Photo TR: Drayton Manor (Page 19)

[Jerrykoala2112]

Thanks to everyone that left a comment! All appreciated!

 

Great TR! I've noticed that Steel Eel had weird supports, but man! Did Morgan do some drinking before they did the supports?

 

My thoughts exactly! Never seen a coaster with most unrealistic supports out there!

 

Great TR!

 

 

Steel Eel looks impressive. I just can't stand the looks of the trains. It looks like you can barely see out of them?

 

Thanks! The Orlando Sea World is a much better park, and the Manta scenery is simply stunning. San Antonio is pretty average and very light compared to Orlando. And, you can see over the trains, but I just think it doesn't appear well in pictures.

 

I haven't been to Sea World San Antonio since the late '80's. I believe I went the year after it opened. I would really love to go back one day. Thanks very much for putting together the great trip report.

 

Thanks! Yeah, I bet the park has changed a lot since then.. (Especially with the additions of Great White and Steel Eel!)

 

 

BTW: How does Great White compare to the other Batman clones?

 

- Can't wait to see your next update

 

It was definitely.... extreme! Rumors say that it has shorter track length, so the the loops and turns would be a lot tighter. You could definitely feel it because my blood rushed to my legs during all the turns and corkscrews and I was graying out left and right, it was just crazy! Fun ride, but a little too forceful.

 

Whaaaaaat! Texas Splashdown was awesome! And it had the longest line of the Texas Trip in '09...40 minutes. It was a long ride and really fun!

 

BOOO!

 

Yeah, many log flumes seem to be getting the chopping block! We went right when Texas Splash Down opened and there was definitely a line forming. Although, you could tell the ride was not aging well because the edges of the flume were folding out and there were leaks in many spots (Maybe there are suppose to be, but didn't look pretty.)

[Hilltopper39]

http://themeparkreview.com/forum/files/img_3850__800x600_.jpg

 

I always wondered why Sea World Orlando never had bigger gators like these, or like the ones at Busch Gardens. The exhibit Sea World Orlando has is pretty nice but the gators are all so tiny. Oh wait now I get it Sea World Orlando's gator exhibit must be themed after the real Florida Gators, small and weak . Suck it Florida

[Jerrykoala2112]

Does anyone remember an event that happened on May 14th earlier this year? Anyone? Well, let me tell you, Texas Giant Bash was one awesome event! Of course I came all the way from Chicago to celebrate the New Texas Giant with some amazing ERT!

 

My day at the park turned out very well... I've been to Six Flags Over Texas back in 2001 and 2008 and was really impressed with the place. There's a very nice collection of roller coasters and flat rides along with above average theming, especially for a Six Flags park. Now with the New Texas Giant, I feel the park has a near perfect coaster collection with none of their coasters being a sore thumb.

 

Crowds that day were very heavy, with lots of school/choir/church groups coming to the park. Weather was near perfect (Mid 70's) which didn't really fend off some of the park guests. I did end up getting a Q-Bot with a group of other TPR members, which was a very smart move. Most rides had full to over flowing queues. Some of my favorite rides were Titan, Texas Giant, Shockwave, La Vibora, and Runaway Mountain: with Texas Giant now being in my Top 10. I actually ended up liking everything except Mini-Mine Train, which isn't that height friendly.

 

ERT in the morning was, as always, mind-blowing! It was a bit chilly that morning and watching the Texas Giant going through the course just made the ride look that much more bizarre. Seriously! Watching the train going through all the hills and turns at that high of a speed really gets your blood pumping. I ended up riding Texas Giant 3 times in the morning, and it was an instant Top 10 ride for me! For night ERT, I also managed to get 3 rides, and it was 10 times better! (What ride isn't better at night?!) TPR Quest was..... interesting, but just as good as the ERT! On our own, I just went through the park with my group riding anything that we wanted to, while managing to get both of the Log Flume credits! I wasn't sure which one was the original one, so we ended up riding both of them, just in case.

 

I just have to say thanks to Robb, Elissa, Six Flags Over Texas, and anyone else who helped plan the event! It was loads of fun and cannot wait for more awesomeness on the North East trip! But let's head on to the pictures.

So we started off our day with some exciting Texas Giant ERT! But I have to admit, it isn't the most appealing ride around.

This double-up hill / over bank was probably my 2nd favorite part of the ride (Right after the disco mist tunnels at the end of the ride!)

Going through the beyond 90 degree turnaround was really scary... I had my hands raised until that point because those dang hand choppers were so close!

I wasn't sure what was with the wooden tower thing in the middle of the ride. Is that where the fire is going to be?

There goes the first train of happy riders!

We also had an hour of ERT on Titan in the morning. Titan is a ride where I grey out on almost any part of the ride. At the bottom of the drops, the bonus helix and then the turns at the end of the ride, ouch!

I did not end up getting lots of spins on Big Spin, mostly because we did not have an empty seat on our train. But I still liked the ride, it's nice at what it does.

After my rides on Mr. Freeze at Six Flags St. Louis, I was excited to ride the one at Over Texas because everyone claims that it was better, and it was! The duel stations are also really cool.

I already had my Flashback credit back from 2008, so I really wasn't in the mood to re-ride it. Not sure who would want to ride a boomerang they already have ridden!

One reason Mr. Freeze at Over Texas is better than the one in St. Louis was because of the interaction with Batman. On my first ride, when we were heading up the inverted top hat, Batman was coming down the drop and I swear, it was 2 feet away from hitting us! All a great illusion though.

Another shot of Batman at Mr. Freeze.

I noticed they were doing some type of construction by Batman, but this had got to be the weirdest flash pass entrance of the day.

Proof that Six Flags Over Texas is a fantastic park. It still has old scenery and classic rides like the Texas Chute Out!

When you think about it, the park isn't that big. The layout is very confusing and can take awhile to walk around with lots of dead-ends and routes, it's still a fairly average sized park. (Nothing compared to Cedar Point or Hershey!)

STOP is probably the best launch tower out there! Not only does it launch you up, but it then drops you back down. The ride itself is pretty long and I recommend it to anyone!

I might be the only one, but I would consider La Vibora to be a thrill ride! The swaying was very unexpected to me and even experienced airtime on one of the dips.

Even though there was Shockwave ERT at the end of the day, we still wanted to try it out in our free time. Smart move because Shockwave broke down right when ERT started, always plan ahead!

I gotta say, Shockwave in the back has got to be on par with Texas Giant in terms of insane airtime and layout!

I didn't really grey out on the loops (I do grey out easily) but the airtime on the ride certainly didn't disappoint!

Obligatory train going through Shockwave loop shot.

Oil Derek is really interesting. They had it closed up until 2 hours before park closing, which was when we decided to ride it. Never knew you could see Dallas on one end, and Fort Worth on the other!

The sun started to set and we made our way to Runaway Mountain, which is an insane indoor roller coaster, before heading towards the Shockwave for some ERT!

Shockwave has light bulbs set up throughout the whole ride and it's a site to see... Stunning! Oil Derek looks great at night too.

We ended our day with the best ERT in the world. Misters on full blast, darkness all around, and crazy Texas Giant!

Thanks again to everyone that planned this bash, it was totally worth the trip! It was great meeting new people (:

[GriffyTiffy]

Glad you had a good time Jer! I'm so jealous! I really liked the pictures of Batman and Mr. Freeze, they just look so good together! Great report!

[Jojo19799]

Great pics as always Jeremie. I really had a great time at Texas Giant Bash. I agree with your thoughts on the theming and coaster collection. I was very impressed with this park. I need to get back there soon since I missed out on the Shockwave credit!

[QueerRudie]

Jer- Your SchwarzPorn is outstanding- nothing says 'Oh la la' like a pair of Anton's finest- side by side no less...

[samisthabomb]

Awesome pics, Jeremie! While NTAG may not be the most visually stunning ride, it still gives one heck of a ride (as you probably discovered)! And I agree - La Vibora can be pretty thrilling on some of those banked turns.

[Jerrykoala2112]

Great pics as always Jeremie. I really had a great time at Texas Giant Bash. I agree with your thoughts on the theming and coaster collection. I was very impressed with this park. I need to get back there soon since I missed out on the Shockwave credit!

 

Yeah, you really have to head back here and try out Shockwave, definitely one of the landmark coasters at the park! I'll be sure to ride roller coasters before ERT starts on the North East trip, in case anything gets canceled!

 

 

Jer- Your SchwarzPorn is outstanding- nothing says 'Oh la la' like a pair of Anton's finest- side by side no less...

 

Rudie, you were totally right about Shockwave, it blew me away and is my favorite ride at the park!

[robbalvey]

Great pics as always Jeremie. I really had a great time at Texas Giant Bash. I agree with your thoughts on the theming and coaster collection. I was very impressed with this park. I need to get back there soon since I missed out on the Shockwave credit!

 

Yeah, you really have to head back here and try out Shockwave, definitely one of the landmark coasters at the park! I'll be sure to ride roller coasters before ERT starts on the North East trip, in case anything gets canceled!

Yes, it's very much recommended! I always tell our trip participants never to wait on getting a credit until ERT because you never know what could happen! We've seen coasters break down right before ERT, during ERT, etc.

 

On our Mini-Scandi 2006 trip, Speed Monster broke down for the night *right* before ERT, and luckily, I had told everyone to get a ride on it while it was running during the day, because you never know what might happen!

[cal1br3tto]

I'm glad someone else loves S:TOP! I could swear I keep hearing it's overrated, but it's one of my favorite towers. It was running a long, thrilling program when I rode, although this isn't always the case.

 

I agree that SFOT has a stand-out coaster collection. It's earned a spot as one of my favorite SF parks.

 

^I think I've only saved Sierra Sidewinder for ERT. I'm glad we only missed out on Little Dipper during the Middle America trip, which didn't matter to me since I caught it early.

[Jojo19799]

I will not be making the same mistake on the NE trip! I think our group kept trying to get over to Shockwave, and as usual I got everyone unfocused and never made it there until ERT. But, SFoT is such an awesome park, even if I did get all the credits I would go back.

[BrandonR]

I'm glad someone else loves S:TOP! I could swear I keep hearing it's overrated, but it's one of my favorite towers. It was running a long, thrilling program when I rode, although this isn't always the case.

 

From what I've heard, the summer's extreme heat (which can definitely extend into spring or fall) forces it to go into a spaceshot or turbo drop mode, not the combo mode that does both.

[Jerrykoala2112]

Hey fellow TPR readers! I am back to update you guys with my first 2012 trip report, which includes Six Flags Great America opening day!

 

There were a lot of changes around the park, some little (new shops) and the obvious (X-Flight). Overall, I felt that the park improved over last year. Paths were cleaned, new staff that were really friendly and knew what they were doing, and stuff like that. The weather was on our side, as it did not rain, but it was cold and foggy. Crowds were typical, with SFGAM's opening day discounts, everyone was rushing to get a season pass (which was the longest line of the day). Most of the rides were the same as last year, East River Crawler is gone for the season, Iron Wolf too. Viper and American Eagle were running as smooth as last year. But for some odd reason, American Eagle's mid-course breaks were off and we were flying through the latter half the ride.

 

I'd just like to say that I had one of the most fun days with the TPR Gang: Jon, Cameron, Griffin, Nathan, Ryan, Jo, and Patrick.

As soon as we entered the park, we went to Batman for our first ride of the season. And as soon as we get off, I noticed you can see X-Flight right there. It's weird seeing that there, instead of Deja 'Vu.

Taken from V2's station. You see that it was on the verge of raining, but Great America kept the rides going even with the dense fog passing through. Operations were good too.

"Screeeeeee!!!" It's just as good without the holding brake.

The remains of Iron Wolf's station. I'm glad that they moved the Karaoke away from the Farmer's Market... I was tired of hearing bad singers while eating food.

X-Flight. Seriously, this ride looks amazing. You might see the photos and go "Ehhhh, Wild Eagle is better" but this ride is a lot more pretty.

ENTRANCE SHOT. This is the fourth inversion on the ride.

The park still plans on connecting the trains again, once they get the track installed. This is what it looks like at the moment.

You can usually see Chicago from Giant Drop, but it was way to cloudy to see beyond the park.

Raging Bull had a full queue, so we didn't ride. Not my favorite ride.

Directly vertical drop.

Probably a picture everyone takes when they visit SFGAm.

Giant Drop had a problem with one of the carts, but operations were good all around the park.

SFGAm has the original Batman, which opened in 1992. And since it's now 20 years later, lots of anniversary decorations were put around the ride to commemorate it.

For some reason, this train has wheel covers. The other train does not have them for an odd reason.

Antique Cars are still here. I hope they do something with the cars, or at least move them somewhere around the park. But by the looks of it, the cars were sitting there all off-season.

Here's just a bunch of photos of X-Flight testing.

Keyhole element.

Drop. (duh)

The inversions on this ride are taken by a little slow, but still cool.

More shots.

The sign! I know, interesting.

I don't really know what to say.

Viper is new this year, it's a B&M Hyper.

Another Raging Bull shot.

Here's a ground shot of Hometown Square. By the end of the day, all of the Season Pass craziness died down since the computers shut down.

And I feel that Whizzer is a must to including in trip reports. Especially for all the Schwarzkopf lovers out there.

[galindoverhere]

Glad to hear you had fun Jer! I never knew SFGAm had the original Batman, and X-Flight looks so AWESOME! Anyways, nice PTR...

[Ed Farmer]

So weird to see Iron Wolf's old stomping grounds like that. Almost as if nothing changed if you just take a quick glance. If you took the last three coasters SFGAm has gotten rid of and started a new park with them, it'd be a damn good park.

[CoasterKings908]

Great Photo TR Jer! X-Flight looks amazing, wish it was at my "local" Six Fags park. By the way, thanks for the picture of Whizzer!

[chadster]

5.28.12

[simon8899]

Great pics. Might still be some time before I'll get my hands on a B&M wingrider. Also like that they keep the old Arrow-trains over there. Here most have been replaced with 1st gen Vekoma-trains which are even worse. But the brand-new Vekoma-trains with these rubber-like OTSRs should be manadatory for all Arrow/Vekoma-loopers - with those these coasters are real fun.

[Coupon]

Great photos Jer! X-Flight looks AMAZING! Hope you enjoy riding it once it open!

[molemaster43]

Awesome Photo TR. I really like those X-Flight photos, especially the one where it is going through the control tower.

[Six Flags Enthuseast]

Nice report, Jer! When I visited SFGAm in 2005, I never realized how special it was in the SF chain. Now, though, I know more its good variety of rides and how it seems to value its older rides more than other SF parks. I think it's awesome that they're celebrating Batman's 20th anniversary; I don't see many other parks do that. It's good that SFGAm has good operations and many open rides in bad weather, because I know some parks shut down with a single drop of rain. X-Flight looks excellent, even better than I was first expecting! I really liked Raptor when I rode it in August last year, and I'm sure X-Flight be just as good as it looks once I get the chance to ride it.

 

Once again, great report! I hope I can get to SFGAm again to check out X-Flight, as well as the other improvements the park has made over the last 7 years.

[sfgam#1]

Very nice TR Jer. I wish I could of made it there this weekend, but now that I think about it ....I'll be there all summer Lol

[mcjaco]

Nice pics Jer. I can't wait to get over there nice and early Thursday for Media Day. The cameras are all charged up and ready to go.

 

Standing on the ground, the layout didn't do much for me. But after watching the test video on the Tribune, I'm a bit more excited to ride this one.

[Jerrykoala2112]

Wow, I know what everyone is thinking... Why have I not been updating this thread more often? Well today is your lucky day because I have a few trip reports I can post onto this thread! Not like anyone cares about this... but let's continue!

 

Over the summer, a couple of my friends and I headed around England hitting up a few theme parks (Thorpe Park, Alton Towers, Chessington, Drayton, and Legoland) and I had a great time. The parks are similar, yet very different than the typical American parks. The rides were great and instead of every park having a boomerang, a powered coaster was the ride to have! Let's start off with Thorpe Park.

 

So flashback to August 9th, what were you doing that day? I was enjoying my day at Thorpe Park. I never knew I'd visit the park this early in my life, especially the year The Swarm opened, and I was impressed! The park was a lot smaller than I thought it would be, but I guess it's because I'm used to American parks. There are mostly thrill rides in this park, as Chessington is more of the family park, but it still didn't disappoint. The biggest problem with the park are the Fast Track passes. I waited over an hour for Nemesis Inferno, even when the line was not that long. They are probably on par with Fast Lane in terms of customer satisfaction. But let's just go into quick detail on some of the coasters...

 

The Swarm: Oh. My. God. Even though I got one ride on this, it's still the best wing-rider that opened this year. It is better than X-Flight, and loads better than Wild Eagle (which is my least favorite). Swarm has the same drop as X-Flight, but I rode in the back row, and wow!!! My favorite part of the the ride was the inclined loop into the low to the ground turn. The plane at the bottom of the drop was cool, but even the barrel roll over the station was really good. And like I said, the best wing-rider that I rode, but I haven't been on Raptor at Gardaland yet, but maybe someone else can chime in on which they like better?

 

Saw: The Ride: Overall, shaky, rough, good airtime, and one of the better Euro-Fighters. You could say it's on par with Mystery Mine with a bigger outdoor section. I prefer Mystery Mine but this isn't too bad. The theming is really good, and I love the Saw movies.

 

Colossus: I heard the countless complaints that this ride is rough, breaks your neck, and overall isn't an enjoyable ride. I rode in the 5th row and like Swarm, I was surprised. The ride doesn't slow down until the barrel rolls, and I *LOVED* the diving in and out of plants and the ground, the play with the terrain is so good! It's weird to say, but it's my favorite ride at the park. I'm not promising you'll enjoy your ride either, but I really enjoyed mine.

 

Stealth: The best seat is definitely in the front row. Fast acceleration, and airtime on the top hat and the airtime hill. I wish the ride was longer, in the sense it did a turn or had another turn etc. I prefer it over Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka!

 

I will also add that the park has a lot of greenery. So many tree, bushes, and plants, although there are some funky smells around the park. Whether is was a trash can or the park guests that don't like deodorant, it didn't ruin my day! And onto the pictures.

I don't have a picture of it, but when you enter the parking lot (or car park!) there is a mini-roller coaster over the road. Apparently it's Intamin track, but I thought it was pretty cool. This is the park entrance though.

The first ride we headed to was Saw. As it is still a relatively new ride with low capacity, it was a smart move. While it wasn't crazy busy, we were able to avoid 30 minute lines by getting there early.

While the outdoor section is a lot crazy than the indoor section, I preferred the indoor part. I don't wanna give too much away, but if you ride the back row first time around, you'll be in for a big surprise!

I honestly was not excited for this ride after hearing all the bad reviews for it.

They were only running one train, so it was a smart move to get on it at the beginning of the day. I will add that even though it has 1 train, they had the train in and out of the station very quickly. Props for that crew!

If you read what I posted above about this ride, the ride weaves under and over the path, and in between plants and bushes and it really adds to the ride.

Nemesis, a huge disappointment. This was even before I rode the one at Alton Towers, but compared to Batman, Raptor, or any B&M invert in the US, it isn't very forceful. The pre-lift is pretty cool though.

There's nothing really impressive about this ride. I think Thorpe wanted to live off of the Nemesis name, but yeah, it didn't work out well.

As far as pretty coasters go, Stealth takes the crown.

I'm always happy when a part has one of these

This ride, ew. I'm not sure why these are popping up at random parks, but they aren't that good. I skipped it, but in 10 years, I can't wait for them to be removed.

Stealth has a great entrance.

The whole day was leading up to Swarm, and I was so excited.

It was my 300th credit after all, so it was going to be special. The drop into the plane was really cool.

See what I mean?

The theming around the ride is well done. Although the queue line is something to complain about.

Mmmmm! This was so well done, and I'm glad I rode in the back.

I'm glad Thorpe Park was able to having something unique for Swarm. The drop and barrel rolls and corkscrews were all taken for other layouts, but the inclined loop is one of my favorite elements anywhere.

[-Edge of Beast-]

Those Swarm and Stealth pictures are awesome! I liked the PTR Jeremie, and I can't wait to see the next one from England!