Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit (closing EOD August 17, 2025)

[gannonsmovieworld]

:stunned: Come to think of it, USF should have built a flying coaster! :rofl:

Maybe behind Thunder Falls Terrace, They can build the queue, station and a part of the flying coaster that can soar over Jurassic Park. Are there any other dinosaurs that have wings besides a Pteranodon?

 

[mantaguy]

Maybe behind Thunder Falls Terrace, They can build the queue, station and a part of the flying coaster that can soar over Jurassic Park. Are there any other dinosaurs that have wings besides a Pteranodon?

There are, but they all look very similar. And anyeay they're not really dinosaurs, they're "flying reptiles." I've thought about this idea, but I wouldn't want to see track sticking out of the jungle. I'd like to see a coaster themed after one or more of the classic Universal Monsters in USF.

 

[Mr MudFish]

Hahaha this has gone really of topic
Back to the poorly designed coaster.

 

[Kraken&Manta]

Hahaha this has gone really of topic
Back to the poorly designed coaster.

It's not really poorly designed, Rockit's three main problems are it's programing (Both Uni and Maurer's fault), Train connections (Maurer's fault), and who ever produced the wheels for Maurer. There are several other problems that haven't been 100% confirmed yet (the Loop's supports) but most of those could be finished within a month's work. I see the coaster opening back up before 2011.

 

[Vyrus]

It's not really poorly designed, Rockit's three main problems are it's programing (Both Uni and Maurer's fault), Train connections (Maurer's fault), and who ever produced the wheels for Maurer. There are several other problems that haven't been 100% confirmed yet (the Loop's supports) but most of those could be finished within a month's work. I see the coaster opening back up before 2011.

Don't forget location in the wind tunnel alleyway.

 

[mantaguy]

This is becoming kind of repetitive now... And yeah, those problems would classify it as poorly designed.

 

[Splatter]

For anyone familiar with the accident at Knott's berry farm on Thursday night knows just how serious valleying is. Especially with how many trains Rockit was planning on constantly pushing out.

 

[universal chris]

For anyone familiar with the accident at Knott's berry farm on Thursday night knows just how serious valleying is. Especially with how many trains Rockit was planning on constantly pushing out.

What happend can you post me the link?

 

[Vyrus]

For anyone familiar with the accident at Knott's berry farm on Thursday night knows just how serious valleying is. Especially with how many trains Rockit was planning on constantly pushing out.

Well Rockit wouldn't dispatch a train until it reached the first break run anyways, so this wouldn't have happenned.

What happenned at Knotts because I'm not familiar with it.

 

[grizzlybarely]

I didn't see anything about it on Screamscape but as Vyrus said, Rockit's train have almost no chance of colliding because of all the MCBRs.

 

[atigeg]

I didn't see anything about it on Screamscape but as Vyrus said, Rockit's train have almost no chance of colliding because of all the MCBRs.

Agreed. I've sat out on a brake run on Rockit more than once when it was having issues.

 

[Jakemeister]

An accident at Knott's Berry Farm that injured 10 people Thursday night occurred when a roller coaster car failed to make it up an incline and rolled back, slamming into another car waiting in the station, a park spokeswoman said.

The 10 people, ranging in age from 12 to 60, received minor back and neck injures and were transported in six ambulances to local hospitals, the Orange County Fire Authority said.

The park remained open for its Halloween Haunt and was scheduled to close at its normal time of 1 a.m., spokeswoman Jennifer Blazey said.

She said accident occurred shortly before 8 p.m. on the Pony Express ride. The ride "opened in 2008 and has never had any problems," Blazey said.

She said it was unclear what caused the ride to malfunction. "We'll be investigating that," she said.

-- Robert J. Lopez and Andrew Blankstein

Sounds like the ride rolled back during the lift hill.

 

[grizzlybarely]

Sounds like the ride rolled back during the lift hill.

According to Wikipedia, Pony Express uses a flywheel launch. Odd that the launch doesn't have a braking system. I mean, I don't know of a coaster with a flywheel launch and a braking system, but if it launches into a hill, a braking system should be required. The irony here is that Zamperla, the manufacturer of Pony Express, specializes in smaller installations, just like Maurer Sohne.

 

[Henrick]

We had a similar accident at a theme park here in Brazil couple of weeks ago. But it wasn't at the station. It was after a curve. The train was suppose to break, it didn't and crashed with the other one in front. Several kids were hurt. Pretty bad.

And I expect that Uni find a solution for Rockit soon.

 

[Splatter]

We had a similar accident at a theme park here in Brazil couple of weeks ago. But it wasn't at the station. It was after a curve. The train was suppose to break, it didn't and crashed with the other one in front. Several kids were hurt. Pretty bad.

And I expect that Uni find a solution for Rockit soon.

Exactly. Its not likely..but that much more likely when a train valleys. Valleying coaster cars is not just a passive thing to not be concerned with. They are NOT meant to for a reason.

Yes, the block brakes are created and are there for a back up...but that is like saying an anti rollback is there so its ok if the chainlift stops all the time.

Just beause things are there to make accidents (because yes that is what a valley is, not a thing meant to happen) does not mean people should forget Murphy's law.

 

[grizzlybarely]

Exactly. Its not likely..but that much more likely when a train valleys. Valleying coaster cars is not just a passive thing to not be concerned with. They are NOT meant to for a reason.

Yes, the block brakes are created and are there for a back up...but that is like saying an anti rollback is there so its ok if the chainlift stops all the time.

Just beause things are there to make accidents (because yes that is what a valley is, not a thing meant to happen) does not mean people should forget Murphy's law.

I don't think anyone is passing this off as "no big deal", just that these are typically not life-threatening situations. It makes news headlines because it's rare. Systems like anti-rollback and MCBRs are there not because they are common, but because they are possible. Any engineers first job is to make certain that their creation is safe.

Rockit will not be demolished. Track may be replaced (Maverick at Cedar Point) and extensive testing will be done, but this was a huge investment on Universal's part. Rockit's not going anywhere. It would be stupid to demolish a brand new ride, even if it had many problems. It's been open more than it's been closed, right? Rockit is a really fun coaster in my opinion. I personally don't care for the "theming" if that's what you want to call it, but it is a fun ride, and as long as it is safe to ride, I will ride it.

 

[StarTrekGeek]

From Screamscape:

Park News - (10/11/10) I’m not entirely sure what this means, but a new staircase was spotted in this picture (sent out over Twitter) set up at the Hollywood Rockit coaster in the general location where the ride has been known to valley the most. Anyone know if this is a temporary staircase or something they’re putting in for good?

Link to Pic

 

[Mr MudFish]

What does valley mean?
Is it when the ride stops?

 

[Vyrus]

Hmmm, very interesting, maybe some welding of track or inspection of the track that MAYBE cause the valleying? :shrug:

 

[Kraken&Manta]

What does valley mean?

In rare cases, the roller coaster train will not have enough forward speed to make it up a hill, so it falls back down the hill (hence, valley). If their are people on the train, it becomes a big problem getting them off.