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Park News - (3/5/12) AmusementParkAuthority has posted a trip report from their visit to Six Flags Fiesta Texas on opening day. They were also able to confirm that the Wagon Wheel had been removed and the pathway to the SS Overboard has been walled off on both sides. I don’t know if it was a case of opening day blues or not, but they also reported that Twister (a Top Spin) was running a new program where it no longer flipped anymore. Anyone know why?
    (3/2/12) Six Flags has updated the SFFT webpage again this week and have now removed the SS Overboard and Wagon Wheel from their list of rides. I guess we’ll know more about what’s going on in the park when it opens for the season, but it sounds like both rides are destined for removal… or perhaps just a move to a new location.
    (2/27/12) Quick correction… due to my own mistake, I incorrectly mentioned that the SS Overboard attraction missing from the new park map (but still listed on the rides page) was the old Wiggle’s World ship. The SS Overboard is actually the pirate ship in the boardwalk section of the park.
    (2/24/12) The new 2012 park map for SFFT has been posted online showing off not only Sky Screamer, but it was also notices that the SS Overboard (formerly The Wiggle’s ship) and the Wagon Wheel (Enterprise) rides are no longer on the map. The Wagon Wheel is still listed on the rides page however.
    (11/11/11) Details for SFFT’s Holiday In The Park winter event have been posted to the park’s website.
    (5/26/11) It has now been confirmed on the official Six Flags website that the former Tony Hawk Big Spin coasters have been renamed once again from Big Spin to Pandemonium at Six Flags over Texas and Six Flags Fiesta Texas.

2012 - Sky Screamer - (4/12/12) I’m happy to report that I’ve been sent a confirmation regarding the true height of the Sky Screamer at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. I’ve been told that the tower is exactly 199 feet tall, just under the park’s 200 ft height limit. While the Scream tower appears to be taller, Scream is said to only be 185 feet tall, but the terrain is a bit higher in that section of the park by comparison, giving it the illusion of being a taller structure. For those wanting to know the breakdown… the ground level piece is 22 ft, each of the four tower sections are 39 ft tall, then a top tower section that is 12 ft and finally the ‘crown’ on top is 9 ft.
    (4/11/12) I have to point out that I did make a very unfair comparison of the Sky Screamer at SFFT to the one at SF St. Louis yesterday. For some reason I had assumed incorrectly that the Sky Screamer in St. Louis was also 20-stories, but it is in fact 236 feet tall. So the extra tower segments on the St. Louis version make sense. Fiesta Texas’ own Scream tower ride is also promoted as being 20-stories tall, so that will really be the best attraction to compare height with. A reader sent in a picture showing off the park’s skyline… and I have to say that Sky Screamer still looks quite a bit shorter than Scream.
    (4/10/12) Ever since I saw the picture of the now topped off Sky Screamer at SFFT, it’s been bugging me. That tower just does not look like the promised 20-story tower ride. Has the ride’s height been confirmed with the park (despite the fact that the website still says 200 feet tall) or did they slip in that 15-story tall version instead after all?
    (4/4/12) AmusementParkAuthority shows off the latest progress on SFFT’s Sky Screamer this week which has now been topped off.
    (3/30/12) Color me surprised, because the latest pictures of the Sky Screamer at SFFT posted to Facebook show off the first tower section now in place, and a crane putting the carousel piece onto the tower already at this early stage. I guess I figured they would put this on last, but apparently not. A few pictures later show off the tower with four tower sections now in place. At this rate they’ll have it topped off before you know it.
    (3/15/12) A few new construction pictures of Sky Screamer at SFFT have been posted to Coaster-Net.
    (2/20/12) The base of the SkyScreamer at Fiesta Texas has been put in place, with a new color scheme it seems… yellow and black?  Wow… given the number of irritating bees that were swarming all over everyone in this section of the park last summer, I do laughingly wonder if these are the best colors to use here. It may look more like Killer Bees: The Ride.
    (1/18/12) Good news for Fiesta Texas, as the park’s latest press release about a 2012 Job Fair actually reconfirms the height of the SkyScreamer as being a ride “20 stories above the ground,” after hearing local mentions of the tower being much shorter in the park over the fall. Of course the park’s website has always maintained that the ride would be 20 stories tall, so this is nothing new, but good news to have it reconfirmed at least.
    (1/2/12) One of our readers dropped by Fiesta Texas the other day and spotted the site where it looks like the new Sky Screamer will be located in the Spassburg area of the park, where the park’s 3-Point Challenge game was located near the entrance to the Superman coaster. If this is indeed the site, it looks like it may be quite close to the canyon wall, which could provide quite an interesting extra thrill to the ride. Take a look in the photo update posted here.
    (11/11/11) SFFT has been sending quite the mixed message this fall to their fans. While the park’s official website is still promoting Sky Screamer as a 200 foot tall ride, 20 stories tall… the in park adverts and local radio ads are promoting the ride as only being 15 stories tall. For example… listen to the first 35 seconds of this video shot at the park.
    (9/30/11) In what is sure to be seen as an upsetting move if true, a local reader reports that the radio ads being played in Fiesta Texas markets are making a strange statement. When they mention buying a 2012 season pass to ride Sky Screamer, they describe the ride as being only 15 stories high, and not the 20 story version that was previously promised by the park. I know it was just announced to SFGAdv fans that their Sky Screamer, which was only going to be 15 stories tall was just Biggie Sized to be 24 stories tall.
    You can see where I’m going with this… so lets hope the corporate office didn’t just pull a major insult on the Fiesta Texas fans by swapping out the rides and giving SFFT the “short stick”. For now at least, Sky Screamer is still listed on the official website (and in the promo video embedded below) as being 20 stories tall.
    (9/1/11) Six Flags Fiesta Texas has confirmed the addition of Sky Screamer for the 2012 season, standing 200 feet tall, it will spin you through the air at 40 mph, held aloft by some tiny little chains. This is really a ride that is enjoyable to many, but will test your faith in engineering.

2013 - The Rattler Reborn - Rumor - (1/30/12) The latest rumor on the upgrade of The Rattler sent in by Screamscape spies is that the park may opt for a cheaper budget option to rebuild the Rattler. Instead of going for the complete Iron Horse treatment, we may see The Rattler get a complete re-profile and get a complete Topper Track conversion instead. According to our source the giant helix will be completely removed from the ride’s layout and replaced with a bunch of new hills and thrills.
    (1/23/12) One of our readers who resides in the Spokane, WA area pointed out an interesting article in the local paper about the Rocky Mountain Construction Group. The article talked about how the group is building a new $1 million shop building in Hayden, Idaho where they will move their track manufacturing operations. This will also free up room for the group to begin building their very own roller coaster cars.
    Why? Much like why GCI created the Millennium Flyers that could maneuver through their extremely twisted layouts, Rocky Mountain’s track system is simply capable of doing things other trains wouldn’t be able to do. According to Rocky Mountain, “We will be building cars we think will be revolutionary for the industry.” They go on to state that the combination of their new track and cars will be able to allow a wooden coasters to perform inversions, a feat no one has tried since Son of Beast at Kings Island.
    Best of all the article also mentioned that the group has roller coaster projects planned for Silver Dollar City and Six Flags Fiesta Texas, both to open in Spring 2013. This matches up well with the reports from IAAPA where Rocky Mountain was reported as having two 2013 projects in the works. Given the previous rumors about an upgrade for The Rattler being planned out, I can only assume that we’ll soon see Rattler given the Iron Horse treatment in the near future. The big quetion here is the timeline needed to complete the job.
    The Texas Giant was closed for about 18 months to complete the project, which would mean that the Rattler would not open at all in 2012 if it was on the same timeline. After doing the job once, I would think it would be easier to complete the second time around, and perhaps the timeline needed could be cut back by quite a bit. Also the nature of Rattler’s more spread out layout may also make it simply easier to get in there and do the work. So keep an eye on the Rattler this season... you never know when they may need to shut it down to begin work.
    (11/11/11) The WSJ had an interesting article posted the other day all about Larry Chickola, the chief corporate engineer for the Six Flags theme park chain. In addition to a little history on the man, they also talk quite a bit about how they transformed the Texas Giant. Now… look towards the bottom of the article and you will find one interesting picture, where they talk about his favorite calculator. Open that picture up… and zoom in a bit to check out just what is sketched in Larry’s notebook.
    On the right hand page… you see a drawing representing three possible ways a coasters can take a drop down a vertical cliff surface. There is a line marked “current profile” also described as “not as fun”. Then there is Option A… and an Option B, the later of which had notes that appear to say, “max thrill”, “big surprise coming over cliff” and “my preference”. It seems like a good chance that our friend Larry may be doing a little thinking about how he can follow up his work on the Texas Giant by revamping The Rattler. Now… thinking is one thing… money is another. So lets hope that Six Flags is willing to fund another monster makeover.   
    (3/7/11) Six Flags Fiesta Texas opened for the 2011 season this past weekend and you can find some pictures of what’s new over at Amusement Park Authority. Even more impressive, the rumors about adding a test section of Rocky Mountain Topper Track are true according to a report at Theme Park Review. The new section tan topper track was installed going down the second hill and up the third, a section of the ride known for it’s roughness, which has now been made smooth again.
    (4/20/10) The latest rumor to buzz my way from Fiesta Texas indicated that the park may be making plans to begin their own massive renovation of The Rattler. Much like how the new Texas Giant is going to have a modified and improved layout, I’m told that there is a definite plan to return The Rattler to it’s former glory, restoring the ride’s first drop to it’s full and intended height as well as other improvements throughout. More when we find out.