Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park Discussion Thread

I'm assuming this will go where the turn around is in the parking lot?

It'll certainly be quite a sight when you drive in, that's for sure!

I'm assuming this will go where the turn around is in the parking lot?

 

That sucks. That hill looked to be quite full of the air time.

^Hmm... I seem to have drawn the opposite conclusion. That hill looked really slow to me, and considering the fact that the train didn't even make it over the hill on one occasion, I say this is a welcome change. They're taking what was once the only dud and adding a crazy element to an already insane ride. The new and improved Hades will be straight-up chaos literally from start to finish.

Mr Freeze is considered 1 inversion, well atleast by me. And Mr. Freeze is banked at 120°.

After a bit of digging, I finally found my notes. Freeze was designed with a maximum bank angle of slightly more than 130° at the apex of that overbanked turn. Most of the turn is banked less severely, of course. As is the case with all of these maneuvers, it's only the maximum instantaneous bank angle that ever gets noted.

 

This certainly wasn't the first time that a ride's advertised stats were a poor fit to its actual stats, but this case is a bit unusual because generally the numbers tend to get inflated rather than deflated...

 

Interestingly - and I had completely forgotten about this - many people were calling that overbanked turn a "wingover" in the late 1990s. "Wingover" has a different generally accepted definition now.

 

You there! Fetch me an onion for my belt!

Well, this is what I found.

www.ultimatecoaster.com/spring.asp?cid=746

www.guidetosfot.com/attractions/coasters/mrfreeze/

www.admiraldfw.com/specials/six-flags-package-2.php

^We know Jeff will count it as a new credit!!!!

Significant track layout change = new credit (Yes, I'm in the same group that JJ will be in on this one)

If you are one of the ones who counted Son if Beast as two different credits, then sure. I will still count it as one though.

Aside from being ridiculously shaky, the air on Hades was nuts. It could be such an amazing ride. Barrel roll, new track and trains, and maybe a transfer area with a second train and it could be incredible. Although their whole "Don't ever want the possibility of a collision" might be a somewhat realistic statement considering their lethargic workers.

I actually thought the Hades station was a library. Shhh!

Aside from being ridiculously shaky, the air on Hades was nuts. It could be such an amazing ride. Barrel roll, new track and trains, and maybe a transfer area with a second train and it could be incredible. Although their whole "Don't ever want the possibility of a collision" might be a somewhat realistic statement considering their lethargic workers.

That's the thing. I was looking forward to this rode during the 2012 TPR Mid-America Trip, but it turned out to be a rather bone-jarring, painful disappointment. (Perhaps it's too big for its own good.) I agree that the potential is there for something great, but I think the ride will need plenty of TLC to keep it running well after this big overhaul. Is Mt. Olympus up to it? I guess we'll know in a year or two.

^ It ran quite well in the first year or two of operation. With that said, the turn around shortly after returning back from the second tunnel was quite rough. I am glad they decided to place the inversion to replace what I thought was the weakest section of the ride. I sure hope it will now retain most of it's speed after bolting out if the first tunnel.

^The tunnels were the best part in 2010. But getting to them . . .

That sucks. That hill looked to be quite full of the air time.

I assure you the train crawled over that hill with very little airtime to be had. This should be a welcome change and help keep the pacing of the ride up through the whole circuit.

Is anyone else concerned that with only a 1.5 million dollar invest that the entire investment is going to just go towards the engineering and rebuild of the part of the ride with the inversion and that the rest of the ride will remain relatively untouched?

From what was said in the interviews with both Gravity Group and Nick himself they are going to be doing a lot of re-tracking as well. Their goal is to make the ride feel brand new with the new trains, lots of re-tracking and redesigned turnaround. Though I am sure there will be parts that are untouched but lets hope its only areas that did not have problems like the station and brakes area.

I have a feeling this was probably posted long ago, but here:

Hades stalling - as it happens. Its funny to see the guy in the front seat with his hands up for a second after the trains stops. "Oh wait! The rides not moving." I guess I felt the same way on my one coaster 'rollback'.

That hilltop definitely had a little boost of air time when it was new. Hopefully the Timberliner(singular!) train will in fact do what it was meant to do from the start - cut down on track wear. It's really a shame Mt. Olympus has such poor operations and what seems to be a *very* low maintenance budget. It really could be a spectacular park.

Here's another video

Is anyone else concerned that with only a 1.5 million dollar invest that the entire investment is going to just go towards the engineering and rebuild of the part of the ride with the inversion and that the rest of the ride will remain relatively untouched?

Actually 1.5 million might be enough for everything, given that the entirety of the voyage was only a 9 million dollar investment.

 

Here's another video

after they installed the American Eagle-esque "wings" (but Hades' are perfectly vertical with no angle.)

Hmm . . . this reminds me of how they handled stuck coasters at small parks in China while TPR was there this year--only it would be just two park staff, at most, with a bamboo pole as a tool.

Maybe its just me, but I really hope that parks won't feel pressured to build inverting wooden coasters from now on just to get recognition. It started with one, and now its expanding rapidly to other parks - I really hope it doesn't become a "requirement" for new woodies.

Maybe its just me, but I really hope that parks won't feel pressured to build inverting wooden coasters from now on just to get recognition. It started with one, and now its expanding rapidly to other parks - I really hope it doesn't become a "requirement" for new woodies.

It's a gimmick that I hope is short lived.

I'm always pleased to see ride manufacturers trying something new--pushing the boundaries a bit. "Gimmick"? Maybe, but time will tell.

I am intrigued by the addition of an inversion. However, I am more excited by the possibility of some TLC i.e. retracking and new trains. Now, I will need to find some time for a three and a half-hour trip to the Dells. Of course, I enjoy the Dells for its quirkiness, nostaligia, and timelessness, which basically means that I will also need to get my mini-golf game ready.

My last trip to Mt. Olympus resulted in us just leaving the park and backtracking to Great America. It's always a gamble going up there. A few trips on Cyclops is *usually* worth it, though.

We just took a trip out to Mt Olmpus park this summer, and I have to agree that the coasters need some TLC. You can view my trip report (with lots of pictures) here..... http://themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=63522&hilit=mt+olympus