P:TR - Six Flags over Texas

[christianscoasters]

Part one of three:

 

Thursday, August 13th.

 

I was very worried about coming to the park during August, and on a Thursday. I knew crowds were going to be awful. I couldn’t have been more wrong. We never waited more than 10 minutes if we even had to wait, and when we did, it was just so we could get the front seat. Best of all? Everything was open!!! AMAZING day.

 

Batman: The Ride: This is my 6th inverted coaster, and my 4th B:TR clone. Out of the 4 B:TR’s, this and Great White are probably tied. IDK why, but this one really seemed to pack a punch. It was also the smoothest one I’ve been on! However, I still think Patriot beats it. Ride count: 3x.

 

Flashback: My 3rd Vekoma Boomerang. Would have been my 4th, but at SFFT, we didn’t have time for it. Anyways, there are ads on this train. Poor train. This is probably my least favorite boomerang coaster. It was slower, and the seats were very uncomfortable. I pulled my OTSR down, and I was too tall for it. I was crunched into my seat the whole ride. Ugh. I’m only 5’ 10”. Not very fun at all.

 

Mr. Freeze: This was going to be our first ride of the day. When the park opened, we went straight to it. It was closed. Fortunately, it opened maybe 30 minutes later. We went to the front row. This is my second Premier LIM launcher, my 1st being Poltergeist at SFFT. I really don’t like the launches on these coasters. They seem really weak. The ride wasn’t butter smooth, but I still found it to be pretty good. Going forward, the top hat was great because of all the headchoppers, and how quick it’s over. Going backwards through it was cool because it was slower, so in the front, you’re hanging there and slowly see the track moving past you. Fun ride! Mr. Freeze himself was on. His head lights up and turns side to side. Later in the day, it was a walk-on, so I rode it a total of 4x.

 

Mine Train: PTS. Awful coat-hanger transitions, very painful, so much side bashing. I hated this ride. However, there is one thing I liked about it. Towards the end, you go through a room with an old-time scene, then the really cool airtime-filled drop underground! We were sitting in the back, which probably explained the airtime, Lol. But seriously, this ride sucks. Rode 1x.

 

Mini Mine Train: This ride really was fun! I’m being honest when I say that I really did enjoy it. 1x.

 

Shockwave: Rode in the back the 1st time, and OMG this ride DELIVERED!!! Great forces in the loop, and yes, PLENTY of airtime!!! This ride was lots of fun! 2x.

 

Runaway Mountain: If you are unfamiliar with this coaster, it’s indoors, and the layout is a mirror image of this: http://rcdb.com/607.htm?p=12037. There was some nice, simple themeing, and I have no complaints there. The ride was smooth, and lots of fun. 1x.

 

Tony Hawk: Didn’t get to ride. The line looked longer than 30 minutes. I wasn’t going to wait that long. Later in the day, that changed, but we had other things we had to finish up riding.

 

Judge Roy Scream: Rode once in the front and once in the back. The front had some nice and really fun pops of air. The ride was a bit rough though, and I didn’t enjoy it terribly much. The back sucked. No air, very brutal, I hated it. 2x.

 

La Vibora: My first bobsled. This ride was a blast!!! So much fun, and it even had airtime! I actually got scared once. Haha. Before the brakes, you get bumped side to side, but I know that is something that the car must do to get straight for the brakes, therefore, no complaints. Great ride! 1x.

 

Titan: I’ve ridden Goliath at SFMM, and I honestly found it to just plain suck. Because of that, I wasn’t looking forward to Titan. We decided to sit in the back, the same as I did on Goliath, and this ride was AMAZING. The drop had some awesome air, and the camelback had more intense air than Goliath. I do think that the extra helix does make a difference. Full of headchoppers! I blacked out on it. I didn’t like that. The second helix, I blacked out again. We then decided to sit in the front. Still great air! However, we overshot the MCBR. We were two cars out before it actually stopped. We were already turning down the drop, and my friend who was sitting next to me, he was leaning out of the side of the car, and I really thought he was about to fall out. IDK if the ride is supposed to do that, or what, but I didn’t like it. Still a GREAT ride though!!! 2x.

 

Texas Giant: I rode this expecting it to be absolute crap. When we were in line, I was dreading it. We decided to sit in the front row, because hey, with a crappy ride, might as well make the best of it. This ride totally blew my expectations out of the water. GREAT airtime, you never know where you’re going, and not only that, but it was SMOOTH!!! Yes, Texas Giant was in fact smooth. Now, don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t butter smooth by ANY means, but for an old wooden coaster, this ride was not bad at all. In fact, it was just smooth enough that I would be willing to continuously ride it. This is now my favorite wooden coaster. I really began to wonder if it’s in need of a $10 million rehab. Is it just the front seat that’s smooth? Is the rest of the train crappy? I got off thinking that Rattler at SFFT could use the rehab. Not Texas Giant. I do think that if they are going to fix up Texas Giant, they should get some Millennium Flyers. I really do think that would almost completely do the trick. Texas Giant, FTW! 1x.

 

Superman Tower of Power: Tower rides are my weakness. However, this ride was FUN!!! Wasn’t scary at all, and had some nice pops of air. I found the final drop to not be that great. It felt really controlled. I prefer Intamin drops. 2x.

 

Overall, this was a GREAT day!!! Hardly any lines and very quick employees!!! That includes ride and food employees. They were friendly and they really seemed to enjoy their jobs, with the exception of a few people. We were at the park from 10:30-6, and we got all these rides done, plus a lot of just walking around, so it was a day well spent!

 

I love Six Flags over Texas Taiko Happy

More ads

Yes, they have these.

Entrance.

This was at that JRS exit. Yaaa ...

This ride was cool

FOOD!!!

Well, SFoT has a Mr. Freeze and a Batman, and so does SFStL, so ... Hmm ... Pinecones?

Oil Derrick ... ThRoUgH tHe TrEeS!!!

Where is everyone?

WIN.

Two really awesome rides

Close-up!

I failed at this shot, but you can still see one person's face

Walking in the sewers to get to the station.

LOOOOOOOOOOPPP!!!

Yay it's about to open!

Where we headed first, but it was closed

This was during the pre-opening ritual. We were waiting for the park to open. However, their ritual was cool!!! They changed the music a bit, and Mr. Six did the dance moves he does in the commercials!!! I thought that was really cool!!! Yay for entertaining pre-opening rituals!!!

Superman testing with an employee on it

TITAN!!! Through the ... Well, not really.

YAY!!!

Morning testing!

[christianscoasters]

Part Two of Three

Can't forget about Hurricane Harbor

Both Mr. Freeze and Batman running

[Erik Johnson]

Great photos! I can't wait to see the rest.

[coastersrule85]

Terrific pics!

 

I'm glad to hear you giving kudos to some of the rides at my favorite Six Flags park.

 

Glad to hear you liked Texas Giant. It's also one of my favorite woodies. It can be a little rough for the weak at heart, but it's just such a fun, intense ride. Titan, Shockwave, and Vibora are all great rides too.

 

Sad to hear your dislike for the Mine Train, such a classic.

 

Anyway, great TR, glad you had fun, and I look forward to the rest of your report!

[DiSab]

Really nice pictures. Always nice to see such a detailed TR on these parks. Just curious, what camera did/do you use?

[tanthonyam]

Wow! I love those pics. Like your angles and close-ups.

[ebl]

 

For some reason, I really liked that shot. Maybe it's just the prominence of the primary colors in it.

 

But overall, very nice report. One of the better Photo TRs, honestly. I look forward to the rest.

 

Eric

[christianscoasters]

PART THREE!!!!

 

Thanks everyone for the comments

 

"Really nice pictures. Always nice to see such a detailed TR on these parks. Just curious, what camera did/do you use?" - DiSab

 

I have this: http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=144&modelid=17480

 

 

 

^Thank you very much! I like that shot as well.

If you don't know what this is, go die, but make sure and pet a YouTube-watching, fluffy, rabid, three-legged bunny first!!! Thank you for reading, and leave those comments!!!

This ride is just massive.

Titan ... In the distance

Such a fun little ride I'd love to have it in my backyard.

Parking. $15. Same price for buses and regular cars. Yay

Now it's time to leave

So I decided to take a picture of the mascots ... Then Daffy came over for a visit I'm terrified of mascots.

More theming.

A themed building!!

Park entrance.

This is one of Shockwave's supports. It's pointed at the top AND bottom. I thought that was strange. You would think that larger supports at the bottom would keep the ride stronger. Does anyone know why Shwarzkopf/Intamin made supports like these?

Upskirt ... Ick. Look at all the things that have fell from riders. Good thing they have nets.

... In case you forgot what ride this is ...

I had never seen the S&S logo before, so I took a picture for everyone else who hasn't

NeRd shot YouTube-watching, fluf- screw it.

We came back to Superman later.

For some reason, out-of-focus shots make the rides seem bigger to me.

Yes, that is in fact SIX flags at Six Flags!!!

Ads But happy riders

For you semi-coaster-nerds.

Hellboy stone-hand!!! If you know what that is from, you will get a virtual hug from me

Argh.

2-in-1 YAY.

Goes up the lift quickly. And hey, it's a small ride ... ish

I couldn't brighten this one up very well.

Freeze launching behind a mess of awesome B&M supports!!!

Did Batman: The Ride get repainted recently? The colors looked vibrant and beautiful. No signs of fading at all.

They were running 2 towers earlier in the day, then opened all 3 later.

FAIL ... Ish.

Yes, I waited for this shot, and it isn't great.

Mr. Freeze launching through a giant straw

To me, this looks like a stoned, mortal, teapot.

I was trying to get a picture of the picture on the wall, but my camera took it too late. But look what I caught! A kid somewhat line jumping. He really isn't line jumping, I believe. The only person he was "cutting" in front of was me. There was no one in the line, so everyone would jump the rail like that instead of going all the way around.

Ditto ... And YouTube-watching, fluffy, rabid, three-legged bunnies.

Mr. Freeze's line. It's actually very dark. The flash on my camera is why it's brighter.

This would be one of my favorite shots if it was a little brighter, but this was the best I could do

This pictures makes me think of Dolly Parton ... And fluffy, rabid, three-legged bunnies.

Fluffy, rabid, three-legged, bunnies.

ThRoU ... No.

Only 4 seats on this were going, but there was hardly anyone there, so it didn't really matter. Lines were only like 5 minutes.

I just love this ride.

ThRoUgH tHe TrEeS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

This coaster was squeezed pretty tight into a small area. In fact, a small bit of the track is *SLIGHTLY* over the path below.

Hey, Great Adventure, what's up?

Oh whatever. I love Joe Jonas more. In fact, IDK what Tony Hawk looks like :/ I just felt like being a perverted 16-year-old. Oh, and I turned 16 the day before we went to SFoT! WIN!!!

I think that lady needs to get off Tony Hawk. He's mine.

Just look at them curves :] Tony Hawk, you are pretty damn sexy.

Rabid, three-legged, bunnies.

Rabid bunnies.

Bunnies.

Raccoons.

Three coasters in one shot. Yay

I didn't get to ride Tony Hawk Too bad, because he's pretty damn cute ... I mean, uh, the coaster. Ya, the coaster. I didn't get to ride the coaster.

Now here's something really cool. You can do karaoke and/or DDR for FREE!!! While there are no prizes, it's still fun, and hey, FREE!!!

SUPERMAN ... THROUGH THE ... Erm, theming? Ya, theming!!!

The giant coke bottles for recycling were really neat.

THEMING!!! There was a lot of it here, as well.

Oil Derrick swayed a bit when we were up there. It was scary. When you get off the elevator, between the elevator and the actual observation deck, look down in the crack. It's over 300 ft. And yes, it scared me. Lol.

Hmmm

I love Texas Giant!!!

NINETY DEGR- Wait. Noooo, that's not ninety degrees. But this picture does look cool!!!

Such a fun, fun ride. The drop looks boring, but I found it to be really cool because you get a great view, it has a small bit of air (in the front), and it's smooth

Roaring Rapids. I only got "Roaring" in the shot, Lol. Rode this once. T'was fun. Nothing amazing by any means, but fun, nonetheless

Superman Tower of Power can be seen from anywhere in the park, and it's very photogenic :]

[trcg721]

Anyone else think the hand print on the ground is backwards?

Also nice trip report.

[ebl]

^ Not if it's palms facing down.

 

Eric

[trcg721]

^ Not if it's palms facing down.

 

Eric

you mean facing up?

[paintballer]

Texas Giant..Smooth?

 

Did you ride it in the back? or for that matter any other seat on the ride?

 

If so I bet your testimonial would have changed.

 

Good tr.

[christianscoasters]

^Thanks I rode in the front, and that's it.

[Team Thriller]

Very great TR! I love your pictures of Titan. Very beautiful.

 

--James

[ebl]

"you mean facing up?" (trcg721)

 

No, if your palms are down, your thumbs are on the inside, as they are in that picture. The foot would be backwards, though, unless it's implying that you're bent over backwards.

 

Maybe SFOT should have painted a bunch of giant red, blue, green, and yellow dots all over and made a giant Twister game!

 

Eric

[eskater132]

Thank you!

[PKI Jizzman]

Texas Giant is FAR, FAR, FAR from smooth. GCI is smooth.

 

Texas Giant is.....blegh. NEEDING of rehab.

[tedten]

I rode Texas Giant about a month ago in the front and in the middle. I agree it could do with some rehab but if it does than so should about half the woodies I've ridden. It honestly wasn't that bad, but then again I've been raised on 28 woodies, none of which were GCI.

[christianscoasters]

I guess it just depends on the day and the seat then?

Hmm. Well, maybe it does need rehab. All I know is that it was a great ride

[Erik Johnson]

I vote to tear it down and build another one from scratch.

[redfoot12]

^Erik speaks truth. For $10 million you could get yourself a mighty fine GCI or Gravity Group.*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*I guess it should be noted that I haven't been on a mighty fine ride by either of these companies--Gwazi, Roar (SFA), and Boardwalk Bullet.

[almightyfire]

not with a layout like that one. this was the number one coaster for years. if they could get back half of what it was it would be number one again. i rode it this year and didnt see where it was sooo bad but i dont think son of beast is all that bad just not fun as texas giant.

[coastersrule85]

I love Texas Giant! I do have to say that I rode it this past spring in the back seat, and it felt great and fairly smoothish...but that was right after we'd had a lot of spring showers. The last time I rode it, a few weeks ago, it was rough as hell in the back seat, but that was after the terrible heat we've had this summer. (but I still love it even when it's rough...such a great track layout)