Six Flags conducted a study on how G-forces effect the body, not how banging your head against restraints. Hitting your on the restraints won't cause brain damage. The scientists who conducted the study found that riding rollercoasters is very safe. The G-forces you feel on rollercoasters only last for a short time. That is nothing compared to the forces exerted on astronauts for 20 minutes plus during the launch of a space shuttle. This all came about when some congressmen wanted to put limits on rollercoasters. The information from the study concluded that you cannot get brain damage from riding a rollercoaster. The only thing you can get from hitting your head on the restraints is a headache that will not give you brain damage.

Thats what I thought it had said, so the junk about brain damage and restraints is total Bull. How in the world would a coaster wioth problems like that ever exist, with OSHA being everyone's big brother and keeping a good eye out for everything that goes on.

Ok, Vortex has been there 12-13 years now and nothing has been done before about the restraints. Flight of Fear, not that was a ride people bit**ed about so much that they changed the padding all the time to try and make it comfortable, then once Premier made the change so that SOB could do a loop with lap bars (cause KI wanted it that way) then they changed it on all their rides. Vortex is fine the way it is. Yeah your head might get banged around a bit but if you are coming off that with a severe head ache then you already had the problem before the ride cause nothing can cause as much pain as FOF did before the restraint change.

Face/Offmania, I f you don't like the restaints on Vortex or it gives you too much of a head ache it's simple,DON'T RIDE IT!!! Before when I was talking about changing the restaints I was just wondering if they could possible change the restaints out to make them more comfortable for the rides, but then the problem came up about people, my self included not being able to ride comfortable with the lap bar becuase of being to tall.

Yea, it's hard for me to get into Flight of Fear and I'm only 6'0. Son of Beast just KILLS my legs. I like Vortex's restraints they don't btoher me and I don't think they need to be changed.

I totally agree with you teenageninja, I'm 6'1 and I have a little pain on both Son of Beast and Flight of Fear, but the restaints I love the most are the restaints on Face/Off they are comfortable in my opinion! If anyone has been to Las Vegas and have ridden the Manhattan Express, PKI could try to change the restaints out on Vortex like the restaints on Manhattan Express, instead of the restaints staying stationary and just coming down and fitting people in the shoulders and chest, the restaints on Mahattan Expess come stright down and fit poeple in the shoulders chest and thighs. they are really comfort able. Now remember this is just any IDEA!!!!!!

PKI Rocks!!!!!

Yea, FOF is bad for tall people.....same with SOB. I do know that for me it is easier to get into the back seats on FOF, I don't know why exactly.

I do love FoF. The restraints are a little tight and hard for me to get down, but the ride is awesome. I have seen Manhattan Express's restraint, and I think that would be to difficult to change on Arrow. I don't think they will change them because of a couple head bangs here and there.

Yes, the restraints are very comfortable on the manhattan express, but I dont think they need to change them on Vortex. There is just a little head-banging on Vortex, nothing real serious. I like them. But it would be nice if they could put pads on the OTSR's like on Face/Off. Now those are nice.

I'm 6'0 and The Vortex dosent really bother me. In fact, I fell asleep on it once. FoF is hard to get out of for me, Not so much that is cramped, its the fact that you have to climb out of it, footing wise. I try not to step on the seats but on FoF you basically have to. SOB IS the hardest coaster for people of height, my knees get banged up and I have to cross them, just to get them in.

*Note: This is the 100th reply in this thread.

I love Vortex's airtime on the drop. On FoF you do really have to step on the seat to get out, I don't think it really matters though. On SOB I can get in fine, but it just bangs up my thighs and knees. SOB needs serious train work.

No kidding about the train on Son of Beast, a lot of work needs to be done on that!!!

Hopefully we'll see alot of work done on the trains this off season. I really want to like this ride, even with all of the pain it's still in my top 10.

I agree 100%, the ride is awesome the trains just need some work. The trains look pretty cool but they aren't very comfortable for us tall people!!! I ten years I bet the trees around SOB will be tall like around Beast, that will make the ride even better!!!

PKI Rocks!!!!

If you notice the trees near SOB are tall. Its just that there are only like 3 of them. They have to plant trees before they can get tall.

I never had any problems with the SOB trains, restraint-wise. Though I hear everyone else complain about them. I just have problems when sitting above the wheels getting bounced around a lot.

this would just be another coaster, that PKI got stupid with, and I wouldn't be able to fit on. I'm 6'6" and due to PKI's poor idea to change to FoF, I don't fit on it anymore.

Hmmmm...Lets see here. Pick one: a ride with OTSR that beat your brains out OR a ride that now has lap bars and does not beat your brains out. Seems like a simple choice to me. I can see why you would be upset but it is by no means "another coaster that PKI got stupid with," nor was it a "poor idea."

I don;t think it is fair, that PKI changes rides so that we all cannot fit on them. I know many of you still fit, on FoF, but I cannot anymore due to the changes made in the ride. Thats it, I have said my peace and although I do not agree with the changes made, I guess there isn't any going back to the way things were. I hope PKI's next coaster is something I can fit on, and enjoy riding.

The secret(not really a secret but you know)to riding FOF is crossing your legs. That also causes severe knee-banging action, which almost isnt worth the ride itself. But for some people, that still wont work. It is a fact of life that some people cannot fit in roller coaster trains.

I am 6'3" and I dont have any problem with FOF. Now SOB is a tight fit getting in and out but it can be done.

I heard something on a coaster show one time that I was watching (maybe Discovery) that the roller coaster cars are built around people of average height and average weight. I think they said something along the lines of 5'5 or 5'6" and 160 or 170 pounds. Go figure!!

Yeah, you heard right, average people. Though with the accidents on rides due to the restraints and the people's "large" size (ie perilous plunge 300lb woman), I thought I heard somewhere that parks are going to have to change out some restraints on rides to "big people" restraints so they are both safe and comfortable.

Well, I am 6`6 and I can slip into FOF fine, but SOB I do have to cross my ankles. I have learned, tho, that if you sit right on SOB you can have an enjoyable ride. Sitting right (to me) is heels against the seat, ankles crossed, and sitting all the way back in the seat. I have only had a couple of bad runs on it.

For me to get on to SOB, I have to cross my legs before I sit down, and then just barely, I can get the lap bar over my knees, and down to hold me in, though I doubt there is any way for me to fall out. On FoF I am willing to ride with my legs crossed, but one week the ride ops let me, and the next they woudl not. They told me some mumbo jumbo about safety. Go figure! If they are gonna do things like that, I think it should at least be standard all the time, and I think it would be cool if PKI put in test cars for all their major rides, not just TR:TR.

Yeah I'm as tall as Tom, and I can ride FOF just fine, I also have to cross me feet on SOB. Working it for a while you learn the best ways to get in and which seats are best. Just like on FOF all the seats aren't the same due to the steel plates located on the front row of each car (left side), therefor its hard for me to ride in the front row, because it takes up a lot of leg room, so i just ride in a back row.

So there is more leg room in a back row as compared to the front? One would think just the opposite to be true. On SOB, I have to ride in the front of a car, to get enough leg room.

I think that there would be more in the front, but I have been wrong many times before. I also think that SOB's trees will mask it as well as Beast is, but I can see about half way up the hill trees around it. We'll find out in the future.

Maybe PKI could take a proactive approach and plant osme trees around it to hepl it along. Then they could shape the trees each year, so that over time the coaster does wind through the trees. I think that sounds like a promising option for SOB becoming somewhat covered and obscured by trees.

I could see the lower parts like the bottom helix covered in trees, a tree tunnel would be pretty cool, but hard to pull off.

Do you think PKI could put a tunnel at the bottom of the 214 foot drop on SoB? Then it would more like it father!! And a couple of tunnels on the helix'.

How About it?

PKI Rocks!!!!!

I'm sure they could, but I could see them putting them somewhere else other than at the bottom of the drop more at the bottom of the helixs. I wouldn't mind seeing a tunnel at the bottom of the drop .