Problems With T Express? - Ride Shutting Down for an Extended Period

[@jzckvsn]

I don’t think T Express has any issues but I’m glad the park is deciding to refurbish it so the ride continues to run well

[@readysetgo888]

I would love to see a video about Intamin overestimating capacity.

[@Bnizzofashizzo]

Then do one. He’s provided you the information.

[@Asshat237]

​@@BnizzofashizzoETR specifically mentioned in this video that he might do one if people expressed interest. No reason to bust the OPs balls.

[@strikezomb8301]

@@Bnizzofashizzo Someone's defensive lol

[@Bnizzofashizzo]

@@strikezomb8301 someone else is stupid

[@mesetaplays]

I flew to South Korea for work earlier this year and got a ride on T-express (ironically my first ever and only Intamin prefab) and i can definitely confirm it’s a little rough, but nothing I’d consider a deal breaker personally. It makes me happy knowing the park cares enough about this ride to give it a proper retrack because it’s far and away my favorite wooden coaster.

[@arrydoll2021]

My last ride on T Express was in 2021- a back row ride in the summer heat left me with pain afterwards, but I didn’t notice it being overwhelmingly rough in comparison to my first ride several years prior. Everland is one of my favorite parks, and they seem to take great care of their rides, so I’m confident they’ll do whatever it takes to keep the coaster operating smoothly as it is so well known throughout the country. Also, if anyone reading this is planning on an Everland trip, don’t skip out on the “lily dance” teacup style ride. It’s absolutely unhinged and goes way faster than it should. 2nd most intense ride in the park for sure lol. Also some of the other rides, like magic swing, sky dancing and the carousel have hilarious original soundtracks that make them so worth riding.

[@PlamenDrop]

I rode TE a few weeks ago and i wouldn't say its noticably rough. Then again, I've ridden Great American Scream Machine so that's my bar for roughness.

[@leanen6424]

I'd love to see a problematic coaster video for rip ride rockit! always wondered why the first drop is covered in brakes

[@ElToroRyan]

I absolutely plan on covering rip ride rockit!

[@SnowghostFilms]

Looks like the final prefab refurb. First Colossus got Kampf Der Gigantened, then El Toro derailed and got torn up, then Balder got retracked. Would have seen it coming.

[@gyeongchankim5423]

The last time I rode it, that first high speed turnaround section after the camelback felt quite bumpy. Understand the need for some maintenance for that portion of the ride.

[@VECTOR_Coasters]

this ride is basically my dream coaster and i really hope to get on it one day but i also hope whatever they're doing doesn't ruin the ride

[@eelovfx9200]

You're everywhere

[@stellaVista]

The problem clearly was that the prefab-models were marketed as low maintenance to justify the hefty price. This has most likely led parks to act on the promise. Heide Park was sold from private owners to a corporation shortly after Colossus was built and suddenly costs were cut at any corner, probably the same with Six Flags. Even six years after opening the problems with Colossus began. The jolts from the track joints were beginning to make the axle seats unrideable.

[@Brandon-qd2lb]

Yeah three row cars are never a good idea but doubt intamin will redesign the trains

[@carkpop]

I rode it back in Spring of 2022, and it felt honestly quite smooth? Perhaps it's just my unfamiliarity with how these could possibly feel at it's best, but I didn't notice Jackhammering like I'd get on Hershey's old Wildcat, or an SLC lmao. Thanks for the video!! I now know I have 1 week to ride this while I"m in S.Korea

[@SuperFlashDriver]

05:58 I mean at that point, with the woodie coasters themselves, they might as well be free lumber to use for firewood to keep guests warm during the winter holiday park season so this way they wouldn't have to waste the lumber and thus use it for other purposes than to throw it away in my opinion. Even my dad mentions it's a waste of material to build roller coasters and such when you can use the same material for home improvement/do it yourself type of approaches in terms of building. It's this reason why I also agree but considering my family hasn't gone to a theme park in nearly 8 years, considering how expensive the food and beverages are at the theme parks not to mention the quality of the food is 50/50, plus the amount of traveling necessary to get to the theme park and back home, it gets to the point where you may need to spend time in hotels akin to that of a travelling business man/business women. But in asian countries they tend to take care of it more often than western countries because of the strict enforcement of employee rules and guidelines that these repairmen and engineers need to consider when building coasters like these.

[@busfan9874]

The intamin pre fabs always shut down when they are 15 years old. Colossos was 15 when it was shut down in 2016, El Toro was 15 on it's 2021 accident, and T-Express is 15 years old

[@TonyKimtheamusementparkfan]

I'm glad that Everland is taking good care of T Express, and the fact that they are dedicating their time to retrack this ride substantially shows that they want T Express to be well preserved. I really hope that they go to Intamin to retrack the ride with the original prefabricated wood track. Even if this product was meant to be less maintenance free, it is still a wood coaster at heart, and wood coasters are far more dynamic and need extra care and money put into them.

[@PageBonham68]

I managed to grab a ride on T-Express in August. I did not find the ride to be rough at all, about the same as El Toro has always felt to me. That being said pull out on after the first time drop into the first airtime hill feels insane and it basically folded me in half, something El Toro has never managed to do, it didn't feel rough but it was very intense, makes sense this portion is having issues.

[@chorokee]

Like you mentioned in the comment, that part makes many people return with nosebleed. It happens mainly due to riders placing their heads down, but the high G's make some riders in danger and injured.

[@SkeledroMan]

Balder's retrack is being done in stages. They kept it closed for a long time to deal with the most damaged sections, but during the closed season for the next few years they will be finishing off the retrack. The pieces for this offseason are already in the park's offsite warehouse. I'm still so confused by them keeping it open during the christmas season, when they rarely ever manage to fill a train, even with one train operations.

[@Soonjai]

I´m not really surprised about this, given the issues Colossos and El Toro had. But I guess ~15 years until major work is needed still isn´t too bad for a wooden coaster, especially one as intense as (most) of the Prefabs are. Now I´m curious how Mammut at Tripsdrill is going to hold up. While not a Intamin Ride, to my understanding it´s build in a similar way to the Prefabs from the same woodworking company that helped Intamin build 3 of their Prefabs. While it´s more a family ride, it too has gotten bumpier in the last few years compared to it´s almost steel-like smoothness from it´s first 12 or so years. That all being said, a Video explaining why Intamin´s hourly capacity seems to be too optimistic all the time would be interesting.

[@MichaelRei99]

El Toro is nearly 20 years old. Not bad considering how forceful they are.

[@rollercoasterheaven2170]

I really want El Toro to get a full treatment like this and Colossus

[@RayBcv1030]

Another Pre-Fab having issues. Colossus in 2016 Balder and Toro in 2022 And now T Express in 2023

[@joemarais7683]

Just intamin things.

[@F7COASTERS]

Personally think 15 years for a wooden coaster is very impressive and a full retrack for the prefabs isnt as bad as people think especially since normal woodies get major retrack after 5 years i hope that collosus and el toro get the retracks they deserve especially since el toro does the bare minimum which is concerning since it may lead to another accident.

[@kirblar]

It feels like this product is eventually going to get its models RMC'd or the competitor's equivalent (but with no layout change) simply due to cost issues.

[@rollercoasterheaven2170]

Yeah

[@haunter_1845]

I've heard riders say that Colossos is smoother than many RMCs now. I think the harshness creeps up so slowly and gradually over 15 years that nobody notices. At the same time these coasters are being compared to the brand new ones being installed around them.

[@alantrotter2077]

4 for 4 on the intamin pre fab needing significant work. Great coaster design but clearly a model that from a maintenance perspective is quite the challenge to operate. I guess we know only 4 were built

[@kmccurdy21]

True but don’t they go way longer without needing retrack?

[@Mister_Brown]

the only thing they have going for them is they survive much longer without getting rough on much more extreme layouts, hurler at kings dominion before being converted to rmc i rode opening year, hurler had some extreme ejector and destroyed itself in under a decade with constant trackwork and constant new wood until they put a trim on the first drop ruining the entire ride and it still beat itself to death, it was nowhere near as insane as eltoro and the trains weighed far less. if it had been a prefab with it's original profiling it would be basically flawless still

[@redwolfcorprevamped8266]

There's a reason why the pre-fabs don't get sold and built these days.

[@jordonfreeman166]

So, 15 years after being built is when the problems for prefabs start, right?

[@TheCoasterSpot]

When these were being built Intamin or the parks building them we’re happily saying how easy it would be to just swap pieces of track. Seems like unlike traditional coaster where their parts of the coaster needs to be redone on a regular basis that with the prefabs all the track has gone to crap all at once. I wouldn’t be surprised that it wasn’t accounted for how much it would cost to fabricate new ones especially with inflation. It’s probably multiple times more expensive than when it was originally built especially since it’s not part of a full bid for a project. To be completely honest 15 years isn’t bad for the track life the differences is the entire track has to be replace instead of the top two layers, which is routinely done multiple times before all layers or replaced on traditional wood coasters. These this could even be a problem with the pre-engineered track in 15 years who is the say….

[@3dcoaster]

I rode t-express last November and thought it was actually fairly smooth, glad to see they are putting in some significant maintenance though! Appreciate you sharing and giving us your take on this

[@AG7-MTM]

I wonder if RMC can use 208Retrak on such rides like this, especially when they haad a hand in T Express...

[@kmccurdy21]

Didn’t they build/assemble El Toro also?

[@bbbbbb111]

The Intamin Prafab roller coasters are quite durable, but since they are mostly made of wood, they are not indestructible. Like all wooden roller coasters, they require care and occasional retracking. Less than with classic wooden roller coasters, but it probably doesn't work without any maintenance. This has already happened with Colossos and Balder and a lot has also been invested in El Toro. A lifespan of about 15 years before retracking is a good value for a wooden coaster in my opinion. Given the high quality and popularity of the roller coasters, it's definitely worth it for the parks. After their retracking, Colossos and Balder are still the highlights and outstanding attractions in their respective parks.

[@CausiCoasters]

There seems to be a trend of there being problems with Intamin prefabs 15 years after they opened Colossos opens in 2001, closes for refurbishment in 2016 El Toro opens in 2006 Incident in 2021 T-Express opens in 2008 closes for Refurbishment in 2023

[@1TitanicFan1]

I think a problematic roller coaster episode on T Express would be cool, the choice is up to you m8 on what coasters you want to cover. Have a great day m8.

[@raymondmoderski3216]

Hey Ryan, another thoughtful great presentation. You need to begin to designing rides, even if just for people willing to build small models for home/personal use. I am no longer able to ride so I enjoy more that you can imagine your presentations! Thank you so much, all the best, Ray Moderski.

[@Jcjc-lr4bf]

I’m going to be 110% honest. I wouldn’t be mad if they tore down El Toro, and rebuilt it from the ground up. I miss the bright beautiful brown against the sunlight with the glistening grey track. It just looked so fresh. I hate that it looks dilapidated now, even more so now than ever with the new wood on random spots making everywhere else that isn’t new look old.

[@zelowatch30]

That will be a very difficult job

[@Jcjc-lr4bf]

@@zelowatch30 yeah, and expensive. But I feel like the ride is still awful after all the work they put into it, it still feels half assed to me

[@godwolley1883]

I rode it in may 2021, and it was fine, but I was used to Tonnerre de Zeus at my home park, soo... But still remains a top 10 coaster since

[@breemik08]

I've only ridden Zeus after it was refurbished and I loved it! Not sure how bad it was previously...

[@COASTER_CHASER_1]

I noticed the trend of about 15yrs with El Toro and Colossus. But atleast the issues seem to have consistently so any prefabs in the future could use this as a predictable time line and potentially help diagnose issues sooner.

[@StevenHan-d5q]

I just rode T express a lot last month, I didn't feel it was rough at all in the back. However, I did feel the roughness towards the front of the train for some reason. They do allow you to wait for the row you want and back is definitely better regardless of roughness so I pretty much did that. I did feel the slow operations and notice them holding the train with the stretching you mentioned in your video.

[@static_gmedina]

It's crazy what potentially one year of being closed had done to some coasters around the world. 😢

[@FunkAndFluff]

I sincerely wonder how many fewer of more prefabs Intamin would have sold if they didn't over-promise the durability of their track.

[@coastaku1954]

If only Canada's Wonderland cared about their Woodies like this... Come on CW... you're owned by Six Flags now... let's get RMC to do wonders to Spinebuster and Wilde Beast...

[@esPabloL]

I'm going to Seoul in April 2024. I'll keep you all informed xD If it's closed, I'll never be hyped about a coaster again.

[@acidalex420]

I went on it last summer and I have to say it’s quite a rough experience especially on a wheel seat. The first drop is easily the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced. But it definitely needs some TLC.

[@marcussheen]

Great video as usual. I would like to formally register interest for an Intamin ride capacity expectations vs reality video please ✅

[@TheNinjaDC]

Let's be honest. The only surprise here is it took this long.

[@spentron1]

The weird thing is the rubber wheels and wood rails make prefabs so quiet. It's hard to process what it's doing to your backbone.

[@mikeyg9958]

Because of what happened to El Toro. No one wants an incident like that to repeat

[@Brandon-qd2lb]

Thought this was a while ago?? People just think these prefab wooden coasters last forever lol? Gotta still put in the money to replace supports and track work...

[@aegisofhonor]

a local woody to me, The Boss at Six Flags St. Louis (A CCI Terrain coaster similar to Legend at Holiday World) has gotten so rough, almost no one wants to ride it anymore. I really hope The Boss gets a major retracking and new cars so it's ridable again without being super painful.

[@breemik08]

I'm hoping for a Gravity Group pre-fab vertical laminate re-track. The Boss is a great wooden coaster and doesn't need steel track - It just needs proper maintenance.

[@nathanmin7304]

Rode it in August. El toro is still rougher for sure.

[@jonny-b4954]

I'm telling ya. Wood coasters simply should not be as intense as the Intamin coasters and Son of Beast etc. They just don't appear to work long term. Other wood coasters stand for 100+ years. Intense ones? Not even 15-20 years.

[@bigmax412]

the downfall of these intamin pre-fabs is a tough scene. such amazing rides

[@Jadentheman]

All these rides are almost 20 years old. That's a generation. That's a pretty good ROI for parks. It just sucks that coaster while engineered to be more thrilling means that their longevity is low. At least the B&M rides are long lasting.

[@breemik08]

Even some 20 year old B&M's are getting new track. @@Jadentheman

[@benwilson5460]

Would using something like GCI titan track or RMC 208 ruin the fact of it being a wooden coaster too much that people would be upset. I don’t think the general public would be upset with something like that especially if it makes the ride smoother. Less downtime for maintenance and be able to re increase capacity vs using wood.

[@BliXXardStorm]

Here comes another reassessed roller coaster for 2024!

[@JungleJetAviation06]

Great vid Ryan! I had a question if you have time thanks.

[@jameskrten1164]

Boulderdash at Lake Compounce is also getting it's track replaced

[@ev7d167]

I’m actually so mad lol. I was supposed to ride T-Express in December

[@ev7d167]

@@Pizzashorts but it is? I’ve seen KZbin videos of it running during Christmas time

[@ev7d167]

@@Pizzashorts have you watched the video? Ryan states that it’s open year round and even if there’s snow on the ground, so I don’t see why they wouldn’t run it in December

[@chorokee]

Everland annual passholder here: It normally closes early January and opens back in mid-to-late February.

[@MichaelRei99]

I wonder how many people that put in the hospital?

[@idiidiboy]

We went there November 2022. The weather is cold but we still rode the T-Express. However, during the ride I really felt my head and my brain wobbling. I didn't really enjoy the ride because I was focusing on trying to hold my head still during the ride. When we went home, I tasted blood in my mouth. And when I spit, there's indeed blood. I guess it's from my nose (and from the insides of my head?). Now I'm sacred to ride extreme rides esp those without over-the-shoulder harnesses. T-Express only has lap bars so your upper body will really wobble in the air.

[@nvwhatitbe4REAL]

El Toro is rough. SIXFLAGS IS dumb in NOT retracting it’s best coster

[@Thefury325]

I would like to see the coaster in the name if this channel get retracked as when I rode it the S Bends were really rough and so was the layout as well

[@travispettipiece2331]

I would love to see a problematic coaster video on this or something like that that would be cool! (If it is problematic)

[@hskbrowneyes]

everland seriously lacks good coasters and rides..they rarely invest in new attractions (especially after closing down eagle fortress). Now with t express shutting down for a while , hope they consider investing in a good world class coaster

[@chorokee]

As an Everland passholder, since 2016, they opened Panda World, which exhibits pandas from China. After the opening of Panda World, maybe due to high upkeep to grow now 5 pandas, the investment to other parts of the park has been weakened a lot.

[@eatnate]

I rode it 10 years ago and it was so much fun :D

[@Galistia]

3:10 Intamin's track record. Pun intended? Lol

[@TheNo.1nerd-lookin-noob]

I still love this coaster and the roughness doesn’t bother me in the slightest

[@bigrob029]

I bet the block brake breakdown on this one is a doozy.

[@jameskrten1164]

Have you been to Everland yet? Great park!

[@dubcheck2943]

Not sure if i want to try korean chicken wings more than riding this coaster after a refurb.

[@Simone-k3p]

ive ridden this 4 times straight i shall investigate this jack hammering

[@AngelaxMiranda]

What is Jackhammering?

[@rollercoasterheaven2170]

Similar to getting a rough ride on a roller coaster

[@mattr3922]

Hopefully they do a better job then Great Adventure did with El Toro. That thing kinda blows now......unless ur a great adventure person that fiercely defends anything and everything about that park LOL (if that's you don't reply to this, thanks)

[@emperorx-1562]

Oh, Intamin, why am I not surprised at your blunders and unreliability. Some are more reliable then others yes, but a majority arent...smh

[@JunaidAbdullahMuhammad]

how can i buy this ticket

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

What do I think of the Intamin prefab product? It's definitely an Intamin

[@ppipowerclass]

Oh, problems with an Intamin prefab? Shocker. They're all garbage

[@avgmakoenjoyer]

guys i think its a 400 foot hybrid

[@Chaoshero5567]

Tbh, every 15 years and then some track work seems fine??? (I am no woodie expertt)

[@breemik08]

By comparison, Kennywood replaces 10% of the track on their woodies every year. That equates to a complete re-track every 10 years. 15 years sounds pretty good to me.

[@lewisfinkiv3744]

I like carrots but they're not my favorite vegtable

[@Bnizzofashizzo]

This makes evolution and innovation less desirable.

[@Coaster_enthusiast13]

Are you still sponsored by vessi

[@chocolatetop5861]

Aye Ryan!!

[@S.J.C._Entertainment]

Ruh roh.

[@joeltownley8037]

RMC it 😂

[@coastarider]

First

[@Michael-kj7vs]

so. many. apparentlys.