narkitty

Sorry for the delayed reply! I think that list is accurate. I rarely ride Pandemonium, so I don't remember for sure if it was open or not. The other three are accurate, though. I've been to Sea World in December only a couple of times, and not in the past 5 years. When I went the last time (maybe 2004) they had both coasters open. If you want to go for reasons other than just roller coasters (the shows, animals, etc) I'd say to go for it. Steel Eel is a fun coaster, but Great White is just another B:TR clone. I wouldn't plan a trip there solely for the rides.

Went to the park today for a little while before closing and managed to get a couple of pictures from the La Cantera parking lot. Not sure if there are any noticeable changes or not.

If I remember correctly, Superman, Rattler, Boomerang and Pandemonium were closed last year. Goliath was open for sure, and so was Road Runner Express, but I can't remember if Poltergeist was open or not. Basically, the only things worth seeing/doing at Holiday in the Park for SFFT are the shows. I'm hoping that they'll have more coasters open this year.

I actually really like the ramps in the Rattler queue. I do agree about the switchbacks at the top being way too crowded and claustrophobic, though. Even though the ramps are narrow, I've always taken it as a "if you're too fat to get up to the station, you're too fat to ride" type of thing. The trains on Rattler weren't very roomy, especially with the divider in the middle of the seats. Still, I was always amazed at people who would have to walk SIDEWAYS all the way up the ramps, and then get upset/offended when they couldn't fit into the seats. I'd really hate to see them do too much renovating to the queue just because I think it's a neat design. I love the way that they have the on-ride photo uh....room? set up.

Yep, that list looks pretty accurate to me! New Texas Giant and Titan will definitely be open, and unless it happens to rain a lot, all of the other coasters should be open as well. If it rains enough to flood the creek, then Runaway Mine Train and Shockwave could potentially be closed, but chances of that in December are pretty slim.

I've been to Holiday in the Park for the past few years and really enjoyed myself. Temperatures get cold-ish, but nothing unbearable. It rarely gets below freezing. Expect for it to be in the 40s or 50s most days. Usually the Gotham City section is the only one closed, so you won't be able to ride Mr. Freeze or Batman. Lines are short, typically. If you go on a weekend, it will be busier, but I've never had to wait more than 20 minutes for anything during HitP.

Oh, I know it's just their opinion. I take what they say with a grain of salt (I mean, really, look at some of their other choices. Ugh), but it would still be nice to see FT get the GTA for best shows again, since they won consistently for so many years in a row.

Anyone else a little disappointed with the Golden Ticket award results for this year? I was really hoping that FT would pull through and beat Dollywood for best shows. I thought that they did a fantastic job with the new version of Rockin' at Rockville High this year, and Ovation was pretty good too. I know that most of the focus here is on roller coasters, but I can't be the only one who loves going to FT for the shows. I just wish that they would bring back the Long Star Spectacular. I absolutely despise Lone Star Nights with a passion.

Really enjoying the TR so far! Can't wait to see the rest of your pictures.

Can't believe that nobody has mentioned House of Torment in Austin, Texas. They have new themes for their houses every year, and the sets/costumes are incredible. It was in the top 10 for a few years, but I'm not sure if it still is. Definitely a great haunt to check out.

I hadn't even thought about this until now, but good point. I've honestly always loved RRE, but some more head choppers would be an awesome addition.

I took a few pictures last week right after I heard the announcement. Nothing really noteworthy, but I figured that someone might be interested in seeing them. The first drop has a bunch of orange spray paint in different spots. I'm assuming it's where they're going to be removing certain sections to reprofile the drop. I wasn't able to get a good picture of it, but I'm going back to the park on Sunday. Hopefully I can get some then. missing helix random attempt at being artsy-fartsy. the lighting did not cooperate.

^^ That would be hilarious. I'm pretty sure 75% of the GP still thinks that NTAG is a wooden coaster, despite the fact that the track looks nothing like a typical wooden track. Pretty sure that even if they painted the NRAT tracks flourescent pink, the GP would still be talking about how it was an awesome "wooden" coaster.

^^ I think that brown would look awesome. That or a rusty color, imo.

What are some potentially crazy ideas/hopes you guys have for this coaster? My husband and I came up with the idea of having mist in the tunnel, no lights, and having some sort of speakers to play the sound of tons of rattlers. I think it would be awesome, lol. I'd also love to see an inversion, but who wouldn't?

I'm not sure since I couldn't get close enough. From where I was, it just looked like the track was gone.

One more vote for New Texas Giant.

Stopped by the park today for an hour or so. I couldn't get a very good picture of the helix, but only about 1/3 of it is left. The bottom "level" seems to be completely gone, and they had a crane there today taking apart the top sections. Sorry about the poor quality. I had to zoom in a lot to get the shot. you can't see the crane in this picture, but it was behind the tree to the right.

I think that Rattler at SFFT has/had a really unusual layout. The helix always stuck out as particularly weird to me.

I went to the La Cantera parking lot to try an get some pictures of the missing helix section, but someone was parked in the photo-taking sweet spot. Was it one of you? I'm so excited for this renovation, it's stupid.

My husband actually pointed it out to me while we were riding. He started yelling, "LOOK! LOOK!" and pointing. It looked kind of like this, from what I could tell.

Went to the park yesterday evening and took a ride on the Rattler. In the helix, I saw what looked to be surveying equipment along with a couple of piles of wood. It's getting close!

^ Yes, and the "twisty parts".

^ LOL. I think Skyscreamer opened in May this year, right? Hopefully we'll see the coaster finished before the park gets too busy later in the season. For the past few years, I could go to SFFT on any weekday and have 85% of the rides be a walk on. I've noticed that the park has been a lot busier this year. I've seen 30-45 minute wait times on Rattler in the middle of the week. Seeing as I'm selfish and want NRAT all to myself, I hope that I get a chance to ride it before the lines are too bad. Also, sorry to go off-topic, but are you the same ArizonaGuy that posts on SFFTnet?

Haha, sounds like a plan. I only live about 5 minutes away, myself, so I plan on doing my fair share of construction-creeping as well.