Six Flags Over Texas 12/10/16

The original idea had been to go to SFOT Thanksgiving Day weekend but airfares were prohibitive so when I learned that I could fly to Dallas on Spirit for $214 Dec. 10-11 I went for it. If nothing else, this would be a much-needed break from work and radiation treatments. Arriving at the park between 2:30 and 3:00, I was greeted by a gorgeous Christmas tree. The entire park was lavishly decorated and festive.

1st stop was to be NTG, my primary reason for visiting this park, but I got off course and ended up at Titan. Much to my surprise, I liked it a lot more than I had on my one previous visit. Damn! Now I'll have to rewrite the review I wrote for my blog. I still think that the brake run is in an odd spot -right before a left overbanked turn - but it was fun and a refreshing change to ride a hyper not manufactured by B&M or Intamin at a Six Flags park.

On to NTG. I guess I was spoiled when I rode it on Memorial Day weekend b/c at that time it was practically a walk-on. This was not the case yesterday. The park was crowded and it took a good 45 to 50 minutes to get on. As a result I decided to bite the bullet and purchase a FlashPass. (Walking back to the FlashPass station was a good excuse to partake of the yummy holiday hot chocolate.) FlashPasses are cheaper during Holiday in the Park and cheaper in Texas than in NJ -$48 for a platinum at SFOT and $58 for a platinum at SFGAD minus $5 discount for season pass holders. It was $43 well spent, as this gave me immediate access to NTG. Love this coaster!!! I can think of few that offer a more entertaining ride experience. Anyway, after several more rides I decided that it was time to move on and went back to Titan for a 2nd ride before getting something to eat. By this time it was dark and my night vision is appallingly bad so it required a lot of walking around in circles and getting lost before finding an eatery that offers cheese bread -something I've found only in Texas Six Flags parks.

I decided that my last ride would be on Shock Wave but again, my night vision was such a handicap that it took me a long time to find it. Even a map of the park would not have helped. When I visited the park back in May I had no trouble finding anything but then there were several more hours of daylight. Fortunately, the park had gotten rid of the VR gear on Shock Wave and as a result loading was significantly quicker. Interestingly, the track was illuminated, which could be good or bad. Personally, I like the fact that the track on NTG is not illuminated, enhancing the experience of riding at night.

Had hoped to catch a show but there wasn't time. (Had also hoped that it would be warm in Texas but this was certainly not the case!) Even so I enjoyed the holiday atmosphere and did see some live performances by singers. All in all a good visit and affordable getaway. My room at Knights Inn cost $58 and that facility offers free shuttle service to and from SFOT.

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Sounds like a nice little getaway. I love Titan, despite the first drop being a total ramp. It's incredibly fun. And of course, NTG is amazing. I've found that I can only ride it a few times before it starts to mess with me, but then again, I'm kind of a wuss. And it's good news that they got rid of the VR on Shockwave.

It's been a few years since we've been to Holiday In The Park, but are they still doing the unlimited hot chocolate? We always thought that was one of the best park deals around, and very un-SF-like. Last time we went, 3 or 4 years ago, it was $6-ish for a plastic mug and a wristband, and you got unlimited refills of cocoa at multiple stands throughout the park.

As for the winters in Dallas, I lived there for 2 winters, and we've taken a few short trips over winter breaks in the past, and yeah, the weather is a mixed bag. It can be 70 and sunny, or 40 and rainy. Pot luck, really. If you want consistency, go in the summer, and it will be consistently hot, humid, and stormy.

Titan seems to get better with repeated riding. One of the great things about NTG is that even if you have some familiarity with it you can't see everything that's coming up the way you can on, for instance, El Toro, so that there is still an element of surprise. Maybe that wouldn't be the case if you rode it a hundred times but even with repeated rides I was taken by surprise several times, especially when heading into the second tunnel. This coaster is exceptionally well engineered. (I had emailed the park before booking my trip to make certain that it would be operating, as not all of the major coasters operate during Holiday in the Park at my home park, SFGAD. El Toro, Kinga Ka and Bizarro are finished for the year at the end of the regular season.) As to the VR that was previously on Shock Wave, I had started a topic about that some time ago - and I swear SFOT must have set a new record for longest loading time with that one. Was I glad to see it go!

They are still doing the unlimited hot chocolate, except that it now costs $9.

Those of us, such as myself, who live in the Northeast tend to have an unrealistic image of Texas as always being very warm. Of course it's swelteringly hot in the summer but as you say, otherwise a mixed bag. The day before I flew to Dallas it was actually colder in Dallas than in Philly.

Having spent 11 years in Fort Worth, we used to say there were two seasons - hot and crazy.

This coming weekend the forecast high on Saturday is 75. On Sunday: 36! It was pretty similar last weekend.