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Six Flags Over Texas Press Release

Tony Hawk's Big Spin Whirls Its Way to Six Flags Over Texas

ARLINGTON, TX (September 25, 2007) - Attention all thrill seekers, extreme sports enthusiasts and coaster aficionados — Six Flags Over Texas, The Entertainment Capital of Texas, is proud to announce plans to welcome another addition to its already amazing roster of thrills — Tony Hawk's Big Spin!

Tony Hawk's Big Spin, making its debut on opening day of Six Flags Over Texas' 47th season, will give riders the sensation of freestyle skateboarding as they sit facing one another in 4-person cars all decked out in skateboard motif! Riders will grab some serious airtime as they twist and turn in 360° rotations while grinding through two helixes, wild mouse turns, a camelback and much more on the rails of this 1,351-ft. steel coaster. Costing $6.5 million to build, Tony Hawk's Big Spin is designed to deliver a unique experience for guests each time, because the weight distribution of passengers will determine how each car spins along the track.

Offering a full extreme sports experience, Tony Hawk's Big Spin promises to be a unique, eye-catching addition to the Six Flags Over Texas landscape with the look and feel of a giant red-and-black skatepark. The queue line has also been specially designed, so guests will learn about the history of skateboarding and watch highlights of action sports on monitors and story panels as they prepare to board the ride. In addition, riders will be able to put themselves into the action, capturing their thrilling experience on a Tony Hawk's Big Spin DVD with the park's new CD Ride technology.

Tony Hawk was a professional skater at 14 and the #1 ranked vert skater in the world for 12 straight years. He has competed in 103 pro contests winning 73 of them while placing second in 19, earning him the best record in skateboarding history. He has won 16 X Games medals and is a four-time Kid's Choice and three-time Fox Teen Choice award winner. In addition, Tony Hawk is the creator and star of the hugely popular Boom Boom HuckJam tour that has been seen by standing room only crowds at Six Flags theme parks across the country.

"The choice to bring Tony Hawk's Big Spin ride to Six Flags Over Texas was very easy. The ride has been quite popular at our sister parks and Tony Hawk is a skateboarding legend. It's a winning formula!" said Steve Martindale, Six Flags Over Texas park president. "We look forward to guests of all ages enjoying this great coaster."

Tony Hawk's Big Spin stands at 53 ft., travels some 31 mph and will be located in the Boom Town section of the park. Families with younger children will find the ride's height requirement especially enticing, as Tony Hawk's Big Spin is suitable for kids at least 42" tall if they are riding with an adult, while kids 47" may ride alone.

Details from Joel Rogers: This new ride is going to be built by Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH. It has a reported cost of six million dollars. It will be 1,351 feet long, 53 feet tall, and have a maximum drop of 27 feet. It will have eight four-passenger cars.

This coaster will be nearly identical to Tony Hawk's Big Spin at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Tony Hawk's Big Spin at Six Flags St. Louis, and Tony Hawk's Big Spin at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Just proves that Six Flags has no originality left!

The coaster will also be almost identical to Spinning Dragons at Worlds of Fun and Timberland Twister at the Park at MOA.