Six Flags Over Texas (SFOT) Discussion Thread

[coastersrule85]

This is a sad day for me. I really liked the Alamo facade.

I also am one of the few people I know that loves Texas Giant the way it is. I just hope it maintains its controlled chaos feel after the work is finished.

As for our other Six Flags park in Texas, I would rather see a complete overhaul of Rattler than see a new attraction. Although there aren't many, Fiesta Texas has some nice coasters: Superman, Polty, and Goliath. Rattler is a beautiful ride to look at but boring as heck! A well-thought-out plan for track work to get a little speed back on it would be great.

[ChrisZer0]

The Alamo facade bascially took up real estate that could be used for something else. I know us Texans are about "remembering the alamo", but the facace did nothing and was stuck in the back of the park.

[paintballer]

The Alamo facade bascially took up real estate that could be used for something else. I know us Texans are about "remembering the alamo", but the facace did nothing and was stuck in the back of the park.

 

So whats the slab of concrete gonna beused for? Smoking section? Real good, better then the Alamo...

[haiderodes]

When SFOT got Tony Hawk last year, they treated it as a major new attraction. Afterall it was their first new coaster since Batman was added in 1999.

 

No, actually Titan was the last coaster added. It debuted in 2001!

I'm a really glad they will be doing some major work on The Giant. It is brutal. I would love to be able to ride it again and enjoy it as I did when it first opened. Maybe I can ride it without having to take some Advil before I get on!

 

My bad! That's still 7 years between coasters...pretty major deal!

[jps294]

As for our other Six Flags park in Texas, I would rather see a complete overhaul of Rattler than see a new attraction. Although there aren't many, Fiesta Texas has some nice coasters: Superman, Polty, and Goliath. Rattler is a beautiful ride to look at but boring as heck! A well-thought-out plan for track work to get a little speed back on it would be great.

 

I to belive that Rattler need to be transform. Like make it like it did in 1992 when it had the longest drop, and change the trains.

I think it will in 2012 for Fiesta Texas 20th.

 

Thanks.

[SFOGdude25]

Very very VERY good news indeed! I would love to see if Six Flags puts Timberliners on the Texas Giant. We need to see them in action!

Also I hope to see them make the first drop tighter and steeper for more airtime. I always thought TG had a weird-shaped first drop (that just me). You know the funny thing is I've always thought about parks doing something like this where the coaster is given an almost completely new layout using the same footprint. This should be a fun project to watch!

[John Peck]

Not to start any rumors here, but I have this funny feeling...

 

That this is going to be an entire tear-down minus the lift hill and station and a new GCI coaster will take it's place under the same name and similar stats.

[the ghost]

Really? I doubt they could do the tear down and get a new ride up in a year. Although, that would be awesome, but I've never been on the Giant, so I don't know. Also, GCI woodies are not that big, however, if TGG were to completely remake the ride, they could add timber flyer trains.

[netdvn]

^ There was a rumor that SFOT would get a new woodie sometime soon. And considering the SFOT is the only original SF park to not recieve a major attraction in recent years, something like that COULD happen.

[paintballer]

^ There was a rumor that SFOT would get a new woodie sometime soon. And considering the SFOT is the only original SF park to not recieve a major attraction in recent years, something like that COULD happen.

 

Lets hope and pray for that!

[texcoaster]

I was mainly referring to Scruffy's post, and everyone who's ever said, in the Rumor Thread and whatnot, "OMG Mean Streak is being refurbed this off season and is returning to it's old form..I can't wait to ride it to see how much it has improved!"

 

I rode MS in its first year, and I also rode TG its first year.

Seriously, there is just no comparison.

 

TG opened a year earlier than MS and I remember friends who lived near CP were seriously impressed with MS when it opened. They hadn't been on TG yet, but MS was taller, faster, etc etc etc.... we (myself and a couple of friends who were going to CP with me) were seriously stoked about riding it. Giant was almost a religious experience during its opening season. Yes, it was violent, but that wasn't due to roughness, but simply the wild layout and insane speeds. Once you learned which way it went, you could lean with the turns and ride as much as you wanted without worry. Surely, MS's similar-looking layout and superlative stats would take it up a notch.

My CP buddies met us at the park and couldn't wait to show off their new "backyard coaster". It was really impressive, with the queue inside the bowl and the roar of the trains all around. We got in, sat down, and prepared for bliss.

 

Meh. What a letdown. Fast? Sure. Big? Absolutely. Fun? Yeah. Thrill? Nuttin. All that size, all that speed, and that's the best layout they could come up with? There were almost no forces on the ride at all. No airtime to speak of, few laterals, and the entire ride seemed to be one long stretch of "oooo, look how fast we can go". We rode two or three times, then went back over to marathon on Magnum for the rest of the day.

 

If SFOT can get Giant to anything remotely close to the way it ran in 1990, there will be a lot of big smiles on older Texans.... and a lot of OMGs from younger ones who've never EVER ridden the Giant when it was still a damn good ride.

[CHILLERLC1]

After SFMM's Terminator, maybe after the Texas Giant refurbishment/renovation the coaster will be rethemed to Walker Texas Ranger.

[texcoaster]

Not to start any rumors here, but I have this funny feeling...

 

That this is going to be an entire tear-down minus the lift hill and station and a new GCI coaster will take it's place under the same name and similar stats.

 

No way. Firstly, it's just a really bad idea.

Secondly, there is NO FREAKING WAY they can do what you describe for just $10Mil.

Thirdly, as fun as GCIs are, if long-time Giant fans are expecting a return to the Giant of the early 90s, they are going to be seriously disappointed with a GCI layout.

[paintballer]

^^ That'd be bad ass!

[texcoaster]

Hmmm....

 

Six Flags Chief Executive Mark Shapiro said he likes the “rickety nature’ of wooden coasters like the Texas Giant, but says it needs a smoother, faster ride and will have new trains installed as part of the renovation.

 

“The Giant is so huge. It’s turned into a dinosaur,” Shapiro said. “It needs a new life and we’re going to breathe new life into it.”

 

Shapiro acknowledges that not all coaster enthusiasts will view the renovation as a positive change to the 18-year-old coaster but the rehabilitation of the Giant will be a key part of the park’s 50th anniversary.

 

WHAT????

 

I can't imagine that ANYONE would oppose making it smoother and faster. If he's worried that enthusiasts won't like what they're going to do, then it sounds like there's a lot more afoot than just some retracking and new trains.

[the ghost]

Not to start any rumors here, but I have this funny feeling...

 

That this is going to be an entire tear-down minus the lift hill and station and a new GCI coaster will take it's place under the same name and similar stats.

 

No way. Firstly, it's just a really bad idea.

Secondly, there is NO FREAKING WAY they can do what you describe for just $10Mil.

Thirdly, as fun as GCIs are, if long-time Giant fans are expecting a return to the Giant of the early 90s, they are going to be seriously disappointed with a GCI layout.

 

That is true, but like I said before, if the Gravity Group re tracks his coaster, that will be awesome. The voyage and Hades are pretty big rides, and I am pretty sure the GG will allow their trains to be on rides they re tracked, because the MF trains are already being mass produced. I think every GCI has them besides Gwazi and SFA's Roar. If the timber flyer trains are anywhere near as good as the MF trains, everyone will have an awesome comfortable ride, and insanity is still very possible, cause from what I've heard, all the GG woodies pack a serious punch.

 

^ Maybe he's referring to the long time giant fans like you mentioned they would be mad about the "GCI coaster." There are always some people who prefer their wooden coasters rough. I am from Southern California, and although it is not nearly as good as it used to be, Ghostrider still packs a punch, even if it literally feels like you are being punched. All I know is that either way, this sounds like an improvement.

[John Peck]

No way. Firstly, it's just a really bad idea.

Secondly, there is NO FREAKING WAY they can do what you describe for just $10Mil.

Thirdly, as fun as GCIs are, if long-time Giant fans are expecting a return to the Giant of the early 90s, they are going to be seriously disappointed with a GCI layout.

 

Well, First, I respect your opinion.

 

What makes it a bad idea? Given its size, a complete rebuilt/redesigned layout of the non-mechanical parts from the bottom of the first drop to before the final break would run around $7.5 Million, then omit the mid-course, reset the sensors and purchase 2 GCI Trains. Then add the cost of the tear down and there you have about $10 Million.

 

^ But I think whats really going to happen, is that it will be a completely new GCI coaster named "Texas Giant" or "TG2". I'm thinking a 120-125 foot tall "Roar" with a straight drop.

 

But we'll see, I could be right on the money or the furthest from the truth, but thats the fun of speculation.

[texcoaster]

No way. Firstly, it's just a really bad idea.

Secondly, there is NO FREAKING WAY they can do what you describe for just $10Mil.

Thirdly, as fun as GCIs are, if long-time Giant fans are expecting a return to the Giant of the early 90s, they are going to be seriously disappointed with a GCI layout.

 

Well, First, I respect your opinion.

 

What makes it a bad idea? Given its size, a complete rebuilt/redesigned layout of the non-mechanical parts from the bottom of the first drop to before the final break would run around $7.5 Million, then omit the mid-course, reset the sensors and purchase 2 GCI Trains. Then add the cost of the tear down and there you have about $10 Million.

 

^ But I think whats really going to happen, is that it will be a completely new GCI coaster named "Texas Giant" or "TG2". I'm thinking a 120-125 foot tall "Roar" with a straight drop.

 

But we'll see, I could be right on the money or the furthest from the truth, but thats the fun of speculation.

 

It's a bad idea because they're selling the idea of making the Giant better than it is, and pulling a bait-and-switch on your customers is going to piss them off.

 

It's a bad idea because the original design that locals remember so fondly was a butt-kicking maelstrom of a coaster. "Roar" (pick one) is fun, but it's just not what people are expecting. It would be like "refurbishing" the Coney Cyclone by tearing it down and putting up a Blue Streak clone in its place. Nothing wrong with the replacement in and of itself, but it's not even in the same category when it comes to what people are expecting.

 

I still seriously doubt you're going to do it for $10Mil. While you pulled some numbers out of a hat for the cost of materials and construction, you've completely neglected the cost of engineering, design, and such. There is just as much engineering work on the kind of project you're suggesting as there would be on a brand new coaster... probably more, since you have to factor in the existing structure and its age.

 

While I can totally see some Mil Flyers or Timberliners running on the revamped Giant, I absolutely do NOT want them to scrap it and build another modified Roar clone (or any other clone). Giant is a one-of-a-kind coaster and should remain so.

[John Peck]

^ Well, don't forget, I'm just having some fun with the idea and wishful thinking.

 

Don't get too serious now!

 

My numbers include the cost of design. Most entirely new GCI's run $7 to $10 Million with Prowler being the latter and required a substantial amount of ground prep.

 

I still think SFOT will wind up with a totally brand new coaster in the end, it just makes more sense to me, and Shapiro said some enthusiasts will be unhappy. But like I said, I could be wrong, I'm just having too much fun

 

Dare I say they need to paint it Purple and Blue like Medusa and Superman?

[chauncey]

first things first: the Gravity Group doesn't track their own coasters, so how could they possibly “retrack” somebody else's? huh? the Gravity Group is an engineering firm not a manufacturer, and all of their coasters are either built by other companies (like Boardwalk Bullet, which was built by Martin & Vleminckx), or even the park themselves!

 

i think that if an “established” wooden coaster company takes on the task of retracking it would almost certainly have to be Great Coasters International! the only companies actually building wooden coasters right now seem to be: Great Coasters International, Martin & Vleminckx, and Ingenieur-Holzbau Cordes — and only Great Coasters International is really known for their work rehabbing rides (i'm not even sure if Ingenieur-Holzbau Cordes is equipped to track “traditional” wooden coasters!)

 

if Great Coasters International does do the retracking, i think there's a very good chance that they'll reprofile and rebank the most intense portions of the ride to ease mantience costs and make a complete rehab of this type less nessecary in the future — mostly because they've apparently done it on every coaster they've retracked in the past! — but i seriously doubt they'll make major changes to the overall layout.

 

personally, though, i think any kind of excitment is way premature: we don't know anything about the rehab except that, well, it's happening — it may just be that the ride will receive a basic retracking by the park itself or some random local contractor, and it'll get some boring new trains that'll excite nobody (maybe even the much-hated Gerstlauer trains!?!), and it won't really make a significant difference anyways, and you'll all forget it ever even happened by the end of the season (actually, i'd say that far more likely than most of what i've seen discussed in this topic!)

[netdvn]

Wait a minute!

 

Who said TG was gonna be torn down and replaced with a clone of another coaster?

 

Considering SF's recent trends in rehabbing rides for the better, I can see a complete overhaul of the coaster, maybe by GCI. There's a huge chance that the layout would remain the same as the original although I could see a layout change. Also considering SFOT hasn't recieved a major coaster in a while, I can see this becoming some sort of TG2.

[John Peck]

Wait a minute! Who said TG was gonna be torn down and replaced with a clone of another coaster?

 

I said something like that. I said it could be possible it could be a new ride all together... not really a clone, but I did say it could be Roar-like... just for layout-wise sake. But that was just speculation.

 

$10 Million is a lot for a just a retracked wood coaster, thats why I think it'll be a nearly entire tear-down minus the station, brakes and lift.

 

Giant cost $5.5 Million brand new in 1990. Terminator is running about $10 Mill., but that is built to different Earthquake specs.

 

Like I said, this is pure speculation, so don't take my comments too literally and lose sleep over them.

[BeemerBoy]

Hmmm....

 

Six Flags Chief Executive Mark Shapiro said he likes the “rickety nature’ of wooden coasters like the Texas Giant, but says it needs a smoother, faster ride and will have new trains installed as part of the renovation.

 

“The Giant is so huge. It’s turned into a dinosaur,” Shapiro said. “It needs a new life and we’re going to breathe new life into it.”

 

Shapiro acknowledges that not all coaster enthusiasts will view the renovation as a positive change to the 18-year-old coaster but the rehabilitation of the Giant will be a key part of the park’s 50th anniversary.

 

WHAT????

 

I can't imagine that ANYONE would oppose making it smoother and faster. If he's worried that enthusiasts won't like what they're going to do, then it sounds like there's a lot more afoot than just some retracking and new trains.

 

This is soooo obvious what's happening. Fire, onboard audio, fresh paint, and possibly a catchy new name. It's the Shapiro era way!

 

Texas Giant 2: Mr. Six's Revenge

[megamatt]

Hmmm....

 

Six Flags Chief Executive Mark Shapiro said he likes the “rickety nature’ of wooden coasters like the Texas Giant, but says it needs a smoother, faster ride and will have new trains installed as part of the renovation.

 

“The Giant is so huge. It’s turned into a dinosaur,” Shapiro said. “It needs a new life and we’re going to breathe new life into it.”

 

Shapiro acknowledges that not all coaster enthusiasts will view the renovation as a positive change to the 18-year-old coaster but the rehabilitation of the Giant will be a key part of the park’s 50th anniversary.

 

WHAT????

 

I can't imagine that ANYONE would oppose making it smoother and faster. If he's worried that enthusiasts won't like what they're going to do, then it sounds like there's a lot more afoot than just some retracking and new trains.

 

This is soooo obvious what's happening. Fire, onboard audio, fresh paint, and possibly a catchy new name. It's the Shapiro era way!

 

Texas Giant 2: Mr. Six's Revenge

 

How could they have fire on a wooden coaster without burning it to the ground?

[BeemerBoy]

^ It's special effects fire. I heard they have a contract for Walt Disney Imagineering to create it for them. It's supposed to look like fire, but be cool to the touch. Don't shoot the messenger. I'm just telling you what I heard from Jim Hill Media.