Texas Giant

Texas Giant
Texas Giant after renovation
Location	Six Flags Over Texas
Coordinates	32°45′23″N 97°04′23″W
Status	Operating
Opened	March 17, 1990 April 22, 2011Renovation
Cost	$5,500,000 US $10,000,000 USRenovation
Type	Steel
Manufacturer	Dinn Corporation
Designer	Curtis D. Summers
Track layout	Twister
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	153 ft (47 m)
Drop	147 ft (45 m)
Length	4,920 ft (1,500 m)
Max speed	65 mph (105 km/h)
Inversions	0
Duration	2:00
Max vertical angle	79°
Capacity	1600 riders per hour
Max G force	4.2
Height restriction	4 ft 0 in (122 cm)
Trains	3 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train.
Texas Giant at RCDB
Pictures of Texas Giant at RCDB
Amusement Parks Portal

The Texas Giant is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. It is currently the tallest steel-hybrid roller coaster in the world at a height of 153 ft (47 m) which features a 79° drop of 147 ft (45 m), and turns banked up to 95°. The coaster uses a brand new type of all steel track which results in the Texas Giant no longer being a purely wooden roller coaster. The redesigned ride is a steel-tracked coaster with the original wooden support structure which enables the ride to be much smoother than it was in previous seasons when it was a pure wooden roller coaster. In addition to new track, the Texas Giant also received new trains and a new control system. The coaster reopened to the public on April 22, 2011 as part of the park's 50th anniversary celebration.

History

The Texas Giant was originally constructed by Dinn Corporation. The wood for the roller coaster construction was purchased from Dean Lumber Company in Gilmer, Texas, as the Dean tags can still be seen on the boards. The trains were manufactured by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. The Texas Giant opened on March 17, 1990. At opening it featured three trains which held 28 riders each. After its first year of operation, these seven-car trains were shortened to six-car trains. Also, the double-up turn around feature was converted into a sweeping turn and trim brakes were added before certain high stress areas. In 2006, the ride received new gates in its station. The Texas Giant required major rehabs during the winter months, thus kept it closed for Six Flags Over Texas' Holiday in the Park event. The Texas Giant closed before the end of the 2009 season on November 1, 2009, for extensive renovations which took the entire 2010 season to complete and cost approximately 10 million dollars. It reopened for the 2011 season in time for the park's 50th anniversary with an all new track design and new trains.

Texas Giant's sister coaster Rattler will undergo the same transformation before the coaster opens in spring 2013, like Texas Giant did for the 2011 season.

Records and awards

When opened in 1990, Texas Giant had the highest lift of any wooden roller coaster in the world at 143 feet (44 m). It was presented the Golden Ticket Award from Amusement Today for being rated highest on its list of "Top 10 Wood Roller Coasters of 1999". Following its 2010 renovation, the Texas Giant also won a Golden Ticket Award in 2011 for "Best New Ride for 2011 (Amusement Park)".

Golden Ticket Awards: Top Steel Roller Coasters
Year	2011
Ranking	6

Gallery

The original sign at entrance   The new logo   The lift hill   The first drop   View of the original train   During the renovation

See also

• Mean Streak at Cedar Point, a roller coaster that opened in 1991 which bears similarity to the Texas Giant before its renovation.
• 2011 in amusement parks

External links

• Official webpage
• Official video advertising the new ride on YouTube
• Texas Giant Article and photos of this roller coaster.