Eurostar portable invert, Gigacoaster in 2000, or indeed Drachen Fire in 92). I actually talked to a sales manager who happened to have worked with both companies. He did say B&M's corporate culture is a LOT more strict and conservative. In the end, park owners might decide which supplier to call depending on their needs. A stagnant market could well use a reliable B&M, while a very competitive market could foster risk-taking to stand out from other parks. The B&M vs Intamin rivalry is fascinating precisely because the two companies choose very different approaches.
I was lucky to get 3 rides on Pilgrims Plunge when i was like 12. the elevator lift was by far the scariest thing on it and the splash was a little underwhelming but it was still really cool to be on
You could so easily double this list. Superman: The Escape, Xcelerator's support problems/cable snaps, Screamin's loop needing replacement after 3 years + multiple collisions + never being able to run at full 6 train capacity, the structural problems on their impulse coasters, brake failures on the hypers (which was a massive design flaw), their refusal to retrofit sensors on their t-bar designs to comply with mandates which forced parks to come up with janky workarounds, amazingly you also missed quite a few rider ejections. For anyone who wants to blame maintenance or operator error on these or any Intamin accidents- how is it that B&M have hundreds of coasters operating for 3 decades and not a SINGLE TIME has operator error or a design flaw killed (or even seriously injured) a rider. As in never. Just seems like one company accounts for possible issues and designs their rides to have enough "tolerance" in terms of sensors and restraints to operate safely even if operators/maintenance are idiots. And then there's Intamin- who doesn't seem to account for this one bit.
People criticize B&M for not taking risks, but this video shows why the safe approach is the _good_ approach. Safe, reliable, and smooth rides with broad appeal are much better than unreliable record-breakers or rides with death counts.
Dang, Dick Kinzel purchased Top Thrill Dragster, and while it was successful, at least he was honest about his investment into Cedar Point. Even to this day, 18 years later, Top Thrill Dragster still has problems. Intamin, we do love your rides and no doubt see you as one of the most innovative manufacturers, but your risks go too far sometimes.
Watching this video after I just got my first rides on Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and Velocicoaster, so I'm absolutely loving Intamin right now!!
It’s unfortunate to see rides like Dragster have so many mechanical issues. Their rides are great, but those issues make them nightmares for guests and maintenance. I’m grateful to have ridden so many great Intamin coasters.
There just hasn't been that many of the strata-coasters built... You've only got two of them, Had they got to build a handful more, they probably would have gotten more and more reliable. But then again, seems like the smaller accelerator model has a lot of trouble too.. but you'd have to think if they kept working with the hydraulic launch system they'd eventually get better and more reliable.
I can tell you that Intamin has nothing to do with mechanical issues, the, hire someone to do the mechanical work and that company assures Intamin that it is up to the standards but it sometimes isnt. It is a shame. It is actually really nice to work with Intamin engineers because they are so adaptive and knowledgeable.
You could just tell something was "off" with Shoot The Rapids while riding it. I also never felt comfortable being strapped in like you were on a log flume.
I am from Spain and a roller coaster like "Green Lantern" called "Inferno" in Terra Mitica, Benidorm, had a fatal accident in 2014 with a young guy death. It was Intamin as well.
I got to ride Volcano for my first and only time in its few weeks of operation in 2018 and it was amazing. it’s a shame it’s now gone but i’m forever grateful to have ridden it.
I only got a few rides on it, but never a roll back... every time I was in line for it, especially if it was early in the morning, there would always be roll backs while I was in line... But I NEVER EVER Got one lol... So consider yourself lucky... That's like the elusive virgin dragon for me lol... Just don't seem like its ever gonna happen lol.
@@Frankenberry I worked at soak city in 2005. I didn't get a roll back until my best friend came out that summer. 2 weeks before my last day of work. Believe me I understand.
Dragster also lost one of it's big rear cosmetic GoodYear tires in it's opening season which is why it no longer has the spoiler/engine/tire assembly in the back shown at 10:03. It separated from the axle late at night in May 2003 as the train hit the brake run, ending up in the Iron Dragon moat. The ride was closed the following day as they removed all the engine/wheel assemblies from the back of the trains (it did finally reopen late that next day). The following season they replaced the rear car with a 4 seat car instead of the 2 seat + engine block.
Chris your videos are top notch, man. Loved this one. As an intamin fan boy it hurts my soul that cedar fair won’t work with them, but I completely get it.
Meanwhile on B&M's..... you have to admire the dedication to engineering on B&M's end. I personally think Intamin is negligent. Just way too many mistakes, disasters and issues with basically ALL of their rides from that time period.
Dragster is actually getting more reliable. They’re slowly dialing back the pressure on the launch, which increases the power at the end of the launch, but hits acceleration.
That's all said and done, but Dragsters fate is still being determined. I can't see Cedar Point taking this ride down, unless they are forced to by the state. With that, Ohio is looking at this ride now harder then ever after this last accident.
@@johnepants it could be either or. The thing is the park can turn around and state that it's a ride issue to the manufacturer and the manufacturer can turn around and say, its your problem beacuse of maintenance. So it can turn into they said we said type of deal. All to avoid getting sued in the long run. But the ride has had major issues since the get go. I have been to Cedar Point 5 times and all 5 times the ride was down for some kind of issue. I was even there during the opening season of Dragster and it was down. Cedar Point was so frustrated with this ride the first year that they even threatened intamin, they where going to take down the ride if they couldn't get it up and running properly. Dragster wasn't the only ride with issues, Kingda Ka had issues in the past and still does! Stromrunner at Hersheypark also suffers from similar issues and also has alot of downtime. I know this beacuse I live close to both parks. So. Really for your question, I think its a combo of both maintenance and how the ride operates. Not to mention that intamin rides have a huge costly maintenance cost behind them.
@@brybryguy6314 there is only one solution to making early Intamin accelerators reliable: replacing that damned hydraulic launch with a much more reliable one. I wouldn’t say LSMs because they’re not forceful enough. An air-compressed launch from S&S would probably be the solution. Think about it, S&S can be the RMC of early launch coasters. Top Thrill Dragster can be the first to get the S&S treatment, and eventually other Intamin Accelerators such as Kingda Ka, Stormrunner, Stealth, Rita, etc. can follow suit.
@@VinceHere98 yea! That is actually a really good solid idea. But unfortunately after reading some news and listening to new speculation that Dragster has a high possibility of being removed. It's hard to belive but I think Cedar Fair just had enought of Intamin at this point along with all other parks. Again all speculation.
one of my fav error messages on millennium is “train in unload area stuck”. The load train would be dispatched normally, but then as soon as car 9 passed controls, it stopped. Sure enough, the multimove hadn’t kicked in, and it was indeed: stuck. Maintenance fixed it in 20-30 mins both times. Funny the first coaster with a cable lift, magnetic brakes, and 300ft+ has issues with something as seemingly simple like the drive tires. She undoubtedly has her quirks. Also empty trains slowing down to
I always seem to get lucky at parks, especially with Intamins. Earlier this year I got 5 rides on Dragster in a day with the only breakdowns being one in line that lasted only a few minutes, and one being cause of rain, and it opened only 15-30 minutes after the rain stopped. Worst I've had with them was Maverick breaking for ~30 minutes due to restraints not locking on a train, and I305 not being open for the day
Honestly if you’ve ever been on one of those intamin 80° drop boat rides you know what pure fear feels like. I remember when I was younger I went on Hydro at Oakwood, it only had lap bars then, but I had assumed it wouldn’t be that bad…. Only after going over the drop I was violently ripped out my seat and my parents had to physically grab me and pull me back down, never experienced such force in my life. A few weeks later that young girl fell from it and was killed. I went on it again recently and it had harness restrains installed, it was still the most intense ride I ever been on but it felt much safer. Incredible ride but whoever thought a LAPBAR was enough is incompetent.
Bob at Efteling was an Intamin bobsled and it was a fan-favourite but it had maintenance issues. The park had to make the very hard decision that they didn't wanna make. Bob closed in 2019. Luckily with a ceremony and the official last train had the park manager in it or something like that. I rode, and it was really fun. I miss that thing. Especially since it was replaced by a dueling Mack powered coaster. This did gave the park the family coaster they needed.
The initial downtime on Green Lantern was actually caused because American safety laws (either federal or state) would not allow ride operators to rotate the cars to their upright position.
I road top thrill dragster once. I was too fat close the harnass and an attendant swapped me with someone else. That harnass fit. We got on quick because the park was pretty empty, and it was a cool experience. Not enough to ride it again I prefer the longer coasters.
I was thankful to ride Shoot The Rapids at Cedar Point in its final season. Talk about last minute. Speaking of water rides, it is a tragedy for Pilgrims Plunge at Holiday World to close after only 5 seasons because that ride looked fantastic and I am surprised they're taking way too long to put something new in its place.
Lucky enough that Holiday World is my home park so I had quite a few rides on it. The ride was quite underwhelming besides the elevator up, which wasn't really exciting just kind of uncomfortable. Considering Holiday World has a world class waterpark a couple hundred yards away I can see why they got rid of it.
I’m shocked you didn’t mention Flight Commander at Kings Island. You did mention it on your Kings Island retrospective but I think that is likely the worst thing ever with Intamin.
11:06 Volcano was being planned as far back as 1985. Believe it or not, they originally wanted to build a custom launched “heart line” coaster from either Intamin or TOGO but the technology wasn’t there yet, and the purposed designs just weren’t thrilling. Though some of the artwork I saw for the concept was amazing. The inside the volcano would be like a dark ride, some rumblings, and bubbling lava around you, then they wanted to have a vertical launch that also twisted. Truly insane.
Great video..Top Thrill Dragster is a success although it breaks down a lot. NOW Volcano is the worst invest ever..Went there 3 times to ride it from Atlanta and it broke down every time.They offered me free tickets each time to come back during the season. Hey man I live in Atlanta not Doswell.
In Europe there were serious problems with Indiana Jones et Le Temple du Peril (Disneyland Paris)...a emergency break ....people got injured (1993)..and not to mention painfull ride experience ;) And the waterride Chiapas (Phantasialand) had a lot of problems in the first seasons....lifthill chains didn't work etc....
Chris, Been a while since I watched a video of yours, and I saw this popped up. The same things we criticize Intamin for (excess downtime for their coasters, maybe too ambitious) can be flipped and criticized towards B&M (not as ambitious, etc). The ultimate failure for Intamin would be Z-Force/Flashback (I still like that "Failed Coasters" episode you did with Theme Park Crazy). Well that coaster was actually marketed by Giovanola, installed by Inamin and .... actually built by B&M (Walter & Claude still worked with Giovanola back then).
Great video. I'll miss Volcano forever, having only rode it once in the summer of 1999. Top Thrill Dragster, only twice in 2004 - but be glad you never rode in the front, cuz I did AT NIGHT and me and my ex literally killed all the mosquitos and bugs hanging out under those lights when we launched. I went to the bathroom after and there were dead bugs all over me (thankfully, Kindga Ka launches in the dark at night). Velocicoaster is maybe the best thing Intamin ever did. Just rode it last week (along with Hagrid's, also awesome). We both said, it's as intense as Intimidator 305, but without trying to kill us.
1:57 Ride Of Steel Darien Lake had a partial derailment in 2021. 2:53 unfortunately they re-profiled the wrong part of i305s drop. The part that needed reprofiling was the pullout of the first drop and the beginning of the turn. That's the part I grey-out on, but oh well.
I didnt mention this since its been relatively solid for 2 decades now, and it just had tons of issues in its first year getting up to 100 mph. But it was brand new lsm technology reaching a new speed milestone...what do you expect
I was lucky enough to ride Volcano in one of its' last years. Even if it wasn't in its' prime, I still loved it. Possibly one of the best i've ever ridden
I completely blame cedar fair for Intimidator 305. Anyone should been able to figure out that taking Maverick and making it as tall as Millennium Force with the same transitions would make it to intense. It literally takes a low to the ground After a 300 foot drop.
Everybody talks about the downtime on TTD and KingdaKa. I myself have had amazing luck, all front row rides, and have never been inconvenienced. Must be lucky
The roll on Maverick was a completely different beast. I was not a fairly standard 360° roll like the one on Veloci. It was more of a snappy 180° transition from right to left, but literally turned on its head. The roll on Maverick was also not that heartlined. It was actually designed to offer a short burst of negative forces, giving riders the feeling of being ejected from their seats while being upside down. In a way the roll on Veloci has a similar moment, where there´s a short moment of negative g-s during the inversion. But ultimately its perfectly heartlined.
Roller coasters, overall, are very safe. But parks need to be vigilant in their testing and maintenance of attractions. Don't trust a sketchy park to keep you safe
Juts heard there was an issue that a restraint was not locked properly when the ride went out I thought safety systems would Not allow the ride to leave the station
The reviews of Pilgrim's Plunge remind me of my thoughts on Divertical at Mirabilandia. You see that giant elevator lift and you expect a great drop, but in the end it's just a ramp. It was a big disappointment when I rode for the first time. In the end, it's just a big family coaster with a 50 m tall "drop". The only "force" you feel is the speed at the bottom of the ramp and the final soaking splash...
I have only been on one intamin water ride Valhalla at Blackpool pleasure beach in the UK which apparently had huge maintenance costs and problems it's currently closed for a re imaging and was amazing when everything worked
Got to ride Volcano a final time in Spring 2018. What a great coaster it was! Hersheypark takes good care of StormRunner, little downtime that I know of.
@@AirtimeThrills Yeah, sorry. I’m just bitter because I’ve been without it for so long. At least you didn’t call it overrated this time, or talk about removing it like so many others seem to be.
Can someone explain the "Disaster Transport's been replaced with Top Thrill Dragster" quote? Did he just misspeak, because they didn't move DT or anything?
If you’ve ever seen that Markiplier clip where he gets so mad he throws a chair, that’s what I like to believe cedar fairs reaction was after the shoot the rapids incident
I think you need to add sky rush at Hersheypark. I worked as a ride operator when it opened at the park. It opened late due to multiple lift motor failures. After the first season maintenance grew concerned because the wheel bogies had stress fractures and I was told “we are extremely lucky the train didn’t derail. If it ran another month it’s likely it would have” which is why the lift speed is now slower than when it opened and trims were added on the course. Also you didn’t address the painful original restraints. They provided a updated restaurant with different “softer material” but while working the attraction opening year almost every train that returned to the station came with a crying guest with visible bruises on their thighs. It also opened late this year due to the lift motor again.
I remember riding it opening year and getting delayed on the brake run and thinking I was going to lose my legs! The following year I notice they added a restraint release on the brake run to take away pressure.
7:15 So the issue with trains returning upside down isn't really a design flaw, it happens all the time on the zac spins that are still around. The real issue lies with US law preventing station ops from moving the coaster car. This is what led to having maintenance called every time a car would return in an off postilion to clear faults. For kirnu specifically they have a ride op standing by to move the trains back to the upright position when they return to the station, Canobie Coaster has great footage of this coaster and goes into more detail. I'm guessing in Canada this dumb law does not exist and the coaster should run without the unnecessary weight that neutered it. SFMM used to be my home park and I got to ride this a few times, but only once after they changed the flipping, it was unbearable after they "fixed" it. Before though I actually enjoyed the ride and thought it was a very interesting and fun experience. great video all around, just thought I'd play devils advocate for green lantern
Everyone always cites these mythical laws but no one can ever point to them when asked. Which law required that station op couldn't touch the cars? For all I know, Six Flags could've just been too cheap to pay for the workplace insurance needed to let their ops get too close to working machinery and so banned it instead.
Honestly, while RMC is my favorite coaster manufacturer right now, Intamin is my most respected! They constantly innovate and push the limits and frankly, that’s more valuable long term than B&M with their cookie cutter clamshell Giga’s and Hypers. Sure, I love those and Fury 325 absolutely is more fun to me than I-305. But Intamin is that special manufacturer that’s willing to push the line forward by a mile while everyone else is content with a few feet. It was a good video but should have given credence to just how important these mistakes were and continue to be for the art form of creating coasters. For perspective, more people have died in Tesla car malfunctions than those in Intamin malfunctions AND operator mistakes. Meanwhile, Intamin has been around far longer and serviced far more people. So despite their insane efforts at pushing boundaries, they continue to have an insane safety ratio.
Intamin has found their niche in recent years with their new gen Megas such as Kondaa and all the blitz coasters. The track record so far for pretty much all of them have been flawless except maybe Hyperion.
With great innovation come with great problems. And intamin is no stranger to that. I mean, their intense rides are sometimes too intense for people. And sometimes their restraint are a disaster. But that is why Intamin has succeed in the industry
I feel like Intamin could have a market for those super intense coasters because I305 is definitely not the most intense we can build. They would just have to not be so bad at designing machines and restraints
@@trentspara1826 not at least for the next 15 years lmao, it'll probably be 5 years at least before another I305 or close to I305 gets built. Old school B&Ms prove that intense coasters can sell
@@blitzn00dle50 yeah but old school B&Ms are actually reliable, most of them are pretty short (like Batman the ride) and they don’t go 90 mph into a 5G bone crusher turn.
I wouldn't be too worried about them nowadays. They've found their niche with their new generation LSM launch coasters and now they revived their mega model with Kondaa. All these rides have had spotless track records thus far except Hyperion (even then the lone incident on that wasn't the rides' fault...a poor employee was at the wrong place at the wrong time). They got this.
I have an idea to save Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point. What if they were to replace the problematic hydronic launch with the same launch system for Red Force at Port Aventuras Ferrari Land in Spain?
Who remembers the Orient Express derailment in 1999? Because keeping the Volcano running meant that the risk is too great for a similar accident to happen.
If I owned a park, Intamin’s hit-or-miss record would make me nervous. But as an enthusiast, I love their risk-taking so much.
putting your park insurance to the test lol
I'd only order a tried and tested model from them, for example an LSM launch coaster like Taron rather than some new prototype they just came up with
Indeed. Intamin's track record helps to explain why parks like B&M so much.
@@TheWolfXCIX yeah like the only thing I’d buy from intamin is a blitz, a drop tower and maybe a Mega coaster. Who ever buys a Invert, flyer, or wing from intamin deserves a headache.
From a park perspective, it also means Intamin rarely ever says "no" to a client. Intamin prides itself in finding creative/innovative solutions to even the most ambitious requests from a park.
Contrast that with B&M who is known to refuse projects (the Eurostar portable invert, Gigacoaster in 2000, or indeed Drachen Fire in 92). I actually talked to a sales manager who happened to have worked with both companies. He did say B&M's corporate culture is a LOT more strict and conservative.
In the end, park owners might decide which supplier to call depending on their needs. A stagnant market could well use a reliable B&M, while a very competitive market could foster risk-taking to stand out from other parks.
The B&M vs Intamin rivalry is fascinating precisely because the two companies choose very different approaches.
I was lucky to get 3 rides on Pilgrims Plunge when i was like 12. the elevator lift was by far the scariest thing on it and the splash was a little underwhelming but it was still really cool to be on
I can't believe Chris made it an ENTIRE Intamin video and didn't mention Skyrush once
:D Lol... Right???
*Sighs in relief in Skyrush*
My understanding is that people only don’t like it for the restraints. If they redesign them, it would be a much more enjoyable ride.
Skyrush’s restraints slap. If it didn’t have them, that ride wouldn’t be half as good.
You could so easily double this list. Superman: The Escape, Xcelerator's support problems/cable snaps, Screamin's loop needing replacement after 3 years + multiple collisions + never being able to run at full 6 train capacity, the structural problems on their impulse coasters, brake failures on the hypers (which was a massive design flaw), their refusal to retrofit sensors on their t-bar designs to comply with mandates which forced parks to come up with janky workarounds, amazingly you also missed quite a few rider ejections.
For anyone who wants to blame maintenance or operator error on these or any Intamin accidents- how is it that B&M have hundreds of coasters operating for 3 decades and not a SINGLE TIME has operator error or a design flaw killed (or even seriously injured) a rider. As in never. Just seems like one company accounts for possible issues and designs their rides to have enough "tolerance" in terms of sensors and restraints to operate safely even if operators/maintenance are idiots. And then there's Intamin- who doesn't seem to account for this one bit.
Tape dont lie
“Should’ve gotten a B&M”
People criticize B&M for not taking risks, but this video shows why the safe approach is the _good_ approach. Safe, reliable, and smooth rides with broad appeal are much better than unreliable record-breakers or rides with death counts.
Intamin still manufactures much better rides.
@@VeeTHis I bet the people who've had loved ones die on an intamin don't think they do
3:06
Kudos, Chris; this is easily, bar none, my favorite editing gag of yours to date.
Subtle, snappy, doesn't overstay its welcome.
Good schtuff.
I saw what he did there.
Glad it caught someone's eye 😉
This made me LOL.
Dang just commented this and then found this
A snappy element that doesn't cause too much pain. Sounds like a winner.
"These are Intamin's most problematic rides"
Would you say these are... problematic roller coasters?
Stop
Lmfao this is good
I would never....
@@AirtimeThrills Can you explain what a block zone is? I'm a bit unclear on the subject...
🤣🤣🤣
Dang, Dick Kinzel purchased Top Thrill Dragster, and while it was successful, at least he was honest about his investment into Cedar Point. Even to this day, 18 years later, Top Thrill Dragster still has problems. Intamin, we do love your rides and no doubt see you as one of the most innovative manufacturers, but your risks go too far sometimes.
Watching this video after I just got my first rides on Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and Velocicoaster, so I'm absolutely loving Intamin right now!!
It’s unfortunate to see rides like Dragster have so many mechanical issues. Their rides are great, but those issues make them nightmares for guests and maintenance. I’m grateful to have ridden so many great Intamin coasters.
That's what happens when you push the limits, luxury cars are also unreliable for the same reason
There just hasn't been that many of the strata-coasters built... You've only got two of them, Had they got to build a handful more, they probably would have gotten more and more reliable. But then again, seems like the smaller accelerator model has a lot of trouble too.. but you'd have to think if they kept working with the hydraulic launch system they'd eventually get better and more reliable.
I can tell you that Intamin has nothing to do with mechanical issues, the, hire someone to do the mechanical work and that company assures Intamin that it is up to the standards but it sometimes isnt. It is a shame. It is actually really nice to work with Intamin engineers because they are so adaptive and knowledgeable.
@@omg-nt2zx I think some people are just being lazy.
You could just tell something was "off" with Shoot The Rapids while riding it. I also never felt comfortable being strapped in like you were on a log flume.
The fact that you can't really make a comparable video for B&M proves how they're worth the money.
Hey, I’m proud to be a Block Zone Aficionado 👊
When you see intamin and a synonym of bad you know Volcano and I305 are gonna be in it
I love the Top Thrill Dragster. You have to ride in the front, the view of the lake as you come over the top is epic.
I am from Spain and a roller coaster like "Green Lantern" called "Inferno" in Terra Mitica, Benidorm, had a fatal accident in 2014 with a young guy death. It was Intamin as well.
I got to ride Volcano for my first and only time in its few weeks of operation in 2018 and it was amazing. it’s a shame it’s now gone but i’m forever grateful to have ridden it.
Yeah you lucked out bigtime
haha I've literally only ever been in the front seat for TTD. Rolling back in the front row is just... Heaven.
Same here. The front row is the only row for me on any forwards launching coaster
Same for me but for king da ka
I only got a few rides on it, but never a roll back... every time I was in line for it, especially if it was early in the morning, there would always be roll backs while I was in line... But I NEVER EVER Got one lol... So consider yourself lucky... That's like the elusive virgin dragon for me lol... Just don't seem like its ever gonna happen lol.
@@Frankenberry I worked at soak city in 2005. I didn't get a roll back until my best friend came out that summer. 2 weeks before my last day of work. Believe me I understand.
Dragster also lost one of it's big rear cosmetic GoodYear tires in it's opening season which is why it no longer has the spoiler/engine/tire assembly in the back shown at 10:03. It separated from the axle late at night in May 2003 as the train hit the brake run, ending up in the Iron Dragon moat. The ride was closed the following day as they removed all the engine/wheel assemblies from the back of the trains (it did finally reopen late that next day). The following season they replaced the rear car with a 4 seat car instead of the 2 seat + engine block.
Chris your videos are top notch, man. Loved this one. As an intamin fan boy it hurts my soul that cedar fair won’t work with them, but I completely get it.
Meanwhile on B&M's..... you have to admire the dedication to engineering on B&M's end. I personally think Intamin is negligent. Just way too many mistakes, disasters and issues with basically ALL of their rides from that time period.
Dragster is actually getting more reliable. They’re slowly dialing back the pressure on the launch, which increases the power at the end of the launch, but hits acceleration.
That's all said and done, but Dragsters fate is still being determined. I can't see Cedar Point taking this ride down, unless they are forced to by the state. With that, Ohio is looking at this ride now harder then ever after this last accident.
@@brybryguy6314 I guess the question is, was it a ride problem or a maintenance problem?
@@johnepants it could be either or. The thing is the park can turn around and state that it's a ride issue to the manufacturer and the manufacturer can turn around and say, its your problem beacuse of maintenance. So it can turn into they said we said type of deal. All to avoid getting sued in the long run. But the ride has had major issues since the get go. I have been to Cedar Point 5 times and all 5 times the ride was down for some kind of issue. I was even there during the opening season of Dragster and it was down. Cedar Point was so frustrated with this ride the first year that they even threatened intamin, they where going to take down the ride if they couldn't get it up and running properly. Dragster wasn't the only ride with issues, Kingda Ka had issues in the past and still does! Stromrunner at Hersheypark also suffers from similar issues and also has alot of downtime. I know this beacuse I live close to both parks. So. Really for your question, I think its a combo of both maintenance and how the ride operates. Not to mention that intamin rides have a huge costly maintenance cost behind them.
@@brybryguy6314 there is only one solution to making early Intamin accelerators reliable: replacing that damned hydraulic launch with a much more reliable one.
I wouldn’t say LSMs because they’re not forceful enough. An air-compressed launch from S&S would probably be the solution.
Think about it, S&S can be the RMC of early launch coasters. Top Thrill Dragster can be the first to get the S&S treatment, and eventually other Intamin Accelerators such as Kingda Ka, Stormrunner, Stealth, Rita, etc. can follow suit.
@@VinceHere98 yea! That is actually a really good solid idea. But unfortunately after reading some news and listening to new speculation that Dragster has a high possibility of being removed. It's hard to belive but I think Cedar Fair just had enought of Intamin at this point along with all other parks. Again all speculation.
3:06 Talk about a ElToroRyan jab, block zones are indeed VERY interesting
one of my fav error messages on millennium is “train in unload area stuck”. The load train would be dispatched normally, but then as soon as car 9 passed controls, it stopped. Sure enough, the multimove hadn’t kicked in, and it was indeed: stuck. Maintenance fixed it in 20-30 mins both times. Funny the first coaster with a cable lift, magnetic brakes, and 300ft+ has issues with something as seemingly simple like the drive tires. She undoubtedly has her quirks. Also empty trains slowing down to
I always seem to get lucky at parks, especially with Intamins. Earlier this year I got 5 rides on Dragster in a day with the only breakdowns being one in line that lasted only a few minutes, and one being cause of rain, and it opened only 15-30 minutes after the rain stopped. Worst I've had with them was Maverick breaking for ~30 minutes due to restraints not locking on a train, and I305 not being open for the day
Honestly if you’ve ever been on one of those intamin 80° drop boat rides you know what pure fear feels like. I remember when I was younger I went on Hydro at Oakwood, it only had lap bars then, but I had assumed it wouldn’t be that bad…. Only after going over the drop I was violently ripped out my seat and my parents had to physically grab me and pull me back down, never experienced such force in my life. A few weeks later that young girl fell from it and was killed. I went on it again recently and it had harness restrains installed, it was still the most intense ride I ever been on but it felt much safer. Incredible ride but whoever thought a LAPBAR was enough is incompetent.
That’s insane.
Bob at Efteling was an Intamin bobsled and it was a fan-favourite but it had maintenance issues. The park had to make the very hard decision that they didn't wanna make. Bob closed in 2019. Luckily with a ceremony and the official last train had the park manager in it or something like that. I rode, and it was really fun. I miss that thing. Especially since it was replaced by a dueling Mack powered coaster. This did gave the park the family coaster they needed.
At 3:06 he labeled coaster enthusiasts with block zone aficionados 😂 😂
I hope you make more videos like this with as many other major manufacturers as you can
The initial downtime on Green Lantern was actually caused because American safety laws (either federal or state) would not allow ride operators to rotate the cars to their upright position.
It would be smart to include in a contract with Intamin a "pay as it works" schedule for buying a new ride.
9:25 I am surprised you have never done the front. It is a huge difference and I think you should do it sometime.
Love this guy’s videos! I hope the YT algorithm show this guy some love and help the channel grow
I road top thrill dragster once. I was too fat close the harnass and an attendant swapped me with someone else. That harnass fit. We got on quick because the park was pretty empty, and it was a cool experience. Not enough to ride it again I prefer the longer coasters.
I was thankful to ride Shoot The Rapids at Cedar Point in its final season. Talk about last minute. Speaking of water rides, it is a tragedy for Pilgrims Plunge at Holiday World to close after only 5 seasons because that ride looked fantastic and I am surprised they're taking way too long to put something new in its place.
Lucky enough that Holiday World is my home park so I had quite a few rides on it. The ride was quite underwhelming besides the elevator up, which wasn't really exciting just kind of uncomfortable. Considering Holiday World has a world class waterpark a couple hundred yards away I can see why they got rid of it.
Airtime thrills: "the only ride still open (at least for now.) Top thrill dragster.
September 6th: *UNO REVERSE CARD*
I’m shocked you didn’t mention Flight Commander at Kings Island. You did mention it on your Kings Island retrospective but I think that is likely the worst thing ever with Intamin.
Just a random question does Morgan manufacturing share the length record with b&m because steel dragon uses Morgan track and b&m trains
11:06 Volcano was being planned as far back as 1985. Believe it or not, they originally wanted to build a custom launched “heart line” coaster from either Intamin or TOGO but the technology wasn’t there yet, and the purposed designs just weren’t thrilling. Though some of the artwork I saw for the concept was amazing. The inside the volcano would be like a dark ride, some rumblings, and bubbling lava around you, then they wanted to have a vertical launch that also twisted. Truly insane.
Great video..Top Thrill Dragster is a success although it breaks down a lot. NOW Volcano is the worst invest ever..Went there 3 times to ride it from Atlanta and it broke down every time.They offered me free tickets each time to come back during the season. Hey man I live in Atlanta not Doswell.
In Europe there were serious problems with Indiana Jones et Le Temple du Peril (Disneyland Paris)...a emergency break ....people got injured (1993)..and not to mention painfull ride experience ;)
And the waterride Chiapas (Phantasialand) had a lot of problems in the first seasons....lifthill chains didn't work etc....
Gatekeeper blows chains.
Rmc structure issues, new Texas incident
All have issues
Great video Chris!
13:20
Taron: Hagrids? Serious? And not me?
8:42 this aged VERY well!
This video was put together very well
Chris,
Been a while since I watched a video of yours, and I saw this popped up. The same things we criticize Intamin for (excess downtime for their coasters, maybe too ambitious) can be flipped and criticized towards B&M (not as ambitious, etc).
The ultimate failure for Intamin would be Z-Force/Flashback (I still like that "Failed Coasters" episode you did with Theme Park Crazy). Well that coaster was actually marketed by Giovanola, installed by Inamin and .... actually built by B&M (Walter & Claude still worked with Giovanola back then).
Great video. I'll miss Volcano forever, having only rode it once in the summer of 1999. Top Thrill Dragster, only twice in 2004 - but be glad you never rode in the front, cuz I did AT NIGHT and me and my ex literally killed all the mosquitos and bugs hanging out under those lights when we launched. I went to the bathroom after and there were dead bugs all over me (thankfully, Kindga Ka launches in the dark at night).
Velocicoaster is maybe the best thing Intamin ever did. Just rode it last week (along with Hagrid's, also awesome). We both said, it's as intense as Intimidator 305, but without trying to kill us.
1:57 Ride Of Steel Darien Lake had a partial derailment in 2021.
2:53 unfortunately they re-profiled the wrong part of i305s drop. The part that needed reprofiling was the pullout of the first drop and the beginning of the turn. That's the part I grey-out on, but oh well.
I mean, the description of all coaster enthusiasts as block zone aficionados is correct...we do talk about block zones way too much
Superman Escape from Krypton?
That one was quite a headache trying to get the LSM timing right for 100MPH
And I305 was never talked about, despite being in the clips
@@TheWolfXCIX no that was right at the beginning of the video
@@sheffie8724 lol it's to late at night for me to remember anything -_-
I didnt mention this since its been relatively solid for 2 decades now, and it just had tons of issues in its first year getting up to 100 mph. But it was brand new lsm technology reaching a new speed milestone...what do you expect
I was lucky enough to ride Volcano in one of its' last years. Even if it wasn't in its' prime, I still loved it. Possibly one of the best i've ever ridden
I am now going to call myself a “Block Zone Enthusiast” until the end of time, thank you very much
I completely blame cedar fair for Intimidator 305. Anyone should been able to figure out that taking Maverick and making it as tall as Millennium Force with the same transitions would make it to intense. It literally takes a low to the ground After a 300 foot drop.
I would consider myself a block zone aficionado. Especially after the last Rattler video
Everybody talks about the downtime on TTD and KingdaKa. I myself have had amazing luck, all front row rides, and have never been inconvenienced. Must be lucky
do you think the mosasaurus roll on Velocicoaster is the heartline roll that Maverick was supposed to have?
The roll on Maverick was a completely different beast. I was not a fairly standard 360° roll like the one on Veloci. It was more of a snappy 180° transition from right to left, but literally turned on its head. The roll on Maverick was also not that heartlined. It was actually designed to offer a short burst of negative forces, giving riders the feeling of being ejected from their seats while being upside down. In a way the roll on Veloci has a similar moment, where there´s a short moment of negative g-s during the inversion. But ultimately its perfectly heartlined.
@@stellaVista interesting
I see you Airtime Thrill with the Block Zone Aficionados
RIP Volcano. One of my all time favorite coasters.
An airtime thrills video on my way to universal it's a good day
12:54 they're finally replacing volcano. Rapterra is opening next year.
8:44 so Maverick & i305 don’t exist? Good to know.
Very entertaining and fun to watch. Thanks for posting this.
Roller coasters, overall, are very safe. But parks need to be vigilant in their testing and maintenance of attractions. Don't trust a sketchy park to keep you safe
Juts heard there was an issue that a restraint was not locked properly when the ride went out I thought safety systems would
Not allow the ride to leave the station
13:31 Skyrush and Storm Runner: Excuse ME??!
Liseburg, Hansa park Europa park efteling phantasialand they had a good relationship with intamin
The reviews of Pilgrim's Plunge remind me of my thoughts on Divertical at Mirabilandia. You see that giant elevator lift and you expect a great drop, but in the end it's just a ramp. It was a big disappointment when I rode for the first time. In the end, it's just a big family coaster with a 50 m tall "drop". The only "force" you feel is the speed at the bottom of the ramp and the final soaking splash...
I have only been on one intamin water ride Valhalla at Blackpool pleasure beach in the UK which apparently had huge maintenance costs and problems it's currently closed for a re imaging and was amazing when everything worked
Another flawed Intamin restraint that killed a guest was Flight Commander at Kings Island.
8:41 In other countrys operators are allowd to manually flip the car upright
Got to ride Volcano a final time in Spring 2018. What a great coaster it was! Hersheypark takes good care of StormRunner, little downtime that I know of.
i really hope they dont get rid of Top Thrill Dragster...😒
Not to mention me getting stuck in the lift hill on millienium 100+ times
How the fuck has intamin managed to fuck up to this degree so many times
Yay airtime thrills uploads good day
Haven’t even started watching yet and I know you’re about to trash my best friend Dragster. It is what it is though.
Well trash is a strong word
@@AirtimeThrills Yeah, sorry. I’m just bitter because I’ve been without it for so long. At least you didn’t call it overrated this time, or talk about removing it like so many others seem to be.
@@steveo7771286 CP is my home park and I love that Dragster is there, but with that footprint, if they can make something even better, I say do it
@@johnepants not until we get a proper send off. I was not planning on the last time I rode it, being the last time period.
3:46 the boat didn't hit another one, it hit the drive tire that was pushing forwards, causing it to flip over.
Hmm ok, the one article i read said it hit a boat but could definitely be wrong
something i've always been confused on-rolled over in which direction? wouldn't it have held people underwater?
@@AirtimeThrills yeah it's easy to confuse
Great video! They are the most innovative but that almost always comes with a price…
Can someone explain the "Disaster Transport's been replaced with Top Thrill Dragster" quote? Did he just misspeak, because they didn't move DT or anything?
Amazing video!!
If you’ve ever seen that Markiplier clip where he gets so mad he throws a chair, that’s what I like to believe cedar fairs reaction was after the shoot the rapids incident
LMAO
Double that after the dragster incident
3:04 "We have a name for this rare breed of people" *Block Zone Aficionados* 😂
I think you need to add sky rush at Hersheypark. I worked as a ride operator when it opened at the park. It opened late due to multiple lift motor failures. After the first season maintenance grew concerned because the wheel bogies had stress fractures and I was told “we are extremely lucky the train didn’t derail. If it ran another month it’s likely it would have” which is why the lift speed is now slower than when it opened and trims were added on the course. Also you didn’t address the painful original restraints. They provided a updated restaurant with different “softer material” but while working the attraction opening year almost every train that returned to the station came with a crying guest with visible bruises on their thighs. It also opened late this year due to the lift motor again.
I remember riding it opening year and getting delayed on the brake run and thinking I was going to lose my legs! The following year I notice they added a restraint release on the brake run to take away pressure.
7:15 So the issue with trains returning upside down isn't really a design flaw, it happens all the time on the zac spins that are still around. The real issue lies with US law preventing station ops from moving the coaster car. This is what led to having maintenance called every time a car would return in an off postilion to clear faults.
For kirnu specifically they have a ride op standing by to move the trains back to the upright position when they return to the station, Canobie Coaster has great footage of this coaster and goes into more detail.
I'm guessing in Canada this dumb law does not exist and the coaster should run without the unnecessary weight that neutered it. SFMM used to be my home park and I got to ride this a few times, but only once after they changed the flipping, it was unbearable after they "fixed" it. Before though I actually enjoyed the ride and thought it was a very interesting and fun experience.
great video all around, just thought I'd play devils advocate for green lantern
That law is probably specific to California. The dumb state laws they make are legendary.
Everyone always cites these mythical laws but no one can ever point to them when asked. Which law required that station op couldn't touch the cars? For all I know, Six Flags could've just been too cheap to pay for the workplace insurance needed to let their ops get too close to working machinery and so banned it instead.
Thanks for the insight. There's so much conflicting evidence on that topic
@@kenp.32 California has to be the worst God damn state in the Union for useless regulations. I think NY and Illinois are close seconds
I’d like to think this is a lesson in the fact that much like a oil, Intamin and water don’t mix well
I figured I-305 would be on here. Still my favorite coaster
im actually surprised skyrush isnt on this list
B &m is the best plus rmc by far ill give my ace creds on that
Lets add Velocicoaster's wheels exploding to the list...
Surprised falcons fury didn't make it this far without any issues. Only took a year to get the bugs out and it's been running great since!
Cedar Fair when Shoot the Rapids has the incident: "I trusted you! But now I know you can't be trusted anymore."
Honestly, while RMC is my favorite coaster manufacturer right now, Intamin is my most respected! They constantly innovate and push the limits and frankly, that’s more valuable long term than B&M with their cookie cutter clamshell Giga’s and Hypers. Sure, I love those and Fury 325 absolutely is more fun to me than I-305. But Intamin is that special manufacturer that’s willing to push the line forward by a mile while everyone else is content with a few feet.
It was a good video but should have given credence to just how important these mistakes were and continue to be for the art form of creating coasters. For perspective, more people have died in Tesla car malfunctions than those in Intamin malfunctions AND operator mistakes. Meanwhile, Intamin has been around far longer and serviced far more people. So despite their insane efforts at pushing boundaries, they continue to have an insane safety ratio.
I totally agree with your whole last paragraph
Intamin has found their niche in recent years with their new gen Megas such as Kondaa and all the blitz coasters. The track record so far for pretty much all of them have been flawless except maybe Hyperion.
My video last Thursday celebrated their Innovations...this was the darker side of those risks
wow, never even knew shoot the rapids existed. Cedar point could use one more water ride, shame it didnt work out.
9:26 you gotta try it in the front row eventually, it’s an unreal experience
With great innovation come with great problems. And intamin is no stranger to that. I mean, their intense rides are sometimes too intense for people. And sometimes their restraint are a disaster. But that is why Intamin has succeed in the industry
I feel like Intamin could have a market for those super intense coasters because I305 is definitely not the most intense we can build. They would just have to not be so bad at designing machines and restraints
I wonder about cedar fair and if they will get another high intense intamin giga
@@trentspara1826 not at least for the next 15 years lmao, it'll probably be 5 years at least before another I305 or close to I305 gets built. Old school B&Ms prove that intense coasters can sell
@@blitzn00dle50 yeah but old school B&Ms are actually reliable, most of them are pretty short (like Batman the ride) and they don’t go 90 mph into a 5G bone crusher turn.
I wouldn't be too worried about them nowadays. They've found their niche with their new generation LSM launch coasters and now they revived their mega model with Kondaa. All these rides have had spotless track records thus far except Hyperion (even then the lone incident on that wasn't the rides' fault...a poor employee was at the wrong place at the wrong time). They got this.
People have been dieing on those Rapids rides my whole life. What's the insurance rate on them?
I have an idea to save Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point. What if they were to replace the problematic hydronic launch with the same launch system for Red Force at Port Aventuras Ferrari Land in Spain?
Still don't understand why pilgrims plunge was removed so fast? Were the lines that short??
I think just because of the downtime...and the dissatisfaction im sure didn't help
Who remembers the Orient Express derailment in 1999? Because keeping the Volcano running meant that the risk is too great for a similar accident to happen.
Stormrunner and Skyrush at Hersheypark had issues too.