Josh, Shave or Swoosh, from your site tour experience and having seen the loading station and current queue, can you tell us if there will be any observation areas similar to WF? With their desire to promote ridership, I would think they would want to give patrons a great view of the experience. Even with a strong opposition to the spinning concept, I still won't make my final judgement, or decision on whether or not to ride until I'm able to see it in action with my own eyes first.
I will say it's painfully obvious that a sizable chunk of SDC's $26 million investment was eroded due to the work it simply took to place a coaster in this location. As others have echoed, I'm also a bit underwhelmed and confused at the lack of adding any thematic elements beyond the station. Even a simple building over a portion of portions of the ride would add greatly to it.
Beyond the drop out of the station, the spinning element looks to be the only thing remotely unique about it. Compare the ride statistics to that of Mack's Helix coaster and it's clear the majority of the budget for TT was simply spent on excavation, concrete and developing the magnetic control mechanism for the trains.
Call it presumptuous and/or subjective, but when all is said and done, I would bet the farm that Helix is a far superior ride experience. Just wish they wouldn't have relied on what appears to be a gimmick in an effort to drive sales. A coaster as simple as PK continues to proven that a thoughtful design simply utilizing the nature around SDC can provide a lasting experience that demands repeat visitors and ridership.
Helix
$30 million
Height – 135 ft.
Length – 4,531 ft.
Speed – 62mph
Inversions – 7
LSM's – Two
Time Traveler
$26 million
Height - 100 ft.
Length – 3020
Speed – 50.3
Inversions –3
LSM's – 2