Zingoman

You can see the bunny hop before the midcourse on SFOT's Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=7041800&id=65853440990

There are ledgers for a new bunny hill before the last one installed. I have a few pictures (I nearly ruined my camera in the rain to get the shots and it was definitely worth it. behold in all it's glory first off the water level was way over the banks of the creek and swallowing the entire base of the ride. Here you can see the new bunnyhill in the backround a closer look and here is the new "old" bunnyhill New track working it's way over the first overbank first off the water level was way over the banks of the creek and swallowing the entire base of the ride. magnetic goodies and tires in the brake run there is now a crane inside the old helix putting up ledgers these two ledgers are at the new drop approach to the old helix section if you look closely you can see the new wood blocks where the ledgers will be set. This turn is going to be crazy low and tight! here is a nice close view of the controversial bolt plates and the show how much rain we had here is the water by Shock Wave and here is the water by the mine train. and here is the updated graphic

^"haha. I wouldn't say "that which we do not speak of" is half done. Just teh last bunny hill is done. Glad to see track finally going up though!

^I'll definitely be at that event with a friend and I'm dieing to find out what kind of info they will reveal to us about the project. At this point far more than 15 percent of Giant is different. I'm thinking the layout difference of 15 percent doesn't mean the overbanks, and bunny hills. Those are all profile changes. A layout change would be something like the helix is removed. I do hope it isn't though. Just coming over the lift one time then straight into the finale seems like a lot to cut from the ride. I do like the idea of the second half staying the same though, but more speed in the helix would be great!

^My sentiments exactly! I think I'll love it. Working headlights? So this week's progress lies mostly in ledgers and a little hardware. Drive wheels are installed in the station and work has started in the brake run as well (was being started last weekend actually). On to the photos! First of all, if anyone wonders about how high the flood waters got from the flooding a on the 9th, you can see the waterline on Giant's banners just along the top of the words "THE WORLD'S STEEPEST BANK" Here we have a drive wheel If you are nuaghty enough to keep looking up Giant's skirt you will see several of these beauties. here is the extended brake run. If I were to guess, I'm thinking that this part will have magnetic brakes, and the entire covered portion will be retractable tire drives. You can see the retracting mechanisms being installed from the rail road however it's too difficult to photograph through the bushes. "That which we do not speak of's" last bunny hill looks a smidge tighter than it's former self. I approve! They have the ledgers in for most of the hill. Looks familiar and makes me smile. A few more ledgers have gone up for the first "overbank" (not sure this one will make it into the overbank category though) another angle from the Oil Derrick a last look at the latest work from the tower Here on the diagram there is a LOT of progress actually. A lot of the progress can only be seen from Titan's lift. The ledgers are completely installed up to the midcourse, and a few more have gone in for the big overbank next to the first drop, there is some newly replaced structure before the final bunny hill and the posts have been set with the wood blocks for the ledgers to be installed on, drive wheels are in the station, and a bit more track has gone in on the back side leading into the big overbank. All these ledgers surely mean that track will be flying up soon, however they hadn't touched the section leading into the brake run before and yet it's suddenly tracked so who knows?

^I was just about to post about this! They seem to have left the final bunny hill profile just as it was! You can see the ledgers for it on the webcam! "That which we do not speak of" is getting started! However it looks like there is a nice flat spot going into the brake shed, like the ride won't dip down after that bunny hill before the brakes as far as it used to.

Wood: Any drop on Cyclops especially the big crazy sick one Steel: Shockwave at SFOT third drop. So sick in the back! Tower Ride: Drop Zone (I hate the CF name so I still call it by it's correct name) at King's Island. I run out of breath yelling at least twice everytime!

^Every seat on Giant was a wheel seat by the third or forth season. Those trailored trains were very short lived. Dispite all of the trimming, and reprofiling Giant was still a force to be reckoned with. I think that just goes to show how awesome it was. Even after being raped they just couldn't take the bite out of the ride and tame it.

^ Ha Ha. Giant certainly had its history of self destruction. Including ripping it's rear car hitch off the original trailored trains, and the more recent derailmant. Speaking of trains has anyone else checked out the rumor mill over on Screamscape and read up on the new trains? I for one think it's comically awesome and I'm all for it! If you haven't read it here is the bit from the site.

^Yes that is what we are talking about. The Flying Carpet section was the finale of the ride, and was absolutely outstanding.

^I know and I was thrilled to see those additions, and I hate to be so glum about the ride when we only know half of what it will be so far. I would take a good airtime drop over a bunny hill any day though. I find it hard to say a bunny hill delivers the same thrill as barreling through a lateral filled curve and then getting thrown from your seat diving down a drop 80 feet above the ground. I won't say that these overbanks will be better than those old lateral filled curves either. Seems like they will be forceless, but I do know that I am really getting ahead of myself to judge the ride now. I just know all my favorite things it used to do are now gone (minus the sacred finale... so far) Anyways, I was at the park today and they had lots of drive motors and tires lined up below the brake run and station today. Should see those getting installed very soon!

WHAT WHAT WHAT??? How awesome is that?! Great Job! Looking forward to all the info you have!

I for one am not happy with the potential return of the midcourse ESPECIALLY considering that it is now a good 20 or 30 feet lower than the original. This means you will thunder into it at a VERY swift speed (like Titan) only to be grabbed by potential trims. This means several sad things to me. First the drop off the old midcourse was fantastic, but now we just have what looks like a banked curve to look forward to, and I'm sorry but all the overbanks in the ride thus far have officially killed the airtime factor on every single drop the ride had. Put this midcourse brake in and the trains have to be able to complete the course when they stop in the block. Considering the sluggish nature the helix had when the midcourse was higher, this really leaves me thinking the helix wont go over the lift anymore, and may not be a helix anymore at all. Maybe if they put some LIMS up there I'll be excited but right now my excitement has been heavily curbed by this new "midcourse" section.

Some news is developing on one of the great mysteries of the project! The mystery at hand being whether or not the ride will have a midcourse brake section. If you look at the time lapse cam on the park's site you can see the old midcourse section has some track up (but appears to have an absense of ledgers?)! Can't wait to find out what the profile is since the angle from the tower makes that impossible to see. http://www.sixflags.com/overTexas/rides/TexasGiant.aspx

I was very fortunate to travel to the 2004 Oktoberfest and it was amazing! I really wish American fairs could be this calibur. Is it safe to assume Olympia Looping will never see the hand me down treatment the other famed traveling loopers have seen? Such an icon could surely be safe for many years to come. Thanks for the photos!

Overbank action has arrived!! Check it out y'all! Besides overbanking yum yums they have the handrail pretty close to finished giving the lift that nice illusion of completyness. in an effort to further blur the facts in their marketing, they have now UNCROSSED the word "wooden" on the sign. While this validates a few other random statements about the ride, it contradicts just as many. Here we have a delicious 95 degree looking banky snack not sure how far over this one will be going just yet. last but not least we have the main course taking shape. The illusive 112/114 degree bank surprise! How funky is this rig? Looks like we have the first half of the ride just about revealed now. What will become of the old midcourse brake stretch is the next big question I'm very anxious to see.

^haha. I had an exhibit B but I decided it was a little too sassy.

Exhibit A http://rcdb.com/2.htm?p=29291 PLENTY OF ROOM FOR WHEELS TO GET BETWEEN BOLT PLATES. Think of it this way. The space between those plates is no less than the width of the steel that runs along the top of traditional wood coaster track. I really don't get how this is so confusing for everyone. Maybe it's just that pictures can't do it justice but take it from those of us who have actually seen it in person, IF the plates stay there is room for the wheels.

I'm with Houston up there. The places without plates are probably just getting adjusted. I'm of the opinion that the trains have plenty of room to get between them. they have been putting things together and taking them back apart and adjusting them throughout this whole process. Saying the bolt plates are temporary at this point is like saying they wont be bolting the ledgers to the structure, because I've seen a lot of that too.

haha. I didn't scan the entire thread but I think I'm the first to mention ThuNderaTion at Silver Dollar City. Yes, it's 90 percent of the ride, but the ride does continue after the lift. As far as helices go, that ride has one of the best as well. And a great drop out of the tunnel following. Mmmmmm. I loves me that ride.

^No way that will be on the first turn. I'd be really surprised if it is. I'm thinking that will be a 95 degree turn, and the turn into the 3rd or 4th drop will be the really heavy bank. I kind of feel like all 3 turns after the drop will be overbanked. While that is very exciting, it also doesn't leave too much room for any lateral forces in the first half of the ride. Here is hoping that the second half of the ride will still deliver that element!

Here is my thought. Rattler is actually running kind of good this year. I would however LOVE to see it get this treatment IF the old drop and double down are going to return. Boss, get better trains. Look at Legend. It made a big difference. Boss I had not ridden since opening year until closing day last season. I not only thought it was surprisingly smooth, but found it quite tame until the helix. Maybe that's just me, but I was shocked at how tame it was. Mean Streak, CP doesn't do squat to help that ride. It's a lost cause in that park. And anyone saying Ghostrider needs it, you make me cry I LOVE how intense and brutal that ride is.

haha. Surely I am not the only person who finds Boss to be the only ride that the Gerstlauer trains are not completely wretched. I don't want many woodies to change to this at all. Maybe Son of Beast, Mean Streak or Rattler. That's all I would find acceptable for this. Woodies are woodies because they are timeless and different than Steel. Putting Steel on a wooden coaster does not make it a good woodie. you lose the wood coaster and gain a steelie.

I'm aware that things can go wrong and you have to plan for it. My point is that the new track system will be stronger than the old system, and the old system would have been quite capable of handling such an incident. Went to the park yesterday and they were in full swing working on the ride. Here are the goods. A lot of work progressing on the lift. the stairs are done all the way to the top, and work on the handrail is coming along. the chain trough is going in as well. they also installed track on the back side behind the black brake! The 3rd drop looks to be about 30ft deeper than the old Giant's. Shockwave has a great view of it, but obviously I can't get shots from there. A crane was putting up another piece of track just as I got here Not much going on in this direction but I'm dying to see that 4th drop get installed! got to ride under on the train during some of the action, and you can see the VERY steep new ascent up to where the block brake was. this picture made it difficult to see so I just traced over it with a red line. also they did this bit of fun to Shockwave Here is how the sell-out train looks on the course. I liked the Axe look a lot more. They did try to tie it in with the ride a little though. I can respect that. and the latest progress in full. catwalks, and more track on the curves, and from Titan you can see they added more ledgers to the 3rd drop.

I don't understand the complaint of a chainlift at the end of a coaster. The coaster ends AT THE BOTTOM. The lift doesn't count as part of the end of the ride. All the talk about Adventure Express, nobody seems to consider that while yeah, maybe it fakes a lot of people out, once you know what's up, I consider all the whacky theming on the lift to be the finale. That ride is fantastic up to that point, and wouldn't you all be complaining if it was just a plain naked lift at the end? Come on. At least they dressed it up, and did a great job at that. And finally, would you all rather walk back to the station? The lift is doing your legs a favor. (sorry for the rant. I have this arguement with my friends a lot. haha) Best ending, Texas Giant, Voyage, The Beast, Cyclops Worst: Alpengeist, Mean Streak, Frontier City Wildcat, Rattler