The Official New Texas Giant Media Day Thread!

[Jojo19799]

 

This has got to be my favorite image. Is it possible to do a caption contest in the future using this picture? I've already thought of a few.

[downunder]

^Tor Johnson had a son and called him Texas?

[coastercrutchfield]

[spacemtfan]

Wow, those are some intense 90 degree turns!

[CPmillenia94]

Well I rode it. Once. Hugest line. It was an awesom ride tho i must say. Not a number one coaster, but up there in the top 5. Great airtime. The drop in the back was just INSANE. As good as el toro. (i only rode in the back) The hill after the first drop was as good as rolling thunder hill, same with the hill right next to it. The three overbanks were each very different. The first had a lot of lats, the second had lats and airtime and was my favorite. It kinda transitioned from a lateral force to semi ejector on the way down. The third overbank was cool because it was enclosed but was useless forcewise, but the hill right after makes up for it. The drop off the midbreak was somewhat disappointing but i mean if it was on a crappier ride like a B&M it would have been very fun, the hill after had light ejector, then the hill diving through the structure after had nice ejector, the sideways hill was very light ejector maybe floater, a nice forceful low turn after, then you go up into a floater hill, and surpisingly ejector on the transition hill right after, then the rest of the way back kept its speed and pace with some good light ejector on the hills and some light lats, even the last hills and going into the brakes had airtime. It would have been better if the end had just as good pacing as the beginning, but then again it was the first day of the ride running.

 

The trains were great, it was NOT the same restraints as the Gerstlauer spinners, they had a flat bottom and had more surface area along your thighs, and they left ALOT of room for airtime even if they were tight, compared to the spinners they were a bit more comfortable and made for airtime imo.

 

The ride was interesting in that it felt steel but it was still not TOO smooth. It might have been the seams or something. You could NOT hear the train going over the seams between the tracks probably because of all the screaming that went over top of it. Overall I wish i had gotten another chance to ride.

 

I also rode all of their other coasters, and was pleasantly surprised by titan. It was raw power the whole ride, and it had alot of good lats in random places where it was WANTED during the ride, like at the top of the first turn, and coming out of the helix, and the last turn before the breaks, and a bit on the overbanks. The restraints were AWESOME because they physically didnt allow you to be stapled. That one airtime hill makes up for the lack of airtime in the ride because it had ejector where your butt did not touch the seat for like 4 seconds. Plus the first drop had good air in the back because of the way it was shaped, and the helixes were intense in in VERY good way. Great ride. I also enjoyed Mr. Freeze because im a fan of launched coasters. The launch kinda sucked, but the tophat had airtime on the transition in, hangtime on the top, then airtime on the way out. The forces were out of controll coming out of the tower. Your just floating for so long and then you just hit the bottom full force and it really catches your off guard and makes the weightlessness all the more effective.

 

Other notes-

-Shock wave and JRS were both closed[!]

-Batman reminded me how amazing that model is

-I reached my 100 coaster mark finally [:I]

-Superman was the worst combo tower EVAR

-park was pretty nice

-Great guest relations office (incredible compared to sfne)

-why are there two log flumes with the same name right next to each other?

-Flash pass only let me ride NTG once and i was veryy pissed

-Most crowded day at a park i have ever seen

 

Counts

 

NTG- 1

Titan-3

Mr. Freeze- 6

Batman- 3

La Vibora- 1

Mini Mine Train- 1

 

Didnt ride anything else

[BrandonR]

-why are there two log flumes with the same name right next to each other?

 

The log ride (flume 1 specifically) was the first log ride in the world. It was so popular they had to add another one 5 years later to deal with the lines.

 

And just out of curiosity, what made SFoT's guest relation office great? Did you complain about something?

[Stephen G]

-Superman was the worst combo tower EVAR

 

Don't be going too hard on superman they have been having compressor problems since last season, so much to the point that they had to take the drop cycle out, two years ago It was awesome but with only two compressors it just cant put out the power, especially on days were they have all 3 towers running at once such as yesterday.

 

Also flume #1 is the first log flume ever built, it is only operated on special occasions or extremely busy days, and any hot day in Texas is A very busy day for the log flume. But it is still a rare treat to see it running "It is definitely the better of the two".

[joco07]

Superman was having problems yesterday, I went on the blue tower and it was very strange it didn't hold at the top for 5 seconds, only 2 seconds. The breaking at the top was not very soft it was was rough.

[QBalde]

Made it out to the park with my son and his fiance last night. Only had to wait just over an hour to ride....short review:

 

yes it is that good!

 

bye

[Ledgy]

Please, can someone invite me and send me your privat jet to germany. I wish I could ride this amazing monster with you Prince Desmond, help me...

 

That looks like heart attacks are included

 

I better start my personal US Coaster review Trip soon!

[Gerstlauer1]

This is an outstanding roller coaster!!!

 

I really wanna ride it one day!!! ... More than i wanna ride El Toro, Boulder Dash, T-Express!

[johnychen]

Just rode it twice yesterday. Great ride. I put it up there with El Toro. They had a sign with an interesting new policy that stated you should not ride with anything in your pockets. Which means you should not ride with a cell phone in your pocket.

New ride policy

[CloneCaptain38]

An Amazing coaster, looks fun, but it sure looks like it has a lot of head and arm choppers, such as in this picture from Robb's video.

 

 

Robb says it is an optical illusion, and the track is a few feet away, well that just shows you that cameras can play tricks on you. Imagine if his arm and hand was that close, and another train zoomed by on the track above at that exact moment, ouch!

 

As for the new Texas Giant design, and looking at the old Texas Giant, was the old one torn down, rebuilt, or just retro fitted with the new track design, because it sure looks a lot different than the original. I think this new design is much better, but than again, I have never been on the original, nor Texas, or Six Flags Over Texas.

 

Nice Ride.

-Tim

[Sportsdude360]

Yeah, that's an illusion. I've ridden NTAG nearly 2 dozen times now and there's plenty of clearance on that section of track. That's the section of track that leads into the first tunnel, I've had my hands up the whole way through and never came close to touching anything. But yeah, it does look pretty scary when seen from that angle.

 

BTW, NTAG has just become my new #1 coaster- it's that good!!!

[mcvays99]

Just rode NTAG Saturday and it is totally bad a$$. The force at the bottom of the first drop is insane and the airtime is top notch! I loved the old TG when it was newer but this is by far a better coaster than the old TG. The loading process is much better than in years past too. SFoT should continue this style of loading IMO.

[BrandonR]

The loading process is much better than in years past too. SFoT should continue this style of loading IMO.

 

What was so different about the loading process?

[QBalde]

Spent the entire day at the park with my daughter yesterday....surprisingly lighter crowds than anticipated...made the FlashPass unnecessary. Rode NTaG 3 times with never more than a 40 minute wait, mostly less. Incredible rides each time. My daughter did at one point suggest that with the levels of mist in the three tunnels Six Flags might want to consider letting one of the body wash manufacturers sponsor the ride and hand out sample soap bars while people wait in the queue. We were solidly damp after each of our last 2 rides.

[BkkMan13]

I dunno people, the whole renovation thing seems weird to me. Texas Giant ain't a woodie anymore, but I think it might've been better that way , and i haven't ridden the new one yet... I'm just paranoid that the awesomeness of wood coasters will become extinct from this steel tracking man. Why take the wood from a woodie?! Ride a steel coaster for steel, if you want a classic and fun bumpy ride then ride a wood coaster. I just don't know anymore...

[QBalde]

In one respect I would agree with you, it is kind of weird. And it is no longer a true woodie. But....having been around the old Giant since it's opening, I can say that for myself, NTG is the evolution this coaster needed, from an aesthetic standpoint, it is fun to see and feel the "spirit" of the old Giant in this new form. Layout-wise the ride has only been altered to remove one circle of the midcourse double-helix and then drop the remaining helix to under the lift hill instead of around it

 

From the enjoyment angle, this ride has taken a giant leap forward. Compared to it's former (painful) Incarnation this thing is babybutt smooth, brighter,visually interesting, but most of all it is once again FUN!

 

Should every wooden coaster get this treatment? No. But if a woodie is structurally and ride-wise beyond hope, then RMC has provided an extremely viable option to destruction and removal.

[texcoaster]

I must agree. I'd hate to see every rough woodie be an automatic candidate for this treatment and I'm actually looking more forward to the first "from scratch" Iron Horse coaster than I am to seeing another retrofit. A wood coaster can remain a great ride for many years IF it gets the TLC it needs. Giant Dipper (either one) is a good example of an old woodie still giving a classic ride.

However, some coasters (like Giant) have simply gotten to the point where they are practically unfixable and even if the money is spent to get it back into shape, the maintenance costs would likely render the thing unridable again in a few years anyway. These coasters are great candidates for a makeover and I'm glad to see the option is available. Like you said, when the options are Iron Horse, leave it in the current unridable state, or tear it down.... Iron Horse is the preferable choice.

[robbalvey]

However, some coasters (like Giant) have simply gotten to the point where they are practically unfixable and even if the money is spent to get it back into shape, the maintenance costs would likely render the thing unridable again in a few years anyway. These coasters are great candidates for a makeover and I'm glad to see the option is available.

This is exactly right. I mean, I too would hate to see woodies that don't *need* this kind of treatment get it, but when you can think off the top of your head of a few woodies that were once GREAT, but no longer are due to either the ride's original design, maintenance, etc, then I can see why parks would opt for this treatment.

 

Having ridden New Texas Giant now, I can only imagine how rides like Rattler, GhostRider, Colossus, Georgia Cyclone, Timber Wolf, Predator, and yes *maybe* even Mean Streak could really benefit from this.

 

IMO, this treatment is NOT for woodies that were never good to begin with, so when people keep saying "Son of Beast" I don't think they quite understand that RMC wouldn't really do much to help that ride.

 

--Robb

[Skycoastin Steve]

^I definitely think Mean Streak could benefit enormously from the Rocky Mountain makeover. It's got more height and length to work with than Texas Giant even had, and CP has the money to spend on it. Will it ever happen? I have serious doubts, but one can always hope. I'd still rather they build something new rather than refurb an existing ride, but that's just a difference in philosophy.

[Rastuso]

Lets not forget the cost, though. NTG cost 10 million. That would pay for a lot of a new coaster. For this to really take off, it must be a lot cheaper than the alternative of an all new ride. I would think Mean Streak would cost a lot more to change because of the structure. It's existing layout wouldn't work as a steel. And that's an issue for a lot of rides. Colossus would suck as steel. Giant was sorta a unique wood coaster. The flying carpet end was perfect for steel transition.

 

RO

[texcoaster]

Lets not forget the cost, though. NTAG cost 10 million. That would pay for a lot of a new coaster. For this to really take off, it must be a lot cheaper than the alternative of an all new ride. I would think Mean Streak would cost a lot more to change because of the structure. It's existing layout wouldn't work as a steel. And that's an issue for a lot of rides. Colossus would suck as steel. Giant was sorta a unique wood coaster. The flying carpet end was perfect for steel transition.

 

RO

 

NTAG cost $10mil, but you're also paying for a learning curve there. The more of these get done, the less they should cost per foot of track.

Also, if RMC significantly altered Mean Streak's layout, it could easily be a show-stopper the way that NTAG is now. Don't kid yourself, just because NTAG's layout roughly follows the same footprint as the original, it's not at all the same... and barely even similar. Flying carpet? It's gone. Very little of what made that section special is left, but it's been replaced by airtime and tunnels. Still great, but in a much different way than before.

 

Mean Streak could get a taller, steeper drop and a ton of overbanks and it could be great.

 

And Rob, I disagree with you on SOB. The fact that it sucked in its original form is even MORE of a reason to redo it with Iron Horse. Give it a wicked, twisting, 90degree banked turn into the first drop instead of that nellie swoop at the top of the lift. Lower the top of that first big helix and enter/exit it with overbanked turns.

Put the loop back in.

Toss in some ridiculous, thigh-bruising airtime in the back half. It can be done and RMC are apparently the sort of folks who could do it.

[robbalvey]

Lets not forget the cost, though. NTAG cost 10 million. That would pay for a lot of a new coaster.

True - but what you compare it to? For example, Carowind's claims that Intimidator cost them $23 Million, CP says that Maverick cost $21 million, and apparently Diamondback cost Kings Island $22 million. Is the overall quality and marketability of NTAG comparable to any of those rides? If it IS, then SFOT got a steal for $10 million!

 

--Robb

Edited May 2, 2011 by robbalvey