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I love this park. I haven't been a fan of Six Flags in general, but this one and few others are run very well. There is always music playing the background, the employees actually give a damn about their efficiency (outside of food stands), and the ride assortment is excellent. So, in standard coastergoose TR fashion (if anybody actually knows what that is, including myself), I will do a typical PROS/CONS and RIDE RATINGS brief before I give my final opinion of my visit. Enjoy!
PROS:
-Employees don't hate their lives and their jobs (outside of some food stands)
-Excellent roller coaster and wide variety of flats
-Plenty of areas to keep cool (misters, water sprinklers, A/C.....)
-Tons of costumed characters
-Decent food
-The new flat rides are put in positions of the park that were once only used as walkways. The queues make use of once abandoned buildings. The new rides range from kid rides, to standard spin-n-puke rides, to thrill rides. It adds hours to the park experience, which IMO, is a good thing.
-Cheaper skycoaster ($17 compared to $25 at other parks)
CONS:
-$15 for standard parking; $10 for lunch; needless to say, the park is expensive, so it is key, especially in Texas weather, to grab an $8 collectors cup for the $1 refills (I just use the same one I've had for years)
-Superman: Tower of Power (S&S spaceshot) has three towers and only ran two, which caused a long, slow line
-Very hot (not a crack against the park, but dammit, God must really hate Texas)
-Some food stand employees seemed to care about nothing less than their job
-Mr. Freeze was closed (I know all Premier coasters in the chain are, but its still a bummer)
RIDE RATINGS:
-RUNAWAY MOUNTAIN: Themed, indoor Jet Star coaster from Premier Rides that packs an excellent punch. The helices are effective, the drops are sudden, and the ride is very smooth. A ton of fun. 8/10
-TITAN: The new signiture ride of the park, a near clone of Goliath at SFMM (an extra upward helix is the difference). The drop is great, the G's on the turns are fantastic, and damn, is this ride fast. I love this. In its sixth year of operation, its still as smooth as silk. A gem from Giovanola, and a top ten coaster. 9.5 out of 10
-BATMAN: THE RIDE : After all these years of cloning and poor theming, the B&M classic is still a very fun ride. This year, the ride seemed to be running smoother and faster than I remember. A very fun ride that always runs with two trains. 8/10
-SUPERMAN: TOWER OF POWER : A huge S&S tower that lets riders be launched and dropped (unlike Cedar Points Power Tower). The line was long and slow, but the Superman films music was the only thing that made it bearable. As for the ride, it rocks. The view is great, and the feelings you go through on the ride are the best in the park. Still, they should have been running the third tower to speed everything up. 8.5/10
-SHOCKWAVE : A unique Schwarzkopf in that it doesn't worry about being stuck in a compact layout. It spreads over a huge area, the ride sticks out tall over the trees, and the ride is fact. For a non-launched coaster by this developer, that is very different. It is also one of his gems that will live a long life at the park. 8/10
-THE TEXAS GIANT : I have always defended this coaster. I agree that it is rough, but I never found it painful. The layout and speeds are fantastic, and the final 1,000 feet are pure genius. That still holds true today, but for some reason, this season, it is painful. I came off the ride with a slight headache and a minor pain in my back. A great layout and a fun ride that just needs to stop beating the living crap out of me. Ouch. 5/10
-JUDGE ROY SCREAM : A white out and back coaster that extends away from the park next to the pond by the entrance. If you like Blue Streak at CP, then this is an even better option. A fun ride for the whole family. 7/10
-MINE TRAIN : The first tubular steel coaster from Arrow. Some of the turns are rough, but the ride makes excellent use of the terrain and is fun with a group. 6.5/10
*I did not ride FLASHBACK (I hate Vekoma Boomerangs, especially with a bloody nose my last ride on it) or LA VIBORA (a bobsled style ride that is never worth the line) or MINI MINE TRIAN (I am too damn tall)
FINAL COMMENTS:
Six Flags Over Texas is a wonderful, clean park with tons of rides for all ages and customer service that is far above average compared to other parks in the chain, and this isn't a product of Shapiro. I've held this opinon for the last few years (the neighboring Hurricane Harbor is terrible compared to this). The addition of increased costumed customers is a nice product of the new management, but this park has always been above average.
I take issues with the prices, however. Parking costs nearly twice that of a movie theatre ticket, which is absurd. I know Six Flags is trying to get out of a debt, but they can't keep prices this high. I have only taken one trip to the park this year, and its because of the prices. The park is excellent, but the lighter weight of my wallet hurts.
Still, a great park that is among the top of the company.
Now, off to OU.
PARK RATING:
9/10
Have you ever seen a man eat his own face?
Also, not all of the Premier coasters are down. Just the Mr. Freezes and The Chiller. Poltergeist and JJ are up and running.
A day at the park is what you make it!
Superman usually only runs two towers, but the last two times that I was there it was running two towers for about the first two or three hours, and then they would start running all three.
I have the same feelings about Texas Giant. The layout is awesome, but depending on where you ride, the ride is horrible. The last time I went I waited almost two hours for the front seat, and it was an OK ride. My knees got knocked around a lot, but my head was feeling fine when I got off.
Shockwave is truly an awesome ride, and it's my favorite ride in the whole park.
Mr. Freeze has been down for about three months now, and I heard it might be running again during Fright Fest. *** Edited 8/9/2006 12:35:16 AM UTC by Matthew Engel***
John Moore
John Moore said:
I have got three words to say about the Texas Giant. They are "Taer it down."
Oh, please God no!
Is Wildcatter still operating? When I went, it was testing but it never opened.
It's open for most of the day, but rarely a full one.
Have you ever seen a man eat his own face?
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