Riders Got Stuck at Fiesta TX

[MoSpur]

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=d1415b22-e176-4f0d-8c34-28c62821672a


SAN ANTONIO, TX -- Some roller coaster riders at Fiesta Texas had to be rescued after the cars stopped in the middle of the ride.

Riders were stuck for nearly an hour on the "Boomerang" roller coaster Tuesday afternoon.

The Boomerang is one of the most popular roller coasters at Fiesta Texas. It was full of people when the ride stopped. No one was hanging upside down, but it took workers 50 minutes to get everyone off.

A News 4 viewer, Irene Ramos, captured the incident on video. She was at Fiesta Texas with her daughter when she saw the ride was stuck. They were both on the ground and watched as people were pulled from their cars.

"They seemed rattled a little bit. The people that I talked to, they seemed to handle it as well as they could. I think they did a good job getting everybody down," Ramos told News 4.

A spokesman for Fiesta Texas said us something set off a safety switch causing the ride to stop. Workers are now looking at the roller coaster to try to figure out what tripped the safety switch.

News 4 was told all of the rides here are inspected every day, and the Boomerang is expected to be back up and running Tuesday evening.

The Boomerang opened in 1999. The ride is 20 stories high and has a top speed of 60-miles per hour. After going through two loops and a corkscrew, the ride goes through the actions a second time backwards.

[angel_luv]

I am glad no one was stuck upside down.

[MoSpur]

I am a big fan of their new ride The Goliath.

[angel_luv]

I am a big fan of their new ride The Goliath.

Next time I am there, I will have to check it out.

[MoSpur]

You do. Its a smooth ride. Just the right amount of twists and loops

[Blake]

I havent tried Goliath, but it's been a few years since we've been there.....

my favorite so far is the Superman coaster.

[angel_luv]

I miss the original Rattler. That was one roller coaster!

[scott]

I operated the Rattler when I was a youngster and this used to happen all the time. I remember 4th of July Weekend we had some people stuck for 2-3 hours. I don't recall it being a newsworthy event back then...

[spursfor5]

WOAI makes a story out of everything. I bet they could do a story about water being wet and make it sound as if it is a life or death situation.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Awesome, a video of people sitting in a roller coaster not going anywhere. They should turn it into a mini-series.

[Sense]

I havent tried Goliath, but it's been a few years since we've been there.....

my favorite so far is the Superman coaster.

I went to SA a day after it opened and we got stuck...

not by that much and we didnt have to be rescued but it was quite a few minutes... and thank god it was barely about to start..

[peewee's lovechild]

This would have been funny as hell if they were upside down.

[Blake]

I miss the original Rattler. That was one roller coaster!

that was one awesome dive when it hit the top.....

but the twists and turns would throw you around all inside the compartment.

[Los Spurs]

Riders Got Stuck at Fiesta TX

I hope no one had to pee at the time.

[S_A_Longhorn]

I am a big fan of their new ride The Goliath.


Next time I am there, I will have to check it out.

Of course, if you've riden the Great White, then you've riden the Goliath.

[Sunshine]

It couldn't get stuck upside down.

[MoSpur]

Y not?

[mrsmaalox]

I miss the original Rattler. That was one roller coaster!

The one that is there now is not the original?

[Sunshine]

Y not?

Well, it's not ENTIRELY impossible to get stuck upside down, but on most coasters the upside down loops and stuff depend on inertia and built up speed to get the cars thru the loops, so there's nothing to stop it upside down. When there is mechanical failure, it effects the parts of the ride where the cars need help being taken to the top of a big hill. You know...the part where you here the "clackclackclackclack" as you're being taken to top. BUT....there are a few coasters that DO have mechanical parts in sections where you could be stuck upside down, like this:

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z167/Great_WhiteSnark/0_21_061007_roller_coaster.jpg

And on the Poltergeist at Fiesta Texas, there's that part where it brings you perpendicular before releasing you...you could get stuck there.

[Sunshine]

The one that is there now is not the original?

It's the original, but she might mean the way it was when it first opened. They've "tweaked" it some over the years to make it less physical.

I found this: http://www.rcdb.com/id56.htm

[MoSpur]

I see.

[mrsmaalox]

It's the original, but she might mean the way it was when it first opened. They've "tweaked" it some over the years to make it less physical.

I found this: http://www.rcdb.com/id56.htm

Yes, I heard chiropractors were making lots of money off that thing!

[ashbeeigh]

I will never ride the Poltergeist ever again. I'm a big fan of Fiesta Texas and their rides, but that is the only one I will not go on. I tried it a second time a few years ago, just to see if I had had a bad experience the first time, nope, it's crap.

[T Park]

Well, it's not ENTIRELY impossible to get stuck upside down, but on most coasters the upside down loops and stuff depend on inertia and built up speed to get the cars thru the loops, so there's nothing to stop it upside down. When there is mechanical failure, it effects the parts of the ride where the cars need help being taken to the top of a big hill. You know...the part where you here the "clackclackclackclack" as you're being taken to top. BUT....there are a few coasters that DO have mechanical parts in sections where you could be stuck upside down, like this:

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z167/Great_WhiteSnark/0_21_061007_roller_coaster.jpg

And on the Poltergeist at Fiesta Texas, there's that part where it brings you perpendicular before releasing you...you could get stuck there.


Theres ways it can get stuck upside down.

If the train itself has brake calipers on the cars, wich is not llikely, but possible, it can happen. Safety switch goes bad, ride thinks a lap bar or car is open or faulting, and it haults the ride immediately.

Trust me on this, with rides nothing is out of the realm of possibility.