Six Flags Over Texas (SFOT) Discussion Thread

[Linders]

We went on the night before Thanksgiving. Titan struggled to open and for the entire time we were there (pretty much open to close) it wasn't open. In line for Texas Giant, I saw them run empties. I heard other people talk about a line waiting on it to open and park staff saying it might open soon. I don't think it ever did. If so, it was very short lived. It was butt cold and so I wonder if temps might have had something to do with it. We are supposed to be going with my kids' Boy Scouts on Saturday but forecast is not looking good. Even more butt cold than last week and precip with it.

I have mixed emotions on the seatbelts. For me, NO! I love that moment of feeling like I am floating out of my seat on the that one spot after the second dip. For my son, the lap bar doesn't touch his lap and he's 54 inches tall. It seems like it should go down more. It isn't as bad in the front seat of each car, but still it doesn't touch his legs. He's been fine, and the ride ops assured me he was safe. They asked him to stand up and he couldn't. He rides it all of the time. I heard another mom say the same thing. It's a peace of mind thing I guess. It's all psychology. Titan in 90% positive G's, so it's less airtime and more like you're becoming one with your seat. Highly unlikely anyone's gonna come out it.

[DJeXeL]

Can't say we didn't see this coming.....

So much for Titan being a people eater.

 

Screamscape

[rcjp]

I've been thinking: as they have added seat belts to rides like goliath, fullthrottle and titan which have nothing to do with RMC or Gerstlauer does anyone think they will also add them to coasters like B&M hypers at their other parks? I mean, I suppose it wouldn't be more surprising than putting them in the premiers. Didn't Nitro at SFGAd originally have seat belts?

[DJeXeL]

Yes. As far as I know they only lasted a season or 2, if that. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Coaster Gallery

[PeoplemoverMatt]

I honestly dont blame them for putting seat belts on Titan. After the accident this past summer, SFOT is going to have to go to great lengths to prove themselves to the GP again. A lot of people dont feel safe to come to the park again, let alone ride the rides. Making them feel safe again is top priority.

 

 

It's amazing how people react to one accident in a theme park while fatal accidents occur on roads and freeways every single day. If people are too scared to visit SFOT, they should be so mortified by the sight of a car or a road that they can't ever look out a window.

 

But I think seat belt have more to do with Six Flags being able to afford insurance after the accident. Adding seat belts to rides could bring those premiums down way more than what it cost to install them. Somehow I doubt there's a huge word of mouth effort to get out how the rides are now perfectly safe because they have seat belts. People will always be paranoid and ignorant about coasters, but insurance companies take the addition of seat belts pretty seriously.

[DanM64]

^Does Six Flags actually have "insurance"? Most large corporations just insure themselves. I don't doubt the lawyers mandated the seatbelts to try to limit liability for the company, but I don't think they have an actual insurance policy with an insurance company.

[larrygator]

^Does Six Flags actually have "insurance"? Most large corporations just insure themselves. I don't doubt the lawyers mandated the seatbelts to try to limit liability for the company, but I don't think they have an actual insurance policy with an insurance company.

 

I never heard of large corporations not having insurance policies. But regarding Six Flags

 

I have an old 2004 Shareholders Annual Report for Six Flags and they paid over $21.3 million in insurance premiums in 2003 and over $22.8 million in insurance premiums in 2004.

[DanM64]

Interesting- thanks! I work for one of the largest transportation companies in the world, and I know we don't carry any type of insurance policy. I just assumed that if the company has enough money to cover any possible incidents, it's not really needed. I would think with premiums like those you posted it would be easier and cheaper to just set up your own insurance program?

 

I definitely appreciate the clarification, that's exactly why I asked!

Edited December 8, 2013 by DanM64

[GigaG]

The fact that an addition that would prevent a highly unlikely accident (whichcould already be prevented with good training) could have a huge effect on insurance is ridiculous. Would better training for ride ops have an effect on insurance?

[jfruge]

I am of the opinion that insurance rates are going to be completely unaffected in the foreseeable future by any changes made short of installing five point harnesses in conjunction with OTSR's on every coaster in the park.

[GwaziBSRider1]

I've heard way back in 1975 that insurance agencies were reluctant to insure Revolution at Magic Mountain because it only had the lapbar and not an OTSR like Corkscrew at Knott's.

[3Mutts]

^ And that's sadly why the ride sucks now... To bad for the worlds first ride with a successful loop.

[GigaG]

While Shockwave and Mindbender still have the good old lapbars. I blame California.

[GwaziBSRider1]

Making my first visit to SFOT in a few weeks and I've got a few questions about the place.

1. How crowded would the park be the weekend after Christmas? (12/28 & 12/29)

2. Is there an official policy regarding ride closures due to temperature? I couldn't find anything on the website.

Thanks in advance!

[Mrlittle]

^ It would probably be good to watch the weather. The park has been closing lately due to bad weather. I'm not sure what the rules are but it was around 36 degrees one year and I was still able to ride coasters at the park.

[TexasThrillSeekers]

Hey everyone! The Texas Thrill Seekers group will be at SFOT this Saturday from 2-10. Come join us if you can!

[disneyfreak1986]

Hey there! Been following these forums for the last couple of years and enjoy reading everyone's thoughts and opinions on here.

 

Coming from the DFW area and wanted to give y'all a quick trip report from my latest visit to SFOT.

 

Dropped in for Holiday in the Park for the first time this season. My family and I tried to go the Friday after Thanksgiving and the park was insane. That afternoon guests were already starting to park in the back lot after only being open two hours. I guess with the weather not cooperating for the first weekend (Nov. 23rd & 24th) and the park offering bring a friend free for season pass holders it seemed to bring out the crowds. We then tried going last weekend but obviously we couldn't go due to the Icemageddon that occurred last weekend. So we thought we'd give it a try tonight.

 

Let's just say the park was DEAD. I'd say less than 1,000 people were at the park tonight. Weather was cold and damp tonight. Maybe that kept people away; however, it was perfect for me and my buddy that tagged along. Walked on every ride that was open we wanted to ride except for Superman. Atmosphere was great and the Fa-la-la-la light show was nice. I did like the way the park has moved the "Christmas tree" that used to be decorated on the Texas Chute Out over to the Tower. It also seems that the park has become super energy conscious with the majority of the lights up in the park being LEDs. It gives it a crisper cleaner look and I enjoyed all the lights throughout the park. Decided to skip out on all the shows since they've been the same ones we've seen the last several years. Really wish the park would have kept the Majesty of Christmas which is now at Fiesta Texas. That show was one of my favorite parts of going to Holiday in the Park every year.

 

Noticed that they've also started construction on the expansion to Looney Tunes Land. The train, mini bumper cars, and daffy's tour ride (or whatever its called) have all been removed since Fright Fest began and the area has been walled off. Other than that, not much has changed construction wise. It'll be nice to see the expansion next year when everything is finished.

 

Wishing the park had Batman and Freeze open tonight cause it really puts a damper on being able to ride the bigger roller coasters but I understand that they have to start maintenance on them at some point.

 

Overall, I enjoyed my visit with the crowd being super light and the weather cooperating enough for us to enjoy our night. To me and my family it isn't a Texas Christmas without our annual visit to Six Flags and Holiday in the Park!

[Mrlittle]

^ Welcome to TPR. It sounds like the light crowd really helped your day. I'm really hoping I can make a trip out to Holiday in the Park soon. Thanks for sharing some thoughts on your recent trip.

[disneyfreak1986]

^Thanks!

 

I've grown up in DFW so SFOT has been my home park since I was little. So, I'm used to the park being super crowded. It always is nice when you can walk onto rides and be able to re-ride without having to go back through the line. The park was so dead last night that ride ops were cycling Shockwave trains through empty to let people know driving by that park WAS open. The longest line we waited for last night was for Superman since they had only one tower open, but after about waiting 15 mins they opened the yellow tower and we immediately were seated.

 

I guess the weather had a lot to do with the crowds being SUPER light, but I'm not complaining! It certainly looked and felt like Christmas at the park last night!

[boardwalkbullet91507]

^Thanks for the report! I personally enjoy weather like that too. It drives the crowds away and you get to ride all you want. It's a shame I couldn't make it out there this season, but from what you've posted the park did a nice job this year with HITP. Also, I'm glad the renovations have already begun on the children's area. I'm assuming it will be finished by opening day next season, unless the park wants to open without rides for an entire age demographic; to me that just isn't a smart move. Again, thanks for the trip report!

[disneyfreak1986]

^Anytime!

 

From what I can remember from last year during HITP, there really isn't anything "new." They've just transitioned most of the lights to LED's to conserve on energy and they moved the kids karaoke that used to be in Looney Tunes Land to out in front of the Texas Theater over by Yosemite Sam. Other than that, its the same stuff as last year so you aren't really missing much.

 

From what I could tell when riding the train around, the expansion to Looney Tunes Land is going to be just to the left of where you entered the area. The entire portion of the area was graded and walled off. It'll be interesting to see how they expand that portion of the park which is VERY limited on space. Everything else in the kids area was open and doesn't look like it's going anywhere, but then again they need those rides open for the age demographic. I would think they probably will concentrate on getting a majority of the expansion completed before March rolls around and then concentrate on finishing it up before schools let out in the summer. Who knows. Time will tell.

 

I just wish we were getting a new roller coaster for next season. Here's to wishful thinking for something we've never seen before for 2015...

[goatdan]

I never heard of large corporations not having insurance policies. But regarding Six Flags

 

I have an old 2004 Shareholders Annual Report for Six Flags and they paid over $21.3 million in insurance premiums in 2003 and over $22.8 million in insurance premiums in 2004.

 

Look again if you would. Those could very well be employee insurance premiums, not insurance premiums for insuring the rides and whatnot.

 

From what I believe that I have heard / remember hearing, Six Flags was self insured under Time Warner. When Premier bought the chain, they brought in AIG to insure accidents in the parks, but I believe they actually removed that insurance or made the claim cost extremely high on it.

 

For certain things like insuring yourself against a roller coaster accident, it is actually cheaper to keep it in house. The insurer has to guard against the company not maintaining things properly and then being forced to pay out, thus making the premiums higher. If all maintenance is being done properly regularly, the company can squirrel away some money so that they can pay out when needed, which should theoretically be far less often than the premiums that the insurance company would want. For the other things insurance companies usually help with - disaster mitigation, lawyer fees, and so on - Six Flags already has those positions in house and ready to go.

 

Finally, this doesn't include building insurance premiums and stuff like that, which is much more likely that they may have a claim for something like that.

 

Hope that all makes sense. I truly don't know their current situation, but it would surprise me if they weren't paying the entire $1 million claim (if awarded) themselves. Also, I can pretty much guarantee that it'll never go to court, and they will settle quietly before that.

[GwaziBSRider1]

I'm going to be at the park this weekend. Will it be completely packed? (I'm guessing this will be a yes, but you never know)

[bigboy]

Most definitely. High temp in the 60s on Saturday and the low that night will be above freezing. Sunday is a supposed to be a little cooler, but probably not enough to slow things down.

[Linders]

We went yesterday and it was kinda busy but not horrible. I predict it will be very busy this weekend. Next week, however, should be a nice light crowd. If it's anything like last year. We didn't stay long, but plan to return on Monday. I did get a chance to experience Titan with seatbelts. To be honest, I really didn't notice any different. Texas Giant was great as always. I have to say that I can't recall a visit to Six Flags and Titan NOT going down. It's not usually for very long, by it always happens.