Shockwave at Six Flags Over Texas still closed after flood

I would think the park should be able to close off enough of SFoT to do the repair work necessary. Not to mention they could even do the repair work at night. I don't understand the logic of holding off until the end of the daily operations.

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coasterguts said:
I don't understand the logic of holding off until the end of the daily operations.

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Another look at the title and you'll find the words "Six Flags." Need any more explanation? ;)

Danimales, and I don't understand the logic of quote posting, when everyone can obviously read the post right above it.

Now, onto our subject. Shockwave is in a rather remote part of the park, but who knows what kind of equipment they need to bring in to fix the problems. It could be for aesthetic value alone that they don't want to do repairs right now. It is a shame, as it's a rather good coaster. Oh well. There's plenty of other good coasters to ride at the park.

Johnson Creek runs all the way around the base of the ride. I do not believe that there is road access to the footers without going through the park. Regular season operation ends in 3 to 4 weeks. The park will be open until Christmas. Might as well wait and do it right. So you want to bash SFOT for wanting to be safe and do it right ? SFOT is a great park with an excellent General Manager. I'll trust his judgement.

Parkman, WELL said. This is NOT the park to perform the routine "SF bashing" on...

My best guess is that those footers, which sit RIGHT in/on Johnson Creek, might have had some *settling* occur from the HEAVY flooding. My thought is that with the heavy equipment that needs to come in, it'd be near-impossible to do with guests in that area of the park. PLUS, if they need to pour more concrete to stabilize the footers, it's gonna take SOME time for that to "cure" properly, esp. considering the Creek.

And, as I-Fan said....there's PLENTY of other good coasters at the park.

Danimales - Yeah but if you look a little closer it says Six Flags Over Texas.

There's actually a small road that runs through the creek (literally) by the Mine Train. If they went through there (which they most likely will, they did when they built STOP), the Mine Train and train would probably have to be shut down. So that may be one of the reasons they are waiting.
*** This post was edited by The Shy One 7/21/2004 11:32:59 PM ***

There's also a concrete shortage right now in most parts of the country. Perhaps that has some bearing on when work can start also.

I'm just happy to finally hear Shockwave will definitely be repaired, incredible ride, still one my most favorite loopers. With the age of the ride, and Anton's company no longer around, I was afraid they might just decide to scrap it all together. So kudos to SFOT for preserving this Swartz classic, a lesser park may have taken the easier road and just scrapped the whole thing rather than invest the time and money it's going to take to restore it. SFOT - definitely a class act!

*** This post was edited by jomo 7/21/2004 5:37:13 PM ***

Shocky is such a classic steelie and should always be preserved. I too am glad that SFOT is taking the time to do this right.

I totally agree, jomo. We should consider ourselves lucky; and kudos to SFoT!

-Scott

Here's an interesting question/observation...

What would it have taken to REPAIR the ride in its current (*admittedly unstable*) location vs. what it would cost to MOVE the ride within the park to an area where the ride could remain indefintely...

Thought is that they're going to take the time (and expense) to FIX Shockwave where it's at, but if it turns out there's another flood (pretty likely, no?) and the ground becomes unstable AGAIN, what have you gained?

Shockwave is sinking!!!!!1111

But where would they move it? Parking lot seems like the only place it might fit, but we all know how much everyone would ***** about that (especially being at a SF park). Besides, jumping the creek is what makes Shockwave even more fun (ever sat on the right side and looked down on the turn after the MCBR?).

I´d expect moving the ride could be a problem.
It was a stationary coaster from the beginning. Unlike the mobile Looping Star and Double Looping models, it sits on concrete pillars and doesn´t have the conus-plugs that makes it so easy to move these coasters in a short time.

Even the deconstruction of a mobile Looping Star can become difficult! When Bobbejaanland wanted to remove their mobile version after 20+ years, they faced more problems than they had thought of. Corrosion and pressure made it hard to remove bolts and even some of the track parts had to be sawn apart because they were practically "grown" together over the years.
Since Bobbejaanland wanted to save the coaster they took the time to dismantle the ride as carefully as possible. This took them four more weeks than actually planned! And even now its unsure if the ride can be used again at reasonable costs.

Now think that Shockwave is about the same age and that it is not even constructed as a mobile coaster.

I would look for Shock Wave to me removed before it would be moved. Moving it would be too much of a hastle for an aging roller coaster no matter what an excellent ride it is.

Would it kill the park to explain somewhere that the ride is down indefinitely? I was at SFOT for 3 days on July 4-6 and there was no explanation anywhere. A nearbye employee just said the ride was down, said it was mechanical, and that the ride may or may not be open the next day every day I was there. This article, at least, finally fills me in on what's going on.

Now THAT'S a sign of a Six Flags park. Though I agree, SFOT is the best of the Six Flags I've visited so far. (Well... Fiesta Texas was actually the best run so far, but SFOT was the best combination of rides and a good general experience).