paintballer Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 ^ I wouldn't be sad if TG pulled a Pyscone, Then again, I've only ridden it since 2000 I would much rather have a Maverick Clone or any steel for that matter in it's place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterNews.Net Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I know psyclone was scrapped because it was sinking. Is this what is happening to TG or has it gotten rough for other reasons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 ^That would HELP, but it would only make the ride BARABLE at best. I mean, was Psyclone not demolished for this exact same reason? From what I've read Psyclone was damaged pretty bad by the northridge quake. Probably not the same situation as TG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netdvn Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 ^ IIRC, all the Summers & Dinn coasters from the late 80s early 90s suffer from the same problem of getting rougher and ripping themselves apart. My guess is that SFMM decided that Psyclone cost way too much maintinence wise so they decided to scrap it. The B&M trains were probably causing more wear and tear than SF wanted. Maybe SFOT decided to give TG a full rehab and announce it as an upgraded attraction, like X2, Bizarro, and Monster Mansion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFrombaugh Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Keep in mind that Six Flags is in trouble and might not make it through 2009 to do this rehab (http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=49150). I'd say that in it's current state, Texas Giant is a pretty fun ride, but it certainly reminded me more of Son of Beast than any other woodie and its by no means the best coaster in America or whatever SFOT bills it as. Texas Giant has "Disney airtime". Actually, strike that - the airtime on the drop out of the mountain on EE is better than anything on Texas Giant. If Six Flags files for bankruptcy and the company that picks the parks up doesn't want to spend tons of money repairing the Texas Giant, it'll probably just get torn down like Psyclone did. I don't see it being a top ten coaster even if it was smoothed and the trim brakes were removed - a 137 foot drop at 53 degrees just doesn't cut it in this environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterNews.Net Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Even if Six Flags files for bankruptcy I'd give it a 90% chance that they come back as Six Flags and all of these plans still go through. Its not like Six Flags is going to disappear. They would file for Chapter 11, not Chapter 7 (circuit city filed chapter 7, which = liquidation). Most of the airline companies today have filed chapter 11 at some point and they are still around and doing fine. Chapter 11 has to do w/ restructuring debt and a lot of times operations, but Six Flags operations are doing fine. It is the debt that they inherited from the 90s and early 2000s that is weighing them down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netdvn Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Keep in mind that Six Flags is in trouble and might not make it through 2009 to do this rehab SF has been in trouble since Premier bought all those parks in the late-90s, early 2000s. The main reason people are thinking SF my file for bankruptcy is because the company built up so much debt and the economy is in bad shape. They are also in the process of rehabbing two other coasters as well as a dark ride. I don't see it being a top ten coaster even if it was smoothed and the trim brakes were removed - a 137 foot drop at 53 degrees just doesn't cut it in this environment. IIRC, this ride WAS a top 10 coaster when it was first built, so smoothing out the layout will probably bring it back up on many enthusiasts lists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netdvn Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Keep in mind that Six Flags is in trouble and might not make it through 2009 to do this rehab SF has been in trouble since Premier bought all those parks in the late-90s, early 2000s. The main reason people are thinking SF my file for bankruptcy is because the company built up so much debt and the economy is in bad shape. They are also in the process of rehabbing two other coasters as well as a dark ride. I don't see it being a top ten coaster even if it was smoothed and the trim brakes were removed - a 137 foot drop at 53 degrees just doesn't cut it in this environment. IIRC, this ride WAS a top 10 coaster when it was first built, so smoothing out the layout will probably bring it back up on many enthusiasts lists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFrombaugh Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 ^I'm not arguing whether or not the Texas Giant was a prime in its early years, and it WOULD be better if it was smoother, but what I'm saying is, this is 2009, not 1990, and I just don't see it ranking as high as El Toro, Voyage, Ravine Flyer II, or Balder...even if it's as good as new after the rehab. I might be wrong though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost007jas Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 ^ While that may be true, I don't think ten million dollars will buy you an El Toro.. at least not when you consider the cost of tearing it down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolliger&Mabillard Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 ^With El Toro costing 12 million bucks, 10 will get you pretty close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Monte Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 ^ Enthusiasts may not rank it as high as El Toro, but who cares? This isn't being done to please enthusiasts. If everyday guess appreciate the effort being put into this classic but aged ride, then that's all that really matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolliger&Mabillard Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 ^As soon as I heard this news, and all of my posts throughout this thread, my platform has been that it's just not the best decision for the chain to spend a "new ride" amonut of money to restore something that may or may not get it running like it did as a new ride. Personally, when I look at decisions like this, I know decisions aren't made for enthusiasts, I know they aren't made for nostalgia, and to an extent, they're aren't even made for the guests. I have always felt that capital improvement are made to see a return investment. Despite what we may think, and despite what we may think guest think, decisions like this are always made with the company's return investment in mind. not us, nor the guests. In this econmoy and with the chain in the shape it's in, that amount of money could have been better allocated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost007jas Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 ^ Clearly Six Flags sees something in this rehabilitation that you don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterNews.Net Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 I would wait to hear more details on what they actually plan on doing before judging if this was a good move or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netdvn Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 ^I'm not arguing whether or not the Texas Giant was a prime in its early years, and it WOULD be better if it was smoother, but what I'm saying is, this is 2009, not 1990, and I just don't see it ranking as high as El Toro, Voyage, Ravine Flyer II, or Balder...even if it's as good as new after the rehab. I might be wrong though. It probably won't be a top ten coaster, but if they can get TG running like it did in 1990, it would probably rank fairly high on the polls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterdad Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Some of you also don't understand too is SFOT is not owned by SF corp. There is a group of investor who still own it. Also with all the hoops the park had to do to get the ride I'd say they won't take the ride down. They had to give up some land for the baseball stadium to get Texas Giant built. They almost didn't get it built as the feds. almost said that it was on wet lands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexTitan01 Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Dear Jesus, Thank you for this kind refurbishment of a great woodie. I hope that whatever change comes to Giant doesnt cause it to splinter my ribs anymore than is has already Amen Seriously tho, thank God giant is getting some love. I remember when I first rode it it was actually somewhat enjoyable. Over the years tho the aging has become apparent, and the last time I went to SFOT I didnt even get on the damn thing. When I got back to my house tho I watched an onride video on youtube (lol...), and it made me realize how awesome giant would be if only it was smooth...Wish granted... this news made me a very happy boy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuruGuys Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 At Ace's Lone Star Coasterthon we learned a few tidbits about the future overhaul. They say that it will be only a few weeks before an official press release comes out with most all of the details but what is for sure is that this is not going to be your ordinary coaster track re-working (If the $10million wasn't indication enough . Here are some of the facts we were told either by the park operations president or an engineer who gave a presentation on coaster design. Obviously they were very vague about specifics and stats. We were told that new engineering, which involved many new patents, is going to be used in constructing the new track. An engineer with Six Flags said they borrowed technology from B&M's steel coaster design, mainly the square base track design, and have adapted it for woodies. He said it had something to do with allowing them to be much more accurate in bending the wood and creating turns. The Giant will be the first to implement it. We were told that the coaster will have several wood coaster firsts. We were told it will be taller, steeper, faster and over 100% smoother. They said that you will still be able to recognize it as the Texas Giant layout overall, they don't want to deviate too much from the once award winning design. It will of course feature new trains, they would not confirm or deny if the trains were of a new technology or not. They stated that it costs over $200k a year to currently maintain the Giant, and this update will cut that down into something much more feasible. They said one of the main goals is to bring it up to date with the most state of the art modern woodies. The 50th Anniversary of SFOT, and Six Flags, will be celebrated at every park. There were a few more things I will post later when I find my notes. -GG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkdcoaster Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Sounds great, Thanks for the report. I only rode it once in 1992 and it was one of my favorites. I would really like to do a Texas trip when this is done. JEFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almightyfire Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 ooh yes. this is my 3rd favorite woodie after voyage and el toro. Actually I like TG more than El Toro. I hate it is gonna take 2 yrs to complete. to me there isnt much reason to go to SFOT but TG and Mr Freeze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christianscoasters Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 I rode Texas Giant for the first time back in August. We rode in the front row. Wasn't butter smooth, but definitely smooth enough to put your hands up, relax, and have fun! My favorite woodie! GREAT layout! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that the ride will have onboard audio, fog, and fire effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidcoaster 2 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 They are also gonna paint it Purple Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Joker's Revenge Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 I'd be nice to see Rattler get the same upgrade...Really nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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