Sidewinder (Six Flags Over Texas)
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| Manufacturer | Eli Bridge Company | ||||||||||||||
| Product | Scrambler | ||||||||||||||
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| Capacity | 36 per cycle | ||||||||||||||
Sidewinder is a Scrambler built by US manufacturer Eli Bridge Company currently located at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas, USA.
History
The ride was originally built and opened with AstroWorld in Houston, Texas, USA on June 1, 1968. It was first known as The Happening.[1]
In 1969, the ride was relocated within the park and was enclosed in a Modville walled structure, being renamed to The Orbiter in the process. It was located in the Modville area.
In 1976, The Orbiter was relocated to the Oriental Village area and was renamed to Runaway Rickshaws. In its previous location, the Horizons Theater opened in its place.
In 1989, Runaway Rickshaws was relocated to the Nottingham Village area to make room for Viper and was renamed to Joust-a-bout.[2] The ride was removed after the 1996 season to make room for Dungeon Drop, which was built on its former site. The ride was then put into storage during 1997.
In 1998, the ride returned once again in the park from storage to the Oriental Village area as Runaway Rickshaws in a new spot. By then, it was painted black with red, green and yellow cars. During the 2000 season, the ride had seatbelts installed.[3]
Six Flags AstroWorld would close permanently on October 30, 2005.[4] Six Flags would relocate many of the park's rides to other Six Flags properties, while others were put up for auction or demolished for scrap. Runaway Rickshaws would be dismantled and sent to Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas, USA during late 2005.[5]
The ride reopened at Six Flags Over Texas on April 28, 2006 as Sidewinder, as part of a new 10 ride package to celebrate the park's 45th anniversary.[6] It was built in the Texas area of the park near Titan. The ride was repainted brown with different colored cars.
For the 2007 season, Sidewinder's cars were repainted silver and red.
For the 2025 season, Sidewinder was given an extensive refurbishment. The ride was completely rebuilt and repainted bright red with the cars being repainted silver. The ride reopened in Spring.[7]
Incident
In 1972, when the ride was then known as The Orbiter, a woman attempted to board the ride when it was starting up. The ride dragged her around the enclosed building area. She died from her injuries. Another guest was also injured.[3]
References
- ↑ "Six Flags Astroworld". Theme Park Timelines.
- ↑ "Six Flags Astroworld". Mike Robinson.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "News, Rumors, and Serious Fatalities". Six Flags Houston.
- ↑ "For AstroWorld, the ride is over".
- ↑ "Six Flags Over Texas". Screamscape.
- ↑ "Kids rate the new batch of family-friendly rides". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 2006-04-28. pp. B4. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
- ↑ "Sidewinder Scrambler Ride". SFOT Source.
