megametal

Wow. Now 50 million I can get behind!

$30 million isn't that much, actually. Especially if a hotel is one of the things they're adding. Intimidator cost $23 million. Still, I can hope for some flat ride additions and a good sized coaster instead.

Wow. They did a great job during the Travel Channel filming. When I was there a few weeks ago, things definitely didn't look anywhere near as good. Great that they drew out the crowds!

^A lot of states won't allow you to kill honey bees anymore. Heck, my state won't allow the killing of hornets! They have to be moved by a professional for some reason. I can understand the honey bee removal, as they seem to be dying off and it's concerning a lot of people.

So Screamscape reported that 2 of the big restaurants will be closed the rest of the summer. I'm wondering how the next few years will go with attraction closures. I'm hoping that both the Busch parks decide how to keep costs down AND keep their rides/attractions open before next year starts.

^ I think that's probably the most likely thing to happen next year and the year after. If they don't touch The Boss, I could see Ninja being replaced by another looping coaster, probably a B&M moved from elsewhere.

Neither is being too tall or too short. I don't get it what the problem is. If you can't fit, you can't fit, whether it's by lifestyle choice or medical/hereditary means.

Great interview. I hope a lot of people out there saw it.

Well, I guess we can expect newly elected to the senate Ed Markey to have a field day. As we know, he loves to exploit these tragedies.

I wouldn't mind seat belts being added. They're on most coasters now anyway. If it helps the operators know if a person has "unusual body proportions" and won't have a safe ride, it's fine by me. They use that system on El Toro (which I know is a completely different manufacturer), with it's white line rule, so they could possibly do it here... If this is indeed the reason for the accident of course.

Nah, it's a common sense precaution just in case. I'd do the same thing! Probably an insurance requirement as well.

I think that's just speculation. If anyone ever falls out of a coaster for any reason, that's always the first response from the media and GP.

Probably just someone who wants to get her face on TV said it. Some people want to make this into the 1955 Le Mans disaster or something.

I too wish to express my condolences to the family and park guests who were there, but most of all to the ride operators, who will be second guessing the dispatch of that train and if they forgot to check something for a long time even if it's not their fault and is rider error. We know next to nothing yet, so I'm not speculating.

Does the ride have seat belts? I know most Six Flags rides do, but I've never been to Over Texas.

^^Oh, believe me. The GP have sworn off coasters now, if you go by twitter. Also, they keep posting pictures from back when the coaster was fully wood. I had to stop reading the tweets, it was so stupid.

I'm wondering what part of the ride it happened at. A news story quoted one witness saying she flew out, the train turned and she was gone. So one of the overbanked turns?

On twitter, this has all of a sudden gone national. News stations all over the country are reporting it.

I just read that the Arlington PD have confirmed a death at the park.

Thanks for posting your pictures. Not as many people do that now as they did back a few years ago. I'm starting to wonder if safety is really why they close down rides in rain at corporate parks these days. Not saying it's not, just wondering. It crosses my mind sometimes that it's just to cut costs.

^ You kidding?! That thing has some insane hangtime! And with only lap bars no less! It's a great coaster. If SFStL does get a eurofighter, I'd want it to be a custom design though, as Dare Devil Dive was for SFOG.

For some reason, in the past 3 years or so, it's been swinging ships mainly that get me really feeling ill. And they don't do so until they turn the drive tires off and just let it swing on it's own, or they start to slow it down. Happens on Frisbees too. Not so much on the giant frisbees, but frequently on things like Fandango at Knoebels or The Claw at Hersheypark. Roller coasters thankfully have yet to make me sick. Starting to wonder if I should start to bring Dramamine with me from now on, as I do love flat rides. Oddly enough, spinning in and of itself do not effect me. Just pendulum swinging.

I found the Blue Streak to be pretty smooth for a wooden coaster when I rode it for the first time on Thursday. And I rode in the front, the back, and the middle.

I was actually very pleasantly surprised by SFStL on my first trip there last year. I thought it was a very well rounded park that only lacked a newer marquee attraction. It still had a classic theme park feel that some other parks built in the golden years of the theme park (60s-mid 1970s) don't have anymore. Out of the trip last year (Holiday World, SFStL, WoF, and SFGAm) it was probably my second favorite after Holiday World. It may not be as big and thrilling as SFGAm or as all-around enjoyable as Holiday World, but it was miles better than Worlds of Fun. It just still has a lot of classic charm like SFoG has, which I love. Besides, the park has some great rides like American Thunder, Xcalibur, Highland Fling, Pandemonium, and Skyscreamer. It's a really good park for families, but maybe not for thrillseekers. I think they've decided that their prime market is families, and that's why they are getting the additions they've gotten in the last few years. For a park that Six Flags has never really seen as one of their top parks, I'd say it's doing well.

^ And the next coaster may be really good! Hey, if it's something more than another boomerang, it should be good for the park.