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Six Flags Fiesta Texas (SFFT) Discussion Thread


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I took a few pictures last week right after I heard the announcement. Nothing really noteworthy, but I figured that someone might be interested in seeing them. The first drop has a bunch of orange spray paint in different spots. I'm assuming it's where they're going to be removing certain sections to reprofile the drop. I wasn't able to get a good picture of it, but I'm going back to the park on Sunday. Hopefully I can get some then.

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missing helix

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random attempt at being artsy-fartsy. the lighting did not cooperate.

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I honestly want to know who thought the 10 minute long helix was a good idea? Was it EVER interesting?

 

It was interesting to hear people screaming because of the boredom it created. I remember hearing someone say "is this all this coaster does, is turn in circles". I wonder if Road Runner Express will get any more head choppers once there done with this ride. Since it interacts with a portion of Rattler as it is.

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I honestly want to know who thought the 10 minute long helix was a good idea? Was it EVER interesting?

 

Basically, no. It only was interesting when you made it to the third level and it began to try and kill you.

 

Ah, but you have to tip your cap to the rider/ride interaction RCCA was going for at the time. Pioneers.

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I wonder if Road Runner Express will get any more head choppers once there done with this ride. Since it interacts with a portion of Rattler as it is.

 

I hadn't even thought about this until now, but good point. I've honestly always loved RRE, but some more head choppers would be an awesome addition.

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With all the talk of the new version of Rattler, I thought I'd post some pics of the old version. Not the crappy version of late, but some pics from opening day.

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Gates just opened and everyone headed for the huge beast down the hill. Unfortunately, FiestaTX had media day DURING opening day and trains dispatched at about one every 5-10 minutes. Reports later that day said that folks who didn't get there early had a 5+ hour wait. I was halfway up the zig-zag ramp and still waited 2 hours.

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The original drop with the rockslide shed over it. It's hard to tell from the pic, but NOBODY has their hands up. Lots of folks did at the top of the hill, though!

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Rattler's infamous drop was altered from the original design because of the TxGiant/Hercules lawsuit. See, TxGiant was the tallest wood coaster, Hercules had a longer drop due to terrain. Both parks wanted to claim "world's biggest woodie." FTx, in order to claim the title with no chance of argument, extended the structure of the first drop over the cliff so that one single support would go from the bottom of the ravine to the top of the structure. Thus, they had the tallest structure AND the longest drop, instead of just the longest drop. This changed the shape of the drop, making it a bit steeper and making the subtle twisting that created the "whiplash" issue with riders that eventually became the drop's undoing.

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Here you can see how the need to extend over the cliff wall before making the drop created the twists. At the top of the lift, the track curves left and then is extended (where the four flags are) beyond the angle the drop needs to thread the track halfway down. It angles right then at the point under the cross track, angles left again. Just past the visible part of the pic, it angles right again to hug the bottom of the quarry wall. Iron Rattler solves this issue by putting a zig-zag track at the bottom of the drop, allowing a straighter plunge to the bottom, hopefully avoiding the hungry lawyers in the process.

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Here, the original double-down of the horseshoe turn is shown in all its glory. Iron Rattler looks to be re-establishing this profile, but with the addition of overbanked turns at the top and at the midpoint where it dives over the cliff edge. Should be good!

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Second half of the original horseshoe drop. It's not difficult at all to imagine this as an overbanked turn.

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Entrance to the tunnel, which looks to be largely kept intact in the new version. Easier to see how the bottom of the first drop twists back in toward the quarry wall here.

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Opening-day riders enter the tunnel for the first time. Again, notice the lack of hands-up riders!

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Rattler enters the final helix after the station fly-by. I've heard some folks say that the final helix will be included in Iron Rattler's layout, but screenshots from the SFFT video seem to point to it going right into the brakes after the tunnel. Time will tell. I'm hoping for the fly-by and the helix!

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That's pretty cool to see the original Rattler. I think I finally understand why the drop was so forceful. Thanks for the cool photos.

 

I'm sure Iron Rattler will not disappoint in bringing back some of the former glory of the original Rattler.

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Make no mistake, as awesome as the one-two punch of the first drop and horseshoe turn were and as good as the tunnel drop was, the Rattler as a whole always felt like it could've been, should've been much better. Much of that sentiment had to do with the helix, or as a late friend called it, "Le Monstre plateau".

 

I saw Rattler as the coaster equivalent of a really hot, nasty sleepover date: Wild, crazy, rough, dangerous times followed by a period of sleeping, followed by a slightly lesser version of the nastiness from before.

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To add to this coverage, I fetched (Arf! Arf!) a video showing an on-ride POV of what Rattler was like when it opened - and I'm sure it was ten times worse than what it was the day before they closed it.

 

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^Every time that video comes up I watch it and am completely amazed at how terrible the ride's track looks even during the first season. I have no idea if it is just wear from the first season or shoddy construction work, but it looks awful already in that video.

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Actually, I'd have loved for them to keep the helices on iRat - even though that section was generally hated, it was iconic. They could've gone with the barrel roll right into the upper helix. None of the little wavy hills, though, just a smooth circular helix that got more and more banked (and maybe even with a tighter radius) as it went down. By the bottom layer, it would be hauling a$$ and banked at nearly 90 degrees before shooting out into some bunny hops, the last of which careened over the edge of the cliff and down into the tunnel.

 

But HEY, I'll take it with the hills and overbanks, too.

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