New Ripsaw Falls Lapbars?

[bobwadd]

Found over at Screamscape:

General Park News - (2/9/12) I’m not quite sure what was done, but it seems that some of the logs on Ripsaw Falls are now running with some kind of new modified lapbar restraint. A new bar can be seen here this week, while you can compare to the old one here. According to a reader who tried it out, they describe the new bar as, “Rather than the traditional pull down bar that was in the boats before, the Lapbar on some boats is now almost a small bar that you flip down when seated. It did make getting in and out of the boats a little less challenging than before.” Anyone else got to try one of these? I’d love to see some better close-up pictures as well, showing off how they work compared to the old bars.

Old

New

 

[jtsalien]

Sounds like a good change to me. Can't wait to try it. Those old bars were a huge pain.

 

[UNIrd]

Anything has to be better than those old bars. This ride literally went from my favorite to IOA to one of my least after the seats were changed/lapbars were installed.

 

[kingeric]

I can't believe I missed this, but funny though because I didn't ride Rip Saw after it reopened because of the old lap bars. So I will check this out this weekend.

 

[Badgeking]

First post here! I know this is bringing up an old topic but I didn't want to create a new one since this one is here

Did they ever change the lap bar system like Screamscape talked about over a year ago? This ride went from my favorite water ride ever, to the bottom of the list the moment they added those AWFUL lap bars. How do they except people to get in and out of them? I swear the one and only time I rode it after the lap bars got added, I thought I was going to be stuck forever when it came time to get out. You have to be an Olympic gymnast to contort your legs into just the perfect position to squeeze out from under the bar. It seemed like it took me a least a minute to figure out how to get out all the while people behind me were waiting to try their luck at being a contortionist. They took an already small seat in a cramped boat and added in the bar to make it even worse. A simple seat beat would have been SOOO much better!

I leave tomorrow morning to visit again for the first time in nearly three years so I am crossing my fingers this change is true! If it is, how is loading and unloading now? Can normal, non-gymnasts get into the seats just fine or do I need to skip it to avoid the fear of being stuck forever.

 

[LHZY]

First post here! I know this is bringing up an old topic but I didn't want to create a new one since this one is here

Did they ever change the lap bar system like Screamscape talked about over a year ago? This ride went from my favorite water ride ever, to the bottom of the list the moment they added those AWFUL lap bars. How do they except people to get in and out of them? I swear the one and only time I rode it after the lap bars got added, I thought I was going to be stuck forever when it came time to get out. You have to be an Olympic gymnast to contort your legs into just the perfect position to squeeze out from under the bar. It seemed like it took me a least a minute to figure out how to get out all the while people behind me were waiting to try their luck at being a contortionist. They took an already small seat in a cramped boat and added in the bar to make it even worse. A simple seat beat would have been SOOO much better!

I leave tomorrow morning to visit again for the first time in nearly three years so I am crossing my fingers this change is true! If it is, how is loading and unloading now? Can normal, non-gymnasts get into the seats just fine or do I need to skip it to avoid the fear of being stuck forever.

I don't know if the lap bar was changed but I still find it hard to get out of the boats with my height.

 

[Cheezbat]

Being 6'2" I hate getting in and out of those seats as well...ironically I see smaller people having just as much trouble.

Seat belts would make it much easier.