Six Flags Over Texas - Monday & Tuesday, July 1-2, 2013

After a short(er) drive from San Antonio on Sunday, had 2 days to spend at SFOT. Unlike SA where I did Schlitterbahn, the Alamo, River Walk, etc. as well as SFFT, didn't have much else planned for Dallas/Arlington. So figured I'd start on the right side of the park one day, and the left side the next. The park is just the right size, I thought it would be bigger considering the quantity of rides.

Monday: Hit the right side of the park and got on the first cycle of Texas Sky Screamer. It was a bit windy this morning, that high up you can really feel it. Now having ridden a couple of each, no strong preference for Star Flyers vs. Windseekers. The former I find more thrilling but I enjoy the music/lighting package on the latter especially at night. Both are solid rides. I wonder if the former will stay super-popular once the "newness" wears off.

Walking into Gotham City, Mr. Freeze wasn't open, but did Batman before exiting this section. Next was Runaway Mine Train. Fun! Didn't expect the (relatively) large drop & tunnel after the last "saloon" lift hill. The Kellogg's Corn Flakes of mine trains....the Original & Best.

This park's Pandemonium has a single rider line which was nice. Then walked back towards the Oil Derrick and got on, noticed Shock Wave was down, so kept walking....came across Yosemite Sam's Gold River Adventure. Well done boat/dark ride, fairly long too, and cracked a couple smiles. Then went around in circles trying to find Runaway Mountain's entrance, it's kinda hidden. Maybe the entrance Ran Away. Pretty tame ride.

On to Titan. Holy crap. The positive G's on this thing are numerous, sustained, and intense. This is only the second coaster I've ever greyed out on. (Yep, I-305 is the other one.) Happened to me on the 2nd helix, I guess that's why they practically stop the train on the MCBR. Rode again in the very back, even with a 30 min wait between rides, this time greyed out on BOTH helixes. Good ride nonetheless, and there's a couple headchoppers too. Pretty unique hypercoaster.

Coming back towards the front of the park, rode La Vibora twice (single rider line again!). A stupidly fun bobsled coaster that alternates between two distinct sensations: "Am I going to fall out?" and "brakes, ouch!". I then noticed they had teacups! Me and another rider spun, and spun, and spun....whew! Most spinning I've ever gotten on teacups. Even after that dizzying experience I got on the nearby Sombrero as it was loading cause, seriously, it's a giant freakin' sombrero. Ole, y'all.

Took a short break, went to Mr. Freeze which was now open. Waited about an hour, did front row....not sure why (especially since I've done St. Louis's version before) but I'd fix that later on. Did Mini Mine Train, then Runaway again before breaking for dinner. When I came back, did Runaway again, then Judge Roy Scream. Rough, but OK if ridden defensively. Not much airtime here. I did enjoy its secluded setting away from the rest of the park though. Back to Mr. Freeze, only a half hour and did the very back. The backwards launch isn't too special, but dropping from the top of the tower is great.

And now for my last ride of the night: New Texas Giant. Got in line about 9:55. Only one train running. Didn't ride until almost 11 but got the last train of the night. Definitely will have to ride more tomorrow. Walking back to the car so late was a bit creepy. The teacups were cycling empty for some reason. Are they haunted? :-)

Tuesday: Got to the park half-hour before open and went right back to Texas Giant. Two trains today! Got 4 rides in just over an hour: front row, middle, very back twice. First drop wasn't as intense as anticipated, but all the subsequent ejector air moments more than made up for it. Happens everywhere on the train, but more so in the back. Good laterals on the first couple overbanks too. And there's a Honky Tonk tunnel....heh, only in Texas. Reuse of the existing queue and station is cool. There is a Chicken Coop on the exit side of the platform, which is literally caged in. Funny.

Rode Titan again (still greyed out) and then the log flume, El Aserradero. Nice long flume course, and you don't get drenched. Did some walking around, and got on Superman: Power of Tower twice, this has a single rider line too. Ducked right in line without watching, so didn't know if it shot up or dropped down....it does both! From up top, saw Shock Wave was still closed today. Oh well.

Pretty pleased with what I got to ride even though crowds were fairly heavy both days. I spent some of Tuesday afternoon touring Cowboys Stadium. The ginormous jumbotron really is jaw-dropping. Although being a Redskins fan, I felt somewhat conflicted touring enemy territory. You can even walk on the field, footballs are provided so you can throw interceptions, err I mean passes.

Miscellany:

• Mine train rides: had more fun than 3 1/2 acres of snakes.
• Mr. Freeze's queue is heavily air conditioned. Considering its namesake, is this part of the theme? Or a coincidence? Heh.
• Unintentional theming: Aquaman is dumb. In his honor, Aquaman Splashdown was closed both days.
• The kids in all those Takis ads have to be photoshopped. There is no way in hell those are natural facial expressions.

Nice report. Sounds like you didn't fight much in the way of crowds. That's remarkable given the fact that we had unseasonably cooler weather for this time of year.

Shockwave has been down and will be down for awhile for a hard-to-get part issue. I've heard anywhere from 6 weeks to the rest of the season.

Please please please let Shockwave run by Labor Day weekend. That is all.