DBru

But does "butter smooth" necessarily equal "exciting"? Not at all. But it is definitely "fun." It just seems strange to me that a park would dump a ton of cash into a classic wooden coaster that is already fun and running like a gem. Not that I'm against it. I'm all for thrills and airtime and upkeep and blah blah blah. I'm just not really sure why it makes sense in THIS case.

I don't really understand why Colossus would get a Rocky Mountain treatment...it may not have much in terms of forces, but it's butter smooth. Seriously.

I've always wanted to be a monk.

^I didn't, so now I'm taken aback. Shocking, considering Millennium Force had a 15 minute queue just three days earlier.

Yeah, I don't understand why we're assuming this coaster won't have any airtime just because it has an inversion...

Oh come on now, Tyler. All of us here can use logic to reason that the potential capacity would be higher if the cars operated independently. Now you're just getting picky.

More Six Flags Over Texas. In the front left corner of the park is La Vibora. I liked this bobsled coaster MUCH better than Disaster Transport. They definitely don't want you to forget which coaster you're getting on. The biggest surprise of the park, and possibly the whole trip, was this underappreciated/unhyped/underrated indoor coaster that had completely slipped under my radar until I got to the park. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but this box contains a coaster with some great airtime, crazy helices, and a mid-ride surprise that is sure to leave you disoriented. It's my favorite out of the 9 indoor coasters I've ridden. In addition to great coasters, Six Flags Over Texas has a lot of "charming" areas and a nice collection of flat rides. There's the Rodeo... ...which is a Breakdance with awesome theming. Conquistador... ...which is a swinging ship. A scrambler. Some tea cups. Antique cars (that kept running out of gas). And Boot Scootin'! The park also has a fun log flume. It was closed down when I took my camera around the park, but I did get to ride it earlier in the day. The whole queue area looked really nice. I rode the flume on the right. Can't remember if it was flume 1 or 2. There was also a dark ride that I wasn't aware of prior to my visit. I would place its animatronics slightly below Disney level. It really is a fun ride and a great break from the heat. Six Flags Over Texas really is a nice looking park with a wonderful collection of rides. Now if only they would put a paddle to some of their employees a$$es (or at least put them through some training) and get their act together, it could be a top-of-the-line park. Thanks for reading!

This is the first of seven parts to my Texas/SoCal trip report. I will try to provide an update every few days. And hang in there, because I promise they will get better as I go along! Part 1: Six Flags Over Texas Part 2: Adventure City, Scandia, and Castle Park Part 3: Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Part 4: Universal Studios (and Santa Monica Pier) Part 5: SeaWorld San Diego and Belmont Park Part 6: Knott's Berry Farm Part 7: Six Flags Magic Mountain Six Flags Over Texas: 6/19-20/12 Overview: Going into the trip, SFOT was one of the parks I was looking forward to the most. Upon arriving (after 8 hours of flight delays), I found it to be a very nice-looking (corporate) park with one of the most well-rounded ride collections I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Unfortunately, the staff and operations were absolutely horrible. At the season pass processing center, employees would complain when they saw a group of people coming. At nearly every coaster, operators were complaining about how tired and hung over they were. Everywhere you looked, people were line jumping like it was the popular thing to do. But at the tip top of this very, very tall pyramid of atrocity was an event that occurred near closing on my second night at the park. I'll try to make it short. At about 9:45pm, my dad and I got in a fairly short line for New Texas Giant with two girls right behind us. The "line holder" (don't know what else to call her...she held the line at the base of the stairway so the station didn't become overcrowded) came up to the two girls and said, "Ya'll are gonna be the last ones. I'm gettin outta here early tonight." She then left to go close the gate to the line, but as soon as she turned around, a group of 10-15 people came into sight behind us. The girl returned about 5 minutes later and was absolutely flabbergasted to see that the line had grown. She came over to the group of people and began to accuse them of "opening the gate" (which they clearly did not do...as the four of us even tried to explain to her). After bickering unprofessionally with the group for a few minutes, she told them, "Y'all stay right here, Imma call security! Imma call security!" My dad and I continued up into the station and all was calm for a few minutes. Then suddenly, the girl came running up into the station (which was now full of people, since she hadn't been doing her job for quite a while), turning every couple steps to yell "F**k you! F**k you!" to the group down below. She then yelled to a ride op in the back of the station, "Jacob, Jacob! You better get down here cuz I'm about to punch this b*tch in the face!" So Jacob, who had been one of only two ops in the station, left to "help" with the situation...leaving hundreds of people standing in the station and 24 people stranded on a train that couldn't be dispatched. Eventually, security handled the situation by siding with the group of 10-15 people and letting them ride. Jacob came back, and operations finally resumed. When it came my time to ride, Jacob came by to check my lapbar and I asked him for the girl's name who seemed to be having so much trouble earlier. He told me in a threatening tone, "Don't worry about it," and then pushed down on my restraint with as much force as he possibly could. When I got off the (still amazing) ride, I was able to discover the name of the girl from another employee, and needless to say, I went straight to guest relations and shared my experience. The woman there told me not to worry, I wouldn't be seeing either of those two around anymore. Okay, so I know that wasn't short, but still. Oh, and on my first night, my phone was stolen while I was riding Batman: The Ride. Awesome. But this event did cause me to go to Security and meet one of the few quality employees at Six Flags Over Texas. Her name is Melissa Hill and she deserves a cookie. On to the photos! Ah, our place of slumber for two delightful nights. I really would suggest this hotel for anyone visiting the park. There is a free shuttle to and from SFOT and a great continental breakfast. Finally, we had reached our first destination. More flags. More line jumping. Six Flags! But who cares about line jumping when there's a boomerang! The road leading into the park really does offer some great views of the rides. Especially of the Judge...which is completely outside the park. It's an oldie but a woodie. The ride mostly consists of hills that fall flat, but there are a couple that provide decent air. And here's a great picture of the Sleep Inn. Is it just me, or is this hill incredibly strangely shaped? We made it! Here is the actual entrance to the park, which was absolutely PACKED when we got there on Tuesday...at 3pm! The entry plaza to the park looks really nice. Maybe a bit generic. If you take a right as you walk in, you'll enter the park's Looney Tunes area, which is very well done. From a bridge in the area, you get a great view of the Texas Chute-Out (or something like that). Really fun, quick, classic ride. Unfortunately for most enthusiasts, the kiddy coaster requires you have someone under 54" to ride with... ...so like the creeper-in-training that I am, I hopped in the front seat with a random kid and took the coaster for a spin. These handy signs are all over the park to guide you where you want to go. I thought this was great. The park's Intamin Looping Starship looks great. Unfortunately the cycle is very short and it only inverts once. Still fun, though. Pandemonium is next in line. Everyone still calls it Tony Hawk. This version doesn't fit into its surroundings quite as well as SFStL's. But it's still a blast. And here's another picture of it...just in case you haven't gotten the idea yet. Across from Pandemonium is Aquaman: Splash Down, the parks splash boat ride. But I was only interested in the big honkin' statue. Before entering the Gotham City area, you come across Flashback...which actually isn't horrible. Then there's this nice little Dumbo ride... ...and the big boys. This Batman was probably my least favorite of all the clones I've done. (SFGAm, SFOG, SFStL, and SFMM) But who doesn't love a zero-g? My picture is unique because I purposely framed the shot so that half the train would be cut off. Where's Vanilla Ice? I have mixed feelings about Reversed Blast. While facing down the spike is fun... ...something about the whole ride just feels "off." I think I liked it better the original way. Crap, just missed. There we go. But at least the queue is air conditioned. And there's a nice instructional video for Mr. Freeze. Hey, wait a minute... But at least the new train stickers are snazzy. Leaving that area, there's a nicely themed Yo-Yo. And the Mini Mine Train! It may be small, but it's a ton of fun. And just look at those cute little trains. The coaster sports a couple fun drops and I believe two tunnels. I actually enjoyed the Mini Mine Train much more than its older brother... ...whose only saving grace is his big finale. On Wednesday evening, some not-so-great weather rolled in. These people heard the thunder and flew into the sky! But luckily Superman was there to help them back down. Superman is a pretty big deal at SFOT. It has it's own fancy plaza and everything! I'm really surprised that more attention hasn't been given to the park's other new addition this year: a giant slide on the side of the Oil Derrick! I'm kind of surprised they didn't touch up the tower for the addition. Beneath the tower are a collection of cool attractions, including this nice-looking Rock-n-Tug... ...a rapids ride... ...and freaking COLD STONE! Oh, and this rope game that my dad was fascinated by. Behind the tower is one of my favorite coasters in the park...Shockwave! Shockwave is famous for its loops. It does indeed have a very nice rack. However, what makes Shockwave stand out in my mind is its abundance of OHMYFINGGAWD-stand-up airtime. Which riders are experiencing here... ...here... ...aaaand here. Though its setting isn't as nice, I think I liked it better than Mindbender (SFOG). As you can see, I really liked it. Even more than these kids! Okay last one. In Texas, everything is bigger. Especially the wieners. And the NEW Texas Giant! With a coaster of this caliber, I knew some danger would be involved, so I wanted to make sure to read all the safety precautions... ...like this one. Noted. But by the time I got to this one, I was absolutely exhausted. Oh well, I bet none of that stuff is important, anyway. There's only one word I can think of to describe this first drop: heavenly. In fact, I would probably use that word to describe every element on this ride. From the first drop and double-up... ...to the tunneled finale... This coaster is fantastic. This mid-ride drop is insane. Just look at everyone having a great time. Those who stand besides in the "chicken coop" have no idea what they're missing. The station of NTAG is really well done. These headlights actually come on at night! I'd rank the coaster somewhere in my top ten. Near to the Giant is another colossal coaster. Titan! (Which has a really interesting entry sign.) The gigantic picnic pavilions are right this way! As you can see, they really make a big deal out of Titan here. Titan is the Ron Burgandy of Six Flags Over Texas. This helix will rip your face off. Seriously. But the ride sure is purdy. Would you look at that? I want to be on you. But ehh, I prefer the Giant. And all its patriotic glory.

Seems like that would be a way to unnecessarily decrease capacity, though.

Ugh, I hate when parks have this policy. If Holiday World approves, I don't understand why Beech Bend or Cedar Fair wouldn't...especially when coasters have unnecessarily long exit paths (like Rumbler does).

^I'm in the same boat. I'm almost 6'1" and I can't hardly enjoy an Arrow coaster anymore because the shoulder harnesses press down uncomfortably on my shoulders. I rode Viper for the first time on Tuesday and found it to be pretty horrible...

I would probably do Freeze, then Pandemonium. SFStL is a great park. Have fun!

I have a fetish with indoor coasters. There's just something about them...but anyway, here's my list. 1. Runaway Mountain (SFOT) 2. Flight of Fear (KI) 3. Space Mountain (Disneyland) 4. Revenge of the Mummy (USF) 5. Revenge of the Mummy (USH) 6. Blazing Fury (Dollywood) 7. Fire in the Hole (SDC) 8. Thunder Run (Canada's Wonderland) 9. Disaster Transport

If you think the lack of comprehension in this thread is entertaining, you definitely need to take a look at this one.

Ah. Thank you. This all makes much more sense now. Do you all think there would be much difference in crowd levels between Friday the 22nd and Monday the 25th?

What does the term "E-ticket" even mean/where did it come from?

So they are scheduling two of the three major coasters to be down at the same time (for five days)? What the heck?

How 'bout we buy the land, and you buy the coaster?

^^Ah, yes. I've never used them so that didn't pop into my head, but I remember now. Thanks!

Do you remember the "(So many) Coasters in (so many) Days" program? I thought that was a fun one.

Because short sleeves = summer and summer = FUN! More flags, (less sleeves,) more fun!

That is one amazing piece of...work?

This.

^But that's not what Cedar Fair is doing (for the most part) this year. They are just holding the line at the station and then letting a couple trains worth of people in at a time. I love it. There are bins for everything except Flight of Fear and Firehawk, I believe. I can't answer this one, but I would get my Invertigo credit during the ERT session. That line is grueling later on in the day. Waits for everything should be under an hour during your visit. However, I would ride Firehawk AS SOON as the park opens. This could end up saving you two hours compared to if you had waited till later in the day. Very back on Diamondback and Firehawk, second to back on everything else. Have a great trip! Kings Island and Cedar Point are both in the best shape I've seen them in a long time. And check out the British Invasion show if/while you eat lunch at the Festhaus. It's great.

Oh my Jesus Christ. Larry, I think we must have read a completely different article than everyone else here, because I can't for the life of me understand why everyone is getting their panties in a wad... Contrary to what most of you all are thinking (for some reason), the article is NOT saying that amusement parks are unsafe. In fact, it's trying to tell readers the OPPOSITE! The 4.4 out of a million figure isn't given to scare people into thinking they will get hurt on a ride...it's trying to convey how SMALL of a chance they have of getting injured. If anything, the enthusiast community should be thanking Yahoo for posting this piece. Most material we see on the internet tries desperately to convince people that roller coasters are dangerous by focusing on rare, major freak accidents that have happened throughout history. Yahoo finally did some digging and is trying to counter that bogusness by presenting actual facts collected by individuals within the amusement industry. This article points out that most injuries involving amusement rides result from parents letting their small children ride alone, visitors acting ignorantly (running up/down stairs, riding rides they know they aren't able to handle physically, riding hung over), and people disobeying park rules (jumping line, not securing loose articles), not from "people getting struck by roller coasters or stuck upside down for hours on a broken ride"...and this is TRUE! No where does it say that: Come on guys, we can do better than this. The content of this article may not seem necessary to us, but in actuality, all it's doing is opening the eyes of the general public and defending the hobby we love so much. My grandma thought it was a good article.