Zingoman

I agree. This really will be a whole new ride. Nothing about the actual ride experience will remain so you can't call it the same. It's like if they were to melt down Shockwave, and recycle the steel and build a new coaster in the same spot without changing the name. Yes, parts of the Giant will be in there, but only structure, and structure does not make the ride what it is. Only way they can justify calling it the same name anymore to me is if the profile remains but we already know some it will be changed but who knows. I'm ready for a rendering to see what this will be!! Found a video about the rehab http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/texas-giants-dollar-10-million-renovation-rolling-along/1d2lujrd1

^ Haha! I didn't really think about it that way but it does seem like they are promoting that with the ads on the Oil Derrick doesn't it? I wonder if any employees will get that as an excuse.

I'm just glad they didn't plaster the ads on the elevator walls or on the bobsleds themselves.

I'm a couple weeks behind in posting updates here. They have placed the track down the brake run and station. Note though, I did say placed, not installed. The finale is gone now, and they didn't even have to disturb the structure it was running through to remove it. Very surprising. The drop off the midcourse however still looks to have a section of track on it. ON TO THE PHOTOS View from the tower was pretty hazy today buy at least the thing was open for a change. This entire part of the ride was one of the last sections to get stripped down, and I have to say it's pretty gone. Lots of structure missing. New profile perhaps or just replacement? I'm very anxious to see if we get the double up back. Is it a coincidence that this structure was removed in the shape of a very steep drop? The hill at right center in this shot was fully in tact less than a week ago. And alas, the beloved finale of the ride is all out. You can see it's gone on the other side from Titan's lift but I can't get pics form there of course. Been meaning to show this for a while. Anyone who might have been curious as to how they actually got all the old track out and the new track into the station and brake run they rigged up and overhead beam and hoist system to bring it all in. You can see this coming out of the front end of the station as well. Nothing new up high yet However there are some new pieces that look so be the top and bottom of a hill. And here is the latest graphic diagram. Pretty much nothing left to do but build I'd think. in other news, this stuff happened That's all for now

Has nobody been out to see the Raven train running yet? I would really like to know if it rides like the Voyage train or not. Such a bizzare and fascinating measure to take for their situation. I give them mad props!

Really Cedar Fair? Seatbelts on BSC? Lets start putting them on the seats in all the restaurants and picnic areas too. In fact, I think they should just issue one to you as you walk in the entrance turnstile and staple it to your abdomen so you already have it on when you enter the lines to ride ANYTHING at their parks.

I just want to quickly defend my post from a few pages back about a coaster being put in by SF without permits. Please note the New England reference. I was talking about Dark Knight and the epic fail that was. It was sarcasm. I realize that this permit thing would not be the first time the company pulled a stunt like this. Thank you. That is all.

Why on Earth would Six Flags park have permit issues with a coaster AFTER construction began? I mean anyone from New England knows that the company is much smarter than that. I also need to say that this coaster should be Mr. Six's Roller Disco because it has the roller skater train, AND it would be a pimpin night ride. You can't deny it.

For real! The Wal-E scene looks totally beautiful! "color" me in impressed.

Anybody notice the control panel?? No levers it seems. Sorry Kurt.

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.

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?

How can you not give Shapiro a little credit? Where I give Shapiro credit, is in many places. He was so involved in the parks and kept in touch personally with the fan bass with his blogger call sessions. He was very enthusiastic and candid. He cleaned up the parks! Look around! It's impressive how far they've come. Refurbishments to everything from restrooms, to midways, to gift shops, to rides. So much money was spent on neglected maintenance. How about getting rides to run properly again, and getting rid of the ones that couldn't? He put in new shows and entertainment, and got the costumed characters back out on the midways. He lowered some prices, and put out programs like Funatics rewards, ect... He saw the value in reinvesting in significant attractions rather than ditching them like X, or Texas Giant, or even Little Dipper. He got the employee moral sky high comparatively and the level of service is far exceeding previous seasons. He didn't spend millions on the latest Intamin rocket coasters, or B&M dive machines, but the parks already have thrill rides. He looked at the whole picture and tried to restore a little balance to the parks. Look what Magic Mountain was doing for years. The park was falling apart and yet they kept building things like Scream, and Tatsu. It wasn't working. Oh, and on a little side note, please can we stop putting Cedar Fair on a pedestal? Anyone who has worked for that company knows that they are going by the way side lately. They are becoming the OLD Six Flags. Six Flags is NOT what it was before. Why does everyone refuse to recognize this?

Am I the only one who is weeping over the loss of Shapiro?? I'm glad they have the Paramount guy, but Shapiro was the bomb!

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

Theory points to the idea that the first turn after the first drop will be the overbank. I don't know where else they would put it, but you never know. With the ride being taller after this I can't help but wonder if they will be raising the block brake as well. I'm willing to bet we will see magnetic brakes used on the ride too, however hopefully not for trim purposes. I'm hoping this redo will let the trains run free as they did back in 1990.

A whole week and no talking in here? Well, ready or not here is another update. The entire lift and crown are trackless No more track in the station, or in the brake run as far as I could see It's getting pretty ugly in here The station side of the helix is nearly gone Quite a bit of track is gone along these two turns. All I took some time to go into the Music Mill as it was open for some music awards ceremony and grab this angle as well. Now for the sad showing of the overall progress, I'd say maybe 50 to 60 percent of the track is gone.

Well this weekend brought plenty of bad weather, and large crowds on Saturday, but Sunday was dead. On a good note Shockwave was up and running at last! Just a few pics for the Giant and the latest graphic to share with everyone. I wasn't able to get up the Oil Derrick this weekend with the weather but not much new to see from there anyways. Here we go! Looking a bit sad today. The last bunny hill is trackless now, and they have removed more track from the first drop and more structure from the drop before the midcourse. Pile of old track in the infield The "helix" on the station side is on its way out A look at the area. They have removed a substantial length of the track from the lift his week. Here is the latest graphic update well this graphic is actually wrong and it won't update on here for some reason. DISCUSS!

I'm pretty pumped about the slide more than the trains too Robb. I'm kind of a fan of a wild ride on a PTC train (ala Ghostrider, Texas Giant, Hershey Wildcat, Legend). I fear that the Timberliner trains will take the bite out of my favorite coaster, however, when I "took the Voyage" back in 2006 it was smooth as glass and it was still incredible, so maybe you just can't ruin this one. It's too wild to be tamed. Haha. Back to Wildebeest, does anyone know if the rafts will run that fast all the time and give that amazing airtime when it opens?

I like being thrown around too to a degree and the Raptor snap is no problem for me, however I do brace for the worst every time. haha. The Alpie midcourse snap is another VERY notable one. Doesn't seem to matter where you sit in the train for that one either.

Raptor has a pretty wicked snap coming out of the final turn into the brake run. It's really noticeable in the front row, but not bad towards the back. Everything I have ever heard and seen about Orochi gives me the impression that they did in fact fix that issue. It's more like a Batman approach. Very smooth.

I like to think of Gravity Group as the wood coaster equivalent of Intamin. They put out rides that nobody else will attempt, and while they are amazing, I don't think they will have a longevity of a GCI. Like Rob said, it's about quality. I'm not saying anything against Gravity Group, but they are really pushing limits. I think their new trains will help with this a lot though. PTCs are just not built to keep a track in good shape on rides like Voyage and Hades. Ravine Flyer seems to be holding up incredibly well however. It ran last season as if it was opening day 2008. Very impressive. I think PTC is going to have to wake up soon a realize that their trains have been surpassed. Designs on wood coasters have exceeded their trains capabilities. Prior and Church figured things out before PTC for goodness sakes with their single bench designs. They were who inspired GCI's Millennium Flyers. To tie all that back in to the Giant, I'm nervous to see what Gerslauer has in store with their trains. They better be like nothing they have made in the past.

ShowMeGuy, the bolts do look pretty strange sticking up the way they do but I'm pretty sure the wheels will just run between them. There is a wide space down the center of the rail. Flying at full speed with those bolts sticking up will be a sight I'm sure. haha. Looking at the track they have placed on so far there is nothing to indicate that they can or will attach anything to it. I saying all the wear and tear will be designed for the wheels. Think of it like this. Wooden coasters use steel on the wood because the steel wheels would ruin the wood. Really a wooden coaster is steel running on steel. They have to replace that steel over time. This new track system, unless they do add a layer of something to the top, will not allow the steel on steel set up because steel wheels would eventually wear down the track, meaning they can't just replace a strip of steel like on traditional wood coasters but they would replace the actual track segment entirely. That just isn't a practical way to do things. All this leads me to believe that they will have nylon or urithane on the wheels like you see on rides like El Toro, or Balder. Hopefully the wheels they get from Gerstlauer will outlast those of the Intamin variety that seem to live less than 48 hours *cough cough* Maverick. In all fairness the plug n play coasters don't seem to have wheel issues I just really wanted to take a stab at Intamin's cruddy wheels. haha

OMG! Dude! You took a picture of my arm! The first picture you took on the train you can see my arm holding my camera on the right hand side. This has me cracking up. Way to beat me to the punch on today's update. Didn't anyone tell you I now own this thread? I've got some shots from the Oil Derrick to add to this though. MAN I need a better camera. This just isn't cutting it. I really do want this job Half the "helix" still intact Today's major focus The whole area Still standing proud Here is this week's progress graphic

Well I was back at the park today and it was PACKED. Busiest day yet this season. If the park is this busy now then what does the summer have in store? Ouch. Anyways BIG NEWS! The first substantial amount of new track has been put in place on the first turn and the lift track has been extended nearly all the way down on the left. Oddly, they actually took the rail off the right side of the lift that had been up there for about the last month. Pictures you say? Of course! Plenty! Forgive the quality though. They are cell phone pics. I am without a good camera for the time being. :o( Here is the lift progress thus far. the left rail is nearly to the bottom. Shiny red track curving its way to the lift. notice the catwalk is only on the right hand side (from the direction the ride travels). It will be interesting to see if the entire ride turns out this way. Notice also that the steel is not bolted to the ledgers or the ledgers to the structure yet. Looks like they are putting the track together and then making everything else adjust to fit later. Here is a close up of what I mean. Notice the bolt holes for the ledger to attach to the wooden supports are not yet being used, and the track is not yet bolted to the ledger either. The actual track pieces are bolted to each other though. They had about 6 or 7 guys there working today. First I've seen them work on a Saturday. Now for today's progress report layout graphic: April 3rd I did add another piece to the key to illustrate the handrails being removed because they have cut off a significant amount of them on the final leg of the ride towards the brakes. This area of the ride seems to be getting some very random attention for this project. Here is a pic to show what I mean. On anther note Shockwave is now a complete circuit! That's all till next week.