Theme Park Discussion / Arrow Suspendeds are becoming an extict animal :(

They are, If Eagle Fortress at Everland goes, there will be only 5 Arrow suspendeds left in the world. I belive there are becoming too costly to stay running. Its sad what kind of fate these great rides are meeting. The only one I went went on was Iron Dragon, It was a pretty decent ride, I liked the helix over the water with all of the steam! Dont understand why all of you hate it. Big Bad Wolf was Killer, sad it had to be destroyed.

Arrow coasters in general are slowly going away. GASM, Shockwave, Orient Express, Python and Double Loop have all closed within the past 10 years as well. I'm not sure if S&S still supplies all of the necessary parts for maintenance on all of the old Arrow coasters so costs are probably astronomical to keep most of their rides open.

Of the Arrows closed in the past decade, I had only ridden Orient Express. If the other Arrow loopers were as awfully rough as it was, people should be grateful to have them gone. Just look at what Worlds of Fun has in its place: a nice, shiny B&M invert and a fun little Gerstlauer spinning coaster. Not too shabby.

Can't really speak to the suspendeds, but even if they are smoother than Arrow's loopers, their days are very much numbered because of maintenance costs alone. Lower ridership and in some cases a lack of room to expand don't help their case.

I think its safe to say all three Ninjas are endangered. Most other of arrow's suspended's are probablly safe. Interesting that eagle fortress is the newest of all of them and its leaving.

there are still quite a few left, on RCDB the first two pages of arrow coasters are gone but pages 3-5 are still full.

I liked the suspended Iron Dragon at CP. Didn't Busch Gardens Williamsburg dismantle Big Bad Wolf? I visited the park in the early 80's, but didn't ride it. It looked like a riot on TV. Really fast and banking through a small town. Didn't it trigger a recorded wolf howl?

Anyway, as Arrows go, their dropping out of the skies in record numbers. Including BBW, Drachenfire was an Arrow in Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, and SFGA in Illinois,dismantled Shockwave, (a copy of Cobra in CA I believe.) for that flying coaster Superman Ultimate Flight.

Busch Gardens, Tampa took out the classic Python and reworked the area for a children's interactive exploration area. Now BGT has three Beemers. Out with the old and in with the new. Seeing how Beemers are so smooth, nobody noticed how jarring the old Arrows attractions actually were. Mostly because there was only woodies to compare them to. B&M really changed the face of the "acceptable" rollercoaster experience. They pretty much put the old arrows in their grave.

I wonder if the fate of the Anton Schwarzkopf tracks could be far behind?

I still can't get over the fact that they are taking out GASM!!!! I never got to ride it, and it looks so fun! (though we all know that looks can be deceiving, especially when referring to Arrow loopers.) If anything, they should take the Ninja away from SFOG...that ride sucks, it's not "fun", and it's built by Vekoma! (Not saying Vekoma is bad, but they aren't the best either...)

@Wolfman and i don't think that Shwarzkopf coasters are going anywhere....there is just something about them that is just so......AWESOME!

Eagles Fortress may be the newest but it rips round that track like a hurricane. can imagine it was causing some pretty bad wear and tear....
I'm gutted i never got to ride it. It's said to be one of the best rides on the planet and by far the best suspended.

They've said they are replacing it with something bigger and better though

From what I've heard, GASM was just a head-banging mess and maintenance nightmare. Too bad, considering that every Vekoma and Arrow would be improved dramatically by removing OTSRs, like they did to one Boomerang. Sadly though, that doesn't solve the issue of expensive maintenance.

Schwarzkopfs will continue to operate as long as there exists his son's company which supplies replacement parts and the like for all of his coasters. Absent that, they will likely head in the same direction as the Arrows (i.e. to the scrapyard).

On the one hand, it is sad to lose coaster history like that. On the other, some of the rides being closed are just so horrendous to ride now that their continued operations are no longer justifiable.

From what I've heard, GASM was just a head-banging mess and maintenance nightmare. Too bad, considering that every Vekoma and Arrow would be improved dramatically by removing OTSRs, like they did to one Boomerang. Sadly though, that doesn't solve the issue of expensive maintenance.

John - Which park is that from? The train looks fantastic.

Weiner Prater
RCDB
I only replied so I could say weiner.

Wien = Vienna.

That is very upsetting, I remember when Big Bad Wolf was scrapped, and since those Arrows are no Cyclone, they will eventually be removed. I would also hate to see old B&Ms being removed, the Iron Wolf was their first coaster, but I guess with the lazy, cheap, and greedy disposable world we live in today, most coasters will eventually meet their demise in a scrap field getting rusted or an industrial shredder. I mean, what's the point of preserving coasters, if people are idiotic enough to destroy old baseball stadiums or civil war battlefields.

Suspendeds are probably one of the best products Arrow came up with. Their multiloopers are fun, but B&Ms and Intamins versions are ultimately superior, but the suspendeds are still basically alone in their class (minus a few Vekoma copies) and very smooth compared to most of their other designs. The suspended coasters were also neat because the best designs had to take the park's surroundings into account, making them all unique. I've been on:

Ninja - SFMM - An excellent ride, and luckily also at my home-park. However, it tends to be closed for maintenance very often, which doesn't bode well for its future. The parts where it's swinging just above the grass are great.
BBW - BGW - Easily my favorite, fortunately I made it there the July before it closed. It's doubly sad for me having it closed, since after my first visit and it's subsequent closing I've been to the park many times (BGW is my home-away-from-home-park). It was a crazy ride at night and a great addition to the park's quality collection of coasters. The park is seriously lacking without it.
Flight Deck/Top Gun - King's Island - Another great ride, I imagine this is somewhat similar to a mini version of Eagle Fortress. I've only had one ride on it so far, but I really enjoyed it. It has higher speeds and taller drops, but still with a fair amount of interaction. It might be my second favorite.
Iron Dragon - CP - Draggin' Iron lived up to it's name, unfortunately. Just not a very good design, IMO. I imagine it'll probably last the longest too. I rode in the front, but maybe it gets more speed in the back.

That is very upsetting, I remember when Big Bad Wolf was scrapped, and since those Arrows are no Cyclone, they will eventually be removed. I would also hate to see old B&Ms being removed, the Iron Wolf was their first coaster, but I guess with the lazy, cheap, and greedy disposable world we live in today, most coasters will eventually meet their demise in a scrap field getting rusted or an industrial shredder. I mean, what's the point of preserving coasters, if people are idiotic enough to destroy old baseball stadiums or civil war battlefields.

The end is not near, but it would be better off ending in 2012

Iron Dragon - CP - Draggin' Iron lived up to it's name, unfortunately. Just not a very good design, IMO. I imagine it'll probably last the longest too. I rode in the front, but maybe it gets more speed in the back.

Its not a bad coaster, I went on it and Its pretty good in the back.

I doubt that lack of or availability of parts is the reason for these coasters closing. Vekoma can supply and maintain Arrow coasters, probably better than Arrow ever did. They seem pretty good at retro-fitting trains and all sorts to old arrow coasters. Just look at Vampire at CWoA.

I think the reason for there departure is that they are a bit old hat. Nice fun family (and thrill) coasters but they don't compare to the likes of the B&M Inverted. Even the Vekoma SLC has come on leaps and bounds in the last 10 years.

If the parks wanted to keep these coasters alive, they could. Just that it's not economical to do so.

^ Completely agree, wondering if any of the remaining suspended coaster will ever get the floor-less cars that Vampire has. I can only imagine how much more fun at ride on Flight Deck would be with trains like that. It would totally breath new life to a dead section of Kings Island and to a somewhat forgotten coaster.

SFGA in Illinois,dismantled Shockwave, (a copy of Cobra in CA I believe.) for that flying coaster Superman Ultimate Flight

I believe you mean Viper in CA, and no it's not. Shockwave @ SFGAm and GASM @ SFGAdv were identical. I'm mildly frustrated that I didn't ride Shockwave back in 2000 when I first went to SFGAmer. At the time I was like 11 and it was only the 2nd park I'd been to (after Michigan's Adventure, where I hadn't the guts to get on Shivering Timbers yet either), so I was too chicken. I made it back in 2003 and again this year but obviously Ultimate Flight was new in '03... so much for Shockwave.

I'm also very sad/angry/confused at the removal of BBW. Ride like Flight Deck (Top Gun) have largely been ignored/forgotten, and Daggin' Iron doesn't begin to showcase the potential of the suspended, but BBW had the reputation of being the best, and most significant, suspended coaster in North America...

The disappearing Arrows is a mixed bag imo. Some of the rides being removed are treasures, or at the very least, good family-sized coasters to help break in the newer rider... But some of them are rough-riding trash that has been exposed for what it is next to the shiny new B&Ms, Intamins, etc of today. If it's not a small to medium size looper I'm sad to see it go, but I'm not particularly irritated by it unless there's a distinct lack of replacement.

This thread is inspiring me to make a trip down to Kings Island though. I've been meaning to grab rides on Flight Deck and Vortex for years (along with the Beast and now Behemoth), so it would probably be worth my while.

Ride6

I doubt that lack of or availability of parts is the reason for these coasters closing. Vekoma can supply and maintain Arrow coasters, probably better than Arrow ever did. They seem pretty good at retro-fitting trains and all sorts to old arrow coasters. Just look at Vampire at CWoA.

I think the reason for there departure is that they are a bit old hat. Nice fun family (and thrill) coasters but they don't compare to the likes of the B&M Inverted. Even the Vekoma SLC has come on leaps and bounds in the last 10 years.

If the parks wanted to keep these coasters alive, they could. Just that it's not economical to do so.

Isn't that more or less what I've said? It basically boils down to three things: increasingly burdensome maintenance costs, low/decreasing ridership, and an outdated image.

If replacement parts and maintenance support were as easy to come by as you say, we wouldn't see Arrow coasters dropping off park rosters the way we do. Arrows are, in general, antiquated ride systems with little or no manufacturer support. The fact that Chessington approached Vekoma to retrofit their coaster does not mean that Vekoma is actually supporting in any substantial way the entire line of Arrow coasters, let alone just the suspendeds. (As an example, I recall reading that either GASM or Shockwave or both required a lot of individual park investment in manufacturing replacement parts and the like, despite Vekoma, Morgan, and others using identical/near identical parts.)

A lot of people thought the Vekoma retrofit a la Vampire at Chessington would be the rebirth for a lot of the Arrow suspendeds. The reality, it seems, is that the Vekoma retrofit is more expensive than it is usually worth. For a park like Chessington, the retrofit made sense because Vampire is the park's largest and most iconic coaster. For the other parks with suspendeds still operating (SFMM, Cedar Point, King's Island and Canada's Wonderland), they make a significantly smaller impact on the park overall.

Bottom line, if ridership cannot justify the high maintenance costs and the incremental benefit a park would receive by ponying up a couple more million for a new coaster is greater vis-a-vis the cost for a Vekoma retrofit, the suspendeds are gone. Add in other factors like a lack of space to expand and they are even more gone.

That being said, the funny thing is that the remaining parks operating suspendeds are most able to subsidize the high maintenance costs for a good amount of time just because of their sheer size.

stop hatin on Iron Dragon, Its a cool ride.

I bet that soon Arrow Suspended coasters will be as forgotten as Virginia Reels and Scenic Railways.