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Kemah Boardwalk PTR


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Yeah, Hi.

Welcome to Kemah Boardwalk.

Located on Galveston Bay where you can dine on seafood and steak, then enjoy family amusements, owned and operated by Landry’s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sitting right on Galveston Bay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A number of resturaunts to choose from.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Live music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lodging and shopping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course The Boardwalk that runs an extensive length along the backside of the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I always hate it when someone with a similar car parks next to me. Yes, This is like the fourth time this has happened to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are some family oriented amusement rides.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then of course there is Boardwalk Bullet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While taking photos there were people slowly streaming in. It was apparent they were only coming to ride BB for the first time, then after a ride or two or three, they would head back to their car and leave. I over heard quite a few comments from those leaving that the ride hurt.

 

As far as my experience, it was rough, but it did not hurt me. It was at the threshold of crossing the line to pain, which interfered with the fun factor. Now what I am going to say is just the way it is. You can watch the ride cycle and see the movement of the train and riders and know what kind of ride you are going to get. I only ever sat in the 1st or last car on all my rides. I mean why ever bother with the middle of any train on any coaster.

 

So the reason it is (almost painful) is the train shuffles real bad in many spots. Not just shuffle, but bangs back and fourth. You can clearly see and feel it. Then there are spots where the train bounces or Jack hammers.

In the evening it was running quite a bit faster and with that came some discomfort so I rode it 3 more times and called it a day.

 

Of course different people have different levels of tolerance. Last summer I did not think The Voyage was rough. It did not hurt me and I was just amazed at the end of each ride.

As many say, it is very aggressive. Maybe that’s how BB should be classified right now, aggressive.

 

The way BB rides now, leads me to believe it most likely won’t age well and you should ride it as soon as possible.

 

Most comments I got from people where the back was the best and out of control.

When I rode in the back I got three, maybe four, spots where I got airtime and my lap hit the restraints. Sitting in the front I got at least six.

For the most air I suggest the front.

 

There are three big drops. Generally, a drop down into a high speed high banked turn, then back up to a setup for another. This seems to be what we are now referring to as the first half. After that, the rest of the ride is more like a slalom, which in the front gives you some airtime but the back is just ho hum.

 

It is interesting what they did with the tiny amount of space this thing is on. You won’t see many varied photos since you just can’t access the ride for photos.

 

My take is it is an ok ride. Its roughness or aggressiveness does take away from the fun factor it should have. The coaster is too small to be “thrilling”. Younger less experienced riders will find it fun and thrilling though.

 

Should you fly over to ride it? Probably not. Drive a few hours or a day to ride it? Sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a shot I have not seen yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the rest are pics we will see over and over and over!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Some are gonna love it, Some are gonna hate it.

It is just going to be one of those coasters.

 

From what I was hearing, I made sure I rode it brand new instead of waiting till next summer.

 

I certainly didn't hate it. Just wish it was not so "aggressive" .

Because of that, I won't ever plan to head that way to ride it. Now if i have to go to Houston or San Antonio there might be a chance I might stop by to give it a few spins.

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Some are gonna love it, Some are gonna hate it.

It is just going to be one of those coasters.

 

From what I was hearing, I made sure I rode it brand new instead of waiting till next summer.

 

I certainly didn't hate it. Just wish it was not so "aggressive" .

Because of that, I won't ever plan to head that way to ride it. Now if i have to go to Houston or San Antonio there might be a chance I might stop by to give it a few spins.

It has actually gotten smoother since it opened, It's not that bad for me anymore. It's certainly not Texas Giant, You can ride that once and never again...That's ROUGH i've been on this thing 20 times in a row, with minimal pain(and i'm skinny.)
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Id have to disagree with the 'rough' assessment. Rattler last year was rough. Boardwalk Bullet is certainly aggressive - its a giant twisting maze of a wooden coaster - but I wouldnt call it overly rough or even approaching painful. If you rode a woodie or two, you know what to expect. I find it funny that its described as "aggressive" yet "too small to be thrilling."

 

To be frank, I rode it quite a few times and enjoyed it. I generally have a low pain tolerance (as does my fiance), but we had fun with this one. And I didnt hear a single complaint or negative remark any of the days we visited - from anyone. In fact I know people who rode it 10, 20, even 40 times the first week with minimal discomfort.

 

To make predictions on how BB will age is absurd at this point.

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I certainly didn't hate it. Just wish it was not so "aggressive" .

Because of that, I won't ever plan to head that way to ride it. Now if i have to go to Houston or San Antonio there might be a chance I might stop by to give it a few spins.

 

One thing I have noticed is how widely varied the experiences in each seat can be. The only two seats that have retained their reputation since day one are the front and back rows. The first row is smooth, I don't imagine anyone having problems re riding up there, the back is rough and wild, a lot of people will prefer this seat despite its aggressiveness due to the first drop experience payoff.

 

The middle of the train used to be tame but now it seems to the the most aggressive with the least payoff, I avoid seat 4R and 6R like the plague. The right side of the train is rougher than the left side of the train. If you want the tamest ride sit in 1L.

 

My favorite seat is now 2R, although 2L is quite fun too. Its drastically different from the front row, provides a bit more aggressive ride but still smooth enough and has a lot more quick ejections.

 

Who knows if this will change next week! I remember when we used to like seats 5R and 10L, now they are nothing special.

 

-GG

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To make predictions on how BB will age is absurd at this point.

 

Agreed. With over 126 rides on it throughout its first weeks, aside from the middle trains, the ride has become less aggressive IMO. That doesn't mean much at the moment.

 

There are those here worrying that it may not be maintained well. I have no doubt that Kemah will ever let this coaster degrade to the point of the Texas Giant or the like. Their target audience is families with younger children, they will keep it easily ridable for both.

 

-GG

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I got 32 rides in about 3 hours last night. While I can say that it is by no means a smooth ride (my sore neck and shoulder muscles will attest to that!), it's not brutal like TxGiant or even Voyage. Yes, there is some shimmy and shuffle on a few spots, but most of the roughness comes from taking zig-zag turns with bunny hops in the middle at high speeds. There's just no way for any train to navigate that layout at those speeds without tossing the riders around.

 

Will it get rougher? Probably. The middle of the train is getting pretty intense, especially on the even rows. On opening weekend, my favorite seats were in the middle (5R and 10L). Last night, 5R was brutal. I found 10R to be my favorite, although it was brutal as well.

 

Oddly enough, however, the front and back car were both running much smoother than they ever have before. This is exactly opposite of opening weekend.

 

I think that as the coaster ages, the park will do what it must in order to make it a good riding experience. Let's face it: this is not a major theme park where folks buy a single ticket and ride a ton of rides... where if the wood coaster is unridable due to roughness, there are lots of other rides and coasters you can do... No, this is a VERY small park, and nearly every other ride here is geared for kids. They will make their bread and butter on folks buying a single ride ticket for the coaster, then loving it so much that they run around and buy another one (or two, or three).

 

That's exactly what I saw happening last night, when the coaster was running amazingly well. Folks would tell me that it was their first time on the coaster and that they were just "going to ride once before we eat."

Some of those folks came back for multiple rides, and some even came back after dinner with an all-day wristband! If the park wants to continue to sell tickets like that, the ride will HAVE to be in a condition that makes people want to ride it again and again.

 

I think they know this, and I think that they will keep it in good shape. They're already doing the unthinkable -- closing the ride for an hour or so to put graphite on the tracks when they see that it's running sluggishly. Can you imagine a major themer CLOSING a coaster for an hour because it wasn't going fast enough for them? It seems that the Boardwalk wants their customers to LOVE their new coaster.

 

After 129 rides, I can say that they're doing a good job. Every time I ride it, I like it more than before.

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