Official Tatsu Construction Thread...

[ChuckR]

Tatsu at Six Flags Magic Mountain

Press Release:

THE NEWEST SIX FLAGS

?SPECIES OF FEAR?

REVEALED


Six Flags Magic Mountain Unleashes Yet Another

Monster Into Its Unequaled Coaster Dynasty


...TATSU ...

The Tallest, Fastest, Longest Flying Beast

on Planet Earth!

VALENCIA, CA. ? Marking the renown Thrill Park?s 35th anniversary, Six Flags Magic Mountain unleashes another monster addition to its supreme coaster dynasty with TATSU, a ?flying beast? to soar into the record books as the tallest, fastest and longest flying coaster on Planet Earth! This new species of fear is slated for a Spring 2006 invasion.

?Six Flags is known world-wide as the industry leader in next generation thrills.  And, bar none, Six Flags Magic Mountain leads the pack always adding the biggest and the best,? stated Del Holland, vice president and general manager of Six Flags California.  ?There?s no better way to commemorate the Park?s 35th anniversary than to continue to live up to our reputation ? give our guests a stunning one-of-a-kind ride experience only Six Flags can deliver!?

Reaching far beyond traditional thrills, this one-of-a-kind flying beast will take the coaster riding experience to the next generation.  Fearless riders will brave a never-been-done-before completely integrated flight pattern ? up, down, over and through --  the Park?s distinct mountainous terrain with nothing but the sky above and the ground below in a unique ?horizontal to earth? flying position.

The flight begins with great anticipation as riders board sleek dragon-like vehicles and ascend TATSU'S 170-foot tall lift with arms stretched forward, feet trailing behind and eyes intensely focused on the landscape below.  Once reaching the crest, riders will flylike never before, plummeting straight down the mountain, soaring over Roaring Rapids, before entering a sharp 180-degree turn back up the hillside to round the Park?s landmark bright orange Sky Tower.  The heart-pounding sensation continues as riders race up and down the mountainous terrain, darting in-and-out of looming trees, blazing over the tops of four inversions while dodging Roaring Rapids, Ninja, Orient Express and crossing an opposing Revolution train high above Valencia Falls.  

Aboard the wings of TATSU, riders will fly at speeds in excess of 62 miles-per-hour through a series of ?butterflies-in-your-stomach? plunges, huge sweeping spirals, stomach wrenching loops and sharp dives, high speed banked curves all deliberately designed to enhance the ultimate sensation of flight.  With more than 3,602 feet of blazing red, orange and yellow twisted steel track barely visible intertwined through the mountainside, TATSU'S intense three-and-a-half minute flight faces a dramatic 263-foot change in elevation from its highest peak to inches off the ground and spans four separate areas of the Park.  

?Six Flags Magic Mountain exemplifies the powerful Six Flags thrill brand,? stated Paul Ruben, North American editor of Park World magazine and noted roller coaster historian.  ?Besides strapping yourself onto a jet fighter, no where else can you experience this unique acrobatic flying experience.  Tatsu is a tremendous addition to this renown thrill park and the missing link to their remarkable world-class coaster collection.?

Representing one of the largest capital investments in recent years, TATSU will make a dramatic change to the Park?s skyline situated high atop the mountain atSamuraiSummit ? where time-honored customs of the Far East welcome the newest species into Six Flags? supreme coaster dynasty.  The myth and legend of the great Japanese dragon TATSU will cometo life when fearless riders board its wings and fly at the speed of fear!

Designed and engineered exclusively for Six Flags Magic Mountain by design coaster experts, Bolliger & Mabillard of Switzerland, TATSU represents the Parks 17th record-setting roller coaster.  Since the Park?s inception in 1971, Six Flags Magic Mountain continues to deliver the next generation of thrill rides, including X ? the world?s first and only 4th dimensional coaster; D?j? Vu ? the tallest and fastest suspended looping coaster in the world; Superman? The Escape - the first and only ride to break the 100-mph speed barrier; Viper - the tallest looping coaster in the world; The Riddler?s Revenge ? the tallest and fastest standup coaster on the planet and Revolution ? the world?s first 360-degree looping coaster.

Six Flags, Inc. is the world's largest regional theme park company.  Through its subsidiaries, it owns and operates a total of 29 parks in North America. Six Flags parks serve 34 of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. Six Flags, Inc. is a publicly held corporation with corporate offices in New York City and Oklahoma City. The Company's stock trades on the NYSE under the symbol: PKS.

Animation Pictures:





Animation Video:
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Construction Gallery:

Get up to date construction pictures on the Tatsu Construction Gallery and you can also weekly updates on Theme Park Review.

[ChuckR]

Theme Park Review posted a new construction update of Tatsu...

http://www.themeparkreview.com/sfmmnew06/current.htm

[sfgadvfreak]

Those updates arre really fun.  I can't wait to see the finshed product of Tatsu because I can't get a really good grasp of what it is going to relaly look like by watching the movie.  The movies on SF's site are just a little bit confusing.

[ChuckR]

Another update from SFMM...

This is from Arrowfanman on TPR forums...

http://www.mousetimes.com/gallery/di...lbum=494&pos=0

[ChuckR]

New update by Theme Park Review...

http://www.themeparkreview.com/sfmmnew06/current.htm

[ChuckR]

Another update by TPR...

http://www.themeparkreview.com/sfmmnew06/current.htm

[ChuckR]

New update by American Coaster Network...

http://americacoasters.com/SFMMConstruction/21106/Pages/pg1.php

[sfgadvfreak]

Looks like it's comming along pretty good...should only be a matter of time before we see it almost complete.

[ChuckR]

Arrowfanman on TPR just posted a nice construction update of Tatsu.

http://www.mousetimes.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=499&pos=1

[sir clinksalot]

Just FYI if anybody cares:

Because of rain in SoCal the last month press day has been moved to May 11th and opening day is now May 13th.

[PcMan]

Six Flags Magic Mountain
Tatsu Media Day
 Video and Photos
http://www.themeparkreview.com/tatsumediaday/tatsumediaday1.htm

[rjholla2003]

There's also an interview with Mark Shapiro on page 3 of that update.  I really like what he has to say.  I feel like such a Shapiro fanboy whenever I hear/read something he says.

[Nitro1118]

I still hate Shapiro, and haven't liked many of the things he has done so far, and am still worried about the direction SF is going in, but I'll give him a few more years before I have a concrete POV of him.

AS for the ride.....looks amazing.

[rjholla2003]

As for the things Shapiro's done, he hasn't really had much time to do things.  Next season will truly be his season.  I do like the fact that he's been on the parks heavy to clean up their act, and that he's gotten better directional signs in the park.  If our own GM, Ron Sevart, is any indicator, I also like the type of people he's putting in the leadership positions in the chain.  Those are the people who will make Six Flags great.  The only thing I can disagree with him on is the "if we can't get the rides open, the park won't be open" thing.  For those who didn't listen to the interview, I suggest you do before commenting on that since the title I just gave it is somewhat misleading.  I would find it more palateable if he suggested something like rotated refurbishings where the coasters would be no more than one train down, but they would be refurbed in groups to keep capacity at a maximum.  And for the two trained coasters make it so that they are as dispersed as possible in their refurbs.  I don't see the harm of being one train down during the slow season.  In principal it's a good idea because it's 100% true that there's no discount when you're getting a discounted experience such as 30% of the rides being down.

[Dubya91]

^That system can work well, but he is right, your paying $60 bucks...everything SHOULD be open as you dont get that discount! When he can do immediately is have all the coasters running at full capacity, also train some of the ops otherwise a three train operation doesnt do much but stack trains, i was triple stacked on medusa and it sucked!

[WadeJ]

/\  I'm cool with the conversation guys but create a seperate thread.  This is about Tatsu

Btw- did anybody else notice the lack of a loading platform?  It looks like its all concrete instead of the typical drop-floor like B:TR and Superman.

[overlord]

^Now that you mention it, yes. That is very weird. So you probably have to hoist yourself up into the seat instead of sitting down. Good find wade. I like TPR's media day trip. I cannot believe they got up at 4 AM to ride this monster. Thats insane.

[sir clinksalot]

Haven't ridden Tatsu yet but saw it running when we went to Hurricane Harbor on Sunday.

They were dispatching pretty quickly which is probably the reason for the non-dropping floor. It cuts down the dispatch time it seems.

The ride itself looks awesome and has been getting really good reviews. I should be riding it sometime this weekend or next week during the XTREME passholder day on the 26th.