narkitty

I've snagged a lot of solo rides over the years at SFFT, but my favorite happened last year. I got to the park at opening on a day with 80% chance of storms. The park was practically empty and I got on Superman: KC first thing. It was nice and cool out and there was a good amount of fog. I sat front row, put in my headphones and listened to some Bruce Springsteen. It was amazing. I wish I could relive that ride every single time I go to SFFT.

I was out at the park this morning for a couple of hours. Got rides in on Iron Rattler, Superman, Scream, and Poltergeist before I didn't feel like dealing with the heat anymore. Anyway, I felt like weighing in on the Superman discussion. I've been riding it every year since it opened, and I feel like it's definitely developed a bit of a nasty rattle in the past few years. From what I understand, the "B&M Rattle" is pretty common. I've only been on a handful of B&M coasters (4 Batman clones, S:KC and Goliath at La Ronde), so I don't really have much to compare the smoothness of S:KC to a similar coaster. If you have been on say, Bizarro at SFGA, how does S:KC's rattle compare?

I wish I could get a custom plate, but they're very expensive in Texas. FIESTATX will be mine someday.

Amazing pictures! I love seeing things like this.

Honestly, the SLC isn't that bad here, at least in my opinion. The theming in the queue is well done, and I really love the location of the ride itself. Being over water is exciting! Front row isn't too terribly rough....but it's still an SLC.

IRON RATTLER!

I was lucky enough to be on the last train of iRat this morning before they closed it down due to rain. I got soaked on the way back to my car, but it was so worth it. I will say that the loading/unloading is top notch. They were incredibly fast when it came to checking restraints and getting the trains out. There was no stacking at all, which really surprised me since the ride isn't very long. Major props to the iRat ride ops for being speedy. If only the other ride ops would follow their example.

You can easily get through the park in a day. It might be crowded around Thanksgiving, but I've never been during that time. I know that Thanksgiving at Fiesta Texas isn't very crowded. The coasters rarely have waits. I've never had to wait more than 10-15 minutes to ride them. Steel Eel is a walk on 75% of the time. The animal attractions are what usually get crowded, but it really isn't so bad. I'm not sure about the rider swap thing, I would just call and ask them.

I think my most-ridden coaster is either Roadrunner Express. I was 6 years old the season that it opened and it became my favorite ride. I rode it 5-10 times every time I went to the park up until I was 14 or so, and since then I usually ride it once or twice every visit. Who else remembers the ridiculously long, themed queue line and *gasp* working animatronics? I miss it.

Pandemonium at SFFT was mine. Not a great note to end on, lol.

The new recording is awesome! I can't wait to hear the one after it officially opens. Does anyone know if they are going to periodically change the message or if it will stay the same once the ride opens? I'm going to be there tomorrow with the boarding pass that was posted on the Facebook page. My brother hasn't been on it yet and I can't wait to see what he thinks. On an unrelated note, does anyone know when the rest of the shows for this year will start? I heard that they were re-working Ovation and I'm really looking forward to it. I don't know if anyone else here cares about the shows except me...

I went to SFOT yesterday and got a couple rides in on NTAG. I'm leaving in a little while to go to SFFT to ride iRat a few more times. As of right now, I think that NTAG is still my favorite. Iron Rattler is fantastic, don't get me wrong, but NTAG just has a little more "oomph" to me. Of course, I will be able to make a better comparison in a couple of hours after I've been on iRat again lol. The two coasters are pretty different, so it makes it hard to compare the two. I definitely feel like NTAG has more little pops of airtime, but iRat's airtime is a lot more sustained. I love the barrel roll (never even touched my seat) and the dive into the tunnel. I do wish that iRat was a bit longer, but I think the same can be said for most great coasters. Both rides are definitely balls-to-the-wall, and don't let up the entire ride, so I've really got to hand it to RMC for making such exciting coasters.

I love JRS, even though it's kind of gone to crap in the past few years. However, I do agree that it's the most logical choice for removal when they decide they need more space. Any number of coasters would look fantastic along the lake, IMO. I only hope that they build another wooden coaster before they get rid of JRS. Since both big woodies in the state got the RMC treatment, it would be nice to have a woodie that stays that way lol.

Great pictures! Looking forward to seeing the rest of them! I eventually want to get around to visiting this park when I find myself in Mexico. I've lived in Texas my whole life and I've never even been over the border. Someday...

Great pictures! I decided not to go to the park today because the forecast last night looked bad. I'm going tomorrow instead! I'm not really big on SkyScreamers after being on the one at SFFT (I don't find it all that exciting), but I'm still looking forward to riding TSS. The height makes it seem a bit more thrilling.

^^ How long is the talk on Thursday? In my opinion, Sea World is not an all-day type of park unless you are planning to go to Aquatica as well. If all you care about are the coasters, you can ride (and re-ride) them in two hours, easily.

I'm planning on going to the park tomorrow. I saw that there is supposed to be rain in the morning but that it should clear up later on. I imagine that it will be a relatively uncrowded day since school isn't out yet. Do any of you local folks have a better idea about the weather forecast? I just don't want it to rain all day.

I'm doing all of the events as well. I can't wait to ride this thing AND I get to meet some local TPR members!

They sent out emails today to the people chosen for the video shoot and I got one! I'm so freaking excited I don't even know what to do with myself. Anybody else get emails yet?

I sent in an email! I'm hoping that they pick me. I did the Travel Channel shoot at SFOT last month and it was a blast. I'd love to be a part of this one too.

I don't think I've seen these pictures anywhere in the thread. Just came across them on SFFTnet. These trains are just beautiful. Enjoy! Front view. I love the way this looks so much. One hell of a rattle.

In this video, they mention Memorial Day weekend. That seems most likely to me, I just wish they would open it a weekend or two earlier. Memorial Day crowds are awful and of course I have to go on opening day.

I don't remember exactly what age I started riding roller coasters, but it was pretty young. From the time I was 18 mos. old, my parents would take me to SFFT and SFOT on a pretty regular basis. My parents were both super into roller coasters at the time, and I hated having to wait in lines for things and not being able to ride them. I started riding roller coasters as soon as I could because my parents made it seem like a very fun experience. They never really talked about how "scary" certain coasters were and they always looked happy and excited to ride, not nervous or scared. In 3rd grade I went through a weird period. I rode Joker's Revenge at SFFT and it terrified me, so for the next year or two, I wouldn't ride coasters. During this time, my parents never forced me to ride anything I didn't want to. At most, they would say things like "Come on, you know it'll be fun, don't chicken out!" If you want your kid to legitimately enjoy roller coasters, then don't force them. It's only going to make them more hesitant to ride because you're almost making it into a punishment. I also think that introducing a kid to coasters when they're still young kind of desensitizes them when it comes to viewing the rides as scary. Sorry for rambling...I had way too much coffee this morning.

I really hope that they put the flags back on the lift. It looks empty without them.

I've heard some sketchy things about the big Chacho's on 410 near 35, but I lived about a mile away from the one on Callaghan for a few years and never heard about any shootings. You should try it! Their food is really good. Plus, they have enormous margaritas and frozen Jack & Coke! I LOVE CHUY'S! No seriously, I eat there every Sunday...sometimes more. Their tomatillo sauce is soooo good. I didn't put it on my list because it's a (small) national chain now instead of just being in Texas. There's actually a brand new Chuy's that opened at I-10 and 1604. Much closer than those other two locations.