Geauga Lake X-Flight dismantling begins

X-Flight, the flying coaster whose removal from Geauga Lake was announced last month, is now being dismantled, according to photos on Geauga Lake Today.

The arrow points towards the helix section, where track has been removed from the overhead supports.

It is still unknown officially which Cedar Fair park it's headed to, but it's likely that park could be Kings Island, according to aerial photos taken by PKI Central.

Stay tuned for more dismantling photos... as well as re-construction photos, wherever that may be!

The Dismantling Game continues...

As Kings Dominion is working to add to WaterWorks, one other attraction may be going away...

The park's 5-year old S&S launch coaster, Hypersonic XLC, is listed for sale. Whether there are any takers has yet to be seen. Sister park Cedar Point had been trying to seel Demon Drop since later 2005 season, but still had not found a buyer, even though it operated in 2006. Whether the same will be true for Hypersonic is unknown at this time.


As one Cedar Fair park is changing, another Six Flags park seems to be disappearing for good.

A thread on rec.roller-coaster shows Six Flags New Orleans' Batman the Ride, a B&M inverted coaster, being dismantled. This most likely confirms that the park, which has been closed since August 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, will not re-open. This coaster was first installed elsewhere, so now, the first B&M to be relocated, has been relocated more than once...

Also from the Six Flags Blotter, Magic Mountain's once-innovative Superman: The Escape is also listed for sale.

Of course this comes all after it was announced that Kings Island is removing the vertical loop from Son of Beast as part of modification to resolve the problems that caused the July 9th incident when over two dozen riders were injured.... So stay tuned, this might be a winter full of action!

State releases Son of Beast report; Loop GONE

From the desk of Maureen Kaiser:

Son of Beast Statement
12.13.06

The State of Ohio’s Department of Agriculture released today its final report detailing the outcome of the extensive Son of Beast inspection. The report reaffirms initial indications that the incident was an unforeseen single event failure.

We will now focus our energies on the appropriate and necessary changes needed to reopen the ride in 2007. In addition to reinforcing the physical structure of the ride, we plan to remove the loop. Taking this extra step enables us to use lighter trains, which will reduce the load and lead to a more comfortable ride experience.

We are making good progress on Son of Beast and are fully committed to reopening the ride in 2007.

You can read the Department of Agriculture's final report here.
(WCPO: Son Of Beast Accident Blamed On Design Flaw)

While I'll miss the signature, unique loop, hopefully the new trains will give a much better overall ride experience. (image courtesy CYoung2003) "BEER!"

Something Going On at Kings Island...

My friends at PKICentral have posted some aerial pictures of Kings Island recently taken, that show a great deal of land clearing behind Flight of Fear. The site seems to have a rectangular shape, similar to that of the X-Flight coaster that will be removed from Geauga Lake.

One of the five pictures also shows Son of Beast, which is undergoing some winter work, near the end of the ride's circuit - and the coaster's vertical loop also standing.

However, please note that the pictures were taken on December 3, more than a week ago. This is because the PKICentral staff waited until they got approval from Kings Island to post the pictures. This could also mean that the Son of Beast's loop may be gone after all...

(UPDATE) KI has confirmed that the SOB loop has been removed!

Geauga Lake to get smaller.

Ever since Kings Island closed for the season in late October, there was some speculation that Cedar Fair's "new" Ohio park would be getting a "new" coaster.

At the same time, it was noted that the faltering Geauga Lake, also a property of Cedar Fair located in Ohio, would be undergoing some restructuring. The park's PR representative, Lexi Robinson had been let go, with folks from Cedar Point assuming her duties. Attendance has been stagnant compared to 2005, even with expansion of Wildwater Kingdom. In addition, the Hurricane Hannah's park lay abandoned, the Belaire Express monorail was shut down, and Steel Venom had a serious mechanical issue later on in the season that shut it down earlier.

This has led to rumors that X-Flight, the park's newest coaster, installed in 2001, would be dismantled and sent to another park. It looked more likely as some electrical fixtures were being removed, especially lighting on the lift hill. It also looked suspicious that a surveying company - from Milford, OH, not far from KI - was spotted in X-Flight's perimeter. At the same time, the surveyors could have been there just for utility work going on along Aurora Rd - and that the electrical work was just upgrades, including installing an on-ride photo system. But ORP work in November?

Today, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and park spokesman Bryan Edwards, confirmed half of the rumors. X-Flight will no longer be operating at Geauga Lake, and will be dismantled and relocated to another park. But which park?

Which park will be getting a used Vekoma flying coaster?
Many rumors have stated that it's headed south for Kings Island, probably next to Flight of Fear. But would they really send a used coaster to a park that is one of Cedar Fair's biggest and highest attended parks? Have they even broken ground yet?
Other possibilities include Michigan's Adventure, which is growing and has not seen a new coaster since around 1999 - a Vekoma flyer might be the type of coaster its patrons have been wanting.
There's even the crazy rumor that it's headed for Great America, which built the world's first flying coaster - but later sent it across the country to Carowinds in 2004. It was removed from GA to make way for Boomerang Bay, which better suited the park's family audience, not to mention the lack of room to grow the park out in Silicon Valley. Now, the 49ers want to build a football stadium next door!

Also, the monorail will be removed over the winter from Geauga Lake. I hate to see any monorail go, but that's what they're doing. Hopefully Jungle Jim's will finally get theirs up - a handover from another park now owned by Cedar Fair.

Stay tuned!