Too many people complain about "The Texas Giant"......

Son of Beast has been the talk of the month.

One thing i haven' ever heard, is it popular at all with the guests?

I rode it for the first time ever this weekend and I have to give it two thumbs down. It hurt to the point of not being any fun at all.

If I ever found myself back at SFOT I would pass it up.

One thing that struck me about the ride was how much the structure swayed around the two turns farthest from the station. The whole coaster flexed!

eightdotthree: It is supposed to flex. It is a wood coaster!

I hope you don't look at, well, all wooden coasters ever made. They just might flex too! ;)

If I had muscles like the Texas Giant, I'd be flexing too. ;)

Up until a few years ago, Texas Giant was my number one wood coaster. I have ridden that ride every year since it opened. From that great first drop to the magic carpet finale I always found the Texas Giant a great ride.

In the past few years, the ride has become a lot rougher. the coaster still packs a punch but now it is to the kidneys. Where I was able to ride it over and over before, now it is just one ride and I have had enough. It is still a great ride from the front seat, but everywhere else (especially the 2nd seat in each car) the ride is so rough that I don't find it enjoyable anymore.

I do know a lot of people who still love it, but I have to say its not the ride it used to be. *** Edited 5/16/2005 1:53:28 PM UTC by Coaster Cynic***

I realize its supposed to flex, but man, it REALLY flexes. Worse than the impulses before they were patched.

Coaster Cynic, thats the way I would describe it, it felt like my kidneys were being punched out of my body.

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TonyBlackjack said:
come one everyone ride my ass for that one because I know you all will.

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The difference is when they try to come on here and explain some people's taste as something other than being completely subjective. As in...if you don't like SOB, or Texas Giant, you are somehow "spoiled." Personal taste is personal taste.

Also, try some periods at the of sentances. It will make your posts easier to read and your opinions more convincing.

Call me crazy, but I really don't mind Son of Beast, in fact it's one of my favorite wooden coasters out there. I really don't think it's any worse than the Beast in the back seat. I don't mind some wooden coasters being a little rough. ROAR at SFA and Wildcat at Hershey are good examples. They're both showing their age, but they are wild rides. I DON'T like coasters that leave you in pain after you get off the ride. Psyclone at SFMM literally had me worried that I was going to break my back and is easily the most painful coaster I have ever been on.

Roar compared to Texas Giant is smooth as glass as far as I am concerned.

I LOVE Texas Giant! It was my number one woodie from my first ride on it in 1991 all the way up until last October, when I rode The Boss for the first time!

Giant still stands at a respectable #2 woodie for me, and defeats other SFOT faves Titan, Shock Wave, and Judge Roy Scream for my favorite ride at SFOT.

I agree that SFOT is a gem of a park, one of my favorite SF's!

When I rode Giant in October 2004 on my Fright Fest tour in which I visit a different park each weekend to maxamize night ride opportunities, it lost it's crown to the Boss, which I had ridden for the first time the previous weekend. The Giant rides were good, but not the BEST rides I've had on it.

Fast forwarding to March 2005, when I spent a week driving across Texas visiting the 3 SF parks and Sea World...

Giant totally kicked butt! The offseason maintenence must have been fantastic, because the quality of the night rides I was getting right before closing were among my best ever on the Giant! The front was fun as always, and the back blew me away with the combination of airtime, wildness, and intensity.

Yes, like the first poster said, it showed me who was boss, and I LOVED every minute of it!

It definitely made a good case to reclaim my number 1 woodie ranking... it's close!

Frontrider

Coaster Cynic... How old are you? There is a good chance that your are correct and the ride is rougher as this tends to happen with wood. However, I've found that I'm not aging so kindly. Even at 33 years old I cannot coaster marathon on wood coasters like I could even 5 years ago. While wood coasters are still my favorite, I have to moderate my riding frequnecy on any given day/week. Any of you other old farts have the same problem OR am I just an aging wuss...?

*** Edited 5/16/2005 6:06:44 PM UTC by Jeffrey R Smith***

Aging wuss....;)

KIDDING! :)

I'm 37, and getting the opportunity to *marathon* Ghostrider, or even TrEmOrS, is something I still "eat up", with relish...:)

Well RGW, you also have gained "padding" to go along with your age :).

On topic, I'd bet most of you would guess that I'd side with the original poster and say TG isnt rough, it's awesome. But you'd only be half right. TG indeed is not rough. In fact, in my rides in the back I found the ride rather tame. In the front, you get a little of that 'magic carpet' feel near the end, but really, at the end of the day, I *do* compare it to Mean Streak. Two big, beautiful coasters that really dont *do* anything. Oh sure, every one in a while you get an air pop or something, but nothing to make the ride any more than a Simon Cowell "So what?" But for the most part, TG was so forgetable that I wouldnt even take the time to complain if the original poster had not posted.

lata, jeremy

--who is getting in all the jabs he can on RGW B4 October when Florida's new "Self Defense" (term used loosely) law kicks in ;)

"Any of you other old farts have the same problem OR am I just an aging wuss...?"

I turn 40 in June and I have no problem with riding for full ERT sessions. Heck, unless I have to visit the bathroom it'll be difficult to get me off Tremors or Timber Terror during our 2-hour ERT at Coaster Alley Convergence later this year! ;)

*** Edited 5/16/2005 7:50:59 PM UTC by Mamoosh***

^and if those ERT night rides come anything close to ACE's spring con. '95 (or was it '96....i can't remember... it was the spring the double up left and the fan curve was introduced) I will be one HAPPY man :)

Scott, who has a VERY special place in his heart for TG, no matter how rough it gets!!!

After paging all the way through this I still don't see why your title is worded like it is. It's seems that those who have ridden TG like it! I haven't rode it myself, and the very few times I heard it brought up nobody really ever complains. The last time I even saw it was on Travel Channel 3-4 years ago. But hey, I've always heard only good things myself.