cleusk

I learned it through hard research.

Just a little info about John Hardman and Argyle. Hardman grew up in Wichita Falls, Texas. I lived there for four years. It's half college town and half military town. Anyway, Hardman got interested in puppetry at an early age, started when he saw a marionette show at the Barnum and Bailey Circus. His father bought him some marionettes and John started performing shows in the garage for the neighborhood kids. He spent his years at junior high and high school doing puppetry and magic. During college, he worked at the Channel 3 TV station. After graduating from Midwestern State University, where I also graduated, he moved to Dallas. He spent his time doing cabarets in Uptown Dallas. It was during this time that he created a puppet character called Argyle Asp. When SFOT started building its Boom Town section in 1963, some executives asked Hardman to audition for a Punch and Judy show which was being planned for park. Hardman did so and got the job. He performed Punch and Judy twenty times a day. In an effort to break the boredom, he brought along Argyle to interact with the people between shows. When Angus Wynne Jr. saw what John was doing, he demanded Hardman to chunk the Punch and Judy show and do Argyle full time. As a result, Argyle Asp became Argyle Snake. Hardman worked for San Antonio's HemisFair in 1968. Argyle had become so popular, he served as one of the unofficial mascots. The primary mascot was a dragon named Luther. He was later renamed H. R. Pufnstuf. When Sid and Marty Krofft came on the scene, they took him under their wing and taught him how to do large scale shows. When they left Six Flags, he took control of all the SFOT puppet shows. Later, he would be producing all the puppet shows of the Six Flags chain. John Hardman left in 1991 when Time Warner started to get involved with Six Flags, complaining that the atmosphere created by the corporation no longer made his job fun.

I think a wooden wild mouse coaster would be considered rare, if not extinct.

For those who are interested, you can still watch the guy who did the show featuring Argyle the Snake at SFOT. John Hardman performs the Buford Buzzard Show at the State Fair Of Texas. It's located near the kiddie section of the Midway. He's also in charge of the World On A String show and occasionally performs there as well. During the holiday season, he performs an Ebeneezer Scrooge show at North Park Mall near Central Expressway in North Dallas.

You're right. I completely forgot about the Jet Set. Considering that it was installed in 1967, that ride sure didn't last long. Regarding the number of SFOT deaths, there have been three. 1) August 5, 1963 - Carl Wynne Jones, a recent high school graduate from Grand Prairie who worked at the park, stepped between a work truck and its trailer in the parking lot. Jones lost his balance and fell onto the hard concrete. Before he could raise himself up, he got run over. An ambulance took him to Arlington Memorial Hospital, where physicians declared him dead on arrival. They sent his body back to Grand Prairie and funeral services were held the following day. 2) August 8, 1968 - John Raymond Nelson, a high school senior from Fort Worth, operated El Sombrero that fateful Thursday night. He approached the ride before it stopped so he could quickly unload the passengers. Unfortunately, Nelson lost his balance and fell into the pit beneath the ride. An ambulance later arrived and carried him to Arlington Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. 3) March 21, 1999 - Valeria Cartwright, a 28-year-old woman from Arkansas, died from drowning while riding the Roaring Rapids. The boat capsized near the end of the ride. The passengers were trapped underwater because of the seat belts. Everyone but Valeria escaped.

1) Big Bend first opened in 1971. 2) Big Bend did not replace any ride prior to its construction. The Happy Motoring Freeway co-existed with Big Bend during the coaster's tenure. The closest example of this that I know of would be the Chaparral Cars and the Texas Giant. The HMF had two tracks, the first of which was shortened for the creation of Boomtown. The first track of HMF was removed in 1980, which was later replaced in 1982 by the Texas Cliffhanger. The second was removed in 1986 to make way for Splashwater Falls. 3) Spindletop was removed in 1989. 4) Spindletop was a rotor ride. It was built by Chance Industries. The rotor ride was invented in 1949 by German engineer Ernst Hoffmeister and first introduced at the annual Oktoberfest. 5) The Spinnaker was added in 1977. 6) Linda Carter was the one promoting the attraction. The event occurred on March 26th. She was there to sign autographs from 2pm - 4pm. 7) Spinnaker was removed to make room for Runaway Mountain. 8) It's now located at Six Flags Fiesta Texas as the Wagon Wheel. How much is up for debate. I've heard from some that the whole Spinnaker is there at Fiesta while others say that the main frame is still in one of the back areas. They contend that only the cars were sent to Fiesta as a loan for its new ride. When the Air Racer was removed, there was a lot of talk between employees that the Spinnaker would be returned to SFOT. It was obviously not the case. 9) The Tree Slide was one of the park's first attractions, available to visitors in 1961. It was removed at the end of 1978 along with Skull Rock. This pretty much marked the end of Skull Island. 10) The shows which had scenes filmed at SFOT were the Banana Splits and Lidsville. Both of them were shows produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. The two brothers had a contract with the Six Flags parks. They parted with Six Flags to create their own theme park, which was called The World Of Sid And Marty Krofft and located at Atlanta, Georgia. The ending of the Krofft contract was the main force behind the creation of Cyrus Cosmo. 11) The Roto Disco, originally called the Rotoriculous, was a Himalaya ride. 12) The Roto Disco was removed to make way for the Flashback. 13) The SFOT mascot, who was exclusive to the park, was called Cyrus Cosmo. Cyrus was the creation of Paul Osbourne, a local entertainer and magician. He was created for the 1975 season. 14) The SFOT promotion was ""Six Flags is what you wish the world could be!" It started in 1975. I don't know when it ended, but it was probably in 1977 or 1978 when the Cyrus character was removed.

Being the one who fired it. What's worse than falling down face first into a pile of cow manure?

I've ridden several alone. The raft going to and from Tom Sawyer Island, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Runaway Mine Train, SFOT log ride, El Conquistador, Peter Pan ride, WDW Tea Cups, Mini Mine Train, Spee-Lunker Cave, Spindletop, Spinnaker, Wed-Way People Mover, Journey Into Imagination, Haunted Mansion, and the Chaparral Cars.

I actually like the idea of having Blackbeard instead of Davy Jones. First, Blackbeard was a real pirate and would fit in perfectly long after the movies' popularity wears off. Second, the character of Davy Jones doesn't fit well with the rest of the attraction. If you never saw POTC 2 and 3, you would be scratching your head wondering what that strange thing in the waterfall had to do with pirates.

I mostly read, go on walks, and research.

The best food I ate was at the German Pavilion of EPCOT at WDW. I can't remember the name, but the food was delicious and the live entertainment made it even better.

I would definitely say Son of Beast.

This is a toughie. I would get rid of the Tony Hawk Spin.

Nothing can beat a good, old-fashion flume ride.

The Six Flags parks are notorious for using video footage of an attraction that doesn't even exist at a particular park.

It would definitely be Hard Rock Park. What were they thinking?! It reminds me of those movies that are so bad they don't even make it to the theater and make you ask why they were ever made in the first place.

It's all about about litigation. People will sue for anything and everything.

My favorite flat ride would be the carousel. It's great fun and everybody can ride it. I also enjoy admiring the artwork and designs, especially the ones made of wood. My favorites are the Dentzels.

I had to suffer for three hours waiting for the Avalanche Bobsleds at SFOT. I felt completely ripped off.

I live in Dallas, so the closest thing to a home park is SFOT.

The last coaster I rode was the Thunder Mountain Railroad.

The best refurbished coasters are Space Mountain and the New Texas Giant. Texas Giant has a slight lead because I no longer have to worry about my back getting brutalized in three different areas.

My favorite drop ride that still exists is the Tower of Terror. My favorite drop ride that no longer exists is the Cliffhanger.

I'm 40 and my first coaster was the Mini Mine Train at SFOT.

Do you have a question about the history of Six Flags Over Texas? If so, just post it and I'll try to answer it to the best of I can.