SFoT advice - heading there next week

Hi all -

First time poster, long time reader - was hoping to get some advice from the Texas residents or people who have been to SFoT a bunch. We're coming down from Minnesota August 12-17 and plan on hitting the park one of those days. Of course we're avoiding the weekend, but looking for other advice:

1. Is it going to be insanely busy, even on Thursday/Friday? Is one day better than the other? I don't suppose kids are back in school yet, are they??

2. Is the Flash Pass worth it? I'm generally not a fan of them, but if we have one day there, and really no other plans to ever go back to the park, I'm throwing around the idea. Thinking, too, about Gold vs. Platinum.

3. What few things do we need to make sure to hit? Justice League, for sure; Texas Giant; Titan?

Sorry for all the questions - I just want to make sure to do it right!

Josh

I wouldn't expect it to be terribly busy any of those days even with the Gold Pass bring-a-friend the 10th through the 14th, especially in the late afternoon and evening. The weather is going to be horrendously hot (100+ degree highs as far as any forecast is predicting) and that will keep away some of the late day crowds. Schools aren't back in until the 24th.

I would think you would have no issue hitting everything you want without a Flash Pass, especially on the days where they're open until 8 or later. I would hit up Freeze and Batman early and hold off on Titan and Giant until late in the day. I've only used the single rider line for Justice League and never waited more than 5 minutes, but I've heard recently about lines of 30 minutes or less.

I think all of the coasters are worthy of riding if you have time. If you have to skip anything, definitely Judge, Pandemonium, the 2 kiddie coasters (no kid needed on Mini Mine and it never has a wait) and maybe Runaway Mountain, but only if you are completely devoid of time. I haven't been on Runaway Mountain in years because it tends to have longer lines than the other coasters, but it's a pretty fun experience. La Vibora is unique enough to be worth the wait and it has a single rider line. The highest don't-misses are definitely Giant-Titan-Freeze-Shockwave-Mine Train. I would also add Sky Screamer to the list. There's a lot of fun flats if that's your thing, but nothing terribly unique enough to be can't-miss.

Thanks so much for the quick and completely awesome reply. Looks like we're probably going to go Friday, and make sure to keep hitting up the water rides through the day, between coasters. Have to find some way to keep even a little cool.

Josh

My advice is to NOT skip Runaway Mountain. It's very similar to a Windstorm, but that steep dive in total darkness is unreal. The line can be longish since it's cooler indoors.

Vibora is my favorite bobsled outside of Elysburg, PA.

Also, don't skip El Aserradero (sp?) - the world's oldest log flume.

edit: Leave extra time for more laps on ShockWave....you'll thank me later.

Thanks rollergator - El A... is definitely going to happen. It has water in it!

The heat is incredibly oppressive right now. Been mid 100's for the last week or so. Freeze's is air conditioned so that might be a decent respite in the middle of the day. All of the major queues are shaded. The log flume won't get you too wet, but Aquaman (shoot the chutes) will. I haven't been paying attention to whether the rapids ride is open, but the oil derrick observation tower is actually quite pleasant when it's open. The height and breeze keep it very cool up there.

Fort Worth schools aren't in until the 24th as well. As with most parks, Fridays tend to be the busiest weekdays and Tues and Wed tend to be the least busy. Crowds seem to be slowly ramping up (at least at Hurricane Harbor) as parents take their kids on "that trip I promised you at the beginning of the summer."

I too, have only gone single rider for Justice League, and have never waited more than a few minutes.
Shockwave is a back row ride and is surprisingly good.
Titan is a front row ride, but can be slow loading (2 trains on a looong course).
NTG is a back row ride, but they don't allow single riders in the back and because of the station design, sometimes the front row is only two or three extra trains.
Freeze is good in back (first out the tunnel).
I can only ride Judge in the front because I'm a wuss.
Runaway is definitely a back row ride. There's a twisting drop off which is crazy.

Superman Tower of Power is "just another" S&S tower that runs the combo program, but it has a single rider line and it's really, really tall.

Pandemonium also has a single rider line.

If you're able to bear the heat and willing to use single rider lines, you should be able to do everything in one day without flash pass. However, if you want the flexibility of not dealing with mid afternoon heat (it's hottest from about noon to 4), not using single rider lines, not going at open, not staying 'til close you'll probably want at least the bottom tier flash pass. During the summer, the park is never lower than medium crowds (at least 30 minutes for all the big coasters most of the day).

Thanks so much Andy! I may just play it by ear when I get there for the passes - but you make a lot of good points about the heat and crowd sizes.

Oh, also Sky Screamer is really different from the Windseekers. You can get some pretty ridiculous twisting action because of the chains.

I second this. DO NOT MISS OUT on Runaway Mountain. It is an extremely fun roller coaster. SFOT is a great park. You are in for a treat.