I was there on opening day in 1978. Waited 90 min. by the Oil Derrick. They dropped a rope, and it was a stampede to the Q Lines. Waited another hour. Because of opening ceremony. Got on in about 30 min. Well worth the wait. Rest of the day there was a 3 hr. wait for it.
I was one of the opening weekend riders back in 1978 as a 14 year old. The wait was worth it! I rode it many, many times over the years, always arms in the air and ankles under the ankle bars. One Sunday the park wasn’t busy and my friend and I rode it over ten times in a row in rapid succession. Her dad brought lunch to us and we were both so green around the gills we couldn’t eat 😂 Such fun memories!
Schwarzkopf coasters were way ahead of their time. They are still a lot of fun today and still ride very well. There is no comparison to the old Arrow Coasters, which often seem very outdated. But unfortunately I often see the trend of slowing down the old Schwarzkopf coasters. You've already mentioned Mindbender, but if you compare old Revolution onboards from the 70s and 80s with today, you'll notice that this coaster has also been massively slowed down. While the coaster drove quite quickly through its layout back then and was certainly a lot of fun, today it slows down on almost every hill. Today she only seems to really get going on the long descent before the loop. I think that's a shame, because the train fits wonderfully into the terrain and would still offer a great experience at full speed today.
This was my youngest daughter’s first ‘big’ coaster. She wanted me to place my arm (like an arm bar) across her until we finished the 2 loops. Back row is the only place to ride!
The ejector airtime on Shockwave is some of the strongest airtime I've ever experienced! I didn't know whether I should keep my hands up or hold on for dear life!
My favorite drop is the one right after the mid course brake run. It’s a great way to get you back into it after the loops make you gray out and wonder where you are
This coaster is the definition of a back seat ride. I was blown away by how quickly I was yanked down not only the first drop, but also the subsequent drops. It doesn’t look like the most intimidating, but it quickly shows you that it’s no joke of a coaster
This ride is so underrated it doesn’t get the praise it deserves. One of my favorites in the park and easy to marathon. It’s absolutely nuts! I have to agree the ejector air time is some of the best you’ll ever get. By the way, Quimera is being brought back as All American Triple Loop at Indiana Beach in 2024!
SFOT is my home park, a place I've been to countless times and although I've been riding Shockwave for 20 years, the word intense is not a word I would have used to describe this certainly classic coaster. The loops have never really felt that forceful to me, I dont think I've ever greyed out on them, even as a kid (unlike Titan's upward helix which gets me every time). Like, compared to say, Tatsu's pretzel loop which I rode for the first time this year these loops feel really tame even though they supposedly pull 1.5 more G's. With that being said I can't recall if I've ever ridden in the back... when I was younger I always went for the front on everything. Not to mention I've really only become an enthusiast in the past several years, finally getting to visit parks outside of SFOT and Fiesta Texas, so now I really want to go ride this in the back ASAP So thanks for that brother. Love the content man 👍👍 Mr Freeze is #1 💙
This ride is amazing. I don't personally rank it as the top ride in the park but I wouldn't blame anyone who did. I genuinely had no idea that it had airtime before riding it but WOW does it have good airtime. And it's got that good kind of jankyness that adds to instead of detracting from the ride. The only problem with the ride is that the location and presentation isn't very good, though is kind of cool going off the drop and riding along with the freeway traffic.
You also talked about how you don't recommend it for kids to be their first looping coaster. Well, turns out it was my first coaster to feature a loop. I've been on other inversions before but these loops definitely really caught me off guard with how intense they are
People often recommend sooperdooperLooper as a first looper because aside from the loop, it's really quite gentle, basically a mine train. But I've also seen people point out that that loop itself is pretty forceful, like the other Schwarzkopf loops. I never really gave it a lot of thought.
Canobie Coaster would say: Shock Wave also has pretty good capacity. The ride has two trains and it usually runs both. Each train holds a maximum of 28 riders, as you have 7 cars with 2 rows of 2. The ride also has fairly fast operations. The crew usually has the next train ready to go once the prior one parks itself on the brake run. And that's impressive because the waiting brake is so far back from the station, so the crew has to wait longer for the train to return to the station than most coasters. The lone year with bad operations was 2016. In that year, Shock Wave was one of several Six Flags coasters to get virtual reality. This severely...
Canobie Coaster would say: Shock Wave also has pretty good capacity. The ride has two trains and it usually runs both. Each train holds a maximum of 28 riders, as you have 7 cars with 2 rows of 2. The ride also has fairly fast operations. The crew usually has the next train ready to go once the prior one parks itself on the brake run. And that's impressive because the waiting brake is so far back from the station, so the crew has to wait longer for the train to return to the station than most coasters. The lone year with bad operations was... A) 2014 B) 2015 C) 2016 D) 2017
It always makes me happy seeing this ride get love! It desperately needs a repaint tho, out of the 5 ish color schemes, which one is your favorite? Mine is the silver track with navy blue supports
I’m surprised by how much the track seems to wobble around as the train passes, it looks like it deforms almost as much as SteVe during its firsts years.
@@CanobieCoaster And it has always been very noticeable. If you closely observe where the supports are attached to the footers and where they attach to the track, it appears they used ball in socket joints. This would allow the structure to flex a bit. If Big Bend had been designed that way, maybe it wouldn't have been tearing itself apart and we would still have it today?
If I ask you about Shock Wave at Six Flags Over Texas in terms of capacity and operations, Canobie Coaster would say: This ride has pretty good capacity. The ride has two trains, and it usually runs both. Each train holds a maximum of 28 riders, as you have 7 cars with 2 rows of 2. The ride also has fairly fast operations. The crew usually has the next train ready to go once the prior one parks itself on the brake run. And that's impressive because the waiting brake is so far back from the station, so the crew has to wait longer for the train to return to the station than most coasters. The lone year with bad operations was...
Yes, I love this, and my best friend Nick does too. We've been on it many more times than countable. It's a lot like Montezooma at Knotts, except for without the launch part. It's beautiful. Long live Texas Shockwave by Schwartzkopf.
I’m not sure if I just got a bad ride on this but for me I found the two loops to be pretty forceless although I did only get one ride. I will admit the airtime pops were pretty violent and sent me flying out of my seat though!
2:53 I think the reason for that is because they didnt used to use that part of the queue. You used to be able to walk straight up to the ramp to the station.
You stated there were two "major" Schwarzkopfs installed in 1978. I would argue there were three if you count Greezed Lightnin' at AstroWorld. When we arrived at Six Flags on our 1978 trip and I saw Shock Wave, I felt like us AstroWorld people had been ripped off. AstroWorld got "part of a coaster" and Six Flags got "a whole coaster." I was at the age where I enjoyed watching coasters more then riding them. And a shuttle loop where the train just goes back and forth on a straight piece of track just wasn't that interesting. When I got older I learned that the fun of Greezed Lightnin' was riding it. In the back seat. Going backwards up the back spike. After several years, I finally rode Shock Wave and enjoyed it. I don't remember the year, but it had dark blue in the color scheme. I don't think I remember graying out very much on Shock Wave. I gray out every time in Titan's helix. And almost every time in Apollo's Chariot's turn-around. I'm not sure why I barely ever gray out on Shock Wave. I don't remember Shock Wave having any jank. The Runaway Mine Train has it in spades. I wasn't aware of Mind Bender in 1978. I was very young and there was no internet. I got to ride Mind Bender in 2000. It didn't have Riddler in the name, but it did have Riddler question marks all over the trains and at the entrance. The "design language" for Shock Wave and Mind Bender is fascinating with the box style track and minimal supports. I would think that they are structurally very resilient. The swaying of the structure should prevent it from being too stressed. You stated that one dip doesn't go all the way to the ground to allow for the go karts to pass underneath. I'm not sure that's the reason since the go karts were not installed until many years after Shock Wave was built. Maybe they did some terraforming when installing the go karts?
@@CanobieCoaster You mean why they didn't reprofile the dip to match the terrain? There are times when I suspect they are capable of fabricating track sections in their shop, such as they must have done in order to reroute the Mini Mine Train to allow Mr Freeze to be installed. Can you imagine having to fabricate track for Shock Wave?
Keep those B&M trains away from this ride! I always go for the back car. I never grey out on the loops, but I love the incredible airtime. I don't know how those shallow drops can give such amazing airtime. On my last visit a month ago, the railings for those switchbacks after the entrance were all gone. It was just an open area. It looked quite strange. I don't know if they plan to make some changes there or not.
Based on how the ride currently runs, how would you compare Shock Wave at Six Flags Over Texas to... See in RCDB: Blue Tornado at Gardaland. I think that Vekoma inverted coaster also has inversions and a helix before the final brake.
This is my favorite of the 8 Schwarzkopfs that I’ve ridden and it’s not even close. I didn’t get to ride Riddler Mindbender until this spring, and I can tell it has been severely neutered. The brakes and shortened trains have definitely taken away from its potential. Hopefully SFOT will continue to preserve Shock Wave in its current excellent condition for many more years.
Here's hoping Shock Wave's layout does not have the potential stress issues. I think the most radical part of Shock Wave would be the back to back loops and those seem pretty solid. Most of the curves are at the top of a hill so any lateral forces should be minimal. Mind Bender does not have back to back loops but it does have that tall swooping drop that the park likes to call a "loop" in their marketing. That may cause the structure to be subject to more lateral forces which I think would be more challenging to counter act. And, no, I'm not an engineer, I've just a little about it.
If I ask you, what do you think about this ride's capacity? Did the ride always have the same capacity? Or do you think there was a year with different things?
@@gregorymoore2877 Well I believe they are going to get it finished because they just showed it off at IAAPA and they say that half of the whole track has already been built, so it wouldn't make sense for them to scrap the whole project after all of that hard work that they have put into the ride so far. This ride is looking to be insane and literally no question the best roller coaster on this entire planet. I cannot wait to see how this turns out.
Let’s see, it’s been operating almost all year for 45 straight years with no major accidents. Sounds safe to me! Also, roller coaster structures need to shake or they’ll crack under high forces.
Canobie Coaster would say: Shock Wave also has pretty good capacity. The ride has two trains and it usually runs both. Each train holds a maximum of 28 riders, as you have 7 cars with 2 rows of 2. The ride also has fairly fast operations. The crew usually has the next train ready to go once the prior one parks itself on the brake run. And that's impressive because the waiting brake is so far back from the station, so the crew has to wait longer for the train to return to the station than most coasters. The lone year with bad operations was 2016. In that year, Shock Wave was one of several Six Flags coasters to get virtual reality. This severely hurt capacity and dispatch times. Did you like that throughput or did you hate that throughput?
everyone talks about the intensity of the loops but the ejector pops are unreal. Another underrated gem
The airtime is the star.
I thought the loops were force less lol
I was there on opening day in 1978. Waited 90 min. by the Oil Derrick. They dropped a rope, and it was a stampede to the Q Lines. Waited another hour. Because of opening ceremony. Got on in about 30 min. Well worth the wait. Rest of the day there was a 3 hr. wait for it.
Glad those lines haven't carried over years later.
I was one of the opening weekend riders back in 1978 as a 14 year old. The wait was worth it! I rode it many, many times over the years, always arms in the air and ankles under the ankle bars. One Sunday the park wasn’t busy and my friend and I rode it over ten times in a row in rapid succession. Her dad brought lunch to us and we were both so green around the gills we couldn’t eat 😂 Such fun memories!
This usually has a short wait even on busy days.
Schwarzkopf coasters were way ahead of their time. They are still a lot of fun today and still ride very well. There is no comparison to the old Arrow Coasters, which often seem very outdated. But unfortunately I often see the trend of slowing down the old Schwarzkopf coasters. You've already mentioned Mindbender, but if you compare old Revolution onboards from the 70s and 80s with today, you'll notice that this coaster has also been massively slowed down. While the coaster drove quite quickly through its layout back then and was certainly a lot of fun, today it slows down on almost every hill. Today she only seems to really get going on the long descent before the loop. I think that's a shame, because the train fits wonderfully into the terrain and would still offer a great experience at full speed today.
Schwarzkopfs aged well from a ride experience perspective.
I had to do a full lap around the park before I could figure out where this rides entrance was
It's definitely in an odd spot.
Love these old loopers
Me too.
This was my youngest daughter’s first ‘big’ coaster. She wanted me to place my arm (like an arm bar) across her until we finished the 2 loops. Back row is the only place to ride!
Wow!
The ejector airtime on Shockwave is some of the strongest airtime I've ever experienced! I didn't know whether I should keep my hands up or hold on for dear life!
My favorite drop is the one right after the mid course brake run. It’s a great way to get you back into it after the loops make you gray out and wonder where you are
Always keep your hands up, soldier!
It's incredible.
This coaster is the definition of a back seat ride. I was blown away by how quickly I was yanked down not only the first drop, but also the subsequent drops. It doesn’t look like the most intimidating, but it quickly shows you that it’s no joke of a coaster
Those turnaround drops are nuts.
This ride is so underrated it doesn’t get the praise it deserves. One of my favorites in the park and easy to marathon. It’s absolutely nuts! I have to agree the ejector air time is some of the best you’ll ever get. By the way, Quimera is being brought back as All American Triple Loop at Indiana Beach in 2024!
Yes it is! But it may run differently with the shorter trains and possible braking.
SFOT is my home park, a place I've been to countless times and although I've been riding Shockwave for 20 years, the word intense is not a word I would have used to describe this certainly classic coaster.
The loops have never really felt that forceful to me, I dont think I've ever greyed out on them, even as a kid (unlike Titan's upward helix which gets me every time). Like, compared to say, Tatsu's pretzel loop which I rode for the first time this year these loops feel really tame even though they supposedly pull 1.5 more G's.
With that being said I can't recall if I've ever ridden in the back... when I was younger I always went for the front on everything.
Not to mention I've really only become an enthusiast in the past several years, finally getting to visit parks outside of SFOT and Fiesta Texas, so now I really want to go ride this in the back ASAP So thanks for that brother. Love the content man 👍👍
Mr Freeze is #1 💙
It feels plenty intense to be between the loops and negative Gs.
This ride is amazing. I don't personally rank it as the top ride in the park but I wouldn't blame anyone who did. I genuinely had no idea that it had airtime before riding it but WOW does it have good airtime. And it's got that good kind of jankyness that adds to instead of detracting from the ride.
The only problem with the ride is that the location and presentation isn't very good, though is kind of cool going off the drop and riding along with the freeway traffic.
I think it looks nice when you're driving down the highway, but the location makes it less impressive from within the park.
If it keeps the crowds down, I’m all for lousy location and signage.
outlaw run moment lol@@billcook4768
You also talked about how you don't recommend it for kids to be their first looping coaster. Well, turns out it was my first coaster to feature a loop. I've been on other inversions before but these loops definitely really caught me off guard with how intense they are
I imagine many kids make it their first looper based on the height limit.
People often recommend sooperdooperLooper as a first looper because aside from the loop, it's really quite gentle, basically a mine train. But I've also seen people point out that that loop itself is pretty forceful, like the other Schwarzkopf loops. I never really gave it a lot of thought.
Canobie Coaster would say:
Shock Wave also has pretty good capacity. The ride has two trains and it usually runs both. Each train holds a maximum of 28 riders, as you have 7 cars with 2 rows of 2. The ride also has fairly fast operations. The crew usually has the next train ready to go once the prior one parks itself on the brake run. And that's impressive because the waiting brake is so far back from the station, so the crew has to wait longer for the train to return to the station than most coasters.
The lone year with bad operations was 2016. In that year, Shock Wave was one of several Six Flags coasters to get virtual reality. This severely...
Hurt dispatch times.
Canobie Coaster would say:
Shock Wave also has pretty good capacity. The ride has two trains and it usually runs both. Each train holds a maximum of 28 riders, as you have 7 cars with 2 rows of 2. The ride also has fairly fast operations. The crew usually has the next train ready to go once the prior one parks itself on the brake run. And that's impressive because the waiting brake is so far back from the station, so the crew has to wait longer for the train to return to the station than most coasters. The lone year with bad operations was...
A) 2014
B) 2015
C) 2016
D) 2017
C
It always makes me happy seeing this ride get love! It desperately needs a repaint tho, out of the 5 ish color schemes, which one is your favorite? Mine is the silver track with navy blue supports
I actually like the current colors. They're bold.
This is a truly fantastic coaster especially considering its age!
Totally agreed. It has stood the test of time and remains one of the best coasters in a park that hasn’t added much to go with it
Absolutely.
I’m surprised by how much the track seems to wobble around as the train passes, it looks like it deforms almost as much as SteVe during its firsts years.
Right?! looks off
It always has moved like this.
@@CanobieCoaster And it has always been very noticeable. If you closely observe where the supports are attached to the footers and where they attach to the track, it appears they used ball in socket joints. This would allow the structure to flex a bit. If Big Bend had been designed that way, maybe it wouldn't have been tearing itself apart and we would still have it today?
If I ask you about Shock Wave at Six Flags Over Texas in terms of capacity and operations, Canobie Coaster would say:
This ride has pretty good capacity. The ride has two trains, and it usually runs both. Each train holds a maximum of 28 riders, as you have 7 cars with 2 rows of 2. The ride also has fairly fast operations. The crew usually has the next train ready to go once the prior one parks itself on the brake run. And that's impressive because the waiting brake is so far back from the station, so the crew has to wait longer for the train to return to the station than most coasters. The lone year with bad operations was...
The year with VR.
Yes, I love this, and my best friend Nick does too.
We've been on it many more times than countable.
It's a lot like Montezooma at Knotts, except for without the launch part.
It's beautiful. Long live Texas Shockwave by Schwartzkopf.
I much prefer it to Montezooma.
I’m not sure if I just got a bad ride on this but for me I found the two loops to be pretty forceless although I did only get one ride. I will admit the airtime pops were pretty violent and sent me flying out of my seat though!
Those loops usually deliver.
2:53 I think the reason for that is because they didnt used to use that part of the queue. You used to be able to walk straight up to the ramp to the station.
Thanks for clarifying.
The loops are my favorite inversions on any coaster I’ve ridden. And I’ve ridden 9 RMC’s. They just pour on the forces.
It's intense!
I just love looking at those ball joint looking supports
They're cool.
i still hate hearing mindbender as defunct, but this is one i really want to get on
I was sad to see that one removed.
@@CanobieCoaster def will take me a wile to get over that
Highly highly highly (10 years later) highly highly highly underrated coaster. Crazy airtime pops that try to throw you into the stratosphere.
I love the power.
I ❤️ Shockwave! I think it’s my favorite Schwarzkopf. The ride just is so intense in the loops and then you get tossed on the drops and laterals.
I love the airtime too.
You stated there were two "major" Schwarzkopfs installed in 1978. I would argue there were three if you count Greezed Lightnin' at AstroWorld. When we arrived at Six Flags on our 1978 trip and I saw Shock Wave, I felt like us AstroWorld people had been ripped off. AstroWorld got "part of a coaster" and Six Flags got "a whole coaster." I was at the age where I enjoyed watching coasters more then riding them. And a shuttle loop where the train just goes back and forth on a straight piece of track just wasn't that interesting. When I got older I learned that the fun of Greezed Lightnin' was riding it. In the back seat. Going backwards up the back spike. After several years, I finally rode Shock Wave and enjoyed it. I don't remember the year, but it had dark blue in the color scheme. I don't think I remember graying out very much on Shock Wave. I gray out every time in Titan's helix. And almost every time in Apollo's Chariot's turn-around. I'm not sure why I barely ever gray out on Shock Wave. I don't remember Shock Wave having any jank. The Runaway Mine Train has it in spades. I wasn't aware of Mind Bender in 1978. I was very young and there was no internet. I got to ride Mind Bender in 2000. It didn't have Riddler in the name, but it did have Riddler question marks all over the trains and at the entrance. The "design language" for Shock Wave and Mind Bender is fascinating with the box style track and minimal supports. I would think that they are structurally very resilient. The swaying of the structure should prevent it from being too stressed. You stated that one dip doesn't go all the way to the ground to allow for the go karts to pass underneath. I'm not sure that's the reason since the go karts were not installed until many years after Shock Wave was built. Maybe they did some terraforming when installing the go karts?
That's a good point. Not sure why it stayed high then.
@@CanobieCoaster You mean why they didn't reprofile the dip to match the terrain? There are times when I suspect they are capable of fabricating track sections in their shop, such as they must have done in order to reroute the Mini Mine Train to allow Mr Freeze to be installed. Can you imagine having to fabricate track for Shock Wave?
ITS HERE WOWOWOOWOWO
Yes
What do you think about the ride in terms of smoothness?
I'm referring to Shock Wave at Six Flags Over Texas.
It's smooth.
I want to ride this so badly
It's worth it.
Keep those B&M trains away from this ride! I always go for the back car. I never grey out on the loops, but I love the incredible airtime. I don't know how those shallow drops can give such amazing airtime. On my last visit a month ago, the railings for those switchbacks after the entrance were all gone. It was just an open area. It looked quite strange. I don't know if they plan to make some changes there or not.
I don't mind the Mindbender trains persay (they are comfortable), but I hate how they were shortened.
Imagine making this ride a similar change to Riddler Mindbender at Six Flags Over Georgia. Or what do you hope?
I hope this ride doesn't get neutered.
See in RCDB:
Shock Wave at Six Flags Over Texas
Blue Tornado at Gardaland
So to ride again what would you think?
I love Shock Wave, but not Blue Tornado.
Based on how the ride currently runs, how would you compare Shock Wave at Six Flags Over Texas to...
See in RCDB: Blue Tornado at Gardaland. I think that Vekoma inverted coaster also has inversions and a helix before the final brake.
Shock Wave is far smoother and wilder.
This is my favorite of the 8 Schwarzkopfs that I’ve ridden and it’s not even close. I didn’t get to ride Riddler Mindbender until this spring, and I can tell it has been severely neutered. The brakes and shortened trains have definitely taken away from its potential. Hopefully SFOT will continue to preserve Shock Wave in its current excellent condition for many more years.
I hope Shock Wave keeps running like this.
Here's hoping Shock Wave's layout does not have the potential stress issues. I think the most radical part of Shock Wave would be the back to back loops and those seem pretty solid. Most of the curves are at the top of a hill so any lateral forces should be minimal. Mind Bender does not have back to back loops but it does have that tall swooping drop that the park likes to call a "loop" in their marketing. That may cause the structure to be subject to more lateral forces which I think would be more challenging to counter act. And, no, I'm not an engineer, I've just a little about it.
If I ask you, what do you think about this ride's capacity?
Did the ride always have the same capacity? Or do you think there was a year with different things?
Usually this ride has good capacity, but it suffered the year they put VR on it.
Yes, I love the coaster as much as you. Except the track color. Bleah
I like how it stands out.
I was asking you about both Shock Wave and Blue Tornado in terms of forces, pacing, and smoothness?
Shock Wave is far better for forces and smoothness.
Mike, what do you think of Falcon's Flight?
I'm not Mike, but... it seems like a lot of projects get started in the Middle East that never get finished.
@@gregorymoore2877 Well I believe they are going to get it finished because they just showed it off at IAAPA and they say that half of the whole track has already been built, so it wouldn't make sense for them to scrap the whole project after all of that hard work that they have put into the ride so far. This ride is looking to be insane and literally no question the best roller coaster on this entire planet. I cannot wait to see how this turns out.
It looks like Kondaa mixed with Millennium Force and Iron Rattler. The ride looks incredible.
@@CanobieCoasterDo you think you’ll ride it sometime when it opens?
Glad they still use those trains. The ones they use on Mindbender are just ugly
I hope the experience doesn't change, but I suspect it needs a refurb soon.
famous
Among enthusiasts.
Is Shock waves track support to shake like the ?!
Let’s see, it’s been operating almost all year for 45 straight years with no major accidents. Sounds safe to me!
Also, roller coaster structures need to shake or they’ll crack under high forces.
By design, some of the columns have, what looks like ball joints. That allows it to sway
@@rafaeldugas8823 yeah but its support to be secured tightly to the Conceit footers
Yes, it moves a lot.
@@CanobieCoaster thank you!
Want To Hangout On
Saturday?
Sorry I am not doing park meet ups.
First!
Nice!
Canobie Coaster would say:
Shock Wave also has pretty good capacity. The ride has two trains and it usually runs both. Each train holds a maximum of 28 riders, as you have 7 cars with 2 rows of 2. The ride also has fairly fast operations. The crew usually has the next train ready to go once the prior one parks itself on the brake run. And that's impressive because the waiting brake is so far back from the station, so the crew has to wait longer for the train to return to the station than most coasters.
The lone year with bad operations was 2016. In that year, Shock Wave was one of several Six Flags coasters to get virtual reality. This severely hurt capacity and dispatch times. Did you like that throughput or did you hate that throughput?