For Thrillseekers, It Feels Like Christmas in May

May 24, 2013

Having had the pleasure to run down to Texas and enjoy the newest thrills the Lone Star state has to offer, I can say it will be an exciting summer down there. We had two projects that were both a blast.

Due to Six Flags’ great marketing efforts you have probably heard of them, but if you have been living under the social media rock let me drop some knowledge on you. First, we head to Dallas where things are big. Very big. 400-feet big. The Texas StarFlyer, the tallest attraction in the park is a tower that never seems to stop. Visible from over ten miles away this vertical swing is amazing. 24 guests board tiny seats held only by chains that seem too small to be secure. The ride whisks riders to well over 30 stories in the air so they can see forever. One thing that separates this StarFlyer from others is the chain attachment method. All of the other Six Flags StarFlyer seats sit in between sweeps and have one set of chains attach to the sweep in front of them and one in back of them. In Arlington, everything attaches to one sweep directly above the seat. This single connection point means that the seats pivot side-to-side- a lot.

A few hours from Dallas, San Antonio to be exact, there is the Iron Rattler. This year we were lucky enough to work with the park on two projects, a Funtime Slingshot that opened in March and the Gerstlauer “Iron Rattler” trains that debuted in May. These new trains look fantastic and are some of the most comfortable rolling stock around (the coaster isn’t that shabby, either). Diving over and through the quarry walls that surround Six Flags Fiesta Texas the “Iron Rattler” trains really make a fiberglass statement. Each train is adorned with a detailed snake head in the front and a rattle in the back. They are hands-down some of the best roller coaster trains I have been on. While I am a bit biased, I feel if you look the Rattler in the eye you will feel the same.

-AFS

ride1141992

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