Six Flags Fiesta Texas (SFFT) Discussion Thread

[BrandonR]

I have my doubts that Iron Rattler could have kept the helix regardless. Trains with polymer wheels have greater frictional losses*, and as slow as the original Rattler toiled through that horrid element with its steel-wheeled trains, I could easily see the Iron Rattler valleying...

 

*This is pretty evident on the New Texas Giant. Even though they raised the lift 10 feet, the midcourse brake is significantly lower (click and hover over the two aerial comparison photos I have here), and the trains seem to hit the final brake run at a considerably lower speed than the original.

[texcoaster]

^Yes.

 

As much as I'd have loved for them to use steel wheels on iRat, the polymer wheels make New Giant a ride experience unlike anything I've ever been on before. It's the smoothest coaster I've ever been on - which is saying a lot, considering that badass layout.

 

I loved the epic length of Rattler and Giant and when I first saw that Giant was losing the second helix, I was disappointed. In the long run, though, I'll take 90 seconds of pure adrenaline over a three minute ride with two minutes of boredom. (Referring to Rattler there, not Giant)

[CoryPa77]

I know they changed the trains on the Rattler in 1993 and added head rests and I was thinking individual lap bars. Are there any pics or does anyone know if it actually had a single position (buzz bar?) bar when it first opened in 1992?

 

That would have been even more incredible, going down that first drop with those types of restraints. I rode it in 1993 and remember it wanting to smash my head into the front of the car at the bottom of the hill unless I kept my head back against the head rest.

[texcoaster]

The trains used on opening day were the same style of Morgan Mfg trains that were used on the TxCyclone the last few years of its life (as well as other coasters). They have no headrests, but they do have molded individual seats and individual ratcheting lap bars. I don't recall whether or not they also included seat belts.

[CoryPa77]

I went back and found an old article I had from when it opened. It did have a single lap bar it's first year, and then in 1993 they switched to individual lap bars and added head rests.

 

I'm sure they added the headrests to try and tame the whiplash, probably to buy them enough time before the big re-design in 1994.

 

Either way, these are some great pictures!

[boardwalkbullet91507]

Just my two cents, maybe we see the brakes straight out of the tunnel, but really theres more behind it thats blocked and we just cant see. After all, its an ANIMATION. That's just me, i tend to overthink things so this might sound pretty stupid. In my opinion, the turn out of the tunnel isnt in the right location to adequately fit a long enough brake run. I could be wrong...

[disneyfan1313]

^ I think at this point its honestly too early. Quite a bit of the engineering is probably still being tweaked and the CGI video is really just for PR more than anything else.

[UrbanLegend]

^ I think at this point its honestly too early. Quite a bit of the engineering is probably still being tweaked and the CGI video is really just for PR more than anything else.

 

Let's at least hope they keep the Toaster Oven Tunnel.

[theonetheonlyJT]

The train should stop in the tunnel then launch backwards going halfway up the hill then back into the tunnel launching into the brake run.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(just kidding)

[Wes]

Maybe the ride ends in the tunnel and everyone dies.

[Fooz]

I'm guessing that there's a 99% chance it hits the brakes after the tunnel. Maybe some people like setting themselves up for disappointment?

[ArizonaGuy]

Eh....I think it's gonna keep the same layout after the tunnel. I guess we'll just have to wait to see what happends.

[cstrfrk67]

went by the park and "stole" some pix..............everyone say "bye-bye" to the wretched helix of beatings and boredom. There was only about 10-12 guys workin on it today, but with the impending rain storms here, they wouldnt get much done. Maybe I should go apply for a job w/ RMC. That'd be a cool job, yes?

[cstrfrk67]

^ 63 ft lower, if I recall correctly. It was a massive change to the one part of that ride that was seriously the best on earth at the time.

 

Of course, having such a good first drop just enhanced and showcased the mediocrity of the stuff that followed.

 

actually it was lessened from 166' to 124' @ 1st drop...........iRat however, will go beyond the original to 171'

[ArizonaGuy]

^^

Thanks for the photo updates!! Good Riddance to the triple helix. Hopefully once the rain is over with they can start moving in fast forward and start dismantling more of the coaster.

[coastercrutchfield]

[ArizonaGuy]

^^Tourette's post??? Goliath video just out of nowhere. LOL

 

Anyways......a pic of helix demo was posted to SFFT's facebook page.

[coastercrutchfield]

^^Tourette's post??? Goliath video just out of nowhere. LOL

 

Whenever I upload new videos I usually post them here

[LBIJim]

Thanks for posting the photos from opening day. My only visit to Fiesta Texas was in July of 1992 and I remember how awesome Rattler looked. Wish I could say the ride was awesome too, but after the first drop and that turnaround, the rest of the course was almost unrideable. Still, I rode it 4 or 5 times since I think it was the only coaster at the park at the time.

 

Even though I was younger and more daring back then, many of the large wooden coasters of the era (Texas Giant, Mean Streak, Hercules at Dorney, etc.) were too rough for my taste, even during their initial seasons.

[jzoole]

^^Coastercrutchfield, that's some nice footage! I appreciate your sporadic non-iRat-related video uploads

[ben.hearn]

I'm new here and just wanted to say hi!

 

On to the main event! I went out to the park this past weekend to get my 2013 season pass and I checked on the Rattler while I was there. I can say that they have begun on removing track from the beginning of the station up to the transfer-track.

 

I went out today to take a look and saw some good things going on! They have started to add the steel cross ties for mounting the new track in the old helix. It's right after the barrel roll spot. So it's one of the first hills up there! I have pics below! Thanks!

 

WP_000029 by motozunez9, on Flickr

 

WP_000028 by motozunez9, on Flickr

 

WP_000027 by motozunez9, on Flickr

 

WP_000026 by motozunez9, on Flickr

 

I hope this are good pictures. I took them with my Nokia Lumia 900 fully zoomed in.

[Wes]

^ Thanks for the update. Looks promising!

[ArizonaGuy]

^^

Thanks for the photo update Ben. I'm still wondering why they haven't gonna rid of that one part of the helix closest to the cliff edge. Any thoughts, anyone? Unless that's the left side of the helix if looking at it from inside the park. Kinda hard to tell from the pics.

[Mrlittle]

^^

Thanks for the photo update Ben. I'm still wondering why they haven't gonna rid of that one part of the helix closest to the cliff edge. Any thoughts, anyone? Unless that's the left side of the helix if looking at it from inside the park. Kinda hard to tell from the pics.

 

It could be the only wood structure of the helix that was good enough to reuse for later

 

On a different note, I'm hoping they redo part of the queue line. It's unlikely but I dislike the small section leading up to the station.

[texcoaster]

^^ are you talking about the part of the queue that winds between the boulders between the entrance sign and the zig-zag ramp?

 

That's the only part of the queue I like. The zig-zag ramp isn't too bad, but those switchbacks in the station are terrible. Claustrophobic, hot, and they're in the way of allowing enough room for people to queue for the seat they'd like.