Six Flags Over Texas (SFOT) Discussion Thread

What makes me most excited about this news, is what other coasters will receive this treatment in the future... Can you imagine a rideable Ghostider??

I don't need to imagine it - I rode it! Way back in late 1999...It truly was, "the Best in the West" by a long shot! You know a coaster is good when your family (who wasn't really into rides) said it was one of the best they've ever been on.

Good lord, that was over a decade ago...I'm getting old!

So the term "Super Hybrid" is being attached to this new style of track - will this new genre of coaster name stick? If it works and is well received, this could be considered a "revolutionary" step forward in coaster design.

On a quick side note / tangent, how do I make my Ford Escape Hybrid into a "Super Hybrid?"

This thing is gonna be so weird.. can't wait to see how it actually goes. Couldn't be any worse than it was.. right??

I'm dying to see how this comes out because I think there might a few more of these refurbs if it goes well, or they might be happening anyway. Prime candidates - Rattler, SOB, Mean Streak, Ghostrider to name a few.

The station seems to have been prepped for track, and 2 more rails (one on each side) have been added to the lift. More of the track/structure around the MCBR area has come down as well.

In other park news, last week, the park opened a new drink stand, added on-ride photos to Mr. Freeze, brought back the M&M stairs on Titan's exit, and gave Flashback's train a rainbow Stride Gum wrap. This week, Shock Wave received a black/bright green Axe Twist ad wrap on one of its trains.

I'm dying to see how this comes out because I think there might a few more of these refurbs if it goes well, or they might be happening anyway. Prime candidates - Rattler, SOB, Mean Streak, Ghostrider to name a few.

While I agree those coasters are the most enjoyable I wouldn't like if they were given steel track like the Texas Giant. I would much rather see them retracked or new trains or whatever just not steel track that kinda ruins the whole wooden coaster thing for me.

Who want's a photo update?! Well here are some juicy morsels of progress for you all to drool on! Enjoy!

The station a brake run have received the new steel ledgers

The midcourse has been removed and a good 20 feet or so of the structural height has been taken down. All the track is now gone from this end of the ride besides the finale down low

It's tough to tell here, (sorry, this picture really sucks) but the entire brake run will be level and the new ledgers are really low entering the brake shed. The ledgers are behind the board I circled here. Will the roof be lowered to compensate? I kind of hope not actually. Haha

And the new bits are finally getting put on again!

Although careful examination still reveals they they are being very hesitant to bolt things together so far.

Then they added yet another pair of rails higher up. these are just being held on by clamps for now. By the way, all of this is only 5 segments of track so far. The pieces are quite long!

Just WOW. This is really moving along!

On the side notes mentioned by HoustonThrills:Here is Flashback's Stride wrap (its looks WAAAAAY better on Boomerang in San Antonio btw)

And I have to admit, I'm not opposed to this. Shockwave's trains were kind of bland.

I say it's a good look

That's all for now

Glad to see some more progress. I wander if SF will have one of those animations showing the new layout, or if we will just have to wait for it to be re-built? Sucks about Shockwave (oh well about Boomerang though).

Forgive me, I have a dumb question.

Is ALL of the track being replaced with the new red steel? I thought that only some of the track was being replaced and some of it would still be standard wooden track....

^ Im pretty sure at this point we can expect the whole thing to be replaced. It was said that they were replacing the rough parts of the ride, and if you ask me, the whole damn thing was rough.

Holy crap Texas Giant looks GUTTED. It makes me so excited for how it will be once the renovation is complete.

I'm pretty sure the whole track is going to be the "Flashback red" steel. The only thing that's going to remain wooden is the supports (therefore making it a hybird coaster like Gemini) and the trains.

The trains are out. Gerstlauer is making new ones. The entire track I am certain will be the steel. They have removed it from the station and brake run, and if you aren't going to keep it there, then why keep anything else? Why go to the trouble right? They say that the layout will change by 15 percent. That is very odd to me. I see coasters as having a layout and a profile. We know the profile will be changing on the lift, first drop, and that there will be a 95 degree bank at some point. So to say the layout will change tell me there is something happening to the actual path or course the ride ran before. The helix has been stripped down to just a few feet above ground at this point so I wonder (especially since that was ALWAYS the weakest part of the ride) if that is where we will see the layout change. Who knows?

I'm the most intrigued to see how a 95 degree banked turn is going to work with wooden structure. The only 90 degree banking that's been done (steel or wood) has been with a steel structure, presumably because doing it with wooden supports would seem to be much more difficult. I also wish we could get an animated POV of the layout, but I'm guessing they want the final product to retain some secrecy and that's why we aren't seeing one.

Dumb Question, might have already been answered but, where is the chain for the lift going to go?? I dont see any "groove" or something of the like. Are they going to bolt it to the top of the ledger of something??

Anywho, I really hope that this is going to work and that we see other coasters getting this treatment in the future. (mind immediatly goes to Mean Streak) Anyway, this looks really interesting.

I drove by the other day and saw Texas Giant. Wow things are really coming along. It's kind of sad though, seeing the coaster so incomplete. When is everything supposed to be done?

.... and what is with the wraps on Flashback and Shockwave? New sponsors pulling the park out of debt?

So forgive me if I'm wrong, are the red I Beams going to be the running rails? Cause in all of the photos I have seen there are bolts sticking up onto the top side, surely they can't leave it like this, even if the wheels run in the centre of the track?

IF this is the case, it will be a similar track type to that which the Disk-O coasters use, on the giant Disk-O's you can feel the welds even though they have been ground off on the I-Beams.

Hopefully someone can help me out here!

The more I see of that red beam track going in, the more I'm intrigued... Really can't wait to try this one out. So odd looking...

And one more "BOOOO!" to the train ad wraps. Much hatred for those.

Are they redoing the supports as-well or just track? It looks like things are coming along nicely!

I really dont mind the train wraps....its extra money for the parks, which they need....its no difference than the bus wraps on public transportation, or video billboards, or the huge advertising wraps on the casinos here in Vegas, or the massive billboards all over the buildings in Hollywood by the Chinese Theatre....you wont even realize them after awhile....besides, they help cover up all the nicks and scrapes and ugliness that already exists on most of the coaster trains....

There is such a saturation in society with advertising these days that I honestly don't even pay much attention anymore. I'm ok with the wraps when they are appropriate. I think Flashback looks really iffy, but the same wraps looks pretty cool in Fiesta Texas on their Boomerang. I think Shockwave looks pretty cool too. Believe me, I'm a purist, and appreciate the classics. Shockwave was my first coaster love at age 5 so I get all that, but what did they cover up with the wrap? A bland white train with a red stripe down the side? Not a big loss in my opinion, and the colors match the ride too. I think it looks sharp.

Back to Giant, so many people keep pointing out the bolts on the track. Perhaps the pictures don't do it justice, but in person it's pretty clear that the space between them is quite generous for the wheels to roll down the center, so it really shouldn't be an issue. I agree it looks different, but not like a problem.

Are they redoing the supports as-well or just track? It looks like things are coming along nicely!

Well considering the amount they've taken down they''ll definitely be rebuilding some of the supports but I doubt a full column will be replaced...I also bet that the ride will be much lower to the ground at some parts of the ride than it used to be. Also in addition to the 95 degree banked turn there will probably be some 80-90 degree banked turns throughout a few other parts of the ride. Maybe I have my hopes and expectations a little too high, but I'm thinking it'll be one hell of a ride.

the Axe trains are awfull...!

i think this woody will be very very good !

I live 5 minutes away from SFoT, WHY HAVEN'T I'VE SEEN ALL THESE UPDATES IN REAL LIFE!?!

It's because I'm lazy.

And I actually like the Axe Trains, it would look good with a new paint job on the whole track

Maybe I have my hopes and expectations a little too high, but I'm thinking it'll be one hell of a ride.

Absolutely not, stay positive. I think this is going to a hugh improvement and put the Texas Giant back on people's top 10-20 lists.

As for Shockwave's wraps, I have to agree that they don't look too bad at all. It's probably because it has a similar color scheme, so it doesn't clash as much with the track.

Wow! I really, REALLY like that Axe train! Last year when we visited the park the Shock Wave train was in very poor shape. And yeah, while people may hate it because of the advertizing, I'd rather have what looks like a brand spanking new train with an ad than something that looks like it hasn't gotten attention in 20 years.

I mean, if the ride was called "Axe" that would be one of the best looking train themes ever!!!

I fully support those train wraps.

--Robb

I don't mind the train wraps when, in Shockwave's case, it fits in with the ride's color scheme (or at least comes close). That train looks bad ass because it fits in so well, but then you have El Toro's, which sticks out like an eyesore. If they could've somehow worked more brown/gold into it, it wouldn't be bad at all.