Arthur_Seaton

I assume the WDW is the same as the DL one? We rode it twice and found the ride so much more enjoyable in the back seats as opposed to piloting. It doesn't seem like the controls do a whole lot, and so we felt our ride was improved when we didn't really touch any of the controls and just occasionally mashed random buttons. The plot was pretty incomprehensible to me, but I hadn't seen any of the Star Wars films beyond the first three from when I was a kid. I figured that land is catnip for hardcore Star Wars devotees, though.

I went to the park for a few hours yesterday afternoon and checked out the Halloween stuff at night. I don’t think anybody expects a lot from a Six Flags Halloween event, but I have a soft spot for low/no-budget haunts, and this falls well into that category. Despite “Is It Packed’s” assertion that the place would be fairly quiet, it was slammed — largely because of the event itself, but also because the park has such limited hours right now. I still have to figure out how to navigate this park's operating schedule as I’m so used to visiting my SoCal home parks on dead days and basically getting ERT all day. I’m not sure that’s going to be too possible here off-season. Neither the park’s own wait-times app or that crowd-source one online reported any data, so gauging waits was tough. Several of the lines were maxed out, spilling well into the walkways. An employee out front at iRat/Weed Zone told me it’d been over two hours for much of the night (it’s still only running one train, although the employee wasn't aware of that). I did manage to grab an early ride on Goliath as I missed it on my last visit (once-and-done — I like Batman clones but have ridden too many for them to really entice me) and a post-reset ride on Poltergeist (again, more walks of shame and I counted three gnarly rough spots on the ride) but everything else was off the table for much of the night (except for Superman — which chews through lines well). Operations were a bit wacky (only two employees in the Superman station — one on controls, the other on restraints; Wonder Woman still sending out multiple trains with only two or three riders; Scream only running one tower; Goliath only filling one of two running trains), and several of the rides were closed for the night. The focus clearly was on the Halloween stuff, and I'm guessing that a number of the usual ride ops had been reassigned as scare actors. Nice views from the queue line of this one. I wanted to try the water chute ride as I missed that last time as well. It may have been a Halloween thing, but there was no signage at the entrance, causing me to question if I was boarding the correct ride. The line was out into the walkway, but because much of the queue is hidden, I had no way of telling how long the wait would be. Turns out it was 95 minutes, in a castle so hot that they had to open up all the emergency exits — which was perfect for the park’s many, many line jumpers. Anyhow, the queue was utter misery but the ride is a blast; a good amount of wetness from two really fun drops. It was shorter than expected, and I could have done without the dragon spraying a continual stream of water directly into the vehicle, but it didn’t really matter as the queue drenched everyone with sweat anyway. Fun ride, but not one I’d wait 95 minutes for again. By the time I got off, some of the mazes had opened and, since the park was scheduled to close just four hours later, I figure I should make them my focus. (For what it's worth, I bought a regular line pass but the employee gave me an express, so I don't really know how long some of the maze lines were.) Not quite sure what this was, but it was set up by the water/castle-rabbit ride. Sweating castle-rabbit. Again, I can’t imagine anybody expects anything truly impressive from a Six Flags Halloween event, and this one had some charm but was clearly done on a shoestring budget. The scare actors were pretty into their roles, but also kind of limited in what they could do (lots of “boos” and shrill screams). I couldn’t quite figure out which areas were "scare zones" and which weren’t as the crowds were so dense (I swear, this place has unusually-narrow walkways), but some were more obvious than others. Probably the scariest part was the number of strollers wedged into major thoroughfares (lots of infants at this event, for what it’s worth). A few thoughts on the mazes from best to worst: Midnight Museum of the Macabre: A short, compact maze filled to the brim with antiques and random junk. The theme seemed to be an old, exotic apothecary with random stuff filling every square inch of the place. It was brightly lit, so more of a spectacle than a maze. The atmosphere, though, was spot-on which made it a blast. It wasn’t scary, and there weren’t any major set pieces — just rows of shelves — but it was well worth the 15-minute express-line wait. CarnEvil 3D: I’m a sucker for these 3D circus mazes, and this one had the added twist of using those faulty flashlights that a number of haunts picked up a few years back. Because it was only two flashlights per group, you had to rely on teamwork to navigate the place well. On my first run-through, the team leaders didn’t get that memo, leaving the rest of us literally in the dark and requiring a random clown to help us get back out. The second time through was more orderly. Anyhow, it’s not up to the level of the one Magic Mountain had a few years back, but it was still a blast. No major set pieces aside from a rotating tunnel at the start, but the clowns inside knew how to work with the limited lighting. Buried Alive: This one’s themed to a mine, and the maze involves stepping into an “elevator” (basically a shaking platform), the illusion of which was ruined by the fact that it had no ceiling and you could clearly see the building’s rafters right above while the platform jostled you around. The rest of it was faux-stone walls and some larger set pieces, but there wasn’t a whole lot happening in there beyond the rampant darkness. The elevator scene decimated capacity, and the line looked harrowing for much of the night. RockKill High School: Exceptional and very-welcome air conditioning in the entryway. This was clearly set up in a theatre of some kind as you had to walk through it to get to the start of the maze. It was a very long maze with not a whole lot in it beyond a few rooms with löckers and band equipment and whatnot. Basically, it looked like the backstage area of the existing theatre. The theme seemed to be a high school for zombies, but it felt a bit like school was on break. On my second pass through, I ended up with a group of shrieking and sweary tweens. That made it more fun as they seemed to get startled by everything from the nearby bubble machine, to their own hands, to one another’s hair. Slaughterhouse 6: Despite the Vonnegut-sequel intimation, this was indeed just a standard-fare slaughterhouse-themed maze. It was very short (underneath a coaster station), and there was very little in it. It was basically some plastic sheeting, a few projections, and some dangling foam carcasses. Out of all of the mazes, this felt the most “homemade” — and by “homemade” I mean it was tantamount to something you might find set up in an over-zealous neighbor’s garage. Blood Bayou: People seemed to leave this one baffled as there was next to nothing in it. From what I could tell, it was the queue line for the rapids ride with some fog and a few characters roaming around. It had one of those cool laser rooms that, when filled with fog, produce a liquid effect that you (or monsters) can duck under. However, the room was more of a covered area, so the fog never stayed inside, killing the effect. So, basically, this maze was more of a scenic stroll in the dark. The best thing about it was that it put you close to iRat’s awesome cliff-dive turn. So, as a Halloween event, the mazes are what I expected from a Six Flags event (I didn’t do any of the shows as I’m allergic to musical theatre). The only point of comparison I have is Magic Mountain’s event, which obviously has more space and money to work with, even though the mazes are along the same lines. Coming from SoCal, I’m kind of spoiled by bigger-budget affairs, but my expectations were kept in check for the most part. Although the idea of a 2+ hour wait for iRat was daunting, I jumped in line 20 minutes before park closing as I wanted to ride it in the dark. The same employee was standing out front and said the wait was still 2+ hours. In reality, it was 20 minutes and I think I was the last to ride. As mentioned on my last visit, I’m not a huge fan of the direction RMC has taken in terms of their privileging extremes over basic fun, but this and New Texas Giant are at the top of my RMC list (I've ridden about five or six of them). It’s a fantastic ride that’s not so aggressive that it diminishes enjoyment. I look forward to coming to the park on a legitimately “dead” day so that I can marathon it. Last, getting out of the parking lot at night seems to be a struggle (I noticed this on my last visit). I don’t know if there were street light issues or what, but it took a solid 90 minutes to get out of the parking lot and back onto the freeway — longer than the drive to/from Austin. If that’s the case, then a better parking strategy will be required. The parking lot was a complete sh*tshow, and the staff was really struggling to guide the lines of cars trying to get out. Can't have a Halloween event without an old school bus. Still yet to ride this one as the line on both visits has blown far beyond the designated queue. Despite the insane queues, this ride looks great in the park. I hope Six Flags buys more of them. Not quite sure what this is, but it was over by the entrance. One of the high-school zombies? I think this may have been part of a scare zone. Well-suited for the carnival area, but no clowns actually walking around the areas itself. Props to Fiesta Texas for trusting guests not to wander into / climb on Superman's track. I'm sure the impulse to do so is strong for some of the park's guests.

To fix some of these early Arrows, it seems like someone would need to take some math and a hammer to the track and round out some of the more coat hanger-style transitions they're known for. Some of the old Arrow designs are really cool and it'd be interesting to see a resurgence of old layouts done in a more modern / smooth way. I'm not really a big fan of RMC's in-house designs, but it'd be cool to see how a layout like Vortex or Viper might work as single-rail raptor track (or whatever they're called). (Knowing RMC, though, they'd tie the track up in knots or invert the entire lift hill to ensure requisite discomfort and thigh bruising.)

Knotts' does that for their Halloween events. Six Flags (Magic Mountain, at least) doesn't. Fingers crossed today's a good day!

Didn't they just some work on it, or was that just lift hill issues? I still think it runs pretty well. It has some super-clunky spots, but for the most part it's not too gnarly. The first drop still holds its own, especially in the back seat.

An iconic ride for sure, one that's definitely "of its time." I only rode it once as I didn't really didn't see much point in riding it again, but I do have a soft spot for some of these old steel coasters that linger long past their shelf life.

I've ridden two of those (Mean Streak and pre-repair Ghost Rider). It's not nearly as rough as those two, but it's surprisingly bumpy for what it is. (I think I'm one of very few who actually liked Mean Streak though!)

Really good! The track is pretty much complete, and it looks like it'll be a fun ride.

I totally agree. The SFMM thread is so rife with moaning that I think that's why it might feel like it's an unpopular opinion. I think SFMM is one of the best-looking parks in the chain with (gasp!) some of the best operations in the chain as well! I need to get back to Fiesta a few more times to really take the place in as I left feeling a bit tepid about its scenery and design. It was pretty packed when I was there as well, but I gave Over Texas the edge in terms of the way the place looked as well as in terms of its ride selection. I agree with Bert's claim earlier that Fiesta would benefit from a classic-style wooden coaster of some kind (that's not a pulverizing RMC), and I wonder how a modernized old-school out-and-back might sit over in that boardwalk area?

Yeah, it was running two trains when I visited a few weeks ago and the train did indeed sit on the brake run for 5+ minutes. The walks of shame on that ride are something else but I can see why given the awkward restraints. It's a ride that I think I'd come to like more once I get a better feel for the layout and the moves it makes. Thanks again for the tips, and a Sunday morning sounds good to me!

I'll definitely give those a try and I'm going to try to get back down there either this weekend or next. It's shame that the hours are so heavily restricted right now otherwise I'd be down there during the week. Spinsanity looked like an old Waltzer ride from the UK — like a more-intense tilt-a-whirl. I'm not a big fan of twisters (I don't think I've ever been on the Magic Mountain or the Knotts one), but I'll give it a shot next time I'm there. In general, super-spinny flats are once-and-done for me, and I've ridden models like them at some point or other in the past. Even though I didn't ride it (as I know the ride well from riding Crazanity), Joker was such a cool-looking install — perfectly placed with amazing lighting. I did ride the Pirate ride and dug it. Like the Justice League rides, it's not something I'd ride again but it was fun to see. I'm a sucker for old-school dark rides, so I actually preferred it to the various Justice League installations. That whole area looked beautiful at night. And yes, the water ride was the one ride I didn't make it onto this time even though I really wanted to. Next time, for sure. I think that a return visit for me will most likely involve marathoning iRat (amazing ride), Road Runner (excellent), Poltergeist (if the ops improve), and Superman (a solid B&M). I need to figure out when the best times to visit are and I'm hoping to hit up the Halloween stuff at some point as well. Thanks for the tips!

I didn't get any knee smashing either, but I was surprised by how rough it was overall. Given the nature of the ride, I expected it to be super smooth. Yet, each time the cars passed over the center of the trough to the other side, it felt like hitting a pothole.

I think there are multiple questions here, so I'll try to break up your sentence accordingly: They're the closest parks to where I currently live, so if that's how you determine "home park," then yes. I've never been to Sea World, so I can't really say that feels like a "home park" to me. However, I'm in SoCal every couple of weeks, and I've been to Knotts and Magic Mountain more times than Fiesta Texas since I relocated. I consider them to be "home parks." I'm not quite following you here. I think you're asking me if I think it's weird that Austin doesn't have a theme park? The answer is no. No, I don't find the drive stressful. I've only driven it once. It took about 75 minutes — just a little more than it'd take to get across LA to Magic Mountain.

I think it's okay (at least I hope it's okay!) to have different opinions on rides? I'm not a fan of extreme thigh-crusher airtime (I really didn't like Skyrush either, for example). But yes, I think you might have misread my take (or not read, as you state). I really liked a number of the rides there: Iron Rattler and Road Runner in particular — both of which were excellent. It was interesting first visit, to say the least, but a good introduction I'd say.

I recently relocated to the Austin area for work (although I’ll be flying back to SoCal often) and figured I’d re-up my 2020 pass at Fiesta Texas instead of Magic Mountain. I knew yesterday would be busy, but I figured it’d be a good opportunity to get to know the park, crowd watch, and maybe jump on a couple of rides. It was busy, but not absurd, so I managed to get on all the major stuff that I wanted. It was my first visit so I don’t know how I feel about the park yet overall, and I think I should make a few more visits before I decide. I found the place to be very scenic, but Six Flags-scenic (a bit inconsistent). The boardwalk area looked especially nice at night, and I’d love to see more parks develop boardwalk / carnival-style sections like this. A few thoughts on the rides: Poltergeist: I’d ridden the indoor version of this at Kings Island and kind of disliked it there — mainly because it’s a ride that warrants defensive riding, which is impossible in the dark. The Kings Island one was a combo of rough and snappy which, when ridden in the dark, resulted in pain. This was better, but it’s still whippy and rough. Operations were brutal; between eight and twelve minutes per dispatch. This, it turns out, was the fault of walks of shame. The train in front of me had seven and the one behind me had five. The ejected were definitely big, but not spectacularly so. The issue, it seems, is that the seats fold you forward in kind of an extreme way — which isn’t great for folks carrying extra weight. As such, a “25-minute wait” was well over an hour. It’s fun enough, but it’s not something I’d ride often if there’s a line. Wonder Woman: A “20-minute wait” was more like 90 minutes (full switchbacks) because they were only filling three or four seats per train consistently. The line jumping was so out of control that I’d just call it a free-for-all. Dispatches were fast (three trains on constant rotation), but because they could only seat so few, most of the trains went too fast pass holders or went unfilled. Once I got to the station, I saw what the problems were in terms of only partially filling trains. They did indeed have several seats blocked off, but the odd loading system seems designed to fail. As for the ride, I’m not as big a fan of RMC as most, and this kind of summed up everything I tend not to like about their more recent designs. The ride seemed way too fast for such a small layout, and it was all over in seconds. It’s certainly intense, but the intensity was more about the positive forces than the negatives, a couple of which bordered on gray-out inducing. It has the thigh-bruising ejection of other RMC rides, but in this case, it’s really only two uncomfortable slams (the first bunny-hop thing and the drop that follows the spiral. The first drop looked way worse than it was, and after that, much of it was a blur. For me, it was all breakneck speed and not that much fun. I thought the best part was looking at the drop while going up the hill — which just looks nuts. I was pretty amazed that the ride could handle such tight moves at that pace, but it makes sense given the proximity of the train to the track. I rode it again at night before I left, and my impressions are largely the same. From the perspective of innovation, it’s great. It really does seem like a lot could be done with this concept, but this particular model’s not for me. I think the design would benefit from something more spread out or just longer (like the Poltergeist spaghetti bowl, or a really creative rethinking of a wild mouse). Don’t get me wrong, I’ll ride it again on revisits because I didn’t find it overly unpleasant. But the speed is just too ridiculous for such a compact track. Superman: Again, an astounding amount of line jumping — like, shameless line jumping. There was no staff to be seen, so I guess it’s to be expected. Fortunately, the line for this was short — in spite of the line jumpers. As far as the ride goes, it’s a fun B&M floorless. The acceleration into the first dive was great, as was the turnaround / rise up and drop out of the brake run. The rest was kind of standard-fare B&M (not a bad thing). As someone who actually likes Magic Mountain’s Scream (when it’s running well, at least), I do kind of prefer that one. Yet, I think I prefer Superman to Rougarou though as that was rough as hell when I rode it in its opening year. (I took a second ride later at night and in the back seat. Again, the two drops from the cliff are great. The rest is textbook B&M.) Iron Rattler: This ended up being closer to a 90-minute wait. It was the weed-smoking section, it seems. The ride was running one train, dispatching every five or so minutes, so the queue was a place for folks to chill and get high. The line jumping was bad, but not as bad as the other rides because the line really wasn’t moving anywhere. Once the line got to the ramps, the line jumpers really had to work extra hard. Anyhow, the ride’s fantastic. This is the kind of RMC I love: a good mix of intensity and plain old fun. It’s quite short (too short, really), but the first drop and subsequent elements are all great and so well paced. No RMC is ever rough, but this one’s extremely smooth all the way around. I sat in the back and I suspect this would be great in the front as well. I still give Twisted Colossus the edge for first-drop intensity, but this is a fantastic coaster. Of the RMCs I’ve ridden (about six or so), Texas Giant and this one are at the top. Road Runner Express: The purported 50-minute wait was actually 10 minutes, and the station was nicely shaded. I love old-school arrow mine trains and this is one of the best I’ve been on. A really unique layout with more speed and force than you usually get on these models. The first drop was surprising and the ride was pretty smooth overall given the more “intense” layout. Really great coaster for its type. Batman: I was dreading this as Green Lantern is, by a very long shot, the worst ride I’ve ever been on. X2, in my perspective, isn’t far behind. But X2 can be tolerable if you know how to ride it and / or plan your day around a potential migraine / injury. While I assumed this would be more comfortable than Green Lantern, I still anticipated it being an awful ride. Well, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I don’t know if I’d ride it again as it’s the opposite of fun for me, but it was smooth throughout and the spins weren’t uncomfortable. It’s disorienting to the point where you can’t see a thing — basically making it a pointless experience IMO — but it wasn’t painful. When it does face plant you, you certainly feel it, but it’s nothing like the pain produced by GL. I skipped Goliath as it’s a Batman clone that I’ve ridden many times before (it looks cool at the entrance though). Also, I skipped Pandemonium because I’ve ridden something like it at the other Texas Six Flags. Boomerang was down (terrible shame) and I skipped Fireball as I’ve ridden the carnie version and am totally fine never riding one of those again. Joker drew huge crowds all day, and I’ve been on Crazanity a bunch so I didn’t need to ride it. I’m sure everyone knows by now that Crazanity and Joker are incredibly intense rides, and perfect for parks like this. I hope more parks invest in them going forward. I rode Sky Screamer and Scream as well. Sky Screamer gave great views despite being somewhat shorter than others I’ve ridden. It was still pretty freaky. Scream seemed unusually tame. Supreme Scream at Knotts is probably my favorite drop tower, but it goes to show that size matters as the Fiesta tower felt surprisingly small. Still, I love S&S drops. So, a decent first visit in which I rode much more than I had expected. I’ll return soon on a slower day so that I can really take in the details more, but it looks like the park has very limited hours right now.

No, an official source/statement — not a personal guess / assumption. Given how definite your claim is, I'm interested in learning what happened and why what was an almost-complete track is now missing pieces.

Really? Where was this announced? Would you mind providing your source, as I'm curious to see what else they had to say alongside that point! I was there a few days ago and the track was almost complete. There were a few remaining parts across from the parking lot, but unless they're expanding it beyond plans, I wonder what's now missing? Did they take parts out and send them away again? I know they initially had problems shipping the parts in from China, but from what I gathered, the pieces were all on-site.

Nah, it was the edge, but the front is always a little less brutal I find. I don't ride it often and I think the last time I rode it, it must have been just prior to a maintenance cycle. Scream can be similar: usually, it's smooth but it can get super rough and rattly too.

I'm not a fan of stand-ups at all and I'm not particularly into B&M loopers — especially when it feels like a ride is just a catalog of stock elements. I rode it in the front on Sunday as well and it was indeed good. The last few times I've ridden it, it's boxed my ears in pretty bad, but not this time.

I'm apt to agree. I've been to the park a few times this summer (the time of year where I usually avoid the parks) and today was my last visit for a little while (probably until Halloween). Ghost Rider operations are as good as they can be right now. They're using a grouper, which means you sit where you're placed, but with two trains and a full station of staff, they're hammering through the line at a respectable pace. The single rider line, albeit inconsistent depending on the grouper, is fantastic overall. I got three back-to-back rides in today with ease. The ride's just hitting the "rough around the edges" point right now, but it's still running brilliantly. It's basically peak Ghost Rider. Xcelerator, on the other hand, is struggling a bit. On slower days, it's often a station wait. Now, though, not so much. Today, it was about 30 minutes — which isn't bad considering that they're running one train with a few busted seats. The other train is in pieces next to the track, so hopefully, they'll swap them out soon. Hang Time was about 20 minutes, and several of the others were walk-ons.

It certainly is freakier than other drop rides. Supreme Scream, for example, has none of that same effect on me because it feels like a more robust structure and the gondolas hug the track. Lex Luther is way more wobbly and creaky and open. So, yeah, this experience was less than pleasant. It could have been worse, I suppose, and we could have been stuck up there longer with a more serious issue. Ops were solid today with two trains on pretty much everything. Only Scream and TC were struggling it seemed (I've never seen a line for Scream, but there's been one the last two times I've visited). Oddly, Goliath maintained about a 3-train wait for much of the afternoon, even when other rides were seeing hefty lines. I watched a rider in front of me pass out and flop around, not on the helix but on the first drop and throughout the ride. She was pretty anxious while boarding, asking ops to check her restraint multiple times.

I have a love/hate relationship with drop towers; the drops rarely bother me but the ascent / suspension on the tower can really freak me out. I often skip Lex Luther as I find the drop oddly tame, but also because I find the tower and ride system terrifying (even though I’ve ridden it a lot). I have an irrational fear of the track somehow peeling off the tower or the mechanism failing to release resulting in me getting stuck up there and in need of some dramatic rescue involving a massive ladder. I jumped on it today as I won’t be back to the park for a while and, what do you know, it got stuck at the top. I’m sure this is common and plenty of folks here have experienced it, but I wonder if anyone knows the mechanics of what happened? Superman rocked the tower right as the mechanism released (after the recorded audio), but the car didn’t drop (it just did that little pre-drop bounce it does). We were stuck up there for about 15 minutes with the ride ops communicating through the speakers. Once the mechanics arrived, they were able to drop the car as normal after giving us a warning. The ops gave everyone a free skip-the-line pass (which I used on TC as the line was bad due to one of the train being in pieces). It was super windy and wobbly up there, and they thankfully stopped launching Superman. Needless to say, my anxiety was either cured or made much worse. My guess is that there’s more than one release on the lifting mechanism and the system stopped one from releasing (a magnet?) We could hear the pulley system start moving at one point, but it seemed like it was just resetting or something rather than working to release us. Never again! Well, until next time!

X2 is working today.

A couple of quick WCR update pics. I’d say the track’s about 80% complete. There’s a little shop thing there now pre-selling junk. I’m not one for theme park couture, but they have t-shirts and flip flops and other items for those who care. Just saw someone puke with gusto on Tatsu’s brake run. Also, Crazanity seems to be busted. The moose out front said it’d probably be down for the rest of the day.

I've only ever seen that happen a couple of times — even on super dead days. It means that you only potentially get one duel per ride. But dueling is a real crapshoot these days because of the ride's design. Operations are consistently excellent, but the ride itself — combined with the stunning ineptitude of park guests — are working against duels. The park managed it for some time but it just seemed to be a Sisyphean task. I'm not privy to their maintenance schedules, so thanks for the insider info. IMO, summer is the off-season, for enthusiasts at least (miserable weather, miserable crowds etc.) Go to SFMM at this time of year at your own risk. If you must go at this time, I'd recommend weekdays over weeknights, and definitely steer clear of weekends if possible. The real fun begins in just a couple of weeks when the park is regularly quiet, there are no lines to speak of, and everything's running tip-top. That's been the case for the last couple of years. I was there on Tuesday and they were running two trains on Ninja, Batman, Tatsu, Riddler, Gold Rusher, Yolo (I didn't check Goliath or Revolution). TC was running three trains. Operations were solid and seemed in-line with usual summer crowds, but Viper only had one train running. That ride's usually a walk-on no matter what time of year, so I can see why they might cut back operations a bit there. As a result, there was about a 15-minute wait.