Amusement Park Fun

Thrilling new roller coaster Tormenta launches at Six Flags Over Texas

Riders on Tormenta Rampaging Run at Six Flags Over Texas

CultureMap took a ride on Tormenta before it opens to the public.

Photo courtesy of Six Flags Over Texas

Six Flags Over Texas will officially open its anticipated new roller coaster, Tormenta Rampaging Run, on Thursday, July 9, and CultureMap and other media and VIPs were given early access to experience the ride's intense thrills before its public debut.

The new coaster boasts several records — as the tallest, fastest, longest, and first-ever giga (300+-foot-tall) dive coaster in the world, topping out at 309 feet just before it sends riders plunging into a beyond-vertical, 95-degree, 285-foot drop. We take you along for the ride in the following video:

Each car of the coaster features three rows of seats with eight seats per row, servicing 24 riders at a time. During the preview event, two cars were sent out in staggered sessions, but a third car sat close by to be used if needed.

The ride's rodeo theme is strong, with multiple posters advertising fictional rodeos and a metallic gate swinging open at the start to let the ~~bull~~ car pass through.

To paraphrase Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day, the first part is a doozy, as riders are click-clacked up a steep stretch forcing them to look straight up into the sky.

The ever-so-brief pause at top affords a view of the surrounding city, the rest of Six Flags, and, in the distance, the downtown Dallas skyline. The angle feels like you're above those towering skyscrapers even though logic tells you that you aren't.

The initial plunge tests the mettle of even hardcore roller coaster fans, sending riders through the extreme drop before hurtling them into two large loops and a corkscrew before coming to another brief stop.

The 95-degree, 285-foot drop of Tormenta Rampaging Run. Photo courtesy of Six Flags Over Texas

That stop gives riders only a small reprieve before they're shot through two smaller loops and a sharp right curve before — mercifully — coming to a jolting halt as the coaster car is shuttled back into the loading station.

From start to finish, the ride lasts around 2 minutes and 45 seconds, but the first 75 seconds is spent just getting to the start of the main portion of the coaster.

All told, the drops, loops, and other elements lasts exactly one minute, which is not that long, but the time-to-thrill ratio is still high.

Misting fans and pergolas at Tormenta Rampaging Run at Six Flags Over Texas. Misting fans and pergolas will help keep riders cool while waiting in line for Tormenta.Photo by Alex Bentley

Even during the brutal heat of the Texas summer, visitors should expect lines to be long for the hot new ride. The corrals close to the ride have scattered pergolas and umbrellas for shade, as well as oscillating fans with misters. Once you reach the completely covered top platform, there are a number of ceiling fans, although they do little to stave off the high humidity.

Opinions will differ as to whether a long wait time for a short ride is worth it, but for those who get their kicks trying out the latest and greatest roller coasters, Tormenta Rampaging Run is a great new addition to the 65-year-old amusement park.

The grand opening for Tormenta is Thursday, July 9 at Six Flags Over Texas. The park is open daily through August 16.

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Movie Review

The Magic Faraway Tree is a whimsical family lark that fails to take root

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree.

With kids and families always on the hunt for entertainment, it’s typically a safe bet for a movie studio to offer up something new, even if it is a film based on an old property. The Magic Faraway Tree, based on a series of books that started in the 1930s, is a very old property, one that its filmmakers have tried to liven up with a few stars, a lot of whimsy, and a boatload of CGI.

The Thompson family, led by stay-at-home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield) and breadwinner mom Polly (Claire Foy), are forced to move to a rundown country home when Polly gets laid off. The kids - Joe (Phoenix Laroche), Fran (Billie Gadson), and Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) - are used to the perks of city life like wifi and electricity, and each of them rebels in their own way to their new lot in life.

Fran, enticed by a fairy named Silky (Nicola Coughlan), is the first to venture out of the house, making her way to a magic tree that transports her to a world full of strange characters like Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and more. Her adventures there not only broaden the world she thought she knew, but may be the key to helping her ailing family.

Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2, Wonka), the film is a pleasant enough lark, but it fails to fully capture the imagination. The five-member family has a lot going on, from an initially-mute Fran to a domestic situation that raises more questions than it answers. The film tries to incorporate an anti-technology message through Tim’s hatred of a smart refrigerator (voiced by Judi Dench!) and the kids' addictions to devices, but it’s quickly shed in favor of other options.

Once Fran makes it to the Magic Faraway Tree, there’s a nice shift in the storytelling, but it’s unclear what the ultimate goal is. It’s a good idea to have Fran, the youngest of the children, convince her older, more cynical siblings about the virtues of the magic world, but the conflict in the real world doesn’t seem to rise to the level needed for the escape the tree provides.

There also seems to be a missing link in the storytelling for viewers to understand the importance of the fantastical characters. The visuals of seeing Moonface and his crescent moon-shaped hair, a man with a suit full of banging pots, and more are fun for a while, but not enough to carry the whole film. A last-minute revelation feels like it was something that should have been disclosed much earlier to help strengthen the emotions of the story.

A two-time Oscar nominee, Garfield is making his first foray into family movies (if you don’t count playing Spider-Man), and while he does a good job, he doesn’t make the best fit for the semi-goofy role. The same goes for the Emmy-winning Foy, who isn’t given much of anything to do. The movie puts the story on the shoulders of the three child actors, and while each of them acquit themselves well, none of them are so outstanding as to be noteworthy.

With nearly 90-year-old source material, The Magic Faraway Tree needed to be something truly special to stand out in the 21st century movie world. Unfortunately, it features a mostly forgettable story that features some fun visuals, a couple of cute kids, and not much else.

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The Magic Faraway Tree is now playing in theaters.

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