General Carowinds discussion
#76704
The ironic thing is that Fury being stopped is BECAUSE of the advanced safety features. Would I rather ride a ride that NEVER stops and ends up plowing into the back of another train or splashing to a halt in a tunnel full of water? That's what the doggone stops are for...to make SURE everything is ok.

Now, if the ride were "stuck" on a hill with a broken wheel or two where the fire department had to be called in to evacuate, or a restraint came open mid-ride, or the brakes were failing, etc. maybe I'd be concerned. But, rides being stopped should definitely NOT count against a parks safety record. It should count TOWARD it.
By Capler
#76705
Axel wrote:^It's been a national story.. where did you get the idea it was not?

Travelpulse
People Magazine
reddit
usa-news
Boston, Jacksonville, Palm Beach, Atlanta, Kansas, +tons more


It is hard for me to imagine the national media would be interested in a coaster in Charlotte being stopped on the lift hill for 20 minutes.
By TinaC101
#76707
My children have this habit of carelessly riding their bikes, roller skating, hitting each other with pool noodles, walking, etc right next to the garage door sensor. You know, that thing that detects if there is something in the way and prevents the garage door from crushing whatever it as it comes down. Anyway, they hit that sensor often. Now half the time when you go to close the garage door, it goes down 4 inches, stops and then goes back up. I wonder if I should be fearful that my house is going to catch fire and collapse because of it? :crazy:
By tylerSC
#76708
They do need to investigate whatever seems to be causing the safety sensors to activate and stop the ride. Because other B&Ms do not seem to have this issue occur as frequently. Unless I am mistaken, Intimidator and Leviathan have not had as much of a problem. While I realize in reality these ride stops are only a minor inconvenience for safety reasons, the general public that watches these sensationalized news reports only results in bad publicity. From all accounts Fury is a great coaster that I still want very much to ride. And I don't think it breaks down nearly as bad as some of the Intamin coasters. And the term "break down" applies to those coasters, not Fury which has yet to truly malfunction. Despite what the news stations may be reporting.
#76710
Capler wrote:
It is hard for me to imagine the national media would be interested in a coaster in Charlotte being stopped on the lift hill for 20 minutes.


How about "international" news. I have a friend just who returned from a 3 week stay in Germany. He said the Flying Aerial Chase and FURY 325 incidents were on the local news there. I was stunned to say the least.
By tylerSC
#76712
Jonathan wrote:That may or may not be true. It's equally likely that Fury is having no more or less lift stops than any other new B&M, but these are being reported because it is a "story" now.

Well Intimidator and Leviathan do not seem to get bad publicity for breaking down, unlike the current issue with Fury. Which is not really a malfunction, but rather an inconvenience caused by the safety sensors. Somehow Carowinds needs to get ahead of this bad publicity which has been hyped by irresponsible news reporting. But remember I-305 had major issues and had to be partially rebuilt after folks blacked out on the ride. I don't think the situation with Fury is nearly that serious, as it is a very well designed ride. So these news reports about Fury malfunctioning are misguided and overstated.
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By Jonathan
#76713
They didn't get bad publicity because no local media outlet decided that it wanted to create a story out of it. That is the real issue at hand here. The news is manufacturing a story just to stir up viewership.
By tylerSC
#76714
Jonathan wrote:They didn't get bad publicity because no local media outlet decided that it wanted to create a story out of it. That is the real issue at hand here. The news is manufacturing a story just to stir up viewership.

Yes sensationalized news reporting is indeed the real issue here. And WSOC tends to be the worst offender. But WCNC is promoting a report about Fury "malfunctioning" for the 6pm news. But hopefully they will allow park officials to set the record straight.
#76716
My favorite part of the entire story is that someone sent in a PICTURE of the train stopped on the lift -- that picture looks exactly the same as a PICTURE of the ride in motion on the lift.
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