PTR: Kemah Boardwalk 4/29/09

[Jakizle]

So, my school (Steele High School) is closed for 2 weeks because a bunch of our students had swine flu. Being me, I called up a friend and we decided to take advantage of Kemah being open on the weekdays and go on Wednesday the 29th (because it had the best forecast of the week). The rides were open from 10:30-10, but we took our time and got there around 12. It rained a little bit on the way there, but luckily when we got there the weather was fine (not the best for photos though). It rained for about 15 minutes around 7pm, but the Bullet stayed open and those 3 rides around 7pm were the best of the night by far.

 

Since the weather was lame for pictures, I am going to include some pictures from the rides from my visit in March (which didn't get a PTR because I didn't take too many photos). You will be able to tell them apart because the weather was gorgeous that day!

 

-Jake

Driving by Boardwalk Bullet for one last time. Hope to return soon!

 

With our wristbands it turned out to cost us $0.31 for every ride (including the drop tower and train).

 

Thanks for reading everyone!

After 50 rides on Boardwalk Bullet (we counted every single one) it was time to head home.

This is seriously the BEST flat ride I have ever been on. Period.

 

Drop Zone can't compete.

...and blue being second. I'm not quite sure what I prefer.

The lights switch between two colors...with white being first

We also had to give the amazing ARM tower some love at night with its awesome light package!

A cool shot of the entrance at night as darkness falls

As I said before, night rides were insane...and this picture helps tell the story: can anyone see whats wrong with this picture?

All of the cool lights Kemah has up everywhere began to come on!

As it started to get dark, no one showed up to ride with us. The ride did get much faster, however.

Cool angle of the best two drops of ride crossing each other...amazing air in the back there

The drop under the station...which is also very hard to get a picture of

This section of the ride contains FOUR stacked turns (the 4th turn is down to the left of the s-hill)

S-hill number two, which offers even more of the first (did I mention that these hills are taken at an INSANE speed?)

Another angle of the first s-hill taken from the line. Lucky people getting ejector air as they get thrown from left to right

S-hill number one, which immediately follows the 96' drop and is almost impossible to photograph

The train goes flying by with happy passengers

The last turn into the brakes

The crazy hill about 2/3 through the ride...it has a major kink which equals a quick ejector pop!

I turned the camera sideways for some reason and I like how it came out.

The path way right next to ride lets you walk right under the drop.

Coming right at me!

First drop love...people getting major air in the back rows.

Now its time for an onslaught of Boardwalk Bullet pictures...because the ride deserves it.

Once we reached 15 rides we decided to eat some lunch at Cadillac Bar & Grill (amazing food). Here is the view from the front porch.

We eventually decided that the back seat was the best seat on the ride (amazing air on both large drops) and it was SMOOTHER than the front. So weird.

Still no one in line...unlimited rides in whatever seat we wanted. It was like a private ERT. The op was nice enough to take our photo (stud on the right) and interacted with us the entire day...I was impressed.

The queue line passes right next to the first drop and shakes a lot when the train goes roaring by

After our 3rd ride or so the catch car got stuck at the top of the tower...so we decided to head back to Bullet.

While we were over at this part of the park we gave the AMAZING ARM drop tower a couple of rides. Seriously, these things have AMAZING airtime

Back near the station the train passes up the Bullet before coming to an end

Overall it was a nice peaceful ride to go along with a peaceful day at the Boardwalk.

There was also this sign along the tracks...so I guess they are building a little water interaction play-thingy for the kiddos

The train gave a behind-the-scenes look at the observation tower, which is still under repairs following Hurricane Ike (the only thing not yet open)

This guy was chilling around in the tunnel, shooting the ceiling I guess

The train featured 3 tunnels of mystery throughout its very long layout

After 3 rides on the Bullet (you have to walk around every 3 rides) we decided to give the train a ride

Some kids from the field trips were waiting for the back, so we chose the very front row for our first ride

I love how this hill just barely misses the queue line as you enter the station

As you can see from the line, the park was absolutely dead. This day is going to be AWESOME

Ride Entrance

We bought our all day wristbands for $18.99 and haven't even seen another soul by this point as we approach the entrance

And we finally arrive! The school buses were actually a welcome sight because they helped fill some trains for better rides (ride was still walk-on)

The ride looks really intimidating from the bridge as we get closer

Driving on 146 South Kemah Boardwalk finally comes into sight!

[printersdevil78]

Great photos! I'd like to get out there and ride the Bullet someday.

[atem122]

I don't know how anyone can handle 50 rides on any ride, especially a woodie, but those were some great pics. Cool ptr man

[Jakizle]

Thanks for the comments guys!

 

Around rides 35-40 or so it really started to get to us physically...but we wanted 50 and were determined to get there! We changed sides of the trains every 3 rides so we could hit different sides of our legs (when no one was in the station they just sent us without checking our bars...like a 5 second dispatch time lol).

 

We also found that the back seat of each car was LESS painful than the front because they have more room. The front of the train was the most painful seat on the ride in my opinion...because it took the roughest part of the track the fastest (the rise to the drop under the station).

 

I could have rode way more than 50 times if I would have stuck to the back seat (which I should have done because it was the best seat on the ride anyways).

 

I forgot, I also took some off-ride video (and other video if you want to send me a PM )

 

 

Watch in high quality!

[Tbcoasterfan]

Wow I just can't get over how cool this ride is. I really hop I can get out to ride it some day. Thank you so much for the pictures and videos!

[YoshiFan]

Sounds like a strange policy of having to walk around after 3 rides. Usually a park either allows re-rides or doesn't. Did they tell you why they have that rule?

[Jakizle]

It's probably to prevent anyone from getting sick/dizzy/etc. It's probably a safety precaution and we respect the rule.

 

It was funny, after the third ride they would shut the lift off until we got back.

[astroworldfan1]

My friend and I had to walk back through the que after 1 ride. Plus, there were only 2 to 4 other people on the coaster with us, and no one in line.

 

-Tatum

[Guest]

Around rides 35-40 or so it really started to get to us physically...but we wanted 50 and were determined to get there! We changed sides of the trains every 3 rides so we could hit different sides of our legs (when no one was in the station they just sent us without checking our bars...like a 5 second dispatch time lol).

Reminds me of one time in 06 I rode Avalanch at Timber Falls 66x and my legs were bruised as hell. I couldnt go on any further though my friend rode it 100x.

[YoshiFan]

It's probably to prevent anyone from getting sick/dizzy/etc. It's probably a safety precaution and we respect the rule.

 

It was funny, after the third ride they would shut the lift off until we got back.

 

I guess that makes sense, I rode Nitro 5 times in a row tonight and was starting to feel a little sick after that 5th ride and I guess because I had been riding coasters almost non stop for 5 hours (the park was closed at that point or else I would have moved onto another ride).

[restoca]

Great photos! Especially like the twilight ticket booth w/TX flag. Inspiration for next time I'm there with my camera.

[Sue]

Sounds like a strange policy of having to walk around after 3 rides. Usually a park either allows re-rides or doesn't. Did they tell you why they have that rule?

 

The Busch parks usually make you walk around after 2 rides. Personally, I think it should either be no rerides or unlimited rerides, but I guess 2 is better than 1.

[Jakizle]

Great photos! Especially like the twilight ticket booth w/TX flag. Inspiration for next time I'm there with my camera.

 

Thanks! I wish I would have had my mini tripod with me so I could have kept the camera still for a better shot, but its not bad for hand held.

 

About the re-ride policy, I am just GLAD that they actually let you ride a couple times without walking around...most parks, especially big parks, would make you go around no matter what. It felt nice to walk around every 3 rides though, especially to stretch out our legs after riding soo much.

[Electerik]

Great report. I really need to get back to Texas.

 

/But just for the parks.

[AllenA07]

Looks like a fun time. i'll be doing my first Kemah trip a week from today and am looking forward to getting a ride on Boardwalk Bullet.

[larrygator]

I finally got around to riding Boardwalk Bullet yesterday morning right after a light ride.

 

I wish I had saved the time I spent driving there and the $9.50 I spent on 2 rides. I can't argue with people who say it moves fast because it does. However, shuffling and minor jackhammering are not fun.

 

This will not be anywhere near my Top 30 woodies.

[Jakizle]

Other than the first retracked section I agree that it has gotten fairly rough...but I rode it 50 times and could have gone more.

 

The rest of the ride never used to be bad, so I really think the trains are responsible for ripping up the track...its just so aggressive...they really need Timberliners.

 

Were your trains semi-full or anything? I found that a full train (especially at night) made a huge difference in how good the ride is. Watch my off-ride video and you will see how fast it is.

[larrygator]

Trains were half full and I know that might have affected the ride. But since the ride opened 35 minutes late and I was on a tight time schedule (Had to be at Sea World by 3PM). I could not wait for a full train. I don't think the train was running slow but I didn't sit there with a stopwatch and time it.

[Jakizle]

Ah thats cool. Hopefully they continue to do work on it in the future because it has SO much potential.

[Markieb]

Sounds like a lot of fun.

That drop tower is more fun than it appears and what a sight at night.

So what was wrong with the mystery pic?

[GuruGuys]

The rest of the ride never used to be bad, so I really think the trains are responsible for ripping up the track...its just so aggressive...they really need Timberliners.

 

 

The few visits to the Bullet it has ridden as bad as ever. I didn't even think the back seat was very fun. I don't think it has to do with the trains, I think there are still construction issues (the part they fixed last summer is still riding perfectly smooth as you point out). They just have to get the rest of the structure where it should have been to begin with, and that won't happen soon.

 

Take a look at the track next time you are there and look at all the reinforcements they have added around the last turn and during the final double up. Every time I go they have added more of these. I imagine every part of track that has these will be worked on this winter.

 

If it is still running by the time TPR gets there in July it will be running MUCH worse than their first visit IMO. This is sad because when the thing decides to run in the low 60's it is completely different and very fun. It has not ridden faster then 70 seconds for me since I rode it on 2/26 when it reopened from the construction and ran an amazing 62.5 seconds (keep in mind it was designed to run about 58 seconds). My last ride clocked in at 74.5 seconds, as you can imagine 12.5 seconds slower from end of lift hill to first brake makes a much more painful and boring (especially on the back end) ride. So disappointing.

 

The pictures you posted are nice! Let me know when you are out there again we'll meet up.

 

-GG

[Footballteen58]

I don't understand how you rode this thing 50 times. I rode it about five when I went last year pre-Ike. It beat the hell out of me a couple of times. You consider the backseat smooth?

But I LOVED that little bit of in the backseat on the first drop!

[GuruGuys]

I don't understand how you rode this thing 50 times. I rode it about five when I went last year pre-Ike. It beat the hell out of me a couple of times.

 

And its running worse now (except the first drop and zig zag, which is much better).

 

You consider the backseat smooth?

But I LOVED that little bit of in the backseat on the first drop!

 

There was a lot of first drop ejector pre-Ike, but barely any now. When they fixed the first drop the ejector in the backseat was removed. While still a brief pop of ejector, its nothing like it was. Apparently it was never supposed to be there to begin with and is one of the reasons it never reached the speed it was supposed to during the first drop.

 

I've been on the Bullet well over 600 times by now, I've ridden it well over 50 times in a day before when it ran better, but these days I doubt I would make it more than 10 or so.

 

-GG

[Jakizle]

50 was really no problem for me...I think I could have gone atleast 20 more or so. But I'm crazy like that .

 

Too bad the rest of the ride is going downhill...but the drop and first two zig-zag hills are perfect. The best spot of airtime is now the drop off the turnaround in the back seat, as the first drop is a lot more tame now.

[christianscoasters]

In that pic where you asked what was wrong, I think I know. One of the handrails became unattached at one end. Right?

 

What's shuffling and jackhammering, btw?