Three

Even if it weren't so damned rough, the layout is retarded. Half the track is devoted to this stupid-ass, boring helix that just goes around in a circle for like a minute. The only cool part about that coaster is the tunnel. And even that isn't nearly as cool as other tunnels (read as: Hades'). Oh, and the whole thing looks like it's about to collapse. I'm used to watching wooden coaster track lean a bit as a train passes over it, but Jesus Christ! Good thing Texas Giant reminded me how awesome a woodie can be after SFFT's crap offering.

Ugh. I wish I could forget Rattler. What a waste of trees.

Did they finally get around to closing Poltergeist? It was open when I was there mid-June.

I would go to SFMM simply because there is a small to medium-sized chance that the park will no longer exist in the near future. Wish I could go again this year.

I walked off SFOG's Deja Vu with a limp. Smashed my ankle on one of the damned vertical descents. It was my second most painful ride that day.

SFOT's is okay, but yeah. SFOG's is awesome. Except for that whole downhill/uphill walk into the damn area. My poor Floridian-tuned legs cannot handle such elevation change. It was a cool area, but the walk kept me from returning once leaving

It's not the handlebars that are black. There's a black mesh grip over the yellow restraints just above the handlebars. The part that sits on your shoulders.

Just got back from the Texas Six Flags parks for the first time. And two questions jumped out at me upon seeing SKC at Fiesta Texas: 1) What's with the black grips they have on the restraints on this ride? I've been on thirteen B&Ms, and I've never seen these on any other ride. Do they serve any purpose other than to deface the work of art that is the B&M floorless train? 2) Where the hell did Superman go? I've seen plenty of pictures on the internet showing the man of steel standing atop the massive vertical loop. The other day, I saw the two flat platforms where he stood before, but no Superman. Where'd he go? I'm going to assume he's not that plasticky guy standing in the gift shop at the moment.

Between Kraken and the Krypton Coaster, I pick Kraken. But really, the two are both incredibly fantastic. In my observation, only the really jaded coaster enthusiasts complain about floorless coasters being gimmicky. These are the people who focus more on intensity than anything else, generally having lost that sense of awe that went along with a fans first few phenomenal rides. Front row on a floorless really doesn't compare to anything else out there. Is the track layout pretty much interchangeable with a standard looper? Sure. But that feeling of openness is unmatched. Inverted coasters started this trend, but ultimately they end up being more confining if you're not in the front row, as your head is up by the wheels and track -- sure, your feet dangle free, but that's not where your eyes are. I forget where I was going with that. So in conclusion, Kraken wins. Barely.

I say Texas Giant. Having just gotten back from the two remaining Six Flags parks in Texas, I'm amazed more people don't talk about that beast. Sure, it's been overshadowed. But it still kicks ass.

This weekend I'm hitting two Six Flags parks. On Friday, we're going to Fiesta Texas, and I don't anticipate needing any queue help at a park with six roller coasters on a Friday. However, Saturday we're going to Six Flags Over Texas. It wasn't my first choice to hit such a big park on a Saturday in the middle of summer, but it ended up being the more economical choice. Anywho, what sort of system is in place at SFOT? And how exactly does it work? I've seen the words "Q-Bot" and "Flash Pass" tossed around here and there, but I have no idea exactly what I need to do to acquire such methods. And the Six Flags site really sucks ass at shedding any light on the situation. Main questions: 1) What will I have to pay? 2) When will I have to pay it? 3) Where will I have to pay it? 4) What rides would this be good for? 5) Do you think I need to be looking into this at all (are my worries about how busy the park will be accurate?) 6) Are their limited quantities I should be concerned about? Would this require me to wait in line before opening? Thanks for any light you can shed on my cluelessness.

Don't throw a potential coaster enthusiast on Python under any circumstances. Encouraging coaster love with crappy coasters is a bad thing. I would say Scorpion and Revenge of the Mummy are good choices. Probably give the nod to the former. If he likes Scorpion, then he could perhaps be encouraged to try some of the beemers there if he's tall enough.

If you're looking for shere theme park density, the only two options are Southern California and Florida. SoCal is gonna have more coasters pound for pound, if that's what you're looking for. Quality-wise, you can't beat Central Florida though. But really, I can't imagine you not having fun with either. Do your own thing. Decide for yourself -- research all the parks you'd potentially be hitting and decide which look most appealing to you. And really, I doubt you'd have many regrets either way. Do what looks good to you, man.

I thought it was rather lame. Both as a water ride and as a coaster. I mean, I've never gotten on one of the boats without being up to my ankles in water. Plus, if you're sitting in the back, the primary means of getting wet is dripping water from the ceiling during the first portion before the drop. Dripping water. That's like the cheapest, lamest way to get wet on a ride ever. And then after the drop, after the forward momentum is slowed, you're now up to your calfs in water. So if you sit in the back, you exit the ride with wet pants legs and shoes, and wet hair. And that's it. Plus, the theming is pretty lame compared to other stuff in central Florida. It's just a weak ride. In my opinion, Anheiser Busch shouldn't really bother trying to compete with Disney/Universal theming-wise. Their attempts are always really half-assed (at least in the Florida parks -- Williamsburg is a very notable exception). What Busch does best is light theming with high thrills. Like Montu and SheiKra. Cool archetecture, great settings for coasters. But nothing so elaborate as Journey to Atlantis, Wild Arctic, Akbar... these Disney-style rides just come up short because they're so close geographically to much, much better themed stuff.

Two things: (1) Just watched the onride video simultaneously with the concept video. The actual onride was moving faster. (2) Also just rewatched the Balder video. Somehow, nothing I've watched since has been able to top this footage. Got too much on my plate this year already. But next year, I'm headin' over to HW for sure. Damn the financial consequences.

So it's basically Intamin's water coaster? That's not nearly as thrilling as I was expecting. Water coasters don't really do much for me.

Actually, I found a solution fiddling around with 8 cars that gets me all I want. Thanks guys. I'll be posting my park in these parts once I have a bit more progress on it.

I understand 8 cars. I was hoping for another solution which would let me keep the park boundaries.

Custom scenario. In the scenario editor I select the areas I want rights to (and they turn blue seemingly indicate that I have them). Then I save the scenario, load it to play it, and the rights are gone. What's with the picture above? Is there a trick?

I am not allowed to build over paths outside of the park? This is for a custom park I'm working on. I keep editing the scenario, allowing construction rights over all the applicable areas, and when I save it and try to build, the construction rights are gone. Is there a hack to fix this? Or am I just extremely inept and doing something wrong in the first place?

Silly 13 year olds. Budweiser sucks.

I don't really see how an overbank would be much more difficult than a 90 degree bank like on Voyage or Hades.

And that means it HAS to be a steel loop? The track is wood, plain and simple, just cause there are the hybrid woodies out there (Silver Comet, Twisted Twins, Voyage, etc.) that use steel for structural support, just means that it'll be "stronger" persay and somewhat cheaper than bulking up on wood. I'm sure the loop could of been wood, but that would be a maintenance nightmare, not to metion the cost of the engineering to make it possible. It seems I must totally explain what I mean, as nobody seems to know what I'm talking about. Regardless of material used, in my thinking there are two entirely different methods when it comes to making a steel coaster versus a wooden coaster. Sure, there are hybrid woodies with steel structure. But they are still built like traditional wooden coasters. It's not just wooden track on a steel spine -- the entire structure is built with beams of steel and such and it essentiall looks like a wooden coaster built out of steel. And if you didn't have your glasses on and it was dark out, you probably couldn't tell any difference at all. The loop on SoB is different. It doesn't use wooden building techniques. It basically looks like they took a regular old steel loop and threw wood tracks on it. It's not at all built the same way as Hades, Cheatah, etc. I mean, in theory you could take Kumba, rip off the existing tracks and throw wooden tracks on the existing spine and call it a wooden coaster. But that's cheating to say the least. It wouldn't be built like a woodie, it'd be built like Kumba with wood thrown on it. Anyway, the point is, could you take wooden coaster building methods and do an overbanked turn? Or maybe a heartline roll? I don't care if you use steel beams or wood beams. But just throwing wooden tracks on a loop that could just as easily go on a steal coaster doesn't really count if you ask me. Does that make any sense?

Everytime I see pictures of SoB's loop, it looks like all steel to me. I guess I'd have to look at it in person. But regardless, it's built like a steel loop. It's got a steel spine. I don't see why that's true. As long as the train is experiencing some sort of positive G forces, it will be pushing out on the track, not pulling it down. Hmm... thinking on it, you're probably right. I have a hard time picturing these things though.

Yeah, but that's a steel loop. I'm more interested in what's possible with wooden track. Oh, and keep in mind. This thread is about "could" not "should". I'm not sure whether a wooden coaster should do heartline rolls. I just wanna know if it could. But, in theory, overbanked turns could be pretty sweet on a woodie.