Texas Six Flags Parks
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Myself and three others just went to the three SF parks in TX for a spring break trip. Overall the trip was very disappointing...
We first went to AW on 3/17. B:TE was awesome (more Intamin stand-ups!). I was impressed with Serial Thriller, but it's too rough and slow to be on par with B&M's. Greezed Lightnin' was about as good as a single-inversion boomerang can be, but Viper and the Cyclone were both disappointments. I had heard the Cyclone was good, but it was braked beyond words. I'm talking slower than the Mean Streak kinda braked. IMO there is absolutely no excuse for that; if they're gonna ruin it like that they should just tear it down and replace it with something else. And worst of all, Tas' Tornado, Ultra Twister, and XLR-8 were not even open -- no problems, AW just didn't have anyone there operating them.
SFFT was a rainout, 'nuff said. The Scream was very impressive, but not a Power Tower. We did ride the Hustler and Der Twister, two good flat rides.
SFOT was the biggest disappointment. The Giant was good, as expected. Kinda like SFGAm's Viper but rougher and faster -- they're about equal on my scale. The Shockwave was also good, and La Vibora would have been better with more speed and intensity. But the Flashback and Judge Roy Scream weren't running, and I didn't get a chance to ride Mr. Freeze. I'm sure it will be better when we go back for the Titan.
So...why does SF just shut down some rides? That really irks me...if they're going to open the park, they should run everything, or at least offer discounted admission. The Florida parks run everything they have during the offseason, so why not SF? Bottom line: SF parks SUCK during the offseason, open or not.
We first went to AW on 3/17. B:TE was awesome (more Intamin stand-ups!). I was impressed with Serial Thriller, but it's too rough and slow to be on par with B&M's. Greezed Lightnin' was about as good as a single-inversion boomerang can be, but Viper and the Cyclone were both disappointments. I had heard the Cyclone was good, but it was braked beyond words. I'm talking slower than the Mean Streak kinda braked. IMO there is absolutely no excuse for that; if they're gonna ruin it like that they should just tear it down and replace it with something else. And worst of all, Tas' Tornado, Ultra Twister, and XLR-8 were not even open -- no problems, AW just didn't have anyone there operating them.
SFFT was a rainout, 'nuff said. The Scream was very impressive, but not a Power Tower. We did ride the Hustler and Der Twister, two good flat rides.
SFOT was the biggest disappointment. The Giant was good, as expected. Kinda like SFGAm's Viper but rougher and faster -- they're about equal on my scale. The Shockwave was also good, and La Vibora would have been better with more speed and intensity. But the Flashback and Judge Roy Scream weren't running, and I didn't get a chance to ride Mr. Freeze. I'm sure it will be better when we go back for the Titan.
So...why does SF just shut down some rides? That really irks me...if they're going to open the park, they should run everything, or at least offer discounted admission. The Florida parks run everything they have during the offseason, so why not SF? Bottom line: SF parks SUCK during the offseason, open or not.
Man thats got to suck. Superman:KC is an awsome ride. Not to mention Poltergiest, I love that one. Even Roadrunner Express was fun with some big G's.
You never know when your going to catch Six Flags on a bad day. That's why I'm glad we also have Knott's Berry farm and two Disney parks here in California! ;)
Yes, superman Krypton is the best, and so is mr. freeze. It's quite a shame you had to miss them. Last year, texas cyclone was running pretty fast. Either I am easily excited, or you caught it on a heavily braked day.
As far as Astroworld goes, the rides were shut for a reason, not because the park wanted them down. XLR8 and Ultra Twister are rare types of coasters and when parts need to be replaced they are hard to obtain. How can you say there was nothing wrong with them, didn't you notice UT didn't have a CHAIN on the ride? For the record, XLR8 was fixed within a week and Ultra Twister should be back online any day now.
Texas Tornado has had many, many troubles over the past few years. After all, it was a travelling coaster that's been assembled hundreds of times. Recently they've been having difficulties with the trains Schwarzkopf rebuilt for them. No idea when it'll be back online, sorry. This ride was down about a third of the 2000 season as well, I imagine Astroworld is regretting this purchase.
Texas Cyclone isn't really braked that much. The trains received new wheels that are still breaking in, and it takes an hour or two to get warmed up and up to speed. If you rode it first thing, it makes a big difference to come back and ride it later in the day. I've had a number of good rides on this thing this season, there's no brakes in the drop like on Giant and harsh stops like on Rattler. It's really one of the better wooden coasters around here.
http://sixflagshouston.com
Texas Tornado has had many, many troubles over the past few years. After all, it was a travelling coaster that's been assembled hundreds of times. Recently they've been having difficulties with the trains Schwarzkopf rebuilt for them. No idea when it'll be back online, sorry. This ride was down about a third of the 2000 season as well, I imagine Astroworld is regretting this purchase.
Texas Cyclone isn't really braked that much. The trains received new wheels that are still breaking in, and it takes an hour or two to get warmed up and up to speed. If you rode it first thing, it makes a big difference to come back and ride it later in the day. I've had a number of good rides on this thing this season, there's no brakes in the drop like on Giant and harsh stops like on Rattler. It's really one of the better wooden coasters around here.
http://sixflagshouston.com
As far as Astroworld goes, the rides were shut for a reason, not because the park wanted them down. XLR8 and Ultra Twister are rare types of coasters and when parts need to be replaced they are hard to obtain. How can you say there was nothing wrong with them, didn't you notice UT didn't have a CHAIN on the ride?
A ride op told us that he was supposed to be on the Texas Tornado that day but had been moved. I'm trying to think of the ride he was on but I don't remember...maybe Lothar can post that. He said he had no idea why any of the rides were shut down, and I took that to mean they could have been open but weren't for some reason. My mistake, sorry for the bad info -- next time I'll do my own "research."
Texas Tornado has had many, many troubles over the past few years.
But was that the reason it was not running just over a week ago? The fact that someone was supposed to be running it and had been moved the same day tells me there may have been something other than mechanical problems going on.
Texas Cyclone isn't really braked that much. The trains received new wheels that are still breaking in, and it takes an hour or two to get warmed up and up to speed. If you rode it first thing, it makes a big difference to come back and ride it later in the day. I've had a number of good rides on this thing this season, there's no brakes in the drop like on Giant and harsh stops like on Rattler. It's really one of the better wooden coasters around here.
If that's true that would surely make a difference. But we rode the Giant shortly after it opened and it was a very fast and very good ride. Trim brakes are bad, but at least it had enough speed to still be exciting. I wish now I would have tried the Cyclone later that day -- my friends all said it was great last year. *** This post was edited by StandUpFan on 3/27/2001. ***
A ride op told us that he was supposed to be on the Texas Tornado that day but had been moved. I'm trying to think of the ride he was on but I don't remember...maybe Lothar can post that. He said he had no idea why any of the rides were shut down, and I took that to mean they could have been open but weren't for some reason. My mistake, sorry for the bad info -- next time I'll do my own "research."
Texas Tornado has had many, many troubles over the past few years.
But was that the reason it was not running just over a week ago? The fact that someone was supposed to be running it and had been moved the same day tells me there may have been something other than mechanical problems going on.
Texas Cyclone isn't really braked that much. The trains received new wheels that are still breaking in, and it takes an hour or two to get warmed up and up to speed. If you rode it first thing, it makes a big difference to come back and ride it later in the day. I've had a number of good rides on this thing this season, there's no brakes in the drop like on Giant and harsh stops like on Rattler. It's really one of the better wooden coasters around here.
If that's true that would surely make a difference. But we rode the Giant shortly after it opened and it was a very fast and very good ride. Trim brakes are bad, but at least it had enough speed to still be exciting. I wish now I would have tried the Cyclone later that day -- my friends all said it was great last year. *** This post was edited by StandUpFan on 3/27/2001. ***
Things happen! A park doesn't guarantee that all the rides will be opened when you visit. Besides, a lot of work has been going on at SFOT. Give them some credit, they worked really hard to get everything ready.
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"Maybe I ain't so shy!"
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"Maybe I ain't so shy!"
StandUpFan said:
"So...why does SF just shut down some rides? That really irks me...if they're going to open the park, they should run everything, or at least offer discounted admission."
First of all, SF doesn't just 'shut down' rides. Obviously, they're closed for a reason. Firstly, Judge Roy Scream was having some train problems and they were working on retracking some of the ride itself. Second, Flashback was probably getting it's trains worked on and maybe finishing up any paint. And thirdly, in case you haven't heard Mr. Freeze has had a stress fracture problem in the train since last year and has been closed since.
Short answer: SF doesn't just close down rides. Rides are closed for mechanical or other problems, and it happens with every park.
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.:| Brandon Rodriguez |:.
http://www.coasters2k.com
Agreed, it happens at every park, but it's the measures the park will take to get those rides back up and running that makes the difference. This is where many Six Flags parks fail miserably. My last trips to SFO, SFDL and SFA were all filled with closed rides, in large quantities. This was never the case at Cedar Point, Kennywood or Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
Brandon Rodriguez said:
"Short answer: SF doesn't just close down rides. Rides are closed for mechanical or other problems, and it happens with every park."
Cedar Point has a great policy: Make the first day of the season, and every day in between, exactly like the last day. That's why some parks will fly in parts, borrow motors from less popular coasters or get the ride running within hours of a roll-back.
I agree with the other posts... you should never get anything less than what you pay for.
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
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