Texas Giant will close for a year, get $10 million renovation

Oh I agree with you Moosh, it just hurts so good.

I just pretend it's a woodie ;)

Honestly it acts like a Woodie more then any other steel coaster I have ridden.

Regardless new trains wouldn't do a thing to it. It has triangular hills for god's sake.

She's vicious. I lean into the turns. That seems to help the pain.

I love Maggie.

Kudos to SF for trying to do something with the infamous ride. Maybe Cedar Point will look into doing something similar with MS if it goes well with TG, like Jeff mentioned.

RideMan said:A "smoother, faster ride" and "new trains".This *could* be really, really good.Anybody know who is doing the work? :)--Dave Althoff, Jr.

For that price, INTAMIN. Laminated track and trains. Only thing it could be. TGG or GCI could build the whole thing for that price.Chuck

delan said:Well I guess X2 has started a new trend. Revamp the oldies and market them as new and improved experiences. Now if Cedar point would do the same for Magnum. Can you imagine it with some new trains from ....lets say.....intamin? Bananas!

Anyone got a noose? LOL

Would a reprofiling/decrease in drop height upset enthusiasts?

Six Flags Over Texas, which opened in 1961 in Arlington, will also get another major attraction added in 2011 for the celebration and Shapiro said the company is planning on launching major attractions at all of its 20 parks that year.

Anybody else get giddy at this part?

Back to another point, I agree. MAGNUM IS PERFECT! It has the durability of steel with the ride feel of wood.

Yes, those bunny hills hurt, but it's kind of like eating spicy food: The adrenalin helps take the pain away.

Pull the belt as tight as you can. You'll ride pain-free.

Didn't they only spend about $6.5 million to build it in the first place. I can see $2.5 million allocated for 3 new trains, but $7.5 million for track work?

This would virtually be a rebuild with new footers, etc. Something's amiss here.

I see the whole chain is going to be celebrating SFoT's 50th birthday: "Six Flags Over Texas, which opened in 1961 in Arlington, will also get another major attraction added in 2011 for the celebration and Shapiro said the company is planning on launching major attractions at all of its 20 parks that year." While this is exciting news, I really am starting to wonder how they are going to pay for 20+ major additions.

I just have this feeling it may be a total teardown and replace with a GCI of the same name or "TG2"

...Or an "almost" teardown leaving the Station, lift and final breaks and omitting the midcourse and only using 2 trains.

But I've already been called-out on that thought on another board, so don't take my idea too seriously.

Agent Johnson said:Didn't they only spend about $6.5 million to build it in the first place. I can see $2.5 million allocated for 3 new trains, but $7.5 million for track work? This would virtually be a rebuild with new footers, etc. Something's amiss here.

AJ - you've forgotten about the speaker system, the fog and strobes, laser lights, animatronics, and most importantly, the fire effects... ;)

I just wonder why a renovation is going to cost more than it would cost to tear it down and replace it. Unless they are also including anticipated losses from people who won't visit the park because the Giant is down...

If the ride has problems similar to the ones plaguing Mean Streak, then it wouldn't take much to fix it provided that they (a) equip the ride with trains that can handle the layout properly, (b) make sure the trains are running fast enough through all the curves, and (c) retrack to eliminate the damage caused by the old trains.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Maybe they'll make it in to a hybrid. Keep the wooden structure and change the track to steel... and maybe he's having Vekoma do it.

Unfortunately, pulling the belt tight on Magnum doesn't prevent the jolts, bumps, bangs, and jerks throughout the entire ride. Horrible, horrible coaster.

-Nate

If you're getting hurt on Magnum, then your lap bar is too tight, your seat belt is too loose, or a little bit of both.

And for the record, those hills are not triangular, they are circular. So is the incredible airtime hill on Corkscrew.

Nate, I submit you're a spoiled wuss who probably thinks Apollo's Chariot is a good ride. :) At least when you get back to the station on Magnum, you know for certain that you actually went somewhere!

Seriolusly, though, Magnum features old-fashioned wood-coaster-style airtime and a certain amount of "background noise". That "background noise" used to be present on all coasters, then B&M came along and decided to get rid of it. One of the challenges always used to be figuring out how to maintain a ride not to get rid of the "noise" but rather to limit it so that it doesn't detract from the ride. Too much can turn a good ride into a bad ride (see: Raging Wolf Bobs); too little can turn a good ride into a snooze-fest (see: virtually anything from B&M).

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Apollo's Chariot is an absolute bore, so don't think you've pegged my tastes just because I think Magnum is a piece of crap.

I've heard at least ten different things you're supposed to do to enjoy Magnum (tighten your seatbelt! don't staple yourself! ride in this car or that car or this row, etc). I've tried them all, and I still think the ride is absolute junk.

I'm glad you (and others) enjoy it. Meanwhile, I think it's a poorly-engineered, outdated ride that offers little more than a nice view and a lot of pain. I won't waste my time with it again.

-Nate

???
I think AP is incredible.
I think Maggie is incredible also.
...Two of my favorite steel coasters.

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On topic, I like what Charles and Rideman are thinking! I've always wanted to see an old coaster redone with Plug 'n' Play. This sounds like the best option.

I like turtles.

Also count me as a Magnum lover who loves B&M too. With the exception of their standups, I have yet to go on one and think it was not a good ride. When I revisit parks, usually there are five tiers of rides I think about, rides I must ride multiple times in this visit, rides I must ride once and hopefully more then that, rides I must ride once, rides I hope I can ride once, and rides I will not ever ride; every B&M coaster that is not a stand up has invariably fallen in the first category. Also, Alpengeist still holds my #1 spot, just above Magnum.