Ride Institute Propulsion Study and Mysterious Letter released!

Study:
http://www.rideinstitute.com/pdf/researchStudy042511.pdf

Letter:
http://www.rideinstitute.com/clay01.php

 

As promised, the Ride Institute has released it’s first study entitled, Propulsion Dynamics.

Inside the .pdf file, the cover page features a series of dots, that if looked up, resemble Ursula Major (aka: Great Bear).

The rest of the study talks about how clay from deep underground contain minor sources of magnetisim when charged to polarity. The study started in the year 2004, which coinsidentally is the same year that Storm Runner opened and features magnetically charged brake fins to slow the trains down.

 

Hidden in the study are the faded letters, C L A Y, which added to the series of numbers found on Screamscape and Theme Park Review, then added to the search bar on the RIT website take you to a mysterious letter between Jeffrey, who is in the Amazon rainforest in the early 1900′s and his wife Charlotte.

 

Mentioned in the letter are two words that stook out to me:
Nevado Mismi- A volcano in Peru where the Amazon River begins. Could there be a tie between the Amazon, Halley’s Comet, ursla major, and the strange creature that they mention hearing while in the rainforest?

Terra incognita- a Latin term meaning “unknown land” and the plotting of it. According to Wikipedia, it mentions of an urban legend where cartographers would label these areas to possibly contain mythical creatures (given how a dragon could be involved).The phrase is now also used metaphorically by various researchers to describe any unexplored subject or field of research.

The second paragraph talks about some fly creature flying over the forest quieting the wildlife. Going back to the topic of Ursla Major, one of the stars included in it is Draco the Dragon. Could this refrence this? Would be a cool name for a coaster too.

 

Right now I’m picturing that the coaster will somehow involve LSMs for a lift hill. This could make sense given how fast Maverick’s lift hill is. If so, then we could be looking at a 75 to 80 mph coaster.
Given all this talk about megnetic fields, propulsion, and white dwarf particles.

I do have one question however. On the sideview graph posted to the bottom of the study, what does GWT stand for? I am guessing that this is a cross-section view of the creekbed at the construction site.

 

 

Attraction 2012 Possible Layout? (4/20/11)

Posted in today’s Harrisburg Patriot News was an article about the updated RIT website and this image of a possible layout. From first-glance, Intamin comes to mind given the lack of supports for the location on where the lift may possibly go. Here are some more interesting points:

Here are some interesting points that I’ve noticed:
1. Judging from the cluster of supports right after the supposed-lift hill, I’m thinking this may have a turn similar to Intimidator 305 after a straight first drop. It would explian the removal of those trees next to Comet as well as the retaining wall.
2. Periodically through the course there looks like spaces for Comet to pass through.
3. Tilt-A-Whirl looks like it may be confirmed on being removed as well as the games building. The restrooms may be spared.
4. The storage track looks like it will be next to the station.

The most interesting point is that the stakes almost exactly meet the locations of the proposed footers pictured on this layout.

The Ride Institute Is Back and has a Better Site. (4/19/11)

 

http://www.rideinstitute.com/index.php

That’s right Attraction 2012 Fans, The Ride institute is back and has updated their official website. As with any new update they do, it seems to include for clues, teasers and hints. The new site includes 5 pages in all (About RIT, Research, Studies, Employment and the home page).

Through the site, I’ve noticed a couple of clues and some cool new things that are new that haven’t been implemented during the Nantimi Game:

-The Alumni Section in the About RIT page features a rotation of different employees from Hersheypark’s engineering dept. To see them all, just keep refreshing the page.

-The About page lists 4 different people (3 guys and 1 girl) who work with the “company”. In October when we received the first puzzle, the people we’ve met from the group fit almost the same exact description (3 guys and 1 girl) and what they were wearing matched as well.

-The backgrounds of these four people is interesting. All of them have a wide range of interests in and outside of their degrees and received many awards.

-Dr. Andersson sounds pretty much like a reference to the Nantimi campaign given her marketing surveys in 2007… the same year as Nantimi. Back in March, I was contact by someone from RIT asking me if I wanted to interview her, but in the end we got a coded message, which took us to another page written in dutch.

-Dr. Julliard seems to be a big movie buff and a member of ACE (the American Cinema Editors union), which is a real group… wheither it’s hinting at the coaster enthusiast group or the actual group, I have no clue.

-Dr. Rose has a degree in Philosophy and wrote many papers that dramatically reversed longstanding beliefs in air-time, acceleration, and barrel rolls. That sounded interesting to me.

-In the Alumni section, AFW is mentioned again and confirms that they deal with research. Their logo, the earth, is on the top of the same page and Jan Van Der Velde’s face is hard to view.

Like the Nantimi page, an employment page has again been provided, but what’s never been done before is the release of info on a given date. RIT will release a brand-new study each Monday relating to their 4 main focuses.

We still have around 4 months to go until an official announcement will be made, so let the fun begin.

Here’s another clue that’s been discovered on the Theme Park Review and Screamscape websites… it’s in the logo posted above! Have fun figuring out what I mean!

Hersheypark Attraction 2012 Update #20 from HPCrazy (4/17/11)

Well, the park is open and now we can see if anything inside the park has changed since last year. In short, nothing really stands out, but there have been some changes.

Next to Comet’s transfer track , there are two new stakes. Couldn’t read what they were labeled though.

Stake 90R and 90 something are new and are across the exit path from the former stake that was next to the path lamp.

Remember the markings with the long numbers? Looks like they don’t need them anymore.

May have been from the utility work they’ve done in the offseason.

The original markings from earlier last year have been re-added.

I have a feeling that these are ment to be stakes. It’s hard to tell if the one on the left says 1065 or 106S. If it’s the second one, then we may have our answer to where the station will be, but I’ll have to take a closer look at it to confirm this.

The land looks pretty clear next to Comet’s turnaround right now and a lot of stakes are located on this spot. I am going to bet that this may be where the highest point of the ride may be. Also the dam has held up okay from the flooding and there’s hasn’t been any evidence of flooding inside the park, but down the street along Hersheypark Drive, that’s a different story. The creek has been seperated almost perfectly in half and now they have to deal with the fun task of pumping out all that water.

Hersheypark Attraction 2012 Update #19 From gb980109 (4/14/11)

Last Thursday, gb posted another update and it looks like something new has occured. Read on…

Notice anything new from this photo?

What about now?

Alright, I’ll tell you. They have been clearing quite a few of trees inside this area. Also, the dam in front of Comet’s bridge is finished for the most part.

20L. Could the L stand for “lateral”?

Good chance it could because here is marker #60 and features no L.

Back when Fahrenheit was built, it’s track sections were assembled through labeling the track sections. It looks like it could be a similar system for the footers.

For those who are wondering if they will be making the hillside completely bare, rest assured becuase any tree that has a green tie around it (like the one on the left) will hopefully be saved.

Sidewinder’s New Trains: “Coiled and Ready to Stike…. Again”.

This weekend, guests and coaster enthusiasts were given a sneak-peek at what Sidewinder’s new trains will look like. From all the personal opinions I’ve heard over the weekend, it seems that everyone is eager to ride it.

When is ironic about this is that over the past few years, the ride has been suffering from giving riders so many headaches and with the park trying to fix this season after season, it looks like they have finally came to the decision to purchase a brand-new train from Vekoma, which are considered to give a more pleasurable riding experience.

No official re-opening date has been announced so far, but it is guessed that it will be May 6th, the opening day for the summer season.

For 2011, Sidewinder also celebrates it’s 20th birthday making this a nice birthday present for the ride. As in the words of it’s opening slogan, “Sidewinder: Coiled and Ready to Strike… Again”. Hopefully it’s venom this time around will produce more adrenaline, than headaches.

Hersheypark Attraction 2012 Update #18 From Ccron10

Hey guys,

Since it was summer-like today with the temperature in the 80′s, I thought I’d take a break between classes and see what’s happening down at the construction site. These are the best pictures I’ve got of construction, but with the brush growing in along the hillside, it’s only going to get worse.

Crews seemed to be working at full-speed today. This week, the lake has been divided in half.

They are now starting to pump the water out of this section and probably do further work inside it.

That hole in the wall has been fixed.

This gives you a good idea on how much land this may have the possibility of creating.

And this is where they stopped at.

More dirt.

Some concrete drainage pieces have shown up over the weekend.

“Paint Mark On Walkway” is what it says.

The catering area has been being used as a storage building for construction vehicles.

I’ll finish this update until this weekend with a zoomed-in photo of the site. Expect a video update to be coming soon as well as a photo update from today.

Attraction 2012 Update #17 from gb980109

gb980109 is back with another Attraction 2012 update that was done recently this week. It looks like the construction crews are gradually working their way up the stream. Let’s take a look:

The dam looks like it is still there. I’m guessing that it’s purpose was to create this pond for when it had the fountain back in the 1950′s. I’m guessing if they took it out, it might not have a major impact to the water level maybe?

Some of the digging behind the dam has progressed and if you look closely, it looks like they are attempting to make a temporary pathway for the creek to travel through.

Kind of an artisitc picture. There looks to be a trough running along the edge of the creek.

Now they’re down to Comet’s first drop.

A second, wider access path has been added to access this area.

So, yeah. A lot of work terraforming has been done so far.

Expect another (possibly detailed) offseason update of construction and park happenings on Monday and maybe again next Friday. Keep in mind that it is also not to late to join us on Sunday April 17th at the park for our Site Get-Together. See our facebook group to find out more!
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=hp#!/event.php?eid=152552054795931&index=1

Dorney Park Is Good To Go For Invertago in 2012

Dorney Park has recieved the go-ahead to add Invertago for 2012.

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-dorney-park-new-coaster-approved-20110407,0,3548177.story
:

Dorney Park‘s proposal to install an inverted roller coaster in place of the Laser ride was approved in a unanimous vote by South Whitehall Township commissioners Wednesday.

One commissioner even questioned the need for making the amusement park operator appear before the board for approval for each ride it adds or changes.

Dorney Park’s 2012 plan calls for the installation of an “inverted boomerang” coaster to be relocated from a California park owned by parent company Cedar Fair LP.

The 138-foot tall ride will be reconditioned before being put into service at Dorney and will take the place of the double-loop Laser, a coaster that was removed in 2008 after 22 years. The location is in the northwest area of the park near Lincoln Drive.

» Northampton area community updates delivered to your mobile phone. Text NORTHAMPTON to 52270! Message and data rates apply. Text STOP NORTHAMPTON to quit, text HELP for info

 

Park officials have not announced the name of the of the ride, though images shown in the plans proposed to the township show the Invertigo ride from Great America in California.

“Under the new zoning ordinance this is a replacement ride,” Dorney Park attorney Joseph Bubba said. “It’s in compliance with zoning; it’s in compliance with the overlay district.”

Commissioner Thomas Johns questioned why park officials must return to the board repeatedly to make changes to the lay of the park.

The township and Dorney Park developed a document after roughly 15 years of debate and negotiation determining when officials would have to appear before commissioners. Township solicitor Blake Marles said park operators probably don’t really need to come before the board each time unless their proposal violates performance criteria or traffic, water or sewer issues arise.

Under the regulations, the park is subject to special requirements that restrict the height of rides based on property elevation. The regulations also oversee noise, music and lighting so neighboring residents will not be disturbed by activities there. The peak of the 138 foot-tall coaster will be at a mean sea level of 450 feet, well below the permitted maximum elevation of 540 feet.

“It’s as low in the park and as centrally located as possible,” Bubba said. “The park is well aware of what the performance criteria are.”

Walnut Street resident Gary Ward said the local homeowners group he is part of is always concerned about the impact of the neighborhood, but the group is not concerned with the new addition.

The ride will be on 1.7 acres of the 187-acre property. Park officials have said the ride is modest in comparison with bigger coasters at the park, like Steel Force. Coaster riders will face each other and be suspended below the track. The ride will invert four times.

“We’re real excited about this ride; it’s a new experience for our guests,” park manager Jason McClure said. “It’s a nice thrill ride.”

To make way for the coaster, several kiddie rides have been removed, as well as a basketball game, concrete midways and a portion of a paved service drive. The ride is expected to open in 2012.

Sarah Fulton is a freelance writer

Sidewinder Recieves New Trains for 2011.

From Screamscape:

(4/5/11) Screamscape sources have confirmed that Sidewinder will have a special new surprise for everyone this season. One of the rockin’ new trains from Vekoma, with the ultra comfy and open restraint systems just like the ones put to use on Carolina Cobra at Carowinds in 2009. Your going to love this train.

As of right now, it is unknown if Sidewinder is going to open with the rest of the park for Springtime in the Park in a week because it is not on the ride list on the park’s website. Given from past experience like from October 2008, Fahrenheit was not on the Halloween ride list, but it was open to the pubic for the event.

After hearing from the successes of Carolina Cobra at Carowinds in NC and the Great Nor’ Easter at Morey’s Piers in NJ, I feel that we may see the lines for Sidewinder get a little longer this season than what they were in the past. As you can see from this picutre, there will be less headbanging and hopefully more space in the cars. Personally, one of my biggest dislikes was the lack of arm-space in the old trains because once you lowered your restraint and you had a partner next to you, there was no room left.

There have been some rumors in the past about removing Sidewinder, but with this kind of investment, it shows that it probably won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.