Joel
Platinum Member
Found some posts..
from @DragonSlayer..
Looks like the lifespan is about 20-25 years.
@Shellemonster brings up a good point that Hulk was the first launch coaster for B&M so they may have intentionally under-estimated the lifespan which is why it was replaced at 16 years
Just as a point of order, SM has been partially retracked on a couple of occasions.
As for B&Ms, expected life span would be about 20-25 years without the need to retrack under ordinary circumstances. I don't know or pretend to know the reason for some sections being removed at the moment, but other B&Ms with onboard audio don't have a different gauge of track to support the extra weight so it won't be replaced for that reason. Bizarro at SFGAdv and Hollywood Dream at USJ both have onboard audio with exactly the same track structure as other models of the floorless and hyper respectively.
from @DragonSlayer..
Looks like the lifespan is about 20-25 years.
Being that the Hulk was a first of its kind type of ride, I would expect that B&Ms calculations could have been somewhat off in terms of fatigue life but only for the first half of the ride. They can set the exit speed into the back half of the ride with more control using the mid course brake run, and that back section should last just as long as any other ride. It looks like they have been removing the back half though. Can anyone confirm that?
Also, Space Mountain was retracked completely in 2009. The article says rails, but I've seen pictures and they mean the track including the rails. Support structure was patched as necessary as far as I remember.
Source: Space Mountain: Closing for refurbishment - Orlando Sentinel
@Shellemonster brings up a good point that Hulk was the first launch coaster for B&M so they may have intentionally under-estimated the lifespan which is why it was replaced at 16 years