EDIT: Apparently, Momonga debuted its trains one day after another stand up coaster at Thrill Valley in 1982. I'll take out the sentence about Momonga being the first to use those trains.
The reason why Batman: The Escape's Batcave queue theming at Six Flags AstroWorld closed down in 1998 was because of health and safety reasons. At the time, the Batcave was rumored to contain significant amounts of Asbestos, which made it unsafe for guests. The low-popularity and roughness of the ride was another factor in the Batcave's closure too. Great video on the history of this great roller coaster!
I’ll add on. As the popularity declined, the air conditioning of the “Batcave” was also a major factor. Houston summers can be brutal and when the ride first opened the indoor area offered a great relief to park goers. However, cooling that much space is not cheap and in keeping with their “budget cutting” mindset towards AstroWorld, the Batcave just became yet another place to cut financial corners.
I got to see the Batcave in it's full glory the first year it opened. Although kid me was a few inches too short to ride it at the time. It definitely road really rough.
I still believe Batman: the Escape to be the best themed Batman coaster Six Flags has ever constructed. The idea to use the old Alpine Sleigh Ride as the Batcave was just genius. The story of AstroWorld's closure still upsets many since nobody really benefitted from it, and the land is mostly unused to this day. The Intamin/Giovanola stand-up coaster is an important part of coaster history, and an interesting relic from the pre-B&M days. Hopefully Drayton Manor keeps theirs operating for a while yet.
Idk about that one batman and robin chiller ride at great adventure had a sick observatory that gave it a great theme the only thing that sucks it never ran and become the coolest ride I never got to ride next to volcano the ride
I still have a soft spot for the theming around the Mr. Freeze ride at Six Flags Over Texas. The whole thing was an ice cream factory that was taken over by Freeze and twisted into his lair.
I cant tell you how much I miss this ride and park. I grew up going to Astroworld on a daily basis. Batman was my favorite ride there and it wasnt really rough at all. its such a shame it never got rebuilt.
Did you know for a small period of time in Indiana, there was a small park that had shut down called Old Indiana that Six Flags bought up and called Six Flags over Old Indiana. They only used it to store rides being transferred from park to park. That would be a cool history to see done.
My cousin & I got to ride Batman the Escape on my only visit there in 2002. Neither of us liked it at all. It's hard to remember exactly why, but it was probably rough, producing headbanging. We loved Ultra Twister though! We're not sad that Batman bit the dust, but we're very sad that the park & Ultra Twister are gone.
Ultra Twister was amazing. I went during a Physics day for school, it rained and all other schools left, but mine stayed. We rode Ultra Twister about 15 times in a row, no one was in line, it was amazing!
My family had Season Passes to Astroworld every year when I was growing up. I loved going on Batman The Escape, Greezed Lighting, and Serial Thriller every time I went!
I really like how much you found out about things like its naming contest at Great Adventure, when usually its moving to there is treated as just a side note. Great job!
The highschool band I was in went to Houston/Galveston TX for a competition in the spring of 2005. We went to Astroworld while it was in its deaththroes. I remember riding this one and Serial Thriller. The latter was a great time. Batman, like everyone else has said, left you sore as hell after. It was a good trip. Still have some pictures. Thanks for the nostalgia on this one. RIP Astroworld.
I had a season pass in the summer of 96 and went to Astroworld every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and weekend of that summer. I rode it countless times, and while it was rough, if you kept your head held back to the headrest, it was just fine. The queue line is one of the best I’ve ever seen at a Six Flags, especially because it Batman Returns was still fresh. It was like walking through that movie. Not only did it have the batmobile, but it also had a crashed cop car, Penguins vehicle from the movie and the batwing. One thing that I remember more vividly than anything else is that it wasn’t fast, but the large trains made quite the “whooshing” sound as it traveled around the track. We always knew if the ride was gonna be open because when we got to the parking lot across the street from the park, you could get it running during test rides before the park opened.
Batman at Astroworld was rough, but nothing compared to an SLC. The Bat cave was cool in the Houston heat. Such a shame what Six Flags did to that park. To today Houston still does not have a major amusement park.
The story about this ride is so wild. I remember talking to my family about it when we’d drive past it and speculate why they didn’t built it. For one, it was really worn down and probably would’ve sucked to ride at that point. I also heard they did a poor job relocating the ride as the control panel was lost and park wanted nothing to do with it. Great video!
Astroworld was my home park. Worst part was six flags didn't get half they thought the land would go for. Even worst still is the land isn't being used. Still even worse is having a city that large without a major amusement park is a travesty.
I rode it at Magic Mountain in the 80’s and it was a lot of fun with a very different feel than standard coasters. You definitely felt more exposed, almost more like “wing-walking” on an airplane instead of riding in the cockpit. One other thing I recall; that little adjustable seat between your legs did sort of feel like a seat.
Big thumbs up for bringing attention to the role Gioavnola played behind Intamins scenes. Although before that they also built the 1st generation Freefall rides and the Looping Starship.
I rode this coaster as "Shock Wave" at SFMM in 1986-1988. At that time it was comfortable and a lot of fun. The eventual fate of the ride was unfortunate, but at least it lasted a long time.
It’s a shame to see some of the remnants of Six Flags parks left behind, especially when they usually find a new home for rides like Batman: the Escape.
Well when you have a 20 year old ride, that was already showing its age at the time. It probably cost less money to do nothing than it would have cost to refurbish the attraction....Once something is obsolete, its obsolete and there is zero sense in reassembling it just because some have nostalgia for it.
It is quite unfortunate that they essentially closed Astroworld for no reason and nothing good came out of it. Most of the rides got scrapped never to be used again.
It was all because one guy thought he'd get rich off the land the park was on, and for Six Flags that was apparently cheaper than fixing up the park that they'd let fall into decay. If they'd really cared they would've sold it back to Houston and let it be independently owned again.
We had reasons to close the park. 1. No parking. After they built the second dome on the location the park was forced to compete for parking with 2 massive ampatheaters/arenas for parking. During the summer months, events were held in both almost daily and patrons had to park in from satellite parking lots off location or take a pay to ride shuttle. 2. Gang violence in the area was driving the insurance costs in the satellite parking lots up and people were being robbed while getting to the park from those satellite lots. Several gang fights would break out inside the park on a regular basis and bystanders were getting injured. This eventually caused people sue the park and to stop coming as patrons. 3. The property taxes. The city of Houston raised the taxes on the property so high that the park couldn't pay them off. With a single square mile holding 2 massive arenas, a theme park, a water park, and 3 shopping centers, the taxes imposed on the property excedded the park's intake for the season. 4. The economy was still not doing well after the market crash following 9/11and with Premier Parks 2 billion dollars in debt from acquiring too many parks too fast in the late ninties, Kieran Burke was in a bad position financially. We (stock holders) lost SF New Orleans from hurricane Katrina which resulted in heavy fines from the city. We lost SF (Geauga Lake) Ohio. As well 12 more US parks and 5 European parks. 5. Legal problems with Time Warner and character licensing also cost money that the parks didn't have to spend being tied up in lawsuits and copyright litigations. 6. Newer tech rides broke down constantly in the high heat and humidity of the location and it caused massive maintenance costs. Hope this kinda helps you understand some of the issues the park was having and why it closed down.
@@darthvader5532 I'm sure many of them could've been solved if Six Flags hadn't overloaded its portfolio. After all, a lot of their other parks struggled in the 2000's, but only two were ultimately closed. If they'd just unloaded their European parks sooner, they probably could've scraped together enough money to save Astro World or even just dump it back onto the city of Houston.
Unfortunately I was too young to ride Shockwave when it debuted at SFMM, I was never tall enough to ride it while it was at the park. I do remember the visceral TV ads showing the riders wearing sunglasses and being in awe that a roller coaster could have a loop while the riders were standing up. My first inversion was eventually experienced at that same park when I was 8, but it was the worlds first modern looping coaster Revolution.
I rode it in the Astroworld days. You'd want to make sure to ride it near the front, where it was kind of rough but not really beyond what you always get with a stand-up coaster. The back car or so could be unpleasant, though. Looking back on that part it's wild they put a stand-up coaster right by a Togo heartline twister. Some pretty elusive credits now.
Rode it at Astroworld...in 2000 i believe....I dont necessarily remember it as being rough but i dont think any roughness would be attributed to moving just the fact that any standup coaster is prone to being rougher with age.
Once I heard Batman was left to rot by Six Flags I immediately thought you meant ours I’m here in California I was like No.. Its there… Never even heard of this one. Such a Sad End to a Coaster I never even knew existed. Never heard of Standing Coasters till I saw your video!
I remember watching it get built as shockwave at magic mountain. The black track made it look awesome and when I found out later it was to be a stand up coaster I was so excited!…. I still watch the commercial 😊…. Although we got the upgraded riddlers revenge which is great … shockwave will always be a nostalgic memory as a roaring and great coaster 👍👍
I like how Drayton Manor completely copied the advert when they opened their Shockwave and even filmed most of the advert on the Shockwave clone in Sweden that later ended up at La Ronde.
Very nice video. I rode this when it was at Six Flags Great Adventure and really enjoyed it. It did bang your head up quite a bit but I still had fun riding it. Thanks for posting this.
This coaster always gave me a headache every time I rode it while visiting astroworld. The best thing about the ride was the amazing themeing in the que, probably the best themeing six flags has ever done for a roller coaster.
I remember when this ride opened at Astroworld. I loved the theming and que. I distinctly remember having to take earrings out before riding cuz of the head restraint. Very rough and bumpy. But I still enjoyed it. Especially the chiller zones since this is Texas.
I guess I understand the sentiment behind the ride rotation program, but I don't understand why six flags would make their rides all rough just so they can be like "we move our coasters around because we're six flags and we're edgy and kewl as hell". i mean shit, you mentioned at least 4 or 5 different parks that this coaster was at.
I've ridden the Batman multiple times, was neat due to standing, it wasn't all that fast, I don't really remember it being rough. The best part was the queue line, they did really neat with the theming. Also, I hated when Astroworld was torn down, lots of memories.
I rode it when is was Batman at Astroworld. I remembered it being rough but not much different than other rough rides of the time. It was still fun and different for it’s time.
It sadly moved and closed before i could ride it in new jersey, a piece of history just lost forever like the ultratwister that also went to astroworld. hopefully someone at modern day six flags gets an idea and will save some of their historic rides from the 80s/90s. Viper at SFMM is the final custom looper of the trio they had built for example. It's sadly running with spare parts from the two others.
It’s funny how it was at Magic Mountain then removed after a few years and what did Magic Mountain get in 1998? Another standup coaster from B&M named The Riddler’s Revenge and it’s still there.
I've had so many great memories of Six Flags Astroworld. My parents took me there many times when I was a kid. My heart broke when it closed. Houston isn't the same without it. RIP😔
I rode it at Astroworld in the mid 90s. I always enjoyed it. They used to take your picture on the ride at one point, and I’m sure I bought one at one time. The ride didn’t seem rough to me, but I did learn to stick my head out forward so it wouldn’t hit either side of the harness. They also made you take off your earrings for that reason.
I remember this ride from my childhood. I wouldn't have dared to get on this or that ride with the dragon on the tunnel. As a kid, the idea of what was inside of that small section of tunnel was horrifying.
Viper was my favorite ride at Astroworld! I never understood why a dragon was painted on that tunnel when it was called Viper 😂. There is a clone of Viper at Frontier City in Oklahoma! You can finally get to ride it because the one at Frontier City doesn’t feature a tunnel on the first drop 😂
@@theheardtheorem And the Viper came from Six Flags St. Louis where it was originally called the Jet Scream. Astroworld got mostly used rides but they were all pretty good.
I rode it when it opened at Magic Mountain, head banger even at Magic Mountain, still loved it, rode it many times, remember me and my friends back then were shocked when it was removed so soon.. thank for video, nice to know it lived on for more to enjoy
I rode it many times at Astroworld. You are correct one the side to side bumping of the head. That could have been easily mitigated by putting something soft on each side of the head.
Took my first visit to Magic Mountain in 1991, expecting to ride Shockwave, but it had been moved to another park. Imagine my heartbreak, though I was probably too short to ride anyway, as I wasn’t enough tall enough for Viper at the time. It turned out ok though, when Magic Mountain built Riddler’s Revenge in 1998. The best Stand-up coaster ever built! I’m glad it’s still there and in its current form. It’s days are probably numbered due to most people not realizing you’re not supposed to sit , but stand, and often complain of pain after the ride. Maybe the park could add some signs explaining to people how the ride should be ridden, but they’re unlikely to go noticed anyhow.
I rode this coaster, it was VERY rough, you would beat your head left to right on the restraints. They also told passengers to remove any earrings you had. The ride was fun though, and the theming was really really good. The theming was more of a reason to ride than the ride was. I hated it every time i rode it it gave me a headache, and the bicycle seat wasn't comfortable either.
I got to ride this ride and yeah it had a lot of headbanging,at night they had good lighting tho and no lines but riding it more than twice in a row hurt your neck and knees from hitting the sides,good times!
There was a standing coaster at Great America Santa Clara when I was a kid. The Vortex. Rode it twice but it was PAINFUL to the head and crotch so that was it.
Hi 👋 from Toronto Canada. 🇨🇦 My home park Canada's Wonderland had a stand up coaster too. It was called Skyrider. Debuted in 1985 and closed in 2014. It was sold to some park in Italy. Yukon Striker was built in the space. Interesting video, I liked it.
Rode the batman ride. My son loved it. Definitely one of Astroworld's best. Excalibur will always be my favorite for its smooth ride and sight seeing height but this coaster won many hearts including ours. 💕
Six flags darien lake is my home park, and when I saw that track there I went crazy. The rumor mill around the park was insane too. Year and year through it sat across the street and was a constant conversation starter every time we drove into the park.
Rode it back in 1990 at Six Flags Great Adventure in its first season opened. I totally remember the ride rotation program that Six Flags had and as a result, Great Adventure had and lost the Sarejevo bobsled ride and the Ultra Twister. Both of those were a lot of fun and was sad to see them go. Shockwave replaced them and I remember it being slow, rough and uncomfortable. The Great American Scream Machine blew it away. When Shockwave closed in ‘92 my friends and I didn’t mind seeing it go.
Actually, I heard there was either foundation settlement or a tremor @ SFMM that caused it's removal. But, rotation/ relocation of rides for SF was not uncommon. Tidal Wave @ AW was from '84 New Orleans Worlds Fair. Viper from St. Louis & Ultra from SFGAdv. Being from Houston, I know for a fact because I filmed AstroWorld coming down. The company charged with that ride removal damaged several pieces of track that would have to be replaced. By it being a prototype (likely very expensive) + the ride was old now. I have it on video a piece being dropped that was NOT properly rigged! You could NOT wear earrings on this ride either (lest you get your ears "boxed") LOL!
Ultra Twister was reported to have been damaged in transit as well as it was supposed to have gone to Six Flags America, but it sat in storage for some years before disappearing for good, most likely scrapped as well.
I rode this coaster it’s first year at Astroworld. I absolutely loved it! It was such a shame that it was so neglected by Six Flags. The company did the ride and the park dirty.
Rode it at BOTH Great Adventure and at Magic Mountain…Not THAT memorable a ride, but I never really liked any of the standup I rode (especially not a fan of the one they had at Hersheypark)
I didn't ride this specific one but I rode Le Cobra at La Ronde so many times before it closed. I actually liked it. It didn't do too much and wasn't really forceful by any means but it was much more comfortable than the larger b&m stand up because the g-force wouldn't crush my legs at the bottom of each hills/inversions
Funny my husband and I were just telling the kids about Astroworld during a recent visit to Disney and how much we missed it. It was a huge part of my childhood here in Houston. One of my kids asked me about the Batman ride and I remember telling him it was a fun ride but it was rough and gave me a headache from my head hitting the sides. I thought it was just me, but now I see that was everyone’s experience. lol
Astroworld was my home park I still live in Houston born and raised to me the ride was ok. The front was smoother to me than the last car. The last car seemed to be jerkier than the front which is odd for a coaster. In all, I liked it and would keep riding it if Astroworld was still here and it was still up and running.
The only stand up I’ve ridden is Shockwave at Drayton Manor, which is the last remaining Intamin stand up. I didn’t hate it as much as I expected and need to get back to the park to ride it again.
It's very upsetting to see videos of Astroworld. Premier really fucked that one up for Houston. Now we're left with nothing but an empty storage yard for the Houston Rodeo kiosks and overflow parking. The Texans played their part in also taking half the parking lot away. It was Houston stubbornness to not remove the Astrodome and increase parking for both the Texans and astroworld. The dome still sits dormant decaying away
Plus both Magic Mountain AND Great Adventure would receive two other stand-up coasters. Magic Mountain would receive Riddler's Revenge and Great Adventure would receive another stand-up that also operated at another Six Flags property previously in the form of The Green Lantern (previously Chang at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom), both built by B&M.
I rode this coaster in August 2005 right before Astroworld closed for good. It was the worst ride I've ever had on a coaster that thing beat the crap out of me
This stand up ride reminds me of Iron Wolf at Six Flags Great America!!! Man that ride was FUN!! I’ve never ridden a coaster like it before! It’s now gone as it was replaced by Goliath, but is operating at another six flags park, Six Flags America as Firebird!!! Apparently it was converted to a floorless coaster!! The original cars, or at least one of them, is at the national roller coaster museum!!!! That’s one ride I miss though, it was a good coaster!!!
That was my favorite coaster at AW. second was the cyclone. I really miss that park. Edit: PS don't ever learn how to pronounce things, it's part of your charm.
It was a rough ride. I rode it many many times since it opened. You'd get used to where the worst head-bangers were and could hold your head against one of the pads as the turns came, negating the banging. It was one of my favorites at Astroworld. Oh, I miss that place.
I loved and miss Astroworld all the time. It had some unique rides in it for just about everyone to enjoy. Batman was known to be a head banger and most people took out earrings etc before getting on it. Even with that it was one very fun ride and an awesome experience with the theming around you. It’s sad that they closed the park in hopes to sell condos on that lot for a high dollar tag to be so close to the sports attractions. However there have been talks about a new theme park coming back to Houston area or nearby.
I rode it at Astroworld in 2004. Was not enjoyable at all. Extremely uncomfortable and the ride was really rough. However I do consider myself lucky to have ridden many of the rides there given most of their type no longer exist.
I got 2 ideas for future videos :) .1 top ten best Mack launch coasters (or just best launch coasters you can decide) .2 Best aussie roller coasters (there's not heaps to choose from, mostly I just want to see some in your videos so if you can think of a better way to include some aussie coasters please do!) love your videos!
The closure of Astroworld was a mistake. They could’ve just sold it to Cedar Fair or Herschend, but nope, they just HAD to scrap the whole thing. Plus leaving Batman The Escape to rot in the scorching hot sun for over a decade really didn’t help, as they really could’ve just sent it to, say, Six Flags St. Louis, after selling off Darien Lake. After some time it would be converted into a Floorless Coaster.
The Six Flags of that time did a LOT of parks dirty, not just AstroWorld. Darien Lake has basically barely been able to keep its head above water in the decade plus since Six Flags first sold it off, and the serious lack of TLC has been starting to show. The return of Six Flags brought some hope back, but it could easily be misplaced hope. Darien Lake has all the right ingredients to be a good park, but death by neglect is a very real concern here now!
@@gordontaylor2815 The lack of attention over the pandemic year was especially noticeable. While many parks still operated (albeit empty) to keep everything working, at the beginning of the 2021 season SFDL looked like nobody had been there since the last employee turned off the lights in 2019 - and the rides rode like it, too. Did not renew my season pass, either. That place is going down in a hurry, and it's a shame. The things it *should* have going for it, and to think 20 years ago it was looking like it would break into that upper echelon of elite "destination" parks.
I rode it on opening day at AstroWorld exclusive to season pass holders. Wasn't impressed. The headache I got was horrible. After that, I didn't ride it that often. I stuck to the good old standard coasters there. Good riddance to it.
I rode the Batman ride for years at Astroworld but anyone on here on it in 1997 when the power went out the entire park when on the middle of the Batman ride?? We had to climb out of it and walk down a rickety staircase! Craziest and scariest shit EVER!
It was really sad when Six Flags closed Six Flags AstroWorld. I wished that Six Flags rebuilt Batman: The Escape at Six Flags Darien Lake for the 2006 season, alongside Big Kahuna, which also came from AstroWorld's WaterWorld. I believed it was damaged when it was being taken apart and disassembled during AstroWorld's demolition. It was very sad seeing it rot for 11 years in the lot outside of the park before it got scrapped during the 2017 winter period. Greezed Lightnin' also suffered a similar fate. It was removed and possibly scrapped after sitting in storage near Joyland Amusement Park in Lubbock, Texas from 2006 to 2018. Ultra Twister was scrapped in 2010 after sitting in storage at Six Flags America after being damaged during disassembly and shipping from AstroWorld. Dungeon Drop was also recently removed from Six Flags St. Louis a few months ago after operating there from 2006 to 2020. There isn't a lot of AstroWorld left today sadly.....
Honestly this makes me feel sad cuz they planned to build the coaster but never did cuz the coaster got older n older man coasters have come a long way
EDIT: Apparently, Momonga debuted its trains one day after another stand up coaster at Thrill Valley in 1982. I'll take out the sentence about Momonga being the first to use those trains.
Does that mean we get another reupload 👀
The reason why Batman: The Escape's Batcave queue theming at Six Flags AstroWorld closed down in 1998 was because of health and safety reasons. At the time, the Batcave was rumored to contain significant amounts of Asbestos, which made it unsafe for guests. The low-popularity and roughness of the ride was another factor in the Batcave's closure too. Great video on the history of this great roller coaster!
I hadn't heard the asbestos story before. Growing up in Houston I always heard they closed it because teenagers were having sex in the batcave.
I’ll add on.
As the popularity declined, the air conditioning of the “Batcave” was also a major factor.
Houston summers can be brutal and when the ride first opened the indoor area offered a great relief to park goers. However, cooling that much space is not cheap and in keeping with their “budget cutting” mindset towards AstroWorld, the Batcave just became yet another place to cut financial corners.
I got to see the Batcave in it's full glory the first year it opened. Although kid me was a few inches too short to ride it at the time.
It definitely road really rough.
I still believe Batman: the Escape to be the best themed Batman coaster Six Flags has ever constructed. The idea to use the old Alpine Sleigh Ride as the Batcave was just genius. The story of AstroWorld's closure still upsets many since nobody really benefitted from it, and the land is mostly unused to this day. The Intamin/Giovanola stand-up coaster is an important part of coaster history, and an interesting relic from the pre-B&M days. Hopefully Drayton Manor keeps theirs operating for a while yet.
As a kid, I felt like Batman Knight Flight was the best 👌 but again, I was a kid and I'm biased to my Ohio theme parks
Idk about that one batman and robin chiller ride at great adventure had a sick observatory that gave it a great theme the only thing that sucks it never ran and become the coolest ride I never got to ride next to volcano the ride
I still have a soft spot for the theming around the Mr. Freeze ride at Six Flags Over Texas. The whole thing was an ice cream factory that was taken over by Freeze and twisted into his lair.
@ really where is this?? I know they have the old school Batmobile by Batman The Ride
@ gotcha I gotta look it up and see for myself thanks for the info
I cant tell you how much I miss this ride and park. I grew up going to Astroworld on a daily basis. Batman was my favorite ride there and it wasnt really rough at all. its such a shame it never got rebuilt.
Did you know for a small period of time in Indiana, there was a small park that had shut down called Old Indiana that Six Flags bought up and called Six Flags over Old Indiana. They only used it to store rides being transferred from park to park. That would be a cool history to see done.
Do this
Trueee please do it
My cousin & I got to ride Batman the Escape on my only visit there in 2002. Neither of us liked it at all. It's hard to remember exactly why, but it was probably rough, producing headbanging. We loved Ultra Twister though! We're not sad that Batman bit the dust, but we're very sad that the park & Ultra Twister are gone.
Ultra Twister was amazing. I went during a Physics day for school, it rained and all other schools left, but mine stayed. We rode Ultra Twister about 15 times in a row, no one was in line, it was amazing!
My family had Season Passes to Astroworld every year when I was growing up. I loved going on Batman The Escape, Greezed Lighting, and Serial Thriller every time I went!
I really like how much you found out about things like its naming contest at Great Adventure, when usually its moving to there is treated as just a side note. Great job!
The highschool band I was in went to Houston/Galveston TX for a competition in the spring of 2005. We went to Astroworld while it was in its deaththroes. I remember riding this one and Serial Thriller. The latter was a great time. Batman, like everyone else has said, left you sore as hell after. It was a good trip. Still have some pictures. Thanks for the nostalgia on this one. RIP Astroworld.
I had a season pass in the summer of 96 and went to Astroworld every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and weekend of that summer. I rode it countless times, and while it was rough, if you kept your head held back to the headrest, it was just fine. The queue line is one of the best I’ve ever seen at a Six Flags, especially because it Batman Returns was still fresh. It was like walking through that movie. Not only did it have the batmobile, but it also had a crashed cop car, Penguins vehicle from the movie and the batwing. One thing that I remember more vividly than anything else is that it wasn’t fast, but the large trains made quite the “whooshing” sound as it traveled around the track. We always knew if the ride was gonna be open because when we got to the parking lot across the street from the park, you could get it running during test rides before the park opened.
Batman at Astroworld was rough, but nothing compared to an SLC. The Bat cave was cool in the Houston heat. Such a shame what Six Flags did to that park. To today Houston still does not have a major amusement park.
I'll always appreciate how informative these videos are
The story about this ride is so wild. I remember talking to my family about it when we’d drive past it and speculate why they didn’t built it. For one, it was really worn down and probably would’ve sucked to ride at that point. I also heard they did a poor job relocating the ride as the control panel was lost and park wanted nothing to do with it. Great video!
Astroworld was my home park. Worst part was six flags didn't get half they thought the land would go for. Even worst still is the land isn't being used. Still even worse is having a city that large without a major amusement park is a travesty.
I rode it at Magic Mountain in the 80’s and it was a lot of fun with a very different feel than standard coasters. You definitely felt more exposed, almost more like “wing-walking” on an airplane instead of riding in the cockpit.
One other thing I recall; that little adjustable seat between your legs did sort of feel like a seat.
I always put the seat all the way down so when it locks I have too stand up
If I don’t do that it hurts my balls
Big thumbs up for bringing attention to the role Gioavnola played behind Intamins scenes. Although before that they also built the 1st generation Freefall rides and the Looping Starship.
I rode this coaster as "Shock Wave" at SFMM in 1986-1988. At that time it was comfortable and a lot of fun. The eventual fate of the ride was unfortunate, but at least it lasted a long time.
When I hear astroworld now all I can think of is Travis Scott sacrificing kids
It’s a shame to see some of the remnants of Six Flags parks left behind, especially when they usually find a new home for rides like Batman: the Escape.
Well when you have a 20 year old ride, that was already showing its age at the time. It probably cost less money to do nothing than it would have cost to refurbish the attraction....Once something is obsolete, its obsolete and there is zero sense in reassembling it just because some have nostalgia for it.
@@lutherheggs451 unless someone has the passion or money. But there’s no demand for outdated coasters pretty much
It is quite unfortunate that they essentially closed Astroworld for no reason and nothing good came out of it. Most of the rides got scrapped never to be used again.
It was all because one guy thought he'd get rich off the land the park was on, and for Six Flags that was apparently cheaper than fixing up the park that they'd let fall into decay. If they'd really cared they would've sold it back to Houston and let it be independently owned again.
@@JCBro-yg8vd Keiran Burke to be exact. He closed Astroworld.
I know it’s sad Texas tornado has now fallen under the radar and it’s where snouts are unknown and greezed lightnin was finally scrapped last year
We had reasons to close the park.
1. No parking. After they built the second dome on the location the park was forced to compete for parking with 2 massive ampatheaters/arenas for parking. During the summer months, events were held in both almost daily and patrons had to park in from satellite parking lots off location or take a pay to ride shuttle.
2. Gang violence in the area was driving the insurance costs in the satellite parking lots up and people were being robbed while getting to the park from those satellite lots. Several gang fights would break out inside the park on a regular basis and bystanders were getting injured. This eventually caused people sue the park and to stop coming as patrons.
3. The property taxes. The city of Houston raised the taxes on the property so high that the park couldn't pay them off. With a single square mile holding 2 massive arenas, a theme park, a water park, and 3 shopping centers, the taxes imposed on the property excedded the park's intake for the season.
4. The economy was still not doing well after the market crash following 9/11and with Premier Parks 2 billion dollars in debt from acquiring too many parks too fast in the late ninties, Kieran Burke was in a bad position financially. We (stock holders) lost SF New Orleans from hurricane Katrina which resulted in heavy fines from the city. We lost SF (Geauga Lake) Ohio. As well 12 more US parks and 5 European parks.
5. Legal problems with Time Warner and character licensing also cost money that the parks didn't have to spend being tied up in lawsuits and copyright litigations.
6. Newer tech rides broke down constantly in the high heat and humidity of the location and it caused massive maintenance costs.
Hope this kinda helps you understand some of the issues the park was having and why it closed down.
@@darthvader5532 I'm sure many of them could've been solved if Six Flags hadn't overloaded its portfolio. After all, a lot of their other parks struggled in the 2000's, but only two were ultimately closed. If they'd just unloaded their European parks sooner, they probably could've scraped together enough money to save Astro World or even just dump it back onto the city of Houston.
Unfortunately I was too young to ride Shockwave when it debuted at SFMM, I was never tall enough to ride it while it was at the park. I do remember the visceral TV ads showing the riders wearing sunglasses and being in awe that a roller coaster could have a loop while the riders were standing up. My first inversion was eventually experienced at that same park when I was 8, but it was the worlds first modern looping coaster Revolution.
I rode it in the Astroworld days. You'd want to make sure to ride it near the front, where it was kind of rough but not really beyond what you always get with a stand-up coaster. The back car or so could be unpleasant, though. Looking back on that part it's wild they put a stand-up coaster right by a Togo heartline twister. Some pretty elusive credits now.
Ultra twister was fun!
Rode it at Astroworld...in 2000 i believe....I dont necessarily remember it as being rough but i dont think any roughness would be attributed to moving just the fact that any standup coaster is prone to being rougher with age.
Astroworld was such a fun theme park, wish it would have survived the bankruptcy.
Once I heard Batman was left to rot by Six Flags I immediately thought you meant ours I’m here in California I was like No.. Its there… Never even heard of this one. Such a Sad End to a Coaster I never even knew existed. Never heard of Standing Coasters till I saw your video!
I remember watching it get built as shockwave at magic mountain. The black track made it look awesome and when I found out later it was to be a stand up coaster I was so excited!…. I still watch the commercial 😊…. Although we got the upgraded riddlers revenge which is great … shockwave will always be a nostalgic memory as a roaring and great coaster 👍👍
I remember the commercial, too.
I like how Drayton Manor completely copied the advert when they opened their Shockwave and even filmed most of the advert on the Shockwave clone in Sweden that later ended up at La Ronde.
@@XParks did not know that… would love to see their rendition of the ad
@@StamfordBridge it was back in the day when six flags got creative with their rollercoaster promos
Very nice video. I rode this when it was at Six Flags Great Adventure and really enjoyed it. It did bang your head up quite a bit but I still had fun riding it. Thanks for posting this.
Ha! I rode Magic Mountain’s Shockwave the season it opened. At the time, it seemed so wildly revolutionary to stand up on a coaster.
This coaster always gave me a headache every time I rode it while visiting astroworld. The best thing about the ride was the amazing themeing in the que, probably the best themeing six flags has ever done for a roller coaster.
I remember when this ride opened at Astroworld. I loved the theming and que. I distinctly remember having to take earrings out before riding cuz of the head restraint. Very rough and bumpy. But I still enjoyed it. Especially the chiller zones since this is Texas.
Batman was good but the wooden roller coaster I think called Texas cyclone was awesome at that park.
I guess I understand the sentiment behind the ride rotation program, but I don't understand why six flags would make their rides all rough just so they can be like "we move our coasters around because we're six flags and we're edgy and kewl as hell". i mean shit, you mentioned at least 4 or 5 different parks that this coaster was at.
I've ridden the Batman multiple times, was neat due to standing, it wasn't all that fast, I don't really remember it being rough. The best part was the queue line, they did really neat with the theming. Also, I hated when Astroworld was torn down, lots of memories.
Yes. Road this in Sfmm and Sfnj. Did not know it was moved. Thank you for the info.
Finally a new video lmfao 💀 keep up the good work 👍🏽
I can’t ever hear the word astroworld after last year 😞
I rode it when is was Batman at Astroworld. I remembered it being rough but not much different than other rough rides of the time. It was still fun and different for it’s time.
It sadly moved and closed before i could ride it in new jersey, a piece of history just lost forever like the ultratwister that also went to astroworld. hopefully someone at modern day six flags gets an idea and will save some of their historic rides from the 80s/90s. Viper at SFMM is the final custom looper of the trio they had built for example. It's sadly running with spare parts from the two others.
It’s funny how it was at Magic Mountain then removed after a few years and what did Magic Mountain get in 1998? Another standup coaster from B&M named The Riddler’s Revenge and it’s still there.
Was that you doing Bug's voice? Damn that was good
Six Flags Great Adventure was my home park when I was a kid growing up in NY I rode this when it was Shockwave the season it opened.
I've had so many great memories of Six Flags Astroworld. My parents took me there many times when I was a kid. My heart broke when it closed. Houston isn't the same without it. RIP😔
How to explain ,they left a whole park abandoned (six flags new orleans) and u ask about some rides? Six flags takes sht decisions.
it makes no sense a city as big as houston no longer have a theme park. Houston is so crowded nowadays that six flags would make big profit now.
I rode it at Astroworld in the mid 90s. I always enjoyed it. They used to take your picture on the ride at one point, and I’m sure I bought one at one time. The ride didn’t seem rough to me, but I did learn to stick my head out forward so it wouldn’t hit either side of the harness. They also made you take off your earrings for that reason.
Darien Lake is my home park and I see those tracks every time I go. I wish it was rebuilt.
I used to work there in the water park. the control panel was “lost” according to the higher ups but it was seemingly purposefully tossed/destroyed
I remember this ride from my childhood. I wouldn't have dared to get on this or that ride with the dragon on the tunnel. As a kid, the idea of what was inside of that small section of tunnel was horrifying.
Viper was my favorite ride at Astroworld! I never understood why a dragon was painted on that tunnel when it was called Viper 😂. There is a clone of Viper at Frontier City in Oklahoma! You can finally get to ride it because the one at Frontier City doesn’t feature a tunnel on the first drop 😂
@@theheardtheorem And the Viper came from Six Flags St. Louis where it was originally called the Jet Scream. Astroworld got mostly used rides but they were all pretty good.
I rode it when it opened at Magic Mountain, head banger even at Magic Mountain, still loved it, rode it many times, remember me and my friends back then were shocked when it was removed so soon.. thank for video, nice to know it lived on for more to enjoy
I rode it many times at Astroworld. You are correct one the side to side bumping of the head. That could have been easily mitigated by putting something soft on each side of the head.
Took my first visit to Magic Mountain in 1991, expecting to ride Shockwave, but it had been moved to another park. Imagine my heartbreak, though I was probably too short to ride anyway, as I wasn’t enough tall enough for Viper at the time. It turned out ok though, when Magic Mountain built Riddler’s Revenge in 1998. The best Stand-up coaster ever built! I’m glad it’s still there and in its current form. It’s days are probably numbered due to most people not realizing you’re not supposed to sit , but stand, and often complain of pain after the ride. Maybe the park could add some signs explaining to people how the ride should be ridden, but they’re unlikely to go noticed anyhow.
I think Riddler's Revenge is one of the most underrated coasters out there. It was legitimately one of my favorites at the park.
I rode this coaster, it was VERY rough, you would beat your head left to right on the restraints. They also told passengers to remove any earrings you had. The ride was fun though, and the theming was really really good. The theming was more of a reason to ride than the ride was. I hated it every time i rode it it gave me a headache, and the bicycle seat wasn't comfortable either.
That's good to hear.
I was there it's final weekend of operation. I pass by that empty lot where six flags astroworld was... I get sad every time
I got to ride this ride and yeah it had a lot of headbanging,at night they had good lighting tho and no lines but riding it more than twice in a row hurt your neck and knees from hitting the sides,good times!
There was a standing coaster at Great America Santa Clara when I was a kid. The Vortex. Rode it twice but it was PAINFUL to the head and crotch so that was it.
Hi 👋 from Toronto Canada. 🇨🇦 My home park Canada's Wonderland had a stand up coaster too. It was called Skyrider. Debuted in 1985 and closed in 2014. It was sold to some park in Italy. Yukon Striker was built in the space. Interesting video, I liked it.
Rode the batman ride. My son loved it. Definitely one of Astroworld's best. Excalibur will always be my favorite for its smooth ride and sight seeing height but this coaster won many hearts including ours. 💕
Six flags darien lake is my home park, and when I saw that track there I went crazy. The rumor mill around the park was insane too. Year and year through it sat across the street and was a constant conversation starter every time we drove into the park.
Rode it back in 1990 at Six Flags Great Adventure in its first season opened. I totally remember the ride rotation program that Six Flags had and as a result, Great Adventure had and lost the Sarejevo bobsled ride and the Ultra Twister. Both of those were a lot of fun and was sad to see them go. Shockwave replaced them and I remember it being slow, rough and uncomfortable. The Great American Scream Machine blew it away. When Shockwave closed in ‘92 my friends and I didn’t mind seeing it go.
Actually, I heard there was either foundation settlement or a tremor @ SFMM that caused it's removal. But, rotation/ relocation of rides for SF was not uncommon. Tidal Wave @ AW was from '84 New Orleans Worlds Fair. Viper from St. Louis & Ultra from SFGAdv. Being from Houston, I know for a fact because I filmed AstroWorld coming down. The company charged with that ride removal damaged several pieces of track that would have to be replaced. By it being a prototype (likely very expensive) + the ride was old now. I have it on video a piece being dropped that was NOT properly rigged! You could NOT wear earrings on this ride either (lest you get your ears "boxed") LOL!
Ultra Twister was reported to have been damaged in transit as well as it was supposed to have gone to Six Flags America, but it sat in storage for some years before disappearing for good, most likely scrapped as well.
@@johnfoltz8183 it wasn't a good ride anyway. The humidity always caused problems on hot days.
I too miss this ride and park. It brought so many great memories to my childhood.
I rode this coaster it’s first year at Astroworld. I absolutely loved it! It was such a shame that it was so neglected by Six Flags. The company did the ride and the park dirty.
Six flags was owned by premier parks at the time and was tangled in litigation with Warner Brothers. Houston did the park dirty.
Rode it at BOTH Great Adventure and at Magic Mountain…Not THAT memorable a ride, but I never really liked any of the standup I rode (especially not a fan of the one they had at Hersheypark)
They had a standup coaster at hershey?
Damn great adventure got two relocated stand up coasters but shockwave seemed to be better and more well received than green lantern
No it wasn't. I rode the clone of this at La Ronde I'll take Green Lantern any day
I didn't ride this specific one but I rode Le Cobra at La Ronde so many times before it closed. I actually liked it. It didn't do too much and wasn't really forceful by any means but it was much more comfortable than the larger b&m stand up because the g-force wouldn't crush my legs at the bottom of each hills/inversions
Funny my husband and I were just telling the kids about Astroworld during a recent visit to Disney and how much we missed it. It was a huge part of my childhood here in Houston. One of my kids asked me about the Batman ride and I remember telling him it was a fun ride but it was rough and gave me a headache from my head hitting the sides. I thought it was just me, but now I see that was everyone’s experience. lol
yay!! thanks for the shout out
You should talk about astroworld’s greezed lightnin next. I’m very curious to hear what happened to it.
SAME!
Astroworld was my home park I still live in Houston born and raised to me the ride was ok. The front was smoother to me than the last car. The last car seemed to be jerkier than the front which is odd for a coaster. In all, I liked it and would keep riding it if Astroworld was still here and it was still up and running.
It's not odd at all. The zero car for this ride is at the front the closer you are to the zero car the smoother the ride
Old wooden coasters the back cart is the whiplash ride..I like both.
I was an Astroworld kid of the 80’s & 90’s. I am now 46 years old and have never had children. I blame Batman: The Escape! 🤣
😂
Great vid man.
The only stand up I’ve ridden is Shockwave at Drayton Manor, which is the last remaining Intamin stand up. I didn’t hate it as much as I expected and need to get back to the park to ride it again.
I like Shockwave.
It's very upsetting to see videos of Astroworld. Premier really fucked that one up for Houston. Now we're left with nothing but an empty storage yard for the Houston Rodeo kiosks and overflow parking. The Texans played their part in also taking half the parking lot away. It was Houston stubbornness to not remove the Astrodome and increase parking for both the Texans and astroworld. The dome still sits dormant decaying away
And there's still a giant empty field where astroworld was 😭
Plus both Magic Mountain AND Great Adventure would receive two other stand-up coasters. Magic Mountain would receive Riddler's Revenge and Great Adventure would receive another stand-up that also operated at another Six Flags property previously in the form of The Green Lantern (previously Chang at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom), both built by B&M.
I rode this coaster in August 2005 right before Astroworld closed for good. It was the worst ride I've ever had on a coaster that thing beat the crap out of me
This stand up ride reminds me of Iron Wolf at Six Flags Great America!!! Man that ride was FUN!! I’ve never ridden a coaster like it before! It’s now gone as it was replaced by Goliath, but is operating at another six flags park, Six Flags America as Firebird!!! Apparently it was converted to a floorless coaster!! The original cars, or at least one of them, is at the national roller coaster museum!!!! That’s one ride I miss though, it was a good coaster!!!
Ayy! Love when you upload new videos!
That was my favorite coaster at AW. second was the cyclone. I really miss that park.
Edit: PS don't ever learn how to pronounce things, it's part of your charm.
I rode it in NJ six flags with my dad I was like 14 years old. Loved it! 😎🙌🏻
It was a rough ride. I rode it many many times since it opened. You'd get used to where the worst head-bangers were and could hold your head against one of the pads as the turns came, negating the banging. It was one of my favorites at Astroworld. Oh, I miss that place.
Imagine designing a rollercoaster so epic it gets reused three times overseas
Former Coasters Request: Worlds of Fun!
WHAT THE HELL IS WITH TAZS MOUTH.
LMAO.
"a" time of financial turmoil for Six Flags?
Isn't "financial turmoil" pretty much their preferred mode of operation?
They should just turn it into the sit down. Like to did with the Mantis turning it into the rougarou at cedar point. 😎👍
I rode that thing so many times! I loved the inclined loop into that helix, it just felt so weird.
I loved and miss Astroworld all the time. It had some unique rides in it for just about everyone to enjoy. Batman was known to be a head banger and most people took out earrings etc before getting on it. Even with that it was one very fun ride and an awesome experience with the theming around you. It’s sad that they closed the park in hopes to sell condos on that lot for a high dollar tag to be so close to the sports attractions. However there have been talks about a new theme park coming back to Houston area or nearby.
Blame Chief Executive Officer Kieran Burke and Premier Parks they Run down all Six flags parks and AstroWorld....
I live about an hour away from Kings Island, King Cobra was 1 of my favorite rides!
I rode it at Astroworld in 2004. Was not enjoyable at all. Extremely uncomfortable and the ride was really rough. However I do consider myself lucky to have ridden many of the rides there given most of their type no longer exist.
I haven’t read any comments yet, but I’m willing to bet that Dark stole somebody’s comment and reposted it to get likes.
You’re right but I removed it. Those accounts are everywhere.
I got 2 ideas for future videos :)
.1 top ten best Mack launch coasters (or just best launch coasters you can decide)
.2 Best aussie roller coasters (there's not heaps to choose from, mostly I just want to see some in your videos so if you can think of a better way to include some aussie coasters please do!)
love your videos!
There is cobra at la ronde too but it was scraped in 2018
The closure of Astroworld was a mistake. They could’ve just sold it to Cedar Fair or Herschend, but nope, they just HAD to scrap the whole thing.
Plus leaving Batman The Escape to rot in the scorching hot sun for over a decade really didn’t help, as they really could’ve just sent it to, say, Six Flags St. Louis, after selling off Darien Lake. After some time it would be converted into a Floorless Coaster.
The Six Flags of that time did a LOT of parks dirty, not just AstroWorld. Darien Lake has basically barely been able to keep its head above water in the decade plus since Six Flags first sold it off, and the serious lack of TLC has been starting to show. The return of Six Flags brought some hope back, but it could easily be misplaced hope.
Darien Lake has all the right ingredients to be a good park, but death by neglect is a very real concern here now!
@@gordontaylor2815 The lack of attention over the pandemic year was especially noticeable. While many parks still operated (albeit empty) to keep everything working, at the beginning of the 2021 season SFDL looked like nobody had been there since the last employee turned off the lights in 2019 - and the rides rode like it, too.
Did not renew my season pass, either. That place is going down in a hurry, and it's a shame. The things it *should* have going for it, and to think 20 years ago it was looking like it would break into that upper echelon of elite "destination" parks.
I rode it on opening day at AstroWorld exclusive to season pass holders. Wasn't impressed. The headache I got was horrible. After that, I didn't ride it that often. I stuck to the good old standard coasters there. Good riddance to it.
I rode the Batman ride for years at Astroworld but anyone on here on it in 1997 when the power went out the entire park when on the middle of the Batman ride?? We had to climb out of it and walk down a rickety staircase! Craziest and scariest shit EVER!
It was really sad when Six Flags closed Six Flags AstroWorld. I wished that Six Flags rebuilt Batman: The Escape at Six Flags Darien Lake for the 2006 season, alongside Big Kahuna, which also came from AstroWorld's WaterWorld. I believed it was damaged when it was being taken apart and disassembled during AstroWorld's demolition. It was very sad seeing it rot for 11 years in the lot outside of the park before it got scrapped during the 2017 winter period. Greezed Lightnin' also suffered a similar fate. It was removed and possibly scrapped after sitting in storage near Joyland Amusement Park in Lubbock, Texas from 2006 to 2018. Ultra Twister was scrapped in 2010 after sitting in storage at Six Flags America after being damaged during disassembly and shipping from AstroWorld. Dungeon Drop was also recently removed from Six Flags St. Louis a few months ago after operating there from 2006 to 2020. There isn't a lot of AstroWorld left today sadly.....
One thing that remains is the Texas cyclones trains are still in storage at La ronde inside one of Le Monstres rose bowls
😭
This was my only stand up I got to ride. I was 12 and I rode it 8 times on a church trip. Loved it but I understand the hate
My mom went on this roller coaster opening year at Magic Mountain. She said it was really fun. She still misses that coaster every day.
I did too, but I think Riddler's is better.
@@seanlewis1148 Same.
It's such a shame that six flags handles their parks like this, so many classic coasters are gone just because they felt like it
Honestly this makes me feel sad cuz they planned to build the coaster but never did cuz the coaster got older n older man coasters have come a long way