Six Flags Over Texas 8/14

[Delirium13]

Well I was in Texas visiting family this past week and we all went to Six Flags Over Texas for a long, hot (it hit 104 degrees), but fun day. The good thing about the heat was the fact that it kept the park from being too crowded, the longest wait of the day was 45 minutes for Aquaman Splashdown (a Congo Falls type ride), the second longest was about 20 minutes for Casa Magnetica. I'll rate each ride on a scale of 1-10

Anyways the first ride of the day was Batman the Ride, my first ever B & M coaster, while it was fun, it was pretty jerky and I didn't experience the B & M smoothness everyone talks about. But it was still a pretty fun ride and it didn't have a wait. We rode twice without having to get off. 7/10- Good, but not Great.

We followed up Batman with Mr. Freeze, a very fun but short rollercoaster. My biggest complaint with this ride, as well as Batman, is how long you walk in line when there is no one there. There isn't any short, direct route to the station and the layout of the queues can be confusing when you're the only people walking in them (we had to open a closed door to get from the indoor part of Batman's queue to the outside which was also very confusing because it was an unmarked door.) But anyways the ride was really fun and would be cool to have at Kings Island if we didn't already have Flight of Fear. 8/10- Fun ride, but very short.

Next, we took a short break from the big rides for my cousins and rode the Texas Chute Out, their parachute ride which gives a good view of the park but seemed no longer than 45 seconds long. 5/10- Nice view.

Then back to the rollercoasters with Judge Roy Scream which is a nice little classic wooden coaster that gave me a smooth ride and some good air time. Plus, it gives a nice view of the lake it runs parallel to. No wait once again. 7/10- Fun, classic ride.

Gunslinger, their not as good looking, not as fun swings (in relation to Zephyr)were next. Not much to say, they aren't as good-looking as Zephyr, they have less swings, and don't go as high (but for some reason they have one more strap than Zephyr to hold you in). 4/10- Gave a nice breeze.

Next up was Superman: Tower of Power, a very fun S&S Power Tower. Definately not as scary as Drop Zone but it's just as, if not more fun than it. 9/10- One of my favorites for the day.

Then I waited while my cousins did some of the spinny rides and then we ate at Papa John's. It didn't really taste like Papa John's and the cashier was playing music on his cell phone - with explicit lyrics, which doesn't seem to fit in with Six Flag's new family friendly direction - I know Kings Island doesn't let its employees keep their cell phones on them when they are working and I believe that's a good thing.

After our meal we walked around a few minutes and then rode Runaway Mountain which was fun and in complete darkness, Like so many people would like Flight of Fear to be. 6/10- Fun ride, but probably wouldn't be anything special if it wasn't indoors in complete darkness.

After Runaway Mountain, we were walking when we stumbled upon Casa Magnetica, which turned out to be a waste of time in my opinion. We waited about 20 minutes for a tour guide to take us through a slanted room and show us a few tricks. Some of the things were cool but I didn't really like the whole thing overall. 3/10- Not even the 2 or 3 cool tricks could make it worth the time, but once again a nice break from the heat.

Next up was Shockwave, a very fun classic looping coaster. It was smooth and full of air time which makes for a great ride. 9/10- Just plain fun, nothing flashy about it.

Then onto the Texas Giant "America's #1 Wooden Rollercoaster". If I had to sum up this ride in one word it would have to be... "Ouch". This ride could give Son of Beast (before this season) a run for its money in terms of roughness. 4/10- Almost unbearable to ride, but made for a very funny on-ride photo.

To recover we rode the Antique Cars or "Horseless Carriages". This just made me miss KI's Antique Cars which were much better than these in terms of scenery and the cars. But they were still fun. 6/10- Bring back Kings Island's Antique Cars!

Luckily right next to Texas Giant and ready to save us was Titan. This is what Kings Island needs! A Tall, fast, smooth, long, non-looping, steel, hyper coaster with lots of airtime! 10/10- My Favorite ride of the day. The first drop is amazing.

We were extremely hot by then so we rode El Aserradero, a nice log flume, the world's first as a matter of fact. 5/10- Fun, but didn't get us very wet.

Then for a bobsled coaster, La Vibora. Very fun and unique experience. I enjoyed it. 8/10- Fun and unique, but has poor capacity.

And then onto Aquaman Splashdown, the longest wait of the day and for good reason. It's a Congo Falls type ride and it was 104 degrees. It was better overall than Congo Falls only because it was taller and went straight down. 6/10- Better ride than Congo Falls, but Congo Falls is themed (if you consider it themed) better.

We were very hot and it was getting close to dinner so we rode Superman: Tower of Power and Runaway Mountain again, for one of my cousins who didn't get to go the first time. And then we left. Overall I enjoyed my day and the park. I noticed that it was very clean and they have several places you can eat indoors in the air conditioning. They also have good shade in most of the park and plenty of misters to keep you cool. It also seemed to have a good entertainment line-up. A few gripes though, the biggest one being the layout and the distance between rides. KI has International Street that has a path leading to each area of the park. SFoT had no area like this and the walks were usually longer than they had to be. It was also too easy to get to places they didn't want you or you didn't want to be, not restricted areas, but closed queues or going from one queue to another one. Ride operations were also much slower than they are at KI and that made the waits longer than they had to be. The employees on the PA's were also hard to understand because they were either mumbling, talking too fast, or both. Their entrance area isn't as nice either and Kings Island has better landscaping and is better looking overall. And also ticket prices are $47.00 and their waterpark is not included, which seemed odd considering the climate of the area.

Other than that the employees were mostly friendly and the park had a lot of fun rides and some areas had nice landscaping. And even though it may seem obvious that I was going to say what I'm about to because we're on a Kings Island site and Kings Island is my home park, but if I was to give my honest opinion then:

Kings Island > Six Flags Over Texas. There everyone knew that was coming but I think it's true Kings Island is better overall than SFoT.

Overall it was a fun day at a fun park. Overall I give the park a 7/10. If you're ever in the areas of Dallas, Fort Worth, or Arlington I recommend you give the park a try it's a lot of and is a good park.

Well I'm done thanks for reading! I know it was long but I hope you thought it was worth it.

Delirium13-- I recommend Six Flags Over Texas if you get the chance.

[Texas Giant]

Thanks for the great trip report! I grew up in Arlington and called SFOT my home park for many years. It is truly a shame to have watched Texas Giant become what it is today. In the '90s, this ride was as good as a wooden coaster gets. The speed, transitions, layout, and 'magic carpet' ending were absoultely incredible. My last trip was in 2003 and I still had fun on the Giant, but from what I hear it has only gotten worse each year since. Still, it was my first 'adult' coaster and it will always have a special place in my heart (hence my screen name).

As for your other observations, I'd pretty much have to agree with you. Casa Magnetica was a very cool experience for me as a child, but I can see how it might seem lame to an older person. It was closed for many years and finally reopened a couple of seasons ago (I'm happy that it's still around). Titan is amazing, and I agree that KI could definitely use a coaster like that! Shockwave, Freeze, Batman, Superman, and the Mine Train are all great rides as well.

Overall, the park has a lot of history and some of the best rides around, but there are quite a few negative aspects as well. Their last coaster was in 2001, so I'm really hoping they add a new signature ride in the next few years.

Now living 2 hours away from KI (enough for me to call it my home park), I'd also have to say that it is far better than SFOT. Still, thanks for the report from my first home park.

[The Interpreter]

Thanks Delirium 13 for the great trip report, and also thanks for the great comments from Texas Giant!

Did you ride the mini-mine train? Have a Pink Thing? See the parade? How much was parking?

I have never seen poorer crowd control for a parade than at Six Flags Over Texas. They actually herd people onto grassy areas where they are otherwise not allowed, then take up the entire, narrow midway areas for the parade, and, when I was last there, right before closing time. Imagine, people who want to see the parade, others who just want to leave, and both groups just interfering with each other, and having very little to no consideration for the other group. Meanwhile, security guards stand around and ignore the entire scenario. Do they still do it this way? Does anyone know?

[Delirium13]

Thanks Delirium 13 for the great trip report, and also thanks for the great comments from Texas Giant!

Did you ride the mini-mine train? Have a Pink Thing? See the parade? How much was parking?

I have never seen poorer crowd control for a parade than at Six Flags Over Texas. They actually herd people onto grassy areas where they are otherwise not allowed, then take up the entire, narrow midway areas for the parade, and, when I was last there, right before closing time. Imagine, people who want to see the parade, others who just want to leave, and both groups just interfering with each other, and having very little to no consideration for the other group. Meanwhile, security guards stand around and ignore the entire scenario. Do they still do it this way? Does anyone know?

Thanks to both of you and everyone else who read. And sorry I unfortunately didn't ride mini mine train - although I suggested it to my group, I was the only one interested - I didn't have a Pink Thing (I didn't see it offered at any of the food stands that we stopped at, plus I was too busy getting refills in my $10.00 souvenier cup which ended up saving money in the long run but seemed overly expensive). I also didn't see any sign of a parade except for on the map & guide, and we were dropped off. Sorry, I wish I could be of more help.

It is truly a shame to have watched Texas Giant become what it is today. In the '90s, this ride was as good as a wooden coaster gets. The speed, transitions, layout, and 'magic carpet' ending were absoultely incredible. My last trip was in 2003 and I still had fun on the Giant, but from what I hear it has only gotten worse each year since. Still, it was my first 'adult' coaster and it will always have a special place in my heart (hence my screen name).

That is true. From looking at Texas Giant and reading descriptions of it, it would seem that it would be a great ride if it got a little TLC and a lot of retracking.

And I want to thank The Interpreter for giving his advice on what he recommended at the park, although I didn't have time to do all of what he recommended. I probably would've passed up Shockwave had he not told me not to miss it. And luckily I didn't because it turned out to be one of my favorites from the trip. Thanks Again!