Six Flags Over Texas (SFOT) Discussion Thread

Okie Dokie, so I didn't see this anywhere in the last many pages, however I think it's worth noting that last Saturday, at least, the fog was off in the tunnel and the horn no longer blairs when the train is leaving the station. Both aspects I liked. They have also had 2511 articles reported missing as a result of not securing the crap. In another note, I find that the ride has really smoothed out and worn in very well.

Okie Dokie, so I didn't see this anywhere in the last many pages, however I think it's worth noting that last Saturday, at least, the fog was off in the tunnel and the horn no longer blairs when the train is leaving the station. Both aspects I liked. They have also had 2511 articles reported missing as a result of not securing the crap. In another note, I find that the ride has really smoothed out and worn in very well.

 

This is really good to hear! It is an interesting dynamic having the steel shaped wooden track built on a wooden structure that moves like a wooden coaster. Can't wait to ride it again sometime when I make it back to Texas!

I was there on Saturday, the 1st, (I'm assuming that's the same day you were there?)

-They turned the misters on early afternoon, once it had warmed up a bit. I was actually on the 1st train that had had it on, so the ride op said...also the horn was honking whenever I was there. For what it's worth.

It's been mentioned that the horn is controllable by the ride ops...I wonder if that is true or not..

Eh, either way, I do agree that it's riding very nicely!

Also, FWIW, they were running all three trains when I was there.

^ It was Sept 24 when I was there, but it's good to hear the misters and the horn are working! Three trains eh? That's rather shocking!

I think the horn being controllable by the ops sounds pretty likely. It would make more sense for them to have installed it that way, and it would explain why sometimes it isn't working, because I'm sure some of the ops just get tired of hearing it and say "screw it". Just like the people who work at Chic-fil-a are SUPPOSED to say "my pleasure" when you say "thank you", but they don't always lol.

^It depends on the ride. At KD, the ride ops do NOT have control of the audio at I305. It plays every. single. train. I believe it's the same case for FoF and Backlot. But on the contrary, the water geysers at White Water Canyon are op controlled along with the fire at Volcano. I can offer no explanation of WHY this is, it's not the local ride ops' choice and it's not by manufacturer either (I305 and Volcano are both Intamin).

Hmm. My guess would be that the difference is that the music is a longer recorded track and that the water/geyser/horn are effects that only last a second or two. I don't know, for some reason it makes sense to me that you would be able to push a button to make a car horn sound, but that the music and voice recording would be programmed to play automatically. I'm not sure I'm explaining my thought well lol.

Last week end We had a track building session out at the AV&W miniature railroad in Parker County Texas just west of DFW, well you may be asking what dose this have to do with theme parks and the Texas Giant? Well then! Have you ever wondered what happens to all of the creosote treated lumber after they take down your favorite Woodie, well It cant go to the dump and they cant burn it... So they store it and try to sell it, and we just happened to need a lot of creosote treated lumber, and one of our members just so happens to work for the company that carted away all of the trash wood from the Old Texas giant and he got us a great price on it. So now you ask what do we do with the old Texas giant?

Well first we Cut it Up.

And make it into railroad ties, And as you can see we have been making a lot of railroad ties.

And those are used to make railroad track.

And we need a lot of track.

In Order to Carry these.

So what is left of the Old Texas Giant is still giving rides just and carrying trains, a slower more level kind of ride and a train that is powered by steam. Maybe if you used a flat car on one of our hills you might get the same feel of the coaster probably not as rough though. We will be taking delivery of more Texas Giant at out next work session so I will look for any swag or markings on the lumber from the ride but most of it is the walk way planking so I doubt I will find much, but I hope this enlightens you as to what the old Gal is up to these days.

Hurricane Harbor in Texas will be adding Dive Bomber for the 2012 season!!

New for 2012, Dive Bomber, a 5-story free fall experience that will leave you breathless!

http://www.sixflags.com/hurricaneHarborTexas/info/news.aspx

I was just looking on the website and I found it! But the other paid admission Hurricanes Harbors has nothing listed and White Water Bay in Georgia! So I guess just the Texas park is getting something and that is Dive Bomber!

It's been a long time since I've been there. Heck, the last time I remember going there was in the early 00's. Whatever the case, it's a great park. It's got a lot of history behind it being that SFOT is the first Six Flags park. They also have several good coasters there like the new Texas Giant (Of course), Runaway Montain, Shockwave (Definately one of my favorite Schwarzkopfs), Judge Roy Scream, Mr. Freeze, and La Vibora. I know the last one may not be the most exciting, but it's very unique and worth a ride. They also have Titan and Batman and they are descent coasters, but being that I have those two where I come from (SFMM), they're not on top of my priorities of things to ride.

Please check it out. You won't regret doing so!

The Last time was in 2004 with the Tornado

^^I actually like SFOT's Batman the best. It was wilder and seemed to throw me around more than most of the others do. I love Titan, too; I think the bonus helix makes it just slightly more fun than Goliath, but they're really about the same as you said. Agreed that Shock Wave is a great Schwarzkopf and a well-rounded classic looper in general.

Don't know if this has been posted here before, but Machine Design magazine (one of the free engineering magazines that clog up my mailbox at work) had a cover story on the New Texas Giant.

http://machinedesign.com/article/box-shaped-tracks-let-mega-coasters-soar-0119

An excerpt:

Says Kilcup, the design does include bolts that stick up on the outside of the rails. “However, the coaster wheels themselves only run on a smooth path. In general, roller coasters stay on their tracks with the help of a three-wheel locking configuration consisting of side wheels, a top running wheel, and an uplift wheel.”

 

“Of the products we have installed, there has been no maintenance work needed on the box-beam tracks,” says Kilcup. “In the future, we intend to help develop roller coasters where the cars run upside-down on box tracks.”

Check out the article for some technical details behind the Rocky Mountain process (hint: plasma cutters, robotic welders, and patented warping compensation techniques)

And yes, the printed magazine version had the correct orientation for that first picture (although I can understand why a hurried web editor felt the need to rotate it 90 degrees).

-Welcome Letter from Park President-

On behalf of the management and staff of Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, I’d like to thank you for your continued support of our great parks. We’re very excited about our 2012 season and look forward to sharing with you the fantastic year we have planned. It includes two new shows: AGA-BOOM, a theater of physical comedy, and iLuminate, a performance of illusions mixed with breathtaking dance moves. At our water park, we’re introducing a drop tower slide, Dive Bomber – featuring a five-story free-fall experience. In the months to come, we look forward to unveiling in our park newsletter more details about these exciting additions.

 

Our new newsletter is intended to give you – our most valued guests – the inside scoop on how you can get the most enjoyment and the most value out of all of your park visits this year. We’ll try to answer your questions, and we’ll tell you things that only the most veteran park-goers know about our rides, our shows, and our people who make Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor the most thrilling adventure in North Texas. To round out each issue, we’ll also keep you updated with a calendar of upcoming events, games, contests, sweepstakes and more. If you have ideas for articles or questions you’d like answered, please send us a note using the link at the bottom of each newsletter.

 

Thank you for being our guest this year. I look forward to seeing you at the park!

 

Sincerely,

 

Steve Martindale, President

 

Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor

The 2012 park map has been posted!

http://www.sixflags.com/overTexas/info/parkMap.aspx

The 2012 park map has been posted!

 

http://www.sixflags.com/overTexas/info/parkMap.aspx

There really is no difference between the 2012 park map and the park map last year.

The least they could have done was put the new layout of NTAG on the map instead of the OTAG.

Oh.Wait.It's SFOT

I also don't think anyone but picky enthusiasts would notice or care.

^Wait, you calling me picky?

Their shirts are basically the same too, they just painted red track on them.

I almost didn't use the word for fear that I'd offend you, but since I'm the type that would notice and have no problem with that moniker...

I'm sure some gp think that all they did was paint the track red and now it's an amazing ride.

^I'm sure of it. Many still think the ride is rough and won't ride it either. Hello, have they not looked at it, can they not tell it hasn't changed, just a little bit? Apparently not.

If the rumor on screamscape is true in regards to Mr. Freeze being down until May, well, I won't go until May as Shockwave is supposed to be in year 4 of 5 on it's track rehab and historically hasn't opened until late April and without those two rides, the only other rides worth having are NTAG and Batman, not worth the fuel $$

Umm, why does it say Alabama Adventure instead of Six Flags over Texas in the very first post by Robb?

Oops. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. When making all of these threads the mods copied and pasted from other threads. Looks like we (though it was likely me) missed a change.

Thanks for pointing it out.

Now back to your regularly scheduled talk o the awesomeness that is New Texas Giant!

Anybody read that bit on Screamscape the other day reporting rumors that SFOT is planning to tear down that vacant shopping center they own behind Batman, and expand the Gotham City area into a full-fledged DC Universe? I have had fantasies about them doing this for years! Leveling the shopping center, along with removing the bumper cars (which haven't operated since 2007) and Flashcrap, would open up quite a bit of space to play with. My mind is overflowing with ideas about how they could use this space. They could, of course use it for one big new Beemer or something, like a Wing Coaster. But I think it would be better used for a few smaller-scale rides. Maybe a Bane-themed Eurofighter (would be a good tie-in with the upcoming release of Dark Knight Rises), a few flats themed to other Justice League characters, and a splash-battle type ride with an Arkham Asylum theme? Or something like that. My imagination is probably running away far beyond the realm of reality. Lol.

What the space would look like if they razed the shopping center and Flashback/bumper cars.

Wow! They have a ton of space to play with! Hopefully they use it to their advantage!

Maybe they'll do another Goliath and Titan type of thing SFMM gets the first huge multi-launch coaster and then SFOT get's a bigger one with an extra element