TxChoice

^ Yeah The article is poorly worded right there. But that's what I got from it too. I wonder where this new plot of land is exactly.

Oh, so they haven't closed the real estate deal on the new land site, but still are aiming for a water park opening in 2015? Not holding my breath...

I would assume they randomly pull a sample of emails from their subscriber list to send them to, but who knows how many are actually in that sample.

Got an email survey involving questions about the accident at SFOT and what people know about it. The survey also asked about impact on going to the park since the accident, and there was a little bit about new rides too. But nothing really with new information. Just basic questions. It's good that they're trying to get this out there and gauge how the GP feels about all this right now.

And the soundtrack is on iTunes!

^^ Yes, that's the thing. People die in amusement parks every once in a blue moon. Lots of people die in car accidents Daily and no one says they are "never going to drive a car again." As they say, you're more likely to die on your way to the amusement park than you are while at the amusement park. NTAG's seats/restraints really are well designed. The lap bar is large yet comfortable and has a place to hold if you'd like. The seats are divided and also comfortable as well as roomy enough for a larger person, but Not a very large person. Which is what this lady appears to have been, a too large person and/or oddly shaped. Just look at the picture if you've never seen them. The one fault of the NTAG lap bars imo is that they can require a little strength to push down, but they pull smoothly. I really don't hope for seatbelts to be added, but I think they probably will for redundancy. Going back to my waterpark background and saying there may need to be put weight limits in place on some rides in the near future. But I know shape can be a factor as well though... So it's a bit tricky there.

Many of us are speculating she was large, which I agree makes sense. But let's say she was not, instead she's average height and build. Ride op error? Always seems like they staple the seats on that ride when I'm there... Also, how about the random issues they've been having with the sensors over the past months? I've been at the park several times when NTAG has been closed for an hour or two because of sensor problems. I'm interested to know which train it was, has that been reported?

Taking the media with a grain if salt, but if she was overweight or large and did not feel her restraint was tight enough, that could have been a factor in the cause. Just speculating here... I understand many enthusiasts are not the skinniest people. But I'm really surprised that coasters are rides that do not have rider size/weight limits for safety. Especially with the design of seats on trains not being forgiving. At the waterpark where I lifeguard/ride op thts the first thing I look for when a rider is about to load. I know it's different, but if that's one the the factors that caused this, it will be interesting to see what happens as far as safety restrictions are concerned. Condolences to the family as this hits right here at home. I attend SFoT regularly and NTAG is one of my favorite rides there.

I'd say temps should be around 60-70's tomorrow. It's 90 with a breeze today, but with storms coming in its gonna e a little cooler tomorrow. And yeah, shouldn't be too crowded. It's Wednesday and most of the schools are still in intil the end of the month. As a side note, anybody know if NTAG is still running the continuous loading? And are they assigning seats or giving the options?

This is great! HLSR really needs this land. Will it be used for expanded fair rides area, probably not. But the parking in that area around Reliant/Astrodome is Horrendous for people with livestock trailers. I always dread the parking of my trailer there every year because the lots they send us to take our trailers to are usually a long ways away, and we're already in a not so great part of town. Having a lot here across the street is very needed since so much of the other usual parking areas are used for fair rides and other parts of the stock show experience.

Sent my info for the SFoT shoot! Hope I get picked!

Both these coasters badly need a paint job. La Vibora hasn't been done since I can't remember when, and after the sections they replaced on Shockwave the paint has been very telling of where. Not to mention both are prominent impressions on the GP. Shockwave being right off the highway and La Vibora right at the entrance.

Park may or may not be crowded on Monday (most likely not). I know some schools have started, but most haven't. I don't expect it to be too bad though. NTAG and La Vibora always have the longest lines. I recommend hitting La Vibora as early as possible, because as was said it Does keep a LONG line all day. Surprisingly Batman was a bit longer when I was there a couple weeks ago as well, almost an hour I think, but I believe they had been having maintenance issues that day. Both Batman and Mr. Freeze are usually more like 25-30mins on a weekday, at most 45mins I would think. Flashback, Judge Roy, Mini and Big Mine trains are always walk-on's (so glad they quit "double ride" Monday's for those four, made the lines for those Long, most people get two rides on them any day anyway without the hassle...) The best time I think to ride NTAG is later in the day when it gets darker, the line is usually shorter by then and it makes the three tunnels 10x darker and the lights in the "honky tonk" tunnel more impressive. Also Please don't forget water!! I noticed most, if not all, of the food vendors had cups of it iced for people to get for free. There's also several little air-conditioned ice cream shops that, when not crowded, will let you take a little sit down break inside. Also, to the person asking about kids rides: The Yosemite Sam boat ride hasn't been mentioned and it is fun, good for little kids, but still enjoyable for adults (plus indoors to get out of the HEAT)!

Here's an article about the whale that went back to SeaWorld. Looks like the park had to pay SeaWorld $255,000 and transport the whale back to SeaWorld after a court ruling: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1061114--send-killer-whale-back-to-florida-court-tells-marineland

A person in line for NTAG today watching a preview featuring SFMM,"Everything at all the Six Flags parks is the same!" Oh yeah, SFOT is definitely the same as SFMM... And you can totally compare them to SFStL!

Got my last ride on Flashback today. And I am Glad it's leaving. Going into that first inversion is super rough! And when the lift chain catches before you go back down is a major jerk too. Plus those horrible OTSR's... If they put new trains on it, I might consider riding it at it's new home, but chances are pretty low.

Sad to see Chute Out go. But a Star Flyer in it's place would be fine by me and a needed improvement! Flashback however I'm GLAD to see go. The OTSR's are overly restraining and nothing about that ride is fun. People who like inversions have at it, but they're just not exciting on this ride. I can't wait to see what they add to this area though. The strip center/bumpercars building is a decent amount of space to use!

So, those of you asking about NTG wait. On weekends/Friday afternoons it can get up to 2hours wait at peak times. Weekdays, like was said is about 45mins give or take. As far as best seat, definitely the back for the airtime. And usually Nobody wants to sit there! And also since there's a lot of unfilled seats on each train, pay attention to who's in line at the station because it's very easy to fill one of those empty seats. La Vibora was a nice idea to move out, but you would not believe the crowds and hour plus waits it still gets. Flashback will most likely be the one I think. The public hates it and says it is very jerky and annoying, and it for that reason seldom has a lime. To the person going on friday, space your day out. It gets Hot an you will wants Lots of water. Wait times will be the longest for La Vibora, Mr Freeze, and NTG. Batman and Titan will have lines too, but not as bad as the other three. Shockwave will get pretty crowded if at any point in they day they close rides due to wind. Everything is pretty spread out, so the actual park shouldn't be too crowded, but it just depends. Stay 'til close at ten if you can. Most people leave at around 6-7 unless they are going to stay for the I-luminate show.

I think lap bars would be fine for the backwards launch, but would they be any issue with now looking down the spike instead of upwards? I guess though if the rumor mill has it that there's not going to be a change on the restraints then they may be okay.

It's likely that they are just trying to make a bit of money leasing use of the space for small events like that one. If they are going to sit on it they might as well try and get a lite bit of income from it.

I'm Kelsey from Texas! SFOT is my home park. I don't know how many coasters I've ridden, but not many since I don't get out of state much. Other than following coasters I spend my time in model horse forums. I've lurked here awhile, but never really felt like posting much until now.

They mentioned something in the report that they are removing the train involved in the "incident" today. It looks like it was the blue train from the photo they showed of the scene.