SFAW's former coasters? Where are these now?

My guess is that they could have blamed somebody for the damages and be rewarded some type of insurance money. Thats what i have herd but i dont know for sure. The track has been sitting over there for over 3 years now. I dont care what they do with it because it is nothing special. It would be nice to see it put up and refurbished but if not im not going to piss and moan over it.

Batman was not great, nor horrible.
The two stand ups I have rode to compare to.

1. SFMM Riddler Awesome and no comparison.
Made Batman feel like junk.

2. CP Mantis - Wow did that hurt.
It made me really miss Batman and have a new appreciation for him.

Someone mentioned the track for Alpine. The Alpine ran on rubber wheels without what we think as a track. It was more like cars or taxi kiddie rides where a bar guides the vehicle. This shows more or less what I refer to. It also supplied power to the motor. http://www.dafe.org/attractions/darkrides/alpinesleighs/full/alpine...ghs-04.jpg

The track if you will was a concrete sidewalk more or less. What made it really unique was the speed variances. Sometime you were being powered by a motor and other times it was gravity doing the work. It was a great ride. The echo chamber was the neatest part for me. Boy did we have fun with that!

The myan mindbender went to Wonderland Amusement Park, in Lubbock, TX.

Greezed lightning also went to a park in texes.

The twister is still (as of October, anyway) sitting at SFA, in the field just beyond Batwing.

Thanks for the input on the BTE stand-up. Could be my size that doesn't work with that particular ride. I'm 6'3 230 so got a lot of headbangings. The Togos I've been on are actually the most comfortable for me. Intamins are the worst with B&M somewhere in the middle.

That DAFE article was the one I was referring to. It's almost like Arrow designed a souped up antique car ride that was in a trough rather than on a track and triggered various effects along the way. Also sounds like it was a bit of a maintenence nightmare for the park. Fun times!

Cropsey said:

Thanks for the input on the BTE stand-up. Could be my size that doesn't work with that particular ride.

I hate to say it but it was one of those rides you had to learn to ride correct. If I did not put my head out of the pads, then it was not fun.

The sleigh were down a lot, no doubt.
I think some of that is the ride was ahead of its time.
The sensors and other electrical parts were not as reliable back then, but thinking out loud what really good ride is reliable.:) "Downtime" is almost synonymous to many good rides names!

So now that we have talked about the Intamin Stand-up...

What about the TOGO? Oddly enough, I have always been a fan of the company's wacky creations, and Skyrider (CW) is actually my favorite stand-up. I've always heard positive reactions from the Ultratwisters, and I'd love to experience one for myself...sadly, this one is most likely my last chance at riding one. I've seen pictures of the coaster sitting in a storage area with a spiffy new paint job (DejaVu color scheme), and I'd love to know what's going on with it now.

^I have a feeling it will rot in the same field Python rotted in for years. I'm pretty sure it'll never be erected again, at least not at SFA. I'm kinda bummed I never got to ride one of the Ultra Twisters as well, and was hoping this one coming to SFA would change that, but it looks less plausible every year (that and I also heard the rumor that part of it was damaged during shipping, although how badly I don't know).

I agree about Togos--I've always liked their designs. The former King Cobra at KI was my favorite standup (same layout as Skyrider). I even like Shockwave better than all the B&M standups I've ridden.

Togo - King Cobra was the coaster that began my infatuation with coasters. The layout was very well thought out. Every section of track had an important element.

Ultra Twister looked very interesting. I bet I'd love it.

Not many people will admit that they enjoyed Viper at SFGAdv. I thought it was fun if only for the unique track design.

Astroworld - I rode Excalibur when I was 5 years old and still have a decent memory of it. I wish it would have been saved.

I am most upset about Texas Cyclone. I never rode it but it looked like a fine coaster.

We rode Ultra Twister over and over during our 2 day visit in 2000, and loved it. While it may have been past it's day as scary thrills go, it certainly continued on as the most unique and unusual coaster experience in North America. We were part of a large non-enthusiast group, most from Ohio, and they had never seen or heard tell of such a ride. It was a big hit and the one they seemed to talk about the most. It would be nice if it was rebuilt someday, but I would be surprised if it wasn't viewed as an engineering and maintenance nightmare. And with Togo being out of business there would be that lack of manufacturer technical support...

I'm glad to hear the love for Togo standups- while the three models we have (had) here in North America may not have had the largest or most thrilling layouts, I always thought they were, at least, the most comfortable standup trains by far. The "loop" harnesses were ingenious, and headbanging was minimal if not non-existant, - why other designers dont adopt that type of enclosure is beyond me. While Skyrider and Shockwave are still around for us to try, King Cobra was my first stand-up ride and will always have that spot in my heart. I rode Shockwave again last spring, and I had forgotten about the gawd-awful, excruciatingly SLOW trip up the lift!! (Worse than Phantom in the slow lift category!) I'm not sure what gives there - the other two Togo standups werent like that.

Ah, the memories of Excalibur and Cyclone.
Easily the best 2 coasters the park ever had.
It is sad neither were salvageable.

A little about UT for the poster that asked.

UT was very reliable IMO. I am not sure why someone posted it was a night mare. It was rarely down and I visited the park almost weekly for years. I had heard that before AW it was a challenge, but when it came to AW the lift was redesigned. AW staff also had a very good reputation for making troubled rides dependable.

UT was very unique and unlike anything you will experience. Spinning three times around a center axis was a very odd feeling. Once forward and twice backwards. It could hurt the shoulders a bit during the spin if you did not hold up the shoulder harness with your hands. They were VERY heavy. Pressing up against them prior to the spin kept your body from banging into them.

Another famous part of UT was the spiel and loading to "Moving conveyor, please watch your step" Unloading and loading took place on a moving conveyor that was paced with the moving train. The drop from the front seat was also spectacular. Although short in length, you were almost looking straight down.

I also doubt it will be rebuilt but unlike many rides from AW it was not melted down, so there is a slim chance it might be resurrected at some point. With a restraint make over it could be a really super ride.

I have thought that UT looked interesting since the first time I saw pictures of it a few years ago. I wish I could have had a chance to try it.

LostKause said:
Not many people will admit that they enjoyed Viper at SFGAdv. I thought it was fun if only for the unique track design...

I am most upset about Texas Cyclone. I never rode it but it looked like a fine coaster.

I really enjoyed SFGAdv Viper in it's first season. It was a quick, intense ride that was fun..not comfortable but totally tolerable. Really packed a punch, also apprecited the simple layout with cool track design.

Rode again in '03 and it was just brutal. Hands down my most painful coaster experience ever. It was a busy day in the park and this was a walk on with empty seats. Actually felt like a pop sensation in my neck durning the first roll. Sore neck the rest of the day, no longer a fun ride.

Texas Cyclone was a cool ride with crappy trains that spoiled it. You didn't miss a whole lot there.

ApolloAndy said:
And why would they do that?

To avoid having to put it back up & in operation.

I loved TCyclone, and thought UltraTwister was much cooler in concept than in execution. The loss of Viper was saddening, and the former GL is now listed as "in storage" at Joyland Lubbock... :( http://www.rcdb.com/id3514.htm

If Ultra Twister goes, it will mean that the two best rides from SFAW never got to continue service. The drop on Ultra Twister was amazing, and the Texas Cyclone was easily one of the best woodies out there.

I'm pretty sure that Darien Lake could just opt not to rebuild a coaster if they didn't want to. Nobody had to go beat the hell out of it just so they had some sort of bizarre excuse for not reconstructing it. They own the ride, they own the park, and they can do whatever they want. If they had no intention of rebuilding it, they probably would never have relocated it in the first place.

That's really just one of the weirder conspiracy theories I've seen posted here...

-Nate

I think that are not going to build it. I think the conspiracy theory was that Six flags knew they were dumping Darien Lake so why not just put their used old rusted coaster there instead of paying to get rid of it. "lets let Darien lake deal with it" If you have seen my pics of the coaster you can see how bad it looks now. But it was that way since it showed up across the street years ago.

So it makes more sense to spend the money to dismantle a ride in pieces, load it onto several trucks, and haul it halfway across the country than to just completely tear it down, sell it off to steel recyclers, and actually earn some cash from the defunct ride? Sorry, not buying it.

-Nate

I Didnt say it was true or not, but that is what i heard from many people in our area around here in buffalo.