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Park News - (1/31/13) CoasterCrew interviews Jeff Siebert of Six Flags Fiesta Texas this week. Give it a listen.
    (1/25/13) The new Dining Program add on for your Six Flags Fiesta Texas Season Pass will cost you $69.99, but provide you with a free lunch and dinner during every visit. Click here for the official details on how it works.

2013 - Iron Rattler / Gunslinger - (5/22/13) Want to see more awesome pictures of Iron Rattler? Check out this exclusive gallery of images posted to Flickr from Ride Entertainment Group. While we’re talking about Iron Rattler, check out the great TV ad for the new coaster embedded below as well.

    (5/17/13) I’m so jealous! I could n’t make it to Texas for the opening of Iron Rattler at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, so I volunteered my brother and his wife to strap into the steel beast and take it for a spin around the rock quarry walls.
    It looks fantastic and according to my brother the first drop is wicked. “You don’t even see the track underneath you until you start the drop.” As you can see in the video… once the Rattler starts to really roll, it’s all just pure chaos until you hit the brakes. Check it out below!

    (5/13/13) Ultimate Rollercoaster has posted some great new images of Iron Rattler this week. Looks incredible.
    (4/24/13) New pictures of Iron Rattler can be found over at Theme Park Review this week. A little something to hold you over until they open this ride to the public.
    (4/19/13) a long last we get to see an official video (with on-board cameras!) showing off Iron Rattler making a test run around the park. It looks amazing. Check it out below!

    (4/15/13) CoasterForce stopped by Fiesta Texas to check out Iron Rattler as the final preparations are being made to get it open for guests as well as chat with the Rocky Mountain guys working on the coaster, as well as our pal Jeffrey Siebert (Marking Director for Six Flags Fiesta Texas). The media day for Iron Rattler is expected to be May 15th.
    (3/18/13) Six Flags shared some good Iron Rattler news with everyone this weekend as the final “Golden Bolt’ was installed on the Iron Rattler, marking the completion of the track installation.
    On a related note, special thanks goes out to “AirRomeo” for sharing a ton of fantastic new pictures of Iron Rattler as well this week. Check them out down below!

    (3/14/13) A new animated all POV video of Iron Rattler at Six Flags Fiesta Texas was posted this week. Check it out.

    (3/4/13) Today we have a picture of the all new Funtime Sling Shot attraction which opened this past weekend at Six Flags Fiesta Texas as Gunslinger. There is a nice view of Iron Rattler in the background as well. Speaking of Iron Rattler, Jeffrey Siebert was kind enough to send me two shots of the new Iron Rattler trains, which have arrived at the park. They look pretty bad-ass, don’t they? Big scary snake head in the front and the rattler’s tail sticking out in the back.
    (2/27/13) Six Flags Fiesta Texas has sent us several amazing pictures of Iron Rattler over the past several days showing off the inversion as well one showing off the view of the entire layout as your crest the top of the lift hill. I can’t wait to see the first test runs on this beast.
    (2/6/13) Our friends at Six Flags Fiesta Texas have sent us two more shots of Iron Rattler this week, including one showing off the finished and very impressive first drop.
    (2/5/13) In case you need another reason to start planning a visit to Six Flags Fiesta Texas to ride Iron Rattler this summer, they sent me this new graphic highlighting everything that is simply amazing and right about this amazing transformation. I can’t wait to see this beauty in action.
    (1/23/13) The presentation from SFFT at No Coaster Con confirms that in addition to Iron Rattler the park will open an upcharge Funtime Sling Shot ride very similar to the one just installed at Six Flags Magic Mountain. They will call it Gunslinger and it will be located where the park’s old Wagon Wheel ride used to be and will stand 187 feet tall.
    For a good laugh, check out the great presentation by our good friend, Jeff Siebert, which is hilarious as he gets very excited to promote Iron Rattler. Note the new stats on the Iron Rattler vs the old Rattler. It will still be 180 feet tall, but the first drop will increase from 124 ft to 171 ft, the drop will be 81º (damn near vertical) compared to the old one which was 61.4º. Top speed will increase to 70 mph from 65 mph, along with the inclusion of four overbanked turns ranging between 93º to 109.4º.

    (1/21/13) Ready to get excited about Iron Rattler?  A great collection of construction photos from over the past few months can be found collected at CoasterFriends.de.  If it turns out anything like The New Texas Giant did, this is going to be one of the best coasters in the world when it opens.
    (12/18/12) Want to venture into the Rattler’s cave?  Today we can, thanks to a great new construction pictures from Six Flags Fiesta Texas giving us a look at the work being done inside the cave while they transform it into Iron Rattler.
    (12/11/12) Screamscape has confirmed that the new continuous motion loading system being testing on Texas Giant at SFOT right now will not be installed on Iron Rattler in 2013. But much like Texas Giant, this does not mean we wont see it added at some point in the future if it works out on the Texas Giant.
    While we’re talking about Iron Rattler, the park has sent Screamscape some incredible construction photos of how the conversion is going that you really must see. The POV shot of the spiraling track is incredible. I can’t wait to see more.
    (8/31/12) As rumored Six Flags Fiesta Texas will transform Rattler into Iron Rattler for the 2013 season after a full Iron Horse treatment to make this the second such Hybrid coaster in the world. Iron Rattler will drop you at an amazing 81º down a 171 foot first drop at 70mph, blast through four overbanked turns and open as the first wooden coaster to feature a barrel roll inversion and you ride up and over the 100 foot rock quarry walls. I love it… this looks like it could be one of the hands-down best rides of 2013.

    (8/28/12) In addition to the single inversion, Iron Rattler is said to take a queue from Texas Giant and feature a good number of 90º or more overbanked turns. One of these in particular is suppose to really provide a good thrill, as it will take place as the train leaves the cliff-top, banking as you go over the edge and dive towards the ground. Sounds incredible… and I don’t mind saying that at this point Iron Rattler could very well be one of the best new coasters of 2013 if it lives up to The Texas Giant.
    (8/23/12) The latest rumors sent my way claim that Rattler will be reborn as “Iron Rattler”. While we’ve seen the park already begin the process of removing the painful triple helix from the top of the cliff, now the first rumors about the new features are starting to trickle in.  For starters... how does a barrel roll inversion sound to you? Good I hope, because Rattler is going to have one in 2013. Look for the coaster to also feature new trains from Gerstlauer, very similar to the ones on the Texas Giant, but with their own wicked reptile theme of course. More to come... but I’m already getting very excited about this one.
    (8/20/12) Six Flags Fiesta Texas is wasting no time taking down sections of The Rattler. Pictures posted over at Theme Park Review show that the coaster’s helix on top of the cliff is being cut apart and taken down in sections rather than simply bulldozed, which seems to indicate that they may be trying to salvage some of the footers on this site for whatever new track layout will go here next year.
    (7/30/12) A reader who took his own last ride on Rattler before it shuts down noticed several large piles of wood already dropped off in place around the helix area on top of the cliffside.
    (7/11/12) Six Flags Fiesta Texas has confirmed on a billboard in the park that your “Last Chance” to ride The Rattler will be on August 5th. The large poster says, “Ride The Rattler before it slithers away on August 5th”
    I’ve also heard we should keep an eye on some of the best tricks from The New Texas Giant as well as a unique element forming on The Outlaw at Silver Dollar City for 2013 as inspiration for some new hotness we can expect from The Rattler in 2013.
    (7/9/12) Screamscape spies report that you’ve got until sometime in early August to get your final rides in on The Rattler at SFFT. The good news is that the all new Iron Horse version of the Rattler will indeed be ready to roll for the 2013 season.
    (7/4/12) The latest rumor from Screamscape spies indicates that The Rattler may very well be given the more expensive and dramatic full Iron Horse treatment, just like the Texas Giant at Six Flags over Texas. From what I’m told, and as predicted, the Rattler’s awesome original first drop will return, along with a major makeover to the second drop… and from there, we’re looking at something all new, as the triple helix on top of the cliff will be removed and a new ending for the ride created.
    Now if only we knew when work was going to start and how long this was going to take, because the Texas Giant conversion took that ride out of action for well over a year. Lets hope that this time it will go more quickly, especially since they will be rebuilding major new sections of the ride from scratch this time around.
    (6/22/12) As been rumored for some time, Screamscape sources tell us to keep your eyes on The Rattler, as big changes are confirmed to be on the way.  You’ve still got some time to get your last bumpy rides in, but I don’t know how much. Anyone know a more solid timeline about when the ride will close and if it will be ready to reopen in 2013 or 2014?
    (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.