XLR-8
Website: Six Flags Astroworld Homepage
Ride Type: Suspended Coaster
Ride Status: Closed
Average Rating: 3.4286
TPC Overall Rank: Rides need more than 25 reviews to be ranked.
Reviews: 16
Last Review: 10/26/2005 11:30:00 PM
In User Top 10: 4 times.
User Tracker Count: 67 times.
 

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4 Rating
+1 Rating Rate Down Rate Up biosciking on 10/26/2005 11:30:00 PM
I remember riding XLR-8 many years ago during my first trip to Astroworld and thinking it was one of the weakest coasters I had ever ridden. This is an Arrow suspended coaster, and almost certainly the poorest example of one (and it would be hard to classify any of these as great coasters). It takes up a huge portion of land in one corner of the park, and the setting is actually quite nice (very tall, marsh-like vegetation). The problem is that it really doesnt do that much. It is not very fast at all, the decline is so gradual its almost unnoticeable, it doesnt swing that much, and riders are subjected to two incredibly slow lift hills. On my recent trip to Astroworld, I had to give it another try. First off, it had received a nice new coat of paint, so at least it looked pretty. Secondly, and this was the saving grace, half of the cars on the train were turned around to face backwards. I guess originally begun for Fright Fest and continued because it proved popular, I think this was a definite necessity for a ride like this. I did enjoy the experience backwards, though it was still incredibly tame. Nonetheless, riding backwards did salvage XLR-8. It made it unique so that at least it was worth riding. Dont ride in the forward cars or youll be sorely disappointed.

3 Rating
-1 Rating Rate Down Rate Up Xzavier on 3/20/2005 5:07:00 PM
Rode March 19, 2005. Unbelievably rough for no apparent reason, and still tame and boring.

3 Rating
-1 Rating Rate Down Rate Up bijou22271 on 7/20/2003 10:49:00 PM
it was the collest thing I ever saw

3 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up rcholic on 5/2/2003 9:25:00 PM
its ok. its a classic. you can tell by the extremley faded paint. Its a pretty fun rid, but, it was also somewhat dull to me. I still give it a 7.

3 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up KingLusse on 3/14/2003 12:43:00 AM
Ride looked very tame so opted to do it backwards and it was still a breeze. Ive felt more Gs on an escalator. Not enough drops, and two lift hills is always a minus.

4 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up woodieman on 6/24/2002 3:38:00 AM
This Coaster is Awesome, Anyone can ride this one, its a Family Coaster. The Speed is only 45 MPH but with the Swinging of the cars brings another effect that makes this coaster one of a kind it gets a 9 due to the condition of the walk way to and from the Station. other wise it would be a perfect 10

4 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up Lizzy14714 on 5/28/2002 12:13:00 PM
This ride was really cool! It wasnt really that scary, but anyone afraid of bigger rides can handle this one! It was fun!

4 Rating
+1 Rating Rate Down Rate Up redsix on 5/22/2002 10:59:00 AM
Keep in mind - this is NOT a thrill ride. Its more of a family ride. That said, its a great first coaster for kids and parents. The harnesses are comfortable, its top speed is only 35mpg, its VERY smooth the whole way, the cars swing slightly, its a whopping 3 minutes long, and theres a second chain-lift halfway through the ride that takes you to the top of a drop again. If youre used to more extreme rides, but you still want to try this one - Id suggest sitting in the front car. Makes it MUCH better. Minus one for very poor line design though - its one of those where the queue feeds directly into the group of people waiting for the first car. So if you dont care to ride in the first car, you have to push through this usually large "first car" group... very silly.

5 Rating
+1 Rating Rate Down Rate Up IonBlaster on 4/21/2002 5:14:00 PM - User's Top Ride #6
2 words for you: Extreme Gs. This ride grindes you into the floor. And the fact the the cars swing adds points. Also, the swinging is also cool on some straigtaways. You also get some great veiws of the park and more from the top of both hills. Good ride for the kids.

2 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up BobFunland on 8/12/2001 10:10:00 PM
This was a weak example of an already-weak genre of roller coasters. With a neme like "Accelerate" (get it, XLR-8 ), one would think there would be some acceleration but the ride is painfully slow and sluggish at best. This was the first successful suspended coaster (the Bat doesnt count ), but sadly, it will see its final days of operation next month. While its sad to see it go in a historical way, I am at least glad that XLR-8 wouldnt be passed down to another park as a "new coaster"/

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