Download File - The Six Flags Museum

Mr. Freeze Construction
by Gordon E. Peterson II
As of March 8, 1997, the concrete foundations for the acceleration run and the
tower were in place, although nothing of the structure is completed above that,
besides re-bar. The structural tubing for apparently much of the tower and the
crossties at least for the acceleration run track are laying on the ground
nearby, and are painted an "ice blue" color.
The coaster's loading station will be just on the other side of the railroad track
across the new steam railway station, thus just to the left inside the new
entrance to Good Times Square (the opposite end of that themed area from the
existing Flashback coaster). The Mr. Freeze station thus occupies the area just
inside where the entrance to Good Times Square used to be.
The actual tower will be at the extreme northeastern corner of the park, north and east
from the Mini Mine Train (which is temporarily out of service during the construction of
Mr. Freeze) but currently all that's there and in place for the actual tower proper is a
very beefy-looking triangular hunk of concrete tubing sticking out of the ground.
As of March 28, 1997 the track through the acceleration tunnel (whose framework steel
is now up) appears to be mostly in place, and the first portion of the steel tower
framework is up. You can see the first portion of the track in the photo here, which pretty
quickly after it comes out of the acceleration tunnel makes a sweeping curve to go

straight up. Nearby on the ground is what appears to be the next section of track, which

starts the twist which will put the train on the inside of the inversion curve as it
gets closer to hugging the vertical steel column numbered 1 (as of this photo, the
track is just sweeping straight up). In the photo above, numbers 1,2,3 show the
three main columns of the (still quite short, compared to what they will be)
triangular tower. Number 4 is near the end of the acceleration tunnel. Number 5
is the top of the "Air Racer" airplane ride, and number 6 is the "Oil Derrick"
observation platform, towards the north center part of the park.

Compare the above drawing of Mr. Freeze (and its distinctly vertical tower) with the
comparable new coaster going in at Six Flags Great Adventure, "The Chiller" artist's
conception drawing below. On "The Chiller" note how the blue track has a similar wide
loop with straight vertical sides, but not co-located with the main vertical tower as for
Mr. Freeze. Note also the similarity with the red sweeping curve for The Chiller, and
compare that with the similar element on Mr. Freeze, where a similar-looking curve is
found just before going up the tower for the "big" run.
As of April 6, 1997 the first nearly-vertical section of the track which begins
showing the twist (as referred to above) is now in place. They have also started
putting up the supporting columns for the sweeping off-tower hill and curve. The
kiosk in the park with the computer animated simulation of the ride was not
working when we went by about 10:30 this morning.
As of April 8, 1997 three more vertical column sections for the main tower have
been added (thus it's still 'balanced' heightwise). I didn't notice any more new
track sections added since the previous report when I drove by today, but I'd
expect another one to be added in the next day or two. Note that up to now the
only track sections actually installed on the tower are part of the first vertical
rise after the acceleration tunnel. None of the other two vertical track sections
(including the main, tallest run) have been installed up to now.
As of April 10, 1997 there have been more column height added to the main tower. The
below picture shows the tower as viewed from across IH30 (which runs along the north
edge of the park). Note the horizontal braces now in place on the western (right-most)
edge of the tower, which will support the lower portion of the second vertical run of track
(the part run where the train will be facing straight down, you can see how the track will
sweep outwards as it nears the bottom of the tower). You can also see one of the Ashaped
supports (unfortunately, I inadvertently cropped several of the others following
scanning) for the first part of the sweeping curve and hill which the train will then follow
(I'm told this is called a "wraparound turn", and that it will be considered an inversion too
since the banking is more than 90 degrees!). The large structure behind the right side of
the tower is G-Force, an Intamin Freefall ride (which looks small because it's some
distance away). The other vertical 'structure' to the left of the central column of the three
is a whole array of electrical conduits, which lead up to a set of large junction boxes...
apparently to power more LIMs along the main vertical run (!) which is not yet in
place. Another coaster fan has written to me that these LIMs on the main
vertical run (he called it a "spike", which seems a good term) will lift the train an
additional 1-1/2 train lengths, and give a 0.25-0.5G extra boost in the reverse
direction too as the train comes back down from the top.

No new track sections have been installed lately, although several of them are now
arranged in the staging area nearby. It appears that today the two loading areas
were delivered (by truck) and I happened to be able to snap a picture of one of them
before it was unloaded. This appears to be a walkway alongside where I presume
the train will be boarded (the track not yet installed on this piece, which I presume
will move laterally with the loaded train). A similar (mirror-image) structure for the
other train had already been unloaded. Note the Texas Chute-Out in the
background... Mr. Freeze's main vertical run (spike) will be taller.
This third picture is taken from much closer, and shows a number of interesting things.
For one, note the curious gap pointed out earlier is still there. The vertical tower with the
knob on top and just to the right of the gap is the tower for the Air Racer ride. If you look
just above where the upbound track crosses the leftmost column, you can see the large
connection boxes at the top of the conduits. The larger and heavier-looking structure
just to the right of the conduits is the Oil Derrick/Observation Tower, well towards the
north central part of the park. Note again the stubby supports from the rightmost column
(longer closer to the ground) which will support the downbound track on the other side of
the tower. You can also see in this picture (under and just to the left of the SkyCoaster
arch) three of the A-shaped supports for the first part of wraparound turn the trains will
follow before heading up the spike.

As of April 15, the first vertical (up) section of the track is complete to the point where
you can start seeing the beginnings of the inversion. Construction crews have also
installed the first track segment of the second (down) vertical , a piece towards the
bottom; several more of the A-shaped supports for the wraparound curve are also now
in place. More electrical conduits (and going higher on the tower) have been installed,
to provide electricity to run the future LIMs to be installed along the spike. (None of the
track segments for the spike have been mounted to the tower yet).
One rather interesting thing about the now-apparent twist in the first (up) vertical is how
the track is not arrow-straight, but rather wavy; it seems the purpose is to rotate the
upbound trains rather than swing them around a track which simply twists. And the first
vertical isn't a "long arrow-straight" section of track (as the spike apparently will be).
As of April 16, two more vertical track sections have been added to the second
(downwards) vertical run. In fact, in the following picture (taken from the east side of Mr.
Freeze) you will see the upper of those being lifted into place by the crane. Note some of
the support piping (probably either for more of the wraparound curve, and/or the
remaining part of the main tower) in the yard in the foreground. To the left foreground
you can see two of the heavy 'saddle' supports, which I suspect will be installed towards
the bottom of curve leading to the spike run. Note also the first group of the A-shaped
supports for the wraparound curve... and how far away from the tower they look like they
are. The leftmost of the three vertical columns of the tower as shown in this picture is the
one (nearest the loading station) which will hold the vertical spike. Just above the central
fencepost in the foreground you can see (not very well, sorry) part of the horizontal top
steel framing for the acceleration tunnel.

The following picture, taken from the north of Mr. Freeze, shows the bottom portion of
the main tower and the bottom portion of the second (downwards) vertical run. It clearly
shows the massive bundle of electrical conduits to carry the cables supplying the LIMs
which will provide extra acceleration on the spike (to be supported by what in this picture
is the middle of the three main tower vertical columns). You can also start to get a feel
for how the transition will be from the downward run into the wraparound curve.
The third picture from today is probably the most dramatic of the three. This one,
taken from the northwest of the main tower, shows a section of the second
(downward) vertical being fitted into place. If you look closely you can see four
workmen on the tower, preparing to bolt the new track section into place (and
this gives you an idea of the scale of the tower). I think this picture helps explain

the "wavy" quality of the track verticals which I tried to describe yesterday.

Give up? Two of them are near the top of the new section being added (one
near the column in a winchable basket), and the other two near the bottom of
the new section (the less obvious of those is clinging in the "V" of the track).
I think this picture is also cool because I don't think I've ever seen (or even heard
of!) any other coaster with such a dramatic, high inversion as this... nor with such
long, twisting vertical runs (and here there will be two of them!) leading to and
from it. And of course, the spike will be significantly higher still!
Superman, the new ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain, is certainly significantly
taller (and faster) than Mr. Freeze will be... but I think that Mr. Freeze will easily
be the more interesting ride of the two.
On April 17, the top of the inversion loop was added, basically completing the
first major track element after the acceleration tunnel.

The above picture was taken from the northwest side of the tower, and if you
look at the lower right corner, you can see a dark blocky structure, which is the
framing for the acceleration tunnel.
With this section in place, workmen can now continue on the tower structure
itself (it would have blocked placement of the top of the inversion loop
otherwise)... since the tower will rise considerably further to support the vertical
spike. The following picture shows the next section of the tower (a section
which will support the spike) being raised for fitting into place.
This above picture was taken from the west side of the tower. Note how the column section
(as it's dangling here from the crane) is rotated about 90 degrees: the side towards

the camera is the north side, as you can tell by the supports at the top which will brace
off the two northern columns. The side of the new column away from the camera has the
support bosses for mounting the spike section of the track (these bosses are relatively
clearly visible in this picture on the lower portions of the same column).
Workmen today also added some more of the A-shaped supporting
columns for the wraparound curve.
On April 18, workmen completed the structural work on what appears to be the top
of the tower structure. The fact that the tall structural work on the column is complete
is testified by the fact that the tall crane has vanished from the construction site,
although I'd guess it will return when it's needed to put up the track segments
comprising the spike. In the picture below (taken from southeast of the tower), you
can see the angular support braces coming from the top of the two northernmost
columns towards the top of the main spike column. The brace supporting the top of
the inversion loop is strange, an A-shaped brace to the north side rather like those
further down, but at the junction only supporting a horizontal brace coming forward
to the front column, and with a support too for the top of the inversion. To the left of
the picture you can see part of the framing for the acceleration tunnel.
It's a little difficult to get your bearings on this picture... the upward (first
vertical) segment is to the right, and the downward (second vertical) track
segment is to the left. The westernmost of the two northern columns (the
furthest away), is the one just left from the center of the tower structure.
One curious aspect is that the several lowest of the support bosses on the column
supporting the spike are at a different angle from the upper ones... suggesting that these

lower ones will connect to other support columns, rather than bolting directly to
a track segment. Evidently the track will be further away from the tower here.
Since I keep mentioning the acceleration tunnel and not really showing what it looks like,
today I finally took a better picture of its current status. The thing covered by a tarp along the
track is some kind of cart which can travel back and forth along the coaster track, apparently
for maintenance (or perhaps just for the construction stage). At the far end of the
acceleration tunnel, the loading station will be built... but at the moment, there's not really
much of anything down there, other than the concrete pilings which will support it.
I also decided to get industrious and get some photos of the spike track sections, one of
which is shown below. You can see the way the pin-and-hole in the endplates of each
tubular track join together. Both of these two track segments have devices spaced along
them which would appear to be some kind of safety or trim brake, operated by what is
either air or hydraulic pressure (the connectors look rather like the grease nipples you
find on a car's suspension parts). I presume that the plates on top of the support column
are for mounting electrical boxes for distributing power to the LIMs? Anybody's guess, at
this point. You can also see in the background of this picture the two loading areas, by
now of course off the trucks they were delivered on.
The last picture for today shows one of the mysteries mentioned earlier solved:
this piece is clearly the piece destined to fill that mysterious gap shown in some
of the earlier pictures.

Besides the curious small piece, this picture also shows one of the several tall support
columns (probably for the wraparound curve?) which are still not in place (and a piece
of curved track just behind it). You can see (still, not very well) some of the A-shaped
supports for the wraparound curve which are in place, as well as the Skycoaster arch,
observation tower, and the top of the Air Racer ride tower in the background.
I also took a good close look at some of the LIMs apparently destined for the
spike... at least twenty four of them, six on each of four pallets... but wasn't able
to see any obvious logos or other nameplates resolving the question once and
for all of whether they were made by Force Engineering, or someone else.
By April 21, workmen have started to enclose much of the acceleration tunnel
and are continuing to place the support columns for the wraparound curve. In
addition, the steel framework in support of the sliding loading areas at the other
end of the acceleration tunnel is starting to take shape. No actual track segments
seem to have been added for the last few days. Here is a picture of what Mr.
Freeze and the wraparound curve looked like this afternoon:

By the way, I've been informed by highly authoritative sources that the Forcepack
LIMs for Mr. Freeze are in fact made by Force Engineering in England.
By April 24, work has been advancing on the support columns for the wraparound curve,
with many of the high supports now in place. One of the two passenger loading areas has
been turned upside down in the staging area (which required removal of the handrailing...
it's possible that a different handrailing will be put back on) and the big steel
wheel bearings the loading areas will roll back and forth on are being installed. I
understand that a lot of the electrical work in the acceleration tunnel is occupying
a lot of the construction workers efforts at the moment, too. There's still relatively
little of the themed loading station building, partly I suspect because they can't do
much with that until the large loading platforms are set into place by the crane.
As for the LIMs themselves, things are rarely as simple as they would seem. The
Forcepack LIMs for Mr. Freeze, while designed and engineered by Force Engineering in
England, were in fact built by Force Engineering's US partner here in the United States.
I have received some terrific closeup pictures of these LIMs, which I will post here
(along with the name of the US partner) as soon as I have received their permission to
do so. The same US partner which actually manufactured the LIMs also built the power
electronics cabinets which control the launch system.
April 25th here in Dallas it rained hard much of the day, so probably not a lot of
construction (at least not outdoors) went on. I presume work may have continued
inside the acceleration tunnel, which is relatively enclosed at this point.
As of April 26th, I decided to profit from the weekend opening of SFOT to take some
pictures of Mr. Freeze from a different angle... as it looks from inside the park. Of course,

the main views are still blocked by the construction fence, but one can see enough to get
more of a feel for the ride, and for some of the areas currently receiving a lot of attention.
In this first picture, you can get an idea of how much remains to be done on the loading area.
Towards the left background, you can see the acceleration tunnel, that we've already
discussed. Coming out of it (going into it?) is the main ride track, complete with catwalk. On
either side of the main track are two parking tracks, where the left and right trains will
presumably be stored or maintained. Note the numbers "1,2,3,4" in the picture. Just above
each number is a section of railroad rail... these are the rails that the wheels of the rolling
loading platforms you've seen in the staging area will use. I had noticed these parking track
sections in the staging area... see how they're much less beefy than the main track is.
Number 5, all the way to the right, shows part of the bumper which would finally stop the
train coming back into the station if the brakes didn't work somehow.
The concrete ridge running near the bottom of the picture, with the bolts sticking out
of it, is the foundation for the loading station building. It's very close to the steam
railroad track, suggesting that this side maybe won't be very strongly themed?
The following picture shows some greater detail of the "business" end of the loading station,
where two trains can each be sent down one of two tracks... either one of the two parking
tracks, or the track through the acceleration tunnel towards the tower. Again, numbers 1 and
2 show the segments of railroad rail. Number 3 is on the end of the backbone beam
supporting the beginnings of the acceleration track, whose tubular rails are to either side.
Just above number 3, note one of the now-familiar LIMs. I was sorta surprised to see that
the fins which run through the LIMs are horizontal and alongside instead of vertical and
under the cars, although I probably shouldn't have been... it allows placing the thrust points
closer to the center of gravity of the train, and easily allows for the fins of both sides to be
engaged in LIMs simultaneously. Again, note number 4... the top of the concrete foundation
for the loading station building. One other interesting item, just to the right side of the picture
is the structure which will support the electrical cables as they roll with the left side (nearer to
you) loading platform. This probably is to supply power for the LIMs or whatever will nudge
the trains off the loading platform, and into

the acceleration tunnel (or, I wonder if they "launch" directly from the
loading platforms?)
The next picture I thought made an interesting study in contrasts... a late 19th-centurystyled
steam locomotive, chugging by only a few feet away from a late 20th-century train
of a quite different sort... heavily computer-controlled and driven by LIMs!
In the above picture also note the number 1, which shows one end of the long row of
electrical cabinets (made, as mentioned earlier, by Winkle Electric) housing all the
power circuits which supply the incredible amounts of power to all the LIMs.
The next picture shows some of the support structures for the wraparound curve...
these appear to almost be ready to start placing the track segments on this portion.
Note how they have been adding the diagonal braces, which weren't here a few days
ago. When you're standing here, so close to them, it makes this wraparound curve
look pretty tall! Some of the seats of the Texas Tornado ride are visible at the left.

The last picture for today was taken from the top of the large metal "Oil Derrick"
observation platform at the park. The picture isn't a wonderful one, but it does
perhaps give you a better idea of the relationship between the tower and the
wraparound curve. It's too bad that the picture doesn't really give one a very good
idea of how tall that wraparound curve really is. Just to the right of and beyond
the highest columns for the wraparound curve, by the way, is the staging area
where you can still see some of the remaining track segments and support
columns waiting to be installed. The peculiar drum- shaped object just to the right
of bottom center is the top of the tower for the Air Racer airplane ride.
In case you're curious, the highway running across the picture from left to right is
US 360, with DFW airport a few miles to the north (left). The freeway running the
other way is IH30, with downtown Dallas in the distance to the east and
downtown Fort Worth behind us to the west.

On April 28th and April 29th, work continued on the wraparound curve structural
supports and its track segments themselves (just over half of which now seems to be
present), and continued preparation both of the foundation structures to support the
rolling passenger boarding areas and (out in the staging yard) of the passenger
boarding areas themselves. Supports are being added to at least some of the 'spike'
track segments to mechanically attach more LIMs there on the spike (the cluster of
electrical conduits to power those LIMs also continues to climb higher up the tower). In
the acceleration tunnel (which is now at least mostly covered on top as well as just on
the sides), it appears that a lot of electrical and other work is being done. On the below
photos, the first shows the condition as of late afternoon on April 28th, and the second
about a day later. The second picture, in particular, shows clearly why one observer
commented that the wraparound curve was considered almost an inversion; indeed, the
banking is greater than 90 degrees! This is quite at odds with the 'artists conception' of
Mr. Freeze (shown earlier) where the train is progressing (almost serenely) along a
straight section of track at a considerable height. (Maybe the artist was thinking about
the similar stretch at about the mid-ride of The Texas Giant?)

Note in the photo taken earlier today that there appears to be just one more
of the A-shaped supports (at the curve side, anyhow) yet to be completed
for the wraparound curve.
Today I also had my first clear signs that the management at SFOT is aware of this
Web page. (grin! Howdy, y'all!) Maybe I can talk them into providing me a .MPEG or
.AVI animation of the rider's perspective of Mr. Freeze; I mentioned earlier that this
short computer- generated film is (supposedly) showing at a kiosk near the
construction fence inside the park. (Although of the last three times I've been inside the
park, only on the first of them was the film actually working). If I can get a copy of it, I'll
try to find enough Web space somehow so it can be downloaded through here.
It also turns out that altogether there are five different flavors of LIM units used
on Mr. Freeze. The A, B, and C units are all the same size, but vary in terms of
speeds and torque; the D and F units are physically larger.
As of May 1st, not much new work seems to have been visibly done during the last day or
two in terms of actually adding track segments to the ride. However, there are a few lessobvious
things which seem to have been happening. The acceleration tunnel building is
more completely covered (and presumably a lot of work, electrical stuff in particular, has
been going on inside it). In the staging area, more preparation of the remaining sections of
track (and the passenger loading platforms) continues. Some minor tweaking of the loading
platforms is being done, apparently to prepare one end of each to receive eight LIMs which
will help move the trains into the acceleration tunnel mainline. Still no sign yet of cables
actually being pulled up the tower to feed the spike's LIMs.
The following pictures show several segments of the track still remaining to be hoisted
into place. The first picture shows one of the two sections of track (the twin for the other

train can be seen in the lower left corner of the picture) which will be mounted onto the
rolling loading platforms. The plate you see on top is one of four which mate with the
platform structure... (the track segment is upside down here from its final orientation).
The picture also shows one of the "brakes" which as mentioned earlier seems to
operate off compressed air or something. Given the future position of this track
segment in the loading area, clearly the purpose of these is not really as "brakes" for a
moving train, but rather just to help hold the trains stationary while being boarded.
The other picture shows one piece of the spike track, with a strip of twenty LIMs (twelve
of type A, plus six of type B closer to the top) being mounted to it. Here we are looking
from the top end of the track segment, and right in line with the LIM gap, towards what
will be the ground once this track section is mounted to the tower. I think it's interesting

to notice that this piece of track is rather different from the track segment in the
other picture taken today: note how much beefier the structure is which connects
these tubular rails to the supporting backbone, compared to the similar rib on the
track segment destined for the loading zone. And of course, even the loading area
track is quite a bit beefier than the track already in place as the train storage tracks!
So there are at least three different classes of track, structurally!
Another interesting observation is that some kind of a jig is in place on the LIM
to the right of the picture, compared to the one to the left. Note how much
darker it is than the nearer LIM. Presumably these jigs are used during
assembly for helping position the LIMs exactly right relative to the track.
(Later note... although this piece of the LIM mounting structure is clearly marked
on the near end as "top", in the actual Mr. Freeze this end of the track with the
LIMs is definitely mounted towards the bottom! So either it was mismarked
during fabrication, or else they decided to change the orientation after the fact.)
As of May 5th, the wraparound curve track has been completed (kinda, there is one
very strange supporting column which doesn't look quite right... see the detail
picture below) and the first (bottom) portion of the spike track is now in place. The
rider loading platforms have been lifted into place in the loading building area.
There are at least three pieces of spike track still to be installed: the one with the 20
LIMs as previously described, another large piece which seems to have a brake or
something at one end, and a short little track piece which apparently will be the top
(it has a closed end, with a stubby little bumper, evidently to stop a train which
somehow made it all the way to the top of the spike).
The first two pictures today show the newly installed piece of the spike and the
wraparound curve, from two slightly different angles (the pictures are taken from
the northwest side of the tower). It's important to remember (look at the picture
earlier taken from the park's Observation Platform) how far away from the tower the
wraparound curve actually is. On the first of these two pictures, you can see the
track coming down from the wraparound curve suddenly swoop up the spike track
(the portion of the track closest to the electrical conduit cluster). The second picture
doesn't show the spike as well, but shows better the wraparound curve.

The third picture is just a detail shot from the second picture above, showing the
curious section of the supporting column on one section of the wraparound
curve. (I had seen this odd vaguely-saxophone-shaped supporting piece
previously in the staging area, and wondered where it might "fit" in the puzzle).
(Note that the other curious gap that I'd commented on previously was also
finally filled during the last week, I don't recall if I'd mentioned that or not).

As of May 6th, the workmen have moved two of the remaining three sections of
the spike track (the top/end piece, and the piece with what appears to be a
brake) to a staging position next to the tower. The third piece, the one with all the
LIMs, was being furiously prewired (a fairly large electrical crew working
overtime on it until after 8pm) prior to installing it on the tower. Based on the
frenzy, I'd assume that this means that the spike track segment with the twenty
LIMs will be moved to the tower and set into place sometime tomorrow, May 7th.
Besides prewiring this track segment, the other main work going on with this track
segment is the precision aligning of all the reaction gaps of the LIMs (remember from
the photograph how narrow that gap is, and one doesn't want the fins on the trains
rubbing against the housings or the magnetic structures themselves). And here is where
the strange little yellow trolley I mentioned on April 18th comes into play... that device
rolls along the track and has train-like fins coming out of it, and provides a reference jig
for use in aligning the exact position of each LIM relative to the track.
Back at the station, as was mentioned before, the rolling passenger loading
platforms are now in place, and that's allowed construction crews to begin
placing the vertical steel ribs of what will be the themed loading building.
The strange "support column" piece hanging off that part of the wraparound
curve (as shown in the detail yesterday) remains unchanged, so far. Otherwise,
there are a (very) few pieces of track structure still to be installed; a few braces, a
few 'serious pipes' here and there (mostly going towards the bottom of the spike
track and the tower), but the only really large and substantial piece of Mr. Freeze
still in the main staging area is the spike track segment with the LIMs, which I
expect will be mounted to the tower sometime tomorrow.

As of May 7th , workmen installed three more track segments: the piece (actually
two pieces, which I hadn't noticed yesterday... they had been joined during the
LIM work) with the LIMs, and the piece with the apparently-brake. The brake
piece was installed with a new "top of column" piece as well. The curious piece
hanging from the wraparound turn has been connected to the support columns,
by what appears to a casual observer to be "onsite engineering". :-) I'm actually
rather surprised that there's not been a need for a lot more of that.
The first of today's pictures (taken about 2:30pm) shows the crane hoisting the first spike
piece with LIMs into place. Note that the top-of-column tower piece isn't there yet, either.
This photo also shows (along the bottom) a pretty fair view of the acceleration tunnel,
(don't confuse it with the trailer-like construction office in front of it!). To the left of the
acceleration tunnel, the themed station building is going to soon be taking shape (and it
looks like it will be taller than the acceleration tunnel). This picture also gives a good idea
of the relative position of the wraparound turn and the tower.
The second picture for today, taken about 7:30pm, shows the second and third
track pieces from today now in place as well, along with the "top of column"
support stub mentioned earlier. The electrical cable bundles have been pulled
into the junction box at the top of the conduit cluster, so I'd guess that the next
day or two will involve connecting all these electrical supply cables with the LIM
motor cables that were being so busily installed yesterday. The short stub "topof-spike"
track piece is also on the ground near to the tower, I would expect it
will be lifted into place (topping out the ride) sometime tomorrow.
There is up to now (anyhow) no obvious evidence of any themeing inside the
acceleration tunnel. Workmen today were, however, also busily working back around
the station area. There is another truckload of (apparently) something for Mr. Freeze
that arrived today to the staging area, presumably more electrical control stuff.

Watching this rollercoaster take shape, I can't help but be surprised by at least several
observations. First, I'm surprised that it's possible to prefabricate as much of it as is done,
obviously offsite, and have the pieces fit so well once it's all ready to connect. There have
been several things that appear to be 'faux pas', but a lot fewer than one would expect.
Kudos to both the foundation people, Premier the ride designer and builder (?), and the
construction staff who obviously have kept dimensions so well under control.
Second, one of the busiest groups of construction people have been the guys
from McBride Electric, the Irving-based electrical contracting company working
on Mr. Freeze. Surely most 'traditional' roller-coasters (wood or steel) don't
have anything like the incredible electrical complexities of this coaster. In fact,
I'd guess that the electrical cabling and power demands for Mr. Freeze are
probably more than all the other coasters at SFOT put together!
On May 8th, Mr. Freeze achieved a major milestone in its construction with the toppingout
ceremony, about 11am as the top section of the spike track was lifted into place by
the crane (operated for this project by a crew from Mica Crane Service of Fort Worth,
which has been involved in several other smaller projects at SFOT... including G-Force,
Conquistador, La Vibora, and SplashWater)... see the picture below. The three men
stationed at the top (all employees of Corrugated Machinery Service Company of Hurst,
Texas... the contractor doing the steelwork assembly on Mr. Freeze) with the honor of
bolting it into place were Brent Crocker, Michael Lynch, and Christopher Dhane. Travis
Beardmore is the General Manager in charge, and Mitch Gentry second in command for
CMSCo on the project. On this picture, you also see part of the wraparound curve, and
the top of the Texas Tornado ride.
Today's second picture, taken after the top track segment had been attached,
shows a park official being hoisted up to the top of the ride to place the US flag at
the top. At the lower right of the picture, you can see an employee (probably of
McBride Electric, the electrical contractors) on the top floor of the station building
structure, where electrical cabinets are busily being installed.

Today's third picture shows the status of the transfer carts (as the construction crew is
calling what I've been calling the rolling passenger loading platforms) and the station. In
this picture, you can see the two loading platforms (the western one aligned with the
launch track, the eastern one aligned with the storage track). The mysterious large
shipment from yesterday's flatbed trailer is stationed to the right... it's an elevator
module, evidently designed to take handicapped passengers to the boarding level!
I'm told that one of the final Mr. Freeze train cars has been put into place, and
is being rolled back and forth along the launch track by construction crews to
verify clearances and free rolling. The construction guys have been toying
with seeing how far they can push the car by hand up the first curve!
After a very successful and momentous day on the project, a number of the steelworkers
erecting the ride got together at Hooters near SFOT to celebrate the achievement, and I
was honored to be able to join them. One of their proudest achievements, they said, was
the level of safety they accomplished on this substantial project: none of their crew had
experienced any major injuries at all (nothing more than the usual bruises and pinched
fingers which are all but inevitable when handling such large pieces of steel!!). This

eing their first coaster erection project, they were also proud and excited by the
prospect of so many millions of people soon being able to appreciate and
experience their handiwork firsthand. They're looking forward to being able to
say, "Hey, I built that!" and also to their promised reward of being able to be the
first group of living passengers on the new ride!
But work continued apace after the topping-out ceremony, with busy electrical work
continuing, and the steel stairway modules for the station being set into place.
On May 9, work continued to finalize sections of the track... tightening bolts again, preparing
the structure mechanically before the electricians and other workers come in to complete
their jobs too... after which, of course, some of the important mechanical aspects will be
much harder to access. On the station, work continues putting up more exterior ribbing,
completing stairways, and the like. Electrical workers swarm over the LIMs, the launch area,
the electrical cabinets, the controls and sensors like so many bees. More would have been
accomplished today, honestly, if we hadn't had a big rainstorm last night and this morning,
leaving much of the construction site mired in serious mud.
There continue to be a few little design glitches yet to be rectified... a brace that's
not the right size here, another one there which (if installed) wouldn't leave enough
clearance for the steam railway train to pass underneath! But probably less of this
kind of thing than one would by rights expect on a project of this magnitude.
Today some more pictures were taken which I hope to be able to post early
next week. I also am hoping to get permission from one of the Arlington
newspapers to post here a scan of a wonderful closeup picture they published
today of the topping-out ceremony yesterday (now I understand the purpose of
those huge camera lenses that look like Questar telescopes!)
(The steelworker comments which were taken around this date have been
moved to a separate page, press the BACK button on your browser and then
see the links towards the top of the Mr. Freeze page to get to them).
Also on May 9th, I asked some of the guys to take a camera up top so us eager
coaster fanatics could get a sneak preview of Mr. Freeze from their perspective.
And here, finally, is the result. Fasten your seat belts, keep hands and arms
fully inside the car, and let's go!!
For a starter, here is a picture of the spike track and tower as it appears from the ground.

The following picture shows the first portion of the wrapround curve. The right hand
side is where the trains will go up just after coming down from their first trip on the
tower (through the inversion). In the upper left corner you can see part of the Judge
Roy Scream. Just above and to the right of the wraparound curve is The Right Stuff
(an Imax film with motion-base seats). The orange building just at the bottom of the
wraparound curve is the loading station for the Mini-Mine-Train.
The following picture is taken looking up the west side of the spike. You can see
towards the right the support structure for the spike track's bank of twenty LIMs, which
give the trains an extra boost both on the way up, and again on the way down the spike.

The next picture shows the main tower, looking down. To the lower right you can see part of
the supports for the spike track, and some of the associated LIM support structure. To the
lower left and bottom, you can see some of the support structure for the second vertical
piece of track (coming down from the inversion). On the back (north) side of the tower, you
can see Johnson Creek, which runs here along the north side of the park.
The next picture shows the top of the inversion loop. It is taken from the south side of the
tower, looking north. The freeway you can see is IH30, which runs between Ft. Worth to the
west, and Dallas to the east. The CMSCo man you can see here is Ronnie Skipper.
Below you can see the acceleration tunnel for Mr. Freeze, with a portion of the spike track

visible to the left. In the distance of the acceleration tunnel you can see the station

area. The yellow fence is the back side of the construction fence separating the
construction zone from the portion of the park that is open. The round building
past the fence is Chameleon (a race simulator ride) and beyond that, the white
narrow tower is the Texas Chute-Out.
Next you can see part of the second vertical run, coming down from the inversion
and headed toward the wraparound curve. It's on this portion of the run that you'll
be basically freefalling straight towards the ground, facing down!!! :-) The reddish
track you can see just above it is part of the Mine Train.
The left side of the next picture shows again part of the spike track, and a piece of
its bottommost LIM. Just to the right of top center you see the exit at the north end
of the acceleration tunnel. To the upper right corner, the track is coming down from
the wraparound curve. The second picture shows again the acceleration tunnel,
and you can just see the nose of one of the train cars sitting on the track.

The next picture is a view looking up the spike track past the bank of twenty LIMs
(you saw a similar picture before, but then this piece of track was on the ground in
the staging area). At the top of the spike track, you can see the American flag which
was placed there yesterday at about 11:30am during the topping-out ceremony.
The next picture is another view looking down, this time along the east side of
the spike track and past the support structure for the bottommost two LIMs. At
the bottom, to the left you can see the track coming from the acceleration
tunnel. The track in the middle goes to the wraparound curve. You can see just
to the right of it part of the red track for the Mini-Mine-Train. The following
picture is a view from about the same location, but looking up this time. To the
left you see the cabling and support structure for the spike track LIMs.

The following two pictures are looking southwest, down between the spike track
and the southern column of the main tower. The reddish track you see is for the
Mine Train. Just to the left of it, in the center of the first picture, is the track
coming down from the loop and going up to the wraparound curve. The second
of these shots shows more of the spike track itself, looking down.
The next picture is looking towards the south from the main tower. To the immediate
right, you can see some of the outer structure of the LIMs (this should look familiar to
you by now, especially if you've been to look at the pictures of the LIMs taken during
manufacture). You can see the second half of the wraparound curve, heading towards
the bottom of the picture towards the spike. The red track along the ground is part of the
Mini-Mine-Train (you can see why it's not operating during the Mr. Freeze construction...
you know, if it turns out they are able to put it back into service when Mr. Freeze is done, the
Mini-Mine-Train is going to have an excellent new sudden surge in riding interest...
although for reasons certainly never imagined by its designers!). Just above and to the
left of the wraparound curve you can see G-Force, the park's Intamin freefall. To the left
of the wraparound curve you can see the Texas Tornado ride. And the track going
across horizontally just below the center of the picture is the steam railroad track. The
picture following is just another shot of the northern end of the acceleration tunnel.

The following two pictures, taken back down on the ground, show the exit at the north
end of the acceleration tunnel. You can see again the nose of a train car where it is
being used for testing purposes. Just to the left of the ladder, you see again the end of
the long row of Winkle Electric's electrical cabinets which supply power to support the
five thousand horsepower worth of LIM power that Mr. Freeze needs!
The second back on the ground shows CMSCo employee Ben "BB" Lofton, as well as to his
right some of the mud from the unusually heavy rains this spring that have hindered Mr.
Freeze's construction here. To the right you can see the track coming down from the
wraparound curve (past the upper right corner), and the bottom point from where it (to the
right of the picture) will head up the spike. These two places on the ride (just coming out of
the tunnel, and just at the bottom before the spike) should be the two fastest places on the
entire course... you will be going 70mph here. (To Ben's left you can also see one of the
ladders which will be mounted on the southern support column of the main tower).

I would like to express my most sincere gratitude here to the terrific men of
CMSCo for their fantastic assistance, without which we coaster fans would not
have had the delight of these wonderful photographs. Thanks, guys!
Note that larger versions of the above series of scans are also here, but I don't
know if it's worth uploading them to the Web site. Perhaps the smaller versions
as I've used on this page are sufficient. If anyone feels strongly that they'd like
the larger versions, E-mail me please and express your opinion!
On May 12, work continued on the electrical systems, the station building
framing, transfer carts, and much other internal electrical work. Most of this work
doesn't show up much from the outside, of course, but is absolutely essential
before the first trains can actually test out the new launch system.
On May 14, non-dramatic but important work continued... more work on the station
building (which now has roofing framing and some side wall slats in place), more
torquing of bolts on the flanges which hold the track structures together, and such.

Some of the steelworkers have loaned me their personal photo album including
some tremendous photos from the early stages of the construction. As soon as
I have a chance to scan those photos, hopefully in the next couple of days, I'm
going to post them here too. So stay tuned. [grin!]
On May 15, detail work continued on the complete track... going over the track with a finetoothed
comb, torquing flange bolts and tweaking all the track junctions (sanding them
down where necessary) to eliminate bumps and un-evenness as much as possible...
all to give the smoothest possible ride, important for such a high-speed coaster!
The electrical guys continue their amazing work too, as evidenced by the huge
piles of scrap cabling they're producing as they connect and test all the wiring
and other electrical systems that operate Mr. Freeze's 224 linear induction
motors, as well as all the other electrical control and command systems that
such a technically sophisticated coaster requires.
On May 16, another construction milestone was reached. This morning, the remainder
of the first of Mr. Freeze's two seven-ton trains (a blue one, perhaps they both are?)
was assembled into place along the launch track. So there is now a complete train,
which I'd assume the electrical guys are using both for confirming mechanical
tolerances of the LIMs and perhaps even for verifying thrust of individual LIMs?
Work also continues on the boarding station building. In the picture above (taken
from the new railroad crossing where guests enter Good Times Square, the new
steam train station is just to the left of the photo), despite the lower portions
being very dark, perhaps you can tell that some of the aluminum (?) wall joists
are now in place on the far end (there, up to the roof), as well as many more of
them on the lower levels of the station. So at least some of the station walls
themselves should start going up soon, probably by the beginning of next week.

In the picture just above, taken early this evening from aboard the Air Racer
airplanes, you get a good view of the new coaster. You are looking in the eastnortheast
direction. The large blocky structure you see just behind the crane is
the end of the acceleration tunnel.
Brief side trip to Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey: at 6:30am on Saturday, May
17th... "Batman and Robin are in Flight... the LIMs are kicking, 'the ride is awesome'."
No word yet on when the ride will actually open to the public, I expect there is
a lot of final tweaking and tuning to be done before that happens.
I expect similar announcements regarding Mr. Freeze both here and at Six Flags
St. Louis during the next week or so.
As of May 19, the steelworkers continue to go over the track with a fine-toothed comb,
sanding down any irregularities at all the joints and checking and double-checking every
bolt. At the loading station, wall joists continue going up in preparation for putting up the
walls. The electricians continue to swarm over the massive electrical installation, in
preparation for a planned first test launch, expected later this week.
This portion of the job is hard on the steelworkers, since the heady exhilaration of seeing
dramatic progress as each major new section is set into place is replaced by the minute and
exacting attention to a thousand tiny but critical details. Combined with their looking forward
to their next assignment, it's a time of mixed feelings... glad to be going to a new challenge,
but almost a bit of regret I think for some of them to find this job nearing completion. Those
preparing to leave in just a few days for their next assignments realize that by the time
they're back to Texas, in almost a month, Mr. Freeze will no doubt be opened to the public...
having denied the steelworkers who built it the pleasure of seeing the opening which will
culminate so very much of their hard work.

But the steelworkers will always have their memories of the project, in the form of
their personal photo albums of the pictures they've taken during the construction.
They've very kindly consented to share those personal pictures with roller-coaster
buffs here on the Internet!
As of May 20th, not a lot new to report. Continued work on the station building
wall joists, more sanding and smoothing of track section junctions, torqueing of
structure bolts, painting, and the electricians busily cabling and testing. I do,
however, have more pictures to share, that have been taken over the last
several days for us coaster buffs by the construction workers.
These first pictures show the main tower of Mr. Freeze, view from the south,
taken from up on the wraparound curve.
The next picture shows a view of the ground from about the same point. To the
left you can see the track coming towards the wraparound curve from the tower.
Note the track for the Mini-Mine-Train which passes right through some of the
supports for Mr. Freeze! The track at the bottom is for the steam train.

More views of the tower, from the wraparound curve. In the second shot, note how full
and muddy Johnson Creek is following the heavy rains of the previous day.
The following picture shows the acceleration tunnel from the top of the wraparound curve.
Note the structure between it and the track, which would appear to be part of a queue area.
Other new details can also be seen, such as the stairway down from a service entrance on

the backside of the tunnel. It's interesting to observe how shiny the paint is on

these new rails... compare that to how scuffed the finish will be once trains start
pounding their way down this section! This is also another good place to notice how
heavily banked the track is here... nothing at all like the leisurely horizontal cruise at
height as was suggested in the artist's conception drawing as posted earlier!
Next are two pictures which show part of the top of the wraparound curve looking the other
way, down towards the track coming up from the downside vertical on the main tower. Again,
note the greater-than-ninety-degree banking... a clear sign of the high speed you'll be
travelling at this point! The red track you see to the west in the first of these is for the Mine
Train ride... a good ride, but clearly not in the same league as Mr. Freeze!
I really like this next picture, taken of the top of the wraparound curve. You are looking to

the west-northwest here. Just above the track backbone, you can see the double loops

of Shockwave, which I believe was the first double-looping steel coaster.
SFOT has a proud tradition of "firsts".
Next we have a view down to the ground, showing the support structure for the
wraparound curve and a view of the steam railroad track passing underneath.
Note how the bolts on the support structure flanges have been painted to match
the structure... part of the detail work the steelworkers have been busy doing
the last few days. You can see the paint on the photographer's hand.
The next picture shows the Texas Tornado ride as seen from the wraparound
curve. Behind it you can see the ramps up to the new steam train station (the train
is in the station here, in fact) and just above that, in the upper left hand corner, you
can see where the loading station for Mr. Freeze is taking shape. The yellow fence,
again, separates the construction area from the open part of Good Times Square.

This next picture shows the wraparound curve as seen from directly underneath.
And this last picture is a view towards the west-southwest from the wraparound curve.
The large grey building towards the left in the photo is "The Right Stuff", a motion-baseseat
Imax film. Above it, you can barely make out the yellow and red tracks for La
Vibora, the bobsled ride at the far corner of the park. The large building just behind the
arch for the Dive Bomber (skycoaster) is Runaway Mountain, the indoor Premier
coaster which was also (like the skycoaster) added to the park for 1996. And beyond
Runaway Mountain, you can see the top of the lift hill for The Texas Giant, the park's
legendary woodie. I believe that the steelworker in this photo is Steve Anderson.

I've also finally gotten permission from the photographer, J. Mark Kegans, to repost
here what I consider the most dramatic picture of the topping-out ceremony from
the local press (this picture appeared on the front page of the Arlington Morning
News on Friday, May 9th). At the top you can see Lane Williams (who has just
attached the American flag), Troy Rockey (one of the CMSCo steelworkers) and
Jerry Bolden (taking the picture looking down from the top). But what I especially
like about this picture is the fact that you can see three of the other CMSCo
steelworkers (who have just put in the bolts to secure this top piece of track)
clinging precariously (some 23 stories above the ground!) to the spike track. Again,
these three are Christopher Dhane (lower left), Michael Lynch, and Brent Crocker.
Chris is hanging on to the brake which would slow down a runaway train before it
could hit the top of the track. Note that there is still a black rubber bumper on the
top plate, just on the off chance that a train ever did actually make it up that high.
As of May 21st, workmen at the site continue touching up detail items. Brent
Crocker went back to the very top of Mr. Freeze (even had to climb the last part
of the way, now that the very tallest crane isn't onsite anymore) to remove the
American flag placed there during the topping out ceremony... the flagstaff had
been strapped to the tubular steel rail, and there had been concern that if a train
ever had gone to the extreme top, that the straps might have damaged the
foremost wheels during those last few inches. And more painting, tightening,
sanding, tweaking, finishing. But the steelwork is very nearly finished now.

Electricians probably have the biggest and most crucial job to do now, having to
individually confirm (among other things!) the correct cabling and operation of
each of Mr. Freeze's 224 LIMs, and correcting those few which they find weren't
cabled right the first time. I'm told this is done by placing a separate fin (or
screwdriver, or whatever metal apparently) within the LIM's energized (partially?)
magnetic field, and verifying the (strong!!!) force acting on it. Anyhow, today they
apparently finished such testing and correcting of the last of the LIMs. Of course,
that's only part of the job... braking systems, control and sensing systems, and
lots more all have to be perfect. Not to mention the transfer carts which shift one
or the other train into launch position, and which have required a lot of attention.
There is also a lot of purely exterior work yet to be done. Although most of the wall joists
now seem to be in place (see the picture below), there's still a lot of interior and exterior
wall facings yet to be done. The area behind the acceleration tunnel (which looked to me
in an earlier picture like possibly a queue area, although I suppose it could be just a
storage building for parts or something) has been roofed and some of the exterior wall
facings installed. Some of the themeing touches (giant ice cream tubs, flavor vats, and
the like... the themeing is apparently to be "Mr. Freeze's ice cream factory") have arrived
and are enshrouded in plastic in the staging area, patiently waiting installation. In the
acceleration tunnel, curved metal arches have been installed over at least the last
portion of the launch run (it's not clear yet if there will be a cover, or if the arches alone
will be placed). Of course, no landscaping at all has evidently been started yet.

I've gotten several very nice E-mails from people pleading to know when Mr. Freeze will
likely open; of course, nobody knows the answer to that question yet, or else there
would have been an official announcement. I know that everyone hopes the answer will
be "as soon as possible", but in fact the answer is more one of "when it's ready, and not
before". If I had to guess, and it's pure speculation, I'd say that there's a strong
likelihood that the ride will be open at least by the time the movie opens, which I think is
probably still scheduled for June 20th... so less than a month now. How much earlier
than that it might open is very hard to say. My gut feeling is that sometime the first or
second week of June is probably in the ballpark, but again that's just wild speculation on
my part and of course shouldn't be counted on. It is a very safe bet that the wildly
optimistic fellow who wrote me and who's hoping to ride Mr. Freeze this weekend (!) will
be disappointed (although there are certainly enough other coasters in the park,
including the justly legendary Texas Giant, that it's hard to imagine anyone being terribly
disappointed here, with or without Mr. Freeze).
On May 22nd, another major milestone for Mr. Freeze was reached when shortly after
9pm, the first (reduced-power) test launches of a real train took place. The first launch
that actually went any appreciable distance (i.e. up the curve) took place at 9:22pm,
and the nose of the train went to just about the top of the second "K" brace. There were
several other test launches over at least about the following twenty minutes, with the
greatest distance the train going up the first vertical to just past the top of the third "K"
brace. I finally left for home about 10:15pm, after about 30 minutes since the preceding
launch, so cannot say personally just how much further the test launches have gone
since then. But I wouldn't be at all surprised if there will be full-circuit full-power
launches before the weekend is over (if there haven't been already as I write this).
Additionally, the themeing elements which had been sitting enshrouded in the
staging area have vanished, presumably having been set into place in or
around the station building.
As of May 28th , much of the exterior covering panels of the loading building have
been installed. Along the west side facing the steam railroad tracks, there are several
dark "windows" and a section with vertical board "siding". The south end of the loading
building is still mostly quite open, suggesting that it will receive some kind of special
treatment. While it's still open, there is clearly a ramp inside from the lower level up to

oarding level (or down, perhaps... not clear at this point which direction the queue
might be moving here). On the boarding level, past an interior wall, one can see
some of the themeing elements which I referred to previously, still enshrouded in
their plastic coverings. On the east side of the building, there are a couple of steel
structural elements which would appear to be supports (one of them looks vaguely
like a small heliport) for themeing elements (depending on how similar the building
ends up looking like the artist's conception...). Up on the roof, there's a large openair
unroofed (so far?) section in the middle. No special painting, signage, or exterior
themeing elements visible as of today. I'm told there is a queue area of sorts taking
shape behind the building (i.e. on the west side of the acceleration tunnel), so it
appears that the queue will go through the building somehow, to outside on the
west, then back into the building for boarding. Workmen (welders, roofers and
others) were busy on the loading building tonight, even past 9pm.
The track structure itself seems to have received a lot of finishing touches. The bracing
piece which had been left out for quite a while (since it would have prevented the
passage of the steam train) has been replaced with a higher horizontal piece of pipe,
apparently welded in place (and the former mounting flanges in the lower position seem
to have disappeared). Another large angled-vertical brace towards the bottom of the
spike track has also finally been placed. So with these formerly missing pieces present,
the track now would appear to be fully present and secure. Towards the top of the LIMs
on the spike track, this evening there was some kind of a flat surface that seemed to be
mounted on the track (initially it seemed to be the alignment cart, but it's not that high off
the tubular track... nothing reaches as far as to the gaps on the LIMs). It almost might be
a coaster equivalent of the plugs on a maximum-temperature thermometer, although I've
certainly not myself seen a train go that far up the spike yet.
For the first time, the rumor mill here is starting to talk about possible opening
dates, and it seems that most of the speculation seems to be for about two
weeks away, with suggestions that the ride would likely open on a Friday or
Saturday, with the possibility of a "soft opening" with a small number of people
perhaps being able to ride a few days before that.
As for the other parks, the rumor mill there in Missouri has it that the St. Louis
Mr. Freeze had unfortunately experienced some damage during initial testing,
with workers there busily doing electrical-type work even on Memorial Day.
Speculation there seems to suggest a Press Day possibly on June 4th.
In New Jersey, the unsubstantiated rumors are that the first train launches
there resulted in quite a bit more damage to the wheels of the train than was
expected, supposedly due to insufficiently smooth track segment junctions.

As of June 2nd, more detailing is taking place. The acceleration tunnel (at least the last
portion of it, visible from the tower end) is having a cylindrical liner added around the
arches as previously described. More work is continuing on the loading station building.
I'm sure that testing is proceeding, although I've not happened to catch subsequent
tests actually in progress as I did on May 22nd. Rather than using auto-maker-like
instrumented dummies for initial testing, rumor is that Six Flags simply loads sets of 25pound
weights into the vehicles and cycles the trains that way for load testing, and to
"settle" them onto the tracks. I would guess that at least one trip would be made with
an accelerometer somewhere onboard the train, to check for unobvious and possibly
dangerous shocks and jolts, although I've not been able to get that confirmed yet.
Mr. Freeze in St. Louis this past weekend was being announced as opening
"within two weeks" which would mean probably during the second week of
June (would they really consider opening a new coaster on a Friday the 13th?).
I still expect Mr. Freeze here to be open at least by the time the movie opens
on June 20th.
As of June 3rd, the related coasters to Mr. Freeze are opening or rapidly
nearing opening.
At Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, "Batman and Robin: The Chiller" will be
opening to the public tomorrow, June 4th. I believe that today is thus "media day" there.
At Six Flags St. Louis, media day for their Mr. Freeze has been set for Tuesday, June
10th, with riders needed as early as 6:00am (!) for live broadcasts. Presumably the
attraction will open to the general public either later that day, or the next day.
I've still not been able to find out anything about opening of Mr. Freeze here at
Six Flags Over Texas, but will post the details as soon as I have them.
As of June 5th, the loading station themeing has been coming along. The following
picture shows the considerably more colorful exterior decor than is reportedly used
in the St. Louis version. Although the picture is dark, you can see the several large
airconditioning units on the roof of the loading building (towards the bottom of the
Intamin Freefall ride). You can see, about where the crane is, some of the "ice
cream cone" below which one enters the loading building. To either side of the ice
cream, you can see the roof joists for the roof over the boarding area. Only about the
northern 40% of that roof is presently covered (the part under the skycoaster arch
and the Observation Tower). The dark area in front of the Mr. Freeze building is the
backside of the game booths in Good Times Square. You can also see a cylindrical
and a conical object in the left foreground, which appear to be more themeing
elements which I believe are to be installed inside the station building.

As of June 7th, Mr. Freeze experienced another major milestone as it completed a very
important series of operating tests. The following report comes from eyewitness reports.
Starting at 9:14pm, a series of reduced-power tests was again run. The train left the
station at perhaps 40 miles per hour, going less than about half way up the first
vertical towards the inversion. Several more tests in sequence were run, each time
the train went perhaps five or so feet higher than the run before. By the test run at
10:35pm, the nose of the train had reached just about the central point of the
inversion, and this was obviously about the limit of the testing feasible under limited
power. Under limited power testing, the ride is very quiet, the predominant noise
being a quiet "whoosh", rather like the sound of the Runaway Mountain trains. These
tests thus went virtually unnoticed by the guests still in the park.
The park closed on schedule at 11pm, although contrary to normal practice,
tonight the guests were rapidly shuffled towards the exits, rather than letting
them linger in the queues as normally happens. Apparently park security didn't
want to have guests still in the park to observe the tests which followed!
After the park had been emptied, Mr. Freeze tonight experienced its first full- power
tests! Eyewitnesses who observed the full- flight testing report that Mr. Freeze "is a
mean son-of-a-bitch!" They report that the ride duration appears to be very short indeed,
perhaps as short as thirty seconds (my sources didn't time one, unfortunately). On the
first full test, at 11:50pm, the train left the station at 75mph (well above the anticipated
70mph) and exhibited very little obvious speed loss as it climbed up and passed through
the inversion. It rose to virtually the top of the tower, where it was quite visibly stopped
by the emergency top-of-track brake. The train was then shot back down the tower with
the aid of the LIMs (which, it's reported, make a quite evident clacking sound as the
train's fins go through them and the fins respond to the considerable thrust of the LIMs).
There were reportedly a total of four full-power runs done tonight, with the first
apparent "real mode" test conducted right at midnight, to the reportedly absolutely
amazing accompaniment of screams and cheering from various observation points
around the park, popping of champagne corks, and general mayhem on the part of
park employees that stuck around to watch, as well as the testers themselves. The
different full-power tests were conducted with what seemed to be various "tweaks"
of launch power, braking, and spike-track LIM thrust and braking levels. In at least
one case, the train actually nearly stopped partway up the spike track, and then was
smoothly pulled (and accelerating!) up to the top of the spike track under LIM thrust
power alone! So much for the supposed inability of LIMs to handle steep grades!!!

It's reported that the quiet "whoosh" of the trains under low power tests becomes a
deafening jet-engine-like scream under full- power operation. Observers say that the
full-power sound is easily confused with that of a 747 flying by overhead (DFW
airport is several miles to the north of the park). The launch tunnel is equipped with
special lighting effects, including black-lights. Before the (test, at least) launches,
there is the sound of sirens just before the train comes screaming out of the station.
My sources report, "...it is a smokin' bastard!! It was like nothing I've ever seen.".
It is rumored that one of the problems that have been corrected since the first tests
(and this coincides with rumors surrounding Superman prior to its opening at
SFMM) is a problem getting enough electrical amperage to satisfy the prodigious
power demands of the LIMs. In the case of Mr. Freeze, I'm told that a new power
trunk supplying the ride had to be put in to "stiffen" the utility power!
Those who observed the tests tonight report that the track, heartline spins and
the like seem to be very smooth... no clinking or clacking or other sounds to
betray irregular joints. Apparently the CMSCo steelworkers did terrific work! And
another surprising report is that there was no audible hum reported to be coming
from the LIMs at all... or if there was, it was apparently totally covered up by the
screaming sound of the train and wheels on the track!
The loading building themeing seems to be coming along well too. The back side of the
building (the side facing the steam railroad) reportedly looks "pretty good". The entrance
appears to be on the side opposite (the east side) and the queue apparently goes inside
there, then eventually finds its way back outside the building on the west side before reentering
the building and coming south along the west side of the building, then zigzagging
up a ramp inside the south end of the building to reach boarding level. The south end of the
building is now enclosed, with a few supports which would appear to be to support lamps or
something, and with artists pencilling in various logos on the wall surface which airbrush
artists will later fill in. The ice cream cones used as decor and various machinery on the
east side of the building (which my sources report were not all particularly well done, at
least by their tastes) are mostly now in place. Much of the exterior painting of the launch
tunnel and loading building seem to be done.
Now that Mr. Freeze is at least all "functional" (despite that I believe that no
humans have yet ridden it!), the rumor mill is now saying that Mr. Freeze at
SFOT will officially be open to the public on Sunday, June 15th, but with possible
unofficial "soft" opening as early as... yes!... Friday the 13th!
Note that the lastest rumors I've received from Six Flags Over St. Louis claim
that their Mr. Freeze 'media day' (originally announced for June 10th) has been
postponed, with no replacement date yet announced. I've not been able to find
out yet the reason for this unexpected delay.
I'm hoping to get some pictures of this evening's testing, and will post them
(along with more information) just as soon as I have received them.

As of June 9th, work is continuing on the loading station building. Most visibly,
the installation of the roofing over the boarding area has been completed. I'm told
that the station building interior (where most of the themeing is, apparently) is
coming along well, and is expected to be substantially "done" by the end of this
week. (The themeing of the building is that of an old, abandoned ice cream plant,
supposed to be in a semi-derelict state, where the villain Mr. Freeze has his
hideout). Since the abandoned plant is supposed to be in an industrial area, this
explains Six Flags' decision to do only minimal landscaping around the building
(and whatever landscaping there will be will be done as the 'last thing').
The official word from Six Flags Over Texas is that the opening of Mr. Freeze will
probably not take place on Sunday June 15th as previous rumors indicated. Indeed,
they point out that the coaster has not yet been tested even just using the weights to
load the train, and that no human has yet ridden Mr. Freeze, either in Arlington or in St.
Louis. They don't anticipate any more full-power tests for at least several days, during
which time they say that the computer software is being tweaked and modified. And the
rumors, rife since the initial announcements of Mr. Freeze, that the opening of the ride
would be coordinated with the opening of the movie (still scheduled for June 20th) are
now being denied too, saying that the ride themeing is supposed to correspond with the
comic book character and not the film character Mr. Freeze.
As for the ride itself, I'm being told that the "launch" takes place starting with the train still
fully on the transfer cart... rather than it advancing more- or-less slowly onto the
stationary launch run before the 'serious' LIMs kick in. I also understand that the ride
was expected to be in the 45-second range of duration (thus even shorter than "Batman-
The Ride" which is just under a minute, from release at top of lift to hitting the brakes at
the end). Thus there is a significant discrepancy compared to what eyewitnesses to the
testing have reported (I've heard durations as short as 20 seconds). I've asked for the
actual duration of the trip as experienced during testing (realizing, of course, that the
duration of the final ride could vary over quite a wide range depending on loading and
other issues). So far, it seems that nobody has timed the ride duration... probably
because the experience of seeing the tests is so dramatic and riveting that it's hard to
think of anything else! As always, I'll post more details as soon as I have them.
As of June 11, the fact that a lot of work is still being done on Mr. Freeze is
evident from the large number of cars parked in the grassy staging area adjacent
to the construction site... if anything, more cars and pickups parked in this area
than during the great majority of the construction.
The exterior themeing of the loading station seems to be coming along, although it's rather
disappointing compared to the artist's conception drawing. Things that look like windows
are not (just glass with black plywood behind) and the richly textured and detailed themeing
supposedly intended to the left of the entrance (on the east side, with a car breaking
through, trusses etc) are reduced to a couple of rather tacky appliquees...

The following pictures show the west side of the station building, the side just adjacent
to the steam railroad line. The first picture, looking northeast with a portion of the
"Boomtown Depot" sign visible overhead, shows towards the bottom right (just behind
the wooden fence) the two doors through which the line winds back outside the building
to a queue area further north on the west side. This queue area is somewhat limited in
size, since just to the north of it is part of the Mini-Mine-Train track. Note how the doors
are below the railroad track level. The things that look like windows are some of the
fakes I mentioned earlier. The wooden "door" along the right hand edge seems to be an
emergency exit or maintenance access door of some kind.
The next picture shows part of the west side of the same building, looking southsoutheast.
Note how the side of the Mr. Freeze station building basically looks
like a backdrop for the Boomtown Depot. Along the right hand edge of the
picture, you can see the far southwest corner of the Mr. Freeze station building.
In the hollow of the tree foliage towards the right, you can see one of the big
Carrier A/C units on the roof of the station.
In the following, you can see the southern end of the station building. Towards
the left (southwest) corner, you can see the exit door and a ramp down
(presumably this is an emergency exit). Part of the yellow fence separating
the construction zone, and the railroad crossing signal can also be seen.

Perhaps the most interesting of these pictures is the east side of the station building,
where guests will enter the "warehouse". The orange-yellow machine to the lower left is
a cherrypicker, one of two used to help personnel get up onto the roof (they're still
working on the A/C units), and to work on painting the logo as seen in the previous
picture. Here you can see what I mean about the rather tacky appliquee'd trusses etc.
Anyhow, guests enter through the strange silver-grey "ball" stuck onto the side of the
building. Oh well, perhaps the themeing is better inside. Towards the right, you can see
the rainbow-hued launch tunnel, and of course the tower in the distance. What you can't
see very well just beside the launch tunnel in this picture is several large blocky objects
alongside... the new electrical transformers which rumor says turned out to be necessary
to satisfy Mr. Freeze's insatiable demands for power.
At least it is interesting that the yellow fence separating the construction zone from
the open portion of the park has been reduced to about half-height, so guests can
finally get a good view of the station building as you can see in the picture above.
When I was there, a guy on a small steam-roller was working on the blacktop here
on the east side of the building. But the bulk of the work seems to be taking place
inside the building, since relatively few workers can be seen outside... nowhere near
enough to account for all the cars parked in the construction area parking lot.
Meanwhile, there are sporadic tests of the ride itself. I've gotten eyewitness
accounts of seeing at least two launch tests which were conducted Monday
(June 9th) about 8:30pm, while the park was still open.
As we approach the rumored-then-denied soft opening date of June 13th, I just
don't see it happening that soon. The most recent rumors I've been hearing
recently are of a June 20th opening (thus indeed coinciding with the opening of
the movie), with park employees talking eagerly of a rumored-huge castmember
party around then to celebrate the opening.
As of June 13th, detail work is being done on the station building. Additional decor and
themeing items are being added. In the first picture below, note the cone-shaped bin on the
roof (you saw this piece in the staging area a few days ago, remember?) They've added
neon signs to both sides of the ice cream cone face ("SNOWY'S" on this side), added more
detailing to the ports towards the left (compare against the picture from a few days ago). The
top of the cherry nose is in place, the ball and topping has been repainted

so it looks nicer, and they've added a fence towards the back of the station
building to hide much of the acceleration tunnel, as well as the new electrical
transformers I mentioned previously. Just after the below picture was taken, artists
began applying the first "Snowy's eye" to the ball, just to the left of the 'nose'.
The following picture, taken from the top of the Texas Chute-Out, shows a nice aerial view
of Mr. Freeze, with the station building in the foreground. Just to the left, you can see the
Boomtown Depot, and above it to the left the Texas Tornado (chair swings). To the right of
the station building you can see the yellow fence separating the construction area, and
behind it a building housing various carnival games of "skill". The staging area is partially
visible to the far right of the picture, and a warehouse just north of that.
Today, for a change, the computer-generated video was actually playing from its
kiosk nearby (the first time I've seen it working in several months!) and I timed
the computer generated video simulation at about 1 min 15 secs... note that this
is at least twice as long as the reports of ride duration during testing as

perceived by the eyewitness reports I've gotten.

I'm told that there are a number of detail additions in the acceleration tunnel, too....
special lighting effects and "frost" decor. The wall surrounding the northern
end of the acceleration tunnel has also been finally closed in.
Adjacent to Mr. Freeze's station, just across the steam railroad track, a new
concession stand is being built which will sell "Frozen Coca-Cola" (it looks like
they have "Slurpee"-type machines) which I think will be a nice idea (I think the
first Slurpee-type frozen drinks available in the park).
I'm also hearing details about Batman and Robin: The Chiller saying that in New
Jersey, passengers are not being allowed to carry cameras, jewelry, stuffed animals,
glasses, or other personal effects with them on the ride. Instead, I hear they have
lockers (a nice idea, actually) that you have to check your belongings into and then
you receive a "boarding pass" which allows you to actually board the trains. I haven't
been able to confirm yet if this is also planned for Mr. Freeze here.
I'm still not seeing the kind of frequent running of the ride that I'd expect to see (for
training the park operations staff) for a day or two before if the ride were really going
to open on Sunday the 15th (but I'm still getting insistent rumors that it WILL open on
the 15th). The parking area for the construction site still has a lot of vehicles parked
back there, including two or three trucks today from the electrical contractors, so
there's evidently still electrical work being done, as well as just decor and themeing
work. And even in the very early hours this morning (like 5:30am), when the entire
rest of the park was nearly totally dark, Mr. Freeze had lots of cars parked nearby
and people crawling all over the place. Park security were chasing away onlookers,
even at a considerable distance from the actual construction area... clearly they're
trying very hard to prevent more eyewitness reports of testing and such (most of
which is being done in the very small hours of the morning).
I'll post more information, as always, as I receive it.
As of June 14th, I've received a report that the LIMs have been removed from
the tower, reportedly as the result of some kind of "incident".
Now, I had noticed when I was going by the park on Friday that there were wires
hanging loose from the LIM section of the spike, but by the time I got into the
park forgot to check out the loose wires at closer range. Mea culpa!
Of course, the gaps in the LIMs for the passage of the train fins are quite narrow,
which together with the thickness of the fins themselves doesn't allow much
margin for error. The alignment of the fins and the LIMs is quite critical, and a
number of things can affect that alignment: wheel wear on the train, "slop"
between the wheels and the rail which might permit the train to lift off the rail
slightly, even just different thermal expansion coefficients between the track
structure, LIM support structure, the LIMs themselves, and the train chassis.

I'm trying to get more information about the true status of Mr. Freeze and will
post the details here when I know more.
P.S. I've started seeing clear plastic drink "bottles" around the park that have the Mr.
Freeze logo on them (among other graphics)... a weird "cup" design that seems to
come with a plastic loop so you can hang it off your belt. Since I generally don't buy
soda at the park... I think the price is a ripoff, frankly... I'm not sure where these cups
are coming from, if they cost anything special, or what they're being sold as. I'll try to
remember to look into those issues next time I'm inside the park.
As of June 15th , the LIMs are still missing from the tower, and Six Flags continues
trying to squash most "leaks" of information regarding the progress of testing. Some
of those in a position to know refuse to talk, claiming to be concerned about
protecting "the image of the park". Other sources talk freely, under promise of
anonymity. But of course, it's hard to know how much of the information is accurate
and truthful, and how much of it is intentional misinformation.
Official sources, however, have provided a few additional statistics as requested
by visitors to this page. The height of the inversion (they call it the "top hat") is
150 feet; the height of the top of the wraparound curve is 105 feet (it looks higher
than that) and the banking of the wraparound curve is 120 degrees. Of course,
height is a relative number, and I have no real idea of what these heights are
relative to! Officially, the park states that no human has yet ridden Mr. Freeze (at
least not here, and I presume the same is true for the St. Louis version).
I'm told that the New Jersey "Chiller" ride was closed for several days for the installation
of additional padding to the over-shoulder restraints, because of excessive headbanging
(which was a problem on OL:FOF, another Premier coaster, as well). There's a
lot of speculation that Mr. Freeze will need similar additional padding... nobody will
probably know for sure until the first human being actually rides it.
The most likely sounding rumors about Mr. Freeze indicate that the fins on the
trains simply aren't dependably clearing the LIMs on the tower. Eyewitness
reports during the full-power testing reported hearing (even from quite a distance
away) rather loud "chunking" sounds as the trains went through the bank of
LIMs on the spike track. (This would happen if the fins were mechanically hitting
some part of the LIM structure on the way up and down the spike track.)
This is in accord with rumors about the St. Louis Mr. Freeze, where there seems
to have been even a more serious "incident". There, the Press Day planned and
announced for June 10 was abruptly cancelled, and the river rapids ride
surrounding the Mr. Freeze ride there was not only closed but was even drained,
which is an extraordinary step for this hot part of the peak season. Why was the
river drained? Perhaps to try to recover a part of Mr. Freeze there which had
come apart from the train and been maybe flung into the nearby river?

This would also correlate with the exceedingly aggressive (almost Gestapo-like) stance
that Six Flags security has taken here in trying to prevent anyone from observing their
tests, supposedly for fartetched-sounding reasons of "safety" and "insurance
requirements". Let's imagine what would happen if, indeed, one of the fins, hitting the
LIMs, were to actually go as far as to break loose from the train. The LIM, still energized,
would accelerate that fin (or piece of fin) at an incredible rate, which would either jam it
between the nearby fins and a LIM (I doubt there's room to have two fins pass through
the reaction gap... would this then break off those fins too?), or (if one of the end-car
fins) might shoot the fin (piece?) out (up or down, depending on the direction of the train
at the time) like a rocket. Due to the speed, this might travel quite a distance (although
this would be limited, due to the light weight and poor aerodynamic stability...
I doubt it would represent a hazard to, for example, planes going by overhead).
But of course, all this is just guesswork and speculation at this point.
(This kind of problem would also perhaps explain the rumors I've heard about one of the
Chiller trains in New Jersey "saddling" in one of the valley areas during testing there.)
Rumors here are now floating around about an opening on June 20th, although I think
that until the LIMs are back in place on the tower, it's pretty unlikely that we'll have an
opening that soon. There will be a lot of testing to do after the spike track LIMs are
replaced, both testing previously scheduled (such as training the ride operators, which
I expect will involve a number of launches and probably during the park day) and
repeats of tests previously concluded prior to their removal, now with whatever new
changes to the LIMs and their mountings that have been made in the meanwhile.
FLASH: I understand that the LIMs on the long sloping ramp of the Chiller
at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey are also being removed. Below
is a picture taken on June 15th of them being removed (there used to be
LIMs where you see the wires sticking up). I'm trying to get more information.

I've also just read another eyewitness report that saw one of the Mr. Freeze trains here
at SFOT on June 10th, that had saddled between the wraparound curve and the spike
track. The segment of track there in the valley (designed to be removable for exactly
this purpose) had been removed, and the train cars were being removed with a crane,
one at a time. This was just about the time that the LIMs on the spike track were being
removed (or had fallen off?)... the witness reported that the lower two LIMs on the left
side, and the second LIM from the bottom on the right side, were missing.
Here's another thought: the LIMs each attach to the support structure on four standoff bolts.
Perhaps the great force exerted by the LIMs simply are too much for them being mounted
on such "stilts" as it were? Perhaps the "chunking" sound that was reported was less that of
the fins hitting the LIM structures, but the LIMs flexing on their "stilts" and hitting the
adjacent LIMs? Certainly a solid shim between the LIM and its supporting structure, while
less easily adjustable, would be a lot more mechanically robust. (It will be interesting to see
what the LIMs look like after they're put back into place).
FLASH: The word from New Jersey is that Chiller is closed, and that ALL the
LIMs (including the ones in the station launch run!) have been removed. It's
not expected that the ride there will re- open until July. People are being told
that the designer wants to "reposition them to get more speed" but quite honestly,
that sounds pretty nonsensical to me (here at SFOT at least, the trains under nonloaded
but full-power testing already went all the way to the top of the spike track...
and they're already reportedly testing at 75mph coming out of the launch tunnel,
rather than the 70mph as originally spec'd). There is also speculation that there's
more than just more padding being done to the horse collars... apparently under
the great acceleration, the restraints ratchet down even further during the ride, with
the result that riders are "too tightly" restrained by the end of the ride.
As of June 16th, rumors are positively flying about the nature of the problems being
experienced. Rumor in St. Louis talks about a planned test there (early last week...
Tuesday?) being aborted at the last minute due to a mechanical "incident" on
the Mr. Freeze here in Texas. "They did not want to launch a train until they
figured out what happened at the Texas coaster." The report goes on to say
that they had a train saddle during testing there in St. Louis as well... this
meaning that trains have saddled during testing at all three of the parks.
There are only really two places where a train can saddle on Mr. Freeze: either between the
top hat and the wraparound curve, or between the wraparound curve and the spike. In the
case of the Texas Mr. Freeze at least, the saddling reported by an eyewitness was between
the wraparound curve and the spike. Since the spike is some 240 feet high and the
wraparound curve only 105 feet, the only way that the train wouldn't make it back over the
wraparound curve would be if it didn't make it all the way to the top of the spike (the LIMs on
the spike ought to guarantee that the train will), or if the train is severely braked by
something on the way back down the spike (and there are no mechanical, at least, brakes
on the spike track at all, other than the one right near the very top).

Of course the other possible (likely?) scenario is that the train did go up the spike,
then back down through the wraparound curve but didn't make it all the way back
up the top hat, rolling back down and over the wraparound curve again, and then
not making it far enough up the spike to engage the LIMs... finally settling in the
valley at the bottom of the spike track. In either case, this would probably require an
initial mechanical or electrical malfunction of the LIMs (or the controlling computer
and/or electrical systems that drive them) which would prevent the train from being
brought high enough up the spike to ensure it making it back through the top hat on
the return trip. (Or, perhaps, experiencing a mechanical jamming of the fins/LIMs on
the way back down, significantly slowing down the train).
The following picture, taken back in May, shows how the LIMs attach to the support
structure along the spike track. This shows the four standoffs which support each LIM, and
which permit the LIM to be adjusted for precise position relative to the track. The fact that
even the station LIMs have been removed from Chiller suggest that the problem is not one
of simple fin misalignment due to the train lifting slightly off the (vertical) track due to slop in
the wheel assemblies and not having the restoring force of gravity acting on it; in the station,
there ought to be enough gravity acting on the seven-ton train to keep it securely on the
track. So this perhaps suggests that the problem is more one of these standoffs... is the
prodigious force applied by the LIMs simply beyond the capacity of these standoffs?
Usually, such standoffs are best for compression or tension loads, and perhaps less well
suited to the shear loads they will experience here.
Again, I want to emphasize that all of this is speculation and rumor at this point.
Nothing here related to these problems should be construed as official
information from anybody at Six Flags.
Further rumors, however, claim that the CEO (at least) of the coaster design company,
Premier Rides, is personally here at SFOT. The rumor mill has not yet indicated if people

from Winkle Electric or Force Engineering are also here in Dallas. If they are, they
are probably under substantial pressure from Six Flags to not discuss any details.
On a more positive note, I've heard that the "ride cycle" is supposed to be two minutes
long (note that this is not the same as "ride duration"). Timing the unload/load time of
Flashback (which is rather similar to Mr. Freeze in some respects) suggests that it takes
about one minute there to unlock the horse collars, unload passengers, board new
passengers, get restraints lowered, check restraints, and ready the train for dispatch. If
Mr. Freeze is comparable, that leaves one minute for all the rest. Now, one must move
the train's transfer cart into position in line with the launch run. My best guess for this is
five to seven seconds each way, so ten to fifteen seconds in all. This now leaves 45 to
50 seconds remaining. We know that the train accelerates 0-70mph in 3.78 seconds
(call it four) and presumably the return deceleration as the train comes back into the
station will take a little longer (let's say six). This leaves us with 35 to 40 seconds of
actual remaining ride duration, which is pretty close to what eyewitnesses to the fullpower
testing have felt like they saw.
By the way, I'm getting reports that it's normal operating procedure at St. Louis to
drain their river rapids back into a holding basin each evening, in order to allow
trucks, workers, and material to get to the central island where Mr. Freeze is
being built at that park. They are claiming that they're not aware of any "incident"
there; those reports say that the "incident" (whatever it was, but apparently the
night of June 9th or wee hours of the morning of June 10th) happened here in
Texas. (This also probably explains the large number of vehicles I reported
seeing in the construction site parking area and staging area on June 11th).
Eyewitnesses are reporting that as of Monday evening (June 9th), the tests they saw
seemed to be going normally, with trains being launched about every ten minutes. They
report that the LIMs were clearly pulling the trains higher up the spike, although they also
report that the trains were 'topping out' at least 15-20 feet below the top of the spike track.
As of June 18th, the rumor mill here is confirming my conclusions from yesterday.
Reportedly the standoffs used for mounting the LIMs are similar to those used on Outer
Limits: Flight of Fear (Premier's previous LIM-launched coaster) but need to be beefed up
substantially to handle the much higher speeds and forces of this new crop of rides.
Given the large number of LIMs which have to be retrofitted (and then reinstalled,
realigned and retested) I'd guess this represents a pretty significant delay before the
rides will re-open... my guess is not before the Fourth of July weekend, at the earliest.
Meanwhile, speculation among park fans and coaster- holics continues regarding somewhat
more distant plans for SFOT. Most rumors seem to concur that we'll get another roller
coaster, most likely from Premier, and probably even more spectacular than Mr. Freeze (the
most frequently mentioned alternative is a B&M "Batman - The Ride"

inverted coaster... which it in any case seems almost inevitable we'll have one
of, sooner or later).
One obvious question is "where would it go?". If you look at the photo below (originally
posted for June 13th above), you can see the yellow-looking building (actually the yellow
is the backside of the fence) just to the right of the Frosty-face figure. This rather tatty
wood-frame building houses some assorted carnival-type games of "skill". The tan
building just above is some kind of warehouse used by Six Flags (certainly
expendable/movable) and the area to the right of both of those is the large grassy
staging area where the pieces of Mr. Freeze were laid out during construction (and
some parking lot areas, already owned by Six Flags and mostly very little used).
This is a large and eminently usable area. Note the orientation of the Frosty- face (why
orient him such that he's only visible, at present, from such a miniscule area of the
park? And the neon sign to the right of him - above him in the photo - is almost invisible
from nearly anywhere in the present park). Together with the recent clearing of the
brush and undergrowth just behind the games building and below the trailers (you can
see the recently cleared dirt there in the picture), this is a good hint that this games
building is going away (and possibly soon). Removing the games building (or at least
rebuilding it further back, which could be done even before demolishing the present
building) would instantly open up a large new area for the park (perhaps a whole
Gotham City section? Perfect place for the new Batman inverted). And this could be
done without having to take out any existing rides at all.
It would also enhance the value of the Mr. Freeze themeing... the orientation of
the Mr. Freeze station building would suddenly make sense, unlike at present.

On June 19th , I received a more detailed report from an eyewitness to the
events on Tuesday June 10th, or at least the aftermath.
On the afternoon of June 10th, the viewer saw one of the Mr. Freeze trains saddled in
the valley just at the bottom of the spike track. One section of the track there, about one
car length long (which is designed to be removable, principally for use in putting on the
alignment cart should the LIMs ever need realignment but also for cases like this where
a train has saddled) had been removed. After chaining the first and last cars to the track
to prevent the train from moving, the middle car was removed first. The second car of
the train was removed next. A few hours later, the last car was being removed.
The cars had been placed onto a flatbed truck (probably the same flatbed wagon that had
been used during construction to move track pieces from the staging area to the installation
site). Presumably this was to enable the cars to be moved either back to the station, or back
to a maintenance facility for inspection (and repair?). Another flatbed truck was loaded with
pallets full of barbell weights, most of which were wrapped in clear plastic (presumably
these had been removed from the cars, indicating that loaded tests were being conducted at
the time of the incident... perhaps the fact that the train was loaded accounts for the extra
forces which overstressed the LIM mounting standoffs).
I presume that the reason the barbell weights were wrapped in clear plastic was to enable
them to be suitably restrained in the seats. Loose weights would possibly be in danger of
coming out of the trains on the vertical track sections, or the wraparound curve.
One interesting question to consider is how precisely one goes about putting the
cars back onto the track, other than at the removable section of track in the valley
before the spike track. The main track only has two open ends, and clearly the end
at the top of the spike isn't terribly useful (and it's capped anyhow). Presumably the
cars are brought back into the station to put them back online. But that's an
interesting question in its own right, since there aren't many openings into the station
building large enough to pass a car through. By my reckoning, there are three...
First, there's the opening at the north end of the launch tunnel (but it's a long way
from the open (south) end of the track, and the arched cover over the track means
there probably is no crane that could move the cars back to the other end).
Second, there's the large passthrough opening in the side of the launch tunnel
(you've seen this already in the pictures) but that's still pretty far from the south
end of the station too, where the transfer carts and storage tracks are. It's not
obvious how one would lift the cars up and over the launch run and move them
back to the south to reinstall the cars onto the track.
The only other largeish opening that I'm aware of is through the Frosty face itself, which
coincidentally is probably at about the right place along the length of the station to be able to
lift the cars up and onto the storage tracks. So my initial guess would be that that's how the
cars are put back onto the track, to allow another launch. This suggests that

inside this opening, there must be either no lowered ceiling, or some kind of access
ports and hoist that allows lifting cars back up to the level of the storage tracks.
At the time the saddled cars were being removed, three of the LIMs were already
gone from the spike track... the two at the lower left, and the second from the
bottom on the right side. Note that the remaining LIMs from the spike track were
not being taken down until Thursday June 12th... making one wonder if the LIMs
missing on Tuesday had been purposely removed, or if they had broken loose
and perhaps fallen from the tower (wouldn't the electrical cables have "tethered"
the LIMs, preventing them from falling all the way to the ground?).
Of course, as noted by the reporter, it's going to be even more difficult reinstalling and
realigning these LIMs 150 feet in the air than it was the first time, when this was done
on the ground. As of today (June 19th) the LIMs are still missing from the tower.
I have also now received a .WAV file recording of the launch of a Robin train at Chiller,
but it's quite noisy and I'm not sure it's good enough to post it to the Web site (it's also
quite large). If someone is particularly interested in hearing it, please get back to me
and we'll see if it's possible to find some way to get it to you (by FTP or whatever).
On June 20th, workmen reinstalled the LIMs on the spike track at Mr. Freeze. By
about 3:45pm, they'd nearly finished reinstalling the left side LIMs. About 7:00pm
I photographed them physically lifting and reinstalling the last of the LIMs (the
upper right-hand one, looking from the south). They still weren't recabled (the
power cables were still hanging loose) but at least they are now all back in place.
It didn't appear that any of the LIMs had been put back onto the launch run yet
(although note that most of the launch run is indoors, and most of the LIMs there
probably wouldn't be visible from outside the building anyhow).

Rumors continue to fly regarding the nature of the incident that happened between June 9
and June 10. One report states that "the train was going so fast, it collided with two of the
magnets, shattering the [something]." Unfortunately, it wasn't clear what was shattered.
The yellow fence which has separated the station building and construction from the
open portion of Good Times Square has reportedly been removed, so that indicates
that the themeing (of the outside of the station building, at least) is now done.
The portable field office that had been used by the steelworkers has
disappeared from the construction site. Evidently their work there is finished.
The piece of track at the bottom of the spike that can be removed when a train saddles
is still removed... it's a surprisingly small piece of track (and only involves the track rails
themselves, the backbone is still in place). That it's still missing is not surprising, since
they will still need to load the alignment cart temporarily and realign the LIMs on the
spike track. This might be done as early as this evening, since the park will probably
want to release the crane (crane rentals are expensive!) as soon as possible.
Two other mysteries and rumors have also probably been put to rest. First, Six
Flags here claims that there are no personal effects lockers or boarding passes
for Chiller (this contradicts reports I've gotten from riders), and that they won't in
any case have any such kinds of lockers or plan any boarding passes here on
Mr. Freeze. Second, how the coasters are put back on the track is now clear:
there is a large raised door in the side of the station building just at the north end
of the eastern storage track, permitting the cars to be put back into the station
building (and back ontrack) through there. It's at the point shown by the arrow in
the photo below. (I don't know why I hadn't noticed this opening before).
Of course, there's more to getting Mr. Freeze open than just physically remounting the
LIMs. They will need to be realigned/readjusted, the electrical cabling will have to be hooked
back up, (there were no less than four work trucks from the electrical subcontractor present
at the construction site this evening about 7:30pm, indicating that a

lot of people are still doing electrical hookup) and a lot of the testing will
probably need to be repeated. I still think that Fourth of July weekend (or just
before) sounds to me like a good possibility for the opening.
Early viewers of the movie (which opened today) report that Mr. Freeze's hideout is an
abandoned ice cream factory, called "Snowy's Cones" (the same name as appears on
the ride). Clearly the relationship between the ride themeing and the movie goes well
beyond a casual, accidental similarity. But Six Flags continues to insist that the ride is
based on the cartoon character, and not the movie character of Mr. Freeze.
And I've gotten more feedback from an eyewitness to the full-power testing, which
reported that the train barely slowed during the first part of the way up the spike...
maintained speed... then hung stationary at the top of the spike for 1-2
seconds before starting to fall back down (without the LIMs, it should have
stopped for just an instant before starting to go back down).
As of June 21st, I've added (the the list above) two new pages which answer the
Frequently Asked Questions about how LIMs work, and to describe in detail the
elements you go through during a ride on Mr. Freeze. I hope this helps clarify things!
I've received a reconfirmation that the tower and launch tunnel LIMs were all
removed on the St. Louis Mr. Freeze too. Yesterday the spike track LIMs there too in
St. Louis were being reinstalled. When the source left the St. Louis park last night,
they had the six lowest LIMs on the left side, and the three lowest LIMs on the right
side of the track reinstalled. Large banks of portable spotlights had been put up,
apparent evidence that they planned to work on the reinstallation until late into the
night. Rumors in St. Louis regarding the opening date now range from "a week or
two" to "4-6 weeks, because they can't get enough power to it."
As of 2:00pm this afternoon, there are at least four crews from McBride Electric up on
the spike track realigning the LIMs (although the LIMs haven't been reconnected
electrically as of this point). The report I got said that the LIMs being reattached are still
each mounted with four bolts. Though beefier this time, I'd presume.
As of June 22nd, reports from St. Louis indicate that workmen there have completed
reinstalling the LIMs on the spike track, and spent much of last night reinstalling LIMs on
the launch run in the acceleration tunnel. This despite intermittent severe weather there
(and the reporter mentioned that the Mr. Freeze tower makes ONE HELL of a lightning
rod... in fact, this point has not been lost on construction crews here in Dallas, either, who
are especially careful not to be working on the tower when there is any danger at all of
lightning in the vicinity). The cables to the spike track LIMs there all seem to be
reattached. Fluorescent lights lined the launch tunnel track to facilitate the LIM remounting
and realignment. A frame of some kind, taller than a train, was on the launch track...
apparently designed to aid in remounting (and realigning?) the LIMs.

I presume that the work is progressing at a similar rate here in Dallas, despite
some severe (but brief) thunderstorms that moved past Arlington and SFOT in
mid-afternoon today. Those storms and lightning won't delay remounting and
rewiring the LIMs in the launch run, anyhow.
As of June 24th, workmen are up on the spike track, probably reconnecting the power
cables to the spike track LIMs. (I was surprised to get this report, which indicated that
the wires were all still dangling loose as of 11am... I would have thought that the LIMs
on the spike track... at least... would have been all rewired already. If for no reason other
than to be able to return the crane as soon as possible.)
I have heard reports that the crane is still here, with the alignment cart on the
track in the valley just before the spike... evidently, LIMs are being aligned too.
I would expect that full-power testing here will resume within the next few days.
As of June 25th, the LIMs on the spike track are rewired, the crane is gone, the
alignment cart has been removed, and the "magic removable piece" of the track is back
in place. There were a very small number of vehicles at the construction area,
suggesting that much of the work needing to be done there is completed. I saw one
work vehicle in the vicinity, an "Electronics" truck, suggesting that work on the ride
controller or sound systems or some such is under way. (I'm told that the programming
of the ride controllers for Mr. Freeze both here at SFOT and in St. Louis are being done
by Six Flags' own staff.) No McBride Electric trucks to be seen anywhere.
More to the point, the exterior (west side of the building) queueing areas have been
significantly cleaned up of construction debris, and the inside themeing visible
through the entrance looks fairly finished. The "black light" effects in the boarding
area or early launch tunnel seem to be working, and about the major things still
obviously remaining to be done are some of the queue area stanchions (both to the
east side of the ride building, and the auxiliary area to the southwest... the one that
winds around past the new Frozen Coca-Cola stand, across the steam railroad track)
and related signboarding. But I'm told that these things are often left until the last day
or two before opening, so maybe this shouldn't be given too much weight.
The following pictures show some of the exterior themeing details. The first one
shows the south end of the station building. The next two show the east side of
the station building, both to the left and to the right of the Frosty face. The thing
that looks like a "door" lined in yellow towards the south corner of the east side is
simply decor, supposed to represent condenser coils for the air conditioning
plant or something. Note the small door opening in the third picture, just to the
left of the rightmost of the two white stanchions: this is the exit from the ride.

Among the rumors regarding interior themeing details: fog/clouds in the launch tunnel;
the intention to keep the building VERY cold inside (bring a wrap or sweater?!); an
audio-animatronic Mr. Freeze figure; numerous other details. Supposedly the
disembark/embark/check restraints/dispatch cycle time goal is 52 seconds.
Apparently my guess about a "Gotham City" section around Mr. Freeze is a good one...
I'm hearing more talk about SFOT's future "Batman - The Ride" being located
adjacent to Mr. Freeze (but same sources claim that SFOT's B&M inverted will be
quite a departure from the previous ones at other Six Flags parks...). Some rumors
claim that there will not be a new coaster at SFOT next year at all, but rather for
1998 a redo of Looney Tunes Land (the small-kids section of the park) and an end
for the Animal Action Theatre (replacing it with some totally new show), thus with
any new major coaster coming the following year or the year afterwards. And those
rumors suggest either the inverted coaster, or an Arrow "hyper-coaster". They also
claim that the "Gotham City" themeing will probably be accompanied by a complete
re-themeing of Good Times Square (perhaps to a "movie backlot" theme) and
perhaps the elimination of the bumper cars (a low-throughput ride).
The picture below (view looking to the north, taken from the Texas Chute-Out) shows the
area which I expect to become the new "Gotham City" area in the relatively near future.
To the extreme left, you can see part of the Mr. Freeze tower, the launch tunnel, and the
Frosty face entrance. The hook-shaped building to the right of that is the building
containing carnival-type games, which is eminently demolishable. Just to the left and
below the center of a picture is a warehouse-type steel building, which could either be
demolished or converted perhaps into some kind of show building or could house an
"inside" ride perhaps. You can see in the rest of the space the grassy staging area (the
thing in the middle is just a large dumpster) where Mr. Freeze's track pieces were laid
out prior to assembly, and a parking lot (basically never used) which runs along the back
side of the games building. I'm told that all this land belongs already to Six Flags
(according to one rumor, they bought it back last year after having sold it some years
ago), and you can see why (given the orientation and size of the Frosty face) I don't
expect the games building to stay around (in its current location, at least) for very long.

Note too that this land is in a prime location for Six Flags. The road running across
the picture left and right above the center of the picture is IH30 (runs towards Fort
Worth to the left, and towards Dallas to the right) and the road running north and
south just to the right of the picture (you can see a little of it to the upper right
corner of the picture) is Hwy 360, going north towards DFW airport. Both are
primary commuter routes, and Six Flags likes to put their neatest coasters where
they're highly visible to those people driving by. And the road just south of IH30 is
Copeland Road, essentially the bidirectional access road that runs along the south
side of IH30. So this area would be a great, high-traffic, very-visible location for
(say) a B&M inverted, or something even more spectacular.
One other thing to notice: the above picture, taken about 7:30pm on a
Wednesday evening, shows almost no vehicles parked there... not in the staging
area, not in the parking lot just to the right and above the steel warehouse
building, not really even to the left of the warehouse building. Two weeks before
at this hour, there were two, maybe three dozen worker cars, work trucks, and
the like crowded in here.. all those people working overtime back then, trying to
get everything finished. All good evidence that most of these people are now
finished, and that means we're coming down to the wire before opening.
And the rumors continue about the "incident", which I'm now told actually took place on June
9th (rather than the wee hours of June 10th), and that the barbell weights hadn't yet been
boarded onto the test train when the mechanical failure took place. The rumor mill also is
saying now that it was not a problem with the standoffs which didn't take the shear load, but
that of the mounting of the LIM coil structures themselves within the outer LIM structure.
Reports are also saying that the trains during testing managed to reach 78 (!) miles per hour,
although apparently in service the acceleration tunnel LIMs will simply be turned off as soon
as the train reaches the design speed of 70mph. Further eyewitness reports from prior fullpower
tests say that the action of the LIMs on the spike track is

hardly subtle: it's claimed that after the train slows down going up the spike, the
LIMs kick in and pull the train quite evidently and smoothly the rest of the way to
the top of the spike; they then hold the train there stopped for 2-3 seconds before
reversing and shoving the train back towards the ground.
Another mystery perhaps solved is the red train/blue train issue. You may remember
that reports had persistently talked about seeing both a red train and a blue train...
but also had talked about seeing a blue train in the station, while cars from another
blue train were offline nearby. I'm told that all six trains had been brought to SFOT
for some retrofitting at the shops here, then sent back to their "own" parks. So the
red train that was seen here was in fact one of the Chiller trains! I'm told now that
both of SFOT's Mr. Freeze trains are blue. The Texas trains can supposedly be
distinguished from the others by a minor enhancement designed to improve
serviceability, the outboard placement of some kind of a stop involved with the overthe-shoulder
restraints (located inboard on the other four trains).
I'm told there are numerous smaller queue areas inside the station building. Supposedly
loading takes place on the fixed outside platforms, unloading on the inner platforms
located on the transfer carts. Upon leaving those platforms, exit is by a staircase (or the
elevator for wheelchair guests). Thus, the entire entering queue area is handicappedaccessible
by ramps (designed, I'm told, to discourage "cheating" using a wheelchair in
hopes of avoiding the long waiting queue by coming up the exit ramp instead...
handicapped guests will access the ride through the same queue as all other visitors).
There may be a "Freeze Frame" picture purchase option, with the counter being
inside the station building just prior to the exit.
I still think that it looks like there's a good chance that the ride might be open in
time for the 4th of July weekend, barring some more bad news or further
problems uncovered during testing. Note that no full-power testing seemed to
be being done the night of the 25th.
As of June 27th, I've finally scanned and added the pictures taken June 25th
(they're above) along with a little more detailed discussion of the area that I expect
to become "Gotham City". So please go back and reread the June 25th section! I
haven't gotten much new information in the last day or two, other than that the CEO
of Premier Rides is/was definitely in Dallas as recently as a few days ago (and
probably still is, I'd suspect). I've not yet gotten reports of any humans having ridden
Mr. Freeze up to now, or even any confirmations of load testing (with the weights)
since the LIMs were put back. But I'm still leaning towards expecting an opening in
time for the Fourth of July weekend, barring any additional unforeseen difficulties
that turn up during testing. And as we come down to the opening, I'd expect that the
Premier Rides people would want to stay here for it.

On June 28th, I received another report from a person who was at SFOT on
Thursday (June 26th) and reported seeing the "Snowy's Cones" sign lit (it wasn't on
Wednesday night, although I've previously heard reports of it being lit quite some
time ago... about the time of the first full-power tests, as I recall). He inquired from
the park security officer stationed at the entrance when the ride might be open, and
"He was quite rude and yelled at me. He said he didn't know when it was opening
and told me to scram. Pardon my french but that really pissed me off!".
This reinforces several very negative experiences that I've personally experienced at
the hands of Six Flags "security" officers. I'm sure that they didn't enjoy standing
guard at Mr. Freeze in the rain, and were probably tired of answering the "so when
will it be open?" question (they'd probably been asked it a thousand times already
that day). But if they can't handle the job of being polite to guests in the park, then
they shouldn't be there. Park staff who are impolite and rude to guests (especially
towards the end of the day) can absolutely ruin a previously positive experience
(built up painstakingly during the day by the many hard-working and professionalattitude
shop, restaurant, games and ride staffers) and cause guests to leave the
park with a lingering very bad taste in their mouths.
On June 29th the new frozen Coca-Cola stand was open, although I didn't stop to see
exactly what they were selling (e.g. frozen or regular soda), or at what price. No work
seemed to have been done on the queue areas themselves or stanchions (although some
white lamp fixtures have been added at the top of the posts along the queue area).
After the park closed at 10pm, it was reported to me that testing of Mr. Freeze
began anew about 10:30pm. I'm told that there were two low-power tests (during a
period of almost an hour), with the train not quite going over the inversion loop and
returning directly to the station. Then the eyewitness was startled to unexpectedly
(just before midnight) see a full-power test... but where the train did not quite have
enough power to go fully back over the inversion loop on the return to the station,
with the result that the train valleyed... again... at the bottom of the spike track (this
accompanied by a quite audible groan and much anguished screaming and other
unhappy noises coming from the staff viewing the test).
I'm told that the forward two-thirds or so of the train appeared to have cleared
the spike track LIMs on that test, with perhaps the back one-third of the train still
being within the LIMs section of the spike at the top limit of the train's travel.
Of course, the hope is to not accelerate the train too fast on the downward trip
down the spike track, since it might result in the train coming back into the station
with excess velocity and complicate braking. On the other hand, it must have
sufficient velocity to reliably get back over the tophat inversion loop on the return
trip, or else the train will valley (as it's done now here in Texas at least twice).

I had heard (earlier on the 29th) more rumors here of a possible soft opening
on Friday July 4th, although if these valleying problems continue that would
clearly tend to cloud those hopes.
There was a fine article about Mr. Freeze in the Arlington Star-Telegram edition of
Sunday June 29th (it occupied almost half of the front page, and more than half of
the inside back page of the first section). In it there were several relatively new items
mentioned (and how accurate these are is uncertain, but they sound reasonable):
· Cost of Mr. Freeze: about $6 million
· more than 250 people have worked on the project since November
· 1.5G acceleration during launch
· 4G acceleration as train enters first vertical
· the article refers to the wraparound curve as the "wingover"
· article says "40" LIMs on the spike... counting each unit as two LIMs?
· three seconds of weightlessness going up and down the spike track
· article says 172 LIMs in the acceleration tunnel
· the launch requires 5000 amps of electricity at 480 volts (yes, that's 2.4
million watts of electricity)
· 150 feet of electrical cabinets, 7 feet high control the ride
· previous testing found that the motors closed down on the fins,
"damaging the vehicle"
· LIMs have been "modified and 'stiffened' to correct them from closing"
· LIM gap alignment is set to within one millimeter
In the article, one Six Flags official spokesperson complained that "It's refreshing that
people are excited, but it has become a little bit problematic because they aren't always
getting the full picture of what's going on and inaccurate information is getting out there."
Of course, Six Flags has nobody but themselves to blame for this, as they know full
well how to contact people, and have quite purposely and aggressively withheld
"complete, accurate" information which would have made it possible to provide
more accurate reporting and with less need to resort to reporting rumors and
speculation... just as it would be less necessary to conceal sources of information
to avoid the dire-sounding "repercussions" that Six Flags has threatened against
any employees or subcontractors that discuss the status of the project.
On June 30th, the Arlington Morning News published a very nice article about
me and about this Web site. If I can find a copy of it online, I'll post the URL.
I've added a URL (see the outline menu near the top of this page) to an online
copy of the excellent article in Sunday (June 29)'s edition of the Arlington Star-
Telegram about Mr. Freeze (they also mention this Web site). Please refer to
and read this most interesting article if you haven't read it yet.

I have also received some more excellent photographs of Mr. Freeze, taken
some time ago but I'll post them here anyway. Thanks to Rev. Russ Moore for
sharing these with us coaster fans! The first picture below is an excellent shot of
the wraparound curve ("wingover"). This is taken from the northwest side, you
can see the Texas Chute-Out in the background.
The following picture shows the main tower, looking through a part of the
wraparound curve.
The next picture shows the spike track, photographed from the west-southwest.
In this photo, the cluster of LIMs are clearly visible on the spike track.

The following pictures show some of the station themeing. In the first one, the
crane is just lifting part of the Frosty face into place. In the second picture, the
crane operator poses on the crane, with the station building in the background.
Again, thanks to Rev. Russ Moore for supplying these pictures from his collection!
Construction Progress Watch... July 1997
As of July 1st, the ride operations crew who will be staffing and operating Mr.
Freeze are being assembled from other places in the park. At least some of them will
be working at Mr. Freeze starting tomorrow, although their initial assignments (based
on prior rides opened most recently by SFOT) tend to initially be mostly "clean up
after the construction people". On Runaway Mountain, that "cleanup" stage lasted
something like two weeks; personally I don't expect it to be that long on Mr. Freeze.
I personally still believe that it might be possible to (at least soft-) open the ride
in time for this coming weekend, although the valleying of the train two nights
ago was clearly an unwanted setback.
As of July 2nd , I've gotten more feedback about Mr. Freeze at St. Louis. On Sunday
the 29th, workmen there were working on the "magic piece" of removable track between
the wingover and the spike, with what initially looked like the alignment cart. On closer
inspection, it appears that it was an actual coaster car, minus the body! Apparently
being used for alignment purposes. (The body of the car was later seen sitting on the
ground near the loading area of the launch tunnel). Anyhow, the word is the same from
St. Louis: the fins there (like here) had been hitting the LIMs.
As of July 3rd, testing of Mr. Freeze has reportedly resumed. The reports I hear
are that the tests are not only being conducted under the cover of nighttime
darkness (i.e. in the wee hours of the night, while most people are sleeping), but
that SFOT is even turning off all the lights on Mr. Freeze, in an apparent attempt
to make it more difficult for onlookers to watch the testing.

The reports from observers, nevertheless, are that these tests are now quite a
bit quieter, without the "chunking" sounds that they had noticed during the prior
tests as the train passed through the spike track LIMs... this suggests strongly
that the problems of the fins hitting the LIMs has in fact been solved.
Interestingly, one reporter said that they'd tested on Monday night and Tuesday
night but not Wednesday night.... another reporter said that they had definitely
tested on Wednesday night, having seen more cars there for the tests Thursday
morning than on the previous several mornings. So there seems to be
considerable disagreement between my various sources on this point.
There are still no removable queue stanchion sockets located around Mr. Freeze...
neither closeby, nor on the secondary queue area across the steam railroad tracks.
However, there have been a considerable number of 55-gallon drums appear, painted in
army drab color, along with some large electrical cable spools... and maybe those drums
and spools are going to be used somehow as queue separators of some kind.
The frozen Coca-Cola stand is selling frozen Cokes and frozen "red soda" of
some sort, for $2.96 plus tax (!!!). Which I think is fairly preposterous, as it's
more than three times as much as (bigger) Slurpees cost at your local 7-11.
(And it's not like it isn't a cash cow already for 7-11).
As for the Mr. Freeze building itself, there have been some minor
themeing detail additions... notably, some red arrows on a "coolant" pipe
and some white lettering identifying its supposed function.
Regarding the opening date, rumors inside the park are still saying "two weeks"
although I personally expect a soft opening (at least) before that.
There were apparently some rather wild rumors floating around that there might have
been a soft opening to some degree as early as this (Thursday June 3rd) evening. When
I was in the park about 6:30pm, nothing looked to me like they had queue areas etc. etc.
prepared for (even a soft opening) anywhere near that early. Currently, the guest
entrance area to the ride is closed off by portable white stanchions (the ones with
flat/square bases) and tape. What did happen this evening though was testing, starting
from about 8:50pm and continuing "at about five minute intervals" until about 9:35pm,
then more tests about ten minutes apart until about 10:10pm. All of these returned into to
the station as they should have. Rumor has it that the train reached 75mph. The
reporter, who confessed some indifference about the delays up to now, said that since
he's seen the thing running "Now I want to ride it really bad!"
It's been reported too that the stored cars behind the maintenance building have
disappeared, and before and after the testing there seemed to be "at least one
car" (and maybe a whole train) on the east storage track of the station building.

Another thing that is happening is that there is a new "Mr. Freeze Souvenirs" shop that's
been built into the northernmost end of the games building (this is just outside the exit to
Mr. Freeze, right in front of you as you come out... and in fact, almost invisible unless you're
coming out of the station). When I looked in there, the shop had received some stock, with
T-shirts hanging on the racks but the bundles still wrapped in their protective plastic wrap
(apparently that which they leave the manufacturer in). There are also some Mr. Freeze
watches, a few enameled pins and such, baseball caps, and assorted trinkets. The shop
was not open, and didn't seem to have cash register etc. yet.
Just inside the entrance of Mr. Freeze there is a "Powered by Duracell" sign that you
walk under. So apparently Mr. Freeze here at SFOT is being sponsored by Duracell...
rather a suitable (yet still ironic) choice for something which uses 2.4 million watts of
electricity. :-)
In the other "Super Heroes" shop (where Mr. Freeze souvenir items had already been
displayed, just in front of Chubbie's diner) I found two interesting mugs, made of heavy
clear plastic containing some kind of a captive liquid... you supposedly put the mug in
the freezer for a day or two to freeze the captive fluid solid, then take the mug out of the
freeze and pour in your beverage. The frozen captive liquid keeps your drink cold,
without diluting it from melting ice. These weren't priced, but strike me as being one of
the neater souvenir ideas and at least quite in keeping with the "Mr. Freeze" name.
As of July 4th, testing of Mr. Freeze continued. In the wee hours of this morning, I
watched a number of tests, both full-power (the first I've witnessed personally) and
partial-power. The full-power tests had the train's front car rising up the spike track
up to about two braces below the bottom of the safety brake. Generally there was
no "chunking" or clanking noises at all as the train went through the LIMs on the
spike track (these had been widely reported by witnesses having seen the early
tests... see the report from June 7th, which was fairly ominous viewed in retrospect);
on [only] one test, there was a distinct clanking sound as the train re-entered the
station, that sounded like I'd expect a fin hitting a LIM to sound... so maybe this
particular gremlin has not yet been 100% put to rest.
One other interesting clanking noise heard is as the train reverses direction at the top of
the spike track, when the links between the cars go from "push" mode to "pull" mode.
Counting from the time the train starts to accelerate to the time it comes to a full stop back
in the station, the test durations were measured from 38 seconds to 51 seconds
(interestingly, the partial power tests where the train didn't even go past the top hat, thus
covering only a small fraction of the distance, were less than five to ten seconds shorter).
So I think that a "ride duration" of about 40-45 seconds is what you should expect (and I
was pleased that this is quite close to what I'd predicted!). The main portion of the
discrepancy (about 8-10 seconds) is the time the train is travelling backwards in the station,
slowly, until it reaches the correct stopping point (and subject to change as they

modify the deceleration curve as the train re-enters the station). Note that these times do
not include the time it takes to move the transfer cart to the final load/unload position.
On the tests I watched, there didn't appear to be any barbell weights in the trains, and I
didn't see any people riding the train either... and this makes me think that the ride isn't
going to be opening today. I'd expect that they'll have a bunch of park employees riding
Mr. Freeze during many of their tests, before the general public is placed aboard.
An interesting anecdote: one local policeperson stopped by while we were
observing the testing, and finally saw one or two tests. Their reaction: "you'd
never get me on that thing!"
It's surprising how large the fins are... they are quite wide (maybe a foot or more)
and run basically the full length of each car.
There are a number of special lighting effects at the boarding area and in the
tunnel. The main lighting is very blue (perhaps even black- lights, hard to tell)
and incorporates smoke/fog machines (capable of filling at least the first part of
the launch tunnel with dense white fog/smoke), white strobe lights, and there
appear to be ceiling fans in the boarding area. I'm told that the interior of the
station is maintained at sixty degrees Fahrenheit.
One reporter (stationed near the entrance to the Mine Train) also reports noticing that
the lights on the Texas Tornado and on the steam train station dim perceptably for a
fraction of a second just as the launch LIMs are being energized. Not surprising!
Here's an interesting item: It was reported to me that "all the non ride park
employees were wearing 'MrFreeze' t-shirts tonight". But park employees are being
very non-committal regarding the ride's opening, evidently being under extreme
pressure from the company to not say anything of substance. All responses follow
closely to the prepared 'script' answers obviously provided by SFOT management.
As of July 5th, during the wee hours there were more tests being conducted, with
trains being launched every four or five minutes. It's interesting that nowadays there
is virtually no pause at the top of the spike (during some of the earlier tests, the train
distinctly paused at the top of the spike, apparently held there motionless by the
LIMs, for a second or three before starting its freefall back down.)
The main operators console for the ride seems to be on the east side of the launch
track, where the operator sits on a tall stool and faces east. There's also a (probably
temporary) remote programmer's console (probably cabled to the computer upstairs)
to the west side of the launch track, where it appears that the tester is sitting close to
the floor. There's a walkway along the south side of the boarding area, which gives
access to the trains on the transfer carts. After each test, the reporter observed that
the testers seemed to have "more interest in the console than the train".

There seemed to be fewer people watching the tests this morning: reportedly
only two people, where there had been as many as at least five the night
before. The programmer/tester tends to wear short-sleeved sport or polo shirts,
and there's usually also at least one guy wearing Six Flags maintenance
uniforms and closely following the tests.
Still no signs of actual humans riding Mr. Freeze. Rumor mill within the park
is also confirming that no humans have ridden Mr. Freeze yet.
In the afternoon, a bad sign: the crane was back (again) with two Six Flags-looking
maintenance workmen hoisted up to the spike track LIMs in the basket. They were
moving down the array, spending about 15 minutes working on each section. By
6:30pm, there was only one workman still working on the spike track, and he seemed to
be working on the track (perhaps just inspecting it) some six feet below the LIM array.
There were reports of some low -power tests (these are tests where the train doesn't go
over the tophat inversion at all) while the crane was still there (!!!).
Rumor has it that there have been more than 2,000 miles (!) of test runs to date...
although that sounds considerably exaggerated to me. Reports also say that
they've frequently gotten as much as 82mph, and had managed to get into the
90's although they don't expect the ride to take that much stress in actual use.
Apparently Six Flags is expecting the lines on opening day to be horrendous,
with a five-and-a-half to six-hour wait and the line stretching back almost to the
main gate of the park, probably using the sidewalk along the south side of the
park heading up towards Looney Tunes Land. At least some employees are
saying "August" as for when they expect the ride to open. Perhaps I'm just being
optimistic (it's happened before!), but I don't think it will be that long.
Later in the day, I received a report of a nice article about Mr. Freeze (and the
delays) appearing on the front page of the the July 3rd St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
which mentioned me and this Web site. I'll try to post more (if interesting) after I
get my hands on a copy of the article.
I also don't think I've previously mentioned in passing that the simulation video
showing at the kiosk inside the park (which is, indeed, usually showing again
now) is actually a simulation showing the St. Louis version of Mr. Freeze, which
is a mirror image of the Texas one.
I'm also being informed that there has been an Icee machine over in the
Confederate section of the park (somewhere?) for some time, also quite
overpriced... compare the $2.96+tax at SFOT to a (larger!) Big Gulp Slurpee at
7-11 (where they certainly make a nice profit) for $0.79+tax.

As of July 6th, I'm getting interesting reports from late last night. As the park was
closing and the last guests being swept out, about 11:25pm, tests were starting
again (despite the crane still being there, although it was unmanned and swung
away from the track). Launches were taking place about every five minutes (and
this despite Copeland Road still being full of post-Rangers game traffic).
I'm told that during the tests tonight, the ride duration (from exit of the launch track to
re-entry into the building) was about 35-38 seconds, with stall at top of the spike at
about 20 seconds into that, with 15-18 seconds more to re-entry into the building
(this seems strange to me, since the train seemed to go visibly faster when I saw it
on the outbound trip over the tophat inversion than it did on the return trip). Note that
there is about four seconds between start of launch and exit from the station, and
perhaps eight to ten seconds duration after the train re- enters the station before it
finally stops at the south end of the launch track, on the transfer cart. So this
indicates a total time of about 47-52 seconds tonight, assuming a similar braking
deceleration curve as the train goes back into the building.
About 12:25am a group of 5-6 people entered the building and there was much
activity inside at the loading area (more than one whiteshirt type and the rest
being maintenance types), where it seemed like something was being loaded
into the train (weights? accelerometer? but not people, anyhow). There was
another test at about 12:30am, and then a gap of at least twenty minutes (during
which that reporter gave up the watch for tonight). There was also a lot of
vehicle traffic observed between the launch opening and the clown face.
I've received a (conflicting?) report from another observer who swears that he saw a
test last night, at 10:30pm, while the park was still open, which had passengers aboard
(yes, he even reported hearing their shrieks from his vantage point! Apparently not the
general public, but park employees probably... it was hard to tell, since the lights on the
tower were turned off.). That observer told me that the train seemed to be running quite
a bit slower, in that it nearly came to a stop rather low on the spike track, and then was
smoothly hoisted all the way to the top by the LIMs and held there for a moment before
starting the return trip. On the return, he reported that the train seemed to barely make
it back over the tophat inversion (and that if it were going say 5mph slower, it might not
have made it). Perhaps the train was being run in "minimum speed for complete run"
mode to make it as gentle as possible for the first guinea pig passengers?
Meanwhile, the main rumors I seem to be getting from St. Louis is that there is no news...
apparently Six Flags is concentrating at the moment on the Texas ride.
It does appear, though, that the St. Louis ride is ready to go as soon as they get the goahead.
Signage is in place (height and physical restrictions etc), queue areas are ready, etc
etc (none of which is true yet here in Dallas). Interestingly, it seems that the employees at
the park in St. Louis are under just as draconian rules about giving out any details as the

employees here in Texas apparently are. They will chat freely with guests, then
suddenly clam up tight as anything when the discussion turns to Mr. Freeze and
when it might be open, or how the tests are coming along. Reminds one of the
way eastern Europeans used to be (before the Iron Curtain fell) when a traveling
westerner would approach them and try to start a casual conversation... the
Czech (or whatever) would recoil, dreading the visit from the Secret Police and
the lengthy, unpleasant interrogation that would inevitably follow. :-(
During the evening, testing is again in progress. Mostly low -power as of the
last report I got, although that's usually preliminary to high-power tests. I'm
hearing reports that the lights are being turned on and off, although they seem
to be being turned off for the actual launches.
Anyhow, at SFOG their frozen Coke stand has been "frozen" themed with
icicles, and their park has "Gotham City Nights" with a number of Batman-comic
villains. That park also shows the curiously schizoid use of the Batman movie
posters while reportedly clearly making an attempt to theme based on the comic
book characters and sets instead of the movie.
As of July 7th, I've gotten some interesting feedback about some of the other
Six Flags parks.
At Six Flags Over Georgia, their new "Batman: The Ride" is also "powered by Duracell".
At that park, their frozen Coca-Cola stand is less of a ripoff than ours here is: they ask
$2.39 plus tax, compared to the $2.96+tax here. My personal STRONG
recommendation to everyone reading this is that we all just say NO and refuse to buy
sodas (frozen or otherwise) at ripoff prices. If they keep selling at inflated prices, they'll
be encouraged to just raise the prices even more next year, and this will continue until
there is significant price resistance. If we allow the ripoff to continue, we'll only have
ourselves to blame for the inevitable outcome. What convinced me was the almost
tripling the price of the sport bottle soda refills this year compared to last year... last year
it was $0.75 (for us Platinum Pass holders) and this year it's $2.00. Enough is enough!
Even $2.39 for a frozen Coke is robbery, when a 32-ounce frozen drink is $0.79 at 7-11.
I'm getting more feedback from St. Louis park guests confirming that park employees
there suddenly get very secretive whenever the subject of Mr. Freeze testing, status,
or possible openings comes up. One family last week there was seen walking right
past the "Coming Soon" sign and towards the station building... no less than three (!!)
park employees ran after them and escorted them rapidly back out.
At Six Flags Great America (between Chicago and Milwaukee), their inverted
Batman: The Ride (not sponsored for the first four years) is now also
sponsored by Duracell. They're also getting ripped off with $2.00 soda refills.

Six Flags Great America, they'd reportedly applied for a permit to build a 225-foot-tall
roller coaster (another Mr. Freeze?) but I'm told that the permit application was
dropped, perhaps due to the problems in getting Mr. Freeze open here and in St. Louis.
As of July 8th, I'm getting a variety of interesting rumors reported to me.
In St. Louis, the rumor is that Mr. Freeze is expected to be open by July 14th, or possibly
even sooner. Of course, anything could happen between now and then, and so that date is
not at all certain. (Remember, Chiller opened to the public for a week or a little more, then
closed again and still hasn't reopened as of the last I've heard). Tests are being conducted in
St. Louis, and the trains there are reportedly stopping just below the brake at the top of the
spike. The feeling there is that Mr. Freeze St. Louis will not open before the Mr. Freeze in
Texas. Reportedly no humans have ridden the St. Louis Mr. Freeze yet.
Here in Dallas, the Mr. Freeze test launches are coming closer together... last night
(and continuing through this morning) the launches were running at 1.5 minutes
apart, which is close to the rate they'll be running in actual service. The tests are
now switching via the transfer carts and using both trains, sliding them back and
forth into their respective boarding positions as will be done in normal service.
Reportedly the only humans to ride the ride up to now are the fulltime maintenance
guys, and I'm told that Nancy St. Pierre (Public Relations spokesperson for the park)
has been one of the Monday test riders too. Some other park employees expect to get a
chance to ride Mr. Freeze sometime today or tomorrow. They're anticipating a big
employee party the night before opening, when all park employees will be able to ride it.
One fairly wild rumor is that there is a 3.5 hour wait (!!!!) from the entrance of the building
to the ride, although frankly I really don't believe that... I don't think there is enough room
inside the station building for that much of a queue inside. All the inside queue area, in
any case, is (very!) air-conditioned. The height restriction is set at 54".
There are a lot of "badges" running around (the folks in knit shirts) and they
seem to be confident now that everything is working well.
Still no signs of queue paraphenalia or rigging outside the station building.
In last night's testing, the trains were leaving the station at right about 90-second
intervals (which I expect to come down to about one minute in actual service). Such
an accurate 90-seconds interval suggests that the trains were probably on autopilot?
Interestingly, the return trip is running faster than the outbound trip (one would
expect the opposite to be true)... 17 seconds out of the station to stall at top of the
spike, 15 seconds back to the station on the return. The West train is running slightly
faster than the East train (perhaps that's because the bulk of the testing so far has
been using the West train, so it's more broken in than the East train). Here are the
timings (in seconds) as they were logged during a series of observed tests:

Total Out BackIn Time to
Train time time time next run
East 32 17 15
West 30 15 15
East 33 18 15
West 32 17 15 90
East 32 17 15 90
West 32 17 15 90
East 33 18 15 90
West 30 15 15 90
East 32 17 15 90
West 31 16 15 90
East 32 17 15 87
West 32 16 16 90
East 33 17 16 110
West 36 18 18 85
East 35 18 17 88
West 32 17 15
hint: take the train on the west side
These timings were measured (on the outgoing trip) from the time when the train's
first car first passes the catwalk on emerging from the station, and on the return trip
as the rear car of the train passes the end of the catwalk going into the station.
Six Flags Security continues to try to come down hard on information leaks. They
have a security guard stationed on the Observation Tower (fitting, I suppose) with
binoculars and walkie-talkie to report anyone pulling into the parking lot near Mr.
Freeze. So if you're watching Mr. Freeze testing, make sure you do it from public
property that Six Flags has no claim to. And note that Six Flags claim that their
property extends all the way to the southern curb running along Copeland Road (the
road that runs along the north side of the park), so if you watch from there be sure
you're in the median or (better) along the north side of the road.
Current reports indicate that the Texas Tornado lights are no longer dimming slightly on Mr.
Freeze launches, although I am told that the Mr. Freeze station lights definitely dim
perceptibly when the LIMs launch a train, and even when the spike LIMs are energized.
Rumors seem to be converging on an opening within a week, possibly as early
as sometime this coming weekend... but at this point I'd expect Mr. Freeze to
be open by a week from today.
One more thing to add to the "wild rumor" category is the plans to put a
Superman ride over (!) the lagoon to the west of the Judge Roy Scream.
NEWS FLASH: I hear that invitations have gone out for an employee
celebration party after-hours on Sunday July 13th... employees and up to two
parents are being invited. This strongly suggests that Monday the 14th will be
the long-awaited opening day (or "media day", or both).

As of July 9th, I've received some interesting details from St. Louis. First, frozen
colas there are confirmed to be priced at $2.35 plus tax at the Thunder River Drinks.
Tests were being run last night on the St. Louis Mr. Freeze from about 8:50pm through at
least 11:00pm (and perhaps later). Everything looked normal, although an observer reported
hearing an odd noise on one test as the train approached the brake at the top of the spike
track. There are no reports (at least none that I've heard yet) of humans having ridden the
St. Louis Mr. Freeze so far. The testing there seemed to be crew training, as the observer
saw several seasonal supervisors, a full-time supervisor, and an employee in a Freeze
uniform going up the queue line about eight pm. After more than a month of delays, both the
employees there and park guests are all eager to finally ride it, although there's some "have
to see it to believe it" (hey, this is a Missouri thing, right?).
Meanwhile, I understand that the "park employees party" is the way that Six Flags Magic
Mountain also opened Superman... employee party on Friday night, then the opening on
Saturday. So this points to a very probable opening of Mr. Freeze on Monday July 14th.
Here in Texas, testing on Mr. Freeze continues, and I'm getting reports of seeing a
white-colored object (probably a person) occupying the fourth row (i.e. the second car
from the front), left hand side, along with some other boxy object in the adjacent righthand
seat (perhaps the accelerometer?). Speeds seem to be reduced, with the train
barely making it over the inversion loop, even on the outbound trip. The former
presumed "programmers' console" to the west side of the track (where the operator was
previously seen sitting on or near the floor) seems to no longer be in use. There was
also observed the use of bright work lights (fluorescent, probably) in addition to the
strong blue/black lights which are normally used in the area. The transfer carts
reportedly slide the trains sideways quite quickly, faster than we had expected. A group
of younger people, casually dressed, was seen entering the station about 12:30am...
perhaps these are cast members there for training? Hard to know. I'm getting reports
that the Mini-Mine Train track is being put back into place. Security seems to be relaxed
somewhat (at least last night), compared to what it was before.
Park officials are reportedly anticipating a five-to-six hour wait in line when Mr.
Freeze finally opens.
There are a couple of ominous signs, however. One observer reported a lot of
activity around the transfer carts, possibly just tweaking the alignment. More
ominous is that the observer has reported hearing a flurry of chunking sounds
again during the tests, both while the trains are going through the spike track
LIMs and on re-entering the station. Hopefully this isn't a sign of more fins
hitting LIMs, which has been the cause of so much delay already.
As of July 10th, both high and low power tests of Mr. Freeze at SFOT continue. They
are confident enough by now that full-power tests are run while the park is open, and

Mine Train runs nearby. Apparently a few privileged employees are being
allowed to ride.
55-gallon drums are being positioned in various random places against the edge of the
station building, and the extended queue area across the steam railway track is
reportedly nearly fully cabled. (The queue will extend across the steam railroad track,
and a park staffer will "escort" groups of riders across the steam railroad track
periodically, much as they do during peak crowds for the Texas Giant or Runaway
Mountain... clearly they don't have enough queue space in Good Times Square by
itself). A standup "rules" sign has appeared out next to the frozen Coca-Cola stand. So
the various indicators are converging, suggesting that we're getting down to the wire.
The Mini-Mine Train is being prepared to be put back into service... something
that was not supposed to happen until after Six Flags is confident that Mr.
Freeze is ready to open. Mini-Mine Train track is being rewelded into place, and
plants that have overgrown its path are being pruned back.
The crane is still present, however, and a worker was seen up on the tower doing
something with the LIMs (possibly tweaking the adjustment, or perhaps adding
additional stiffeners?). Since some test observers (both here and in St. Louis)
continue to report unpleasant noises during occasional tests (noises that sound
ominously like the disturbing sound of fins hitting LIMs) this is a potentially
serious issue, which might still derail the expected opening on Monday.
Various park employees are giving widely disparate information regarding Mr.
Freeze status and planned opening date. Apparently many of them either
don't know (or are afraid to say, at least not for the record) much, either.
Multiple telephone calls to Six Flags Public Relations for information and
comments are not being returned.
As of July 11th, both the Dallas and St. Louis Mr. Freeze rides are getting closer to
opening. Testing was being carried on again last night, even with the lights on in St.
Louis. Most park employees, in both cities, are claiming (at least publicly) that they
don't know anything about when the ride might open (this despite the fact that the
pre-opening party invitations for Sunday night have already reportedly gone out to
all park employees here in Dallas). In St. Louis, some employees are expecting to
get to ride on Saturday, assuming everything goes okay during Friday's testing. And
there also, opening is expected to follow during the coming week (rumors are still
saying Monday, even in St. Louis). There is no crane present in St. Louis (although
there is, here, with spike track LIM tweaking having been reported on Thursday).
Channel 4 television in St. Louis broadcast (on the evening news, last night) an interview
with a spokesperson for Six Flags, where the spokesperson claimed that "they are having
problems with the one in Texas, so we have discontinued testing until those problems are

esolved." Interesting, since testing ("discontinued") was going on in St. Louis even
at the moment that the broadcast was on the air!! And observers of the tests in St.
Louis report having heard the "chunking" sound of fins hitting LIMs there, too... this
problem has not been limited to Mr. Freeze in Texas. "We are, however, doing what
we refer to as fine tuning." How does "fine tuning" differ from testing, I wonder?
Yet another confirmation that frozen sodas are $2.35 there (compared to the ripoff $2.96
here in Texas... I guess they figure it's hotter here, so they've got the right to rip off the
thirstier Texas guests). In St. Louis, they've got the ride restriction signs in place, and
have already set up Coca-Cola stands in the queue area for Mr. Freeze (They probably
figure that they'll have something of a captive audience... they can't exactly leave the
line to find a drinking fountain... while people wait in the queue, which initially might be
as long as five or six hours... I'm amazed they haven't figured out some way to rip off
guests who discover that they need to use the bathroom too as they reach the forward
end of the line.) Curiously, in St. Louis they've also put in some kind of newspaper
vending machines through the queue area, apparently anticipating a long wait.
I wonder what the reaction of people will be to waiting as long as five or six hours in
line, only to find that the ride lasts significantly less than a minute. Batman: The Ride
already seems short, at about 57 seconds (from release at top of lift to hitting the
brakes at the end). Mr. Freeze, with a total of more like 45 or 50 seconds (and only
about 32 of that outside the launch building) will seem even shorter (despite the fact
it will be undeniably a very intense experience during those 45-50 seconds!)
I'm sort of surprised that I've not heard anything about some kind of scheduling
scheme, like they use for the Southern Palace shows or the Skycoaster on busy days.
This would shorten the line substantially and let guests enjoy other rides in the park
rather than standing in line in 95-degree heat for hours and hours. A handstamp or
something could help prevent someone from picking up and holding dozens of queue
tickets concurrently. Tickets (and handstamps, which would have to match) might be
different colors corresponding to when the guest holding the ticket could join the queue.
The St. Louis park thinks that their Security people are the nicest of any of the Six Flags
parks (their Security and Admissions departments are combined)... which could well be
true. Many of ours are just fine, but the bad ones here are foul-spirited indeed, and really
seem to delight in abusing their authority. I've received more feedback from others here
who have suffered at the hands of SFOT's heavy-handed security goons (even naming
names of supposed prime offenders, although I won't go so far as to post those here).
There was a crane at the St. Louis Mr. Freeze today, although it seemed that the
worker only took off one LIM (welding something, perhaps?) and put it back only
about ten minutes later, recabled it, and the ride looked to be running fine during
the testing later in the evening.
On entering the park, I noticed that the board at each ticket booth showing
"rides not operating today" now lists both Mini Mine Train and Mr. Freeze.

By evening of July 11th, the Mr. Freeze souvenir shop had a rack with a first batch
of souvenir T-shirts that is not bundled in plastic wrap. (Most of the shirts still are,
and with no sign of a cash register there yet). The extension queue area around the
frozen Coca-Cola stand now has stanchions and 55-gallon-drums and connecting
steel cables organizing it into a queue. And the rules signs are now in place, both at
the entrance to the extension queue area and just inside the frosty face entrance to
the station building. Height restriction for Mr. Freeze is 54". Most of the restrictions
are not surprising as they are familiar... perhaps the only one that is unusual is the
one saying that riders "should not be under the influence of drugs or alcohol". Good
advice, I think. There are no permanent-type queue defining stanchions (or
recessed sockets for them) in the area to the east of the Mr. Freeze station yet.
Rumor is that the basic track layout concept for Mr. Freeze was originally proposed
by one of the guys at the St. Louis park, who was playing with a paper clip.
The employee party that had been rumored for Sunday night seems curious ... a
number of the employees claim to know nothing at all about it, others say that
yes, it's being planned. It's hard to imagine that only some of the employees
would be invited... so is this organized misinformation, or what? Similarly, some
employees swear up and down that no humans have ridden Mr. Freeze yet,
while others claim that they have actually ridden the ride.
One "rider" that sources have reported seeing (the one wearing loose white
garments, with the box in the adjacent seat) is reportedly a "crash test dummy" with
accelerometers to verify the accelerations experienced by various parts of the body.
The adjacent box which occupies the seat next to the dummy is supposedly the
recording equipment or other support electronics for the dummy. Apparently this
same dummy has been used before for many of the new rides at the park.
As of July 12th , testing as usual was done in the wee hours... starting about
12:30am and continuing until after sunup. Testing began with perhaps a half-dozen
low power tests, followed by high-power tests throughout the rest of the night.
It does appear that if the tests I witnessed are any indication, it's going to be hard to achieve
the hoped-for one minute cycle time. Although the time from start-of-launch to final stop
back on the transfer cart is still running about 49-50 seconds (and about twenty seconds of
that from launch to stall at the top of the spike track), the time from the east transfer cart
beginning to move out of the loading position until it returns and stops at the loading position
for disembarkation is timing out (last night anyhow) at about 1 minute 22 seconds. Shifting
the transfer cart from boarding position to launch position takes from three to five seconds
each way. Some of the time is time between the transfer cart coming to rest in line with the
launch track and the actual launch, and can perhaps be optimized; there are a few seconds
(maybe five seconds) of the strobe lights (mounted on the side walls of the launch tunnel)
"sparkling", followed by another few seconds of the

siren. When the siren stops, some orangeish lights near the entrance to the
launch tunnel pulse and then the launch takes place.
A number of people still insist that something like three hours of the queue will
occur inside the station building (and remind one that the public part of the
station is two stories high). While I still think this capacity sounds unlikely (even
when using the small exterior queue area adjacent to the west side of the station
building), the strong possibility that they won't get the originally expected 1200
passengers throughput per hour at least makes it more plausible.
The thing that I had viewed previously as the "main operator's console" to the east side
of the launch track on closer inspection now appears to not be what (or where) I thought
it was... it now appears to be behind the barrier fence to the south side of the transfer
carts. On the west side of the launch track, (and further north than what I'd earlier said
looked like a remote programmer's console) there looks to be some kind of curious
semicircular booth of some kind, which I'd suspect of being a control booth except for
the fact that it never seemed to be either lit up, or occupied, during the tests I witnessed.
I'm less concerned now about the noises I've been hearing about during the tests. The
noises reported as the train goes through the spike track LIMs are more of a "clatter"
than the loud sharp "clunking" noise that signals a fin hitting a LIM (which I didn't hear
tonight at all). Some of the noises are reported to be heavy- duty relay contactors
closing that reverse the direction of spike track LIM thrust from up to down; one gentle
"clunk" that occurs right at stall seems to be the slack in the train car interconnect links
being taken up; the clatter as the train goes through the spike track LIMs probably
comes either from the same inter-car links being pulled apart or pushed together, or
perhaps a slight shifting of the train's attitude and wheels on the track under the force
exerted by the LIMs. There is an interesting but soft tubular metallic shimmery "ringing"
sound as the train goes up and over the tophat inversion towards the top of the tower
(I'm not sure if this is from the track itself, or perhaps from the tubular electric conduit
risers which carry the cables going up to power the LIMs).
As for the opening, some rumors still insist "one or two weeks" more, although I'd be
surprised now if it's that long. If the employee party actually takes place on Sunday
night, then I'd expect the coaster to open within no more than 72 hours following the
party (and probably less), assuming that no other problems crop up during testing.
The rumors in St. Louis are also strong about a Monday opening, although there too
most employees are being exceedingly hard to pin down. So stay tuned.
The rumor mill is saying that the headbanging was fairly problematical in the
ride's original form, but that the new larger padding reputedly already
installed on the over-shoulder restraints should reduce that.
Some of the track for Mini-Mine Train has been welded back in place, but at
least one crucial segment (which gives trucks access to the area in front of
the spike) is still disconnected.

As of July 13th, the St. Louis Mr. Freeze still had had a crane present between the
launch track and the track leading up to the spike (one reporter claimed he saw the
crane leave later in the evening of the 12th, however). Several queue railings there
had been left out, in order to facilitate access to the site by the crane. Last night, low
power tests started there about 10pm with launches every five to eight minutes until
at least 10:30, when one reporter left. Security guards were placing cones from the
entrance to the exit of Mr. Freeze there, and around the DC Comics graphic in the
pavement (this had been done at least once before, that time just around the
graphic, to apply a sealer). Another reporter tells me that he saw tests continuing
(which appeared to be driver training) until about 12:30 when he left. He also
reported the clattering noise that I'd observed as the spike track LIMs engage.
Employees in St. Louis are still claiming they have no idea when the ride
will open, although the rumor is still strong for a Monday opening there.
There also seems to be no word leaking out yet about a St. Louis "Media Day" for the
press. Of course, it's always possible that Six Flags will realize that the whole point of
Media Day is to get out the word that a new ride is opening. In the case of a ride like Mr.
Freeze (where five to six hour queues are reportedly initially expected), it just might be
that the word will get out quite adequately without the big press event anyhow, and that
in fact it would reduce their exposure if they'd soft-open the ride somewhat more gingerly
and without making a big[ger] splash. Certainly it would soften the hit they'd take if they
did a few tentative "soft openings" a few days apart, even for an hour at a time, rather
than have a big splashy press day and have huge "general public" crowds in the park,
and then have to close Mr. Freeze for some reason. (Of course, I personally think that
they should soft-open it and announce it first to the coaster fans who visit this Web site...
people who understand better some of the issues involved in opening a new
coaster, and who are likely to be not just more understanding of any potential
problems but also likely to provide more knowledgeable and useful feedback to
the park than a typical park guest might). This would also allow them to "ramp
up" more slowly the number of guests knowing that it's open by word of mouth,
helping them to deal better with initial crowding rather than being hit with
enormous crowds brought on by the mass media for the very first day.
As for Dallas, they also were conducting tests last night... starting regular
launches about 1am and continuing regularly after that, using the transfer carts
and both trains in a by-now quite familiar fashion. Nothing dramatic here.
As of July 14th, the rumored employee party that supposedly was to have taken
place on Sunday after park closing did not seem to occur. The park was emptied out
fairly rapidly, and there were far fewer people hanging around Mr. Freeze than
normal (usually there are 3-6 people in the station) following park closing. But if
there was a large party of some kind, it certainly took place somewhere else.

An interesting rumor is that supposedly the crew which will man Mr. Freeze was in
their classroom training about the ride during several hours on Saturday evening.
On Sunday night I timed the total station time for a Flashback train at 1:03, better
than the previous times I'd measured of about 1:22 or so. (This is the total time from
the train stopping in the station, unload, reboard, check restraints, dispatch). Even
presuming that Mr. Freeze can handle the same timing, they're going to have to
make changes in operational timings from what I've measured so far to achieve the
desired one minute cycle (two minutes per train) which would have yielded 1200
passengers per hour. Accordingly, perhaps a more realistic figure for Mr. Freeze
throughput in service will be 800-1000 passengers per hour.
I'm still getting insistent rumors that the station is supposed to hold almost 3500 people in
the indoor queue areas (including the small outdoor area just outside the west side of the
station building). Although that sounds unlikely, if it is true then that would indeed yield a 3.5
hour queue capacity before the line comes outside through the frosty face entrance.
During test launching in the wee hours of Monday morning (which began about 12:30 or
1am) there were a larger than normal number of low speed tests (maybe ten or twelve)
before finally getting around to the high-powered tests. But the high powered test
launches were done far less regularly and more infrequently than usual this morning.
One curious thing we observed was that there seemed to be an unusual amount of
attention given to repeatedly hosing down the pavement in front of the Mr. Freeze
entrance during the wee hours of Monday morning. Still however no stanchions
visible for any outdoor queue area to the east side of the station building.
In any case, I certainly did not observe behavior this morning that would
indicate an opening of the ride later today.
We had at least six vehicles (that I know about) of coaster fans who stopped by during
the wee hours this morning in hopes of seeing some test launches. One of those fans
mentioned that it reminded him of those who gather to watch Space Shuttle launches.
Upon closer examination, the "booth" that I'd mentioned in a prior report seems to be
just some kind of shiny decor along the lower side of the entrance to the launch tunnel.
And the orange lights that light up just before launch, we've decided, seem to be (at
least six of) some kind of neon lamps along the tunnel arch covering the entrance to the
launch tunnel. The 'fractured' character of these lamps is what had given rise earlier to
the suspicion that we were looking at lights behind the rotating blades of ceiling fans. It
also may be that the ride operator occupies the area right at the foot of the launch run,
behind the railing. There appears to be some kind of swivel stool there, and some
observers say they see a control panel of some kind between the swivel stool and the
railing. This would have the operator looking down the launch tunnel, facing logical
north... which certainly sounds like the most plausible placement. There recently always
seems to be someone seated there during test launches.

I'm now told that the main control booth of Mr. Freeze is located above the main
track in the loading station and it is facing into the loading station, not down the
launch tunnel. There are three control buttons on the driver's control panel; one
on either loading side to order the transfer cart to move and one in the middle to
fire off a launch. The main operator (driver) has the ultimate control for a launch.
What we have seen at the foot of the launch track is now explained to be the
launch enable button. There reportedly are three safety enable buttons in the
loading area, operated by the crew there. One button enables the east train to
move to launch position, a similar button enables the west train to move to
launch position, and the button at the foot of the launch track enables the driver
in the main control booth to launch the train. Apparently the buttons in the main
control booth cannot move the transfer carts or launch a train without the prior
enabling by the buttons down in the actual loading and launch areas.
The ride is controlled by redundant Allen Bradley PLC's. (In other words there
are two identical computers running the ride.)
There seemed to be fewer Six Flags people than normal participating in the tests this
morning. (There were more of us informal observers, actually). It seemed that there
were about three, maybe four people (most of them in dark midnight blue maintenance
outfits) and one more- managerial-type guy wearing some sort of a green polo-type
shirt. No white shirts at all this morning, where usually there are three or even four.
This morning, Mr. Freeze in St. Louis had the first two-and-a-half cars of a train peeking
out of the launch tunnel (on a later passby about thirty minutes later, the train was just
inside the tunnel). There, several angry patrons (many of whom had travelled to St.
Louis) said they felt that Six Flags had not adequately disclosed Mr. Freeze's status
(they had seen ads which appeared to indicate that the ride was open).
I've gotten confirmation that the crane is gone from the St. Louis site, and
reports are that the iron railings are back up (although it's hard to see and the
reporter didn't seem 100% certain). There was no visible activity around the ride.
Rumor has it though that the ride in St. Louis was to have been turned over to
the Operations Department on Thursday or Friday of last week.
Here in Dallas, the ride obviously didn't open this morning. Observers at the site
report that workers are digging between the northern end of the launch tunnel
and the main part of the tower. Although there are cables that run from the
loading building to the tower LIMs, my personal guess is that the digging is more
likely to be involved in replacing footings for the piece of Mini-Mine-Train track
which must be restored to return that other ride to service.
I think that Six Flags would have a lot less frustrated customers if they'd be more open
about the progress of testing. Right now, the strong impression on the part of anyone who's
seen the coaster run is that it looks just fine to the casual observer. Hence, there's a

lot of frustration in the face of the continuing and incessant delay in getting the ride
open. Admittedly, a lot of the general public won't understand (or care) about the
delays, but coaster fans probably do care and would understand... and might be
able to help create a more tolerant atmosphere among friends and colleagues. The
fact of seeing various minor-but-important details as they get ticked off the "still to
do" list would both help give a sense of how long we still might have to wait, and
also impress people with the level of attention to detail that is clearly being taken. It
would also comfort us that the delays are well justified by the additional pleasure
and safety we'll enjoy when the ride finally does open.
As of July 15th, tests are again (still?) being run on Mr. Freeze.
Last night, tests were run from 9pm until about 11:30pm, with some mist in
the tunnel during launches.
At about 12:30am, the west train was being high-power tested, I got a report of
launches about 2:20 apart.
Then they reportedly switched to the east train, did another high power test, and then
started a whole sequence of launches switching between trains (as the ride will do in
service) and (my skepticism from last night aside) were in fact maintaining a quite
consistent one minute spacing between launches during at least that whole hour (with
the exception of two or three unexplained gaps of about 2:30 or so). So maybe indeed
the intended 1200 guests per hour can be achieved, after all. (I'm not sure where the
time savings are taking place, since I didn't witness last night's tests myself).
Rumor from St. Louis is that Six Flags wants to open Mr. Freeze on a weekend
(although I personally think this is not a great idea, since the park is already so
crowded on weekends). I think it would make more sense to soft-open it on a
weekday and ramp the crowds up on the new ride somewhat more easily, rather
than hitting it full-force the very first day.
I've heard more rumors about some sound effects, and if I can get a bit more
detail about those I'll try to describe them here later today.
As of July 17th, more details of Mr. Freeze are circulating in the rumor mill here.
One regards the sound effects. Here is the spiel you will hear before you enter
the loading building: "Welcome one and all to Snowy's ice cream factory! The
tour will begin shortly. No problem, everybody will get a chance to see the factory
and leave with a special surprise." There is tinkly ice cream truck music (Pop
Goes the Weasel, etc. etc.) playing behind it.

Reports are saying that Mr. Freeze is basically completed. The holdup is
reportedly at this point just adequately training operations staff. Opening date is
still not set, but could be "Any day between 'tomorrow and August 15th'".
Rumor also has it that there will be a strict "no earring policy". This is to avoid
earrings possibly snagging on the over-shoulder restraints padding and possibly
ripping out of the ear, causing serious injury.
It's also been reconfirmed that once the ride opens, Six Flags intends to
maintain the interior of the station at a distinctly cool sixty degrees.
In last night's testing, I watched numerous full-power tests which strongly
resembled the other ones I've watched. From start of launch through stop after
deceleration was about 48-52 seconds, and while I was watching they were still
running a cycle of about 1:20 complete from start of move of transfer cart to
return to final unloading position. I witnessed at least one test where I watched
the ride staffers walk down the east train tugging on the over-shoulder restraints
(although I didn't see any actual riders!) before they dispatched the train. So it
would appear that the story about training the Mr. Freeze crew is valid.
For now, it appears that the Mr. Freeze crew (the females at least) are
wearing bright yellow blouses with black trim, and black shorts or skirts...
reportedly this is standard apparel for Good Times Square staff.
One report has said that the employee party originally scheduled for last
Sunday night finally took place at Hurricane Harbor on Tuesday night instead,
and thus was not the eagerly-anticipated Mr. Freeze pre-opening party.
The Mini-Mine-Train is still missing a piece of track, which probably will not be
returned to its position until it's clear that vehicular access to the central area of
Mr. Freeze's wingover is no longer required. I don't expect to see Mini-Mine-Train
back in service until some time after Mr. Freeze has opened and is stable.
I've gotten further interesting reports about a couple of tall poles apparently
being installed near the frozen Coca-Cola stand and the old pickup in front of
the Boomtown Depot.
As of July 18th, another ominous sign. Reportedly no test launches took place after
midnight this morning, and an observer watched a LIM being taken away from the
launch tunnel in the wee hours of the morning on a forklift. The forklift came back with a
LIM (same? a different one?) a little while later and a workman was subsequently seen
crouched on the launch track, probably reinstalling and realigning it. This additional
snag, certainly unwelcome, suggests yet more unwanted delay may be in the offing.

Last evening, the whole station building was reportedly barricaded, starting from
the railroad crossing all the way over to the games building, using a combination
of white portable stanchions and yellow "Caution" tape. Similar tape blocks the
entrance and exit doors to the building, and the 55-gallon-barrels that had been
surrounding the building were stuffed into the doorways. A security person was
stationed outside the barricade, but not inside. [To me, this sounds like they're
again resurfacing or sealing the blacktop surface.]
Several piles of rocks have appeared over by the Mini Mine Train, with some kind of
perimeter markings with orange paint where the rocks will apparently be arranged.
Apparently there were some test launches last evening (July 17th) from about
8:55pm. I've heard reports of at least five launches, the first four at about 1m30s
intervals (a pattern familiar to me from the tests I've witnessed) and the fifth one
after about a five minute interval. So I'm not sure when the LIM problem surfaced.
Among the other rumors floating around here and being related: Freeze might open
"any day now" (this was of course before the LIM replacement last night). It probably
won't open on a weekend. There will be a huge publicity campaign when it does (the
pent-up publicity budget that was to have been spent earlier this summer will now be
spent in a major splash, hoping to boost attendance during at least the last part of the
summer season). (The big media splash thing has been related often enough and
widely enough that I expect it's very true). The reason why testing is being conducted
during the wee hours and in the dark is "to avoid traffic problems on IH30 and Copeland
Road" (although I don't understand why those problems should be any greater under
testing than they will be once the ride is actually opened and carrying live park guests...
and it doesn't explain either why Six Flags Security reportedly continues to hassle
people, even off Six Flags property, simply trying to observe the tests).
Tuesday evening some of the employees had reportedly already "passed their tests"
while others were still waiting to do so. There were two training shifts, 3-11 and 11-7
(am!). Employees are being cycled into these 'graveyard shift' positions.
It's rumored that the original plan to use 'heavy fog' in the launch tunnel is being
scrapped to use just a light mist instead, since the heavy fog reportedly is messing
with the optics on the ride controls. I had noticed that very little fog seemed to be
being used in the launch tunnel in the last week or so worth of testing.
The yellow shirts (standard in Good Times Square) for ride operations staff
are apparently only temporary, with Mr. Freeze staff expected to get their
own special uniforms. I hear that only fifty uniforms were initially ordered,
although some rumors express surprise at such a small first batch.
The Hurricane Harbor party was apparently a normally scheduled employee party, and I'm
told it was not a substitute for the Mr. Freeze opening party, which is still expected.

Some of the ride staff are expecting thoughputs of about 1000 guests per hour.
Which is probably close to the number they'll actually get, given how hard it
typically proves to be to fill every seat, etc. etc.
Another report says they used sandbags in testing on Monday and Tuesday morning,
although they'd reportedly been removed by Tuesday evening's tests. I'd like to find out
more about whether sandbags or the previously reported barbell weights are being used
for test loads. Is it possible that some of the clattering as the trains go through the spike
track LIMs is being caused by the weights rattling around in the cars?
Reports are that Six Flags Guest Information is being a great deal less rude about
people calling up to ask when Mr. Freeze might be open. Before, such calls were
reportedly typically answered with a curt "we don't know when it will open" and a
rude quick hangup. They seem to be somewhat more polite lately, I'm hearing.
Meanwhile, there is a variety of news elsewhere. In St. Louis, rumor says
that the President of their park (Mr. John Odum, I'm told) was one of at least
two people who rode Mr. Freeze last Friday, and that the ride there is
expected to open "very soon", possibly Monday.
As of last report, Chiller at Great Adventure in New Jersey remains closed. This is a curious
case, since it was open to the public for a couple of days before it closed over a month ago.
One persistent report mentions the head-banging issue, although one person I've spoken
with who rode it reports that it wasn't really worse than other coasters he's ridden.
Nevertheless, the shoulder harnesses are reportedly being modified there to add more
padding. The ride did saddle there at least once (unknown to my reporter if there were
people onboard at the time). Although the media day there was on a Tuesday (and logically
it would have then opened on a Wednesday), he says the ride didn't actually open until the
following Saturday since something (on the train? the fins? bearings? LIMs?) was getting
extremely hot. The ride then was closed on Sunday afternoon or evening, meaning it was
actually only open to the public for about two days. The reporter said, by the way, that he
preferred the side without the "wall". He liked the "Robin" side. At least one person
mentioned that he expected to see Chiller re-open today.
As of July 19th, I received a report from New Jersey that the main reason Chiller
remains closed was due to overheating in the LIMs under braking. During the days
the ride was open, I'm told that the LIMs required 4-5 minutes of cooldown after
each run, which reduced ride throughput from something like 800pph to about
300pph. (It is sort of surprising that the LIMs don't have cooling fans or something
built into them. Or alternatively, building some kind of turbine-like blades onto the
trains that would at least force a rush of air through the LIMs as the train passes by.)
Rumors there are talking about a reopening there towards the end of July. I hear
that tests there (like everywhere) are continuing in the meanwhile.

In St. Louis, last night Channel 2 had a news report about Mr. Freeze there, with
footage of it running in broad daylight. The report said it could be open in about a
week... in fact, that station said that they had already been given the commercial saying
the ride was open, just waiting for Six Flags' okay to run it. But the official stance of the
park (when they were called earlier in the same day) was that they wouldn't give any
information, and are claiming that they have "no idea" when it will open.
As of July 20th, I'm told that the St. Louis Mr. Freeze passed its electrical and
mechanical inspections on Friday, and that it should open "soon", possibly
Monday or Tuesday.
The word from New Jersey is that the Chiller is expected to reopen sometime
between July 23-25, or the latter half of this week.
Here in Dallas, I'm told that tests were again being run Saturday evening. Trains were
running about 1:30 apart (quite typical pattern). One of the trains was running much
slower out of the building, seeming to be dragging over the tophat, then picked up
speed and finished with about the same final timings we've seen so many times now. It
almost seemed to stall as it reached the spike track LIMs, and was drug up almost to
the brake before being released... quite unlike the more familiar runs where it runs up
the spike track LIMs (I wonder if maybe the "slow" train was heavily loaded??)
Interestingly, this evening the "fast" train was the east train (before, the west train had
been running marginally faster). While there were a lot of people in the station (this
was around 10:30pm), none seemed to be actually working with the trains, and nobody
was riding. There was one report, as of yet unconfirmed, that one of the Mr. Freeze
trains had valleyed (again) by Sunday morning.
By the way, we know that Six Flags Over Texas tends to use barbell weights for testing
rides. Sand tends to be messy, abrasive and generally unfriendly to bearings and other
precision mechanical parts. And we know that Six Flags has lots of barbell weights
(they've even been using them to anchor "last chance" souvenir tables out in front of the
ticket booths). But reportedly Six Flags in St. Louis instead uses what I'm now being told
are "lead bags", weighing 50-to-100 lbs each, when testing new rides.

I've been hearing more talk about the rumored overheating problem, and most of
those reports are now pointing not at the LIMs themselves but rather at the separate
brakes that are used to slow the Mr. Freeze (and Chiller) train down as it re-enters
the launch tunnel. It's being said that the rides use a dual-stage braking system,
with a magnetic brake (probably the same kind of technology as is used to such
great effect in the Dungeon Drop rides?) for the high-speed portion, and then a
traditional pinch-type brake for the low-speed portion. These brakes act on the
vertical fin under the trains, which I'm told could reach temperatures as high as 400
degrees. This high temperature is supposed to be avoided by both spraying a fine
water mist and by fans in the station. Anyhow, the word is that the magnetic brakes
don't slow the train down as much as expected (leaving more of the work to be done
by the mechanical pinch brakes) which is why those are overheating. Blower fans
are reportedly being installed to keep the mechanical brakes cool.
They're trying to keep the final uniform design for the Mr. Freeze ride operations staff a
big secret, supposedly to "surprise" everybody. The better "surprise" will be when the
ride finally opens, I think. But it would be a welcome change if Six Flags would switch to
considerably higher-standard uniforms more like Disney parks have. I guess that's
mostly just a fantasy, but it sure would be an improvement in the overall "feel" of the
parks. The current Six Flags outfits (both for regular park cast members and even for the
character costumes) just don't have the nice fabrics, rich detailing, and quality "drape"
that contribute to the "first-class" feel one gets so outstandingly at Disney parks. Sort of
like the difference between a clearly expensive-looking suit, and some cheap-looking
lightweight polyester garment that came off the rack at a bargain-basement clothier.
One report says that in St. Louis (where no testing was run last night) they need to put
"a few more backs on the seats" (these are the fiberglass covers which protect the
shoulder harness gears and adjustments), finish some remaining station house
themeing work (this sounds doubtful since I personally believe that's been finished for
weeks... probably was "finished" in time for the originally planned opening in late May or
early June) and some fine tweaking of the ride program (this one is more likely).
Regarding the station themeing, reportedly there is a large animatronics Mr.
Freeze figure seated in a chair above the launch track, which looks like he might
move his head and arms.
And also here in Dallas, the rumor mill says that as of Friday July 18th, SFOT still hasn't
even applied for the necessary permits and "affidavits of safety" which will allow them to
open the ride. And those must be submitted before the ride can open. So this suggests
that it will be at least several more days before we'll get to ride this beast!
As for this evening (Sunday) I'm told that full-power test launches of Mr. Freeze started
about 9pm, and that some park staff were saying that they had just been authorized to
report (this already is quite a switch from recent furtive and anonymous whispering) that Mr.
Freeze was "scheduled" to open "next week". And the crane was observed backing

out of the construction area again... perhaps in conjunction with the reported
valleying of a train on Sunday morning.
As of July 21st, Mr. Freeze has been undergoing its first series of more-or-less
continual daytime tests. This significant change from recent wee-hours-only
testing patterns would appear to indicate the final leadup to an official opening,
probably towards the end of this week. The commercial broadcast by KISS-FM
this morning suggesting that the ride was open and 'launching guests every
minute and a half' was apparently an error on the part of the radio station.
Early this evening, launches were mostly occurring right about three minutes apart, with
occasional launches somewhat delayed from that rhythm. The 55-gal-drums and steel
cable which will form a "queue area" from over towards the steam railroad track (about
the southwest corner of the loading building) up towards the entrance to the station
building (on the east side) are now in place since at least sometime Sunday. (I expect
that cast members will escort batches of guests from the extension queue area across
the railroad tracks and into the cable-and-drummed-off area alongside the Mr. Freeze
station, rather the way they do with lines for the Texas Giant on very busy days.) In fact,
other than some debris still over in the extension queue area, externally Mr. Freeze
looks like it could open just about any day.
The rumor mill in St. Louis is saying to look for an opening there on Wednesday. They
were running high-and-low-power tests there on Sunday, reportedly with lead bags in
them for a load, probably to reconfirm everything's still in order after a reported lightning
strike on the tower on Saturday. Launches there were running 90 seconds apart. (The
rumor mill even says that extra lead bags had to be borrowed from Six Flags Great
America near Chicago in order to have enough to weight both trains). Ride crews were
at Mr. Freeze there in St. Louis from 9am this morning for training and testing.
It's been clarified that the audio-animatronic Mr. Freeze figure is opposite the train
driver's main control booth, looking down on the trains as they prepare for launching.
As of July 22nd, I'm getting more information about the weekend's storm in St. Louis. There
were numerous brownouts throughout the park, and reportedly besides Mr. Freeze, Batman:
The Ride and the Colossus (giant ferris wheel, you can see it in the AVI files already posted)
were also hit by lightning. There was said to be a parkwide two-and-a-half hour shutdown
due to the lightning. Batman: The Ride was reportedly down for an additional half hour due
a control system reset. (Rumor has it that its computer seemed to think there were three
trains, though there are only two trains on the ride!). But it seems that there was no lasting
damage from any of these lightning strikes.
Word from St. Louis is that, barring unforeseen problems in getting the necessary safety
inspections, Mr. Freeze will open there no later than this coming Saturday. And the talk is
that no fin/LIM rubbing there seems to have been observed there for at least a week,

which means that (at least for the time being) everything's finally aligned just
right! One train of their two is said to have a little wheel rattle after it comes
down from the spike but the other is quiet except for wind noise.
The last word I'd received from here in Dallas is that tests are continuing here too towards
getting the necessary inspections and approvals needed for opening. I anticipate that if all
continues to go well, the opening could take place here in Dallas almost any time between
now and the weekend. I will be very surprised if it's not open by then.
I may be offline for a while due to business travel, so please accept my apologies in
advance for any unavoidable interruption in my regular updates of this page.
That notwithstanding, I'll post more details about Mr. Freeze as soon as I have
them and are able to post them.
Well! I'm finally back, and there's both a lot of catching up to do and not a lot of
catching up to do.
Here are some of the reports that came in during my absence:
July 22nd: St. Louis was also running daytime tests (around 4pm at least).
Trains being launched (like here in Dallas) about every 90 seconds, carrying lead
weights. Queues and signage all in place. In St. Louis, like here in Dallas,
"nobody would tell us an opening date." Probably because the expected opening
date seems to keep changing faster than the weather!
July 25th: St. Louis has finished training their ride crews, but it would seem that as
a matter of corporate policy Six Flags has decided to not open St. Louis until the
Dallas Mr. Freeze is ready (or at least that's what the rumor mill is saying in St.
Louis). Of course, the lowered-throughput 90-second launch cycle reportedly last
being run in St. Louis is probably for the same reason as here, which is what I
suspect is the real main impediment to opening the ride. Even so, the regular testing
seems to have ended in St. Louis, with no tests reportedly being run either the 25th
or even the 27th, not even after hours. Attendance at the park in St. Louis the 25th
was reportedly way down, typically with less than five minute queue times even for
the roller coasters. One person commented to me that "The weather has been
extremely hot, but I've never seen that kind of effect on attendance." Reportedly
SFStL has been giving away coupons which one takes to Season Pass processing,
and you get a picture ID card that lets you come back on another day for free.

Regarding Mr. Freeze and an opening date, one seemingly well-placed source is
reported to have said "...don't expect to see anything before September 5th." (!!!)
If you've not re-read the above section, you should... there's some new stuff
that's been added there, too.
As of July 30th, St. Louis attendance still reported as being very low last Sunday night,
the 27th (as it had also been Friday the 25th). After the concert let out, it was being
reported that on many rides throughout the park, guests were even being allowed to do
back-to-back rides without getting out and going back around through the lines... which
is said to be against longstanding policy, and extremely unusual at that park. More
ominous news from there: the big sign "NEW IN '97...MR. FREEZE...THE COOLEST
COASTER ON THE PLANET" on the big Six Flags-St. Louis sign has been taken down.
Here in Dallas, I'm told that the ride crew staff which had been so much in evidence in their
Good Times Square uniforms during the early part of last week have all but vanished, with
little obvious activity around Mr. Freeze's station other than a few token security guards to
ward off guests who might otherwise bypass the barricade and wander into the station.
Perhaps the ride staff have temporarily been reassigned to their previous posts, but in any
case this is another ominous sign that the opening which seemed so imminent last week as
I took off for my business trip now seems very much in limbo.
This indefinite-sounding delay in the opening also calls into question the heavilypublicized
Coaster Celebration scheduled for August 9th in St. Louis, only a little
more than a week away, where people buying the special tickets had been
promised two hours of Extended Ride Time on Mr. Freeze as a big part of the
deal. There is much speculation regarding whether they might allow these
"special" guests to go ahead and ride Mr. Freeze there, even if the ride is not yet
open to the public... and if they don't, how the park will recover themselves after
a quite obvious "breach of contract" with those who bought the special tickets.
Among the more preposterous reasons Dallas park visitors are being told for the ride
not being opened yet is "We haven't properly weight-tested the second train yet." Surely
after all the testing that's been done, somebody could have loaded some barbell
weights into the second train! I'm sure the person believed the story they were being
given, but it's an example of the kind of misinformation being (intentionally?) distributed.
As of last night, about 9:00pm the ride was reported as being dark. Snowy and
the neon were lit up, but otherwise the tunnel was dark. The same looked to be
true when I flew by overhead at about 10:45pm... and I had a nice view of the
park as we circled it on three sides as we came in for a landing at DFW. As of
about 11:30pm, nothing much had changed, although the blacklights were turned
on in the boarding area at the end of the launch tunnel. The Chute-Out and
Judge Roy Scream lights were turned off at about 11:50pm.

After about midnight, several maintenance trucks appeared and started milling
around inside the wingover area. They used local lights for a while, then everything
went dark (although the workers were still there). By 12:30am, the bright tower lights
had been turned on and there appeared to be some welding going on. It was not
clear whether this involved the Mini-Mine-Train track (one segment is still missing) or
more likely the catwalks which are being installed. (Six Flags has apparently decided
to install catwalks in the two Mr. Freeze valleys to facilitate unloading passengers in
the event a loaded train valleys with real passengers onboard). These catwalks are
interesting, since traditional coasters like ShockWave or The Texas Giant usually
have catwalks (when they do) at the high/level/slow parts of the circuit, and there
simply are no such track segments on Mr. Freeze!
There was also observed to be a train car sitting on the ground in a well-lit, concrete
area northwest of the station building. I haven't a clue what that means yet.
Other work that has recently been being done in the Mr. Freeze track area, besides
the installation of the gravel previously put down, is that part of the under-track area
is being sodded... probably a good move to help hold down the mud and
subsequent erosion which otherwise occurs under periods of heavy rain.
Of course, most coaster fans who follow new coasters (including, perhaps, most of us
following this Web site) know that new coasters often are delayed in opening... it sort of
comes with the "breaking new technological grounds" territory. Superman at Magic Mountain
opened fully one year behind schedule. Even Disney, a legend of organization and attention
to (traditionally) spare-no-expense detail, has been having a hard time getting their new
high-speed LIM -based GM Test Track ride open at EPCOT Center, too. People among the
General Public however often don't understand these kinds of technical issues, and only
know that "we didn't get to ride the ride we were promised". I'm hearing rumblings
suggesting that there might even be a class-action lawsuit filed on the behalf of season
passholders who felt that they were promised a hot new ride for the summer...
widely promised for "opening late spring"... which they didn't get to ride even
once all summer.
Of course, such a lawsuit would ultimately help nobody, since the short-term gain that
season ticketholders might think they were winning would come at the future expense
of both higher priced season passes, and reduced likelihood of Six Flags attempting
technologically risky (but excellent, once open) new rides. But nobody ever said that
the litigious mentality so much in evidence these days is based on intelligence.
My feelings on this controversy are pretty simple. If (as it would appear) the problem is
not a safety problem but a ride throughput problem... i.e. it works fine and is safe for
passengers but they have to let LIMs, brakes, or whatever cool down for a minute or two
after each ride... then I think they ought to open the ride in a degraded, reducedthroughput
mode and at least let people ride it, running the trains only as frequently as
Six Flags feels comfortable (hey, there's plenty of other rides which commonly run with a
reduced number of trains and reduced throughput, so these frustrations on the part of

iders are nothing new). The lines would be lengthy, but there are ways to deal with
that, perhaps like the way they used to pass out reservation coupons on crowded
days for the "Hot Rockin' Country" shows in the Southern Palace Theatre. (I still like
my proposal for colored tickets and a matching colored handstamp, allowing one to
get into the ride queue at a time determined by your handstamp and ticket color...
the colored handstamp preventing multiple-ride abuses).
On a much more banal level, in the tying-up-of-loose-ends department... the orange
traffic control cones that go up in St. Louis in DC Comics Plaza each evening are now
being reported as being primarily designed to keep the park maintenance and other
vehicles which drive through that area of the park during the night from driving over the
logo in/on the pavement there. So that's probably the end of that mystery.
As of July 31st. reports are coming in that the reason (or yet another reason?) why Mr.
Freeze still isn't open... and why it appears that it will not be opening anytime soon... is
because while the daytime tests were being conducted Six Flags became aware that the
coaster was "slowing down" in the daytime compared to how it had been at night. The fix
according to some reports involves adding more LIMs (or maybe changing out some of
the existing ones for more powerful or cooler-running ones?), which will take at least a
couple of weeks, and then involve more testing all over again before the ride can
perhaps finally open. (It's not clear whether "slowing down" means that the ride is
running slower, or that the ride cycle had to be lengthened to allow for adequate
cooldown between launches, or both.) Or at least that's what the Fox affiliate TV station
in the St. Louis area, KTVI channel 2, is said to have reported.... that Mr. Freeze is not
expected to open there this year. I'm now told that KMOV Channel 4 in St. Louis
reported essentially the same story this morning on their news program, too.
While some Six Flags people just attribute the postponed opening to "technological
issues" (the unspoken suggestion being that ride technology within Mr. Freeze is at
fault), in fact at least some reports suggest that another aspect to the problem is that
some of the "slowdown" seen under the recent daytime testing is because the electricity
supply to the park simply isn't 'stiff' enough, and there is too much of a voltage drop
when Mr. Freeze is running along with all the other rides in the park, air conditioners
both at the park and in surrounding homes and offices, etc. etc., also being in operation.
Of course, such a voltage drop might even affect surrounding homes and
businesses too, although I've not heard rumors of any such complaints (yet?). But I
know for a fact that some particularly sensitive higher-end computer equipment (for
example) starts to misbehave when its input voltage goes below 108 volts... which
is a pretty small change from the nominal utility company 110v.
Anyhow, if this KTVI report is true, I think it's ironic that in Six Flags' strange zeal to
try to hide their testing by doing all their tests under cover of darkness, when the
temperatures, light levels, and perhaps even utility company line voltage levels are
not like they are in mid-day when the ride will typically actually be operating, they

themselves delayed their finding out about such a problem until the last few
days before they'd expected to open the ride.
As for the magnetic braking issue, Superman at Magic Mountain reportedly also
has observed the problem that their magnetic brakes don't brake the cars as much
as they should when they get warm, with the result that the cars have to be stopped
by the emergency brakes reported to be in the service area behind the station.
In an article in today's edition, The Asbury Park (N.J.) Press reported that
Chiller might reopen towards the end of the fall season, but is more likely to not
reopen until the beginning of next season.
I hear further rumors that SFStL had to sign an agreement not to open their Mr. Freeze
(even if they consider it ready to go) before the one here in Dallas is also ready to open.
Which more and more rumors are saying may not happen now until maybe sometime in
October, or perhaps as far away as next year. Widespread mutiny on the part of affected
season passholders is now seen by some observers as a very real concern (and elimination
this year of the very popular Platinum Pass program here in Dallas, made even worse by the
stiff price increases this year as I've already commented on, had already made many season
passholders extremely irritated). One Guest Relations staffer (and I won't say at which park)
was heard to remark, perhaps only half in jest, that they should be equipped with guns in the
office so they would be able to defend themselves if necessary.
As of August 1st, I've gotten a report that SFStL has been calling people to whom they'd
sold Coaster Celebration tickets (with the explicit promise of ERT... extended ride time...
on Mr. Freeze) to tell them that they won't be able to ride Mr. Freeze since it won't be
open. And based on now numerous sources, Six Flags doesn't expect the ride to open
until sometime this fall at the earliest, or else (and apparently, more likely) next year.
Apparently Six Flags-St. Louis as consolation is going to give Coaster Celebration
ticketholders access to the park on Friday as well as Saturday, and an extra hour
of ERT on Batman on Saturday evening. (Of course, this is mostly of nearly no
interest to those people who already have season tickets anyhow).
I'm getting lots and lots of E-mails suggesting that most or all of these supposed reasons for
Mr. Freeze not yet opening just don't hold much water, and I have to admit I largely agree.
Personally, I think that Six Flags ought to open the ride in a degraded mode and run it at the
launch frequency they can feel comfortable with. Heck, SFOT has other rides (Chameleon,
Dive Bomber, etc. etc.) which have very limited throughputs too, and they manage. There
are a variety of approaches (reservation coupons, special tickets, etc.) to

allow them to manage the demand, and to keep the lines to acceptable
durations. Meanwhile, engineering work could be done during the hours when
the park is closed (after all, that's when most of the testing has been done
anyway) or during the weekdays in a month or so once the park drops back to a
"weekends only" schedule. So why keep the ride closed?
My personal guess (and it's really just that) is that another part of the reason Six Flags
might have for keeping the ride totally closed is to hold someone's feet to the fire...
figuring that if the ride opens in a "temporarily" degraded mode, that could end up
being one of those "temporary" things that would have a way of becoming
"permanent". So whoever Six Flags is putting pressure on to fix the problems (and I
suspect at this point they figure the 'villain' in the story is someone outside of Six
Flags, perhaps Premier) is perhaps being told that "your delay is preventing us from
opening the ride." Which would carry more weight than just "we don't think the
throughput is what we'd hoped it would be," and the distinction might become a
critical issue if Six Flags were to pursue litigation against whoever of the designer or
builders they judge responsible for the delays.
There is at least one fascinating-but-discouraging report, however, that the
effects of the overheating were more serious, resulting in LIMs actually
cracking (I'm told this was discovered at the Texas park as a result of the highlaunch-rate
"certification" testing done immediately prior to the intended
opening last week). That same report claims that there were no major
remaining problems (at this point at least) with electrical supply voltage, but that
we still shouldn't really expect to see the ride open until sometime in 1998.
In any case, we might even find ourselves here in Dallas being in the curious
situation of next spring opening two major new rides, both Mr. Freeze that was
supposed to open in 1997 and whatever's supposed to be opening for the 1998
season (and I'm still hearing lots of conflicting rumors swirling around about that,
but the most credible ones seem to confirm my previous speculation about at least
moving back the games building in Good Times Square and the creation of a
"Gotham City" area (regardless of whatever they might actually decide to call it)).
I probably ought to point out that it's not fair to hold the park staffers who are blocking
the entrances (and elsewhere in the park) culpable for the ride's delay in opening. It's
not their fault, and they're usually not allowed to tell guests anything very specific about
the reasons for the delay, even if they know the reasons themselves. Which they
probably don't... Six Flags has seriously clamped down the security blackout curtains
again, and most likely aren't even telling most of the park employees the true facts.
Remember that you readers of this Web page probably know more about Mr. Freeze
than most of them do. And you can bet that they, even as employees of Six Flags, feel
helpless and frustrated with the delays too. So don't be too hard on them!
Meanwhile, the specially trained staffers who were supposed to be operating Mr. Freeze
have been returned to their previous posts around the park. And even if Mr. Freeze does

open this fall, remember that many of the staff who have been specially trained
to operate the ride are going back to college the end of August, so the parks will
have to train a mostly-new set of ride ops people when they finally do open it.
As of August 2nd, Six Flags has posted signs both in the ticket booth queue
areas and in front of the loading building apologizing that Mr. Freeze is not open,
and thanking guests for their patience. The crowd in the park, while not the
heaviest I've seen, is still substantial here and doesn't seem to have the major
dropoff that I've heard reported in St. Louis.
I will mention however that the situation I saw yesterday in the parking lot was
among the most screwed-up messes I've seen there in a long time, with stop-andgo,
bumper-to-bumper traffic all the way from the parking toll collection booths out to
row 49 (where there were finally parking spaces, and this was just before noon on a
Saturday). When I finally got there, I found out why things were such a mess...
people were parking just ANYWHERE (not in an organized fill-distant-slot-first and
then fill-to-the-drive, then start on the next row)... parking slots were being filled
willy-nilly in several rows at once, and to make matters worse the trams were
coming up way south of their normal route alongside the areas where people were
parking (which could almost be good, IF the parking were otherwise organized right)
but that created additional confusion among an already chaotic situation.
Anyone who has ever visited one of the Disney parks can't fail to be amazed by how
incredibly efficiently Disney theme parks park their incoming cars. Disney uses a 2-deep
diagonal pattern for one, where incoming cars simply swoop into the next available
space (and filling from the far end of a row first, so cars start filling the next slot before
they've even come to a stop in the previously filled one). By not using perpendicular
parking spaces, cars don't have to jockey into position; by filling both positions in a long
space with two consecutive cars they both just drive in and stop (almost without slowing
down), and meanwhile the next two cars are parking in the next space closer to the
main drive, and this continues until the entire row is filled at which point parking starts on
the next row. Anyhow, the marvel of organization that Disney is so known for couldn't
contrast more sharply with the chaos in the parking lots at SFOT on Saturday.
Instead of only just treating the parking lot as a cash cow, I wish that SFOT would
take some of all those parking charges they collect and send someone to study
Disney's parking lot techniques and then come back and put those lessons to work
here. This would help visitors at SFOT get their fun day at the park off to a better
start, rather than starting it right from the beginning in chaos and frustration.
As for Mr. Freeze, in the Daily Alert bulletin given to arriving park workers today it said:
"As you know, we have been working diligently to get Mr. Freeze open and we have
experienced several delays. Six Flags has decided not to open Mr. Freeze this summer.

While we still cannot give out a specific date of when the ride will be ready, we
hope to open it by late fall.
"Due to the number of performance and technological issues with the ride,
including its consistency of operation, we need additional time to work on the
ride until it meets our stringent operating and performance standards. Until we
are confident that Mr. Freeze delivers the speed and thrills it was designed to
provide on a regular basis, we will not open the ride.
"Please communicate the following to our Guests when they inquire about the
status of Mr. Freeze. First, please express our apologies for any inconvenience.
'Mr. Freeze will not open this summer because we are continuing to work on the
ride to make sure it meets the park's high performance and operating standards.'"
That said, I'll just comment that "we are continuing to work on the ride" is not much in
evidence in terms of seeing workers there and actually working on it. Unlike before,
when they were really working on it and the area of Mr. Freeze was crawling with
workers and the construction zone lots had dozens and dozens of cars and work trucks.
At the moment, no such busy, concerted, and significant effort is at all in evidence. The
daytime testing we saw a couple of weeks ago is totally stopped, and I've not been
getting reports of seeing even nighttime testing. RideOps people have left Mr. Freeze to
return back to their previous posts. The whole ride seems to have developed this ghostship
feel about it. I know its themeing is supposed to be that of an "abandoned/derelict"
ice-cream-plant, but Mr. Freeze seems just a little too 'abandoned' for my liking.
Even if not "necessary", if Six Flags would make sure that workers were there visibly
doing something ... even groundskeepers just planting shrubbery or flowers or
something around the track area, perhaps... it would be easier to maintain the
argument that "we're busily working on Mr. Freeze". While risking this becoming some
kind of ongoing-forever-development (rather like SFOT's own sort of 'Winchester
Mystery House'), at least this would help future riders feel that they really will enjoy a
better and more marvelous (and not just 'older') experience when it finally does open.
Discouragingly however, instead of improving, the themeing and decor seems to
be suffering (already!). For some curious reason, two tacky-looking chain- link
fence "cages" (not at all in keeping with the original decor and design) have
appeared just inside the entrance to the loading building.
And of course, there is somehow some kind of perverse irony in the fact that the
heavily-hyped "Coolest Coaster On The Planet" is being kept closed apparently
due to "overheating"-related problems.
As of August 3rd, I've received a copy of a newspaper article that
appeared in The Asbury Park Press on Thursday, July 31st about the
Chiller at Six Flags Great Adventure:

SIX FLAGS KEEPING CHILLER CLOSED
By ALLISON GARVEY, Toms River Bureau
Jackson Township - Batman and Robin: The Chiller, the new Six Flags Great
Adventure roller coaster that closed shortly after it was unveiled, may remain
closed for the rest of the season, park officials said yesterday.
"There are some inconsistencies with the acceleration systems that we want to
address," said Deborah L. Israel, director of communications for the park. "We set the
industry standards on this and we don't feel ready to roll if it's not going to roll right."
The ride is designed to launch passengers on two tracks from zero to about 65 mph in less
than five seconds, turn them upside down, then right-side up, then around and up more
than 20 stories in the air. It then forces them back down the same route backward.
To achieve the rapid launch and to propel the cars through the ride, the
coaster uses linear induction motors, called LIMs, along the track to generate
a magnetic wave that pulls the passenger cars. Other coasters at the park use
the conventional chain lift and gravity to propel a car through the ride.
The LIMs, while not a new technology, are fairly new to the amusement ride
industry. The ride closed in early June so crews could adjust the massive
motors, but after they were adjusted the quality of the ride was still "a little
rough," said park President Vincent Lupinacci.
The inability to reopen the ride has had an impact on park attendance, Lupinacci
said. Good weather has brought attendance back to 1996 levels despite several
rainy spring weekends but the numbers have not been as good as they would
have been with a new roller coaster to draw visitors, he said.
"People are frustrated, we get a lot of coaster enthusiasts here and even though
we've tabled a lot of our Chiller-oriented advertising because it wasn't running there
are still people who come here that didn't know it was closed," said Israel, who said
she and park officials are just as unhappy about the delay as are visitors to the
park.
Israel said the ride could reopen toward the end of the season in the fall but it
is more likely it won't reopen until the beginning of next season.
"The ride is not running up to performance standards and that is not what you want
when you want to have something around for a long time," she said. "We hope to
have this ride for 20 to 25 years and we want to get it right and do it right every time."
Crews have already modified the ride, improving padding on the bars that keep
people in their seats and installing hand bars so it is easier to get into and out of

the seats, she said.

The article then goes on to describe how the park is putting in Daredevil
Dive (a skycoaster) to help satisfy guests' desire for thrills. Which of course
is a pretty poor substitute for a major coaster like Chiller or Mr. Freeze!
I'll also comment that the ride being "a little rough" has no relationship
whatsoever to any work the park did on the LIMs.
As of August 5th, there's still not a lot of news to report.
The earlier comments about how most of the readers of this site know more about
Mr. Freeze than most Six Flags employees do is constantly being proven accurate.
The staffers guarding Mr. Freeze seem to be mostly newhires, perhaps even chosen
for the position because they don't know much of anything about the ride. Some of
the things inquiring guests are being told are quite outrageous... among them, that
"the only drive chain is on the spike, to haul you up to the top," and the claim that
nobody has ridden the ride (where I've talked with eyewitnesses who claim to have
seen more than one trainload of decidedly human passengers riding it).
As of August 7th, still nothing really new to report. Clearly, whatever significant
work is being done on Mr. Freeze is being done somewhere else, probably at
one or more of Premier, Winkle Electric, or Force Engineering.
Lots of frustration all 'round. We were so close. Sigh.
As of August 17th, I've finally gotten some feedback from St. Louis following
their "Coaster Celebration" last weekend. Here is some of the information,
quoting directly from the report I received:
"At the afternoon BBQ the president of the park spoke about Mr. Freeze. He told us
that only he and 3 other people have ridden in. He gave us a complete description of
how the ride feels. (Just tease us!) He said that in the front seat, when you get shot up
the spike, the track actually disappears from in front of you. He said it is quite scary.
Someone asked whether or not the ride was as much of a headbanger as OLFOF. He
said that is was quite smooth. (Of course, what is he going to say?) "
Then, continuing with a discussion about a tour of Mr. Freeze given to coaster celebrants
later that evening: "They took us back in groups of 40 through the queue and up into the
loading station. Elizabeth Gotway of the Communications Dept. gave the tour. She
described the procedure for loading and unloading, although it was very difficult to hear her
at times, so I missed a lot. The launch tunnel has sets of lights that chase. When sitting
ready to lauch, they chase away from the train. Then, during the launch, they will

chase toward the train to enhance the speed. They did not launch any trains for us
during this time... It looks pretty neat... Hopefully we'll get to experience it this fall. "
I haven't seen any evidence of these chase lights in the tunnel here at the ride in Dallas...
not down the length of the tunnel, anyhow... only just some white strobe lights in the first
part of the tunnel that "sparkle" at the start of the launch, and some rows of yellowish lights
right near the entrance to the launch tunnel which might "chase" (perhaps these are what
the reporter was referring to... but in the Dallas version, based on what I've seen up to now,
they only cover a very short part of the very beginning of the launch tunnel).
Otherwise, I've heard very little recently... again suggesting that whatever work is
being done is being done somewhere else, well away from view. Probably at Winkle,
Premier, and/or Force (or other subcontractors?). I'm hoping to start seeing and
hearing signs of work on Mr. Freeze again, as soon as the revised subsystems
arrive for installation. I fear, however, that at least some of the silence is due to the
fact that a lot of formerly-excited people have just gotten disgusted and lost interest.
One frequent visitor to the park in Dallas reports: "...they tend to have the 'up
to our standards' answer down pretty well, but that is hard to swallow when no
visible sign of effort is being put forth to get it up to those standards."
Reports continue to circulate that the delays on getting Mr. Freeze working to
Six Flags' satisfaction have derailed several other intended Premier LIMlaunched
coasters that were planned for other Six Flags parks. My own feelings
on that, having worked in R&D environments, is that the seemingly-endless
delays and pre-opening frustrations will largely be forgotten once the ride is
opened, if it's as good in the end as it looks like it ought to be.
And the ongoing delays are now bringing back to the fore the whole series of
issues about "what new ride will we get for 1998?", hoping that the to- be-finished
Mr. Freeze won't be all there is. I still expect to see the games building shoved
back, probably during the winter dark season, opening another new entire area to
the park (the area I'd tentatively referred to earlier here as "Gotham City"... which
certainly could be one place to at least temporarily reinstall the mothballed
Spinnaker, which came out when Runaway Mountain was going in... (the one
from here was actually moved to another Six Flags park, and the one which will
be eventually reinstalled here... presently rusting silently in a backwater area off
the distant parking lot... is a different unit than the one we previously had).
Other stuff the rumor mill say is being kicked around include a Superman ride,
supposedly going over the current lagoon alongside the Judge Roy Scream, and an
Intamin Giant Drop (a fun ride, though short... it does weird stuff to those of us with long
beards ;-) ) which occupies a sufficiently small footprint that it could be placed over in the
mostly-dead area at the southwest corner of the park, where that little Mexican market
plaza is now. And of course there is still talk about gutting and redoing Looney Tunes

Land, although one wonders how much that would really matter to the little
kids it's designed for, who probably are already delighted with what's there.
Personally, while I like the big splashy major rides, I have to wonder if it wouldn't
almost make more sense in terms of actual park visitor value to spend (instead of
five to ten million dollars on one big spiffy ride, like Mr. Freeze) the same amount on
maybe fifteen to twenty-five off-the-shelf carnival-type rides instead (but spruced up
with better installation and landscaping). Perhaps opening a "Midway" section
somewhere (maybe out where the Spring Breakout is or Fright Fest haunted houses
are) celebrating the tacky but fun atmosphere of the traditional American county fair.
This would add a lot of new rides all at once, and help diffuse the guests inside the
park into a lot more separate (and thus shorter) ride queues.
Alternatively (or in addition) I've already mentioned that a major upgrade to the feel of
the park could be done relatively cheaply by significantly upgrading all the cast member
uniforms, especially including the currently pretty-cheesy-looking character costumes.
As of August 19th, I've run across another person who reports he personally saw
(this was several weeks ago, sorry to report) a whole trainload (full!) of human riders
launched on Mr. Freeze at the park in Texas. He says this was on a Saturday night,
during testing, and it was about 10pm (probably nearer 11pm) and as the park was
preparing to close. He asked the security people at the entrance to the station if he
could ride too, but was told that they were just "testing".
While this is "old news", I'm reporting it here because it does substantially back
up the other eyewitness reports I've received of people who claim to have seen
complete trainloads full of human riders aboard Mr. Freeze during testing.
Otherwise, no news (good or bad) to report. I wish I could tell you otherwise.
Maybe, as I mentioned earlier this month, they're trying to give the station just enough of
that truly "derelict/abandoned" feel...
As of August 23rd, I've gotten some great pictures of the interior of the Mr.
Freeze station area. These were taken during the Coaster Celebration at the
park in St. Louis, but one can presume that the Dallas station will be similar (but
probably the mirror image of the one in St. Louis, as the rest of the ride is). I'd
like to thank Patrick Lowery for sharing his pictures with us Mr. Freeze fans! He
pointed out that the station (for the tour) was lit much more brightly than it will be
during normal ride operation. He observed that there are long blacklight tubes
underneath the track on each transfer cart, and in our own observations of the
ride during testing here the boarding area positively glows with blacklights.

The above picture shows a train on the transfer cart, lined up with the launch tunnel
and ready to be launched. The railing you see to the right of the train is connected to
this train's transfer cart, the railing you see just to the right of it is connected to the
other train's transfer cart, which is to the right just out of sight in the picture. Note the
handgrips which have been added to the top of the back of the headrests, which
were added to help make it easier for passengers to get in and out of their seats.
The overhead door in front of the train to the right conceals the maintenance/storage
track for that train. Note also the row of LIMs visible in the launch tunnel, running
down from the end of the transfer cart's walkway. This picture also shows some of
the lighting effects in the launch tunnel, which seem to be different than what we've
seen (from the other end, though) in the launch tunnel here in Dallas.

The above picture is a little broader perspective and shows more of the transfer
cart and shows a little of the left train's maintenance/storage track, visible
through the partially-open overhead door to the left of the photograph. You also
can see the operator's booth just above the launch tunnel.
Even more interesting, this picture shows three of the LIM modules on the transfer
cart (there are three more on the other side of the track, under the walkway) and you
can also get a nice view of the fins on the train, which run up to and through the slots
on the LIMs. And more intriguing still are the pairs of cooling blowers, two per car per
side (which seem to be centered at each car). Note that they are not concentrated on
the LIMs, which are only on the forward end of the transfer cart... but on something
which would seem to be below the fins and on each car. Presumably these blowers
are designed to cool the mechanical brake units along the transfer cart, and/or the
braking fins also on the train. Note also the panel visible towards the top left of this
picture, which has some kind of curious markings on it.
This photo again shows the transfer cart and station area, but looking in the opposite
direction (the yellow pattern is in line with and opposite the entrance of the launch tunnel).
Again, note the pairs of cooling blowers centered on the position of each car of the train.
You can also see the loading "chutes" along the exterior walkway towards the other side of
the station, which helps confirm the previous report that one boards the trains from the
outboard catwalks and leaves through the inboard catwalks (the ones on the transfer carts
themselves)... which makes sense, because that allows the rideops to load the chutes in
anticipation of the train arriving after the prior run and moving back into the boarding
position. Itls also interesting to see how far down the over-shoulder restraints go! You can
also see attached to them the additional black pads which provide additional padding to
help avoid head-banging. Note that the other train seems to be on its storage track... it
doesn't appear to be in place on the other transfer cart.

The above picture shows another detail of the frontmost car of one of the trains. You can
see the LIMs, and (again) just a little of the cooling blowers. Note that the cooling
blowers are not centered on the LIMs, but on something that is mounted below them.
And this picture also shows the additional padding to prevent headbanging.
These two pictures show some of the overhead themeing elements in the
station. Note the "icicles" seemingly clinging to the "coolant" pipes. The second
of them shows a panel with some markings on it, I'm hoping that Patrick can
clarify what these markings on this panel represent.
Apparently the final position of the animatronic Mr. Freeze hadn't yet been
determined, although it would seem to make sense to perhaps put him in the
"operator booth" (unless he'll be 'hiding' somewhere in the launch tunnel?)
The report is that the queue inside the station can handle perhaps one and a half or two
hours of queue. Reportedly you enter at the side of the station, go down a hallway, make a
few turns and then the line splits in two and you go up to the loading area. The St. Louis park
says they don't anticipate anything like the five-hour queues that the Texas park (at

least during the initial post-opening period) was rumored to be expecting. But
perhaps that's more because the park attendance in general at the St. Louis
park is usually lower than the attendance at the Texas park.
Patrick observed further that "As far as the trains go, I noticed that some of the fins
appeared to be scraped and edges chipped. This is probably from them hitting the
LIMs. ...I'm not sure if you can see it in the pictures, but there is a personal computer
sitting on a chair in the operations area. I'm not sure what that is being used for." The
PC is probably a remote console for use by the programmers while doing ride testing,
to allow them to be closer to the trains and transfer carts during the testing procedures.
He continues: "Also, apparently there is a safety concern during the launch. I only
caught some of what Elizabeth Gotway [public relations spokesperson for the St.
Louis park] was saying about this. She said when Chiller was open in New
Jersey, that it was hard to get the riders to understand that when the operators
said "ready" that they had to be ready right then and there to go. I took this as
meaning that the riders needed to be holding on and have their heads back in
preparation for the launch. I can see where this could present a problem."
Patrick has (since taking these pictures) traveled to several other parks and ridden
a number of other well-known coasters. About one of them, he reports "The biggest
surprise of the trip was Outer Limits. This was my first time on this ride. Although it
was a bit on the rough side, I still enjoyed it, especially the launch. It was sooooo
intense. I can't imagine how Mr. Freeze is going to be since it will be faster. WOW!"
We're all chomping at the bit to experience the Mr. Freeze launch!
Patrick also mentioned that (up to now, at least) his favorite coaster is Magnum
at Cedar Point.
Thanks again to Patrick for sharing his excellent photos with us!
As of August 25th, I've gotten answers to a few questions I had about the interior
station photos recently posted. In particular, I was interested in finding out more about
the curious panel mounted from the ceiling. I'm told it is apparently some kind of a map,
with concentric circles and X-Y coordinates, showing "Gotham". There's also an LED
display in the lower-right-hand corner, but so far I'm not sure what that displays.
Here at SFOT, it appears that work is under way to put back the long-missing track
section of the Mini-Mine Train (removed to permit access by trucks and cranes to the
Mr. Freeze construction site). Reports say that it appears that the section is being
designed in such a way that it can be easily removed, perhaps on hinges, to allow
easy access when necessary in the future for maintenance of Mr. Freeze.
So far, no dramatic new news about Mr. Freeze itself.

As of September 9th, I've heard a variety of fascinating (though overall
discouraging) reports.
First, the good news... the Mini-Mine-Train is back in service. The missing track section
has been replaced, and the ride is as good as it ever was. Which isn't saying a lot, of
course... it's basically still a kiddie coaster, but one which adults at least can ride. The
circuit is a pretty straightforward loop, with some mild hills but no crossovers or loops
(HAH!) or anything else terribly dramatic. The main (only?) reason a coaster enthusiast
will want to ride the Mini-Mine-Train is because it gives some terrific closeup views of
Mr. Freeze... since the Mini-Mine-Train track goes right through Mr. Freeze's
wraparound curve. You get absolutely terrific views of the spike, etc. etc., and once Mr.
Freeze is actually running, this should be quite thrilling.
But the bad news is that Mr. Freeze (if the reports I've heard are to be believed,
but they certainly seem credible) really will not be opening anytime soon.
Certainly not in September, and almost certainly not in October either. In fact,
we'll be doing real well to have it running in time for (the end of?) Holiday in the
Park (the Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year's holiday season).
The current problems keeping the ride closed reportedly are no longer due to
overheating of LIMs or brakes (the blowers shown in the station pictures reportedly
seem to have that under control)... are not due to the LIM technology or the drive
electronics... are not due to Six Flags' in-house developed firmware... are not due to
track problems ... or most any of the other high-tech advanced things in the ride.
The rumor says that the problem keeping the ride closed is a pure-and-simple
mechanical problem involving metal fatigue and stress fractures and cracking in the
housings of the LIMs, and the way they mount to the LIM support structure.
The rumor is that when the LIMs were removed last time from all three rides, stiffeners were
added to the housings to keep the housings from mechanically flexing so much under the
tremendous force exerted by the LIM coils and the aluminum fins running between them.
(Not to mention the occasional-but-apparently-inevitable rude jolts caused sometimes when
a fin runs into the housings or motor coil assemblies at 70mph!). And the stiffeners did their
job, keeping those parts of the housings from flexing... but of course couldn't do anything to
change or eliminate the forces at work, which then were concentrating on the areas of the
housings where the stiffeners were not. This concentration of strong forces on a smaller
amount of remaining metal started to result in metal fatigue and stress fractures at the
remaining unstiffened parts of the housings.
So Six Flags was apparently faced with a devil's dilemma... should they open the muchanticipated
rides, and hope that the stress fractures (which will increase over time with metal
fatigue, caused by thermal heating/cooling cycles as well as purely mechanical flexing)
would not become a problem before the end of the season, when the housings could be
replaced with redesigned ones at leisure? Or should they take the safer and more
conservative route, and keep the ride closed until they can be absolutely certain that the

cracking problem is fixed once and for all? The choice, by this time, was
obviously to take the safer, conservative route.
So despite the fact that no visible progress whatsoever has been taking place, there
are reportedly a number of things that have been going on behind the scenes.
First, the firmware for the rides has reportedly been improved. Things that were
probably initially done "quick-and-dirty" to try to meet the opening schedule have
been revisited, cleaned up, and improved. The result will be smoother operation
and more intelligence in the way the ride runs.
Second, a number of improvements have been made in the trains, as has
mostly been already reported. Additional padding has been added to the overthe-shoulder
collars to help protect the ears, handles have been added to help
people get in and out of their seats without getting their hands pinched when the
restraints on the seats in front of theirs are raised, to name just two.
Third, plans are reportedly underway to address the problems of airconditioning in the
station and launch tunnel. The trains rushing in and out of the station work like a piston
and displace a lot of air with each launch and return, and this combined with both the
hot Texas sun and the heating load caused by the 2.4 million watts used to launch the
trains results in a fearsome air conditioning problem. You might notice that in the
pictures, there are no air conditioning units at all (yet?) on the roof of the launch tunnel.
Fourth and most importantly, there has apparently been a lot of discussion and
work going on behind the scenes to reengineer new motor housings which will
be able to take the beating they receive on a ride like Mr. Freeze. Rumors are
saying, however, that there's not even a prototype of these new housings yet
that everybody is totally happy with, let alone manufacturing close to nine
hundred of them as will be needed to retrofit all three rides.
The rumor mill continues that even once the new housings are ready, all the LIMs
will be coming down (again) off all three rides and will have to be remanufactured
using the newly-designed and much stronger replacement housings... an operation
which it is said will probably take two to three months all by itself.
And once the remanufactured LIMs are back at the parks with their new housings, they
will of course have to be remounted to the support structures, realigned, reconnected
electrically, and retested. And that operation doesn't take place overnight, either.
So that's the sad news from Lake Woebegone, fans. That's apparently why
we're waiting, and that's why we're probably going to be waiting for at least two
(barest minimum) or three months more before we have any serious prospects
of seeing these rides running with us in them.

Disappointing? Of course. Could the timetable be sped up? Probably, somewhat...
depending on who wants to throw more money at the problem. Just about
everyone, however, already is probably chafing at the cost overruns and delays,
and you can bet that nobody involved is eager to sink a lot of new money into the
project if that can be avoided.
I'll be continuing to update the Web site, of course, as incoming news reports
merit. But the recent less-frequent updates are probably to be the expected
mode until visible progress starts becoming apparent again. (And thus I'll
probably not break off August as a separate month, as I have for prior months,
unless/until the page starts to get unwieldy again).
As of September 18th , the news doesn't really involve Mr. Freeze as much as it
does the entire park! The management contract between Six Flags Theme Parks,
Inc. and the actual owners of SFOT is up for renewal at the end of this year (the
agreement ends Dec. 31st) and up to now they haven't been able to reach an
agreement after something like six months of negotiations.
The article also goes into significant detail regarding who actually owns and who
actually runs Six Flags Over Texas. Even Time-Warner owns only 49% of Six
Flags Theme Parks, Inc, the rest being held by a company called "Boston
Ventures", a venture-capital company.
Whatever the outcome, I don't expect that it will affect Mr. Freeze's opening. With the
caveat that the themeing could change, since Mr. Freeze (and Batman in general) are
Six Flags properties, and a split could result in the Batman stuff disappearing from the
park (not a bad thing, but that's just my opinion) along with the Looney Tunes
characters. Barring, I suppose, a separate license being arranged between D.C. Comics
(and Warner Brothers) with the Texas park directly... I don't know whether Six Flags
Theme Parks has exclusive rights to those names and characters.
My own take on the article is that an agreement will probably be worked out
(perhaps the national chain will just buy the park from the current owners) but at
the very least this current situation is interesting and could result in significant
changes when the park reopens next spring. Go read the article!
As of September 19th, I've gotten a fascinating letter from a Georgia-based
coaster fan which puts the item from yesterday into perspective. I've decided to
copy it here in its entirety:
Note that Six Flags Over Georgia went through the same issues last year, and only came to
a management agreement on December 30, 1996. Both SFOG & SFOT are built

around a limited partnership owning the park (started with the Wynne family
holding a majority percentage), and the Six Flags Corp. was the park
management. This way the LP didn't have to get involved with the day-to-day
operations of the park, but reaped the rewards of their investment.
SFOG's delay was based on the same issues that have come up to SFOT
now. Interestingly enough, after the management contract was signed, on
March 3, 1997, the day Batman opened, the LP here served a suit to SF Corp.
over bad management decision and overcharges. (I've listed these before on
the newsgroup and linked to the various AccessAtlanta.com stories.)
Bottom line is the partners don't feel they're getting the financial rewards due,
SF Corp is overcharging expenses and playing with the books to show SFOG &
SFOT are almost money-losing propositions (which we all know isn't true).
So there you have the letter, for whatever it's worth. Certainly an interesting
take on the dispute.
As of September 22nd, there's still no visible signs of progress on Mr. Freeze.
The LIMs are still in place (on the spike track at least) and the longer they stay
there, the longer it's going to be before they can be remanufactured with new
housings and reinstalled, so the ride can finally open.
There are also rumors about lawsuits, although with it presently not even being
clear who is going to be running Six Flags Over Texas next year, it's not even
obvious who the plaintiffs would be... let alone who would sue who, or which
courts would have jurisdiction. And of course, the fact remains that Six Flags has
(and will have) a number of major Premier rides, at least three of them involving
LIMs... so it's not in Six Flags' long- term interest to put out of business the sole
source suppliers of spare/replacement parts to keep those rides running.
There are also persistent rumors that some or all of the small lake next to Judge Roy
Scream is (sadly) going to be filled in, so SFOT can use the space for another major ride
(the most persistent of the whisperings I hear says "Superman", although personally I think
it's a curious choice to have both Superman and Mr. Freeze in the same park). Certainly
Superman's linear shape and size conform to approximately the size and shape of that
lake... it would run out parallel to the Judge Roy Scream, with the tower towards the south
end of the lake (hopefully some of the lake, at least, can be retained).
One tipoff, perhaps, that this is more than just a rumor: the two large trees on
either side of the Bill Cobb Memorial Plaque (seen from the queue for the Judge
Roy Scream), at the north end of the lake, have been cut down.
Other fairly recurrent rumors suggest that another new ride in SFOT's future is a Giant-
Drop type ride, and with that ride's small footprint it could be installed almost anywhere

in the park. Personally, I think it would be appropriate to put it where the little Mexican
plaza is, just to the left of the entrance; that area is rather dead and generally very
underutilized at the moment. It would help encourage some entering guests to go
towards the left, rather than to the right (where most of the best stuff is now).
Of course, if all of these become real, then that would suggest that the current
G-Force (a first-generation Intamin freefall ride) would be redundant, and might
come down... after all, do we really need four freefall-type rides? (G -Force, Mr.
Freeze, Superman, Giant Drop)? So that would free up a piece of land at a fairly
prominent location inside the park.
If the park management does change for next year (which seems unlikely), then it's
possible that we'll (eventually, at least) see some dramatic changes ... certainly some of
the Time-Warner/Six Flags themeing would go away (most of that is pretty superficial
anyway, with the main exception of the Bugs Bunny/Yosemite Sam river adventure ride),
but also we might finally get some of the detail improvements that make Disney parks so
exceptional: world-class cast member uniforms, Disney-grade character costumes, and
generally a higher standard of detailing throughout the park.
As of September 25th, the rumor mill is saying that movement is accelerating
to a very brisk pace (although still very much behind the scenes) regarding the
work needed to fix the technical problems still keeping Mr. Freeze closed.
The word I hear is also that Six Flags has decided to conduct most of the following testing
in St. Louis rather than Dallas. Mr. Freeze in St. Louis is on an island in the middle of the
river rapids ride, surrounded by the park, and the park there will close for the season
significantly before the Dallas park does. Mr. Freeze in Dallas, on the other hand, is on an
outside corner of the park and readily observable from outside by passersby. Apparently,
Six Flags is still trying desperately to shroud their activities and keep everything secret for
some inexplicable (and probably unwise, in the end) reason.
Despite the now-accelerated pace of work, I am beginning to think it very unlikely
by this point that Mr. Freeze will open before next spring.
As of September 27th, nothing really new to report. More talk and rumors of a new
Superman-type ride to be built next to Judge Roy Scream (perhaps for 1998), more
reports of rumblings about possible lawsuits over the delays of Mr. Freeze.
As of September 30th, there's little concrete news of any change at SFOT.
Given the ongoing major uncertainties about the park's management team for
next year, perhaps this is not surprising.

In St. Louis, the rumor is that the planned major renovations of Looney Tunes
Land and the childrens' boat ride there (both had progressed to artist's
conceptions at least) have suddenly been shelved. Even rumors of a major new
ride for 1998 (with most of those rumors seeming to center on a Giant Drop)
seem to have dried up, too. Speculation there in St. Louis is that the change is
to keep cash available to devote to fixing the problems with Mr. Freeze.
As of October 5th, I've gotten a report of an interesting rumor floating around
among employees at Six Flags... the rumor being that management is considering
giving this year's season passholders free season passes for next year.
Certainly this would be a nice gesture, and would pre-emptively torpedo any likelihood
of a class action lawsuit among this year's season passholders (as has still been
being at least very seriously discussed) for Six Flags' failure to open Mr. Freeze as
promised. (If such a suit were to be filed, it's pretty clear that Six Flags would lose it,
and surely incurring substantial legal expenses in the process ... there's a lot of
printed information around offering season passes and simultaneously promising Mr.
Freeze, and that together with the exchange of money constitutes a contract.)
It's not as crazy an idea as it initially sounds. I doubt that revenue from season
passholders' subscriptions is a major percentage of overall park receipts anyhow... I'd
guess that most visitors through the gates don't have season passes. Even for those
who do, the park probably makes far more on games, food and beverage, souvenir
purchases, and perhaps even parking. What's more, those of us who do have season
passes probably tend to be far more inclined to suggest "Let's go out to Six Flags!"
when we have out-of-town visitors; generally most of those visitors pay full price (and,
being on holiday, tend to spend more anyhow on souvenirs etc. than we locals would).
It would also be a way to win back the locals... one has to wonder how many of them
would be lining up otherwise to buy season passes for next year, after the major
disappointment and loss of confidence of not getting Mr. Freeze open this year (and
perhaps not even another major new ride for next year, either... rumors are still divided
about a Superman ride at the present lagoon, or else the new projects all being shelved
to spend the money instead on the extra costs of finally getting Mr. Freeze working).
Of course, there's a darker side to the rumor, too... that being that this whole rumor
and supposed free-season-pass "plan" for next year could be part of the mindgames
and maneuvering being played between SFTP Inc and the actual owners of SFOT
as they lead up to their final (?) confrontation now less than three months away.

As of October 6th, I've received reports that Mr. Freeze in St. Louis was being tested
last night about 9:30pm. The rumor there is that "they still haven't given up on opening it
this year" (although I will be very surprised if they open it there before next season).
It 's not impossible, though... at some point, they might figure that the LIM
housing failures they've seen are not so likely to occur over the few remaining
'open' days for the park this season. (It might, however, be ugly when they DO
occur, especially if there are passengers aboard the train when it happens...)
The other issue of course is that opening the ride would mean that they couldn't take the
LIMs off for rework until the park closes for the season.... less problematical in St. Louis of
course, where the park closes for the season earlier than it does here in Dallas. Here, if they
waited until January to take the LIMs off, they'd run the risk of not having the work done and
being ready to open the ride when the park reopens in early March. And there had been this
"gentleman's agreement" between the parks that said that they'd open the two rides
together... another reason why it's not likely to open now until next spring.
As of October 8th, it's being reported that Mr. Freeze in St. Louis ran tests nearly
continuously all day Tuesday (Oct 7th). There is much talk around the park about the ride
maybe opening before the park closes for the season on October 26th, and one rumor has it
that the new LIMs are installed (based on my other sources of information, that last rumor is
definitely not true.)... even one person reporting that they believe the new LIMs are in place
reports nevertheless that "nothing has gone on around the park for a while".
It's certainly conceivable that the ride could be opened for a few days (without the
pending mechanical improvements) before the end of the season; after all, the New
Jersey ride was open for a few days earlier in the summer, and generally to rave reviews
by those who were fortunate enough to ride it. At this point, it would be a calculated risk
as to whether another failure (similar to the "incident" that occurred here in Dallas that so
abruptly stalled testing earlier in the summer) would occur over the relatively short
number of launches and runs remaining before the St. Louis park closes for the winter.
Then after closing, the necessary mechanical corrections can be made and the ride will
be ready to really open when the park reopens in the spring.
But by now, I really doubt (much as I might wish otherwise) that the parks will
open the ride before next spring. Six Flags already had made the hard
decision... the one to not open the ride until they're certain that it's reliable...
and I'd be surprised to see them change their mind now. The only one likely to
be maybe done in time to open before spring would be here in Texas, and that
because the "season" doesn't end here (this far south) before January 4th...
more than two months later than the end of the season at the park in St. Louis.
As of October 10th, local CBS radio station KRLD has reported that Six Flags Over
Texas will change management as of January 1 1998, with Premier Parks taking over

management responsibility for the park.
It reported that this means the end of the Warner Brothers characters at the
park, the end of Batman-themed shows and attractions, and a return to the
park's original emphasis on Texas history and traditions. The name Six Flags
Over Texas can be retained by the park until 2009.
The change bumps Premier Parks into being the largest regional theme park
operator in the nation, with 13 parks. Six Flags, on the other hand, drops to
second place with only 11 parks, and loses their flagship park (the "heart and
soul of their chain") in an extremely important market. Premier Parks is now
fourth largest theme park company in terms of park attendance, and will
consider Six Flags Over Texas as their new flagship park.
I'm told (thanks, Dave Althoff!) that the other parks owned or managed by
Premier include:
· Frontier City, Oklahoma City, OK
· White Water Bay, Oklahoma City, OK
· Adventure World: The Great Escape, Largo, MD
· Geauga Lake, Aurora, OH
· Wyandot Lake, Powell, OH
· Darien Lake, Darien Center, NY
· The Great Escape (Splashwater Kingdom?), Lake George, NY
· Elitch Gardens: The Great Escape, Denver, CO
· Riverside: The Great Escape, Agawam, MA
· ...and two California "Waterworld USA" waterparks (including the one
that had the slide collapse this summer when rushed by unruly teens?)
· Marine World/Africa USA, somewhere...
· Kentucky Kingdom - The Thrill Park, Louisville, KY; acquisition
announced about two weeks ago, "the thirteenth theme park owned by
Premier Parks", according to Premier
· Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington, TX
...so I count them as now/soon owning or managing fourteen parks.
The radio station also stated that Mr. Freeze is expected to open next year, but
now under a different name (presumably this change won't affect the name of
the Mr. Freeze coaster in St. Louis). It's not clear how much re-themeing of the
station building will have to take place at the park here in Texas.
The only attractions at the park where the Warner Brothers characters and theme take a
primary role are probably the Yosemite Sam River Adventure (which is likely to need major
revisions) and the Warner Brothers Movie Backlot show, which is likely to also disappear
entirely (sigh, it was a good show) after only one season. (It's not clear that The

Right Stuff will need to change themeing.) It is reported that Premier has
already committed $30 million in new rides and attractions (during the next 18
months) for the 1998 and 1999 seasons.
Dave continues, "Premier Parks began as a real estate development company called
Tierco. Tierco bought Frontier City, figuring to shut it down and develop the site. But the
season was still going on, so Tierco let the season finish. A strange thing happened.
Tierco discovered that not only are amusement parks profitable, they are also a fun
business. Instead of shutting down Frontier City, they bought Wild World, invested a
bunch of money, and turned it into Adventure World, apparently dramatically improving
the park's reputation in the process. "Hey, this is fun...And PROFITABLE!" thought
Tierco. And they promptly bought out FunTime...which owned and operated Geauga,
Darien and Wyandot lakes. At about that time, Tierco changed its name to "Premier
Parks" to better reflect what had become the core business...and as I understand it, at
the same time sold off assets to get out of the real estate business."
"So far, Premier's M.O. has been to purchase a park, then to take advantage of the
existing management team, at least initially, so the first most obvious difference that
people notice is that (1) the season passes are suddenly valid at a bunch more parks, and
(2) the park operating budgets suddenly get a lot bigger. This lasts until the
managers get promoted among the parks...for instance, this year, Wyandot
Lake's GM got promoted to head up Geauga Lake. According to trade reports,
Premier hasn't been raiding the other park operators for staff, because they
have inherited a bunch of good people by buying the parks."
Perhaps the previous Premier Parks flagship park was Darien Lake. A visit to their Web site
(click on the link) reveals several things about the way Premier does things there (and this
might give some insight into what kinds of things they might be inclined to do here):
· Adult admissions: $19.99
· After 5pm admission: $12.99
· Senior citizen admission: $9.99
· Season passes: $39.99 ($129.99 for a family of four)
· More than 100 rides and attractions
· A spectacular outdoor 3-D laser light show each evening
· A tendency to provide camping facilities for guests
· Lots of familiarity with water parks (another one here, maybe? Hurricane
Harbor could certainly use some competition)
· Licensed kids' attractions based on Popeye, Bluto, Olive Oyl.
One rather disappointing thing is the indication that their Web site isn't much
more actively maintained than Six Flags does ... with for example the
admonition to "check back here for our 1997 concert listing." Sorta late in the
season to still not have one posted, isn't it?

I've now gotten confirmed that the agreement for the change of management
has been signed, subject only to "customary closing" and final ratification by
the general partners who actually own the park. It's clear from the agreement
that Premier Parks plans to not just manage, but eventually to own the park, by
buying out the current 224 investors in the group which owns it.
I called Nancy St. Pierre, official spokesperson at SFOT, mid- afternoon today and asked
her a whole variety of questions, but she wouldn't/couldn't tell me anything whatsoever.
(Her "stonewalling" is quite familiar, she's been basically stonewalling me regarding Mr.
Freeze for months.) It would appear that the announcement has taken existing
management quite by surprise, and they seemed to be in something of a state of shock.
Frankly, I wouldn't be at all disappointed to see a new management team put in
place. I have been hugely disappointed during the past year by the management
practices here at SFOT, ranging from stonewalling regarding information on Mr.
Freeze, outrageous pricing of beverages and such in the park, through the
Gestapo-like tactics of the park's "Security" department. I don't know how much
of existing management would have to be changed to fix that, but I know that if I
were in charge, there'd be a number of people who would be looking for work.
I will post additional information here as soon as I am able to find out more. Stay tuned!
As of October 11th, I'm starting to collect a “wish list” for Six Flags Over Texas fans to
express their thoughts on what they'd like to see changed and fixed at the park. I will
post the list here on the Web site, to make the list available to the new management
company. Perhaps collectively, we can offer them suggestions on what we would most
like to see them do with the money they'll be investing at the park over the next 18
months. You're invited to check out the list, and forward your ideas to me for inclusion!
The news today from St. Louis is that one of the Mr. Freeze trains there has
valleyed again, presently stuck between the top hat and the wingover.
As of October 12th, as the seriousness of their loss has apparently started to sink
in, Dallas radio station KRLD has reported that the Six Flags chain is trying to
retain/regain control of SFOT. There is talk that Six Flags may try to block the
change of management, reportedly claiming that it violates unspecified agreements.
Subject: SFTP says "Hey wait a minute...."
Date: 10/10/97 6:30 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

PARSIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 10, 1997--In light of
yesterday's announcement by Premier Parks Inc. that it has signed
an agreement to manage the partnership that operates the Six Flags
Over Texas theme park located in Arlington, Texas, Six Flags Theme
Parks Inc. today announced that it is reviewing its options to
protect its interests in Six Flags Over Texas.
Larry Bouts, chairman and CEO of Six Flags Theme Parks
Inc., said, "While we do not yet know very much about the Premier
Parks agreement, we see that Premier's press release noted the
conditional nature of the transaction, whereas our offer is
unconditional. We are also concerned that the Premier transaction may
violate our existing agreements between Six Flags Theme Parks Inc.
and the limited partners of Six Flags Over Texas Fund Ltd. Six Flags
intends to assert its rights vigorously. In addition, Six Flags Theme
Parks Inc. has a substantial interest in the increase in the value of
the Texas Park over the past 30 years, and such interest is not
forfeited by dissolution of the partnership."
Bouts continued, "We are committed to maintaining the
most enjoyable, safe and thrilling parks in the industry. To that
end, over the last several years, we have continued to invest
heavily in new rides and attractions and, importantly, we have
continued to utilize the valuable Warner Bros. brands. In 1997
alone we launched over 20 new attractions at our parks, utilizing
the Warner Bros. brands.
"In the past several years we have made multi-million dollar
investments in new capital expenditures across all our parks. We
are also actively pursuing expansion goals of our own. I want to
emphasize that we remain extremely optimistic about the future
of all of our parks and of the Six Flags brand."
Finally, Bouts noted that arrangements have been made by
Time Warner Inc., a shareholder of Six Flags Theme Parks Inc., to
ensure that there are no material adverse consequences to its
bondholders if agreements with the Texas Park are not renewed.
All I can say is.... stay tuned!
As of October 16th, I've heard reports on local radio that both the owners of Six
Flags Over Texas and Premier Parks have filed individual lawsuits against Six
Flags Theme Parks, Inc. (the Parsippany-NJ-based company which has
managed Six Flags Over Texas for the last 28 years) in an attempt to prevent
SFTP Inc. from trying to block the orderly change of management to Premier
Parks when the current management contract expires on December 31st.
The Arlington (and Fort-Worth) Star-Telegram has an article about the new
lawsuits. The article says that Premier filed their suit in Monday at the State
District Court in Dallas, while the park's owners filed their suit Tuesday at the
State District Court in Fort Worth. Click the link to go read the article!
I'll be posting more information about these new lawsuits as soon as I have it.

As of October 21st, there have been a number of interesting ideas and comments
coming in for the “wish list” If you haven't been there lately, drop by and see what
kinds of things other park fans are asking for the new management to change.
Some of the things are thoughts I concur with, others are clearly impossible (like
everyone wanting a B&M inverted, which now we simply have to wait for), and some
others I don't agree with (and I've included my own comments there too).
I've received a rumor about "...La Vibora: I have heard a rumor that this ride is
owned by SFTP, not SFOT and that they intend to take it with their management. I
believe it may have been at another park before so it is possible that it will be
removed." I will mention that SFTP (unfortunately) removed the bobsleds ride which
they previously had at Six Flags Great America in Illinois, so I doubt they'd want this
one for another park (I suppose that they might take it out just to scrap it or sell it to
someone else, sort of a "scorched earth" policy upon leaving...).
Does anybody know which other rides and attractions might also belong to SFTP
Inc., rather than SFOT, and which we might also lose after this season? It's a safe
guess in any case that the Warner Brothers Backlot film will be gone next year, and
that the Yosemite Sam River Adventure will require a substantial change of the
animatronic characters (at least). The Batman Stunt Show obviously is history (good
riddance, there... it was embarassingly cheesy). And many other rides and
attractions (especially in Looney Tunes Land) will have to change names.
And of course, the change in themeing will undoubtedly affect Mr. Freeze too,
where I expect that the "Snowy's Cones" figure may be removed (both from the
ride and from the shooting game across from the entrance) before the ride ever
even opens to the public in its original form.
As of October 23rd , there seems to be a lot of confusion about what rides are
likely to stay and which rides might vanish at the end of this year. One
correspondent hints darkly that "most rides since 1993 (from the Bob Pittman years)
were owned by SFTP and leased to SFOT under an agreement. You've already
noted most of the rides in your update that are going -- my source tells me that Mr.
Freeze is one of them, and most likely will head south to Fiesta TX!" I personally
think it's nearly inconceivable that Mr. Freeze would be removed from the park
piece by piece and reassembled somewhere else before it even opens to the public
here, but I suppose nearly anything is possible. Of course, most of us did not
anticipate the possibility of the park leaving the Six Flags chain, either.
Still, it would seem to be hugely expensive to move the ride, maybe almost as expensive as
having another new copy built for Fiesta Texas (or wherever) and one would presume
anyhow that the "agreement" under which it was leased to SFOT probably was a long-term
one, and would most likely not be written in such a way anyhow as to envision a change of
management and thus an early removal of the ride. Even in the event of a lease,

one would normally imagine that SFOT would continue to lease the ride from SFTP Inc
(or whoever actually owned it) on the same basic terms they originally had planned.
There has been discussion here about pricing, and whether there might be a
substantial change in admission price policy for next year (more like admission
pricing at the other Premier parks). One message I got came from a fellow who
said that "I don't really have a problem with the price. It costs many dollars for a
family to spend a day or two at the park, but I do not deny them the revenue
stream. My wonderful wife got our season passes last christmas, for ~$50 each,
and I feel that we got our money's worth. (Free passes for next year? a neat
Idea, but I'll spend another $100 to get the quality time with my daughter!)"
There has also been some discussion here about casualties at the park, and about the
"El Sombrero" ride. One correspondent reports: El Sombrero, with the modern control
system is safe, even though it is the only killer ride at the park. (there was a bit of
discussion earlier that SFOT has never had a casualty, that is wrong. A 16 year old girl
was killed by El Sombrero in July 1967. I was working at the park at the time, and we all
went to several safety meetings right after that... I worked a double on that ride about 3
weeks after the event, and the supervisors were as thick as flies!)
As of October 24th , speculation continues regarding what rides might leave SFOT
as of the end of this year. La Vibora is one that is being mentioned, although rumor
has it that SFTP already still has the one from Great America in Gurnee, Illinois
sitting in storage awaiting a buyer someday, so it's not clear that they would gain
much by adding a second one to their stockpile of rusting pieces. Far better that
they leave the existing ride here (like with any other rides SFTP might own, such as
Mr. Freeze perhaps) and lease it to SFOT or something.
This uncertainty makes "Holiday in the Park" this year (starting Friday Nov.
28th) a rather special opportunity to ride for the last time some of the rides
which may not be here when the park re-opens next spring.
But apparently SFTP is quite unhappy with the way things look like they're going
to turn out, and (despite their own apparent intransigence in negotiating the
renewal of the management contract, the direct reason for the outcome that
seems now to be taking shape) a 'suitor spurned' is likely to do almost anything.
Hence the concern about them possibly taking a "scorched earth" policy to the
park they'd be leaving behind. One correspondent reports that:
Getting back to the "leased rides" bit -- this, again, goes back to the Bob Pittman
days -- when he was vying for controlling interest of the park from the
Shareholders. The "leased, not owned" agreement started so that Bob could
play hardball against them, and at one point, reportedly out and out threatened
to "take all of his rides and open his own park down the street."

Of course, that whole battle pretty much ended when Bob left and Boston
Ventures took controlling interest of SFTP. For a while, however, he wanted
100% control of all the SF parks and their assets. He was NOT keen at all on TX
and GA -- the two shareholder parks (hence their 'not getting anything new'
trend they both fell into during that timeframe).
Needless to say, the corp folks in Parsippany are NOT happy, and are out to
make life as miserable as possible for Gary Story and the shareholders. Their
words: "this is FAR from over!"
Of course, in any abusive relationship, the best avenue is usually to get away
(permanently) from the abusive spouse, even given that it's perhaps initially a
rough hump to get over. What's the most important, long-term, is that the park be
restored to the high-quality and unique family entertainment and cultural place it
once was. And I suspect that the management change and substantial new
investment will go a long way toward achieving that goal.
I'm told that Fiesta Texas, one Six Flags park which has started selling season passes for
next year, has removed any mention of the Dallas park from their promotional materials.
As of October 25th, another correspondent has written me about another death
that supposedly happened at SFOT: he writes that "The Big Bend at Six Flags
was taken out because it derailed and killed someone. " Can anybody else
confirm or deny that? I know about the 'coaster' at the other 'Entertainment Area'
east of Six Flags on the north side of IH30 that had derailed and killed or injured
people, but I wasn't aware of that happening at SFOT too. I'm told that the Big
Bend was originally about where the Mini-Mine Train is now.
There has also been discussion about a Rotor-style ride called "Spindletop",
reportedly taken out when The Texas Giant was installed. That ride is rumored
to still be in storage somewhere, with the original intention being to eventually
put it back into the park at some other location.
And this whole topic brings up the other issue: even if some rides (La Vibora, perhaps)
"belong" to SFTP Inc., having been moved here from other Six Flags parks... what
about the rides from this park that SFTP has taken out (such as Spinnaker) and moved
to other Six Flags parks? Surely, if Six Flags can take out their rides that are still here,
we should insist on the return of our rides that have been moved to their other parks.
And this change of management might just give us the good excuse to take the
opportunity to reinstall some of these classic old rides that SFOT is rumored to
still have in storage somewhere.

As of October 28th, there are conflicting stories about the former Big Bend coaster
(some are absolutely sure that a rider died due to an accident on it, others claim
not, although there does seem to be agreement that somebody... perhaps a young
boy... was thrown off the ride). It apparently was previously located between
Looney Tunes Land and G-Force, or approximately where Splashdown is today,
and not on the site of the Mini-Mine Train as had been previously suggested here.
It's said that some of its queue remnants can still be seen east of Looney Tunes
Land, east of where the closed walkway crosses the train tracks. The ride was
reportedly taken out around 1976 due to an "insurance conflict".
It's also being reported to me that SFOT's former Spindletop (Rotor-type) ride is
currently installed and operating at Frontier City (that's right, Premier's original
park) in Oklahoma City.
I'm told that other former rides that have been taken out at SFOT include:
· Spinnaker (as mentioned earlier), located near Runaway Mountain;
currently called "Wagon Wheel" at SF Fiesta Texas.
· Skull Island, removed to install Spinnaker
· Spindletop (as mentioned earlier), near the Texas Giant photo booth.
· Slides from the lower catwalk of the Oil Derrick (reported reason: friction
burns on rider hands...)
· Roto-Disco (carnival type ride with spinning seats), removed to make
room for Flashback
· Octopus (carnival type spin-and-puke), removed to make room for Flashback
· Skyride (aerial cable cars)
· Sports Cars (also around Big Bend, near Splashdown)
· Old Eastern Train Depot (moved to make room for Mr. Freeze station)
· small train ride (near present La Vibora) with a volcano with simulated lava flow
(?)
In further news, it's been reported that Premier Parks has also aquired the site from the
(presently closed and 'derelict') Old Indiana water park near Indianapolis, which it
intends to open during the 1999 season as a complete family theme park and water
park. Counting their other recent acquisitions, this will give Premier Parks fifteen parks.
As of November 1st, still no visible progress being made on Mr. Freeze at SFOT. The ride
itself basically looks almost abandoned; the entrance is still chained off, but the multiple
security guards that had generally been stationed at the entrance didn't seem to be
anywhere to be seen. The extended queue area on the other side of the railroad track has
been demobilized (most of the queue divider chains have been removed) and there seems
to be some work on the adjoining rebuilt wooden oil derrick (perhaps a dummy oil pump
going in?) The LIMs are still in place on the spike track, with no visible signs of

them being removed for revision. The Mini-Mine-Train continues to run right through
Mr. Freeze, giving a quite spectacular view of the unused Mr. Freeze track.
As for the planned management changes, one interesting sign is that nearly all
the souvenir shops in the park yesterday were selling virtually everything in the
stores at 50% off (only exceptions were film and photographic items, first
aid/pharmacy stuff, and the like).
One interesting observation too was that in one shop I found two nearly identical chiller
mugs. These are the mugs filled internally with a freezable fluid; you put them in the
freezer overnight and then when you take them out, they keep your drinks cold without
diluting them with melted ice. One of them had the "Mr. Freeze" coaster logo, and "Six
Flags Over Texas" on it. The other one had the cartoon character Mr. Freeze on it
instead, and with no mention of SFOT... but was otherwise identical. The one with SFOT
on it was going for $3.50 (half of $7.00) and the one without SFOT on it was going for
something like half of $12.00. Is this price disparity because the cartoon character one
could conceivably be transferred to SFStL and sold there?
The Mr. Freeze logo sweatshirts which I seem to remember having been priced at $30+
earlier in the season (when they were out for sale at all) are selling now for $11 (half of
the marked $21.99). The "Mr. Freeze" shop just opposite the exit of the ride, which I've
never seen open, has seemingly been stripped of the stock of merchandise that had
once been there. Interestingly, the "Snowy" shoot-em- up game opposite the ride exit
has also been shuttered, despite the other games adjacent to it still being open. The
"super heros" shop (the main shop for Mr. Freeze and Batman items) opposite the
hamburger restaurant in Good Times Square wasn't open at all.
One has to wonder how many of the visitors to the park think these fire-sale
prices are just a normal end-of-season clearance, versus an attempt to empty
the warehouses of Looney Tunes merchandise that probably will simply not be
saleable at SFOT after the end of the year?
One sales clerk I talked to commented that the merchandise was "going pretty
fast" at the half-off pricing, and suggested that anything left at the end of the
year might simply be donated to charity or something.
As of November 5, I've received a report about the heavy- duty testing of Mr.
Freeze that's apparently taking place at the park in St. Louis. Here is the report
just as I received it:
I have an unconfirmed message from a friend who lives very close to SFStL
that Mr. Freeze testing is going on almost every night.
He says the lights in that section of the park have not been on since the park closed for the
season (normally, the walkway lights are on at night, even if the park isn't open), and

that lighting around Mr. Freeze has been turned off as well. During the testing
periods, the lights on Colossus (giant ferris wheel, almost right next to Mr. Freeze)
are also off, so there is no attaction to look in that direction. The remaining park
lights flicker each and every time a train is launched (LARGE power draw).
Dispatch intervals seem to range from every 60-70 seconds (about enough time
to move the transfer carts and launch the other train). No indication of riders on
the trains so far. The tests run between 3 and 5 hours in length, with little or no
variation in dispatch intervals.
Also, the road that runs up the West side of the park (county road) is blocked
off to all but residents of the area by Six Flags security personnel. They say
that it is due to work on the park fences, but the road is only closed when
testing on Freeze is going on. This road would make almost unrestricted views
of the entire ride possible, so that may be why it is blocked off during testing.
This is a very credible report, since it echoes familiar Six Flags testing methodology...
kill all the lights, send out the Gestapo to try to intimidate observers (even from
adjoining public rights of way); even the timing (interval and duration) of the
testing runs sounds just like we have seen so much of during the summer here in
Dallas (other than the closer run spacing, which is a good sign).
It's not clear from the report whether these St. Louis tests are taking place using
the original LIMs or the revised ones, but up to now I've not had a report of the
LIMs being taken down there (or here at SFOT, for that matter... and I expect them
to probably be gone long enough that it will be noticed when they are away).
While there is still speculation at SFOT regarding opening the ride here
sometime during Holiday in the Park (about Nov. 28th through Jan. 4th, more or
less) I'd still have to see that to believe it. Up until now, there's been no reported
removal of the LIMs here (in fact, they were still in place last Saturday) and it will
take at least several weeks to modify them, not even counting the considerable
time to reinstall, realign, and retest everything.
As of November 11th, in a press release discussing recent events, Premier Parks
has announced (as reported by Business Wire via the Pointcast Network) that:
Premier also announced today that, in response to an offer made by a third party to
the partnership that owns Six Flags over Texas, Premier has entered into an
amendment to its previously announced agreement. The amendment increases the
price by which Premier is to tender for limited partner interests and increases the fee
payable to Premier should its agreement be terminated in certain circumstances.
The general partner of the limited partner has advised Premier that it is discussing a
new higher offer made to the limited partner. Premier does not currently expect to
further increase its proposed tender offer price in response to this latest offer.

What this means, precisely, is about as clear as most legalese gobbledygook... but
what it sounds like it says is that the owners of Six Flags Over Texas have gotten
another, might-be- better offer than from Premier, which Premier is evidently not
willing to better. Who might this mystery bidder to manage (even own??) the park
be? Six Flags Theme Parks Inc.? It says "third party", and that sounds like it could
even be somebody else! Surely not Disney... and probably not Universal Studios.
Sea World would be an unlikely guess, since they have the San Antonio park so
nearby. Who else is left? Paramount? (And aren't they in fact another Time-Warner
company anyhow, like Six Flags is?) Cedar Fair (owners of Cedar Point) perhaps?
Certainly this is an interesting turn of events! And what it means for SFOT is still
wildly unclear.
As of November 12th, a copyrighted story in the Arlington Star-Telegram says that
the "higher offer" that might challenge Premier Parks comes from none other than
Six Flags Theme Parks and Time-Warner.
In brief, the article says that the $315 million Premier originally offered (and which
they've apparently increased to one final unspecified offer that they say won't be
increased again) has been outdone by an offer from Time-Warner and SFTP Inc,
rumored to be approximately $350 million. Meetings of the owner partners apparently
took place yesterday in Atlanta and are taking place today in California. There are a lot
more fascinating details in the article mentioned, so please go there and read it directly.
An announcement of the new deal is expected to be made within a few days.
My personal feeling, apparently echoed by at least one of the owner-investors, is
that Six Flags' management style (at least as carried out at SFOT) is not a positive
one and is not in the best long-term interests of the park, or of its visitors. It is clear
that Six Flags has a highly arrogant and obnoxious attitude regarding the public that
deign to enter its parks, as I have documented extensively here on this Web site
during the previous months, and that they simply don't care about what the public
wants in terms of pricing, services, treatment, entertainment, and information.
In particular, it is a known fact that Six Flags management reads this Web site
and has absolutely ignored the many requests and suggestions for
improvements that have been posted here during these many months.
So I think it would be a move in an overall very positive direction to put Premier
management in place, which would bring in a breath of fresh air and at least the
possibility of a major rebirth of the park along a much more positive path. By
leaving Six Flags management in place we can be virtually assured of just "more
of the same", and that's simply not good.
As always, I'll post more details as I get them.

As of November 24th, local radio station KRLD has reported that an announcement was
made this afternoon by SFTP Inc. that an agreement has been reached between the
owners of Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc. which results in the park
remaining within the Six Flags chain and remaining under SFTP Inc. management.
Personally I think this is an unfortunate turn of events, since I'd been looking forward to
the positive changes which might have resulted from a fresh management style. But I
suppose it's possible that SFTP Inc will have been sufficiently taken aback by the nearloss
of the park that they will be forced to re-evaluate how they run it. Let's hope.
Otherwise, we are likely to end up having to suffer through that cheesy Batman Stunt
Show and those bedraggled threadbare Looney Tunes character costumes for yet
another season. Sigh. I really would have preferred the promised return to Texas history
and traditions, and the chance to return to a genuinely themed theme park, where there
truly is a distinction visible between the once supposedly distinct "lands".
Regarding Mr. Freeze specifically, there are still no visible signs of progress as of
my last drive by, although I'm still hoping to see some soon. Perhaps now that
the management issue is settled, things will start to move again at the park.
As of November 25th, the local press have been reporting the announcement
by SFTP that they have prevailed and signed a 30-year agreement with the
park's owners which will result in SFTP Inc. maintaining management control,
and ending in a purchase by SFTP Inc. of the park from the current owners. The
press is now reporting that the contract amount was "more than" $350 million,
which apparently is the largest amount in history ever paid for an existing theme
park.
It's also being reported that there will be two major new attractions between now
and the year 2000 (presumably, the 'biggies' new for 1999 and for 2000) and
these in addition to Mr. Freeze, which the articles also concur will open in the
spring (and will presumably be the 'new' attraction for 1998). The Looney Tunes
characters are to be retained (of course). And this also presumably means that
we're still stuck with the tacky Batman Stunt Show for the 1998 season.
At the park itself, the decorations for Holiday in the Park are being installed (there is
a red "Christmas Tree" in strings of lights up to the top of the Texas Chute-Out, for
example). Still no signs of the LIMs being removed from Mr. Freeze for rebuilding.
There are apparently some wild rumors swirling around about Mr. Freeze going to be open
during Holiday in the Park, or even for the coaster fans here for the Texas Giant Celebration
coming in about two weeks. I don't expect to see that happen, however: in order for the ride
to open, it must first get its safety certification from the City of Arlington, and to the best of
my knowledge that wasn't completed before the problems became apparent during last
July's test-a-thon leading up to the planned opening that had

een expected towards the end of July. There is virtually no way that the LIM rebuild can be
completed between now and the end of December, and if the park had been willing to
operate the ride before that was done, they could have opened the ride months ago.
As of December 1st, I received (sorry for the delay in posting this... it was a
busy holiday weekend) a note from a reader advising me of a most interesting
story in the Dallas Morning News about SFTP regaining management control of
SFOT. Click on the link to read it!
Among other details, the story suggests that the only major new ride for 1998 will
be Mr. Freeze. It talks about a new "dance show" and new retail and food outlets
for the 1998 season, and promises major new rides for 1999 and 2000 (and a
new "multimillion-dollar" children's section for that year too).
The article says they "plan to" erect a new wooden oil derrick in the Boomtown
section (don't look now, but it's been there for at least a month already) and they even
promise "added attention to Texas heritage" (but I'll believe that when I see it).
On a more positive note, I've also received a report that just a day or two before
Thanksgiving, at least two workmen were seen working on the Mr. Freeze track near
the exit of the launch track with what looked like the alignment cart. Although I've not
been able to confirm this yet, my guess is that they're finally starting to remove the
LIMs so they can be shipped off for remanufacturing with the new, beefier housings.
I received a note from one reader accusing me of being "anti-Six-Flags" and I don't
think that's fair at all. I believe that this Web site overall is highly positive about both
Mr. Freeze and about the park and its attractions in general. That having been said,
I think that there are numerous important quality and service and public relations
(and pricing) points that truly need to be addressed by management and which
have not been addressed. I don't think it's being negative to point those out, and
hopefully cause management to fix those problem areas. It's clear to many of us
that are fans of the park that management has not been responsive to their most
devoted public up to now, and I can only hope that that's more due to a lack of
awareness than due to simply not giving a damn.
I got another comment from another reader suggesting that SFAW in Houston
pursues the employee policy they do because they can... being located right in
Houston, it's apparently easy enough for them to get employees. Parks located
out in the boonies (like the park in New Jersey) apparently treat their employees
[much] better since they can much less afford to lose them (reportedly they
have a huge problem there getting and keeping staff).

I also got a comment from a reader who has ridden Chiller (during the two days
that it was open) that "...it was the single sickest ride that I've ever been on!!!!
And freeze looks better!!!!" Yes, it will be worth the wait.
Oh, and by the way... in agreement with numerous requests... I'll be splitting off
October and November Construction Watch reports soon... probably in a week or so.
As of December 2nd , I've gotten a report that as of last evening, the crane was back
at Mr. Freeze, probably to today remove the LIMs from the tower spike track for
remanufacturing. It's not clear at this point how many of the LIMs have already been
removed from the main launch track, but this would seem to confirm the reports of
workers and the alignment cart having been seen near the end of the launch tunnel.
-----
I've now received confirmation that by mid-afternoon today, all the LIMs are
down from the spike track, and that the crane was also back down.
Rumors are also flying about at the park in St. Louis, including talk (from a full- time staff
member of the park) about "removal of some parts of the steel and changing the length
of the coaster" (!) ...I have heard of no such thing here, and indeed it's very hard to
imagine where they might be able to change the length even if they wanted to.
Certainly one couldn't change the length very easily within the station (it would require
redesign or moving the transfer carts, and that's a very major job indeed) or else adding
to the height of the spike track (which would probably mean forcing a higher speed, or
adding more LIMs to the spike track cluster, or both... otherwise the train wouldn't get to
the top even if more track were added there). On the other hand, there is talk about
possibly adding more LIMs for extra redundancy (to allow assuring full speed, and no
valleying, even if one or a few LIMs are temporarily out of service). In such a case, one
might add some extra track up top, just to help guard against bumping the end stop
even if too many LIMs had been energized. But even that then begs the question of the
bracing structure to support that extra track, and adding that doesn't seem trivial either.
My feeling is that the "lengthening the track" is a misunderstanding on the part of
the park staffer, if anything they might be lengthening the LIM-active part of the
launch track to include (and the station, perhaps, by a few feet to enclose) the
new LIMs rumored to be being added... presumably at the end of the launch run.
As of December 12th, the Texas Giant Celebration at SFOT has come and gone. Those
people (approximately a hundred of them, I understand) attending were allowed to walk
through the Mr. Freeze station (but were not allowed to take pictures). The reports I've
received so far are that the station looks and feels "dirty" (in keeping of course with the
themeing of the other Six Flags Batman rides, and the themeing of "a derelict, abandoned

warehouse".) As reported earlier, there is a animatronic robot figure of Mr. Freeze who
appears to be at the controls, behind a window. The loading area glows brightly with
blue light. People report that there is supposed to be "well over" enough queue area
inside the building to support a three-hour queue, all inside. The whole queue is also
supposed to be wheelchair accessible, eliminating the need for wheelchair users to cut
in via the exit of the ride. Although we are warned to "not expect a countdown", there
are supposed to be chase lights and fog in the launch tunnel (perhaps the problems the
fog had earlier caused with the optical position sensors has been fixed).
The visit has confirmed that the LIMs have (apparently, all of them) been
removed for remanufacturing. This of course is a good sign, since it means
that finally true and concrete progress is presumably being made to fixing the
mechanical problems that prevented the ride from opening this past summer.
At least some 1997 Season Passholders (not all of them yet, curiously) have
received a letter from Six Flags promising that they will receive some kind of
unspecified "priority access" to Mr. Freeze when it opens in the spring: "Your
1997 Season Pass will permit you to be one of the first to ride Mr. Freeze.
Information regarding the date and time will be forwarded to you by mail."
Here is the complete letter, thanks to one recipient who transcribed it:
Dear Season Pass holder,
I am writing to let you know how much we apreciate you as a
valued guest as
Six Flags. This has been a great season, and we hope you enjoyed your
visits
to the park.
Although Mr. Freeze, the coolest coaster on the planet, did not open
as originally planned, we wanted to update you on the ride's status.
As you may
know, the ride simply did not achieve 100% of the speed and thrills
it was
deisgned to deliver over an extended period of running time. We have
developed the necessary fine-tuning and adjustments to Mr. Freeze,
however, we
are unable to complete these changes prior to the end of the
1997 season. We
do expect to have the ride ready for the park's 1998 season.
We are committed to providing all 1997 Six Flags season
passholders with an
opportunity to experience Mr. Freeze when it opens next year. Your 1997
season pass will permit you to be one of the first to ride Mr. Freeze.
Information regarding that date and time will be forwarded to you by
mail.
As always, we are committed to providing world-class
thrills, entertainment
and fun for everyone.

We hope you have enjoyed all that Six Flags over Texas has to
offer this year,
including Spring Break Out Extreme, Texas Heritage Crafts
Festival, Fright
Fest, Holiday in the Park and numerous concerts. We also hope you were
able
to use your season pass as a passport to all 8 Six Flags Theme Parks
nationwide, including our sister parks in Houston and San Antonio. We
look
forward to bringing you a thrilling 1998.
Again, thank you for your support, and we look forward to your visit
to holiday In the park, which has been extended through January 4,
1998. We hope
you and your family have a warm and wonderful holiday season!
Sincerely,
Tom Williams
Regional Promotions Manager
Enclosure
Of course, the cynic in me looks at this as Six Flags trying to convince those season
passholders who were promised a major new ride in 1997 (and who didn't get one) to
rush right out and buy another season pass. "Here, Charlie Brown, I'll hold this football,
and you come running up, and kick it!" Certainly the timing of this letter makes it look
that way... the letter is being sent out right as season passes for 1998 are going on sale,
promising some kind of unspecified special privilege ("we'll tell you about that... later...")
to be made available sometime in the future. Meanwhile, of course, line up and buy your
next year's season pass now. It would seem that an apologetic/explanatory letter of
some kind might have gone out earlier, for example as soon as they realized that the
ride clearly wasn't going to open this year. Or, that they wait to send the letter (and
solicit season pass sales) until they can be more specific about how they intend to make
up for this year's broken promises to those who bought these passes. Or do they maybe
plan to "test the waters" first and see what kind of renewal season pass sales they'll get
without clarifying the nature or extent of that goodwill gesture?
I continue to get E-mail from people saying that they think I'm being awfully
negative about SFOT park management on these Web pages. In particular, those
who were here for the Texas Giant Celebration evidently were very happy by the
way the park management treated them during that weekend (and despite basically
ghastly weather on Sunday). I generally reply by discussing two broad areas.
First, remember that for almost three years prior to moving to Dallas, my "home park" was
EuroDisney (aka Disneyland Paris), and that's admittedly a hard act to follow. I still
remember on my first time into SFOT to discover what my new "home park" was all about,
and being terribly disappointed that food, themeing, decor, landscaping, uniforms,

shows, buildings, souvenir item variety and quality, sound reinforcement,
lighting, service attitude, etc etc were so sorry by comparison. When it comes to
quality, style, flair, decor, landscaping, fanatical attention to detail, and so many
other areas... the simple fact is that nobody else does it like Disney does.
But of course, theme parks are different in character, and different ones emphasize
different things. And that's as it should be, I suppose. Six Flags adheres much more
closely to the idea of an "amusement park with a theme, some decoration, and a
few cute names" than it does to the kind of a much higher goal that Disney sets for
themselves. So in time, I grew to enjoy SFOT for what it is, and judged by that
standard it's not at all a bad park. Certainly some of the attractions (notably The
Texas Giant) need not apologize to anybody, at least not as thrilling rides. The fact
that there is essentially no themeing to it at all, and virtually no landscaping or other
decor, is beside the fact that it's still a first-rate roller coaster.
Second, those who study this Web site carefully will notice an unmistakeable and
evolutionarily growing disappointment with the way the park is run during the almost-ayear
that I've been maintaining the site. And this is simply due to the fact that my
experiences and interactions with park management (mostly probably due to the
information I've revealed here that they'd rather not be revealed) has been quite
different than the interactions and perspectives seen by many others (notably, the
coaster fans who park management is trying to actively woo). If you think about it, most
park visitors never see anything other than the normal "park employee" face of
management, and for obvious reasons park management has to make sure that that
doesn't turn off most of the visitors or the park's attendance would rapidly decline.
Part of my disappointment is due to the way that park management has not only nearly
totally refused to help, but has systematically blocked and stonewalled me since early
summertime in providing official information to help in my work on this site. Even supposedly
being on the park's press release mailing list, I've not received a single press release or
other information (given freely to other reporters) in months. Nothing about the Crafts
Festival or Fright Fest; nothing about Holiday in the Park, nothing about the management
brouhaha (or its resolution), nothing about upcoming shows or anything else. Despite
realizing that clearly a lot of online coaster fans follow this Web page religiously, they didn't
even see fit to send me the official announcement of the Texas Giant Celebration (staged
specifically for coaster fans). Why they would fight to get their information published in other
media, and refuse to supply the same, official, widely disseminated information to me where
they know it will be made available, is a mystery.
Another part of my disappointment stems from the fact that the numerous questions and
suggestions for meaningful improvements and other changes that have appeared here
have elicited not the slightest reply from park management. In virtually no case have the
questions been answered, suggested improvements been implemented, nor have they
indicated why they feel the improvements should not be implemented. It is a known fact
that park management follows this site, and they now know many areas where the public

wants changes but it appears that absolutely nothing so far has happened as a
result of all that.
The alternate Web site that another coaster fan set up in mid-summer (and which I
resolutely expected to be the lucky one to announce to the world Mr. Freeze being
open) was started by a friend who was absolutely convinced that with a fresh start
and a more positive attitude towards the park, SFOT would respond favorably. He
was hugely disappointed.to find that his site got precisely the same stony-faced
[non-]response from management that mine had (and has) received.
But anyhow, the fact is that I'm still looking forward to riding Mr. Freeze. It's
going to be a great coaster when it opens (and it will), a great addition to the
park, and well worth waiting for.
In other news, the rumor is that we can expect at least some interestingsounding
changes for 1998, including:
· reinstallation of Spinnaker (to be rethemed and called "Wayne Enterprise")
· adding another unspecified spinning ride
· better (?) themeing of the Log Flume ride
· darkening Runaway Mountain's interior, adding strobe lights and
improving the themeing of the loading and unloading areas (I wonder if we'll
actually get "mine" noises finally, too?)
· retracking (?) of Yosemite Sam ride with two 12-foot drops (!)
· River Rapids queue improvements and added animatronics characters
along the ride
Absolutely no word (so far anyhow) about the supposedly planned changes
alongside the Judge Roy Scream (and supposedly in preparation for which two
very nice trees were already chopped down).
As of December 23rd , I've gotten a report that the recently the Mine Train was not
operating, supposedly for maintenance. It's uncertain at this point if that just represents
repairs of some sort, or if some of the upgrading that we've talked about is going to
take place, or perhaps even something else. There were no obvious signs of what kind
of work might have been going on with it.
I've heard no news recently about progress on Mr. Freeze.
I'd like to take this opportunity (since it's possible, even likely, that there won't be a
news update between now and Christmas...) to wish all of the faithful and enthusiastic
readers of this page a very happy holiday season. It's your enthusiastic support which
has helped encourage me to continue this effort a great deal longer than I originally
expected I'd need to!!! Let's home Santa arranges for us to have a great new LIMlaunched
roller coaster at Six Flags when the park re-opens in March!

As of January 2nd, the LIMs are still missing from Mr. Freeze. I'll post here as
soon as I hear more on that front (but I expect to see testing resume basically as
soon as they return and are reinstalled).
Among the rumors I'm hearing about changes for 1998:
· Judge Roy Scream: new lap bars and the seat belts will be taken out
· Mine Train: improvements near the end of the ride, some of the jerks
will be taken out
· Spinnaker: still uncertain whether it will be back in 1998, or later. Apparently
management wants to put it where Air Racer is now, but speculation is that nothing
will happen since they reportedly haven't found a buyer for Air Racer.
· Looney Tunes Land: still talk about a multi-million dollar rework of that
part of the park, but maybe not this year
· new coasters: for 1999 and 2000, one of which reportedly will have "the feet of the
rider dangle"... (does anybody do that other than B&M? Certainly a "Giant Drop" does,
although it's debatable whether one can really call those a "coaster".)
Regarding the "dangling feet coaster", one correspondent (Mr. Mercado) has
pointed out that:
"Vekoma makes an SLC (suspended looping coaster, with feet dangling if the
buyer so chooses it to be) and I hear a german company makes a portable
one, but one malfunctioned sometime ago. I hear Arrow has one in the works
though. Also I hear an awesome rumor, here is the post in it's entirety: "
"I recently called a park official after hearing that they would be getting 2 major rides
in 99 and 2000; here is the response "Well, nothing's concrete but the brother of an
employee here suggested a D. H. Morgan duelling coaster themed to Batman and
Robin. We really like the idea and believe it would make a great themed area"."
As of January 15th, it's been reported that the boarding station building for Mr. Freeze
has been painted to be more colorful (perhaps more like the one in St. Louis). The
LIMs are still missing from the tower (and presumably inside the launch tunnel as well).
Everyone's hoping to see their return, since that will signal when testing will continue
again, presumably prior to the park reopening the beginning of March. It's expected
that Mr. Freeze will be (finally) ready and open by then. Stay tuned for further news!
As of January 22nd, I've gotten a report that someone applying for a job position at the St.
Louis park for the 1998 season has observed that the LIMs are back up on the spike track
there. Thus far no comparable report for the park here in Texas, and no reports of observed
testing at either park (although if the testing is being done during the wee hours, as Six Flags

tends to do, this might not be too surprising). Since we are getting close to

just about a month before the park reopens, if the ride is going to be open in
time for the beginning of March I'd expect to see the LIMs reappearing at the
Texas park, and the resumption of testing, within the next very few weeks. I'll
pass along more news just as soon as I have it.
As of January 25th, I've heard a rumor from someone who is claiming that the
new coaster for 1999 at Six Flags will be, in fact, "our" long-awaited B&M
inverted "Batman: The Ride".
According to the information I received, the actual exclusivity agreement with Sea World
only covers three years, and (including the year Great White started being built) thus
covers only 1996, 1997, and 1998. Thus leaving 1999 open for such an inverted coaster
here in Dallas. It's said that there was one more of these coasters left in the prior
package of contracts already held by Six Flags with the manufacturer, and that it will
indeed be placed where the warehouse presently is near Mr. Freeze (this is the area I'd
already tentatively dubbed as a hypothetical future "Gotham City" section).
As of January 26th, the crane is back at Mr. Freeze, the big lights are turned
on, and workmen in the familiar yellow baskets are busily working on the spike
track LIMs and LIM cabling.
As of January 27th, the crane is gone and the LIMs are back on the spike track
(although at least one of the LIMs seems to not be reconnected yet). The McBride
Electric trucks are back (they are the electrical contractor responsible for that part of
Mr. Freeze here at the Texas park). Some of the lighting in the launch tunnel is on,
suggesting that maybe the LIMs are being reinstalled and recabled in there.
As of January 30th, the crane was back at Mr. Freeze and it and the workmen
were working at the base of the valley just before the spike track. It appeared that
they had the alignment cart on the track there, although I'm not sure if it was starting
to be used or done being used. I did notice that the odd cable or two at the spike
track LIMs which had been dangling loose seem to be fully connected now, too.
Either way, it's another step along the route to getting everything ready so that
testing can resume. Hopefully more successfully this time than last year.
There's also some rumors about a new parking lot entry system here at the
Dallas park, which I hope are not true. It sounds like it will make for even more
delay for season passholders to get into the parking lot (and it was inefficient
enough already during the 1997 season).

As of February 3rd, a strange sort of tilted wooden platform has been added to
Mr. Freeze, just below the section of the track curving up towards the spike (so
between the newly added disembarkation catwalk, right near the removable
track section, and the spike). It's not clear at this point if it's permanent or
temporary (it looks more solid than a scaffolding would be, but certainly nowhere
near as robust as the rest of the track or station building construction). And it's
not flat enough or regular enough to be something intended to be walked on.
My best guess as to its purpose is that it's probably intended as a shield, so
that anything dropped from the train as it is headed up the spike track won't hit
the riders of the Mini-Mine-Train as they possibly are passing by underneath.
But that's only just a guess, and perhaps a rather wild one at that. But the
positioning of the plywood and wood affair suggests that as its purpose.
As of February 4th, further inspection of the curious wooden construction does in fact
suggest that it is a [rather ramshackle] "tunnel" through which the Mini-Mine-Train will pass
as it goes under Mr. Freeze's track. Again, this is just below the vertical spike track.
Another interesting thing taking place in the vicinity is a tunneling and trenching
taking place in the northeastern corner of the (empty) staging area, perhaps for
the laying of electrical cable... also worth closer examination, I think!
As of February 5th, the ramshackle tunnel for the Mini-Mine-Train track is
taking shape, making it clearer that that's what it is.
The tunneling and trenching that was taking place at the northeast corner of the
staging area is now a trench that goes all the way into the park. What's
interesting though is where the (narrow, less than a foot wide) trench runs... not
along the grassy staging area, but rather up through the paved parking lot itself.

In the picture above (taken last June from the Texas Chute-Out) showing the
grassy staging area, you see a tiny corner of the parking lot I'm talking about (it's
the greyer one at the extreme right, not the beige one that runs along the back
side of the games building at the bottom of the picture). The trench in question
wouldn't even show up on this picture... and that's what's so interesting about it,
because it (probably designed to run right along the Six Flags property line,
initially I was actually wondering if this was going to be a wall or something and
not just for wiring) indicates that more of the parking lot than one might have
guessed will be taken up when they do extend the park into this new area.
The trench is about 1.7x further to the right than the width of the beige parking
area... like three (?) rows of cars worth, plus two drive lanes. So anyhow, this
helps the reader understand that when this area is eventually added to the park
(these parking lots, plus that present warehouse just below and left of the center
of the picture, plus the present games building towards the bottom of the picture
shaped like an inverted/reflected "7"), this represents a pretty substantial area.
So anyhow, once the trench line is added to the park, this only leaves ONE drive
lane and one row of parked cars at the back of the present row of (not-in-thepark)
shops in that little strip shopping area there.
As of February 9th, one of the most dramatic news releases in the entire
history of Six Flags was announced.
Premier Parks has entered into "a definitive agreement" to acquire the entire
Six Flags chain from Time Warner!
Here is the official press release as announced today by Time Warner:

PREMIER PARKS AGREES TO BUY SIX FLAGS FROM TIME WARNER
ENTERTAINMENT AND BOSTON VENTURES FOR $1.9 BILLION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 9, 1998 -- Premier Parks Inc. (NYSE:PKS) has entered into a
definitive agreement with Time Warner Entertainment and an investor group
led by Boston Ventures to acquire Six Flags, the largest regional theme park
company in the U.S., for approximately $1.9 billion.
The transaction was announced today by Kieran E. Burke, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Premier Parks Inc., and Gerald M. Levin, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of Time Warner Inc.
Under the terms of the agreement, Premier will acquire 100 percent of the equity of Six
Flags for $965 million, including $765 million in cash and $200 million in convertible
preferred stock of Premier. The Boston Ventures-led investment group currently owns 51
percent of the equity of Six Flags, with the remaining 49 percent owned by Time Warner
Entertainment. Premier will assume a total of approximately $890 million of debt. As part of
the transaction, the companies will enter into a long-term licensing agreement that gives
Premier the exclusive theme park rights in the U.S. and Canada for all Warner Bros. and DC
Comics animated cartoon and comic book characters (including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck,
Tweety Bird, Yosemite Sam, Batman, Superman and others). The company plans to utilize
the Six Flags brand name and the licensed characters at most of its existing parks. The
transaction is expected to close in the second quarter.
"This is a transforming transaction for Premier, making us the world's largest
regional theme park company," said Kieran Burke, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Premier. "With our single-business focus, proven operating
expertise and the combined strengths of the Six Flags and Looney Tunes
brands, we believe this transaction gives us an excellent platform for generating
superior growth throughout our new and existing franchise."
Time Warner's Chairman and CEO Gerald Levin said: "Today's transaction advances
our stated commitment to strengthen our balance sheet through the sale of non-core
assets. We have created significant value for our shareholders through our investment
in Six Flags, the country's finest regional theme parks. Now, Time Warner and its
shareholders will continue to benefit through our long-term licensing agreement with
Premier, under which Warner Bros.' unique and diverse stable of characters and
products will reach an audience approaching 40 million people and more each year
through both Six Flags' and Premier's theme parks. We also expect that Six Flags will
have even greater opportunities for growth as part of a focused theme park company
whose management team has established a strong record of success."

"This transaction gives Premier Parks four key advantages: enhanced cash flow
with the potential for further margin improvement; the great Six Flags brand
name; the compelling appeal of the Looney Tunes and DC Comics characters;
and significant economies of scale," Mr. Burke added. "Capitalizing on these
advantages, together with our proven marketing and operating strengths, we
expect to generate significant growth by simultaneously increasing attendance
and margins at our parks. We have demonstrated our ability to do this in previous
acquisitions, and we believe that we will continue to succeed."
Premier's purchase of Six Flags would give the company combined 1997
revenues of over $900 million and attendance of approximately 40 million. The
acquisition will extend Premier's national footprint to include 16 of the 25
largest metropolitan areas in the country, including 9 of the top 10.
Premier expects to finance the transaction with approximately $700 million of public
equity and equity equivalents as well as public debt and bank financing. The
company is filing a registration statement with the SEC for the equity transactions. A
portion of the proceeds from the offerings will be used for financing the transaction,
with the remainder to be applied to the upgrade and expansion of the Premier Parks
facilities. The company and its affiliates also expect to file registration statements
with the SEC for approximately $500 million of public debt.
The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions, including expiration of
Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting periods and the consummation of Premier's equity
offerings. Lehman Brothers has committed all of the debt financings necessary
for the transaction. The transaction is not subject to shareholder approval.
Lehman Brothers and Allen & Company Inc. served as advisors to
Premier in this transaction.
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. operates 12 regional parks, including eight theme
parks, three separate water parks and a wildlife safari park. Six Flags parks are
located in major metropolitan areas, including New York-Philadelphia, Los
Angeles, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Chicago, Atlanta and St. Louis, and had
1997 attendance of more than 22 million visitors.
Premier Parks currently owns and operates 13 regional theme parks in the U.S., with
1997 attendance of 11 million. In December 1997, the company entered into an
agreement to acquire its first overseas parks, the six parks of Walibi S.A. in Belgium,
The Netherlands and France. Walibi's 1997 attendance was approximately 3.5 million,
with U.S. $70 million in revenue. The transaction is expected to close in March. This
provides Premier an excellent entry into the growing European theme park market.
Boston Ventures is a private investment management firm which focuses its investments on
the communications, media and leisure-time markets. Since its inception in 1983, Boston
Ventures has raised investment capital totaling $2.0 billion and has made 41

investments in companies such as Continental Cablevision, Billboard
Communications, News Corp., River City Broadcasting, Motown Records, National
Law Publishing Company, Fidelity Ventures South America and others.
Time Warner Inc., the world's leading media and entertainment company,
consists of four fundamental businesses: entertainment, cable networks,
publishing and cable, with interests in filmed entertainment, television production,
broadcasting, recorded music, music publishing, cable television programming,
sports franchises, magazines, book publishing and cable television systems.
The equity securities subject to the registration statement described in this
announcement may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the
time the registration statement becomes effective. This announcement does not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities
described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state in
which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or
qualification of such securities under the securities laws of any such state.
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are
statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, market
demand, the effect of economic conditions, the result of financing efforts and other
risks detailed in Premier's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
With Premier Parks now acquiring the ENTIRE Six Flags chain (and not just Six
Flags Over Texas), that also means that they will presumably be acquiring the
entire present Six Flags management structure etc... it will be fascinating, in any
case, to see how quickly things will now change (and what sorts of changes
Premier Parks has in mind for their new parks!).
So stay tuned!!! This could be the wildest ride of the whole year!
PS: More on the subject of Mr. Freeze... I also read a report today from someone
who said they saw a rack of LIMs being forklifted onto a cart in the tunnel earlier this
afternoon. So based on that, evidently the LIM reinstallation isn't quite finished yet.
As of February 10th, note that in the press release above, what Premier Parks
has bought is 100% of the equity of Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc.... which means
that they still don't actually own more of SFOT (or SFGA, for that matter) than
SFTP did before. Recall that the recent agreement between SFOT and SFTP
gives SFTP a management contract (thirty years?) and the option/obligation to
eventually buy the park from the current partnership which actually owns it.

Another item to note in the press release above is that Premier Parks apparently
plans to rebadge their other parks using the Six Flags name and the Looney Tunes
characters... it would appear that the strongest changes as seen by visitors will be
felt first at the existing Premier parks, rather than at the present Six Flags parks.
Any real changes in philosophy at SFOT and the other Six Flags parks will not
probably be evident at reopening this spring, but will increasingly be felt during the
1998 operating season (and especially starting with next year, I'm sure).
It comes as no surprise to regular visitors to this Web site that I'd been disappointed that the
change of management to Premier didn't happen last year, as Premier tried to wrest control
of SFOT from SFTP Inc. I thought (and still think) that a change in management policies is
very much in order, and I'd hoped that the change in management companies would
produce that. It remains to be seen, with this new and quite amazing development, how
much of existing Six Flags management approach and philosophy will be retained, versus
how much will come from the (hopefully more responsive) Premier Parks side of the house.
Will SFTP Inc. headquarters staff be basically sent home, and the parks all come under
Premier management? Will SFTP simply be kept pretty much as it is, still managing the
existing parks, but with the address they report to merely changing to Oklahoma City?
Obviously, lots of very big question marks in here.
As of February 11th, the crane is back out at Mr. Freeze (although at this point it's not
clear what's being done with it). Perhaps they're working on the wraparound curve, since
the crane seemed to be oriented in that direction, rather than toward the spike track.
It seems that the ramshackle tunnel being built around the Mini-Mine-Train is
being extended further back along the track... unfortunately, since the main
interest in Mini-Mine-Train is the extraordinary views it provides (or did!) of Mr.
Freeze! It would appear, once all this tunnel thing is done, that Mini-Mine-Train
will not have much of a view left.
Now I hasten to point out that if this results in Mini-Mine-Train being really in the dark,
that might make it fun too. But not a substitute for the marvelous view of Mr. Freeze!!
On my drive by last night, I also noticed a water pipe sticking at a crazy angle
out of the ground near the northern end of the new trench being made outside
the present boundaries of the park. Although the yellow tubing apparently being
laid clearly doesn't look like water pipe! So still some questions there.
The Premier Parks people still are being fairly tight-lipped about their plans for their new
parks, purportedly because of SEC rules. Apparently they cannot say much until the

acquisition is complete... (remember that their agreement to manage SFOT
was announced once before, prior to the deal being cemented). I believe I've
read that shareholder approval is not required, though, so I'm not sure what
potential snags there might be in this case.
There are fascinating reports from St. Louis, however. All the new LIMs are
mounted there, with alignment in progress and with testing to begin soon. They
intend to open Mr. Freeze when their park reopens for the season... with even some
hopes for a pre-opening "preview day" for holders of last year's season passes.
The power drain problem has been solved there with a revised power feed and a
separate isolation transformer between Mr. Freeze and the rest of the park. The
park has calculated dispatch intervals of 75 seconds, with all transfer cart
movements and launches controlled by a new computer program.
Most interesting of all, at St. Louis they're planning to add lighting to the spike
which will chase in sync with the moving trains, including stopping and reversing in
time with the cars. No word (yet) if we can expect the same thing in Dallas.
As of this evening, the crane was still at Mr. Freeze here.
The narrow open trench through the parking lot areas still hasn't been filled in. It
appears that they're installing corrugated yellow plastic conduit, normally used
for electrical wiring.
I've received an excellent picture of one of the cars like are used at the front of a Mr.
Freeze train. Note particularly the fins we've been talking about on the side of the car...
these are the fins which slide through the gap in the LIMs, and which
provide the acceleration thrust for the launch. This car is shown as it was
displayed at a recent Amusement Industry trade fair exhibition in Orlando.
Photo Courtesy Of Theme Park Review
Another interesting note: Gary Story, Chief Operating Officer of Premier Parks,
reportedly got his start in the industry at Six Flags St. Louis... where in 1972 he was a

street sweeper during his junior year in high school! I'm sure he had no idea at the
time that he'd end up owning not just the park, but the whole Six Flags chain!
As of February 12th, I've received reports (believed reliable) indicating that Mr. Freeze
in St. Louis still has not received and reinstalled the rebuilt LIMs, as I reported hearing
earlier. Despite that, some (but not all, curiously) of the 1997 Season Passholders have
received a postcard in the mail advising them to "watch the mail for more information"
about a special Mr. Freeze party, with "exclusive ride time" on Mr. Freeze. No date has
been set yet. Also curiously, not all of the season passholders received the letter last
fall telling them to "keep your 1997 season pass" for admission to the Mr. Freeze party
when the ride opened. It's being reported that when a similar special party was held for
the opening of Batman: The Ride, only the area of the park right around the new ride
was open. Presumably it will be like that again for the special Mr. Freeze party.
And the (reliable) rumor is that in Dallas, all of the rebuilt LIMs have arrived, with
reinstallation (including not just the original LIMs, but the additional new ones as well...
which provide an additional safety margin) either complete or very nearly so, and with
testing to be resumed "any day now". The expectation is to have Mr. Freeze open when
the park reopens on February 28th (just over two weeks away, despite no tests having
been run in a few months). The next two weeks ought to be busy ones indeed at SFOT!
The following photo, also thanks to Robb Alvey who took it last fall during the Texas Giant
celebration, shows the wonderful view of Mr. Freeze that used to be possible from the Mini-
Mine-Train. Unfortunately, this great view will never again be seen, due to the ramshackle
wooden tunnels that are now in place covering the Mini-Mine-Train track.
Photo Courtesy of Theme Park Review

By the way, Robb's Web site has some other great stuff on it too... some firstclass
pictures of the Texas Giant, in particular... and is well worth a visit!
As of February 15th, I've received the following note from a regular reader of
this Web site, which I'm reproducing verbatim:
The photo of a premier car at the IAAPA show is THE lead car of the SFoT Mr. Freeze,
train number 1. The most fascinating thing about it, is that there are 2 fins under the train.
One is a standard mechanical brake fin. The other is an LSM brake fin. All of the LIM
coasters, including the Outer Limits rides, use LSMs for primary braking.
Linear Synchronous Motors, of course, are like Superman uses. They differ from
LIMs in that LSMs use permanent magnets on one side of the motor, while LIMs
use a passive conductor as that side of the motor. The "Giant Drop" type rides
use a similar braking technology... anyone who has ridden one of those can
attest to the exceedingly smooth braking action that this yields.
It is unfortunate that, up to now, we haven't had a good photo of the underside
of one of these cars... which is no doubt very interesting indeed!
As of February 16th, I've heard that the magnetic braking fins on the bottom of
the Mr. Freeze cars do use permanent magnets in the magnetic braking
technology, but that they have otherwise no relationship with LSMs and that it's
an error to link the two (very) different technologies.
I've still not gotten any reports of anyone witnessing actual testing, although
certainly the initial testing will start with low power tests of (probably even individual)
LIMs in the launch tunnel, and won't be particularly spectacular or notable. Even
once the trains start leaving the launch tunnel, we'll probably have many low-power
tests (like last summer) where trains don't go over the "top hat" inversion.
Still, with now less than two weeks to park reopening, the park is going to have to get
moving pretty quickly if the ride is to be open by February 28th! I'm surprised I've not
heard reports of tests being seen already... in fact, I'm starting to wonder if the ride will
be ready in time. Remember that last summer, we saw tests for quite a bit longer than
two weeks before the opening was to have taken place at the end of July!
As of February 17th, I've gotten two different reports that last night about
8:30pm, testing was observed... with the lights out and during a misty rain...
of the SFOT Mr. Freeze. One report continues:
...there was not a particularly long time between launches. The train was very
smooth on the track and went high on the spike with no delay at the top.

The fact that they are doing full- power tests (up to the top of the spike)
already is something that I consider a very good sign... helping to reassure
me that the ride may well be open in two weeks.
The evening of the 17th, more full-power testing is being reported. I've not yet heard
what dispatch interval they're running... frequent readers will recall that last summer
they were hoping for a 60-second dispatch interval, although running then at about
75-90 seconds instead. Reportedly the tests are going well, with adequate speeds
being achieved, although nobody's reported seeing loading weights in the trains yet.
As for the somewhat more distant future, one wild rumor floating around is that (prior
to the Premier purchase) Six Flags had contracted with B&M for a package of seven
coasters. At least one rumor has it that the one of those intended for SFOT is
supposed to be some kind of top-secret "new experience" (alternatively, it might be
another Riddler's Revenge like at SFMM).
As of Februrary 18th, full-power testing was being done (at least early in the evening,
about 6:30pm... in a drizzling rain and with the lights out) with launches every two to
three minutes... still well below the hoped-for 60 second dispatch interval.
Still no visible weights in the train, although I expect the full- load testing to be
started very soon now... I've heard rumors that it might be as early as tomorrow.
The rumor mill is reporting that SFOT is already very close to declaring the ride "ready to
open" and increasingly confident that the ride will be open on February 28th. However,
they have to have their safety certification from the City of Arlington before they can carry
passengers, and I've not heard yet that that step has been achieved, either.
Still there is nothing definite (announced, anyhow) about the special Mr. Freeze party
for previous-year season passholders, although apparently admission to it will require
both the 1997 Season Pass, along with an invitation that the park will be mailing out.
As of February 20th, the rumor mill is reporting that Mr. Freeze will be running
more or less continuously in test mode from today (Friday) afternoon through
Monday afternoon. This is the familiar three-days-operating regimen (as we saw
last summer) which is reportedly required by the City of Arlington in order to
receive their safety certificate, which SFoT officially must have in order to board
passengers on the ride. There is some question as to whether the ride was or
was not certified already last summer before the mechanical problems were
realized, but in either case it's likely that it would need recertification after the
major changes that have been made during the rebuilding of all the LIMs.
Last night about 10:30, a familiar pattern of pre-opening (and probably pre- certification)
tests were being run... about 17 seconds from exit from the launch tunnel to stall at the

top of the spike track, then 15 seconds to re-entry into the launch tunnel. Last
night there was about 30-35 seconds before the launch cycle started again (with
about three seconds of strobe lights and several more seconds of launch prior to
exiting the building). So they are still a little over the hoped-for 60 second
dispatch time, perhaps about 75 seconds in observations of last night's tests.
While this concern about dispatch time may seem trivial, remember that dispatch
interval has a direct effect upon ride throughput, and thus queue time... it won't
seem like such a misplaced concern about a week from today when you're
standing in that line, and wishing it would move faster!
In last night's tests, the train would just make it to the spike track LIMs, which
visibly had to haul the train the rest of the way up to the top of the spike. This
suggests either the train being heavily loaded (remember that SFOT traditionally
uses large barbell weights for loading their coasters under test) and/or that they
were doing sensitivity testing, turning off some of the LIMs during launch to see
whether the ride can still safely make it out and back without valleying.
Assuming that all these tests are passed with flying colors (and they should be) then the
ride ought to be open when the park opens on Saturday morning, Feb. 28th. After all the
delays already suffered, I'm pretty sure the ride will open this time if it is at all possible...
even if (has anyone actually seen 60-second dispatch intervals since LIM
rebuild? I've not gotten any such reports thus far) they've not yet been able to
get the dispatch time down to the hoped-for 60 seconds.
Actually, it's typical that when the park is open on a weekend, it's also open on
Friday night. Since the public opening for the season has been reported for
Saturday, my guess is that the park will be open on Friday night on an invitationonly
basis for "special guests". This might be a preview "practice" night for park
employees (and their families?) and/or perhaps a press party to celebrate and
publicize the opening of Mr. Freeze. (It's even possible that this might (also?) be
the anticipated "special party" for past-year season ticketholders).
In any case, my guess is that we'll all (finally! ) get our chance to ride Mr.
Freeze... in just about seven or eight more days now! (Unless the weather is bad
that Saturday... I'm guessing there will be a lot more admissions than is typical
on the first day of a new season! Especially among us hard-core coaster fans!)
As of February 21st, I've gotten some good reports of last night's testing. I
will post a portion of one of the reports, almost verbatim:
I observed them fiddle with the transfer carts for a few minutes, having runs with as little
frequency as once every 4-5 minutes. This continued for about 20 minutes and finally
they got on a good cycle and were running regular (just over a minute, 75 sec or so).

About 10:00 I went and got coffee and when I came back they were still running
regular. About 10:15 they turned out the black lights and tunnel lights (the
stobes and sirens still functioned) for about five minutes while they continued to
run. Then they brought the interior lighting back up and ran like that.
There were times that one train or the other seemed to be dragging up the spike
compared to the other train, one may have been weighted, the other not?
I'd guess that that is precisely what was being seen there.
The ride also seems to have developed a clacking, rough joint or whatever, at the
transition to vertical coming out of the launch station. I had not noticed the previous
night, but you never know. It was definately the kind of clacking that comes from
wheels rolling over something (many little clacks instead of like one clack for each
car).
All and all though, the more i watch the power of the the train going
through the loopover (which is at a total full speed/power, no whoop-deedo
loop) i am really impressed at what a monster ride this is going to be.
I'm convinced it will absolutely be one of the star attractions at the park... probably
the first coaster to at least potentially rival the Texas Giant as the greatest ride there.
During the afternoon and evening today, I didn't see any testing at all... perhaps
because of the heavy rain and thunderstorms this evening (although the lighter
showers earlier in the afternoon don't seem like they would have stopped
testing). This isn't necessarily a bad sign... rumor has it that the testing is going
well. I don't know if the testing criteria for Arlington City safety certification allow
for suspending the test during a period of inclement weather.
As of February 22nd, with the weather here improved, more or less continuous
testing of Mr. Freeze seems to have been resumed... with several people being
present in the boarding station (one or two older people, plus at least one younger
person who I'd presume is probably one of the ride ops in training).
While I was watching the tests for several hours this evening, the dispatch intervals
were running a fairly consistent 1:08 to 1:10 or so. Watching the operations in the
boarding area has convinced me that the hoped-for dispatch interval of 60 seconds
is perhaps achievable in theory, but is unlikely to be achieved very often in practice.
A 70-second dispatch interval still yields a ride throughput of something like 1028
passengers an hour (assuming they don't leave empty seats on the trains!), which
isn't too bad... probably significantly better than Flashback.
I heard none of the ominous metallic "clangs" and clacks I'd occasionally heard in testing
last summer. Apparently the new "funnels" designed to better center the fins entering the

end LIMs are doing their job admirably well. I also didn't hear any of the reported

"clacking" during the transition to vertical after train first shoots out of the
launch tunnel... perhaps whatever it was that had gotten onto the track had
been washed off by the heavy rains the day before.
I observed one staffer going to check out something embarked in one of the trains after
one test... perhaps an accelerometer or something else. I haven't personally observed
any human riders yet (although with the conditions of lighting [not!] present, a
passenger embarked in one of the middle or back seats might not be easily seen, even
if they were riding). One of the other reports mentioned seeing human riders earlier this
afternoon, although I wonder if those were "real" humans or possibly test dummies.
I'm hearing reports about stories in the Arlington newspapers where Nancy St. Pierre
(the public relations [not]spokesperson for Six Flags Over Texas (the one who never
returns my phone calls... so much for public relations!) is hemming and hawing to the
[other] press about possible strategic reasons for not opening Mr. Freeze next Saturday,
but holding off and opening it some time later. Personally, I think this is ridiculous... if the
park were seriously considering a lawsuit against Premier due to the delays, they
certainly undermine their case if the park consciously and willingly decides to delay
opening the ride after it's fully technically ready to open.
One or two other interesting (perhaps?) points observed tonight... first, the parking lot
entrance right near Mr. Freeze was blocked off with sawhorses. First time I've noticed
that being done. (Obviously, no vehicles parked in that lot tonight, despite the testing
being done). Second, they've been digging trenches in the park's main parking lot too,
going east and west between some of the tall lamp posts there towards the south end of
the park's lot. Why is still something of a mystery... observation camera cabling,
maybe?? They already have electrical power going to those lamp posts, after all.
I've also gotten a report that saw the crane back at Mr. Freeze on Friday
afternoon around 5pm, although it apparently left later that evening. No word
what it might have been doing there this time.
As of February 23rd , I've received some posts asking "with Mr. Freeze about to
open, does this suggest that Flashback might now be redundant?" I don't think
so... Flashback is a hugely popular ride, and I expect it to stay that way.
One would almost think that G-Force (the Intamin "freefall" ride) is more vulnerable...
but the one from Houston (definitely redundant now that Astroworld has the
"Giant Drop" type ride) has been moved to St. Louis and is expected to be
installed there for next season... which Six Flags wouldn't do if they
considered it pointless once the Mr. Freeze opens there in a month or two!
I still haven't been able to find a copy of Sunday's newspaper article online, perhaps if one
of the readers of the Web page still has it, they can forward me a copy. It apparently
reports that the current testing represents part of the final signoff of Six Flags to accept

"final delivery" of the ride from Premier [Rides, not Parks... gee, this
could get confusing].
As of February 24th, testing of Mr. Freeze continues during the wee hours. Last night
just after 10pm I observed testing running at a highly regular 67 second dispatch
interval. During part of the testing, they even turned off the blue lights in the loading
area and did several launches with the station interior blacked out. It's not clear if this
was possibly related to the extinguishing of the lights on Judge Roy Scream and the
Texas Giant, which were also turned off at about the same time, or if they quite
specifically turned out the lights to conceal something about those specific launches.
As of February 25th, last night I watched more testing taking place. This time
both trains were probably weighted, as both trains visibly had to be dragged
up the spike by the LIMs there. They also seemed to be running a little slower
too, with a measured dispatch interval of 70 to 72 seconds.
I've heard tell that the turning off of the blue lights which was observed a day or two
ago is something which happens automatically in the park, as an energy conservation
measure. Apparently a call to park security is needed to get them turned back on.
I also have received a scan of a photo which appeared in last Sunday's Arlington Morning
News. This shows the coaster in one of its rare (up to now) daytime tests, as it goes toward
the top of the wraparound curve. (The Observation Tower in the background is a lot further
away than it would appear in this photo, by the way... even further than the red-and-white
checkerboard at the top of the Air Racer planes, also visible.)

As of February 26th, last night around 7pm I watched more early-evening testing of Mr.
Freeze. There were lots of people present in the loading station, including a number of
distinctly not-engineering-types (several wearing white shorts) who looked to me more like
ride ops people. The trains seemed to be running without the heavy loads of the previous
days, and the running was sporadic during the period I watched... not the concerted, regular,
high-density dispatches I'd been seeing earlier in the week. During a later pass, after
midnight, the testing seemed to have stopped for the evening (perhaps due to the fierce
thundershowers which had pelted the area a little earlier in the evening).
As of February 27th, last night about 7pm I watched some more early-evening
testing of Mr. Freeze... one lone man visible in the loading station, with only
occasional sporadic launches (the trains seem to still be running unweighted).
Shockwave, the steel double-loop coaster, was running tests too.
I've gotten a report that later that evening, one viewer reported seeing them
running tests at better than 60 second dispatch times, complete with fog effects
(which I've not seen used since last summer!). My belief, based on the testing
I've watched, is that the only way they'll get dispatch times less than 60 seconds
would be if they were launching and relaunching the same train.

The same reporter also noticed a curious phenomenon... one of the lamps in the parking
lot behind the nearby Mexican restaurant would go off just as Mr. Freeze launched a train,
and come back on after the train was back in the station. Apparently the bulb in question is
on its last legs, and the voltage drop on the local power line when the LIMs were activated
was enough to drop the bulb just below the voltage it needed to stay lit!
Later on the evening of the 28th, there was little or no activity around Mr. Freeze,
despite a number of pickup trucks and personnel carts and other vehicles in the
vicinity. I didn't see any tests being run between 7 and 8pm when I stopped by
briefly. Air Racer was running tests, and many of the rides were lit up. There was
no evidence of any special opening (private party) or other press event, which I
would have expected were Mr. Freeze to open tomorrow.
So, I haven't seen any of the night-before-opening activities I'd expect to see. I'd
expect that before the ride opens officially to the public, there will be a splashy
press event, and/or perhaps a special party for park employees so they can serve
as guinea pigs. Remember that up to now, I've not seen any human riders of Mr.
Freeze since the LIMs were rebuilt... and I'd expect to see that happen with at least
a few park employees before they'll open the ride to the general public.
So anyhow, my guess based on what I've seen is that the ride will not be opening (at least
not officially) tomorrow, Saturday 28th. Will they have a "soft" opening and allow a few riders
to go on it? Unlikely, but it's certainly possible. Will they have regular ride ops people there
manning the station? I'd expect so... I don't think that opening is very far off.
Do remember that they've promised season passholders from last year that they
would be "among" the first to get a chance to ride Mr. Freeze (note that they
didn't promise them exclusive first opportunity to ride it). So there will still
probably be some kind of event with invitations for previous season passholders
to try the ride (either a special opening party of some kind, perhaps with only Mr.
Freeze open, probably on a week night) or perhaps they'll accept 1997 season
passes for one specific day at the park, during normal operating hours.
So I'll be at the park on the 28th, probably with others who follow this page, just
on the off chance that maybe they'll put a few token guests through the ride. As
of right now, I doubt it... but during the time I've been maintaining this page...
there have been no shortage of surprises before.
On February 28th , the park opened for the season. The operative term for the park today
was "deja vu". Mr. Freeze (as I predicted last night) indeed was not open (park employees
are saying "late spring"... more deja vu? That's what we were told last year.) Neither was the
Texas Tornado (Chance's Yo-Yo... which was rather pathetically laying in hundreds of pieces
all over its area), or the Judge Roy Scream, or Roaring Rapids. Rockin' Country and Batman
Stunt Show weren't running (although the Warner Bros. Backlot show, Animal Action
Theatre, and Saloon show were). Air Racer was running, reportedly after

a major rebuild up top, and indeed it seemed to be running somewhat faster
than usual, which was a pleasant surprise.
The entrance control system that checks the barcoded entrance tickets and season
passes has been replaced with a new design, and with a new style of turnstyles too.
A new game booth (with what seems to be an automated spiel) has sprung up just east of
the Mr. Freeze station. The "Frosty Face" shoot-em-up that was new last year at the end of
the existing games building, new last year, is gone again... perhaps being refurbished.
At least one of the Texas Giant trains (the white one, which is the only one I rode all day...
the blue train is also there, but the red train is apparently still being worked on) has seen
some major cleanup, shiny new chrome running boards, and such. The rock walls in the
queue area, thankfully, have been cleaned of chewing gum... I hope they stay that way for a
while this year. A portion of the queue area overhead has been painted flat black.
Speaking of rock walls, there's ONE new (minor) attraction, a small area of
"rock climbing" wall (not far from the Batman Stunt Show area) that interested
people can amuse themselves by scaling... but again, at a surcharge of $5 (!!).
The #2 locomotive for the steam train has been nicely cleaned up and polished
and looks quite splendid.
Mine Train is running nicely, although I didn't notice it being much less bumpy
than usual. They have in fact filled the pit before the first lift with water, a nice
improvement (although it's maybe just the remains of the strong rains a few
days back?). One of the other little ponds in the area was drained and seems to
be getting a cleanup, also welcome.
The rumored changes to Runaway Mountain were not at all in evidence... to my
eye, it was the same as last year. The queue area tunnel has been cleaned up.
One change (though minor) is that the little coin-operated remote-controlled
boats and trucks located near the exit of Mine Train have vanished, replaced
by just a shallow reflecting pond filled with water.
Prices of soda (even ice tea, which is already almost 100% profit... it costs nearly
nothing to make it) have been raised yet again. There are three sizes of soft
drinks this year, and the cheapest size is already over $2.00... up to the socalled
"Best Value" (!! it seems pretty scary, an oxymoron, to even dare to talk
about "best value" at the same time as offering an ice tea for nearly $3.00!!...
and WITHOUT refills!). The "lemon freeze" things are going for $3.00 this year
(they won't be selling any at that price to me!) There do seem to be a few new
drinking fountains around the park, and that's a welcome improvement too.

It's obvious that there is still little concrete effect of the Premier Parks buyout.
The sign over the entrance still proudly proclaims "A Time-Warner Entertainment
Company" and the Warner Brothers Backlot movie is still there (which I'm glad to
see, actually... it's a fairly nice film and I'd hate to see it leave. It's especially still a
nice improvement over the Wacky World Games... suitable for nobody over
about five years old... which it replaced last year).
We ate at Aunt Addy Jean's, still just about the only decent place to eat in the
park. The rolls tasted very slightly like they were on the verge of (but not quite)
developing mold, and the same hint seemed to be in the rather stale biscuit
base of the (otherwise wonderful, as always) strawberry shortcake there.
The Right Stuff was the same as always. It was disappointing to see so
many of the motion base seats out of order, given that they've just had two
full months get get everything into prime condition.
I'm hearing rumors that say that Mr. Freeze's opening might still be as much as
several weeks away. Reportedly some of the maintenance engineers rode it last
night, and report it's one hell of a ride (of course, those of us who have watched
it going up for nearly a year already could have told them that!) :-)
One would think that the park would be especially eager to have Mr. Freeze open in
time for Spring Breakout, which runs this year March 7th through March 22nd
As of March 1st, word from some of those also at the park yesterday are
reporting that the reason Judge Roy Scream isn't operating is that it's getting
new trains (with Giant-style individual ratcheting lap bars). Apparently the new
trains have been ordered, but haven't arrived yet.
I've also been corrected, that the base of the strawberry dessert at Aunt Addie
Jean's is *shortbread* and that it's supposed to be dry. Which I can handle,
actually, it's the vaguely moldy taste which I really was objecting to (perhaps it
was just aftertaste from the rolls, but I don't think so). I still believe that Aunt
Addie Jean's is about the only decent place to eat in the park, regardless.
One visitor to the park reported that the Elmer Fudd Ferris Wheel had
disappeared, and I admit that I didn't look for it. The same person suggested
that it looked like the Texas Tornado was being packed up for shipping, either
for moving to another location in the park or that it perhaps was sold. Which is
possible, I suppose. I guess we'll find out during the next few weeks.
Another reader has chastised me for presenting "rumors" and "impressions" which turn
out not to be true... for example, my comments earlier last week that looked like they

could have opened Mr. Freeze on Saturday, and not posting before late Friday
night that it appeared that the coaster in fact was not going to open. Obviously,
in the absence of any meaningful information coming from SFoT themselves, it's
pretty clear that this is all we have to go on. Hopefully all those many people who
read this page so faithfully understand that.
And of course, sometimes I have to present as "rumor" that information which I
receive from sources who have to remain anonymous, for example in order to
protect their jobs. Some of this is probably misinformation given to me at the
request of SFoT themselves in order to try to discredit this page... those reading
here (as I do) must recognize that this kind of games too comes with the territory.
Those of my readers who went out to the park yesterday in hopes of riding Mr.
Freeze will hopefully appreciate that I present the best information available to
me. That there is not better information available to me (and indeed, all of us) is
the fault of nobody more than SFoT themselves.
It's also been pointed out, by the way, that the Premier acquisition is not yet finalized...
and supposedly that's why so few of the many changes we've been hoping to see
have taken shape. One person wrote me that they were disappointed yesterday to
see the park looking so shabby. Certainly, it hardly looked (as it should) like a park
that had just undergone two intensive months of major maintenance.
Perhaps it's understandable that Time Warner doesn't want to invest a lot of money in a
park they're not keeping control over... although budgets for this kind of thing are usually
established well before this whole control issue broke out, and it's been pretty clear
anyhow through this entire two months the park was closed that SFTP Inc. was keeping
control. Therefore, it's pretty hard to justify so little having been done during that time.
I've gotten reports that, as of this writing on Sunday evening, testing is continuing
(as it did Saturday night too, starting even before the park closed). People watching
the tests continue to report how impressed they are with the apparent smoothness
and obvious speed of the ride, saying how close they think it looks to be to opening.
So I continue to believe that opening is close. I do believe that they'll give cast
members a chance to ride it before they put general public on, so I'm hoping to hear
of a cast member party some evening (soon). There is speculation (not only mine)
that the park may opt for a "soft opening" during Spring Breakout before announcing
in the press that the ride is officially open.
As of March 2nd, I've heard assurances that the Texas Tornado is not being
moved or sold, but merely undergoing a particularly thorough rehab. And that's
nice, since it's actually a pretty nice ride, especially cooling on a hot day. (I do
wish they'd increase the speed, since the park previously at least ran it well
below the speeds suggested by Chance, the company that built the ride).

I've also ridden the Trabant (El Sombrero at SFOT) where it is significantly
more exciting than it is here... the one here really is run quite a bit slower than
it should be to make it a good ride.
I continue to hear various rumors about the opening of Mr. Freeze. Some speculate
that it might be open in as little as a week; others insist that it will open sometime
during Spring Breakout; still others insist that it will not be open until after the end of
March. And if it's that late, then there's the matter of the reported agreement
between SFOT and SFStL from last summer to not open either ride before the other
is ready to open too. The most credible and persistent reports sound like it will open
(though maybe only just a soft opening) sometime during Spring Breakout, and
perhaps with little or no warning (and perhaps only for a few hours or some such).
I still expect that they will open it for park employees before they put the
general public on it, even for a "soft opening", so I'm still expecting to hear
about a park employees party, which will signal the imminent opening.
Among the other changes that some of my correspondents have noticed seeing:
· New tin ceiling in saloon on Mine Train
· New pavement in the Texas section (no heaves and cracks like before)
· New railing across the creek between Yosemite Sam and Texas section
· Pallet of new hydraulic cylinders near Texas Tornado
· Landscaping improvements
· Steering improvements on Chapparal cars (!)
A few other attractions which I hadn't previously mentioned which were also
closed included the Observation Tower and Casa Magnetica.
As of March 3rd, last night I again watched testing of the new coaster. A
number of people in the station... and again, many of them looking more like
ride-ops types than maintenance and engineering types. They were using the
smoke system in the launch tunnel... which wasn't filled with smoke, but which
made a few clouds along the ground as the train was being launched. Although
the testing seemed to be less purposeful than earlier tests (for example, last
night while I was watching the testing was sporadic, typically about 1:17 to 1:37
between dispatches) it at least started while it was still rather light outside, which
indicates that they are not trying to test under cover of darkness at this stage.
That fact provides evidence that the park is getting more confident of the ride,
and when enough of that confidence is built up, they will probably open it.
I'd also like to apologize that my ISP has been messing around with the domain
name for their Web sites. So if you've not been able to get to it for a while, it's all
Computek's fault. :-(

This evening, as I drove by about 7pm I saw that testing was going on again. I was
late and couldn't stay to watch for very long this time. I still haven't myself seen
anybody actually riding Mr. Freeze yet, but I have received enough reports of
people who have seen people riding it (some last summer, and some within the last
week and a half) that obviously at least some of those reports must be believed.
The rumor has it that among park employees, just about everyone knows by now
that at least a few lucky people have ridden Mr. Freeze... and apparently (while not
terribly specific) the word they seem to agree on is "WOW!".
I've received a report from another person who says they saw a jumble of orange
over-shoulder restraints elsewhere in the park, which the rumor mill has it had either
just been swapped off or were about to be swapped on to the Mr. Freeze trains.
In any case, the frequency of the test dispatches, the increasing presence of ride-ops type
people in the station, and other signs continue to point to an opening that's getting very
near. Each new test certainly adds to park management's confidence in the system, and it's
probably only a matter of when they'll have enough confidence to feel good about opening
it. (After having waited so long already, they probably want to avoid the embarassment of
having something happen like with The Chiller last summer, which opened for a while and
closed two days later and hasn't been open since).
As of March 5th, last night they weren't testing when I went by about 7pm, and
they weren't testing when I went by again about midnight. In each case, the
station seemed to be deserted, and the ride's tower was brightly illuminated.
I'm told that one viewer reported seeing testing taking place yesterday
afternoon, however.
As of March 6th, last night I received reports that.... Mr. Freeze was being
tested with real live passengers!!! And not just once, either.
During multiple launches, a reporter mentioned seeing about a half dozen people in the
trains. Tests were being run (quite unusually, recently) with the bright lights on the tower
fully lit up, too. He was very impressed to see how visibly smooth the action of the LIMs
was, and noted that the action of the spike track LIMs (both on hauling the train to the
top of the tower, and on accelerating it on the fall back down) were quite evident.
The LIMs, which used to make audible noises (humming when energized, occasional
clacking when the fins slightly snagged and rubbed on the way through) are now
dead-silent with the new stronger housings and more stable and accurate positioning.
He commented that, if anything, the trip down the spike and back to the station
was even faster than the trip from out the station and up the tower. This
corresponds, of course, with our previous timings of the out and back trips.

The fact that the park is now putting (apparently select) park employees quite
openly aboard Mr. Freeze (previously, probably less than ten or twenty people
have ridden Mr. Freeze during its entire existence... most of those during last
year, and always with every effort having been made to disguise, hide, or deny
their having ridden it) is a very good sign indeed... another important step
towards the ride finally opening to the general public.
I still expect that there will be a park employees party to celebrate the new ride (and
test it more intensively with employees) before it opens to the general public, and
unless they're planning that for Friday night, I don't expect to see it happen before
the weekend. So I don't think the ride will open to the public Saturday, at least.
But I do believe that Mr. Freeze is getting very close to opening. Probably a
week or two (three on the outside) away. I'm definitely expecting to finally ride it
before March comes to an end!
As of March 7th, I've received a report that yesterday about 8:00, a crane was
seen at Mr. Freeze again. What it was doing this time was not reported, but in
general when the crane is seen there, it's not good news.
That said, I will comment that I think I forgot to mention that a week ago when I was
at the park on opening day, I did notice that the barrels and cables establishing the
extended queue area were all in place, looking (except for the signboarding which
was removed last summer and still hadn't been put back up) nearly ready for use.
As of March 9th, this evening I watched as (full) trainload after trainload of park employees
rode Mr. Freeze. They were running a fairly consistent 1:09 dispatch interval.
Rumor was that tonight is/was the employee opening party... an appropriate
evening to be sure, in 35-degree temperatures and 17mph winds, leaving no
doubt that park employees riding it were, indeed, frozen.
Lest there be any question about park employees being "no fear" types, I must
report that they scream on roller coasters just like other park guests do. The most
reliable screams seem to be just after the stall, as the train starts falling backward
on the spike. This isn't too surprising, since it's nearly the highest point, and falling
backwards of course the riders can't see where they're going. Other popular scream
points are around the top hat inversion, and towards the wraparound curve.
The rumor mill is saying that opening the ride is being planned for Friday.
Whether this will be one of the "1997 season passholders" openings, or general
opening for the normal public attending Spring Breakout, is unknown so far. And
of course, there have been misses already... but it's clear that the opening (at
least for somebody besides just park employees) is going to be very soon now.

At least it's clear that the number of people having ridden Mr. Freeze has gone
from perhaps a few dozen to at least a few hundred within the last 24 hours. And
that has to be a good sign.
As for The Chiller in New Jersey, one of the two sides is rumored to be expected
to be open when the park reopens for Season Pass Day on April 5th. But they
apparently haven't received the rebuilt LIMs for the other side yet. I've not found
out which side will be the second side to reopen.
And I understand that St. Louis doesn't have their rebuilt LIMs yet either, and
rumor is that that set will be the last one done.
I've gotten a first-hand report from one of the people who rode Mr. Freeze tonight.
They said it was "by far the most adrenaline pumping ride I've ever ridden".
They go on to say that they thought the launch itself was easily the very best
part of the ride.
Reportedly the event was quite unofficial and only those employees who
happened to find out about it were actually there, perhaps fifty people in all,
including all the SFOT bigwigs.
I understand that there was a lot of confusion during the event, but of course that's
to be expected since part of the purpose of the evening was to give the ride ops
people real experience and to resolve some of the remaining operational flaws.
Rumors from people there insist that the ride will not open to the public until after
Spring Breakout. Apparently this is as much as anything because the park wants
full staffing for the opening, and during spring break much of the park is lightly
staffed, with many of the employees on vacation. So during the next several
weeks, these reports say to watch for more employee-only practice runs.
The report is encouraging, however, and says that the ride is "definitely worth
the wait!" I do hope it is, since we've been waiting a very long time.
As of March 12th, last night I didn't see any testing when I went by the park rather
late. The station interior was lit up with the blue lights (as compared to the night
before, when everything was totally dark inside) but nobody seemed to be around.
I have received confirmation that the park employees riding Mr. Freeze so far
are mostly ride ops people who heard about the opportunity and took advantage
of it, rather than a more-organized full- fledged park employees party. That will
probably come later, probably just before the season passholder party.

I'll point out here that the number of test launches being done seems to have
declined dramatically, thus seemingly putting an end to speculation that SFOT was
holding off opening the ride because they wanted to get some large number of test
launches done before opening the ride to the public. If that were true, they'd
presumably be cycling it near-continuously... and that just hasn't been happening.
That notwithstanding, I'm still hearing insistent rumors saying that the ride will not open
to the public until after Spring Breakout ends (the 22nd) due mostly to staffing issues
with so many employees away on vacation. I still think it could open the last weekend
of Spring Breakout, however... possibly Saturday the 21st. Barring that, I'd expect to
see an opening soon after that... perhaps the weekend following (which weekend, for
what it's worth, is the one I've heard most consistently mentioned by people as a likely
candidate for the opening). It's fairly clear, in any case, that at this point the opening
date is more being dictated by logistical, publicity, training and other such operational
issues than based on technical grounds.
I've now personally spoken with at least three people who admit to having
personally ridden the ride. All of them have been very impressed by the
experience; all of them agree that they consider the launch itself to be the very
best part of the ride. "...no other word I can think of except 'WOW'... 0-70 in a
little more than 3 seconds is nothing short of amazing. That first climb out of the
tunnel ... hurts (after all, you are pulling close to 4 G s). You really can t feel the
vertical drop going backwards, though it is kind of scary."
The reports continue that things both regarding staff training and inside the
station are also coming together well, nearly to the point where the park is going
to be happy with an opening. The movement of the transfer carts is reportedly
both smooth and quite quick (though I still don't think they're going to achieve the
consistent 60-second dispatches that they'd been hoping for).
They've added a themed wall along the east side of the north end of the railroad
crossing near Mr. Freeze. No big whoop, but I hadn't noticed it before. Still no
signboards in the overflow queue area to the west side of the railroad tracks,
although there is now a "Ride Entrance" sign near the entrance to the Mr.
Freeze station (it was turned around backwards when I went by).
Other news around the park includes that the Texas Tornado (Chance Yo-Yo) is
getting a major refurbishment, including new seats and a new ride control computer
system. I wish that they'd take this opportunity to increase the ride operating speed,
which had been running substantially on the low side of the range the ride's
manufacturer recommends. Tonight I went by again and if anything there was less
of the ride present surrounding the carcass than there had been before.
Judge Roy Scream is now operating again, supposedly after supposedly receiving one
(all?) new trains, apparently with Giant-style individual lap bars. But I was out in the park
myself this evening, and they were operating the coaster with only one train... which

was definitely an old (and well battle-scarred) one. So any supposed "new train"
is clearly nowhere to be seen... heaven knows why the ride was closed before...
but "putting on a new train" clearly wasn't the real reason. The (single) existing
old train seemed to be running well, though.
I also took a look this time, and indeed the Porky Pig ferris wheel is still there. I
don't know why someone previously (and erroneously) told me that it had been
removed. Perhaps this is part of the quite deliberate "misinformation" campaign by
the park... I know that they've tried to feed me bogus information for this Web site
in the past. Of course, all I can do is to report the rumors and information I hear...
some of it clearly more accurate than others. The only people who know for sure is
Six Flags themselves, and for a company whose business depends on good public
relations they sure are lousy in that regard. Despite supposedly being on the press
release mailing list, I've gotten precisely one press pack from them in nearly a year,
and they don't even bother to return telephone calls.
One reader wrote me to clarify that the "ferris wheel" which went away was the
miniscule one which VERY small children rode, encased in little cages. This could
certainly be, and I confess that I've not looked to notice if that one is still there or not.
I'm told that the new tin ceiling on the Mine Train's saloon actually was done by
the end of Fright Fest last fall.
I got an interesting comment from a reader today. "Runaway Mountain promises a lot
with its que area and amazing facade. But inside, it's just a dark empty warehouse! A
Wal-Mart during a power outage! If so much can go into giving the outside good
theming, I kinda think SOME effort could have been put forth to give the rider some eyecandy
inside. " Certainly there has been talk of rumored improvements... strobe lights for
example (which I'm not particularly excited about, actually) . Personally if it was me, I'd
probably try to get some high quality sound effects in there, perhaps digitally recorded
inside a real mine... mining machinery, falling rock, screeching mechanical things, air
compressors, jack hammers, etc. (Unfortunately, really first-rate sound effects is one of
those things that Six Flags generally doesn't do especially well). The other idea would
be real visuals (still maintaining the "dark" aspect), perhaps involving building some kind
of "mine tunnel" rock wall sets around the tracks (like in the entrance tunnel, perhaps)
and using really weak little old-fashioned "lanterns" every so far to provide a (bare)
minimum of lighting. Whizzing through actual "tunnels" would also accentuate the feeling
of great speed.
And last but not least, Mr. Freeze was running more tests this evening (even
before it got dark... thus while the park was still open) but I didn't see any
employees riding it today (perhaps that happened after the park closed).
As of March 14th, last night Mr. Freeze was running more full-power tests (but with empty
trains, at least when I watched, and the testing was sporadic rather than trying to

get the most tests possible with maximum dispatch rates). Interestingly, they
were using the fog in the launch tunnel again... this seems to be used sometimes
and not others, as if they're not really certain whether they want to keep using it
(or how much), or even not at all.
The opportunity for the employees to ride Mr. Freeze (not just the few who
heard about the prior semi-opening for 'those in the know') is coming in just a
few days. The park announced yesterday in their employee handout (given to all
employees as they report to the park for work) that the employees-only preopening
party for Mr. Freeze will be held to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. (Do note
that they plan to be very strict about checking employee status, so please don't
even bother trying to sneak in during that evening if you don't belong there).
Mr. Freeze was also running full-power testing in mid-afternoon Saturday, in
broad daylight. A lot of the previous secrecy seems (at least to the casual
observer) to have been shaken loose.
This is just another in the numerous signs that the ride is getting very near to its
public opening. Assuming that no snags occur during the employee party, the ride is
likely to open very soon thereafter... my best guesses as of right now, based on my
various sources, would be either the 20th (which happens to be Vernal Equinox...),
the 21st (which would make it open for the last weekend of Spring Breakout), the
27th (New Moon) or the 28th. In any case, it looks pretty clear at this point that the
ride ought to be open before the end of March, barring some serious problem
unexpectedly turning up between now and then. And I'm still expecting a press
preview party, probably the night before they open the ride to the general public...
my guess (and at this point it's only just that) would be a preview party on a Friday
night, and then opening the ride on a Saturday to the public.
Up to now, there's still been no official word about any special Mr. Freeze party
(as was promised) for last years' season passholders. Of course, it was never
promised that it would be held before the general public opening of the ride.
Oh, by the way... another rumor floating around is that the park is planning a stiff increase in
the price of season passes, which supposedly will happen sometime in April... figures in
excess of $80 each are being talked about. It's not yet clear whether this rumor is perhaps
just a tactic to try to get as many renewals in-hand as possible before Premier's buyout of
SFTP Inc. from current parent company Time-Warner becomes effective. In any case, at
Premier's other parks their policies tend to significantly lower prices for season passes (and
daily admissions too, for that matter) than is normal SFTP Inc. practice. For example, at their
Geauga Lake park, their web site says:
ADMISSION (Prices are subject to change.) Two years and under FREE; Regular
Admission (48 inches and over) $21.99; Junior Admission (children under 48") $7.99;
Children 2 and under admitted FREE! Seniors (61 years or older) $12.99 DISCOUNTS
Promotional discounts based on $21.99 regular admission unless stated otherwise.

Promotional offers cannot be combined. AFTER 5 P.M. ADMISSION $12.99
Monday-Friday only (excluding holidays); SEASON PASSES Available in the main
gate gift shops for $49.99 per pass with the purchase of your regular admission
ticket. Regular Season Pass: $59.99 per person. (Note too that at that park they
only charge $4 for parking, compared to the newly-increased $7 here).
As of March 16th, I'm getting [very] conflicting rumors regarding Mr. Freeze.
One seeming fairly well-substantiated rumor is still pointing towards a cast
member opening party (giving the cast members the chance to ride it) on
Tuesday evening (tomorrow) in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. This rumor
indicates very good signs, with a probable public opening most likely either this
coming Saturday (March 21st) or the following Saturday (March 28th).
And another positive sign: SFOT has been (widely) sending out flyers advertising the
park, pushing season pass sales and with a photo of Mr. Freeze running (at St. Louis).
There is also a letter going out from SFOT in the next day or so announcing the
special ride event for prior season passholders. So the date(s?) for that seems
to have been pretty firmly set.
The other rumor (less substantiated but considerably more worrisome if true) talks about
another "incident" that supposedly happened last Thursday, March 12th. The rumor tells
about a train separating... i.e. the links between the cars having separated... while the
train was on the spike track. Supposedly the back 4 cars of the train left the LIMs before
the remaining car of the train. Up to now I've not been able to get confirmation of this
rumor from a second source. So take it for whatever it's worth.
While certainly a matter of concern, if the rumor is true (and if the reason was relatively
obvious ... say, a pin that came loose because of some oversight) then it might be
simple enough to fix that it won't result in any delay to the opening. I haven't heard
anything to suggest that the employee party has been delayed or rescheduled, and if
they were concerned about a safety-related defect then that would certainly delay the
employee party until it were resolved. So my suspicion is that this rumor is either
bogus or else something judged to be not indicative of a more serious problem.
I understand that the park attendance has been exceedingly light... I've gotten a
report that on Sunday, virtually all the rides were walkons and those few people
in the park were able to do back-to-back rides on just about everything. While
nice to not have lines of course, it's almost depressing to see the park so empty
of guests. Some of this might of course be related to generally less-than-terrific
weather, some of it due to the newly even-more-outrageous pricing. Of course,
it's a safe bet that the crowds will pick up, when Mr. Freeze opens...

As of March 17th, the private party for park employees took place this evening
as scheduled (and as was previously announced here). There was a (loud) band
playing and there appeared to be a good turnout. Employees streamed out of the
exit of the Mr. Freeze station, many of them turning right around and heading
right back into the entrance. (Flashback was also running). It didn't appear that
the smoke/fog machine in the launch tunnel was being used.
The screaming during the ride continued to follow the familiar pattern. The screams tend to
be heard around the top hat inversion, then again just past the top of the wraparound curve,
and with a few just after stall at the top of the spike, as the train starts to fall backwards. One
interesting point is that (at least tonight, but it wasn't atypical from the other evenings I've
watched Mr. Freeze being ridden) there weren't all that many screams (given that there are,
after all, twenty people on the train each time) and they're nothing like continuous. It's
possible that this is due to the intensity of the ride: note that there's noticeably less
screaming on The Texas Giant than there is on that silly pirate ship which swings back and
forth, which is clearly nowhere near as white-knuckle a ride.
So anyhow, this is a good sign... it appears that (despite the rumored "incident" of last
week, if that rumor is true) Mr. Freeze is still on track to a public opening in the very near
future, quite possibly on this coming Saturday (if it does not open then, I think the next
date it's likely to anticipate an opening is the following Saturday, the 28th).
The word from New Jersey is that at least one of the two tracks for their "Chiller"
version will be operating when their park reopens on April 9th. The other side is
likely to follow within maybe a couple of weeks.
And the word from St. Louis is that their crane is present, which is a likely
indicator that at least some of their rebuilt LIMs have started arriving.
As of March 18th, I've received some more interesting news about Chiller
in New Jersey.
They're hoping to have both sides of it operating on opening day, April 9th. The
Batman side seems relatively certain. The Robin side reportedly saddled during
the return trip in the cobra roll a few days ago, reportedly because an
overspeed condition had caused the tower (ramp) LIMs to shut down.
As I understand it, they are even hoping to have (both sides!) operating in time
for their Season Pass day on April 5th there.
As of March 19th, I've gotten news that Mr. Freeze's opening date has probably
been set for Saturday, March 28th. Press Day for the ride is next Wednesday,
March 25th.

In what I think is a fairly stupid publicity stunt, the park has invited the few dozen men
from around the Metroplex with the surname of "Freeze" (there are seven listed in just
the Greater Dallas telephone directory... so probably just about one trainload, maybe two
if you include their male kids?) to be among the first (other than the many hundreds of
park employees who have already ridden it... so the honor is more symbolic than real) to
ride it on Wednesday. I wonder if the park has gone to the effort to check other sources,
such as voter registration rolls, to include those with unlisted phone numbers?
As of March 20th, I've received a report that last night one of the trains valleyed
again, and the rumor mill is saying that it was a computer malfunction. The rumor
continues that such malfunctions have happened before, generally when the train
was loaded with sandbags.
Recall that Chiller had valleyed a train just recently, in that case reportedly since
the tower LIMs had been disabled by the controlling computer due to an earlier
overspeed condition. This had kept the train from going far enough up the ramp
to assure a complete trip back through the inversions during the return to the
station. It's possible that the valleying here is for a similar reason.
The rumor anyhow points out that this new valleying might jeopardize the public
opening of the ride (currently widely expected to be held on Saturday March
28th). While that's true, I'll point out that coasters do valley every now and again,
even coasters which have been in use for a long time and which are generally
considered quite reliable. Given that the press party has already been
announced, I don't think the park can very well stop or postpone that at this point.
What I'd expect instead would be a serious effort to uncover the cause of the
glitch, and to try to put firmware revisions into effect as soon as possible (but
after the opening if necessary) to try to reduce the likelihood of it recurring.
I asked one of the people who has ridden Mr. Freeze, "What about the headbanging
problem that has turned up on other recent coasters?" and this was their reply:
"At first, the headbanging was rough, especially on the ears. They installed different
shoulder restraints and it is now under control. The only problem is in the very last
seat going backwards. But it still isn't bad at all. It'll give you a slight headache at
most."
I've also received word from four of the early recipients of the one of the flyers...
reportedly, some 1997 season passholders are being invited to ride Mr. Freeze on
April 15th or April 16th, between 5pm and 10pm. For others, the invitation is April 8th
or 9th during the same hours. Still another got April 1st or April 2nd. Yet another got
March 30th and 31st. And I'd assume that other dates are on other letters.

As of March 21st, I got a letter from a reader asking if some of the tuning that's
taken place during testing of Mr. Freeze was maybe an attempt to "tweak" its
speed higher so it could be "a record-breaker". And that's an interesting letter,
mostly because of some of the interesting points about Mr. Freeze that it brings
up. So today (since it appears we aren't going to be able to announce excitedly
that Mr. Freeze is opening today) it might be a good time to discuss a couple of
things which set Mr. Freeze apart from traditional coasters.
On a regular coaster, once the chain pulls the train to the top of the lift hill, gravity takes
over and runs the train through the rest of the course. And one of the characteristics of
gravity is that it operates on trains to accelerate them regardless of how much weight
they carry (in fact, that's because the force of gravity works on all the mass... in other
words, the greater the mass, the more force gravity exerts on the train and its riders, so
that acceleration remains constant). (One might even note as an aside here that riders
who put their arms up into the air actually result in greater wind resistance and thus slow
down the train, giving themselves a less thrilling ride...)
It's interesting to observe that this constant-acceleration- regardless-of-load is
not true on a coaster like Mr. Freeze, where the force exerted on the train by the
LIMs does not inherently depend upon the load the train is carrying. Therefore,
the computer that controls the ride has to measure the load being carried by the
train, and adjust the force applied to it by the LIMs in real time to ensure that the
train is going at the right speed when it leaves the launch tunnel. Without this
adjustment, empty trains would launch too fast, and heavily loaded trains would
go too slowly... possibly therefore running the risk of valleying.
So while you're getting launched on Mr. Freeze starting in about a week, remember
that the computer is effectively weighing the train and its occupants, and deciding in
real time how many LIMs need to be turned on (or off) so that when you leave the
launch tunnel, your train will be travelling at exactly the right speed.
So anyhow, now you understand why Mr. Freeze has in fact a considerable
reserve of acceleration capability, not so it can go "as fast as possible". In fact,
most of the time they could relatively easily get considerably higher speed if they
wanted to. (Based on what the riders so far have told me, that first curve up to
the first vertical out of the launch tunnel is strong enough in G-forces that it's
already almost painful... you wouldn't want it going any faster).
This afternoon, the crane was back and workers seemed to be doing some
kind of work on the spike track LIMs.
As of March 22nd, I've gotten word that in St. Louis, all the launch tunnel LIMs have been
replaced and something like half the spike track LIMs there have been reinstalled. The
park there is still hoping to open their Mr. Freeze when the park reopens for the

season on April 10th, but of course that optimistic scenario depends on not
running into technical (or training) snags between now and then.
As for the Mr. Freeze here in Dallas, I'm still expecting that the press event to be held on
Wednesday will announce an opening for Saturday the 28th, which will be the next day when
the park will be open. After all, some of the 1997 season pass holders have already been
invited by letter to ride it on the evenings of March 30th and 31st... so it looks pretty likely
that the ride will be opening to the public the weekend before that special event.
As of March 23rd, I've gotten a report that the crane was back at Mr. Freeze yesterday
afternoon... reportedly with workmen doing something (adjustments?) at the safety brake at
the very top of the spike track. I don't know a whole lot more about it than that, yet.
One report I received said that the crane was being used to film a commercial for the ride.
A person who has ridden the coaster says that "the ride is really amazing". I
have no doubt about that!
I still expect the press day on Wednesday, and I expect there they'll be
announcing the public opening for Saturday.
As of March 24th, I understand that a group of ACE members has been
invited to ride Mr. Freeze on Wednesday morning.
As of March 25th, a local radio station (KVIL-FM) has broadcast a live report
from one of their reporters as she rode Mr. Freeze during the press event, at
about 7:45am. I'm taped a copy of the report, and am hoping to have a WAV file
online sometime later today.
A coaster enthusiast friend (member of ACE) who rode several times this morning
reports that the ride is "amazing, really incredible". He likes the front seat the best, and
especially liked the top hat inversion, especially on the backwards trip back into the
station. He reports that you definitely feel the action of the LIMs on the spike track on the
way up, although that he didn't notice them on the way back down. Head-banging is not
a problem, and he reports that the ride is really very, very smooth. The launch, in
particular, he reports as being very smooth too (and that way quite unlike Greezed
Lightning and other shuttle-loop coasters with a powerful mechanically-induced launch).
He confirmed that there are individual baskets on the transfer cart for each rider
where you place your glasses, earrings, etc etc. which are not allowed on the ride.
And yes, they did announce today that the official opening to the public is
scheduled, as previously anticipated here, for this coming Saturday.

Apparently they will be running the ride much of today, but today you have to
have a special invitation to get in to ride it.
As of March 26th, I've received a basically glowing report about the press event
yesterday at SFOT. The reader, who had also attended the recent similar event
unveiling Taz's Texas Tornado at SFAW in Houston, reports that the event here was
really far more together. They rated the SFOT event as "98 on a scale of 1 to 100."
Other feedback I've received suggest that the general public is likely to consider
Mr. Freeze as a tie with, or even above, the Texas Giant as the 'best' ride at SFOT.
The expected negative comments are expected to largely be based on the
exceedingly long wait times... the park expects wait times of as much as six or
seven hours (!) on really busy days, and then only to have such a short ride
time (under 60 seconds). (This despite the comments from those who rode it
that they don't really feel like the ride "needed" to be longer.)
It sounds like Mr. Freeze will indeed, as has been confidently predicted in these
pages, be one of the most significant rides at the park.
As of March 27th, I've heard that at least one of the "Mr. Freezes" who was
invited to ride on Wednesday came from as far away as Tulsa. Although the
morning coverage here in Dallas on radio was relatively good, I've heard
grumblings from some local coaster fans that they felt that the local television
coverage of the press event (especially on the evening news) was awfully scant.
Of course, I really have to point out that probably the single most significant single
source of information for fans (the many hundreds of devoted coaster and SFOT
fans who follow this page regularly) to find out about Mr. Freeze... i.e. this Web
page... was quite consciously and deliberately snubbed by the park by my not being
invited to attend. I think that for the park to be so myopic as to basically ignore the
online community (where so many coaster fans worldwide hang out) is an incredibly
stupid move on the part of Six Flags. I mean, where else can so many truly devoted
coaster fans be contacted, so quickly, and at virtually no cost? Consider the huge
expense of orchestrating the opening press event... compared to the relatively
miniscule reporting the news media (especially televison) devoted to the park.
Even if the park has been unhappy about my divulging things that they might not have
rather have told, there's terribly little excuse for the park to not post themselves their own
press releases, whether to their own Web site or to the rec.roller-coaster newsgroup. To not
do so, to ignore this virtually free way of distributing the information they are now making
public (and in exactly their own words, which the other press doesn't provide for) is just
another example of the misguided public information and public relations policies

of Six Flags, and which hopefully will be set right once the new management at
Premier assumes control of the company.
I've gotten permission from Paul Young, a very astute coaster friend to post his
following report after his attending the press event on Wednesday:
I almost didn't drive up from San Antonio to attend the media day for Mr.
Freeze, as it's five hours in either direction. I had imagined the new ride to be a
really violent bigger brother of a Vekoma Boomerang(Flashback).
It's been many years since I remember being so apprehensive about a first ride.
Those straight up climbs and vertical plunges are intimidating from the ground.
And you watch the train climb the spike and accelerate on the LIMS, climbing
even higher, all the way to near the top.
After a very enjoyable skit featuring the"mayor" of Gotham City, a lady reporter,
a handful of thugs on in line skates doing jumps on ramps, Mr. Freeze himself
(well, he LOOKED like 'em,) Confetti canons, actual fireworks shells, and the
launching and subsequent ride circuit of 20 men, all named Freeze, or Fries, or
any way you can spell it as long as it's pronounced like Freeze, the audience
broke into cheers. A really first class presentation.
Then our ACE contingent were led onto the ride.
I ended up sitting in the front seat, with a staff photographer's camera right in my
face. I hadn't seen a train get launched even once, was feeling really nervous and
the photographer says to try to smile and look like we're enjoying ourselves. Then...
boom-the relatively cheesey lights start in the tunnel and you're off.
I loved every second of my very first ride... I had no idea it would be so fluid,
thrilling, and frightening at the same time. I had virtually no problems with
head banging, but I rarely do.
Then I rode the back seat on the right... twice in a row. I then went and
found a nice bench to sit down on.
This strikes me as the most extreme coaster ever created, and quite unique. The designers
really went out on a LIM with this one, and looked bad for a whole year, but after my rides
this morning, i predict that the GP will LOVE this WILD contraption, so totally unique in the
history of coasters... well, except for that really similar one in St. Louis.
I credit Anton Schwarzkopf for conceiving the launched loop idea, but the
addition of the extra LIM's on the layout to tweak the thrills and add new heights
and plummet speeds suggest a future for steel coasters that is only limited by
the imaginations of the creators. With such creators as B & M , and now Premier
has a true hit, steel coasters can only get better.

Meanwhile we have our resident experts CCI to build woodies, and please oh please
let Roar have tons of negative g's so GCI can enter the heavywieght's ring as well.
The lines will be long for Mr. Freeze, and the ride time is only 40 seconds or
whatever, not to mention the year long wait already past, but I feel sure that
virtually everyone interested will feel that it's been worth the wait.
I screamed and yelled throughout every ride I took. It was too much excitement.. and fun.
If you like 'em high, fast, and STEEP, run, don't walk.
As of March 29th, I've gotten several more reports from riders. Here's copies
of the reports, told in their own words (other than that I've fixed some typos):
[Report One]
MrFreeze went up my favorites with the slightest of ease. Where do I begin? When we
showed up the Texas Instruments private party held at SFoT last night, we headed straight
for MrFreeze. We saw the long queues way on the other side of the railroad tracks. We
gawked at them and went on to the REAL entrance. We were swallowed by the Snowy
Cone's only to fine a really long queues, with just walking people in it. From there I started to
get scared. Folks, this is the only rollercoaster except for my first looping ride that I've ever
been scared on! The tension built up as we walked the queues for what seemed like forever.
When my girlfriend and I got to the end of the queue, we were at the place where the line
splits into two. There's someone there that tells you which train to ride, unless one train is
broken, missing, or not needed. WE were so scared when we finally stepped into the
boarding room. Everything is so fast though. I was overwhelmed at how fast the line was
moving. I must say that the guy who thought of using two trains on a shuttle coaster is a
genius!! Launching ever 60 seconds sounds good to me! They told us to sit in the back,
number 10. We stood on our square as our train came back, and slid toward us. The gates
opened, the previous passengers stepped out, and we stepped in, my girlfriend gave me her
earings and jacket, and i put my glasses and necklace in the bin provided on the transfer
cart. My hands were trembling. She was seated already, with her harness down holding on
for dear life. The lights dimed a little and the train, which we hadn't realized was in launch
position already, FLEW AWAY in a blink. I looked at my girlfriend. "Are you sure you want to
do this?" she asked. "I've been waiting nearly a YEAR to do this. WE're doing it still" I said. I
sat down, and pulled the harness down. I was relieved at how soft the seats were. They're
so comfy. That's what I love

about Premier trains. I realized that the harnesses looked almost like B&M harnesses,
without the seatbelt. This is the first coaster I've been on that I've pulled the harness as
far down as it would go. I was scared folks, and I'm not afread to admit it.The train next
to us came back and slid back. They checked our harnesses, quite quickly too. We got
into launch position, really fast too. That is really cool how it does that. The train clicked
into place. Then it came, like a shark, a clicking domino effect coming towards us. And
without notice (without countdown either), we were GONE! I loved that chasers, I loved
the strobes, I loved the fog, I loved the 70 mph wind in my face. Next thing I knew we
were going straight up and twisting to the left. That is the awesomest track work on the
ride. For the rest of the ride, I was screaming and laughing at the same time. But, we
were back in the station again, back to where we left our minds. When we were gliding
backwards into the station all I could do is yell "YEAH!! BABY YEAH!!!" Every guy on
our train joined in with me. Everyone's hair was everywhere. WHAT A RUSH!! What
part did I like best? The launch, definitely. I always begin screaming right when the last
click comes. It's just my tradition. I love this ride to death! IF you have to wait in line on
public days, this ride is definitely worth it folks. You'll love it. I was surprised at how
smooth it was. And the weightlessness was extrememly awesome. In the back, you feel
like you're stopped completely, but in the front, you're screaming "when's it gonna
stop?!?!" We rode in front twice, and we took turns sitting on the inside. In my opinion,
the front right seat is the best; you can see the track, and you're you get alot of head
chopper effects. This ride has been standing for nearly a year now, and finally, not only
do I get to see it run, but I got to ride it too! I believe MrFreeze is soon to be the king of
steelies at SFoT, it is in my book. I LOVE MrFREEZE!!!!!
[Report Two]
This one is interesting because it's the first significant report (and fairly
thoughtful at that) that I've received about the reader's reactions to the design
of the station building itself and themeing.
Ok, i went ahead and went on out to the park tonight just to ride once. I had told
myself I wasn't going to let myself experience any additional letdowns by going
out with the general public this weekend when I was holding the ticket for this
Monday &Tuesday. But I went anyway.
The building really really sucks. Just barely barn level. I dont know what that ice bucket
in the middle is supposed to be, but I do know that if they dont put a stop to punks
throwing coins at people from the upper level there is going to be trouble. Not a single
pseudo cooling coil inside the whole building. Total absence of any kind of ice house
themeing. Reality was even worse. Tonight it was only in the 70s and the building was
at the same temperature as the outside, except for directly under an A/C vent. They
must have, like, no insulation in the corrugated steel walls. There is no way they are
going to keep the temperature down when the summer sun & heat hits.
However, eventually you do suffer through to the loading area. Seated in the front seat of
the middle car (#5). we loaded quick and the lights started strobing and I found the same

terror that I face when I am bungee jumping. That is exactly what the launch made me
think of. It was just enough too long to give me reason to wonder "What have I done?"
Then the immediate shift to vertical, really smooth, really cool. And again, just long
enough to give you a couple of seconds to think about what's coming next and you roll
through the top hat and notice that you are running straight down to the ground. The
bottom out and roll through the swing over was like being strapped to a freight train. and
then you see the spike coming, the transition to vertical is again very smooth and very
fast. the run up and then you feel the LIMs grab the train and squirt you up above them.
No time to think about weightlessness because on the way back down I FELT THE
LIMS GRAB AGAIN, they accelerated us down. No wonder the trip back is quicker than
the trip out. I had really worried about powering along backwards. The tight turns of
Flashback really do a number on me backwards, but this was fantastic. No head
banging, just power, all around me, trucking along. Through the wing over, down, and
then up through the top hat. Every phase giving me a moment to think before it was
over. And the terror was probably just the adrenalin.
We only had to wait about 45 minutes. The building cant hold more than 1.5 to 2 hours
worth of people. Staff said that the line never got out of the building today, I dont know.
That GreatWhite inverted at SeaWorld in San Antonio is pretty intense, but it's a
major headbanger and not on a scale of size to allow for thought during the
maneuvers. I don't know what to ask for next here.
I've received some information about the St. Louis park as well, but due to other
pressing demands on my time at the moment I'll post that as soon as I'm able.
As of March 30th, yesterday I finally rode Mr. Freeze myself (twice, right after
the park opened)! My opinion about a number of particulars differs with previous
opinions I've gotten from others, and is similar in several others.
First, I personally think the themeing inside the station building isn't as bad as some of
the other reports I've gotten and reported here. Yes, it's made of corrugated building
materials, but it also clearly isn't only just a single layer of them... and I expect there is
insulation between those two layers (in fact, I think that insulation was even shown in
some of the construction photographs). Notably, the themeing in the station building is
better than the inside themeing in most Six Flags attractions (in most of them, the
inside themeing is practically nonexistent... on the other hand, The Right Stuff being
one example of a ride with significant themeing decor inside.)
One disappointing thing I noted was a piece of chewing gum stuck onto one of
the faux-brick columns inside... this with the ride only open about 24 hours. I hate
this kind of trashing and vandalism of the park, and know how easily it can get
out of hand (during last season, the queue area for the Texas Giant had become
truly a mess). I sincerely hope that the Mr. Freeze ride-ops or custodial
(whoever!) people stay on top of this worrisome issue on the new ride.

The animatronics figure of Mr. Freeze didn't seem to be moving at all while I
watched him. The only motion (that I noticed, at least) was seemingly caused by
the spotlights on him changing colors.
The revised housings of the LIMs are really dramatically different when viewed up close.
These new housings are clearly much beefier than the previous, original ones.
When you enter the queue area inside the station building, you first make an outer
circuit towards the southwest corner of the building, then a few doublebacks around the
main themeing atrium: several ice cream "flavor tanks". The queue then makes a loop
up north towards the doors to the outdoor mid-queue auxiliary (outdoor) queue area,
and continues from there up a mild ramp along the west side to the far southwest corner
of the building. The queue continues from there up two more ramps (parallel to the south
end of the station building) to a ride ops person who directs the passengers to either the
east or west train boarding area. As they enter the actual boarding room, another ride
ops person finds out the size of the group and assigns passengers to a numbered space
to stand on, next to the boarding chutes.
This is an interesting room, mostly because it's such a beehive of activity.
Trains are being launched, trains are returning, transfer carts are shuttling
trains to and fro, passengers are boarding and disembarking, and given the
overall activity level, it all seems pretty efficient.
The trains are indeed rather comfortable, and they have a sort of leather padding on
the horse collars to protect the riders' ears. As I've already reported, baskets are
provided on the transfer carts so passengers can stow cameras, caps, glasses,
earrings, and other items that they shouldn't attempt to take with them on the ride.
Now let's talk about the ride proper.
After your restraints have been checked, the transfer cart moves swiftly and smoothly to
launch position, and then as the lights start to chase, you're simply "outta there". There
is no countdown or other audible indication of the impending launch.. (other than a few
anticipatory clicks and things one hears, which I'd presume are for example the
releasing of the brakes which secure the train to the transfer cart).
The launch itself, as has been previously reported, is indeed very impressive...
fast, smooth and in a twinkling of an eye you are outside the building and
headed toward the sky and the first inversion. Since you all know the nitty-gritty
about the ride, let's instead cover here the impressions that one notices.
First, the ride itself really isn't very scary once you're on it... at least it wasn't for
me. Part of this is perhaps because I've watched it enough to know a lot about
just what it's supposed to do.

The launch is absolutely very thrilling, as I've already reported from others
who have ridden it.
Once you're outside the building, you spend just a very few seconds in each
element, and I think that most people aren't really all that aware of just what they are
actually doing. It's easy to become fairly disoriented. In particular, when you're on the
spike track you really don't have much of a sensation of how high up you really are...
you're simply looking up at the sky, and don't have a frame of reference. Everything
else in your field of vision is either sky or on the train... you'd have to turn your head
to see the ground, and frankly there's not much reason to do that. You don't really
spend enough time in any of the elements (including the vertical tracks) to really let it
sink in what you're actually doing... and that's a lot of why it's not scary.
One observation that I found interesting is that you really don't have much of a
sensation of "free fall" on the spike track (or even on the other verticals in and out of
the top hat inversion, for that matter). I think this is probably attributable to the fact
that you're never held there, and then released... the way you are on G-force.
Therefore, there's not the feeling of "gravity" (while held at the top) and suddenly
being "let loose" and starting to drop backwards. The transition of forces as you go
into and out of the the verticals vary smoothly enough that you're simply not aware
that you're free-falling, or that you're at such a dramatic height.
Different places on the train are smoother than others. The first time I rode, I
was in the second row from the front, in the first car. That trip was surprisingly
smooth, and I noticed almost no head-banging at all. The second time I rode, I
was in row five (toward the center of the train) and from that row there was quite
a bit more head-banging, although with the padding on the over-the-shoulder
restraints it wasn't too terribly unpleasant.
One curious change is that the pre-launch siren, which had been a standard
fixture of Mr. Freeze since the very first test launches, seems to not be being
used anymore (at least it wasn't on Sunday when I rode). Perhaps the park's
ride ops test riders decided that it wasn't really all that great to have it.
I got a report that later in the day, about 7pm (so an hour before park closing at
8pm) Mr. Freeze was shut down early for the rest of the day, reportedly because
"the train was being 'moved off the tracks'...".
Among the other reports I've gotten from readers:
[Report Three]
simply, "It was awesome..."
[Report Four]

My experience with the theming was ok. I don't know about that second report guy but when
I went into the building I could sure feel it being cooler than outside. My first time in the line
was pretty good. I only had a 41 minute wait, the line stopped right after you turn to see the
doors that lead to the queue outside. The theming throughout the place is ok But compared
to the launch room it stinks. The only part I really can't stand in the theming is the stupid Ice
Cream Truck Music... it brings back so many years of hearing "The Entertainer" over and
over again. Hated that. Anyway I had a 41 minutes wait so it wasn't as long as I had
expected to get on it. We soon got up to where the line splits in two, me and my friend were
told to go on the right. We got stopped by a Mr. Freeze employee to realize we're going to
be in the front seat. I didn't like that, I had already been getting nervous after they had split
the line and this made it worse. In the launch room there is a map of something, didn't pay
much attention to it, a Mr. Freeze that looks like a Muppet (nothing like Arnold, from the
movie, or the cartoon.) There are also blue lights, I can't recall seeing any black lights
though, that dim when a train takes off. Well we soon got in the train and I was saying "Oh
Crap" over and over again.... I heard the brakes letting go in front of me, passing me, then
we shot off and it seemed like we weren't going to stop getting faster. On my first trip, and
only trip in which I saw it may be due to the being in the front seat, I saw some fog being let
out around the middle of the tunnel. The thing that is bad with that smoke is it releases an
amount that too little to flood the tunnel with smoke, just in that area of course, and it's not a
very tall cloud so when the first car passes over it no one else can see it. I seemed to feel
the most G-force when the train was twisting into the inversion, and from it as well, in the top
hat. The only other surprise is that up at 200ft you expect to have it feel "high", either from
the drop or looking somewhere. Well, for me, I couldn't tell anything like that all I could tell is
that I was falling, which didn't feel like I was on the G-force like I expected. Other than that
the ride is pretty much not any surprise since you see it all. Don't get me wrong, it is fun, but
I just wasn't surprised by anything else. The first ride on it wasn't the greatest, I can hardly
remember it, so me and my friend rode it 2 other times that night. I think it's the best coaster
in the park, which my other favorite is Judge Roy Scream (In the back seat only.) Speaking
of which, to comment on the line comment in the second report, my friend and I went and
rode Judge Roy Scream after that. It had one train going, not a new one like I had expected,
with the last 3 rows out of order... so it took a LONG time to get to ride. (About thirty
minutes) After that we went back over by Mr. Freeze and we saw the line was out of the
building almost wrapping around the (southeast) corner. This ride doesn't make Flashback
obsolete for me, if I ever want my back to feel achy all I need do is get on the Flashback, Mr.
Freeze doesn't do that to me, which I love that part of it. Here's one thing I want to say to all
those stupid teens and immature adults out there reading this page STOP DEFACING THE
RIDE, one of the trash cans, on the FIRST DAY, has already been scribbled on with a
marker and the paint had been scratched off in the form of names and initials. there was
trash everywhere, gum piles started in various places, and one of the knobish things on a
faux door has been twisted off, the other was hanging on by a string. There were also
people throwing their perfectly good money into a place in the theming, you'll see it when
you go there, but I'm sure SFoT doesn't mind that at all. Gordon, I have very much enjoyed
your page over the past year, I can only hope you are so much intrigued by the next ride that
Six Flags Over Texas builds so I can read about that every day for, hopefully just, a few
months. SFoT

has added the best thing to their park that they have in the past 8 years, it's
worth waiting in a line for an hour or more.
I got another letter from one coaster fan with close ties to the park and (at least
formerly) close ties to ACE. Initially I wasn't going to post from this letter to the Web
site, but I've decided since then to post here from it with my comments. I think this
gives some insight into the perhaps-incestuous relationship between SFTP and
ACE, and perhaps part of why the park has made me such a "persona non grata" as
a result of my efforts towards this Mr. Freeze Web site. The letter is a result of my
comments that I was apparently specifically not invited to the press event. The
writer's comments are in italics; my comments following each part are not in italics.
You whiner!!
Sorry he felt that way. Clearly however I have been someone with a high degree of
expressed interest in Mr. Freeze, all through the construction, and with an
important following among the parks' coaster fan community. I've been nearly the
only public source of information for much of what I've put on the site.
Did you really think you deserved to be invited? No!!
Well, I think I should have been invited. I'm not sure that "deserved" applied to
many of those who were invited, regardless. I'm not sure that most of them did
more to publicize and promote Mr. Freeze, and/or the park, either before they
were invited or after they'd attended.
I assume you failed to read RRC to see how the park made use of the online community.
I think that "made use of" is a very astute term there. Instead of providing
factual and timely information, they stonewalled and tried to clamp down on
any real news getting out. They "rewarded" those they felt they could control,
and snubbed those who they apparently felt they couldn't.
I've received comments in the past about how ACE members have been cautioned
during press events to "please don't say anything negative to anyone about the new
ride", about how they're not supposed to point out that the "new" ride in Houston is in
fact a ride something like 14 years old already (and which reportedly very much
looks it). These cautions are apparently in hopes of maintaining this "position of
privilege" for ACE within the parks. Frankly, I'm not much swayed by this kind of
brown-nosing. I've always tried to call things as I see them, and I think that those
who do otherwise do not deserve to be treated as responsible journalists.
Many of us find that it is best to support the park, instead of publicly complain
about it. Don't get the wrong impression. It is not neccesary to never point out
negatives. On the other hand, it is how you voice that opinion that moves it
from constructive to destructive.

I think that my opinions have in most cases been quite constructive. I've tried not
to just throw rocks, even in cases where that would have been quite justified. I've
commented on numerous areas where I think improvements are needed, and
usually with suggestions on how those improvements might be achieved.
Other people have said to me that they felt certain that a more "strictlypositive"
site would get the support and cooperation of SFOT management.
Turned out that the hypothesis proved to not be true: the resulting "only
positive spin", management-and-park- positive Web site got snubbed and
stonewalled by SFOT management exactly the same way mine has been.
Self control benefitted 20 coaster enthusiasts, who got a preview of the ride,
without the lines.
Frankly, if I have to be "shushed" and cowtow to park management (and/or to
ACE) to get a preview ride, then I'm not really interested. My personal integrity
isn't for sale nearly that cheaply! If this is what it takes to perpetuate the "special
relationship" between the park and ACE, then I'm simply not interested in adding
my own name to the pseudo-mutual-admiration bullshit and shenanigans.
Now here is a comment that I think clearly demonstrates just how
preposterously badly SFTP and ACE have misread the public perception of the
online community and the readers of this Web site:
What tangible benefit have you provided? FYI, people laugh at your site.
Oh, some people probably laugh. Obviously, some of the rumors and comments I've
reported have turned out to be just "good guesses" which sometimes are simply wrong.
Hey, everyone who reads this site ought to understand just what they're getting here. Of
course, this site wouldn't be necessary at all if SFOT would simply post the truth (and
the news about the new rides as they're going up) in something like a timely fashion. As
I've pointed out before several times on this site, if they want the public to have factual,
true information, they could either put it in a press release or otherwise get it to me, and
I'd be glad to post it. Alternatively, they could of course put it on their own Web site...
and that would ensure that they could put whatever spin on it that they wanted to. Their
failure to do that has created a need for a site like this one.
There is a considerable historic precedent for this... for one instance, companies
building new ocean liners traditionally always released "teasers" to the press all
during the construction of their new ships, to try to build excitement to a fever
pitch and culminating when the new liner would enter service. They knew what it
took to get the public interested, and Six Flags has seemingly never learned how
powerful this kind of public relations effort can be.
In any case, the fact is that I have received literally hundreds of letters from regular
readers of this site, thanking me for my efforts in trying to help keep them informed. The

park management (and this ACE guy) have clearly no clue as to how much the
SFOT fans are interested in getting rumors and information (even when they know
it might be wrong) about these new rides. I've received a few negative letters, true,
but by far the greatest majority of them have been overwhelmingly positive.
Can you please double check your facts?
Clearly another silly question, since the only truly authoritative sources of information are
often Six Flags themselves, and they simply have clammed up. How can one "double
check" on a rumor, for heaven's sakes? Also, on a more basic standpoint, please note that
much of what I have reported never claims to be "facts", unless it truly is.
None of us are right all of the time, but it is best to be right as often as possible.
Clearly true. I prefer actual factual information, and report it as and when available.
Note that I clearly haven't always been able to divulge my sources, because nearly
a year ago SFOT started making not-so-veiled threats of "retribution" against people
under their thumb if Six Flags found out they'd been supplying me with information.
Think about these things, while you are waiting in that line. No, the park is not
expecting 6-7 hour lines. Be reasonable when you hear a rumor. Sometimes,
they are so far off the wall, that common sense tells you NO. People have a life.
How many people would stand in a line that long?
Some would, I suppose. I don't know. Again, I've reported rumors I've
gotten, and indicated them as such.
Do you think that creating a web page makes you a part of the media?
Yes, I think it does. Especially when that Web site becomes recognized fairly
widely as a timely, interesting source of information about a particular topic. That
is certainly true about this page.
The media has to be responsible, to be taken seriously.
If you mean by "be responsible" that I only report the "sanitized" stuff that the
park management wants the public to know (and clearly there has been damned
little of that during the 15-odd months the coaster was under construction) then
frankly I personally think that's the height of irresponsibility of a journalist. My
intention is to not simply be a puppet of park management... and I'm dismayed
that from what I hear, ACE seems to be concerned to keep being that.
Oh, I enjoyed my first 30 rides on Mr Freeze. I'm looking forward to many more,
when I can avoid long waits.

Well, I've now ridden it twice. I would have ridden it sooner had I been invited
last Wednesday, but perhaps this is better this way. At least my objectivity isn't
clouded by the artificial hoopla surrounding the spectacle that the riding public
isn't going to see anyhow. I can report the experience for what the general
public will actually see, feel, and ride.
...Who posted my honest review of the ride, after the embargo was lifted.
I'm proud to say that I've in almost no cases had to wait for "embargoed"
information to be released publicly before posting it on this page. I think that's
in fact part of why the readers of this page do read this page!
Mr. Freeze Watch... April and May 1998
As of April 1st, I've received several other reports from early riders. (Actually, some of
these were supposed to be posted yesterday, but somehow they didn't make it to the Web
server and then my system went down... so I've reassembled them for today's update.
Sorry for the delay).
[Report Five]
We mad it to the gates just a few minutes before 10 ... they were already letting people
in... I got to ride twice today, but didn't ride anymore because my kid was upset they
wouldn't let him ride and I didn't want to press my luck and have a crying kid on my
hands. He did get to ride every other coaster in the place though, and he rode them all
hands up. Man what a kid! :) An 8 year old on the Giant with his hands up is pretty cool.
The first time we rode Freeze was about 11-11:30 and the line started right before the
first ramp to the second level inside the building. Not too long a line, and I expected it to
get much longer. About 1:30 the line was out the building. When we rode again at about
2-2:15 it was a walk-on! No line for Mr. Freeze? The coaster itself was a gas. The
acceleration was intense and continued through to the end of the tunnel. The inversions
were "all that and a bag of cheetos" and the spike track was hard to tell it was fully
vertical. The backwards trip was noticeably faster, but the acceleration of the LIMs going
down the spike and the return trip were not what I expected. It was as smooth as the trip
out and very comfortable. All in all it was exactly what I had hoped for and more. I can't
wait to see what they dream up next. My only fault with the coaster, and maybe this is
because I am hardened to coasters now, was that it could have been a little more
intense. At least it didn't fly off the track. :) Oh, yeah, the ride was so smooth that I had a
chance to talk to Bonnie throughout the ride and propose at the top of the spike track. It
was audible enough that the whole train heard it and cheered. We got congratulated
after the ride, and I felt much better for finally asking the question that we both assumed
would be asked for a while now. I guess love really is a roller coaster ride in more ways
than one huh?

I suspect that this was the very first marriage proposal made on board Mr.
Freeze! Anyone prepared to bet on when the second one will be?
[Report Six]
It sure has been a LONG wait, but I finally got my two rides last night... arrived at
the park around 4:00, by 5:00 we'd ridden Mr. Freeze twice (I could have easily
gone another 4 or 5 rides but my companion was by then A. Scared to ride it again,
or, as he claimed, B. Tired of riding it. My choice is A.)... anyway, I really liked the
ride, and received my "ring" the first time, but the second time they were out. It took
me a minute to realize that they were just rings from one of those "throw the ring
around the bottle" games... but a nice touch anyway, I guess. Any clue as to why
they were doing that? My companion had a theory that maybe at some later date
they might be good for something, but I seriously doubt that.
This is the first I've heard of that, although on Tuesday night they were giving
us rings too, as a "free toss" at the nearby midway game.
A friend of mine went on Saturday night, and apparently it broke down close to
closing then too.
BTW, when they closed it, a few of the people who had been very close to the
end of the line, apparently, decided that this was unfair and several of them
became very upset and a fight nearly ensued... but luckily a security guy
intervened and broke it up. I was hoping for one more ride, after dark, but
arrived in time to discover Freeze had broken down for the evening.
As for the ride itself, we sat row 8 the first time, and row 3 the second time...
definitely a big viewing difference between even and odd seats... odd seats are
better! and since row 8 is the second row of train 4, our noses were so close to the
next row of headrests, we couldn't see much of anything... but in row 3, we had
some room in front of us, and the view was much much better... Also, in row 3 we
got a bit of the fog, whereas in row 8 we didn't even notice it was there!
The most bizarre part of the ride (IMHO) is during the return trip, after the
wingover, when the train goes backwards up the top hat... It was very weird,
and it seemed as tho we were free-falling upwards. I hope to get first row when
I go back next weekend. If the thing is open... seems to break down daily. You'd
THINK with a year a half they could have gotten the bugs worked out... I mean
REALLY!!!! I'm pleased to see it open at all, but COME ON, it's been there over
a YEAR, and it's STILL unreliable... Oh well, whatever... I came, I saw, I rode...
now I'm eagerly awaiting the next coaster! And oh please let it be a B&M...
I do believe Mr. Freeze is my #1 steel tho, I love it but I love Texas Giant more... :)
Regarding vandalism in the queue area, I got this from a Six Flags fan in New Jersey:

I saw in your report on Mar. 30 that there was some vandalism in the queue line for
Mr. Freeze. Well I was one of the lucky few that got to ride the Chiller in the two
days that it was open and in those two days the patrons somehow managed to
basically destroy the inside theming for the queue line (carving their names and
drawing all over the paint on the fake brick, leaving their garbage all over the floor
even though there were plenty of waiting garbage cans), It really sickens me how
people just have no problem destroying something that looked so nice. I hope
SFGAd figures out a way to protect the brick walls better this year.
I'm glad to report that the chewing gum on the brick that had been there Sunday
had been removed by Tuesday night. I hope that they do keep this in check.
Once it gets out of hand, it seems to deteriorate rapidly.
[Report Seven]
We got to the park at about 9:40, and were in line to get in at 9:45. There were
probably around 300 people waiting to get in at that time. They opened the
gates at about 9:50, but then still had another rope blocking off the park. That
they opened right at 10:00, and, not surprisingly, the vast majority of the folks
waiting ran to Mr. Freeze. We chose to walk, which wasn't a bad decision.
We were on the coaster within about 20 minutes. They've really got an
impressive dispatch time. The queue is reasonably nice and it's very well airconditioned.
(I'd seen one report suggesting otherwise on the a/c; I guess they
fixed it up some.) There's one part of the queue where the line is above
another part of the line as sort of a balcony, and that's going to have problems
with kids throwing stuff, but it didn't happen much yesterday.
The ride ops are being EXTREMELY by the book, and have a very specific set
steps through which they go to get you loaded on. ("Go stand on the circle with
the number 3 on it and wait there. Now go to the rectangle with the number 3
on it.) For the first time *ever*, I was required to remove my glasses, despite
the fact that on however many hundreds of coaster rides, I've never had a
problem. That sort of bothered me, though I can understand the reason
generally. I'd rather be allowed to run the risk if I wanted to do so.
It's not only for your benefit. It's also to protect the other passengers on the
train. It's amazing how much stuff is collected from underneath the other rides,
whose passengers seemingly are willing "to run the risk" and lose the bet.
In any case, we got into the station. Most of you probably know that they have a really slick
dispatch system with two trains. Each one is on its own transfer cart that slides horizontally
into place to launch onto the track while the other one loads. Though it seems like the sort of
thing that could have problems, it ran all day yesterday without any that I saw. The transfer
cart also has baskets for holding your stuff like glasses safely.

Now, the ride. In a word, wow. 70 mph in under four seconds from standing still is a
pretty amazing thing. They've got (somewhat silly- looking) chasing lights in the tunnel
and smoke, both of which do add somewhat to the effect. The top hat inversion, way up
in the air, is quite a feeling (and I suspect quite a view, but it was all rather fuzzy due to
my being glasses-less). Then you go out around the curve and up the very high tower
(241 ft? don't remember. Something around that.) They've got LIMs up on the tower to
pull you up the rest of the way. I was afraid it might feel like the end of Flashback,
where you really feel the train being grabbed; it was much much smoother. Then a brief
time hanging there and through it all backwards and very fast. 32 seconds of actual ride
time,
I believe.
I rode three times, never waiting more than a half hour. I was lucky enough to
get the front seat once, which is definitely the seat of choice. (Though the smoke
wasn't really going yet when the front car got to that point in the tunnel, so the
effect was reduced a bit.) The ride is not terribly rough. I've not been on OL:FOF,
but given all the complaints about it, I can't imagine that this is anywhere near it
pain-wise. I heard none of the GP complaining about roughness at all, either.
A quick side note before heading off to work: Mr. Freeze does appear to be having
the effect I suspected it would: near walk- on lines for the Texas Giant. Yesterday, the
waits were at most 10 minutes, and this was on a *beautiful* Sunday afternoon.
March 31st was my "1997 season pass ride time" and I took good advantage of it. I
got to the park just after 6pm and rode Mr. Freeze twenty-one times in the almost
four hours remaining. (Thus, I'm now at twenty- three rides in all). One of the other
readers who was there riding with us reached 60 rides, and another reader hit 45
rides. The rider with 60 has the ambition of reaching 100 rides before the end of
April, and 1000 rides before the end of the season. He just might make it!
So, many of you have asked about my overall impression of the ride. Now
that I've ridden both trains and ridden just about every row from the first to the
last, I think I'm better able to give my impressions.
There are a few things which are at least somewhat uncomfortable. I'd like to see
subsequent trains have a little more room between the two adjacent horse collars,
since there's not quite enough room for two largeish guys' arms there to reach up
and grab the hand holds. I'd also like to see more/softer/thicker padding on the
restraints (maybe even on the headrests too), since head-banging really still is a
problem (and is worse in some seats than others... the very first row is the
smoothest, I think). There's also a padded corner of the car's side which on me hits
my arm just above my elbow, and although it's padded is still sort of uncomfortable
and I had the impression that the spot near my elbow got a little raw.
I still think it's interesting that the siren preceding the launch, so prominently
audible during testing (and even from across IH30), is all but totally inaudible

from inside the station.

The fog effect in the launch tunnel is of fairly limited value. Only front-seat passengers
really can see it hardly at all (and they also get to see the magnetic brakes lower and
the mechanical brakes open, which is the series of "clicking" noises one hears just prior
to the launch). The front seat row, like B:TR (Batman: The Ride, the B&M inverted at
other Six Flags parks) is clearly the seat of choice. Best view, smoothest ride, etc.
One thing that I particularly enjoy is the quick 90-degree heartline flips on either
side of the top hat inversion.
Although the launch itself is absolutely thrilling, I have to concur with the previous report
that I received about the top hat inversion (especially on the return trip) being one of the
curiously strangest parts of the ride. You get very disoriented here (and this effect is
maybe stronger when riding further back on the train). Part of this seems to me to be
because you see the train curved dish-like in front of (and 'above') you, and with a fairly
massive set of the tower's beamed structure "above" you. You really lose your sense of
"up" and "down" at this point, since the tower's mass seems to be "above" the train,
therefore the other direction (actually up) seems "down". And this series of strangely
disorienting sensations... you really not having any real sense of how high you are on
the spike track, and then this bizarre "up is down" sense in the top hat on the return...
are part of what gives this ride its charmingly enticing appeal. If the duration of any given
condition were longer, you'd probably successfully reorient yourself. But the ride is so
fast that you don't really have time to do that before your orientation changes again.
Anyhow, I think that this ride is clearly a winner. It has perhaps the best interior themeing
of any of the SFOT rides (certainly not Disney standard, but quite good for Six Flags). It's
probably the only one with a significant portion of the queue being in air-conditioned
space (which will be very welcome in those hot Dallas summers). The ride itself is very
exciting. I think that the public will love it (and certainly the season passholders did at the
party tonight... I don't think I talked to anybody there who didn't love it). The consensus
among the "coaster cognoscenti" that I spoke with was that about the only serious
competition Mr. Freeze has (among steel coasters anyhow) is Great White at Sea World
in San Antonio, or the very similar Alpengeist. And I think that a lot of the general public
will like Mr. Freeze nearly as well (if not even more) than the Texas Giant.
I want to thank, by the way, the many readers of this page who have written of their
outrage regarding the letter I got from the [former?] ACE guy. I think it shows how out of
touch ACE is (like Six Flags themselves...) with the online coaster and SFOT guest
community. Here are a few representative excerpts from some of the letters I received:
I happened to read your web page today, well I actually read it everyday, and
was wondering who sent you that last post that you made comments about on
your web page. Whoever wrote that was an asshole.
Here's another:

I just have to say that I am a member of ace and after reading what the person wrote to
you that you posted today is terrible. I really hope the majority of ace members are not
like him (or her). I live in pa so I am not even close to texas, but I have been watching
your page daily since you started it. I love the info you have. Like you said, it would
have been very nice to go check six flags page every day for info, but since they never
had any, yours was the best choice. all I can say is BRAVO for people like you that are
not afraid to tell it how it is and not just what the parks want you to say.
And another:
I would love to report about the no one waiting for a seven hour queue, I have seen
with my own eyes at Disneyland for the Indiana Jones Adventure that there was
indeed a 7hr+ wait and it took up almost all of Adventureland to maintain as i recall.
And another:
I just finished reading your latest update. I wanted to let you know that since I
found your Mr Freeze page I've connected to it almost everyday. I think it was
October maybe earlier. Anyway, I don't understand how anyone can bad mouth
you for your site. you were simply always updating the public with information
that Six Flags was constantly keeping "the fans" in the dark about. If they didn't
like what you had to say, why did they keep on looking at your site? Anyway, I
like the site, people like that need the snot beat out of them.
Certainly I've devoted a lot of money, time and effort to developing this Web site,
and the many E-mails I've gotten from the coaster fans who follow it regularly
have given me the encouragement to continue my efforts. I'm glad that so many
of you appreciate what I've tried to do here!
I'd also like to thank the numerous local friends of this Web site who were among
the people I rode with tonight! It was really neat finally having the chance to ride
with y'all, and I hope we'll be able to do that again sometime before too long!
As of April 2nd, several readers have asked exactly how the 1997 Season
Passholder parties have been working. Although probably subject to change,
what they were doing on Tuesday night was as follows:
· There is no parking charge. Just drive in the main entrance, past the
parking plaza, and park your car.
· At the entrance turnstiles, you present your invitation letter and it is kept
by the gate staff. This prevents you from returning on another date.
· At the entrance to Mr. Freeze, you have to present your 1997 Season
Pass, where the ride ops person punches a hole in your last year's pass.
· In addition to Mr. Freeze, they were also running Mine Train and Mini-
Mine-Train.

· One or two food places were open, although apparently very lightly patronized.
· Several of the game booths were open.
· They were giving out free rings (one per person) for the "toss the ring
over the neck of the bottle" game.
A newspaper article in the Star-Telegram has reported that Premier Parks has now
completed their acquisition of the Six Flags chain, following a stock offering which
brought in about twice as money as was expected. Sounds like a good investment
for theme park and roller coaster fans! The stock is apparently selling for about $60 a
share. Although Premier Parks does not own SFOT (or the park in Atlanta), by
acquiring SFTP they now have a firm agreement to become the owners of SFOT (I'm
not sure about the Atlanta park) by a specified date in the future. The article says
that they've also now closed the purchase of the six European parks. There has
even been discussion that Premier Parks might move their corporate headquarters
from Oklahoma City to the Dallas area... read the article for details.
I continue to be very optimistic about the changes we can expect with new
management. While there will perhaps not be many changes during this season (an
organization as large as Six Flags does have considerable inertia), I think that Premier
Parks will help root out some of those people in SFTP (and local park management)
who have been responsible for some of the unfortunate things we've seen from the
park, and either change their attitude or get rid of them. At least fresh management will
be more inclined to revisit some of the bad decisions made in the past, and hopefully
correct them. It was clear that previous management had made their mind up, and was
determined to keep following their former unfortunate direction.
We all know how Six Flags has tried so hard to keep everyone in the dark about Mr.
Freeze, their stonewalling, and the absolutely pitiful Web site they've had. Just for a
striking contrast take a look at the approach that Premier Parks (the new owners of
Six Flags) has taken for their new coaster ROAR being built at Adventure World.
Check out their approach to pre-opening publicity, and compare all of that with the
garbage we coaster fans have suffered with at the hands of Six Flags management.
And remember, we are not the enemy... we are SFOT's greatest fans and
supporters!!! Let's hope that the Premier Parks approach to their online fans like at
Adventure World is what we'll be seeing for the new coasters promised for 1999 and
2000 here at SFOT! These initial signs for what we'll be seeing from Premier Parks
looks promising indeed. Whoever it was that orchestrated the obnoxious and
inappropriate public relations policy at SFOT needs to be "re-educated" (or
dismissed) as soon as possible!
I've heard from several other people attending the season passholder parties
who report that the punching of the season pass is not always done. It's also
been pointed out that the Carousel was open (in fact, it was open the night I was
there, too... mea culpa). Sometimes the Mine Train and Mini-Mine-Train is not
open, it seems... apparently it's going to be hard to predict which other rides
might or might not be open the night your party is scheduled.

Different nights apparently are more or less crowded, for reasons which are not
obvious. One reader reports that his wait to ride Mr. Freeze was never more
than a couple of minutes, even with only one train running. (On the night I was
there, they ran sometimes (either) one, sometimes both, trains).
Here's another point worth mentioning, although this is from an "old item". I heard back
from the source that had reported hearing the rumor about the train separating on one
of the test runs... they report that they have determined to their satisfaction that that
particular rumor is false. (Honestly, from now looking at the exceedingly robust-looking
links between the cars, it's hard indeed to imagine the train coming apart).
Another reader has brought up the interesting question about "what
happens to Mr. Freeze in the event of a power failure?"
Clearly the ride will not have the reserves of power needed (2.4 million watts!) to run
unaffected during power failures. Uninterruptible power supplies are pretty hard to get in
such enormous sizes!! It is a fairly safe bet that the computer and control/monitoring
systems for the ride are protected by some kind of a battery backup power system. The
primary braking system on return to the launch tunnel is magnetic, using the same kind
of technology as the "Giant Drop" systems use (and this system does not require
external electrical power). The final mechanical braking systems (like on most coasters)
are operated by compressed air, with enough pressure in reserve in air tanks to
guarantee adequate braking power. Also remember that the large amounts of electrical
power used for the LIMs is needed only during a very small portion of the duration of the
ride... less than four seconds in the launch tunnel, and maybe about the same amount of
time (less?) while the train is on the spike. A short-term primary power failure during the
rest of the trajectory would probably have no real effect on the train, since it's operating
then on gravity like any other coaster.
If worst came to worst, the train would valley (as we've seen it do so many times during
testing) and the passengers would be evacuated using the catwalks that have been added
for that purpose. The ride would be closed for the several hours it takes to move the train,
car-by-car, back to the station. A major nuisance, but not really a safety hazard. Obviously,
there are never more than the one train on the track at any time, anyhow.
As of April 5th, Chiller (both sides!) opened today (or yesterday?) at Six Flags
Great Adventure in New Jersey. Initial reports from those who have ridden it
are good. Here's an example:
Chiller was finally opened!! It opened right at ten, and I rode the Batman side first! After
getting off the Batman side, I went directly to the Robin side which was also very good! The
Batman side was definitely a lot smoother, but people seem to flock to Robin because of the
Cobra roll. Both sides are great, and I even got to ride the front car of Robin which which
was totally awesome. I have been dying to get on this ride since last year (I

was out of state when it was opened for the brief 2 days) and it was well worth the wait!!
Both sides were opened all day, and there seemed to be no problems what so ever!
Sounds like good news indeed!
Here's another report:
All I have to say is, I finally had a good time at SFGADv, the Chiller finally
reopened after only operating a day and a half last June. Since I rode 2 times
last year, I kind of knew what I was in for, but it was just great to be back to
riding the best coaster. I got a total of 10 rides on the chiller.
Batman side: 2 rides, 1 time back and 1 time front... the front kicks the crap
out of the back for the batman side
Robin side: 8 rides, 1 back, 1 middle, and 6 front... in my opinion, robin side is a lot
better, I like the cobra roll inversion more then the tophat on the batman side.
I think that these rides, like B:TR, really do give a much nicer experience in the
VERY front row of seats.
I thought I got more head banging today then I got the first day it opened in 97...
I thought the harneses were uncomfortable, but that might have been because I
left my harness so loose and didn't hold on for any of my 10 rides, and the thing
just beat me up. I have black and blue marks in the inside of the upper part of
my arms from them hitting the harness.
I think that the head-banging thing is still an issue, and I'd like to see still more
padding on the restraints (and even the headests too).
I really wish I could experience the spike track on your Mr Freeze, it looks 100
times better then the slanted spike we have here, but all in all, it was great to get
back to riding the Chiller.
Certainly the spike track is very cool, but quite honestly you're looking straight
up, and unless you're sitting in the very front two seats (and even then...)
you're not really very aware of how high up you are.
As for the info you have gotten about Premier and the Six Flags corporate offices, I have
heard that Premier is looking to close the offices in NJ and move theirs to somewhere in
Texas... I did think the article did mention it will fire some of the SF people...
The story I'm hearing is that Premier Parks still feels very "at home" in Oklahoma City,
but is considering moving their headquarters to the Dallas/Fort Worth area due mainly
to the better airport and direct-flight facilities here. It would make it far easier for them to
get to and from their various parks around the country (and the world) when necessary.

I also got the following fascinating article about the New Jersey park's new ride for 1999:
One-of-a-kind thrill on tap at Six Flags
Published in the Asbury Park Press 3/28/98
By CORI ANNE NATOLITOMS RIVER BUREAU
WANTED: thrill-ride seekers. REWARD: a 3 1/2-minute go-around
next spring on
the world's first-of-its-kind roller coaster to be built in the
Frontier section at Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson Township.
Imagine there is nothing beneath your feet and nothing above your
head. Your
vision, for all intents and purposes, is unrestricted. You find
support only
in the chair under your bottom and perhaps the riders who may
be occupying
the three other seats in your row.
The safety bar is fastened, your feet are dangling, and you're ready
to fly
on the coaster that Six Flags President Vincent Lupinacci said he
hopes is
open by spring 1999.
"This ride is truly the first of its kind," Lupinacci said in
an interview
Friday. "It's called a heart-line track. Instead of the track
running below
a car like a traditional roller coaster, or above a car, like
Batman: The
Ride, this track runs in the middle of the cars. This open-seat
configuration offers a new level of thrill and is unparalleled in
the way of
thrill-seeking rides."
The 4,116-foot-long steel track will stretch in spiraling corkscrews
and camel-back inclines, offering zero G-force rolls, making riders
feel weightless. There also will be seven inversions, through which
they will be
turned upside down and back around again.
"It's going to feel like you're in a flying chair," Lupinacci said
of the
ride, yet to be named.
Riders will be elevated 152 feet from the ground after climbing to
the ride's peak. A quick glimpse and some may catch other attractions
near where
the ride is slated for construction this November.
"What they're describing is just unprecedented in the history of
roller coasters," said thrill-ride enthusiast Paul Ruben, 60, of
Penfield, N.Y. "I
can't wait to ride it. It's going to be a distinctive new thrill."
Ruben, who has been riding coasters for 55 years, is the editor of
Park World, a worldwide trade publication about the outdoor amusement
industry.
"I think Great Adventure has a world-class ride in their hands,"
Ruben said
Friday. "This is sure to capture the imagination of all thrill seekers."

The ride's concept was conceived by a Swiss firm, Bolliger
and Mabillard,
one of the world's most reputable manufacturers for thrill
rides, Lupinacci
said.
"The owner, Walter Bolliger, has taken a very active interest as
we look to
install this ride," Lupinacci said. "We think just looking at it,
even if
you're not a thrill rider, you'll be entertained just watching guests
on it."
A site plan for the ride was submitted to the Jackson Township
Planning Board on March 18.
"We haven't heard anything on that (approval) yet," Lupinacci said.
"But more likely than not the ride will open next May."
Source: Asbury Park Press
Published: March 28, 1998
So far there's not definitive news from St. Louis about their Mr. Freeze, but there
are at least tales of advertisements being seen that claim Mr. Freeze will be
opening there when the park reopens for the season on Friday April 10th.
As for the Premier Parks takeover of SFTP, I'm hearing now from multiple sources
that the former SFTP corporate offices in New Jersey have been (or will be soon)
dissolved (and that those few remaining staffers there not resigning have been
terminated as of the beginning of April). This surprises me a little, since it is
apparently not ordinarily Premier Parks style to immediately chop existing
management. Apparently, most of them quit rather than work for Premier, and most
of those remaining were in positions which Premier already had adequately staffed.
In any case, as I've said here repeatedly, I think that a change of management style
is definitely in order... and if that can't be achieved within the existing staff, then
bringing in a new staff at least offers the likelihood of a fresh outlook on such issues.
I tried calling their [former?] Corporate Headquarters in Parsippany NJ (which
the listed SIC code for the company shows as "Flag Poles Manufacturing and
Wholesale" (!) ) but of course got shunted around voice mail hell.
As of April 8th, the folks at the park in St. Louis are still officially being secretive
about when Mr. Freeze there will be open. Rumor has it, however, that it will be
open when the park reopens for the season this coming weekend.
Late-breaking news from St. Louis:

A local Radio station ths morning was having a contest at a 7-11. They would select 2
contestants to chug a Slurpee or Freeze as they referred to it. The person who drank
the most in 30 seconds would be offered free admission to the park on Friday to ride
Mr. Freeze with the Radio Station, 105.7 The Point. This gives me the impression that
they are definitely counting on the coaster to be operational on Opening day Friday the
10th! I thought the contest idea was pretty cool... Lucky Dogs!
So now we have yet another indicator that the ride WILL be opening Friday in St.
Louis. Further, St. Louis TV channel 2 also reported tonight that the park (with
Mr. Freeze) will be opening on Friday. Thursday is media day (newspapers,
radio, press have already been summoned to be there), and (following the
tradition set here, and since it's the last night before public opening) the ride will
in all certainty be opened to all park employees on Thursday night.
As of April 9th, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has published an article saying that
the St. Louis Mr. Freeze will be opening on Friday, and confirming when I spoke
with them by telephone that the park employee party is scheduled for tonight.
The media event there is scheduled for this afternoon.
The NBC affiliate station in St. Louis (KSDK) aired a report which reportedly
even talked about the LIMs and their housings.... interesting that they'd go to
that technical a detail in a report for the main public. (Anyone see that item, so
they can tell me more about what was really said?)
Word is that the "Freeze" moniker is appropriate... weather there in St. Louis
tonight for the employee "party" is about 45 degrees, overcast, rain and blustery.
Tomorrow, the first day open to the public, is expected to be sunny, temperatures
in the 60's, and even better during the weekend. So readers in the St. Louis
area... get out to the park and JUST RIDE THIS BEAST!!!
As of April 10th, I rode Mr. Freeze this afternoon for the 24th time. Since the queue
was basically to the entrance of the Snowy face, I took the opportunity to time the
queue duration. From the Snowy face entrance to the exit towards the outside
"intermission" queue area was about 24 minutes. The "intermission" outside queue
area was about 18-19 minutes long. It took another 17 minutes to reach the chain at
the entrance to the loading room on the second floor, and about another five
minutes to actually board the train and launch. Total time thus in the queue, from
Snowy face to actually boarding the train, was about 1 hour 5 minutes.
Although the St. Louis park's Mr. Freeze opened to the public today, they've
reportedly scheduled a special media event (and at least some ACE members
were invited to this one) for Thursday, April 30th (!), from 5:45am through 1pm.
They'll be furnishing breakfast and lunch.

As of April 11th, I've started getting reports from the St. Louis Mr. Freeze riders.
Here is one of them:
...I could hear the roar from the parking lot. Mr. Freeze is almost as loud as Batman.
The
sun reflected off of the fins as the train ran through the twisted track...
I went down the hill, past Thunder River, and walked through the big snowy cone. The
line was built with the expectancy of a lot of riders. Some security lady was warning
these younger guys to remove their earrings. Now these guys had small studs in their
ears and it was not like they had the big loop jobbers, crosses, or something that may
stick them on the ride. Can't these people have some common sense ...
For whatever it's worth, I support the parks' decision to insist on the removal of
earrings for all riders.
The line was light, and the wait was minimal. I went inside the queue building, turned
left, was told to go to the left. I then went up the stairs, which led right to the station
room. It was noticably cooler in the station. I was placed in the first row. The transfer
cart was quite impressive. The door opened, and i got onto the train. The seat was a
comfortable size, but there was little leg room. The restraints came down in a fashion
that my head was right in between the tops of the harness. "Oh No" I thought. Ideally,
the restraints would cover your shoulders, but not surround your head. The other train
returned and we moved into position. A low, mumbly voice said something like "keep
your hands in the car." The brakes were let off (you could see it right down the track), ...
I don't understand why Six Flags can't seem to ever have decent sound
reinforcement systems that one can clearly hear. The Disney parks all do! The
difference between good stuff, and the junk Six Flags buys, simply couldn't
materially increase the cost of an already-expensive ride like this.
I do think it's cool to be able to watch the brakes as they release down the track, just
prior to the launch. Only the people in the very front row of the train, of course, can see
this. (One thing I failed to mention yesterday was that I was in row 5 here in Dallas, but
still was plainly aware of the smoke in the tunnel... so I guess that's been improved).
...the lights started chasing, and away we went. The launch is about as quiet as
OLFOF at Kings Island, but it gets you going SO much faster! Out of the tunnel and
up we went. The flip, over the top and flip again was pretty smooth, but the
wingover has some nasty side to side action. We raced upward to the top of the
spike. We were not here very long. We stopped and zoomed right back down. The
return trip featured a little more banging, but it was side to side, and we were back
in the tunnel. My legs felt a little light afterwards. I tried to wactch a launch from the
back of the station room after the ride, but a ride op moved me along.

This ride in the front was rough on the head. I was not up for a return ride. My
ears stung for a good ten minutes after the ride, and I know the wait time was
not that long. I walked it off, and tried again later.
This is interesting, since on the Dallas ride the front row is the smoothest, and
with the least head- banging. Here, the further back seats (and the middle)
have the most head-banging, I think.
This time, everybody was being directed to the west side. They closed the east side due
to low ridership. This was interesting because I was next to get on the train, this time in
row nine, and they announced they were closing momentarily. Some folks got a touch
antsy, but of course these folks may not have been antsy at all, had they announced
they are closing one side and to be patient. About three or four technicians pushed,
that's right pushed, the train into the tunnel ahead of the tranfer cart off of the main
track. It looked like some guys pushing a car into a service station with a dead battery.
This is interesting, since there ARE a dozen LIMs on each transfer cart,
which could certainly at least in theory push the train off the transfer cart and
onto the service/maintenance track.
So the ride got up and running. This time. the harness went down past my head, as I
pulled it down all the way. This made for a more comfortable ride. The launch is just
flat out super. The return trip again caused some head banging, but not as bad as
the front. After leaving the station house, there were two employees cleaning up
some evidence that one of the riders just could not stomach the ride.
That's interesting. I've not seen anybody get sick at all on Mr. Freeze yet, and
I tend to wonder if that was even the cause of their nausea.
I could have stayed at the park a little longer, but my leg started hurting, I didn't
feel so hot from the day old doughnut I had at work, plus there were other
things that I had to tend to today.
I ran into another ACE member there. He does not live in St Louis (actually, I do not
remember where he was from) but I remembered him from the Busch Gardens
confrence. He was there for Mr Freeze. He also liked the back better. He rode
yesterday, and they made no mention about his glasses, yet today a ride op made a
big deal about it. He'll remember to mention that when he writes to the park.
I personally use a strap on my glasses, particularly on the Texas Giant, but I
have no reluctance at all to remove them on Mr. Freeze. I'm very happy to
place them in the basket on the transfer cart while I ride.
Employee orientation still needs work. Some poor girl could not operate the credit
card swiper at "Screen Stars Diner" where I ate a rather pricey burger, and it flat out
stunk. Are there any places that serve fresh fruit down at SFOT? That's something

that would

e a big plus. Maybe Busch Gardens in Tampa had better access, but this is
something I'd like to see the parks consider.
I think you can get some fresh fruit at Aunt Addie Jean's here (probably about the
only reasonably decent place to eat at SFOT, I believe). They do have a wonderfullooking
strawberry shortcake, with large (and fresh, obviously not frozen) berries.
Overall the park can stand some improving, but I guess there will be more once
Premier gets more settled with this park.
I'm very hopeful that we'll see quite a number of positive changes as Premier
puts their mark on the parks. I'm told that nearly the entire SFTP headquarters
staff in Parsippany NJ is gone, either quitting or being laid off, so hopefully
some of their bad policies will leave with them.
I've enjoyed checking the page for updates, and I am glad to know I have
helped to make a contribution of information. Hopefully, I'll get to Texas and ride
the Mr Freeeze that turns to the left up the tophat, and that fantastic wooden
rollercoaster all enthusiasts know as the Texas Giant.
I really do need to thank all of the wonderful loyal readers of this Web site, without
whose marvelous assistance and contributions of sightings, rumors, and other news
it would have been so difficult for me to help in trying to keep everybody up-to- date.
Your many encouraging letters have helped also to give me the purpose to continue
my efforts, and I'm very appreciative for all your support.
While we're on that topic, I've had numerous inquiries about "what's going to
happen to the Web site, now that Mr. Freeze is open?" The answer, at least for
now, is that I'm not really sure. I'm certainly still getting messages from y'all, and
as long as it looks like this Web page serves a useful purpose, I'll probably keep
it going (although it might go into a relatively dormant period from time to time, as
news grows sparse or as my business trips necessitate).
As of April 12th, the rumor mill is saying that one of the early changes to be
brought by Premier ownership will be a new water park adjoining the St. Louis park.
This isn't truly very surprising, as Premier is if anything even bigger into water parks
than they are in theme parks! I'd assume that the similar upgrade will be done to
other Six Flags parks which don't already have an adjoining or nearby water park.
As of May 6th, there are a variety of interesting things going on at Six Flags.
First of all, Mr. Freeze's tower has had a curious hook-like appendage added to the top of it.
Up to now, I don't have a clue as to its function. At first I thought it was some kind of

support for a worker basket lift or something, but it's been there long enough
now that maybe they intend to leave it there.
As for the buyout of Six Flags by Premier Parks, I hear that Premier's Kentucky
Kingdom is reportedly accepting Six Flags season passes, and Kentucky
Kingdom season passes are being accepted at all Six Flags parks. The name at
the Kentucky park is expected to officially change to "Six Flags Kentucky
Kingdom" sometime later this year (but definitely by next year).
I finally got down to San Antonio to visit Six Flags Fiesta Texas, and have very
mixed feelings about it.
First, the good news. I was one of the first members of the general public to ride their
new Bugs Bunny-themed flume ride, and the themeing is really pretty nice (especially
in the queue building). As, indeed, is the themeing in most parts of that park! The park
really has a very different architectural feel from one section to another... the themeing
throughout the park, I think, is distinctly better than here at SFOT.
Their "Jokers Revenge" coaster (which you ride in reverse) is an interesting idea
(and the "fun house" queue house is fairly cool) but the ride itself is really short,
and the head-banging is very uncomfortable.
The Road-Runner themed coaster was probably my favorite of their coasters
there. It's a fairly interesting course which goes up and over the edge of the
quarry (that the park was built in), in close proximity to the Rattler. I think they
might have been better advised to put the trackside themeing elements nearer
the top of the hills, so rider would be able to enjoy them more... instead of near
the bottom, where you're going too fast to really appreciate the Coyote's stunts.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the day was riding the Rattler... although it's not
as if I wasn't warned. The general comments I've heard from others is that "the Rattler
used to be a really first-rate coaster..." I could tell that it obviously once was.
Unfortunately, what's left is perhaps a case study in what not to do to a roller coaster. As
a result of drastic reprofiling and a heavy hand at the brakes, the resulting "de-fanged"
Rattler is actually boring, rather like sitting through a tedious, too-long movie.
The other disappointment was seeing what Six Flags management had done to the shows
(and the universal comments have been that what set Fiesta Texas apart from other parks
were their really first-class shows). The Zaragoza Theatre, which seemingly used to have
classy Mexican folkloric dancing, has predictably given way to yet another of those ghastly,
cheesy Batman-themed stunt shows. I've always felt that the Batman franchise is a terribly
weak one. Despite the generally wonderful B&M inverted "Batman" coasters that most Six
Flags parks have, and the excellent new Mr. Freeze coaster here, it's pretty clear that the
Batman movies survive mostly on the strengths of their special effects (and even those
weren't enough to save last year's bomb). With the cheesy special effects used in the
Batman Stunt Show (no movie producer would dare using such tacky sets and

props), the result is not surprisingly disappointing. I'm hoping that Premier management will
back off at least a little on the dependence on "Batman" as a show theme (at least)...
or if they stay with it, that they'll bring in some serious, high-quality sets and special
effects (maybe even some really first-rate stage-magic-grade illusions?).
The B&M inverted at Sea World of Texas, which I also rode, is another first-class
coaster, at least as good as the Batman coasters at Six Flags parks (although
curiously it seems to be a shorter ride by something like ten seconds... I don't
know if that's because it's a shorter track, or if the speed is higher, or just what).
I'm told that Great White is probably just about the only B&M coaster anywhere
that you can ride with (usually) little or no wait in line. Sea World otherwise is a
nice-looking park, but it found that it feels quite "sparse".
As of August 17th, there are a variety of rumors floating around (which I've not yet
personally confirmed) that there are pieces of steel track and other structure starting
to appear at SFOT... the rumors say that it's being staged BOTH in the area behind
the games building (where Mr. Freeze was staged), AND to the west end of the
main parking lot (where Runaway Mountain pieces were staged). This does suggest
that we are indeed going to get (at least) two new coasters for next year. Once I've
had a chance to inspect the stuff (if it's there) I should be able to better say if these
are probably parts of the same coaster, or two (perhaps even quite different) rides.
One thing that's happened at SFOT which I'm much less happy about than seeing new
rides start showing up is that they've started closing the better restaurants in the park
far too early. The only really respectable place to eat in the park, Aunt Addie Jean's, is
closing at 7pm (!!) even on a Saturday night when the park is open until 10pm. It's
really dumb to leave guests in the park with only fast-food-grade places to eat at the
normal dinner hours of 7:30, 8:00, 8:30, even 9pm. I suspect they're doing this so they
can run a "normal" eight- hour shift (11am until 7pm) for the workers there, but there
must be a better solution. (The other place I figured might serve as a fallback, the
mexican-themed Cafe Banderas, also closes at 7pm... and just as inexcusably).
I've been alerted by one reader that this Web site got an excellent mention in
Texas Monthly's updated roller coaster article online, and with several links to
my pages. Thanks, Texas Monthly!
As of August 18th, I went by SFOT this evening and found nothing at all in the area behind
the games building (the area we've been suspecting is the future "Gotham City"). However,
the grassy area (completely unlit) on the west end of the main parking lot (where Runaway
Mountain pieces were staged) definitely has something stored there (hard to tell just what,
in the dark...). In the shadows, it certainly did look like it could be

coaster track and structure pieces. I'll try to get by there again later in the
week to get a better look at it!
SFOT gets its B&M Coaster!!!
As of August 21st, I went by and took a look at what those pieces are in the west
end of the parking lot at SFOT. They are from B&M! It's definitely a coaster, and
probably a suspended coaster. What's there so far (including a seagoing container
from Hapag-Lloyd...) is incomplete of course with many pieces arranged on the
grass. The pieces that are arranged there so far look like mostly pieces from the
station (building and track itself, but also railing pieces for queue areas etc etc), and
the lift hill. I didn't see any of the looping or swooping track pieces there yet (nor, for
that matter, any of the characteristic B&M box-section track backbone pieces). It
uses the opposing rubber tire drive system in the station and on the lift hill. There
are a couple of telltale pieces present, including the top and bottom of the lift hill,
some catwalk pieces and under-lift-hill grating pieces, as well as a transfer cart
piece (I think this is for the return to the station area) and (most telling perhaps) the
flat, wide textured steel "lowering floor" section under the train boarding area.
It's too early to tell, I think, if this is going to be a "normal" Batman: The Ride
(like at most of the other Six Flags parks) or if it's something different.
As always, I'll post more details as soon as I have them.
As of September 16th, I've gotten reports about a number of layoffs at Six Flags
parks around the country. The layoffs (something like 30 people at each park) are
mostly concerning safety, training, and maintenance staff. Many positions which
were previously full-time year-round positions are being reduced to seasonal.
It's been a while since I've been out at the park, but next time I'm there I'm planning
on taking another good look at the new coaster parts which are still arriving there.
One of the wilder rumors (unsubstantiated up to now) is that there might even be two
new coasters (sounds too good to be true... so it's probably not).
As of September 20th, there is more news about the recent layoffs at the park
in St. Louis
The rumors are that they generally cut either the highest paid employees
in some departments, and the lower-rung employees in a few others.

As of October 20th, the signs are starting to be visible at SFOT about where
the new inverted B&M coaster will be installed. The warehouse between the Mr.
Freeze launch tunnel and the former staging area (and note that this building
was in rather good shape, as SFOT buildings go... so it's not like it was falling
apart) has been torn down... clear evidence that the new coaster will indeed be
installed in that grassy staging area, behind the existing "games building" (which
will no doubt be torn down after the season ends in January).
This helps confirm the redevelopment of at least the northern end of
"Good Times Square" as a "Gotham City" themed area.
Rumors are also about that suggest that the Batman: The Ride we're getting will
differ slightly in themeing from the other B:TR at the other parks... in that this
one is supposed to have painted "frost" on it, and perhaps even fake "icicles"...
due to the actions of the adjacent Mr. Freeze.
As of November 4th, SFOT has officially announced their plans for 1999.
Along with the Batman: The Ride clone (as was reported here earlier) and the new
"Gotham City" section (as predicted here earlier), they've also announced a new
"Escape from Dino Island 3D" ride (which I suspect will replace The Right Stuff?) and
six new shows, including a Hollywood-style magic show. (So if you enjoy the Warner
Brothers backlot show and the Animal Action Show, it sounds like you ought to make a
point to see them again before they probably disappear forever....). About the only
show which it sounds like is still going to be there is a "new" Batman Stunt Show (which
we can only hope is better than the tacky one we've had for so long).
As of November 15th, it seems like ground work has probably started for the
new suspended coaster. I didn't have time to stop yesterday, but I did see
cranes and such in the area. I'll try to get by there tomorrow.
As of December 10th, I've read numerous reports that Good Times Square
(including Mr. Freeze) have been closed in conjunction with the construction work on
the new B&M suspended coaster in the to-be-rethemed "Gotham City" section.

There are also the first elements of theming being added to retheme "The Right
Stuff" to the new dinosaur-themed Imax attraction (at the moment, apparently
very much a "mixed" and very curious themeing juxtaposition!...)
Recent reports I've seen (including in rec.roller-coaster in Usenet) have been very
unflattering to the park about their "Holiday in the Park" event, and hopefully those
were just "a bad day" and are not indicative of the way it is all month.
Anyway, if you enjoy the current shows (what's left of them, this late in the season),
you might want to still try to get out to see them before they disappear from SFOT
forever at the end of the year. It seems that all of them will change next season. (At
this point I won't speculate whether that'll be bad, or an improvement... but I'm
going to try to make it out there at least once more to see the Animal Action Show
(cute!) and the Warner Brothers Backlot show each at least one more time!)
As of December 14th, ground work for the new B&M coaster is continuing with a real
vengeance in the area east of Mr. Freeze. Many of the foundation pilings seem to be
in place, more are in work, and reinforcing steel mesh is being assembled.
The former games building north of the Good Times Square burger joint is gone...
whether demolished or disassembled for later reassembly is anybody's guess.
The fact that so much has been done before the seasonal park closing (together
with the fact that B:TR is such a mature ride by now) suggests that it might well
actually be open when the park re-opens in early March. Certainly there wasn't
nearly this much done on Mr. Freeze this early when it was beginning construction.
As of January 9th, ground work is continuing on the new inverted coaster and some of the
loading building steel framework is up, including several horizontal beam cross-members at
what I presume will be the boarding level. None of the actual supporting steel for the track
itself seems to be installed yet (or at least I didn't see it as I drove by, I didn't take a real good
look). The foundation work would appear to be basically all complete.
As of January 16th, the overall shape of the B:TR loading building is pretty well framed
out now with structural steel. The building is oriented in an east-west direction at the far
northeast end of the new area of the park (the former Mr. Freeze staging area). The first
structure for the initial lift is now in place, showing that the trains will definitely go eastto-
west in the loading building, topping out of the lift to overlook Mr. Freeze before they
do the initial plunge down toward the southeast. This also confirms that the orientation
of our version of B:TR will be the same as at SFGAm between Chicago and Milwaukee

(there had been some speculation that maybe we'd get a mirror image of the ride
as it is in the other parks).
More interesting perhaps is the intriguing post I got from another reader suggesting that the
frequently recurring rumor about a Disney theme park in Texas has come up again in a
recent flurry of posts on Usenet. Certainly investment capital is available at a cheaper price
than it's been in ages, gasoline the cheapest it's been in a long time, and Disney has the
plans for their aborted "Disney's America" project originally intended for Virginia.
Disney has been widely rumored to be accumulating large tracts of land up in the Texas
Hill Country for decades. Perhaps now, the time is right to get started on that project.
As of January 31st, there continues to be progress made on building the new coaster
(Batman: The Ride). Most of the visible progress so far involves the station, and the
first section of the rest of the track structure is the framework to support the initial lift
(which is coming along nicely). You can clearly see the catwalks on both sides which
could be used to evacuate passengers in the event of a train stuck on the lift. The
"back" of the station (which faces IH30 and Copeland Road) has the storage track
(which is curiously long, for a ride which generally has only two trains I think...)
As of February 1st, I've gotten some interesting feedback and an interesting
question from readers.
First, an interesting rumor. Eight little ride "vehicles", apparently themed as some
kind of little hot-air balloon or something. The picture is clearly recent, since it
shows the new-style trams. It looks like the vehicles are designed to be supported
from the top. New vehicles for the Chute-Out (which has, after all, eight benches
and they go up and down?) Maybe parts for a new ride for the kiddie section?
Anybody else have any guesses as to what these might be? Note the rose-colored
"bridge" assembly (loading 'porch'?) nearby (which almost leads one to think that
these might be parts to some kind of "ferris wheel" type ride or something, since
the 'bridge' doesn't look big enough to be something that people would actually go
'under' or anything).
The big illuminated sign outside the park still only shows the two new rides that
we've already heard about: B:TR and Escape from Dino Island 3D (EDI3D)
(which is basically a new movie and themeing for the apparently now-defunct
"Right Stuff"... if they do the 3D right, with the LCD shutter-goggles, this might be
WAY cool!). Of course, it's possible that these little 'balloons' aren't intended for
1999 at all: remember that we've had pieces of our Spinnaker replacement
languishing about back there in storage for at least a year or two.
As for the long storage track mentioned yesterday, I've gotten feedback pointing out
that the storage track has to be long enough to support both trains "off-line". I had been

considering that the normal track (at least at the Gurnee park) is long enough to hold
both trains indoors, on the main track. But admittedly I had forgotten that the transfer
track is in the "holding before loading" train position, and that the passenger loading is
on the back side of the station (and therefore prevents the storage track from extending
that far to the west back there). So there does need to be room for at least one complete
train (east of the transfer cart), which for maintenance purposes wants to be indoors.
And it was also pointed out about the small alignment cart (used for testing and aligning
the track), which I'd presume is thus stored on a short section of storage track, probably
just to the west of the transfer cart's north "storage" position.
As of February 2nd, I'm hearing more about some of the new attractions for 1999.
As for B:TR, I hear that the length of the storage track is to provide for a
possible third train. The parallel is drawn with Mine Train, which can have as
many as five trains present although it will only ever actually run with at most
four. The extra is purely a back-up for use when one of the other trains must be
taken out of service for some reason. Certainly, this isn't a bad idea for B:TR,
since it will be a much-in-demand ride and its throughput would be severely
crippled if one of only two trains were temporarily out of service.
The mystery hot-air-balloon vehicles I spoke about are also reported as being
indeed part of a new "Ferris wheel" type ride for Looney Tunes Land, much as I
hypothesized. I am told that the existing (small but classic) Ferris wheel is gone
(sigh) as is the tiny little-kids four-cage "Ferris wheel".
As of February 3rd, I've heard that our new B:TR is yet another coaster design (like Mr.
Freeze!) in which the highly respected German engineering firm of Werner Stengel was
involved. Their Web site (click on the link) is a fascinating read for people interested in
the design and construction of roller coasters. The company's engineering analysis
design work helps to make sure that the coaster designer's vision is structurally sound,
won't subject passengers to dangerous levels of g-forces, and that the coaster won't
shake itself apart due to metal fatigue and other problems.
As of February 17th , B:TR continues to advance, although slowly... not at a pace
that encourages hope that it will be running when the park reopens the beginning of
March. The last time I drove by, the track structure was only complete to just about
the top of the initial lift... and that means there is a lot of work still to be done, and
with only about two weeks left until the park reopens for the spring season. (Indeed,
even if the track structure were just about totally complete, I'd still be doubtful that it
would be ready in time for the park's reopening).
At this point, I'm still hopeful that the "Escape from Dino Island" attraction will be open
and ready (after all, there was mostly just themeing work needing to be done there;

changing the film itself is no big deal), along with hopefully some detail improvements still
to be foreseen throughout the park. And we've already heard about some (probably
relatively minor) changes in the little kids' section, which maybe will be ready.
I've heard rumors suggesting that B:TR itself may not be open until the end of
May or possibly even later, although we can still hope it won't take that long. My
own guess is that (even given that B:TR probably won't be open) we'll have at
least a very large portion of "Gotham City" (plaza, walkways, etc etc... basically,
the entire area in the former staging area starting from where the games building
used to be) still behind construction barricades when the park reopens in March.
As of March 4th , we're just about two days from the park's reopening, and it's
starting to become apparent what sorts of changes we can expect for 1999 as of
this coming Saturday.
Obviously, B:TR isn't anywhere near opening. The station building is structurally
largely there, but hasn't been walled or finished in any kind of meaningful way.
The actual ride track (which is painted bright yellow, by the way... the supports
are black or perhaps a midnight blue) is now complete past the first two loops
and the first corkscrew flip. It's clear that the lowest points on the track will be at
least slightly below ground level, which ought to be an interesting aspect.
The grounds work south of B:TR (and indeed, all of the themeing) is still almost totally
undone. As predicted, expect a large portion (perhaps even most) of Gotham City
(nee Good Times Square) to be behind construction barricades this Saturday.
It seems that Mr. Freeze will be open Saturday, however. They were busily running
full-power tests of it (indeed, many of the rides were being busily tested... the
Texas Giant, ShockWave, Mr. Freeze, G-Force, etc) while I watched this evening.
The word is that the new "Escape from Dino Island 3D" (where "Right Stuff"
used to be) will also be open Saturday when the park reopens.
The little "Porky Pig" Ferris wheel is gone, and at least from outside the park
it's not obvious that anything has yet taken its place.
One thing which might be good or awful is that the initial drop (at least) on The
Texas Giant has been reprofiled somewhat (and one observer claims that the
trim brake that used to be there is now gone, which could be a very good sign
indeed!) Hopefully these changes will be an improvement, and not disastrous
like the tragic changes which "de-fanged" the Rattler at Six Flags Fiesta Texas
in San Antonio. I'm told that the Giant's trains have been repainted to look more
like the Texas flag (they always were red, white and blue).

Likewise, at least one of the trains on ShockWave has been repainted too...
with the new livery being what I'm told is white or silver with a yellow stripe.
One observer said that it looked to him like the Mr. Freeze trains have new
wheels on them. No confirmation of that yet.
It also is being reported that virtually all the shows are going to be different this year,
with in particular the much-enjoyed Animal Action show gone (that is kinda a shame,
since it really was a good, family- oriented show that could be enjoyed by all ages).
The Batman stunt show in the outdoor stadium is supposed to be more "illusion"
oriented (which might be an improvement, that show was always real cheesy).
There's some talk (hopefully just wild rumor) about the possible return of something
sounding suspiciously like the old (and usually embarassingly bad) "Wacky World
Games", which were a show which kids outgrew when they migrated their loyalties
to Barney and his ilk. I guess until we see for sure what the new shows will be like,
we'll just have to cross our fingers and hope for improvements.
The rumor is also that the park will be open every day between March 6th
and March 21st. I've not been able to get confirmation of that yet, either.
As of March 6th, the park has opened for the season.
The good news is that Mr. Freeze is definitely open, and it appears that it will be
open throughout Spring BreakOut (i.e. through March 21st) while construction
proceeds on B:TR. Unfortunately, they're only running one train (so throughputs
are half or less of what they might otherwise be). Rumor has it that they'll be
running single-train mode for at least a month or two.
Flashback (the Vekoma Boomerang) is closed, as is virtually all the rest of Good Times
Square while the area is being reworked and rethemed. Apparently the area will reopen
about the time B:TR opens, which rumor is still predicting will be around Memorial Day.
The new Escape From Dino Island 3D is a mixed bag. Personally, I rather enjoyed The Right
Stuff (although some of my correspondents didn't!). Dino Island's queue area themeing is of
the same order as Right Stuff (using for example repainted scrapheap-type clone computers
probably from the pre-Windows era as the computing resources for the Earth Science team).
The film (from Iwerks, the people who make the smaller simulators used at shopping centers
and tourist attractions) uses the polarized-glasses 3D system (the same plastic-frame
glasses as Disney used for Captain EO etc etc) rather than the fancier glasses with the LCD
shutters. The disappointment for me in Dino Island though is the quality of the dinosaur and
other special effect animations. I guess it was sorta unreasonable for me to hope for
something spectacular and photorealistic (like Jurassic Park or its sequel). These dinosaurs
definitely look "Claymation"-fake, not quite cartoonish, but reminiscent of the dinosaur in Toy
Story who's frustrated that rather than being frightening he might only be "just annoying".
Still, it's a fun romp and definitely

freshens the attraction. The 3D effect itself definitely is a big plus. It remains to
be seen how well the film survives repeated exposure.... if it will entertain for four
years, the way Right Stuff did.
The early reports from The Texas Giant (and I didn't get back to ride it personally in the
limited time I was able to spend in the park yesterday) is that the track reprofiling and
other train work have been a big success... reports I'm getting is that the ride is faster
and even smoother (especially in the back car) than it's been in a long time. The fancier
paint job on the trains (which reportedly have new undercarriages) emphasize Texas
with the state flag "lone star" on the sides, and are meeting with great approval too.
The new go-cart track (over by ShockWave) seems to be an interesting idea,
although apparently it's not open yet (or at least I haven't found anybody yet who's
ridden it). Like the Chameleon and Skycoaster and rock climbing wall, it's another
"extra charge" attraction (and I really don't much like this creeping trend).
I also haven't gotten reports on the new shows yet (two of them are supposedly
open already), but hopefully will have some news on that front soon.
As of March 8th, I got in another brief visit to the park.
I absolutely concur with the reports regarding the changes to the Texas Giant; it seems
to be running as fast as I ever recall it running, and if anything even more intense than
before. One is always a bit afraid of seeing changes to an old friend, but in this case the
coaster has gotten better. Hopefully it will stay this way as we get more into the season!
One change which hadn't been commented on by my other sources but which I
definitely noticed was that the park seems to indeed be making much better use
of background music this year. There is music through much more of the park, I
think, than before. I'd still like to see that music be 'themed' as you go through
the different areas (to indeed make them feel different, which they often don't
much at present) but in any case I think this is a step in the right direction.
There are some other minor but nice improvements, including a new entrance to G-Force
(the Intamin freefall) which has been renamed (I forget to what). The new entrance is rather
reminiscent of the little shack you go through upon entering the queue area for Runaway
Mountain... not hugely elaborate, but a nice touch and an improvement over the virtually
nonexistent (other than the signboard) themeing before on that ride.
I still haven't been to any of the new shows yet (and at least two of them, the
magic show and the saloon show, are supposed to be open already).
As of March 23rd, word continues to arrive about the tragic Roaring Rapids
drowning fatality that SFOT experienced last Sunday.

The fatal ride accident, the first involving a park guest since SFOT opened in 1961,
apparently resulted from the seating assembly coming detached from the inner tubes on
one of the large boats used on the Intamin-built 'river rapids' ride. The seating assembly
(which some witnesses reportedly said was loaded in an unbalanced fashion, although this
is not believed to be by itself the cause of the accident) apparently slid off the inner tube
and overturned in the water, trapping the guests in their seats underwater until they were
able to release the latches on their safety lap belts and get out from under the seats.
The scene described in news reports sounds fairly chaotic, with other guests
jumping into the water to try to help those who were trapped, park employees
reportedly following their rule books according to their training (even though
some observers feel that the victim's life might have been saved had things been
done differently). Among many others, some of the rumors claim that the
woman's life might have been saved if 911 had been called earlier.
The River Rapids ride system from Intamin has been installed in quite a few
other theme parks worldwide, and apparently this is the first such guest fatality
involving this ride system anywhere in the world.
As of March 30th, reports and rumors continue to circulate about the fatal accident
at the park. One report says that the woman who died did not in fact die of drowning,
but rather cardiac arrest... a simple heart attack, probably based on her fear at
unexpectedly finding herself strapped into a seat upside down in the water.
There are various reports I've received about curious things happening around the
Rapids ride over the years, including two boats being dispatched at the same time
and becoming lodged at places during the route. On that occasion, reportedly no
less than eight additional boats backed up behind the jammed ones.
I'm also told that on more than one occasion, boats have become jammed at the
bottom of the conveyor and with one or more of them taking on water. I hear that
at least once, the boat (fortunately, after the guests had been removed) sank all
the way to the bottom. On another day, a boat started to sink and some guests
were injured as they tried to jump out of the boat.
There is also a report of a prior time when a boat actually flipped over, not unlike the
incident a week ago Sunday. That time the boat was empty, however, and was
being removed from the ride before the park opened (the E-stop was depressed and
the boat was swept into a reservoir, hitting the wall and flipped over... tube and all).

Speculation seems to be centering on the boat having a slightly flat innertube, which
would allow it to ride lower than usual in the water and thus it could have hung up on
one of the steel pipes in the trough. That, combined with the current and the
unbalanced load, could have helped the ropes to break, resulting in the flipover.
And although it's not really kind to make jokes about such a tragic accident, I
would be remiss in my mission of reporting comment and rumors if I didn't
report the still-humorous tongue-in-cheek comment floating around about
SFOT and it's new "inverted water ride"...
Elsewhere in the park, I finally got the chance to take in a little of the new saloon
show. I was a little disappointed that the sound system isn't in as good a shape as it
was last year... I'm not sure if something is being overdriven, or if the microphones
aren't as good, or just what. But the result, while cute, seems more amateurish than
in previous years. Perhaps it will improve as the season continues.
Upon riding the Texas Giant on Saturday afternoon (between periodic closings
due to danger of lightning) I had one of my more unique rides on it... with big
drops of COLD rain pelting me (almost exploding) in the face during the ride,
adding to the intensity the ride would have had normally. Quite an experience!
As of May 21st, things on the new B:TR are progressing rapidly and rumor has it
that the ride will open the morning of next Friday (May 28th). As is usually the case,
watch for an employee party the night or two before opening as confirmation of the
actual opening date (some reports say that it could [soft-?]open as early as Tuesday
of next week, but that seems unlikely based on the state of the other construction in
the area). But there are numerous very good signs:
· People report having ridden it already (to glowing reviews!)
· Test runs are routinely taking place around 8:30pm each evening
· Landscaping and themeing the area around the ride has begun at a rapid pace
Other things are likewise starting to come together at SFOT... the tower was open on
the 19th (evidence that the long-delayed new elevator control system replacement is
finally completed). The third (red) train is back on the Texas Giant (with strange-looking
red wheels, according to one report) following an extensive refurbishment.
Anyhow, reports from numerous coaster fans I've heard from are that they're planning to
be in line for the opening of the park next Friday...
As of May 22nd, I've gotten reports of a 27-minute power outage at the park on
Friday, with some passengers 'trapped' on rides that were not operable
(including two people who spent the time near the top of ChuteOut...!)

There are also persistent ongoing rumors that B:TR will start (soft-?)
operating next Tuesday.
As of May 25th, local radio and television stations are reporting that
tomorrow (Wednesday) will be the day that B:TR opens to the public.
As of May 26th, Batman: The Ride at SFOT has opened to the public (yesterday the
ride was only open to "special" invited guests... press, ACE people, media, etc etc.)
At times it seemed like it would be forever before we finally had our own B&M
inverted coaster here. Well, it's here at last, and the ride is definitely worth the wait.
The ride is familar to most coaster fans (most of us have already ridden the
same or very similar ride at other parks) but it's still a treat to have one here,
close by, of "our" own. It's a fast, swoopy, smooth, and very sweet ride.
The presentation is somewhat different than in other parks. Notably, the SFOT
version has (like for Mr. Freeze) a much larger part of the queue indoors...
presumably this will allow them to air-condition the (lengthy) wait times for at least
part of the time you're in line. The themeing and decor stuff in the queue area is
maybe a little better than typical for recent Six Flags attractions, but nothing earthshaking
there. Better anyhow than the chintzy Dino Island "computer" consoles.
Unlike the Chicago park, the "junkyard" part of the queue here has been vestigially
reduced to just the "police" sedan, but without it having collided with the fire hydrant
(so the 'story' is somewhat less obvious)... the 'graffiti' area has been foregone, but
curiously they have seemingly opted instead for the "natural" kind of graffiti... the
latter part of the queue area has the (corrugated) walls painted with a stuff which
apparently scratches off very easily (sorta like the covering of Lotto tickets or
something), such that today (less than 48 hours after the ride is open, and less than
six hours after opening to the public) those walls already had a great deal of 'graffiti'
scratched into them. (I guess this saves them having to pay decor artists to do it...)
The ride itself though, decor issues aside, is marvelous. Especially if you've
never ridden one of these, you owe it to yourself to ride this one! My personal
favorite seats are the front, although one of my coaster buddies swears that the
back corner seats are the best of all.
One annoying thing is that Six Flags still hasn't figured out how to avoid a train leaving the
station with a bunch of empty seats on it... thus making guests wait longer in line than they
otherwise would have to. Of course, it helps nobody if a train leaves the station with empty
seats... and rather than see that happen, if they can't fill the train with new riders, I think it
would be better to let riders from the previous trip fill the empties to the degree they can.
Better still, of course, would be to fill the train efficiently with new riders!