Shoot the Rapids?

^ I don't get it. Is that you in that picture?

It has nothing to do with anyone liking or not liking them. They have proven to be for the most part maintenance nightmares. Yes they are popular with the public, but they are also much more expensive to keep running than they should have been.

I like the Intamin coasters, but they are plagued with downtime and maintenance issues. They would've been just as good, if not better if built by someone else. The park just cheaped out during those years and gave the job to the lowest bidder. Like TTD is guaranteed to go down at least once and Maverick seems to go down more often than in years past. And STR is a huge mess. Am I the only one here that will jump for joy when Intamin goes under?

Intamin is also the one that pushed the limits, thus bringing rides like MF, TTD etc. to reality. B&M builds great rides, but they do so with established technology. They really went out on a limb using a launch system in Thunderbird right? 15 years after MF they build something a bit taller. However, they did master the art of changing ride experiences based upon ride positioning.

We all understand the maintenance issues some of the rides have, however without Intamin building the rides they have and pushing the limits we might not have the variety and thrills we do today. All that being said, if I were to build coaster myself I'd hire B&M, but let's not act like the realm of amusement rides would be better without the contributions of Intamin.

Intamin didn't really push any limits. They didn't invent launch coasters. They built what the park asked for. They just made it way more complicated than it should be. Since Intamin built many rides within a short time in the park, it's likely they offered a package deal and you can bet that you get what you pay for. But with several rides in the park plagued with downtime, there will be lots of disappointed guests. Not everyone that visits the park every year goes as much as we do. I've only ridden TTD 2 times this year out of my 7 visits to the park because it's either down or long waits. And both times I was waiting for it this year, it went down for a while when I was in line. And I noticed Wicked Twister has been down alot this year. It's been down for most and sometimes all of my visits this year. Arguably, MF is the most reliable out of all Intamin rides. I just don't see how they managed to botch STR. A water ride is fairly simple. It's just water channels and lift hills. I'd really like to know how they came up with the design for the boats and why they can't fill them. I heard the reason was because they said "It works in Europe". Instead of trying to correct the problem, they get defensive. The park should get a refund on that ride.

coasterblu said:

^ I don't get it. Is that you in that picture?

I should have clarified... yes that is me on the left hand side making the awkward face. I was there for the commercial/photo shoot.

Intamin but a 400' tall launched coaster, how is that not pushing the limits? When MF was built, how did that ride not push the limits? Even after 12 years people still stand in awe by the Dragster watching it launch trains up that hill, taking pictures of it etc...

I'm not arguing about downtime of rides such as TTD, but more along the lines that I think it's ridiculous to say that you wish a company would go under over it. Or that anyone else could have built something better, because if anyone could have built them better, they would have done so already.

Personally, Im glad Intamin was around to build these rides, and so is just about everyone else based upon their looks and attitudes after riding MF, TTD, and Maverick. STR... Yea, not so much for that one.

Meh, looking back over so many visits the last 15 years, the Intamin coasters have usually been up and running on my visits. I think enthusiasts make the situation worse than it is. Sure StR has been a dud, but wishing bankruptcy upon the company is absurd.

This year, however, has seemed off in general (in regards to ride uptime). I can't tell you what has changed (be it the maintenance team, ride procedures, focus on other priorities like the hotel, etc.), but the ride operations have felt like they've been in limp mode much longer than the usual early season hiccups.

Even rock solid rides like Magnum and Raptor have been closed several times when I've gone to ride this year. I get that one person's experience can vary greatly, and maybe the odds have just been against me, but I've talked to several people that have felt like something has been off as well. The same could be said for Soak City, and even the park admitted to having a rough start.

Anyway, things seemed a little more solid on my visit yesterday, and I'm hoping they stay that way.

There have been very, very few times when I couldn't ride a coaster I wanted because it been down all day. Sure, there is downtimes sometimes, but most times they get it running again and I can ride it later in the day.

I think enthusiasts do make too much of a issue on maintenance problems that have nothing to do with us. We as guests should just enjoy the rides and let the people paid to worry about maintence worry about it. I haven't been disappointed by the Intamin rides at all, they are fun rides and usually running when I want to ride.

JUnderhill said:

...however without Intamin building the rides they have and pushing the limits we might not have the variety and thrills we do today.

This is entirely incorrect. What went down was that Intamin would do stuff cheaper than anyone else. They didn't push any limits out of any sense of adventure or some other mythical reason. They simply would do it for less.

So at the time CP wanted to build MF and TTD there were numerous companies bidding on the projects and Intamin was simply the lowest bid?

Jeff said:

This is entirely incorrect. What went down was that Intamin would do stuff cheaper than anyone else. They didn't push any limits out of any sense of adventure or some other mythical reason. They simply would do it for less.

Because $25 million is a steal!

JUnderhill said:

So at the time CP wanted to build MF and TTD there were numerous companies bidding on the projects and Intamin was simply the lowest bid?

I don't think that's the process.

What MAC said .There was a whole lot more than that going on during those years, and I just leave it at that.

Josh M. said:
I should have clarified... yes that is me on the left hand side making the awkward face. I was there for the commercial/photo shoot.

When this photo first appeared, I called it your 'O' face.

No kidding that's not the process... I always hear that there were all of these other companies that would build these rides but Intamin was the cheapest. I still haven't seen any of these other companies versions of TTD/kingda Ka and how much better they'd be.

Of course Intamin didn't build them for some mythical reason, or sense of adventure, and I never said they did... Intamin built them to make money which is what a business will do. The venom certain enthusiasts have for Intamin is laughable.

The venom is not just for the company per se, but for the man running it. His remarks over the years (many of which were spoken at enthusiast events) pretty much put him and the company on a lot of people's list.

What are some of the things he's said? I don't remember hearing much about his individual comments.

In a nutshell: "You Americans are too fat for our rides."

The one good thing about Intamin rides is I can use them as a gauge if I need to lose weight. If I don't fit in WT, I need to go on a diet. This year, I'm a little looser in it than past years.