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Six Flags Over Texas has announced that for the summer of 2014, they will be turning the popular Batman inverted coaster in reverse. Since the ride was first introduced in 1999, it has delivered countless thrills that have given riders a unique floorless perspective as they hung from the track above. When the ride reopens, it will feature a new train that sends riders backwards through its 2700 feet of track.
First introduced at Six Flags Great America in 2013, Batman Backwards (NAMTAB) has been received as a brilliant modification to an already outstanding ride. Following the opening of Batman Backwards at sister park Six Flags Magic Mountain in California, Six Flags Over Texas revealed that the popular revision to the coaster would be making its way to Arlington for a limited time in Summer 2014. Batman Backwards will allow riders to go spiraling in reverse through two vertical loops, a zero gravity roll, and two corkscrews before bringing the intense coaster ride to an end. The ride reaches a maximum height of 105 feet, along with a top speed of 50 miles per hour. Batman Backwards is located in the Gotham City section of the park, across from the launched Mr. Freeze coaster, which also received a backwards modification at the beginning of 2012. The park is also adding Bugs Bunny Boomtown, a brand new children’s area for younger guests, scheduled to open in the spring season of 2014.
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At approximately 6:45pm on Friday night, a tragic accident occurred as Rosy Esparza of Dallas, TX was thrown off Texas Giant roller coaster. According to Dallas News and WFAA.com, witnesses say that after the ride took a sharp turn, Rosy was thrown out of her seat and plunged down.
Rosy Esparza- whom was estimated to be in her 50’s, was ridding Texas Giant with her family when the accident occurred. John and Darlene Putman along with their two daughters were standing in line for the ride behind Rosy and her family. They claimed that while waiting for the ride Rosy and her family were talking and laughing. When the train returned to the loading station, John said he heard two people scream “My mom! My mom! Let us out, we need to go get her!’” Witnesses say that when the ride came to a complete stop, Rosy’s son was screaming “She fell! She fell!” and ran towards the coaster tracks but ride operators were able to hold him back. The cause of her death still remains unknown, but Six Flags spokeswoman Sharon Parker said the park is working closely with the police department to find the cause of death. The park did not want to speculate on what may have caused her death. "It would be a disservice to the family to speculate regarding what transpired," said Parker. Shortly after the incident, Six Flags released the following statement: We are deeply saddened to share that earlier this evening an adult woman died in the park while on the Texas Giant. Park medical staff and local paramedics responded immediately. Since the safety of our guests and employees is our number one priority, the ride has been closed pending further investigation. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends during this difficult time. The ride was shut down immediately along with surrounding areas, but the park itself remained open. Several concert cancellations were also made. Six Flags made a very interesting announcement this past week concerning existing coasters at two of its parks, Six Flags St. Louis in Missouri, and Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. The company announced that for the 2012 season, it would be relaunching those two parks Mr. Freeze coasters with a new twist, launching them backwards.
To be called Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast, the new-old coasters will become “even cooler” this year, turning the trains around and blasting them off backwards. Six Flags announced the relaunch of the coaster in partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products and DC Entertainment. In 2012, Mr. Freeze will launch at 70 mph, travel through a 190-foot tunnel, traverse an inverted top-hat, and climb 200-feet up in the air, all now in reverse. Al Weber, Six Flags COO, stated in the press release, “reversing the direction f the trains on two of our most popular coasters is a fun twist on the ride experience…Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast demonstrates Six Flags’ commitment to continually push the envelope and deliver new and innovative thrills to our guests.” The story and general theme of the ride will remain the same, with the queue taking guests through “Snowy’s Cones” ice cream warehouse, hideout for Mr. Freeze (the “villain of chillin”). The coaster awaits guests as Mr. Freeze’s “coolest coaster on the planet.” This isn’t the first time Six Flags has modified, upgraded, or renovated an old coaster into a “new” experience. Several years ago, many of the company’s Superman: Ride of Steel coasters were overhauled by his opposite, Bizarro, with the coasters getting a new paint scheme, on-board audio, and fire effects. The company did the same thing with X2, overhauling X with a much friendlier color scheme (red and black vs. pink and yellow), new trains, and pyrotechnic effects. Last year, Six Flags modified Superman: The Escape at Magic Mountain and turned it into Superman: Escape from Krypton, featuring new paint and turning one of the cars around to launch it in reverse. The updated Mr. Freeze coasters are set to make their debuts at both parks in May. Six Flags Over Texas has already opened its gates as of March 3, but Six Flags St. Louis will not open until April 6. Since 2008, Six Flags over Texas has kept its giant woodie, Texas Giant, closed due to supposed renovations to improve the ride. Most woodies designed by Dinn Corperation, including Mean Streak and Texas Giant, often recieve complaints on roughness. Six Flags decided to do something about it.
Throughout 2009, the park has kept a lid on the details on how Texas Giant was to be transformed. A few sections of track have been demolished to accomidate track changes, but even then, the park kept quiet. Now, the park has finally released details. Texas Giant shall recieve a massive $10 million overhaul. In terms of track work, the ride shall be using a new I-beam style of track work with a special backbone support to accomidate it. In mentioning the I-beam, it will be using steel for track, not wood, which will mean Texas Giant will be a steel coaster, not wood. Despite this, the park has boasted that it will break records intended for the 'wooden' category, including adding 12 ft to the lift hill, topping out at 153 ft, a 'record breaking' 79 degree drop, and 95 degree banking, supposively out banking the current record holder in the wooden category, Voyage at Holiday World. With the added height and steepness to the drop, the ride shall outpace its former top speed of 62 miles per hour. It is also infered that new trains will be made to make use of the new track With all this work taking place this year, it is assumed the ride will be open in time for the operating season in 2011. which happens to be Six Flags 50th anniversery. Six Flags Over Texas’s iconic wooden roller coaster, The Texas Giant, is planned for a rehab during the 2010 season. The 10 million dollar make over will hopefully return this currently rough ride to the amazing ride it was when it opened in 1990. However the refurbishment is scheduled to take up the regular park season.
The Texas Giant was one of the tallest wooden roller coasters in the world when it opened. That may have been its downfall, though. The ride has suffered many problems with its track in recent years because of the stress that the car has put on it with the fast speeds and powerful forces the ride has. It has become a less and less pleasant ride and more painful. It seems as if Six Flags management has realized that, and retracking will be in the plan to refurbish The Texas Giant. The refurbishment will also include new cars and possibly new themeing. The opening will come as part of the parks 50th anniversary celebration. Six Flags Over Texas was the first park in the Six Flags chain but in recent years it has gotten less attention than some other parks. The park in Arlington Texas was first opened in 1961 and has since expanded and is now has 13 roller coasters. Six Flag’s CEO Mark Shapiro is thrilled about the rehab to one of the parks classic coaster. “It needs a new life and we’re going to breathe new life into it.” This will be the biggest rehab for any Six Flags ride and hopefully the most successful. |
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