Sportsdude360

^^^^^iRat will likely be closed as well.

Yes, NTAG's restraints are hydraulic, they don't click when lowered into place. To me, they feel very smooth when you push them down. But they also feel quite heavy, it's possible that some guests (especially children) might have difficulty in pushing them all the way down. Which is why ride ops must check each restraint carefully to make sure each guest is firmly secured in their seat. But we'll have to wait until the investigation is concluded and the actual cause of this tragedy is known before we can speculate further.

I have to ask, is iRat still operating? In view of what happened tonight at SFOT on NTAG, I wouldn't be surprised if it were shut down as well.

I'm deeply saddened by this horrific tragedy. SFOT is my home park and I have had season passes going back to the mid 70's. I still have vivid memories of the last tragic accident at the park during the mid 80's when a woman died on the Roaring Rapids ride. My prayers are with the family of the woman who died tonight. As for NTAG, I assume it will be closed for the remainder of the season. Rightfully so. If this turns out to be a design flaw with the restraint system then iRat should be closed as well, as should Outlaw Run. It will take time to design and implement new restraint systems for these rides. My thoughts and prayers are with all those involved in this terrible tragedy.

I saw no signs like that when I was there.

Line jumping definitely happened while I was at the park. As for the bees, perhaps they're only a problem during the summer.

Ok, here goes! My trip report, that is. I just returned from 3 wonderful days in San Antonio. The last time I visited SA was in 2000, 13 years ago. So much has changed since then, tons of new shoping centers as well as new freeway constuction made it seem like I had never been to SA before. I guess a lot can change in 13 years. Before I start, I'm going to list a few pros and cons with regards to the park itself. The pros: Beautiful park! Great location and wonderful themeing throughout. I love the 50's section, even the restrooms in this area look 50's style. Great shows! The 50's show was my favorite. Ride operations. For the most part all rides had great ops who were both entertaining as well as efficient. Now for the cons, of which there were only 2. Park security leaves something to be desired. Line jumping was rampant both days I was at the park. In one instance, a guy hopped over the large rocks in iRat's outer queue area and made his way though the small trees. He then grabbed the wooden railing of the first ramp and hopped over in front of 20 or so other guests who were making their way through the queue normally. Nobody paid him any attention as he did so, the guests he'd just cut in front of didn't seem to care either. This type of thing seemed commonplace throughout the park. Every ride I went on guests were hoping over railings and such, cutting each other off. Ride ops, for the most part, didn't seem to care. Bee infestation! Guests were constantly fighting off bees in every queue I was in. Bees kept buzzing us as went up the lift hill on iRat as well. Now on with the reviews.... Iron Rattler: This is an outstanding follow up on NTAG for RMC. My first ride came in the very back on the right side. during all my rides I was quick to notice that the right side gave more airtime than the left, no matter what row you were in. The first drop with its hang time and twisting action at the bottom was amazing, both for airtime and intensity. The barrel roll has great out- of- your- seat airtime no matter what row or seat your in! The rest of the airtime hills on the cliff section seemed to have better air on the right side than the left. The final drop into the tunnel left me breathless! I preferred the front of the train to the back for the most part. Airtime in front seemed better accept for the barrel roll. SFFT has a superb new addition to the park in iRat Superman Krypton Coaster: I first rode this 13 years ago, it was new then. Now it's showing it's age. It has a weather beaten look and is in bad need of a paint job. But despite this, it's still one of the best steel coasters I've ever ridden. Rattling was noticeable, particularly during the second half of the ride. But this did not stop SKC from being the same wonderful ride I remembered from thirteen years ago. Poltergiest: Yet another ride that I remembered so fondly from those many years ago. A similar ride to Mr Freeze, but with a spaghetti bowl layout. Made by the same company, Premier. It's still a fun intense ride. Goliath: Formerly Batman The Ride from the now defunct Six Flags New Orleans. The ride is a mirror version of the one here at SFOT. I'll have to admit, the up front location of this ride does make the name seem more appropriate. The ride itself is quite intense, but you know the rest of the story. Not much more to say here. Pandemonium: Nothing new here either. If you've been on one of these you've been on them all. Sky Screamer: Junior version of the Texas Skysreamer. Good thing the line wasn't too long on this thing. The ride itself was fun but didn't give me same "oh crap" feeling of the much taller TSS. Scream: Shorter version of Superman Tower of Power. Otherwise, the same ride. S&S Thrillshot's are a good bit of fun, if a bit un-nerving. Scooby-Doo: Not a bad dark ride. But more for the kids than the adults. Fun ineraction. My first view of iRat! Another happy group of riders on the parks newest sensation! My first ride came in the back seat. Me preparing to board iRat! Goliath's up front location makes it seem huge. The only thing better than a short line for iRat is no line at all. And now for the front seat. iRat 's queue was quite full later on. even after so many years SKC continues to thrill. Ah, the "Kiddy" Screamer! Sorry, my finger got in the way of this one. It seems that someone lost it on Goliath. They spent the next 30 minutes cleaning out the chairs. Scream was a scream. Ah, first ride of the day on iRat. Nice theming.

Took my first nightime ride on the Texas Skyscreamer tonight. I'll have to admit, this thing is much more un-nerving at night than it is during the day. Spectacular night time view of the surrounding D/FW Metroplex area, but you get the sensation your going to fall more intensely at night. Nightime on the Texas Skyscreamer is a whole different ballgame!

I'll be at SFFT next week, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to be exact. I be posting my trip report here, complete with my review of iRat. I'll be posting photos as well.

That's pretty awesome! Have other parks ever done that before? I have no idea about other parks. This is the first time it's been done at SFOT, to my knowledge.

Yeah, I was out there on Tuesday as well. Too bad about all those rides being closed. But Gold Pass holders could get free refills on slurpees all day long with a special coupon they give you at the parking gate. Great way to beat the heat.

I first rode Superman KC back in 2000 as well. But I haven't been back to SFFT since, sad to say. Looking forward to getting back down there again week after next. I remember SKC as one of the best B&M's I've ever ridden. Only Batman: Night Flight at the now defunct Geauga Lake could match it, imho. Can't wait to ride iRat!

Ah....the "Mini- Screamer".

Two more weeks and I'll be at SFFT taking my first rides on iRat!

I've been visiting SFOT since the late 60's. It's always been my favorite.

NTAG and TSS are more than worth the drive down.

Look at those old style water fountains. I remember the ones at SFOT almost never worked.

^ I actually saw this commercial just the other day. At first, when the announcer says "rising 200 feet", I thought it was a SFFT Skyscreamer commercial. But when "The Boss" appears and tells the announcer to go higher, I just started laughing. Gem of an advertisement for the mighty Texas Skyscreamer.

The Boomerang seems to be riding the way it did back when it first opened at SFOT. As I recall, it was quite a smooth ride back in 1989. Age and poor upkeep eventually caused it to become quite the head banger. But now it looks as if it's back to being a great ride again. Great color scheme.

What trains are they running on Boomerang?

^It was still closed yesterday.

^Yeah, I kept pointing that out to the various riders I sat next to. The area looks ripe for expansion. What we'll have to do is keep an eye out for any demolition and/or clearing of the area. If this happens, it's a fair bet that expansion is coming.

Just got back from the park. Great weather, Skyscreamer was running all day. I rode TSS 5 times today, this allowed me to sample a couple of different ride modes. The first 2 rides I took seemed to be in observation mode as the carriage seemed to slow down once we reached the top. This alowed for some impressive views of the D/FW area. The last 3 rides, however, were a different story altogether. The carriage actually sped up as we neared the top. This made for a more intense ride, but it also caused my chair to swing back and forth rather violently. At times the swaying was so extreme that my feet were actually pointed up. This scared the crap outta the guy sitting next to me. I had to keep reminding him that the chains weren't going to break and that we would be ok. Sightseeing tends to be more difficult in this mode as you often seem be facing straight up, or straight down. At any rate, this mode seemed to freak more people out than the observation mode. Texas Skyscreamer thilling yet another group of riders.

"(abeit windy)" ^Does that mean you passed gas the whole ride?

Yes, they swayed like that when I rode. There's always going to be wind gusts that high up, especially in north Texas. For what it's worth, Texas Skyscreamer has recieved coverage in major news publications all across the globe. Most of which include the video of that guy screaming. Just Google "world's tallest swing ride". No kidding! The BBC even has coverage.