There was an interesting comment on a Reddit post on the topic a few months back that said…
‘Setpoint is a relatively small ride manufacturer, and since the 1990’s, they’ve been absorbed and absorbed again. Much like Seuss Trolly Train Ride, which ironically opened seven years after Pteradon Flyers, the original attraction construction is not the attraction that opened to the public. Severn Lamb, the original manufacturer of Sylvester McBean’s Very Unusual Driving Machines (the attraction that came before Trolly), would go out of business before the ride ever opened amid continued development stalls.
Pteradon Flyers, on the other hand, was originally developed by a company called SpectraF/X. This company, somewhat unknowingly to Universal, subcontracted much of the actual design work to a firm Caripro. Before construction could complete, SpectraF/X would go bankrupt and the project would be turned over to Setpoint.
Setpoint is a theatrical machine and automation designer. They only hold four roller coaster credits to their name, and only two of those are still operational. (Pteradon Flyer’s credits somehow belong to SpectraF/X). Setpoint still exists, but is a small division of JR Automation, which itself is a small division of Hitachi.
All of this is to say: This antique is a very niche ride with absolutely zero support. Anything that breaks on it beyond “basic hardware” is incredibly challenging to replace or repair, and often times requires dedicated machining and engineering for a single part.
It’s closed because a niche part broke, the part has to be reverse engineered to be replaced, and there’s honestly no timeline on how quick that could be. Caripro was bought by Vekoma, and Setpoint is still around so there’s some minimal support I suppose. Could be a few days if the engineers are good. Could be a few weeks. Early IoA attractions aren’t known for their longevity and maintainability. Many of them were built by firms that don’t explicitly design rides, but like USO next door, had some working partnership in the Studio Lot that made relationships for building rides. Not a good long term plan, but one Universal has learned from.’
