texcoaster

re: airtime I think that how happy you will be with ride depends on what kind of airtime you like. If you like floaters like the speed hill on Titan, you'll be disappointed. The layout doesn't lend itself to sustained air like that. On the other hand, if you like ejector air, those quick pops into the lapbar, then you should be pretty happy with this ride.

While I can understand their concern about cost to operate vs number of riders on slow days, I would imagine that they would lose a lot more in customer satisfaction when folks drive down there and find that they can ride the train or the observation tower, but not the main attraction. A pissed off customer isn't something that's worth risking by not running the coaster at least SOME part of each day that the amusements are open.

Did anyone notice on the boardwalkbullet.com page the "fun facts" section where they punk the "former Texas Cyclone" by comparing stats? As we all know, stats alone don't make a good ride (cough, cough, Son of Beast, cough)... I'll wait to see how it rides before I rank one over the other.

I have also heard from Guru who talked to someone who rode it that the first drop in the back seat offers "plaster you to the lap bar airtime." Gotta love a construction guy who gets offered a ride and goes for the back of the train rather than somewhere near the front. ALSO, I have news from a direct source that they do not expect the train to have any problems running without a full load. This is GREAT news for slow days, as you'll be able to ride many, many times.

Here's a pic. If the transition from horizontal to vertical were a smooth arc, the lift provided to the riders would be gradual and consistent. However, by placing a flat section in the middle of that arc, GG have orchestrated a very different effect: As the riders travel into the flat section, whatever lift they had will be canceled and they will return to 1G in their seats.. This will be very brief, as the front of the train is pulling them with increasing speed. Coming out of the flat section into the vertical track (not literally vertical, but you get my point), the breakover is more severe, almost like an angle. The transition from horizontal to vertical is happening at a very fast portion of the track AND is much more angled than a smooth arc. This will cause the back car to "teeter-totter" as it goes over. We have all seen a circus, and we all know what happens to the clown standing on the end of the teeter-totter..... WHEEEEEE [edit] DAAAAAAAAAMN, I've always been so enthralled with the track in this picture that I just now noticed that uber-headchopper board right above the drop. I can picture a lot of raised hands getting snatched down quickly when they see that coming!

I had a scare a few days ago, when they were working on track at the top of the first drop. There is a little flat place just before the breakover that looks to be custom-designed to launch the back seat riders to the other side of the park. Luckily, they didn't reprofile that bit!

re: problem spot All evidence I've seen (workers measuring, track being removed, etc) seems to indicate that it's not that wicked zig-zag turn at the bottom of the first drop that is the problem, but the section of track between that part and the upper bay turn. Weird.

Nice work, guys. I wish I had gotten there in time to be with you when you got inside the structure during testing... and I can't WAIT to see Jason's footage come in on Monday night!!!

Very, very nice! It was hard to see them on the viewfinder screen on cam, especially the ones with lots of structure. The full-sized versions look GREAT! Can't wait to see the first drop turn in full-screen video. We should probably give that turn a name, so it's easier to reference when we talk about it. ...and once it opens, I bet we'll be talking about it!

I was lucky enough to hang out with Guru and Coasterphoto this afternoon, but not lucky enough to get there in time for the inside-the-structure photo tour. I got some shots from the station last time, but they weren't testing then. For all of you who are still "iffy" as to whether or not this ride will be worth a trip down to Texas, just wait until one of them uploads pics (or better yet, VIDEO) of the train navigating the hidden track at the bottom of the first drop. It might just be the sickest section of wooden coaster track I've ever seen. When I saw the still picture, I said "OMFG, no way." Then I thought I was maybe seeing TWO sections of the layout, since everything is so piled up in there... Then I saw the video. OMFG AGAIN! For the unaware rider, they are going to think that by the time they hit the bottom of the first drop, the worst is over. But after the drop and the right turn, all hell is going to break loose under all that structure and NOBODY will see it coming. OH, and even though train #2 was running slowly enough to hear individual clicks on a couple of the anti-rollback hills, the wicked-as-all-hell bayside turns were seriously fast. When it breaks in and achieves the speed they're expecting, those turns might just be some of the most intense coaster track on earth.

Here's a Google Earth pic of the Boardwalk with the area that Bullet sits in shaded and marked. The red lines are a rough estimate of the track layout. Yeah, I know it's squiggly. I'm using a thumb-controlled trackball instead of a mouse, cut me some slack!

I'll be there late afternoon. I'm going to help pup install some things on his house that will allow him to easily put up plywood over the windows if a storm comes. So my morning and early afternoon will be spent hauling wood up and down ladders and such... after all I put him through today, it's the least I could do for him!

Boardwalk Bullet will be $4.75 per ride, or you can get an all-day wristband for $18.99 Until the Bullet opens, wristbands are just $16. The wristband doesn't include the Stingray feeding tank (god, those things are slimy) and the Boardwalk Beast speedboat. The feeding tank is around $5 including a couple of minnows to feed to the 'rays, and the Beast is $12 for about a 20min trip out into the bay and back. The Beast is fun, but they have these young college girls at the front of the boat doing choreographed dances to music (Born to be Wild, Macarena, I Can't Drive 55, etc) that really serve no purpose other than to be eye candy. I found it to be a little bit distracting and a lot sexist.

From the conversations I heard around the construction site when the initial test speeds came in, EVERYBODY expects it to break 51mph. It was already doing 49mph after just 8 runs.

I don't know that they would run it in the rain... would be fun, though.

Guru, hopefully next time we ride the Boardwalk Beast, there will be some tasty waves to launch over. At least the seas were calm enough that I didn't drop my camera in the water... If you're able to photoshop the haze out of the pics I took, send me a copy. We should've gone out there yesterday with the blue skies!

Some pics from today. Err, yesterday. 2am and too excited to sleep! Odd little flat spot on the first drop breakover. Purpose: ejector air for the back seat riders! This hill taken at nearly 40mph. There will be airtime. View from a table inside Saltgrass Steakhouse. entrance to the under-station fly-by under-the-station fly-by. This shot taken from the front seat queue inside the station I want this house!

I just slapped together some video... poor vid quality resulting from using a still cam in movie mode. Going to take my vid cam tomorrow! http://coasterguy.squarespace.com/storage/kemah/bullettest81307.mov

I was told that the side wheels were rubbing in some spots around the bay turn. When I arrived today, they were sawing and sanding like crazy all around that turn. When they ran the test a bit later, the car cleared the problem hill with speed to spare. By the last run, it was clearing it easily and the end of the run was hauling butt.

I was there for all 8 test runs today. According to the speed gun at the bottom of the first drop, it gained 10mph from the first run to the 8th. It is only 2mph from the target speed of 51mph. The crew said that if it's already going 44mph after just three runs, it should go faster than 51 by the time it opens. (ahem) YEEEEE-HAAAA!!! As for the guy who was worried that it would be trimmed to death after a few months... I don't think they CAN. The layout pretty much prevents it. There is a big drop at the front, then some INSANE track, then a tall hill. If they trim it, it won't make that hill. Then it drops off that hill and there is more insanity, then near the end is another tallish hill. There are anti-rollbacks on that one as well. If they trim the insanity, it won't make THAT hill, either. So there ya go. The only way this thing can be made less intense is to redesign it in a LOT of places. Ain't gonna happen.

I read in a local paper that tickets for the Bullet will be less than $5/ride. They currently sell an all-day armband for the other rides for $16. Even if they bump that up to $20 when Bullet opens, it will be well worth it... I would certainly spend more than that on individual rides!

I'm also game for a steelie contest when this one is done. Using the Mitch Hawker steelie poll might be a bit problematic, since he does that grouping of ALL coasters of a type as one ("Your favorite Batman clone"). I've always hated that about that poll, since I have decided preferences as to which Bat I like better than others. I suppose you could just leave it as it is and put "Batman clone" or something on the bracket... as long as everyone knew what it was.

I just discovered this thread. What a blast! I was able to vote on a lot more matchups than I thought I would, esp in the international ballot. Reorganizing them by area was a GREAT idea. Can't wait to see where this goes.

I've been on TOT and Oblivion. They are similar in track layout ONLY. The ride is not the same at all. Some still pics and a description of the ride action can be found here: http://coasterguy.squarespace.com/tower-of-terror/

Found a better POV video on YouTube: There are a few profanities toward the end, just in case you're watching at work or school with the sound up.