bert425

to echo what Kim said, yes. and I'd get the highest level you can. SFFT does do the annoying thing that many SF parks do, in that the Flash Pass merge is pretty far back in the queue, and they'll hold the general queue line prior to the merge point to try and make the Flash Pass a better value. But most of the rides, there's still a bit of a wait after the Flash Pass entrance (in particular on Iron Rattler, Poltergeist, and Goliath). WonderWoman, Joker, Superman, and Daredevil Dive, the merge is fairly close to the station, and you don't have too long of a wait once you use your pass. and Bug's Whitewater Rapids (flume) Flash Pass puts you directly into the station. and on a warm day? this will help you skip an hours long queue. note: Skyscreamer is no longer on the Flash Pass system. too bad you're not going later in April. . . in late April White Water Bay opens, and that section will drain much of the crowd from the "dry" areas of the park. have fun, it's one of the best Six Flags parks.

meeting Elmo and friends at SeaWorld San Antonio on Sat. and "going Negan on his ass". . . . erm. . I mean. . . "Tickling him"

it was freaking 39 degrees on Sat. and today was in the 80s what the hell. at least I got to go to Seaworld and meet the muppets.

Despite how chilly it was yesterday, I had a fantastic time at SWSA. Strike that. .it wasn't just "chilly" it was damn cold! like 37 & drizzly all day. in Texas! but I had already made plans to go with my friend Sean, and we stuck to them despite knowing that it had to be at least 40 degrees before any of the Coasters would operate. of course, the "Passport to Thrills" preview for Tidal Surge was a big draw, but the main reason I wanted to go was the last weekend of Mardi Gras and I wanted to try the food! So I was prepared to have a good time, even if none of the rides operated due to the weather made pretty good time, and pulled up just at 11:30, time for check in for the Passport to Thrills event.. overcast and looking really cold. But hey, "front row" parking - sorta. .in the non - up-close section. but figured the park would be pretty slow today due to the weather. I actually hadn't planned to wear my facemask today, but had brought it with me just in case. Glad I did, as it was so damn cold, it was nice to keep my face warm. also glad I had worn layers - including something with a hood, that could help with the wind. here's Sean and I waiting to get our wristbands for Passport to Thrills - which would allow us to get a ride on Tidal Surge (assuming it opened at some point) Walking to the main entrance gate for SW, you get a great view of the brand new Aquatica attraction (that went up SUPER fast): Riptide Race. this slide complex opens to the public Next weekend: 3/5/22 Heading back towards the gathering place for Passport to Thrills, I get my first look at the completed Tidal Surge from across the lagoon. Yeah. .it's pretty imposing: they dont' have a ride sign up yet, but there are two ways to get to this new ride. . the main one for us was under this Inflatable arch - which I'm assuming will be the main entrance until the sign (and test seat) are installed up close, this is even more imposing. . I think this just might scare off a lot of folks. SeaWorld San Antonio acknowledged the weather, and provided us with Cookies and Hot Chocolate, as a thank you for coming out, even tho it was so nasty on Saturday. so we enjoyed our cookies and Hot Chocolate, and hung around ooooo ing over the ride, and chatting with other Passport to Thrills folks. . . for about 20 minutes. But the temperature was still hovering around 37 degrees, and we knew what it had to be for this to operate (Ray Gonzales told us 40 for this too). but we eventually decided to take a walk around the park, and check out what shows might be operating today, and enjoy the views. and walking would warm us up. everything appeared to be staffed up, but we knew that until the weather cooperated, nothing would run. Texas Stingray looks so beautiful, even when sitting quiet. LOL. . yeah.. it was THIS crowded ~12:30 pm. Those loveable nutjobs at SWSA had Rio Loco running all day! yes! the whitewater raft ride was running, despite it being too cold to operate most anything else. . LOL. Even tho the waterfalls were off (I asked). . we still weren't about to brave a water ride today! But we did see a couple of folks just riding it over and over. shhhhhhh. . the coasters are sleeping (although Spoiler - just around 2pm it warmed up enough to hit EXACTLY 40 and several of the rides did open up - including Texas Stingray, Wave Breaker, Sea Swinger, and Tidal Surge. pretty much the only "big" rides that never opened yesterday were Steel Eel, Great White, and Riptide Rescue) but we took a wonderful trip thru the Penguin Exhibit - which was actually warmer than it was outside. .so it felt amazing, even with that wonderful smell in there. and that exit just *happens* to be near Currents gift shop. Which when I asked someone earlier at the Hot Chocolate, was mentioned that it was the only place in the park that sold gloves. sooooo.. . with Passmember discount? best cheapie pair of $9 gloves I've ever bought. they really made a difference! it was time to try out some of the Mardi Gras food. . so we popped into the pretzel place I had the Pretzel wrapped Boudin with a side of Beer Cheese. the Boudin was spiced with Jalepeno, and was so good. It LOOKED a bit overcooked. . .but it actually wasn't, and ate way better than it looked We walked around a bit and ended up in Sesame Street Bay of Play - which looked to have about 1/2 of the attractions staffed. I'm not one to pass up a Carousel, and it was staffed (even tho only one other family was waiting for it). . so we took a ride. the SWSA Carousel requires ALL riders to be seatbelted in. . and I had so many layers on. . . LOL.. it was a struggle to get the seatbelt on, and Sean had to get off his horse to help buckle me in. but oh so worth it! I would have actually ridden Grover's coaster (for the 1st time ever) but it was one of the non-staffed attractions. . think it was just too cold for it. The Muppets were out doing their Meet & Greet, and there was *nobody* there. .. the handler actually waved us over. Meet the muppets with no line? heck yes! and I even got to Tickle Elmo.. he wasn't expecting it. .and this picture came out absolutely awesome and is one of my favorites EVER! (he was doubled over going hehehehehehehehehee! ) And her reaction is perfect! even if it does look in the next pic like I went all Negan on his ass (as my friend Russ said on Facebook). we were heading back towards the Orca stadium just after 2pm, when we heard what sounded like Stingray on the lift hill. .. so we came around the corner and sure enough, they were cycling it. We kept heading that direction, and then saw the train go with two maintenance guys (one in front, one in back) and I said to Sean - "that's the last thing they do before opening it up, let's go to it" so we went over that way, and got there to join the short line of folks, and they opened the queue line up less than 5 minutes later. We waited one cycle for back row ride, and by the time we got off, we saw Tidal Surge was testing.. . so we headed over there. It's a new ride, so it had some issues even after the official "go". . . . we were on the 2nd cycle and it took them a good 10 minutes to resolve a restraint not giving green light, and then the ride faulted out during our ride and never got up to full swing. But hey, it's a new ride, it happens. They figured out the issue and got it back running after about 20 minutes, and all in all, I got two rides on it. (I'll write up a way more detailed assessment of TS with lots of pics after the launch event later in the week (it officially opens to the General Public on 3/5). WaveBreaker was running by this point, but we decided we'd rather get another ride on Stingray, so we rode that again before deciding we were hungry (it was almost 4pm) and it was well past time to try some of the main Mardi Gras food. So we headed to the main booth that sold that on the way towards the front gates. Meeting the muppets with no lines was fun, as was getting some rides on Tidal Surge. . but an absolute highlight of the day was bumping into Chef Scott, and having a nice long conversation with him about the food at the park (among the best of any Theme Park) and what's gonna be coming up for the 7-seas food festival . . . .which all sounded amazing! he made suggestions on what to try, and hung out with us as we sampled and chatted about the recipes and how he created them. Was a great ~45 spent with a really cool guy! Clockwise from top: Shrimp & Sausage skewer with Dirty Rice, Jambalaya, Boudin Balls with mustard sauce Beef Po-Boy (Sean took a few bites of it before I could get a pic). .LOL and the man himself, Chef Scott Ronczkowski : I was way too full to try the Benigets but they looked amazing too. it was just at 5, and the park was closing.. . short, cold, day. . but man did I have a LOT of fun today. cant wait to go back soon, and to try out the food from Seven Seas Festival, which kicks off in a few weeks.

Tonight's twitter update from Park President Jeffrey Siebert: and a better look at the pics (shared with his permission): if the weather isn't total crap tomorrow, planning on popping in to get a look at it in person myself!

Had.. they removed it because people were taking advantage, so what was Single Rider became Flash Pass line only. there is a grouper at the front of the main station on busy days now, and they use the grouper to try and fill up every seat in the train. (which I have been told is the same way they will be handling the odd seating for Dr. Diabolical Cliffhanger (7 across). . no single rider line, but with a grouper to fill all seats)

you only get 4 seats because "Management hates your park"

while not 100% sure on the different "scents" in the tunnel. . . . unless load/unload takes long enough it really dissipates? I can see it muddling into just one "smell" in there. but I love the idea, love the new paint, LOVE that it will have onboard soundtrack that's different for each "flavor" and putting a Nebulaz right there between the signature flips in a Boomerang? very inspired. really like this.

it's *totally* unfair that I'm in FB jail and cant post (over something really stupid) when THIS is a current headline on CNN.com: Cross-country skier Remi Lindholm suffers frozen penis in mass start race www.cnn.com/2022/02/21/sport/beijing-2022-frozen-finn-remi-spt-intl/index.html

Friday evening update from Mr. Siebert's twitter. Dang. this thing is really getting imposing! Gonna be incredible when the queue goes among the coaster

the Peppa Pig park, that Robb & Elissa just visited seemed to have a big room the kiddos could hang in and watch cartoons all day. but I'd be really surprised if any "big" park was offering this option in these Covid times. . any location would kinda like be a giant petri dish for the kids, I'd think. maybe something to consider to bring along a "sitter" or "nanny". .. even a neighboring teen, who could be plied to come along and ride what they want during the times y'all are with the kiddos, and then they take over to let y'all ride the bigger stuff in the afternoons?

I hope that smaller coaster with a launch catches on elsewhere. . I mean, that's really cool, and I think it's a great in between for the slightly bigger kiddos who aren't ready for a junior coaster. and it looks like fun.

"Fred from the Shed"

and just like that. . the skyline of SFFT changes forever:

it looks like the kiddos had a fantastic time. . which means it was absolutely worth the $$ spent. thanks for sharing these great pics. and now I have to decide if I'm disturbed, or jealous of that bounce house slide into a Dino butt.

It was a very windy and kinda chilly day today at SFFT - which kept the crowds down, and most all of the coasters down as well. Roadrunner Express & Wonder Woman are really the only coasters that operated all day - tho Batman made an appearance about an hour prior to close, and operated as well. The wind gusts also kept several of the "big" flats, including Scream drop tower, Skyscreamer swings, and Joker Pendulum down most of the day. But most of the flats operated, and had an incredible time riding what was up and running despite the cold & wind. And YES.. Daredevil Dive was operating. . tho in "wind" mode, meaning the plane chassis didn't go to the top of the tower, and the planes flipped at ground level. . but was still a great ride. I got to ride in the Mardi Gras Parade, and also was able to get an up close tour of Dr. Diabolical's Cliffhanger post Parade - that was offered to those of us who had attended a casual meet up today for a Texas based group called Thrill Seekers United. . . and the absolute highlight of the day? Park President Mr. Jeffrey Siebert hopping onto our 3pm casual train ride (to ooo and ahhh over the coaster construction) and commandeering the mic at the back of the train to provide commentary and stats on the coaster being built! I'm not sure if most of the folks on the train realized.. but I sure did, and wow was that a wonderful treat. I'll have a full report up in the coming days over on the "Bert visits Texas Themeparks" thread but here are a bunch to share now: NOT the sign you want to see out front. . but we were expecting it due to the forecast. . lots of wind gusts, and chilly weather kept most of the rides down all day Skyscreamer is no longer on Flash Pass. . instead, that "lane" is now a dedicated lane for the "flight option" Mr. Siebert told me that they have 4 harnesses ready, but are only using 2 for the moment, and will keep them up until Spring Break to see how demand goes, before deciding if they want to install the other two Harness set ups. at only $5 a pop? that's SUPER reasonable! not many of the big rides are open today due to wind gusts, but the ones that are open? don't have much of a wait I got a Cajun Bloody Mary with my lunch today Holy . .that's a LOT of pig. look look look what's open!! yes, it was windy, and a bit chilly. . but you know what that meant? yup. . NO LINE! flume walk on. . . I'll bet CoasterBill thinks I have my priorities correct we got "moist" but not soaked. . as the spitting dragon wasn't on today. these are sprinkled thruout the park for the 30th Anniversary. . and I love em. hope they stay up for a long while. lookie who's on the mic for our ride on the train heh. . one more drink - frozen Hurricane this time - and I was certainly up for getting dressed up and riding in the Mardi Gras parade. it was fun to throw out beads to the folks watching the parade route. our crew of 4 on "our" parade float beaaaaaaaaaaaaads. . from the up-close construction tour. This coaster is gonna be amazing.. that lift his is steep - 45 degrees! these supports will be getting a patina. . and the two closest to the train tracks will be the "tester" ones. . so keep an eye on em!

there is one park where i unquestionably would buy FL+ at in any visit. and yes, Kings Island. you'll want it, and as noted pretty much every ride that uses it drops off directly in the station - and even those that might have a back-up/short wait (Mystic Timbers/Racer) STILL dump you right in the station - and when FL backs up, they tend to pull more from FL than from standard line. any visit there? regardless of day, I'd grab FL+

you caught it before the Cinnamon Bread came back in it's permanent location (it will have a space in the currently being rennovated Sangerfest Halle. . .but they were selling it from a booth for Holiday in the Park. It too. .is a "snack" (FOUR of us sharing it couldn't finish it)

^ and most - if not all - of the specialty foods for Mardi Gras booths are also on the snack/meal plan! did you get the Funnel Cake with Ice Cream and Fruit from Funnilicious (across from Batman). .yeah. .that's a snack!

top 3 for sure . . tho "best" is arguable. (tho I'd put it in the #1 or 2 spot)

was hoping for ShieKra or Griffon. . where they are way more open.

SFFT continues to release teases on the official park Twitter account (in addition to Jeffrey's account). . . and they just released this tease of the new trains: oh no. . is this a "comfort collar" . . on a B&M Dive Coaster? (really hoping that's just extra support for the water dummies. .and not actually part of the restraint)

possibly the best description of Frontier that I've seen (posted on a news site, in response to a Frontier flight from NY to Orlando having to emergency land in Raleigh due to unruly passenger/fight yesterday) "Frontier is always an adventure. They make flying Spirit and AirTran look like a private Gulfstream. Plastic seats. $3.00 for a soda. And... of course, the sort of fellow passengers that make you wish you didn't try and save a few bucks. In the end, you don't really save much and it's a huge crapshoot that you even get there." it's like a comedy bit. .

movin right along .if you don't follow Jeffrey on Twitter? you should