GuruGuys

I've posted earlier that it is running the same speed as before, 66-70 seconds from end of lift to mag brakes. -GG

So we can now put to rest that this was poorly constructed, which in turn made it a rough ride. Not aggressive. The first part is still very aggressive, just not as rough. As far as the water tower turn, it seems pretty likely it was poor construction there, but that part was never rough - you just didnt get any airtime out of it. I don't know who is blaming who on the rest of the track that was worked on - all that is kept tightly behind closed doors from someone like myself who posts on public forums I just know everyone involved is working to get it running better. -GG

None of the changes were dramatic, all within several inches of the original track positions. The work on the water tower hill was done on the first part, if you watch closely on the last part of the video you can see the people in front get a tiny but of air going up to the water tower hill. Before this wouldn't happen because the train was slamming into the rail so they properly gauged the track in this area. Otherwise, from that point on, the ride is essentially the same (speed etc). It does feel faster going up to that point, but then the back part of the ride from after station drop on in, seems a bit slower and sluggish. -GG P.S. Im still getting messages it is not working for others. Perhaps Ill try a different codec and replace it later.

I received it as a Christmas gift. I think I've seen it for as low as $89.99, it retails for about $130 at Circuit City etc. Its the Digital Hero 3 found at www.goprocamera.com. Seems to work well but since you can't see the viewfinder you have to guess what is being shot so it takes some practice to learn how to aim it. By the time I was able to review the video (no LCD etc to review it live) we lost sunlight and, as with most small cameras, without bright sunlight the quality suffers dramatically. Since you wear it like a watch it is not a 'loose item' and so long as you don't break other rules (ie. Keep your arms inside the train at all time, etc.) it is within the ride rules, at least at this park. -GG

Ok, I just tried two different machines and three different browsers and it just says connecting for awhile then says "ready". As long as its working for others. -GG

The video is not working for me, it worked for you? I might have to try to re-upload it and check which codec I used. -GG

Here are three different angles of P.O.V. of the reworked portion of the ride. The first two are from the front seat - one pointing down at the track a bit more, one pointing more up to the air (still learning how to use this camera, you wear it like a watch). The last is from the back seat watching the people in front, you can see how they no longer get slammed hard after the first drop. -GG EDIT: Reposted in WMV, smaller file size, larger image size, a bit less quality but hopefully it will work. Bullet_Track_ReWork_POV.wmv Bullet POV of ReWorked track area only.

I almost lost part of my voice due to the cold air (which some might see as a good thing! heh). I did see several people with tears down their eyes. It is even colder today/tonight. I may wait for the weather to warm up before I ride again. It will be interesting to see if they were able to eliminate whats left of the first of the 1-2-3 punches on the upper bay turn. Something I failed to mention before is that apparently tightening up all those bolts has made an difference because the track is swaying a lot less than before. -GG

I agree with pretty much everything Texcoaster said. I wouldn't call the airtime going into the water cooler turn 'wicked' in the front seats, but there is some there which used to not happen unless you got really lucky fast rides. The 'one-two-three' kicks he mentions on the upper bay turn are about 80% less forceful than they used to be and my understanding is that they will be even less noticeable by the weekend. The temperamental nature of the Bullet seems to be back - I have pretty much given up on figuring out a favorite seat as they change hour to hour. Seat 2 right last night and most of the morning today was really fun, but when the track started breaking in this evening it started showing some signs of why I hated it so much in the past. The front seats, as always, are very smooth - much smoother than ever before. The back seats (10-12) provide ejector on the first drop and some nice action on the zig zag after the drop. I rode with a lot of normal customer riders, several of them stated they didn't think they would ever ride it again since it was too rough when they rode it awhile back but their kid and/or partner coerced them into it riding again. At least two of these people stated it was much better than before and even rode again. As Texcoaster pointed out, the entire slam you used to get at the bottom of the first drop is totally gone and the turn up to the zig zag produces some nice downward g's before you get some lateral ejection during the zig zag. I still think the zig zag isn't as aggressive as before, but it is still very fun. I can safely say that there will be a lot of single ticket riders who will go buy another ticket to ride again - I saw it happen more than ever tonight - since it is nowhere near as rough. The ejection in the back three seats is still not what it used to be but it is about 80% as good, which is still very good. Visually, the "Pop" hill looks different, you can tell they smoothed out the hill, but the "Pop" is still there and it was a lot stronger than last night, still not as bad as it was before, but definitely gets your attention! This is one of those 'defects' that I don't mind staying especially now that its toned down a tad While I wish the maintenance it would have made the ride cycle speed up (it ran a constant 66-67 seconds open to close), I think these changes are good overall. It appears that the main problem, the slam at the bottom of the drop, will never rear its face again. Some thought that this aggression was a bonus, others not. Personally, I'm glad its gone and I know it was a maintenance nightmare as well. I totally agree with Texcoaster he stated they need to work on the last 1/4th of the ride, from the turn after the "pop" on in. There is a lot of shuffling and one medium slam forming as you drop from the last little hill before making the final turn into the station. It does seem slower here now and is a bit annoying after you have ridden as much as we rode today. Perhaps this is the part Sharktums was talking about when she mentioned she wished it was down for maintenance longer in another thread. In the end I doubt these changes will move it much further up on your top coaster list because the last 1/3 of the ride is still a bit too slow for the elements to perform properly. I'm sure it will move it up a little for those who have it way down due to roughness. So for those who rode it before the changes, just imagine going down the first drop, not getting slammed into the left side of the car, not getting shuffled right after that, and not getting as violent zig-zag ejector. Otherwise the rest of the ride is pretty much the same. Lets hope it stays this way in the months to come. The Bullet should be open all week but don't expect it to be open with at 11am. Try 1pm or later to be safe. -GG

The Bullet will be re-opened tomorrow on New Years Day. The ride is MUCH smoother now throughout the first drop. Those who like the lateral forces will be a bit disappointed as the first drop all the way to the upper bay turn is very tame now. Those who thought it was too rough or aggressive will be happy. It's really amazing what only a few inches of adjustments here and there have done. The front seats are my favorite now, row two right which was almost unridable for me is now really fun. It seems to retain a bit of the action on the first drop that was lacking in the other seats. The back seat ejector air is not like it used to be, only about half as intense. The "Pop" is still there, only about 1/2 as intense. The track needed lubricated and was screaming all over the place so I'm sure it will pick up speed once they graphite it. It was testing between 66 seconds to 72 seconds, about what it rode before the changes... I'll be riding a good chunk of the day tomorrow so should get a feel for how I like the changes. Right now I have mixed reactions. I am quite confident that those who thought it was too rough will like it much better now however. -GG

I'm sure you guys have better sources than I do. This makes me assume there are more problems Gravity Group wishes they would have dealt with than what they did. If this is the case I too wish it was down longer. Otherwise, I'm not sure what else they would do by keeping it down longer. They had up to 10 workers on it for over a month working 10+ hours a day. I don't know if normal off season coaster maintenance is usually that involved? If it passes inspection tonight then it will be open tomorrow. Doesn't look like it will be too much faster from the initial tests, but did look like much of the shuffling was gone from the upper bay turn. -GK

I've seen a few people in this thread state they will be in Texas New Years week and might want to drive down to Kemah. Right now Wednesday or later is probably the 'safe bet' for Bullet reopening. Right now Monday night is slight possibly, but HIGHLY unlikely. Tuesday is more possible, depending on when inspection is done, and Wednesday is almost certain unless unseen problems arise in inspection and/or weather. Right now the weather this entire week should be in the upper 60's, no rain, and sunshine, peaking around 72 degrees on Monday so weather looks good. When I was there mid-day today they were putting guide rails on the upper bay turn and top rails on the track behind the station right after the first drop. The first drop is complete. Some rail still need to be added to the second bigdrop as well. There were several workers climbing all over the Bullet tightneing bolts. I'll post some pictures when I get home later. I'll keep everyone updated - Texcoaster and I plan to have lunch at the Boardwalk tommorow so we should be able to more fine tune the opening time estimate then. -GG

So true. While we all wish it would have been 100% when it first opened, at least everyone involved is doing whatever it takes to get it to 100%. Some conversations I've had with construction during this maintenance process is very encouraging and leads me to believe that they REALLY want this done right this time and don't want to have to come back out. They are bypassing any 'shortcuts' and doing everything the right way. Everything still appears as if Monday will still be the likely re-opening. -GG

The Boardwalk does nothing special for new years, apparently the weather is usually pretty bad this time of year for them, I beleive everything closes at 10pm as normal on a weekday. Definitely no fireworks etc. -GG

Coastercrazy got stuck in the worst seat by far for almost the entire shoot. As much as I have ridden the Bullet you wouldn't catch me dead in row two for the last month or so before construction. I really felt bad for those guys. Would it really make too much difference for the general public however? Most of the people ride it once, maybe twice, and judging by the (way too much) time I have spent there most of the people that ride it are happy with their ride experience. As far as the coaster enthusiasts community, I totally agree it would have been much better to get the work done right in the first place. I'm just not too sure it matters to much to Kemah's target market however. I'm willing to bet many of the normal customer riders don't even know there is a difference after the changes are made, they don't ride it enough, whereas the coaster enthusiasts will notice every nuance. -GG

Nice pics anc excellent update TC! The M&V crew have always been very nice to the coaster enthusiasts throughout this entire project. I can't wait for new years eve to see how their work has paid off! -GG

The Kemah Boardwalk has a Margarita stand literally 5 feet from the entrance of the Boardwalk Bullet. I've personally seen a few drunks ride it. -GG

I hope this doesn't equate to trims. Does anyone know what's going on? Wow, I missed these posts somehow. Let me try to clear some things up. There are no trims being added, I don't think there is a part of track straight enough which would allow for trims to being with. They are not "tearing sections of the ride down". I have been visiting the Bullet several times a week since they started construction. There are NO MAJOR changes to the ride. I don't know anything about 'whiplash' claims. Those that have stated they are taming the first drop because 'whiplash claims' must know more than I do. Their goal was to get it constructed as it was designed, this is all they are doing as far as I know. I do know they have done/are doing the following: Re tracking a section of track from midway down the first drop all the way around the upper bay turn. They currently have the last half of this almost ready for rails. They have removed what we called "The pop" located about halfway through the ride. Today they were re-tracking the second big drop which was said to be gaged too tight. They have made some adjustments on several ledgers, none any more than a few inches, which has straightened out the first drop to make it much smoother. They have fixed the magnetic brakes and track on the brake run - no more train stalling upon station re-entry on the brake runs. Right now they are trying to finish by the Friday the 28th in time for New Years, however weather and other factors will determine if that date is met. IMO, I think it will take a little longer than that. So, in summary, I think that article from the other forum is mainly BS. They are not redesigning the ride cause people are complaining of whiplash, just getting it right, which will make it smoother and faster. -GK

Greezed Lightnin' at SFAW when I was about 10 years old in 1984. -GG

Going by the animation on Gravity Groups page the ride should run about 54 seconds from the end of lift to the first mag brake. It was running 69-71 seconds when TPR was down for the photo/video shoot. I'm not sure the overall speed increase in MPH but if it does get to the mid 50's its going to be a totally different ride for sure. -GG

I'm really enjoying this thread and it made me wonder... Is there a thread hiding somewhere that is like this one but "Post your favorite roller coaster picture" the difference being just great photos (be it sunset, nighttime, unique angle, people reactions, etc) of any coaster, not necessarily your favorites? If this thread exists somewhere please point me to it, I've search but can't find one. If it doesn't exist, should we start one? -GG

The construction is coming along nicely. Here are a few pictures I took today. The entrance queue would have provided the best photos of the contruction but that was closed and the structure blocks most of the work otherwise. These are the best I could do for now. The workers there said they plan to be home by X-Mas and I was told that the hard part is done and the rest of the work should progress quickly. Eeeek! Naked Coaster! Cover those things up! Rails lay everywhere. Extensive reworking is being done from the valley of the first drop to the start of the upper bay turn. Do coasters shed in the winter? Bullet dropping are everywhere! Look close and you can see the long bolts hanging through the reaming layers of wood. In this area they are only having to remove a few layers. More work on the upper bay turn which is an area that provided three unnecessary shuffles as the train tried to find its way on the rails. You can see the rail laying loose in the top right corner.

Not quite sure of the analogy here since both El Toro and Voyage are neck and neck in the this top 10 list, both top "box office hit" coasters, and tops in the top of almost every top 10 list I have seen. If they were a movie, they would surely be a 'box office hit', which I agree usually suck big time. For the analogy to parallel "movies, books, television" the coasters on these lists would have to suck like the top box office movies. Perhaps you are just talking about the guy that ranked El Toro so far down the list compared to Voyage? I'd like to hear his reasoning. Personally, I can't wait to ride either, but I don't want to be considered a stupid enthusiast if I like Voyage better than El Toro. I will get to ride El Toro next July but don't know about The Voyage. -GG

Yeah, but you've ridden 71 coasters at age 14!!! Not feelin' too sorry for ya, bud. When I was 14, my ride count was lower than my age. Hey, I'm 33 and I've haven't ridden any of them either! That will change as I plan my first coaster trip this summer I should rack up about 65 new coaster credits with about 15 being woodies. I REALLY wish I could go swing the TPR East Coast trip. -GG

Right now it appears to be on track to be re-opened by New Years day... -GG