rctexas

This may not be as relevant, but what about round about at Freestyle Park (Hard Rock Park)? Did they ever get the ferris-wheel lift hill running?

Not sure about the other things, but I don't think the 90 mph statistic is true. Potential Energy = mgh, Kinetic Energy = 1/2mv^2. To find max velocity of a 180 foot tall drop (estimated 180 feet) assuming that there is no friction or drag on the train (maximum possible), 2gh=v^2 (2*32.2 ft^2/s*180 ft)^0.5 = v; v=107.66 ft/second. *3600 seconds in an hour = 387,598 ft/hr. Divide that by a mile (5,280 feet), you're left with the maximum velocity an object falling from 180 feet could reach is 73.41 mph. Unless they had magnetic launch fins on the first drop Makes you wonder what the actual speed for the Iron Rattler is, given the first drop is 171 feet. The website lists it at 70 mph, but the max speed of a 171 foot drop frictionless would be 71.54 mph. And there's not really any initial velocity given the chain comes virtually to a stop.

Great TR!! I'm not sure why Pandemonium has to close in/after rain, as I've ridden other clones in rain before at other parks in the SF chain.....however, I know Titan remains closed because the tunnel after the first drop floods quite frequently, and they have to wait for the water to either clear out or be pumped out.

I made a trip out to Summer Adventures at the State Fair of Texas this afternoon with a few friends to check it out, given that Livingsocial is running a promotion for $19 tickets. I hadn't really known what to expect based on the website, but I can say that the park was one of the best I've been to in terms of customer satisfaction and family-friendliness. The park is located in the midway of the State Fair of Texas, and themed to a hawaiian paradise (as most of the regional parks seem to be, such as the numerous hawaiian falls). For what it is, they do a very good job. Upon entering the park, you are greeted with free sunscreen (a nice plus in Texas), two tokens a person to be used at a water station (essentially, you get two ice cold water bottles with admission), and a hawaiian leis. The first thing that I noticed in the park was the abundance of shade and air conditioning around the park. It was nice to see a park spend money on shaded structures, fans and opportunities to increase guest comfort and not just throughput. Aside from the rides (which I'll get to in a second), there were lots of family-friendly activities. The aquarium and discovery gardens are included with admission; not to mention the various booths set up around the park that are host to free life-sized checkers and chess games, hammocks to relax in and fans to sit by. The park really did an excellent job catering to all age groups, and is the best family-friendly park I've been to in a while. The selection of attractions is about what you'd expect at a fair, with a few nice surprises. I'm just going to list a few below, but you can assume that rides such as the standard himalaya, music express, carousel, etc. exist at the park. Windstorm- A surprisingly well-kept SDC hurricane model (the same as the one down the road at SFOT - Runaway Mountain). Some very intense moments, but a fun ride that is well-painted. Top O' Texas Tower - A 500 foot tall intamin air-conditioned observation tower. About what you'd expect, but you get a great view of Dallas, Fort-Worth, Arlington and the Cotton bowl from it. Jungle Twist - This one was a huge surprise for me. It's a wisdom spinning coaster, about the size of a dragon wagon, but easily the most intense spinning ride I've ever ridden. The cars spin deceptively fast. Flipper - Huss Flipper ride. If you've ever ridden one before, you'd understand how insane they are. Plus the one here had a 4:30 ride cycle, which was absolutely crazy. Log Flume - A surprisingly well-themed log flume, with led-tunnels and lots of trees and shaded areas. Texas Star Ferris Wheel - Standard ferris wheel, but very iconic for the area. Also, the Texas Skyway with its air conditioned gondolas is open to ride as well. Haunted House and Fun House - Both these rides were excellent. I was not expecting to have to walk through a pool of bubbles at the end that was 5 feet deep, but the fun house was great. The haunted house was a bit odd, but did have an actual drop in it (something I'd never seen in a ride like that before). Paddle Boat Swans- A nice bonus right outside the park that's free with paid admission (normally $10 a boat). You get some GREAT views of the ferris wheel and top-o-Texas tower. Overall, I'd say the park is definitely worth checking out, especially for $19 or less with Livingsocial promo codes. We spent 5 hours there easily (could have done more, as we didn't hit all the rides). The park was virtually empty, which is unfortunate for a Saturday. Most of my friends said they loved the park, but had never heard of it before. Hopefully this park will begin to take off, as it is one of the best run parks in the industry. Worst-case scenario, there's three coaster credits in the park! Here's a few photos below from the day. Unfortunately, I didn't remember to take many photos in the park. Top o' Texas Top Entryway View View from the Swan Boats

I was at the park this past Sunday afternoon. After riding Hades in its first year of operation, and numerous times thereafter, I felt that the ride was improved from its final few years of operation before being converted into Hades 360. Here's my thoughts after getting in 8 rides (6 back, 2 front) The Good: The Timberliners were extremely comfortable. For a smaller rider like myself, they seemed to feel both safe and thrilling at the same time. The 360 was an awesome inversion as well. I loved the headchopper effect created by the catwalk, and the centerlining on the inversion was excellent! The Bad: The beginning of the ride was in need of retracking. The airtime hills were so taken so quickly that they were actually pretty painful. Aside from that area, the bottom of the first drop and some track prior to the final helix were pretty painful as well. Overall: The 360 degrees is a definite improvement from what Hades became in the last few years. It is running nowhere near as well as it did when the ride first opened, but wasn't bad. The new track sections still vibrated quite a bit as well. The painful moments unfortunately outweighed the great moments, although I hope that Mt. Olympus can continue to retrack sections of their rides. I personally thought they did a great job on retracking Cyclops (with the exception of the ending), and if they can continue to do so, they would have at least one top 10 ride. As of now, the rides were too rough to enjoy the truly exceptional moments.