TR: Six Flags Over Texas

TR: Six Flags Over Texas

Date: 6/1/2006
Weather: Overcast in the morning, then getting hot
Crowds: light

Yesterday, my cousin and I headed out to SFOT to hang out fo the day. I also had a season pass to process. We left my house at about 9, and made it to the park about 20 minutes before opening. Traffic wasn't bad. We headed in and waited for the rope to drop. While we were waiting, we headed to Guest Services. People with disabilities like myself have the option of getting a wristband that allows the person and up to 3 other members of his party to cut through the exits of most rides. Sometimes, it was the Fast Lane entrance that we were allowed to go through. I love this, and I can ride more than most people because of it. So, the first thing we did was go get me fitted for a wristband. After that, they played the national anthem and then the park opened.

One thing that my cousin, who can see, noticed right off was how much more corporate SFOT was. He pointed this out to me as we headed for a ride that I was really looking forward to, the Acme Rock N Rocket. It is an Intamin Looping Starship. I love looping ship rides, and I was looking forward to riding the Intamin version for the first time. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite finished yet. There was a fence around it and it was closed. I guess they were waiting for a new motor, as the ride was already built.

So, we headed to my favorite steel coaster, Shock Wave. Schwarzkopf coasters are my favorite ones. We were the first people to make it to SW, and they gave us a double ride. This ride is amazing. The loops are the best I have ever experienced, and those two mid-sized drops provide ejector air in the back seat (I am a back seat rider on all coasters; I do not ride anywhere else but the back)..

After that awesome ride, we headed to Runaway Mountain, the enclosed Premier steelie. I hated this thing. It is not aging well, and there was jarring on some of the turns. It was nice to cool off, though. Then, we headed to Wildcatter, the Intamin first-generation free fall. Unfortunately, they were testing it and it never opened that day. So, we headed to the Texas Shootout, the Intamin Paratower. This ride is always peaceful and relaxing. We took two rides.

Then it was off to Gotham City and one of the new rides, Batwing. Batwing is a Zamperla Flying Tigers ride. We were allowed on, and the first thing I noticed was how spacious the planes were. I thought this was a kiddie ride! I fit very easily in it. The ride started and I was blown away by how fast the ride went. It was actually pulling G's. The only downside to it was that you could not lower the planes once you had raised them. All the button did was raise the plane. It was very enjoyable although Jeremy and I got a lot of attention from the ground because we were adults riding a kiddie ride. We had separate planes.

Then, it was off to Batman: the Ride. This one hasn't aged well either. I got in the back row and sat on the far right. There was headbanging in the corkscrew and helix. Ow! We got off of that and headed to Superman: Tower of Power. This ride was an airtime machine as it always is. What a rush.

Then it was off to Judge Roy Scream, my favorite wooden roller coaster. I sat in the back again and forgot to put my hands up during the ride, so I got no airtime. I usually get ejector air on some of the drops, but not today. It was still a nice smooth ride. I love the PTC trains on it. They are like rolling couches.

After that, we headed to a ride I had been looking forward to, the Crazy Legs. Crazy Legs is Astro World's old Troica. I had ridden the Troika's little brother, the Tivoli Scorpion, at several carnivals and thoroughly enjoyed it. Let's see how the big brother is. The cars were more comfortable than the Scorpion's, and it ran slower. Unfortunately, this was also where the most annoying part of the day came. Jeremy and I were enjoying our ride when the op started singing "If You're Happy And You Know It" over the speakers. Omg this was bad. It was extremely irritating, but it was understandable because there were a lot of kids on the ride. Luckily, Jeremy and I were toward the back of the ride so the op didn't see that we were not participating.

Then it was off to Flashback, the Vekoma Boomerang. This one isn't bad as long as you keep your head back. After that, we headed to Spain to try out the new ride, La Fiesta de las Tazas. I don't know how to spell it. In other words, this was the new Zamperla Teacups ride. These rides are fun, and we had our cup spinning pretty fast. Then it was off to La Vibora, the Intamin bobsled. This was wild, but the trims made it very unpleasant. We wanted to ride El Sombrero, which is a Chance Trabant, but another op singing children's songs during the ride made us run away.

Then we had lunch at Chubby's Diner. The food is still pricy, but it's worth it now because your food is cooked when you order it. It smells better and tastes better. After lunch, we went back to Shock Wave for another ride. This time, we got so much air on the drops that my seatbelt almost came off.

Then, it was off to the best water ride in the park, Roaring Rapids. I am always the one that gets soaked on this ride, and today was no exception. This was the first of three times that I rode it. Jeremy rode with me this time and got wet. I was doing fine until the last set of rapids when a huge wall of water cascaded over my side of the boat and hit me. We had to get dry after that so we headed to the Mine Train. This was the fastest I had ever seen the Mine Train run and it was a lot of fun.

After that, we both agreed it was time to ride Titan, that monstrous Giovanola coaster that towers over the park. This coaster gave ejector air on the third hill in the back seat, and there were amazing G's in the helix.

Next, I made the stupidest decision I have ever made in an amusement park. I had been led to believe that the Texas Giant was smoother than it has been, and that it was flying. So, I drag Jeremy through the exit against his wishes and we hopped in the back row. Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! That was absolutely brutal. Every jolt of that ride went right to our chests and by the mcbr we wanted off. There were some great airtime moments, but there was sharp pain accompanying it. Taer it down! Taer it down!

I was apologizing profusely to my poor cousin as we got off. Astro World's old Scrambler was close by, so we took two rides. It was just what we needed to relax. Then Jeremy dropped me off at the Roaring Rapids dock and I rode again. I got a little wet, but not much water got on me this time.

After that, we headed to Texas Tornado, the Chance Yo-yo. This gave its usual ride, but it was great anyway. Then it was off to the log flume. This was great and we got a log to ourselves due to the fact that I had a wristband. After that it was off to the Casa Magnetica, a crazy house with a slanted floor. It was absolutely pointless. We both hated it. Plus, I couldn't see any of the gags, so it meant nothing to me. Standing against the wall on that floor was hard for me because I have trouble on steep terrain. It was also very hard to walk.

After that pointless thing, we headed to Rodeo, the new Huss Breakdance. This was absolutely boring. I rode the Roaring Rapids again after that. This ride was fun because Iwas riding with about 10 girls between the ages of 16 and 20 (it seemed that way to me). We had good times. I barely got a drop on me this time. After that we went back to Superman and took another airtime-filled ride. After that, we headed next door to the Cado Lake Barge, the new Zamperla Rockin Tug. I liked this a lot. I stay away from rides like this normally, but I liked this one because it was slow and relaxing. Then it was time to rest before going to see SpongeBob SquarePants In 4-D. I am a huge fan of 4-D movies and motion simulators because as a blind person, that is how I can know what's going on on-screen. These are the best movies, IMO. This one was good, but there was only one 4-D effect. That didn't detract from it; the simulator was outstanding. After that, rain clouds came, so we headed out.

Overall, this was a very good visit. The customer service has drastically improved and so have operations. I got a season pass processed during this visit too, so I now have an SF season pass. You should come to this place if you're in the area, but stay away from the Texas Giant please! Other than that, this was an outstanding visit. *** Edited 6/2/2006 10:46:30 PM UTC by John Moore*** *** Edited 6/2/2006 10:54:10 PM UTC by John Moore***

Great TR! I never knew Texas Giant was that painful, maybe it's just because you sat in the back seat?

Thanks. Actually, the last time I rode it in 2004, it wasn't that bad because I sat in the middle and I wasn't in a wheel seat.

Texas Giant: the worst ride I've ever been on. I rode it for the first time during spring break, and I thought it would be really good if I rode in the back seat, what a mistake. I had a headache the rest of the day after that. The last time I rode it, I rode towards the front, and it still wasn't great, but it wasn't as bad as the back seat.

Shockwave is one of my all time favorite coasters. My mom doesn't like riding it more than once though because she is afraid she is going to get so much airtime that she gets flung out of her seat, but I love it.

I've been to three Six Flags parks this year (Georgia, Great Adventure, and Kentucky Kingdom) where the employees have resorted to singing while I've stood in a line. I guess that's what they're teaching their employees now. I only wish they'd give them singing lessons.

Oddly enough, no one resorted to singing at Six Flags America. *** Edited 6/3/2006 2:52:37 PM UTC by Arson***

There's a very simple rule for Texas Giant. NEVER ride above a wheel.

Ride in the front half of each car, so never the very back row - the 2nd to last row instead.

The ride is great if you follow this rule, tortuous if you do not.