Kemah Boardwalk and Bullet Discussion Thread

[lorddoonga]

See ya there ! Guru: Will you post new live on-ride footage any time soon?

[texcoaster]

I rode it last night and I can say that it's not the same Bullet that TPR experienced last year.

 

What can you expect from Bullet 3.0?

 

Bug fixes: Fixed the painful shuffling

Fixed the body slams on the turns

Fixed abrupt transitions

 

Enhancements in this version: Much faster performance.

Runs much smoother.

Infinitely re-ridable now, without pain.

2nd half of ride no longer boring!

 

Features removed from previous version: Ejector air on first drop.

 

Features added in this version: Multiple instances of floater air.

[AllenA07]

Very glad to hear it is reopened. I'm taking a cruise out of there in May and want to head out to the boardwalk.

[lorddoonga]

I rode twice today (Sunday). Much faster and virtually pain-free. From the first drop to the bay turn is fast and smooth. First drop still intense from mid-to-back car.

[astroworldfan1]

I think I'll be going with my Church Youth Group over the summer. I hope it happens!

 

P.S. Does any Texan know how the Perry Family YMCA is after the storm; damage, etc. .

 

-Tatum

[GuruGuys]

I hope the Bullet to run well this summer. There were about 20 Acers at Kemah Winterfest that had never ridden Bullet and they all rode multiple times without any problems. A few people had not ridden since the month it opened and noted that it is a completely different experience, and it is.

 

Of course, with this type of coaster, some will always think it is too rough. There is still plenty of room for improvement. Kemah has stated in the past that it is their goal to get the Bullet running as close to design as possible and it will be a long term project to do so. Fixing the first drop and S turn like they did this time (tearing out the ENTIRE TRACK and ledgers and completely rebuilding the section) will be needed for a few other parts of the coaster but it sounds like they have plans to do more work like this in the future.

 

P.S.

 

Will a Mod PLEASE change the sub-header. Bullet did open in February, and is now open, along with most of the rides at the Kemah Boardwalk.

[lorddoonga]

Bullet 3.0 Still lots of fun to ride!

Bullet 3.0

[fmulder21]

wow...WTH did you take a pic with? my 1st nokia cell phone with half a MP sensor?

[coasterphotos]

The wipeout opened this past Sunday, Inverter should open soon if not already open (avoiding the area due to Spring Break).

 

The only attractions still closed due to Ike are the Observation Tower (won't open till summer), The Stingray petting tank and the Treasure Chest gift shop (both currently being rebuilt).

[GuruGuys]

I visited the Kemah Boardwalk today and heard that they broke their record for spring break! The Inverter opened today which leaves the view tower as the only ride closed. It was 8:30pm and the place was still very crowded. It is great to see the Boardwalk doing so well, everything looks great lit with most of the rides getting new light packages. The wipeout had a three ride wait, the Bullet was running two trains and had a 6 train wait, they had two trains still running at 80% capacity, and even the carousel was riding at full capacity. Today is the last day of Spring Break for much of the Houston area and I was told by one of the employees that the crowd I experienced was basically 'dead' compared to how it had been most of the week!

 

Here are a few pics from tonight, sorry about the lens flare problems.

Even the Carousel was full.

Pharaoh's Fury, Wipeout, Ferris Wheel and Inverter all running at once!

They are having a few problems with the new lights on the Ferris Wheel but even with some not lit it still looks great! The drop tower looks great even if it does look like a big onion sits on top when the lights turn white!

The place was still crowded, especially for a Sunday night.

[lorddoonga]

I rode Bullet this weekend. It was slow. The antirollback clicks was confirmation. I rode anway and the first drop doesn't have the punch that it used to have. I don't like it anymore. Both trains were running though.

[texcoaster]

Bullet was ridiculously slow on Saturday. It was pulling 73 seconds with a full train...

 

What was really odd was that the front seat was brutal and row 10 was actually not bad. Go figure.

 

It was the first time I've ever ridden Bullet with single ride tickets. When I saw how slow it was going over the second drop, I knew I wouldn't ride it enough to make a wristband worth the money.

 

And no, the first drop is nothing like it used to be. The ejector air is gone.

[lorddoonga]

True. I wish for the good old days when it first opened and the first drop took your breath away. I also rode Saturday. I chose to ride in seat #3. It slammed and shifted at the bay turnaround. Suprisingly, I wasn't beat up by it. THAT was strange.

[GuruGuys]

Bullet will be down after the first week in September through early to mid October while they re-track. Hopefully the work they do will be as successful as the work they did on the first drop as that is still nice and shuffle free.

 

They really need to work on the area right before the last turn into the breaks, it slams horribly.

 

-GG

[Real]

So, instead of reading 40 pages of backstory, whats the quick recap?

 

Has the first drop been reprofiled? I assume that flat section has been rounded out? Any other "major" reprofiling changes?

[GuruGuys]

So it will be open Labor Day weekend then? I will be going to Kemah on Friday the 4th and of course would like to get a ride or two.

 

It should be open until September 8th if it doesn't have unplanned problems. I think they want to get that weekend in.

 

So, instead of reading 40 pages of backstory, whats the quick recap?

 

Has the first drop been reprofiled? I assume that flat section has been rounded out? Any other "major" reprofiling changes?

 

The first drop was worked on last off season about the same time as this years scheduled work. They totally tore out the entire first drop, ledgers and all, and rebuilt it to original design specifications (that area for the first time ever are currently at original design spec for my understanding). I guess you can call this re-profiling, but usually when I hear that term used it means 'redesigned'. In that sense it was not re-profiled.

 

That has, by far, been the most successful work done to the coaster out of all the maintenance and track work that has been done (and there has been A LOT). Its still smooth and fun there and I think most TPR'ers enjoyed that part of the ride. If the rest of the coaster ran that way it would be a totally different ride. It will take years but slowly they are working to make it run as designed.

 

The next part of the track to be worked on will have the same goal, get it to the original design specification, from what I have been told. The will be working on the upper bay turn which is the highest turn by the water right after the first drop and zig zag, the train is shuffling bad there an always has - it should have more than enough speed to stick to the outside rail here. I have little doubt that they won't work on the area before the last turn as well, it was hurting pretty bad there lately.

 

-GG

[dj snow]

A unit of Landry's has filed suit against Martin & Vleminckx, claiming unfit work & materials in the construction of an unspecified ride:

 

Catering company sues over order with amusement park ride constructor

[GuruGuys]

It was bound to appear sooner or later. It is complex since the relationship with TGG and M&V is seems to be good one, yet I think its likely TGG will have to aid Landry's in proving the poor workmanship against M&V.

 

It will be interesting to see if M&V is coming out to do the work on Sept 9th when it goes down for maintenance again.

 

The sad thing is that if this coaster was built to design (like the first drop currently is at) it would have been an awesome coaster. I doubt it will ever be 50% as good as its potential.

 

-GG

[GuruGuys]

Bullet re-opened tonight after some major track work. The ride is now smoother, and I mean CONSIDERABLY smoother, than ever. There is still one part of track that shuffled a bit, the part under the upper bay turn, but the upper bay turn and other problem areas are glass smooth. This will be a welcome to most, but others will not like the fact that the coaster has lost some intensity with the fixes. Here are my experiences riding tonight.

 

The first drop is the same as when TPR rode, its still very smooth and fun, but as you head into the zig zag it is less intense as you no longer had lateral action thrown you left as you hit the upper bay turn. The upper bay turn, which used to have three very big slams, is super fast and glides amazingly smooth all the way around up until the second drop. No changes were made after the second drop, which has always been one of the smoothest parts of the ride... it now seems rough in comparison. Work was done on the next two hills, the over station flyby and the pop hill. These hills are fast and smooth, THERE IS NO MORE POP, it is replaced with a tiny but of airtime. The turn going into the under station fly-by was also redone and is now glass smooth. Track going into the double up was not changed but half of the valley afterwords was worked on and you can instantly tell when you enter the new trackwork, it becomes so glass smooth again. The last turn into the brake run is the same but you enter it much faster. Train still stops on mag breaks and crawls in.

 

It is a totally different coaster that will no longer hurt anyone. The first third is no longer as intense as the zig zag coming out of the first drop doesn't throw you around as much, but it is still very fun and you get a good amount of positive g's. I can only imagine how fast the coaster would be if all the track was as smooth as the new work. Again, no part of the Bullet has ever run EVEN CLOSE to as smooth as the newly worked on parts. I've ridden the Bullet immediately (usually the same day it tested and opened) after all the major work, and this is by far the most effective and noticeable work ever done to it with the first drop work a close second. I was shocked as my expectations were blown away going around the upper bay turn, its was a bit eerie as the Bullet has never ran like this over that section, or that smooth anywhere. The changes are not going to make The Bullet jump up to your new favorite coaster, but it will allow much easier ERT and a more pleasant ride to most guests at the Kemah Boardwalk.

 

For those who asked earlier, the new work was done by a local contractor, not M&V.

 

-GG

[texcoaster]

Got 10 rides in tonight on the new improved Bullet. This brings the total for me to 723, so I think I probably know this coaster as well as anyone by now.

 

First impression: very smooth and fast. This is noteworthy, considering that I was in the back seat.

 

Overall impression after 10 rides: the ride is now MUCH more family-friendly than before. It's a good fit for the Boardwalk, which caters to families with children of all ages. The Bullet isn't likely to cause anyone to say "never again" after riding it now.

 

The good: smoooooooth. Fast. Not painful. Lots more airtime, some in places where there didn't used to be any.

The bad: much of the intensity is gone. Ejector air on first drop is still gone (taken out on the last round of renovations). Most shocking---no more "pop" on the hill after the queue line flyover.

 

So there you have it. Overall, I'd say they've done a helluva job this time. The coaster is thrilling enough for the teens and adults, but gentle enough for the smaller kids and scaredy cats. I can honestly recommend this coaster to anyone now, whereas before I really couldn't recommend that it be someone's first coaster.

 

Now, for the true coaster geeks and Bullet aficionados, the play-by-play (everyone else can stop reading).

 

Station, turn, lift are mostly the same as before.

Turn after lift seems to be a little speedier, probably because it was raining.

First drop is smooth, but the ejector air of the first year is gone.

Starbucks turn pulls strong Gs in the front seat. Very smooth.

Zig-zag has lost its bite. No longer brutal and intense, the train glides through it with ease.

Upper bay turn is amazing. NO slams, smooth as glass, little or no loss of speed. No shuffle at all. Wicked fast.

Double-up and water tower turn are now smooth. Airtime in front car on double-up.

Second hill rollback dogs are completely unnecessary. Seriously. The train FLIES over this hill now.

Second big drop has a nice little punch to it with that good running start it gets from the extra speed. Back cars get airtime here.

Bunny hop next to the old lady's house has a little shuffle, as does the middle bay turn. Nothing major, and probably wouldn't even be noticeable if the track up to that point hadn't been so smooth.

Queue line flyover, holy crap. Airtime in the front half of the train. It's FAST. One of my new favorite sections of the ride.

Speed hill next to the brake run, no pop. None. Front car gets a little floater air when the train is half full or better.

Upward southern turn, the former source of much battering and slowing down of the train, has been smoothed out BIGTIME. Very little loss of speed here, which leads to the front half of the train actually getting floater air over the hill before the station drop.

Station drop has great speed, what with the running start it gets.

Camera turn is faster and there's good floats for the whole train on the bunny hop under the station.

Lower bay turn has some nice laterals, something I don't think I ever noticed before.

Brake run flyover also no longer needs rollback dogs. Any faster over this and it'll be another float hill.

Whirlpool turn has lost the "kidney slam" and is much smoother in general.

Double-up that follows has good air in the front and the final turn before the brakes is really fast. In fact, this turn and the second big hill are the spots where even the occasional rider will think, "wow, this is a lot faster than before." In fact, I heard that from a lot of the folks tonight.

 

Oh, and if you're like me and you like your wood coaster with a little rough-n-tumble, then (and I never thought I'd say this about any coaster) the best seats are in the middle of the train. Rows 3,5,and 7 still have some of the "old Bullet" in them, but in a good way. None of them were painful in the least, just a bit shaky with a nice jolt here and there.

[DBru]

Great news and review!

 

...I just wonder how long it will stay like that.

[GuruGuys]

Great news and review!

 

...I just wonder how long it will stay like that.

 

The work they did on the first drop and zig zag has remained as smooth as when they first did it last off season. The work done now is even smoother than what they did on the first drop which leads me to believe that it too will last.

 

I'd guess 65% of the coaster is now running how it was designed to run. I am quite confident that Kemah Boardwalk will have another round of major work during the next off season, probably rebuilding the track below the upper bay turn which is now the part that shuffles the most, getting the coaster to around 90% of what it should have been to begin with...

 

-GG

[lorddoonga]

Tex: Thanks for the "play-by-play" action... looking forward to riding it once again!

[VegasCoaster]

Geez. Considering I rode it this summer and I thought the air on the drop was pretty decent, I'd hate / love to see what it was like in the first year. Maybe the backseat ride is too cemented in my mind, but I remember being thrown into the lapbar pretty well. I never found the ride that intolerable, but then again I think I rode three or four times. It was a bit rough, but in the normal woodie sense.

[lorddoonga]

I am going to miss the first drop intense butter fly sensation it had when it was Bullet ver. 1.0. Great speed and nice ejector air made the drop made me yelp from deep within.