JimmyBo Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Before the summer actually kicked off I decided to venture into Texas to visit my best friend Nick. He's getting married in a couple of days so we decided to go out with a bang for his last couple of days as a single man. Cassie and I traveled to Sea World San Antonio, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Six Flags Over Texas, Wonderland Amusement Park, and Cliff's Amusement Park in New Mexico with a credit whore stop in El Paso. Other Jim joined us for Sea World and the two Six Flags parks. First up, Sea World I must say that this Sea World kicks major butt compared to the one in San Diego. This one actually has rides!!!! The new Journey to Atlantis opened last week so it was a nice new attraction to the park. The park atmosphere was beautiful and it was just an all around fun day. Here's the pics Journey to Atlantis.zip Zip File for those who want to Download Journey to Atlantis Journey to Atlantis.wmv Jounrey to Atlantis Footage And that is the end of Day 1. Be sure to check out the Journey to Atlantis video! Nick and I finishing Brie's "Texas Sized" Margarita. Good stuff This is where we stopped for dinner. My best friend Nick, his fiancee Brie, Cassie and I all enjoyed this place. I recommend it to anyone who visits the Riverwalk As you look up from the Riverwalk, you can still see the downtown high rises. Another view. They even had boats you can tour on down the river. And they had restaurant all the way down the river This is downtown San Antonio. WOW. The Riverwalk was awesome and so beautiful. I think every downtown should have a river going through it Random Statue of me about to get my head blown off, but don't worry though...I'm still here We left Sea World and headed into San Antonio. Here's the Alamo...pretty cool since it was surrounded by high rises and guarded by a policeman with a gun and a cowboy hat. Great addition to the park. People seemed to really enjoy it. Scroll down for a little video of the ride I think there's a boat under that wall of water somewhere And it makes a pretty huge splash. It really gets your upper body soaked Here's the credit portion of the ride, backwards! Overview of Journey to Atlantis, just opened a couple weeks ago. Here's some of the cast from all over the United States. Thye evn had someone from South Carolina! WOW! I think it's safe to say that this is about to eat it pretty hard. Guy flying through the air + board already in the water = good entertainment for the crowd A human pyramid on water...sweet! This was a pretty cool show. Still no Baywatch show like they had in San Diego awhile ago. Vertical Loop Goodness The backside of The Great White. Side Note: The Great White was running really fast that day and was probably the most intense ride I've ever had on a Batman clone. Hey Derek, how's it going buddy. The Great Whaaat? Umm, this duck has issues' He thinks he's a flamingo. Keep eating more shrimp and you might become one buddy Look at them in all their glory. Reminds me of ALice in Wonderland where they play croquet with flamingos After eating we walked by the flamingos. Cassie loves these cute little pink creatures After watching the show we got hungry. Here's our meal...probably the best on the trip for the price Shamu's all like "I'm so cool, I'm on the jumbo tron!" Lots of interaction between the trainers and Shamu in this show. Random person flying off of the big killer whale...no thanks. Cassie and I waiting for Shamu to get some people wet. This makes San Diego's version look like a tiny model. Here's the Shamu Stadium. When I saw this I was like "Holy Crap...it's in the shade!" This was after riding Rio Loco. Yeah, waterfall was on and we got soaked. If you like floater air then this is a pretty fun ride. It's also intimidating as it can be seen from anywhere in the park. First drop was pretty sweet riding in the back row. Good floater air Lift hill goodness with the weird looking supports First up, Steel Eel. This was my first Morgan Hyper and it wasn't to bad. After finally arriving in San Antonio, we hit up Sea World. The entrance was pretty awesome. Check out that first drop of 20 feet. INSANE! Cobra just chillin there in all it's whoreness Credit Whore stop! Oasis Lanes in El Paso, Texas The sun greeted us as we drove into New Mexico Yeah, we are still pretty tired since it is 5:30 in the morning when we left First up, saying good-bye the Cassie's car as we head out on our 13 hour drive from Tucson to San Antonio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyBo Posted June 6, 2007 Author Share Posted June 6, 2007 Next Day, Six Flags Fiest Texas. SFFT just opened Tony Hawk this year. Although I much prefer the Maurer Sohne spinning coasters this wasn't too bad. Our car didn't spin much but I saw a few people get a pretty good spinning ride. Superman Krypton Coaster has moved up to my favorite Floorless coaster. This thing just kicked extreme butt from start to finish. Unfortunately the Rattler wasn't open the day we went so it looks as if I will have to venture back to SFFT one of these days. All around good park and they actually have some theming going on. Hot day but it had water rides to cool us off. Here's the entrance to Six Flags Fiesta Texas Tony Hawk's Big Spin.wmv Tony Hawk's Big Spin Raw Footage The end of another fun and fulfilling day. Be sure to check out the Tony Hawk Video That night we drove up to Arlington. This is Austin, the capital of Texas, at sundown We say good bye to Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Hot day but still fun and the staff there was really friendly Train going into the tunnel of doom and darkness! Come on ride the train...and ride it Other Jim looks super thrilled to ride the Wagon Wheel (aka Enterprise) Game time...Find the Jims! Swings. I think it would still be better if they had water that shot up at you like in BeanoLand at Chessington in England Cassie and I on the Ferris Wheel A nerd at work Here's a pretty good view of most of the park from the Ferris Wheel The Jims visit Wonderwoman...oh and Flash was there too A pretty good view of the layout. Such an aweseom ride. Corkscrew heaven. So fun A train zooming by with happy riders Interlocking Corks. Fun, fast, and intense My favorite part, the turnaround on top of the cliff with the dive into the zero gravity roll. So smooth and so sweet Other Jim is ready to ride Superman Hey, Superman is back on top of the loop. Ahh yes, My new number 1 Floorless coaster. Insane! Don't look too excited there Nick Roadrunner Express. A Minetrain ride on steroids. This thing hauled butt The Jims say What's up to Foghorn Leghorn Rattler's station just mocking me. Oh well, some other day I'll ride it That's a mighty big wood Just look at that reprofiled 100 times first drop just calling out my name and laughing at me Sad Day when I saw this. It just looks so fun and exciting Ok Nick, we see you...nerd I feel wetness coming ahead... The drop of extreme terror and doom ...loner in the front. Although Other Jim was the smart one because he got soaked compared to us Here we go, freaks in the back... Time to cool off on a hot summer day They also got their very own Coldstone where the prices are just unheard of! SFFT installed Johny Rockets. Although the service was pretty slow due to tons of people wanting burgers, it was still quite tasty Boomerang and head bashing through the trees Well, there it is in all its glory. Boomerang, Coast to Coaster Lame Name Game. Coast to Coaster? Seriously, WTF? Looks prety cool when its not all indoors like the Flight of Fear coasters That sure is a mess of track in there Yeah, hi! This was running extremely fast today and I almost blacked out twice There were a lot of characters out today. Batman and Robin were stoked to see the Jims Kiddie Credit! WooHoo! This ride suprised me. I didn't know it was going to shoot you up AND shoot you down. Pretty sweet SCREAM! No, not the parking lot coaster, but the freefall tower Cassie and I about to drive into Other Jim Other Jim hanging ten on the antique cars Scooby Doo Blast the Ghost Shooting Dark Ride. This was a lot of fun and it was air conditioned so you can say we rode this ride a lot today Huss Frisbee, I still prefer to ones facing outward but this one had its moments of "WTF" Here's an overview of the ride. This is where Joker's Revenge used to be according to Other Jim. Be sure to check out the Tony Hawk Video...scroll down Spinning Goodness! The crazy 4 ready to get our spin on Tony Hawk's Big Spin Coaster. Other Jim, Cassie and I (while Nick and Brie run away from the camera) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rileybrands Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Sweeeeettttt!!!!!!!!!!! Finally I see a picture of Austin on the forum! It's a shame you didn't get to spend more time there! Have you ever? Glad to see you had a great time at my home park! S:KC is truly an amazing roller coaster. The helix on the cliff is very intense. I don't know if this is the fact that I've ridden it about 40 times now, but I feel like it was actually running a little faster last year. That's weird! I've never seen Rattler closed. Maybe the park got sued.... again for injuring someone... and it's going to get its 101st reprofiling. The only good part about that ride is the twisting dive into the cave right after the MCBR after the most POINTLESS helix EVER! It's also the smoothest part of the ride. I love how horrible the paint on S:KC's sign looks!!! Almost everytime I've been on Poltergeist, it's been super intense. Awesome! By the way, how were the crowds? It sure didn't LOOK busy! P.S. - THBS is the only spinner I've ever been on, but did you notice that after the wooden ramp there's actually good airtime? 1. Right after the brakes, and 2. over the bunny hill. I wasn't actually expecting that! Very cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eskater132 Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 FINALLY A GOOD TEXAS TR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyBo Posted June 6, 2007 Author Share Posted June 6, 2007 Day 3, Six Flags Over Texas. The original Six Flags park and probably one of the best I have ever been to. This park just had in array of different rides and a great atmosphere. The ride ops were extremely fast and very nice. The feel of this park was just great. Mr Freeze was insane. I think going through the Top Hat backwards was a total "holy crap" feeling. Titan definitely lived up to its hype as being better than its younger brother SFMM's Goliath. Titan, complete with TWO helices of death, was intense and sitting in the front row you feel like your 2 inches shorter after getting off. On thing that suprised me was La Vibora, an Intamin Bobsled. This thing was fun! I really like the bobsled rides and this thing was great. Onto the pictures... The end of another day. After we eat some pink things we leave the park...at least we think we did. The Jims are still so lost There's no word to describe it but it is just so good and only found at the Original Six Flags Since Cold Stone was too expensive, we went to get some Pink Things. Other Jim said these were amazing and they were And a Cold Stone with over priced cold stuff Hey look, Johny Rockets! Marvin was super stoked to see us that day. I want a pair of his tights! Runaway Mountain was definitely one of those nice and cool coasters on a hot day and it had a "WTF" second drop on it too La Vibora...through the trees! Here is the first part of the ride...looks like a snake Now for the most underrated coaster in the park. I really like these things and they are a lot of fun. Great Family ride too It started to get hot so we rode one of the two log flumes they have there. Guess what Jahan, it was an Arrow Log Flume It just towers over the parking lot Titan! This ride makes SFMM's Goliath look like a little school boy The Texas Giant and...wait...what's that in the background? Not everyone looks in pain. Just about 2/3 of them do This is a pretty massive structure and I'd imagine in it's prime it would have been a great ride. But just way too bumpy for me The first drop full of trims and a lot of pumping and bumping Here you go lift hill enthusiasts Next up, Texas Giant which didn't run too bad today according to Other Jim Yep, crazy driver driving around the Jims Antique Car ride with a crazy driver behind the wheel After we capture him we put him in jail for having all the porn...but why? Yosemite Sam has porn in the barrels and we are trying to capture him to get the porn This truly was an odd little thing...here's why... Vertical Loopage. Yeah, I almost blacked out sitting in the front Shockwave is Schwarzkopf at it's best. Intense Vertical Loopage plus pops of random air throughout the ride That's right...Shockwave. Hey Jow, how's it goin? Yeah, that's hi...but I think I'll pass cuz the best ride in the park is coming up Superman, Power of Tower...wait, what? Bye Other Jim! See ya when we get down I wish they still had these at Knott's. Offers a good view and a fun little freefall coming down Parachutes...pleasant ride Going up zee lift hill Classic Out and Back and probably one of the most entertaining rides on the trip Out in the middle of nowhere ride. Seriously, you go under this random path and into a tunnel to walk even further to go and ride it. Interesting park layout There's only one way to have fun on a coat hanger coaster...make stupid faces Time for the Mine Train. Ron Toomer's first coat hanger masterpiece. Jahan is drooling Cassie didn't enjoy Batman as much as Mr Freeze or Great White but she still liked it Not quite as intense as Great White a couple days earlier but still a fun ride. Loopage and Srewiness here If you don't know what a Batman clone looks like, here you go... Batman and the Batmobile. Not quite the Tumbler but it will do Mr Freeze and Batman...Batman's all like "Give me some love too man" The overbanked turn jsut towers over the Mine Train rides below it This thing is just massive and can be seen and heard throughout the park First up, Mr Freeze. Awesome. One of my favorite Launch Coasters...beats out TTD by far The Jims were pretty confused as to where they are right now Here's the entrance, it poured the night before but ti cleared up for us that day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyBo Posted June 6, 2007 Author Share Posted June 6, 2007 Day 4, Wonderland Amusement Park in Amarillo, Texas. So now after a couple of really awesome parks it was time to start heading back home. On the way back we decided to go to WOnderland Amusement Park because...well...it was on the way. This was an interesting little park that reminded me a lot of a big fair or carnival. The Texas Tornado really did a number on my spine and I don't recommend sitting in the back. Fantastic Journey really was pretty entertaining and a really fun dark ride. Chuck (cfc) you'd really enjoy it. Onto the pictures Wonderland.wmv Wonderland's Coasters And that's the end of Wonderland. Be sure to check out Wonderland's Coasters video There it goes spinning as fast as a rainbow can Oh yeah, they had a rainbow ride. Spin and puke #....I lost count Bye Bye train...taking riders off to the "who knows where" part of the park They even had a little ghetto train going around the entire park Interesting Supports structure but I guess it gets the job done Double loops...ooooooo! My spine is still at the bottom of this drop First drop of extreme pain and the first loop wasn't too bad Time for the Spine Crusher in all it's glory Yeah, they are still on the same cycle since the last time we left them. Seriously, it felt like forever on that ride This little train speeds down and around the drop and turn at gut wrentching speeds Fun little wild mouse, but still not as crazy as those wooden wild mouse coasters in the UK Cyclone. No, not the one from Coney Issland but the one from Australia Fantastic Journey which was really fun. I enjoyed the random parts of AAAHHHH!!! Tilt A Hurl...spin and puke ride #3 They even had water rides that were operating even though it was about to rain Here's looking back toward the entrance from the back of the park. They had quite a number of rides Pirate Ship, fun for the whole family! The Texas Intimidator with what seemed like a 10 minute cycle...spin and puke ride #2 Himalaya...aka, spin and puke ride #1 Straight bit straight bit! Put your hands in the air like you just don't care! It had good little pops of air now and then but still pretty slow Looks like a carnie ride...and it was. It was one of those rides where the ride ops had to push the train just to get to the lift hill Here we are, Wonderland in all it's glory We took a little detour to Oklahoma so Cassie could sing her Oklahoma song. First, we drove through some pretty intense thunderstorms where I could hardly see 10 feet in front of me. But thank God it cleared up before we got to Amarillo Wonderland.zip Zip File of Wonderland Coasters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rileybrands Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Cooooolll!! I remember after getting of Titan my first time I was dizzy for about 20 minutes. My favorite part of Texas giant is the airtime-filled finale through the surrounding wood structure. Good to see you liked La Vibora. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyBo Posted June 6, 2007 Author Share Posted June 6, 2007 Day 5, Last Day at Cliff's Amusement Park in New Mexico This was a suprise park of the trip. I expected another carnie feel type of park like Wonderland but it was actually not that at all. They had some pretty decent rides and I finally got at least one Rattler Credit in for the trip. The New Mexico Rattler was an amzing coaster and really fun. Riding this coaster just makes me sad that CCI is no longer around because I love their coasters (although I am starting to like GCI even more with the more coasters I ride of theirs) Cliff's was entertaining and a great little park. Onto the pictures and be sure to check out the New Mexico Rattler Video New Mexico Rattler.wmv New Mexico Rattler Video Well, that's it. Thanks for reading and don't forget to check out the videos too! Pretty creepy looking It's a mummified mother and her baby WTF is that? What is it you ask? CAUTION: SPOILER AHEAD! On the way back to Tucson we made a pit stop at The Thing? And our last breakfast was at Cracker Barrel. Having never been to one Cassie and I really enjoyed it and it wasn't too overpriced. Great food and service So our last dinner was an awesome Burger King Meal Enjoying our last credit of the trip Turning really fast!! AAHHHH!!! There's the helix of extreme speed and lateral and fun! We headed back to Galaxi just cuz it is such a fun little coaster Crazy helix finale! Be sure to check out the New Mexico Rattler video New Mexico Rattler travels over the entire park Flying out of the tunnel This thing just kicks serious butt Pop of air going over the drop Diving into the tunnel underground The second drop provides some awesome airtime in the back seat First drop twists you in ways you couldn't imagine taking into a dive into a tunnel The lift hill towering over the entire park Now it's time for the main attraction...New Mexico Rattler Water soaking ride. We passed because people came off this thing completely drentched This was interesting...It was like a Zipper but not. You are thrown into a Zipper like cage and this thing goes around in circles. Magic Carpet, Looping Star, Rainbow..whatever you call it...they had one Sweet music means a lot of people wanting to ride and stand around just to listen to the music Music Express was another one of those Himalya things...but this one played some prety sweet tunes Tilt a Hurl. I hate these things Frog Hopper is getting the kids ready for the Sky Diver Cliff's had plenty of kids rides. They even had their own little kid section of the park What ever it is, this is where little kids play and have fun. The big bucket soaks all innocent people standing in the wrong place at the wrong time Water Monkey? What is a water monkey? Sea Dragon, through the trees! Sea Dragon...even though the closest sea is about 900 miles away They had a Sky Diver here. I love these things. They provide enormous amounts of airtime Going down the drop! WOOHOO! Not quite the helix of death but still really fast and some nice laterals Going up zee lift hill Towering over the walkway near by Little drop with some floater air all the way down First up was Galaxi. Pretty fun for a little coaster and the helix was extremely fast Cliff's Amusement Park. Not a carnie feel at all! We travel into New Mexico and drive a couple hours to Cliff's New Mexico Rattler.zip Zip File of New Mexico Rattler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Yes!! Yes!! Restore Mother SFOT to her former glory Yes!! Thank you jimmy for this awesome tr. Btw Elpaso (technecly New Mexico)Has western playland has one real coaster and one coaster whore coaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterboy25 Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 oh man great pictures.. Hey when did you go to SFFT, because i was there last friday and The Rattler was closed that day as well, perhaps it has seen its last days. Do not worry though you really did not miss a thing , it drops then turns a few times then drops again, its kind of lame. Im going to dallas in like a few weeks, and of course, im going for the rides but more importantly im going for the PINK THINGS, are they still just 2 bucks or did six flags decide to pull a parking lot raise on it and make it more...i wish they would sell those at other places, there just soooooooooo good. Mr. Freeze is awesome, im really happy to see its back open because it was closed for like a year there. THats how six flags does it though. Anyways man great TPR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axman Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Excellent TR. SFOT and SFFT are on my extremely long list of parks I need to visit. I can't belive that SanAntonio's Journey to Atlantis is nothing but a giant boat chute! Don't all of the other ones have, like, dark ride aspects to them?!?! SFOT's Batman looks naked. There isn't any theming around the ride, besides the station. The yellow looks awsome, but it just doesn't suit this coaster. Rattler Rattler is a testimate to how badly you can butcher a coaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kweiss Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Great TR! Sucks that you didn't get to ride Rattler. On the plus side, if you were planning on riding in the back, you saved yourself the roughest ride I have ever experienced. Was Superman Krypton Coaster's sign really as faded as in the pic? I was there last year and don't remember it looking too bad, what a difference a year in the Texas heat makes! I second the love for Shockwave. Pure Schwarzkopf greatness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axman Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Which is better? Shockwave or Mindbender? Mindbender is built into the terrain, which is part of what makes it such a good ride. It's my #1 sit-down looping coaster, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdworld17nb Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 FYI San Antonio's Seaworld ski show was also themed to Baywatch back in the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Which is better? Shockwave or Mindbender? Mindbender is built into the terrain, which is part of what makes it such a good ride. It's my #1 sit-down looping coaster, I think. I have to say though shockwave lacks the terrain minbender lacks the airtime soo i say shockwaves better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Wait wait wait ... does anyone notice almost all the replys are from texans?? hmm.... wonder why anyway GIMMIE SOME CANDY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMorgan Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Non Texan! This is, (no offense meant to anyone), THE BEST PTR everrrrrrr. What a great idea to have the pics, and then the short streaming videos in between. It breaks up the pace and you get the best of both worlds: videos and pics. I hope everyone starts doing this and I know I will in the future, too! Really really great idea. One question. If you were all the way down in Texas, why didn't you go to Astroworld? Ok, just kidding. But one serious question. What was rough about the drop on the Tehas Tornado? Was it like, bad woodie rough, or like, slam you down after intense airtime rough? Can you please describe the spine crushing a bit more elaborately? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steel Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 This was interesting...It was like a Zipper but not. You are thrown into a Zipper like cage and this thing goes around in circles. That's a Rock-O-Plane - pretty much the most insane invention ever. You get a lever in your cage that stops it from swinging. If you do it right you can keep yourself upside-down for a long time. The one at Arnolds Park goes on for about ten minutes sometimes. Crazy stuff. Awesome PTR, though. Lots of great pictures. You're right, La Vibora is way under-rated, and Mr. Freeze is one of the most incredible rides there is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr.gumbo Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Astonishing Photo TR of Texas, to bad Astroworld closed down before you made it. BTW I found Journey to Atlantis a bit disappointing, far to short and poor theming, they had an exellent opportunity to theme those turn-arounds but they did'nt. Again, great Photo TR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaptorBoyASU Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 This was interesting...It was like a Zipper but not. You are thrown into a Zipper like cage and this thing goes around in circles. That's a Rock-O-Plane - pretty much the most insane invention ever. You get a lever in your cage that stops it from swinging. If you do it right you can keep yourself upside-down for a long time. The one at Arnolds Park goes on for about ten minutes sometimes. Crazy stuff. I <3 Rock-O-Planes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteornotes Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Great photos and videos. I've been to Texas, but never to any of the parks. I really should do a trip down there some day. dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryH Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Great photos! Be glad you didn't ride the Rattler. I think I almost broke my spine when I last rode it. It was 100 times worse than the Texas Giant (since you thought it was too bumpy). What's up with Journey to Atlantis at Sea World San Antonio? It looks like an off-the-shelf water ride with minimal theming. Did the budget run out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigstevet07 Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Great TR. I am heading down to Arlington to visit some friends who just moved there in October. Can anyone give me some advice on what crowds are like in October? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgwfreak Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Great PTR!!! I've got to get to Texas and the SouthWest one of these years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECZenith Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Great report! I had never heard of Wonderland until today, what exactly is "Fantastic Voyage?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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