GuruGuys Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Landry's and Babin's, the two restaurants closest to the Boardwalk Bullet, reopened yesterday for business. They have test ran the Boardwalk Bullet and, as expected, work needs to be done. It will still be awhile before it reopens. The remainder of the rides are all still down and will be for awhile. I've heard that for the most part all of the same rides will be back. -GK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texcoaster Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Took a trip down to Kemah yesterday and have a few observations from things that I saw, plus some info from the park management. [1] HOLY CRAP, they've done a LOT of cleanup work down there! The places that are open look great, new landscaping has been done, everything looks good. [2] Two restaurants are open. The others are going to need a lot more work, based on what I could see past the fences they've put up. The Boardwalk got hit pretty hard. The Starbucks next to the Bullet is just a shell... but they are working on it. [3] Bullet had a test run a few days ago. I can't believe that the lift motor and stuff still works after being submerged in salt water for nearly two days! [4] Bullet will be shut down for awhile. Gravity Group is scheduled to come down and look at it. PBS&J was onsite doing engineering surveys to make sure that the structure was sound and that everything is where it needs to be. Park mgt had scheduled off-season maintenance and trackwork anyway, so this shutdown actually timed out fairly well. [5] The Aviator was being reassembled while I was there. Seems to be OK. The observation tower and Inverter took some damage, but should be repairable. The rest of the rides are pretty much toast. [6] The ride package will remain the same as before for the time being. Swapping out rides would require new foundations and the park is trying to get back up and running as soon as possible. The quickest way to do that is to get replacement rides that match the ones that were destroyed. [7] Judging from the debris placement and water lines on the structures, they estimate that the Boardwalk was submerged in approx 17ft of salt water. [8] Signs placed around the construction area promise a new, improved Boardwalk. [9] Signs near the Bullet promise new midway games coming soon. [10] The margarita stand at the Bullet's entrance (how many parks have that???) is missing. I'm guessing it washed out to sea. If any of you fishermen happen to reel it in, please call Boardwalk management. Putting the Aviator back together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorddoonga Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 They said they projecting to be up and running (the rides including Bullet) by spring break 2009. I've got company and wanted to know if the boardwalk was "accessible" for showing them around?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillgeek Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 ^I sure hope so! I wouldn't want to miss this during the Texas Trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texcoaster Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Bullet is OPEN as of tonight. (Fri, Nov 14, 2008) Kemah is really trying to recover as quickly as possible. Most of the restaurants are open now and getting the Bullet open tonight was fun to watch. When I arrived around 5pm, the ticket booth was being painted inside and all the computer equipment was outside on the sidewalk. As soon as the painters finished, folks were toting in the computers and getting them booted to sell tickets, all the while Bullet is cycling with test dummies. Actual human beings were in the seats by 6pm. It's running a bit rough, but no rougher than it did before the storm. For an empty train, the 68 second cycle time is pretty good. With a full train, it should be 64 or better. Fresh grease all around the track and a newly refurbished train make for a speedy ride. It was good to hear the sounds of a coaster again. FYI: none of the other rides are up yet. The rest of the ride area, except for the aviator and the observation tower and the train, is cleaned off. The support pole for the Inverter is still there, but not sure if it's slated for removal or repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterdude5 Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Good to hear its back open and that progress is being made on the rest of the boardwalk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuruGuys Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Riding The Bullet at the end of the night tonight when the cold front was starting to push through was a blast! I'm glad it is open and they will start to recover some lost revenue, but I hope (and am pretty sure) that they still have plans to do more work to get it running better. As it is now it is running pretty much the same as it did before the Hurricane when he had the 1st Birthday Bash. The front seats are a blast, the back row is 'rough but worth it', and I avoid the middle of the train most of the time, especially on wheel rows, but nothing near as violent as my Rattler rides last month. One of the mods needs to change the topic of this thread. I expect Kemah Boardwalk to be up and 100% by Spring Break with all their rides, and possibly new ones, operational. -GG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillgeek Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 ^Great to hear! I can't wait Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastercrazy216 Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 I must say that I am sad that it is not running very smoothly still, but other than that, this is great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRapidsNerd Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Bullet is OPEN as of tonight. (Fri, Nov 14, 2008) Kemah is really trying to recover as quickly as possible. Most of the restaurants are open now and getting the Bullet open tonight was fun to watch. That great news! Glad to hear Kemah getting back on it's feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuruGuys Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 I must say that I am sad that it is not running very smoothly still, but other than that, this is great! When was the last time you rode? If you haven't ridden since the TPR meet, it is leaps and bounds better, no more parts that actually hurt (the first drop in particular which was brutal back then), and the 'kidney slam' turn towards the end is fixed. While it is still not where it needs to be, it has become better with each set of changes they have made. There were several riders who rode at the 1 year birthday bash who had not ridden since TPR and they all walked away with better reactions, including Rastuso, who if I recall correctly said he was pleasantly surprised and stated "This is not rough, if you want rough go ride The Giant". He was one of the biggest (local) critics of the Coaster from back then. Ride in the front row, its fun. If you don't like it rough, avoid the other seats. Hopefully when TPR comes back for the Texas trip it will be even better, there is still more work which will be done on it. -GG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedarpointfangirl Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 I'm glad to hear it's back open. Hopefully Winterfest will go on as planned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuruGuys Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Looks like Amusement today has now made it public that one of the Kemah Boardwalk's new rides will be a 140ft Tall Larson Super Shot Drop Tower! It will replace the kiddie Yellow Submarine ride located next to Babins' restaurant. Larson Drop Tower This is a GREAT addition to the park! I'm pretty sure we will see one or two more new rides and all this should be up and running by spring break 2009. -GG P.S. Any chance mods change thread to more accurately "Kemah Boardwalk & Boadwalk Bullet" as we are using this for more than Bullet these days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimace Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 ^It's sort of curious timing for that to be announced. Does anybody think there's a chance Kemah might have picked up Cypress Garden's ARM tower? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjaco Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 P.S. Any chance mods change thread to more accurately "Kemah Boardwalk & Boadwalk Bullet" as we are using this for more than Bullet these days? Done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texcoaster Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 After seeing some of the rides that go through town in traveling fairs, and seeing some of the AMAZING portable stuff that German fairs are running, I wonder why Kemah wouldn't just populate their rides area with portable stuff. The quality of the rides is similar, plus if a storm is brewing out in the Gulf, you just pack everything up and drive it out of harm's way for a few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidcoaster 2 Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 ^ maybe because they want their park to fell like an amusement park rather than a carnival. Plus we don't want to see Kemah turn into a Ghetto Park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillgeek Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Sweet! More rides to look forward to for the Texas Trip. ^Haha! What's wrong with the Ghetto fair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 ^ maybe because they want their park to fell like an amusement park rather than a carnival. Plus we don't want to see Kemah turn into a Ghetto Park. Don't most boardwalks have a carnival feel to them? Besides, adding portable rides does not mean that the park will look ghetto. Sure they "could" make it look ghetto kind of like Beech Bend. But it's just as likely that they could make it look just like a clean permanent park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Canobie has MANY portable rides and none of them have a 'carnival' feel. I think it's actually a really good idea to use portable rides in a place prone to storms like Kemah. If I remember correctly, Coney Island Ohio uses portable rides as well so that when the river is flooding, they can be racked and moved to a warehouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterdude5 Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 I'm not sure if they would have the time to remove the rides every time a storm threatened. I'm sure they would have to start work on removing them at least a week in advance. Then there's the possibility that the storm would completely miss the area. I'm not saying it's not a good idea but that might be more work than it's worth. It's great to see they'll be getting a Larson tower! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgathriller Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 ARM towers kick butt!! For being a smaller in comparison to drop towers such as Intamin towers they sure do pack a punch! I <3 ARM towers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuruGuys Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 After seeing some of the rides that go through town in traveling fairs, and seeing some of the AMAZING portable stuff that German fairs are running, I wonder why Kemah wouldn't just populate their rides area with portable stuff. The quality of the rides is similar, plus if a storm is brewing out in the Gulf, you just pack everything up and drive it out of harm's way for a few days. Most of the rides they had were portable versions, just mounted on permanent foundations. Chaos was a true portable ride still on the 18 wheeler trailer frame but Kemah did such a great job with the queue and making it look permanent that I doubt many customers at all realized it was a portable ride. Even still they choose not to move it when the storm was coming (perhaps they wanted it gone...!). -GG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texcoaster Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I'm not sure if they would have the time to remove the rides every time a storm threatened. I'm sure they would have to start work on removing them at least a week in advance. Why? We're only talking about 10 or 12 total rides, and the Bullet, Aviator, Train, and observation tower won't be movable. You wouldn't pack up and move every time a storm came into the Gulf, but on those occasions like Ike, when you know three days out that the most likely path is right across yo azz, then you pack up and RUN! Just sayin' And seriously... have you seen what is travelling around the German fair circuit lately? This is hardly ghetto fair stuff. I'm talking about Space Rollers, Schwarzkopf loopers, inverted coasters, mice of all shapes and sizes, drop towers, etc etc etc Nobody said it had to be Zippers, Yo-Yos, and Himalayas. (Although a Yo-Yo on the edge of the boardwalk that swings you over the water would be pretty cool) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorddoonga Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 I had some outpatient treatment done a few weeks back for hip-arthritis. I want to ride the Bullet w/o endangering myself. Is the front seat pretty safe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now