FOTL for Rip Ride Rocket

[JAL2525]

Does anyone know if they are anywhere near opening any FOTL access for the HRRR coaster?

Thanks.

 

[Bluer101]

Does anyone know if they are anywhere near opening any FOTL access for the HRRR coaster?

Thanks.

I wish, I was there this past weekend and rode it for the first time. The wait was 1 hour and it broke down twice while we were in line. I don't see Express anytime soon. Besides no Express it was fun, my 7 year old DS loved it, we had front row.

 

[Anglefan]

Nobody knows unless they have inside info as to when the moving platform will be operational.

 

[inkkognito]

Nobody knows unless they have inside info as to when the moving platform will be operational.

The Magic 8 Ball says, "Moving platform ain't gonna happen in this lifetime."

 

[Metro West]

The Magic 8 Ball says, "Moving platform ain't gonna happen in this lifetime."

 

[ky07]

The Magic 8 Ball says, "Moving platform ain't gonna happen in this lifetime."

 

[JAL2525]

They designed a new ride with no FOTL type access??? What were they thinking???

Not the best planning

Thanks everyone for the input...

 

[Metro West]

They designed a new ride with no FOTL type access??? What were they thinking???

Not the best planning

Thanks everyone for the input...

No...there will be an Express line but supposedly not until the moving platform is working...which it's not. I don't know why Universal won't allow Express access now since the HR3 has been open for several months now. But that's their call.

 

[JAL2525]

No...there will be an Express line but supposedly not until the moving platform is working...which it's not. I don't know why Universal won't allow Express access now since the HR3 has been open for several months now. But that's their call.

Dumb question...what is the moving platform????

I guess I will get a good look at all this when I get there.

 

[orlandoinside]

It was closed yesterday, at least toward the later part of the day. They were putting up a new banner on the big hill part. It goes from the bottom all the way to the top.

I have a picture of it but I don't have enough post to show it here yet.

 

[Metro West]

Dumb question...what is the moving platform????

You know...like a moving sidewalk at an airport or the Haunted Mansion load area.

 

[inkkognito]

Another banner? Ugh! Didn't they learn when the last one blew down? Personally I like how the lift looks when it's "naked," especially at night.

As Metro said, the moving platform is like the one at the Haunted Mansion (same thing as Tomorrowland Transportation Authority, Spaceship Earth, etc.). Some "rockit" scientist thought it would work to load a roller coaster. Problem is, you can't just stop a coaster like you can with one of those other rides when someone with a mobility disorder is being loaded or people are just slow getting in (everytime I ride Rockit, I see someone chicken out and have to be released or at least one person who can't figure out how to pull down their lapbar). Well, technically you CAN stop the coaster, but people aren't going to appreciate being stopped in the brake runs contantly...sorta spoils ride continuity. The team members could be as efficient as possible but they still can't control slow, confused or disabled guests. Their best bet would be to shut it down and redesign it into a SheiKra-style double loading station.

 

[Timmy Boy]

The reason for Rockit not offering Express is what ^ said. There is a moving platform on both sides of the station track, and the original design was to have 7 trains on the ride at once, and a train leaving the station every 30 seconds. It might even be less than that.

The way this is accomplished is that the ride is slowly creeping through the station. The ride comes in and slows down, and starts to a very slow speed, matching the moving platform on both sides. The lapbars unlock, guests exit to the right, as new guests are entering from the left. Lapbars are locked, songs are chosen by guests (who can figure it out) and the vehicle is cleared by the loaders, then it slowly creeps until it reaches the overhead control booth, then it starts onto the ride. So technically, the cars never stop moving. If the vehicle is not cleared by the loaders when it reaches the overhead control booth, then the car will stop until it is cleared. There's the problem, with so many large guests, chicken guests, height checks, bags, etc. the ride will most likely stop there everytime.

The reason for no Express is because they cant run with that system right now because the programming isn't in place for it yet. Once it is, they'll try it out, but until then, they can't reach the capacity they want for the ride, so there's no Express. If there was Express, the regular line would be double what it is now, and the Express line would most likely be an hour long.

 

[orlandoinside]

When I hopped on the ride I was by myself, so I used the single rider only lane. I can see how that is not going to work well with this ride, because it seats only two across.

So you have to wait a long time before you get a single seat open. There was only 15 or so ahead of me in the single rider lane, yet I waited about 20 minutes to get on.

 

[Rip]

The reason for Rockit not offering Express is what ^ said. There is a moving platform on both sides of the station track, and the original design was to have 7 trains on the ride at once, and a train leaving the station every 30 seconds. It might even be less than that.

The way this is accomplished is that the ride is slowly creeping through the station. The ride comes in and slows down, and starts to a very slow speed, matching the moving platform on both sides. The lapbars unlock, guests exit to the right, as new guests are entering from the left. Lapbars are locked, songs are chosen by guests (who can figure it out) and the vehicle is cleared by the loaders, then it slowly creeps until it reaches the overhead control booth, then it starts onto the ride. So technically, the cars never stop moving. If the vehicle is not cleared by the loaders when it reaches the overhead control booth, then the car will stop until it is cleared. There's the problem, with so many large guests, chicken guests, height checks, bags, etc. the ride will most likely stop there everytime.

The reason for no Express is because they cant run with that system right now because the programming isn't in place for it yet. Once it is, they'll try it out, but until then, they can't reach the capacity they want for the ride, so there's no Express. If there was Express, the regular line would be double what it is now, and the Express line would most likely be an hour long.

What I don't understand is, why can they make Express work for every other coaster in the place?

 

[JAL2525]

The reason for Rockit not offering Express is what ^ said. There is a moving platform on both sides of the station track, and the original design was to have 7 trains on the ride at once, and a train leaving the station every 30 seconds. It might even be less than that.

The way this is accomplished is that the ride is slowly creeping through the station. The ride comes in and slows down, and starts to a very slow speed, matching the moving platform on both sides. The lapbars unlock, guests exit to the right, as new guests are entering from the left. Lapbars are locked, songs are chosen by guests (who can figure it out) and the vehicle is cleared by the loaders, then it slowly creeps until it reaches the overhead control booth, then it starts onto the ride. So technically, the cars never stop moving. If the vehicle is not cleared by the loaders when it reaches the overhead control booth, then the car will stop until it is cleared. There's the problem, with so many large guests, chicken guests, height checks, bags, etc. the ride will most likely stop there everytime.

The reason for no Express is because they cant run with that system right now because the programming isn't in place for it yet. Once it is, they'll try it out, but until then, they can't reach the capacity they want for the ride, so there's no Express. If there was Express, the regular line would be double what it is now, and the Express line would most likely be an hour long.

Excellent explanation...I wasn't sure how that was going to all work and how it affected the FOTL access.

Thank You for the info

 

[inkkognito]

What I don't understand is, why can they make Express work for every other coaster in the place?

Because they load as they were designed and planned to load and run at the proper capacity. The Rockit has never run at its proper capacity and probably never will.

 

[Rip]

Because they load as they were designed and planned to load and run at the proper capacity. The Rockit has never run at its proper capacity and probably never will.

I understand that, but it can't be that much of a feat of engineering to adjust the ride capacity to something like what they have for the other coasters.

 

[inkkognito]

Sadly, it can be (and is) for this particular coaster due to the way they included the moving platform and designed/built the loading station. Combine that with the relatively low capacity cars and it doesn't compare to traditional coasters like Dueling Dragons or Hulk in terms of loading options or capacity increases. You can't "force" capacity.

 

[Rip]

Sadly, it can be (and is) for this particular coaster due to the way they included the moving platform and designed/built the loading station. Combine that with the relatively low capacity cars and it doesn't compare to traditional coasters like Dueling Dragons or Hulk in terms of loading options or capacity increases. You can't "force" capacity.

That's the issue, though. I find it hard to believe that they can't build cars with more capacity using the existing track. I realize they don't want to do that, and certainly aren't going to until they can get the damned thing running somewhat reliable, but if the alternative is perpetual 2-3 hour waits, then it is something they may have to consider.