Photo TR: Coaster Palooza X.2 The Texas Version

[Coaster Palooza]

Day 1 – Saturday July 1

 

As usual we take the late night flight out of San Jose. We arrive in San Antonio at 4am instead of 3:30. At this point what is time really? We made it to our hotel around 4:30 and fell asleep until around 7am. We really wanted to get to SFFT by the time they opened. It was only around 20 minutes from the hotel.

 

When we arrived we noticed that the parking lot wasn’t too full and yes, we paid $15 to park and got the free map with it! We headed on into the park. I was at the park in 1996 and I was fascinated by the rock quarry look of it and I was happy to see that it was still there. We got through the gate around 9:45 and had to wait for them to drop the rope.

 

Once the rope was dropped, we headed straight to Superman. We were second in line and the first train was ready to dispatch at 10am! It was great, I was thinking that this would be awesome to get on this a couple times early and then enjoy the rest of the park. The ride op went to dispatch the train and ….. OOOPS! What?? What did she do? The other op came over and threw his hands in the air! She must have hit something wrong. They unloaded the train and waited for maintenance to show up. After around 10 minutes, they arrived, turned a key, and dispatched the train. They loaded the train again and the maintenance man had left by this time when…. SHE DID IT AGAIN! This time they were able to correct it and dispatch the train. It is now 10:20 and we are second in line to ride it. I’m thinking this day has to get better. Superman Krypton Coaster by the way is a great ride. It is a floorless that really uses its landscape. I have read many reports on how great a ride this is and they are all true. They were also running 3 trains.

 

We went to ride their drop tower called Scream! The ride ops were pretty funny. There wasn’t any waiting and I walked up to one of the towers and the seats just got full. There were 2 empty seats, but they were separate. We decided we wanted to ride together. The ride op said the other tower will be going soon, even though that one isn’t as good as mine. I got a little chuckle out of this and when we got over to the other tower, I told that ride op that she said his tower sucked! He laughed and looked at her. There were pretty good moods all the way around. Next, we went on the Scooby Doo Ghostblasters. We didn’t know they had an on-ride photo and we proceeded to have the worst one taken of us! We were in the Boardwalk section of the park and I wanted to look at the area where Joker’s Revenge used to be. I rode that thing around 10 times back in 1996. Poltergeist was close by and I wanted to ride that. There was absolutely no waiting for all of these rides! It was great for a Saturday on a Holiday weekend. We had to get our Der Rollschuhcoaster credit next and then it was time for a snack before we headed over to the Rattler. Rattler is where we encountered our only line of the day! It was also where we had line jumpers too. I think it is just pathetic to think that you aren’t cutting in line if your friend is “saving my place” ahead. It is still cutting in line! I didn’t get into a fight or anything, but I did say a few things. We saw the rest of a show near by after we rode Road Runner Express and then headed for the exit. Boomerang wasn’t running. It was actually testing as we headed out. I rode it before, so it didn’t really matter and I knew Gyendolynne wasn’t going to ride it.

 

We went to downtown San Antonio Riverwalk for lunch/dinner at the Hard Rock Café and also to see the Alamo. This was the busiest area we would encounter for the day. I took Gyendolynne to Dick’s Last Resort also after we ate at Hard Rock. This HRC is the best one that we have been to yet. The waiters and waitresses are very interactive with the music that is playing. One waiter performed to “Like a Virgin” (Madonna) on the stairway and it was completely hysterical. The next song they performed to was YMCA. All of them made a bee-line for the stairs to get their spots. It was well choreographed.

 

We headed to Sea World after our fun downtown! We have platinum passes from Sea World San Diego that have gotten a lot of use. This would be our 3rd Sea World Park. All we have left is Busch Gardens in Williamsburg to go to. I am not planning on going to Sesame Place or the other couple of parks.

 

What can I say about Sea World? They have Shamu, Sharks, Dolphins, and other animals along with beer and a couple of roller coasters. Their shows are always done very well. We saw the Pirates 4D show first and then tried to see the 7:45pm Shamu show. Remember, we are still operating on a couple hours of sleep. The 7:45 show was packed. We decided to do some more of the park and then see the 9:30 show. This turned out to be a good idea. We rode Great White with minimal wait (3 trains for the front seat) and Steel Eel (2 trains for the front seat). They have a strange policy at Sea World in regards to hats. You MUST put your hat in a cubicle BEFORE you go into the queuing area. There is an attendant that won’t let you into the line until you put it there. I thought that was strange because it was just for the hats! Gyendolynne had a beer in her hand and they let her walk right on in. I guess that a beer is okay in Anheuser Busch parks, but a hat isn’t. When we got on the ride, Gyendolynne handed her empty bottle to the ride op and he set it on the deck. Couldn’t I do this with my hat????

 

By the time we got back to Shamu’s part of the park, it was time for the show. I am so glad we saw this one. It is a very patriotic show and it is different than their “Believe” show that they do during the day. In this show, all 5 of the killer whales are being used. You can really see that the trainer and Shamu have a great bond.

 

After all that, I guess it is time to get back to the hotel for tomorrow!

 

Here are the pics!

They have some cool aligators

Next stop, 4D show with goofy glasses, we did get wet.

First stop, free beer...

Here I am showing off my Platinum Pass.

Bald Eagle statue out front.

Onto Sea World

This will be the last pic I take there.

The Alamo is next.

Here's the other one.

Sorry about the language in this photo, but Gyendolynne found the restroom signs funny.

We went to Dick's Last Resort next

YMCA came on and they all ran for the stairs to perform. This was a very active staff. The best Hard Rock that we have been to.

Check out the neon sign

This waiter was performing Like A Virgin.

Here we are

They have this car hanging from the ceiling.

Hard Rock Cafe is next.

That's it from Six Flags Fiesta Texas!

Watch that hand Foghorn Leghorn!

After the ride, we saw this show next door. They sang very good.

Here's our on-ride photo

After the ride, I saw these shoes and, yes, they reminded me again of the Jimmy episode from Seinfeld.

This rock is really close to the Road Runner train as you go by

Here's the queue, not too long of a wait, maybe 3 trains.

Good theming...

Next ride...

Rattler's massive lift hill

The Rattler fly by the station.

There are rules to riding this ride.

Scary snake!

No rest for the wary though, onto Rattler!

a foot massage is helpful during the break

Time for a snack (beer) and a picture by the waterfall

The shoe coaster, they have an on-ride photo!

and in case you haven't seen enough of Poltergeist, here is a parting shot.

Yep, another shot

I guess I had a few photos of this

Poltergeist is close by...on ride photos were not working today

Our Superman on ride photo

Worst on ride photo of us.

We have our guns, now for the competition!

Scooby Doo time!

Unfortunately Joker's Revenge doesn't exist anymore.

It is 4th of July weekend, very patriotic!

Smashed penny denial!

This is us during the stacking of 3 trains in the Superman station.

Six Flags IS family friendly, see, they have characters walking around.

This statue was just outside their auditorium

Getting through the metal detectors.

thank goodness for metal detectors!

we're here....

the fountain at the entrance...

a shot of the quarry...

The view of the tower...

Here we are at Six Flags!

There wasn't any damage and we figured that a big vehicle must have backed into it and broke it off the tree. There wasn't any other tree damage.

This is where it broke off from the tree.

I got out of the car and took this pic because I really couldn't believe it.

I didn't think it would rain too long, but we notice this on the hood of the car as we looked out the windshield.

Here we are in the car at the hotel on day 1 because it is raining outside!

[stingrock23]

Great pics so far. Poltergeist looks interesting.

[Coaster Palooza]

Day 1 continued, just a few more pics.

All 5 are out to end the day.

Here's the multiple tale flipping.

more spraying and splashing

Full shot of the pool

This MC had a lot of energy. Once again, I can't believe how blurry it is.

Very Patriotic!

I like this move when she stands on Shamu's nose.

They are just swimming around

A shot of the big screen

The trainer and Shamu really have a close bond

Riding Shamu! Can I try?

A little blurry, sorry, this will become a theme for the show pictures unfortunately.

It's not a Shamu show without a splash.

Onto the Shamu show. We were able to get seats for the 9:30 show.

I think the sign out front scared everyone away.

It is a smooth ride

OOOOH! Scary!

Here's our on-ride photo on Great White

They have characters too, that means they are family friendly.

This was the, "I can't believe they won't let me bring my hat in, but they let you carry your beer!" She gave it to the ride attendant and he put it on the ground. Couldn't they have done that with my hat?

Cool theming here too.

We decide to go ride Great White

Too crowded and we didn't have a seat. We decided to leave and come back for the 9:30 show.

Sorry about the blurriness

This is how crowded the Shamu show was for 7:45pm

I don't know how safe those fish felt.

[trustkill22]

I always thought SFFT was a little amusing being with the huge rock walls. I've actually wanted to go there just to see them I just don't know why.

 

And WOW was I pumped to see that you went to Dicks. Everyyear its a tradition that me and my family goto Dicks at Myrtle Beach. That place is great for a good laugh and some good food.

 

Question: Did they make any of those big paper hats with sayings on them like "My legs are like a Exxon gas station, Open 24 hours". << (A bit inappropriate but hey thats what they say.)

[coasterbilly]

man you're awesome, I love your reports so far, keep them coming!

[dandaman]

What a start to the day.

 

How come there's no "human Shamu" pics like Robb and Elissa's Sea World TR's?

[Bubba Z]

Did you find the basement at the Alamo ? Great TR so far, SFFT looks nice, it's one six flags that I'm still looking forward to.

[pvcoasterguy]

Fiesta Texas has got to be one of the best-run Six Flags parks. Every TR that I see of it is positive. Great America is about the only other one that I see positive reviews of nearly every time.

[Coaster Palooza]

^5 - trustkill22 - I have been to Dick's with many different paper hats. We didn't see any this time, it was my wife's first time there.

 

^3 - We didn't take any pics of Human Shamus unfortunately.

 

^2 - Bubba - no basement at the Alamo, I do love PeeWee's Big Adventure though.

 

^ - I have to agree on the fact that SFFT is a well run park. We had a good time there.

 

I will hopefully post day 2 pics tomorrow. I am having some work done on the house and the computer has to get plugged in everytime I use it. It is a little hastle to hook it all up each time.

 

Thanks for the responses!

[Hattuchili]

Hey Rick, that TPR was as good as always! I really missed TPR in the last month, but now I got another schedule and I hope I will find more time to write, again! Anyway, I am looking forward to see more pictures!

 

--Sören

[socalMAN123]

Wow, Rick, sounds like you're having fun! Great pics, can't wait to see more!

---Brent

[haiderodes]

Fun trip!

 

I too am one of those people who always wanted to go to SFFT just to see the quarry walls and how they surround the park. I hear they have some really good shows as well.

 

As for Sea World, thier Shamu Stadium looks way different that the others. Its 360 almost, kinda like a football stadium versus the regular ampitheater set up like the others. Looks like they could do some cool things with that kind of set up. Plus it looks to be completely covered!

[coasterbuzz36763]

sounds like fun, wish I was there

[Coaster Palooza]

Hey Soren, great to hear from you! I always like your posts of the random things you do.

 

^^ - Yes the Shamu show is a little different. The stadium is completely covered, which is great for that Texas heat! We have been to all 3 Sea Worlds and saw all the Shamu shows. They always get so crowded.

 

Thanks again for the replies.

[jamesdillaman]

Well, having been to SFFT, what did you think (besides the bad operation) of Superman: Krypton Coaster? I love this ride, it's a big contender for my favorite floorless coaster, and I wish more people would get down to SFFT and ride it.

-James Dillaman

[Coaster Palooza]

We thought it was a great floorless coaster. It is very smooth. We had a ride in the front row and one in the back row. Both were great. Medusa at SFMW is very smooth too, but I liked Superman at SFFT better because of how they use the quarry with the ride. I think Gyendolynne likes Medusa at SFMW better though.

[PhishyBrewer]

Yeah for SeaWorld... the one I'll never visit because I'm afraid of Texas.

[Coaster Palooza]

Day 2 – July 2

 

Yesterday was very eventful. Today we wanted to finish up seeing the shows at Sea World and then jump on a plane for Dallas. It was raining when we left the hotel and also as we pulled into the park. Platinum Passes kick a$$! We had premium parking both days and didn’t have to pay to park. All their employees recognized it too, which I thought was great training by them. They don’t sell a premium pass in San Antonio and for them to recognize it was great. All the Anheuser parks that we have gone to have been absolutely awesome.

 

We got our show schedule and map and Gyendolynne got a poncho for the day. I didn’t want one because I thought the rain would stop at some point. It did by the way! The show schedule changed a little bit. Every time I looked at it on-line, I saw that the dolphin show was at 10:45am every day! Today, the first show wasn’t until 12:45. Shamu’s first show was at 11am and then at 12:30. We decided to go ride Steel Eel and Great White in the rain and wait to see the Shamu show at 12:30. Both coasters had no lines what so ever. The thing that struck me as odd was the water ride next to Great White had a line! Who wants to get wet when it’s raining? We had lunch at the BBQ place by Great White. I don’t know what it is about Anheuser Busch parks, but all their BBQ places are awesome. The food is prepared the same at each park. It is great to see the consistency. We headed to the Shamu show after lunch. Believe is a very nice show. Once again, the trainer and Shamu have a special bond. After the show we went to see some sharks and have a little hospitality (for those who don’t know, you get 2 free beers to “sample” at the hospitality center in Anheuser Busch parks).

 

The time was 2pm and our flight didn’t leave until 7:30. We thought, what the heck, why not try to change our flight to an earlier one? We arrived at the airport and were told to be on stand-by for the 4pm flight to Dallas. We actually made it on! We took a taxi to Hard Rock Café in Dallas. It is only about 15 minutes from the airport. We flew on Southwest and they land at Love Field. DFW is on the other side of town by Arlington (which is also by Six Flags). The Dallas HRC is the 4th one built in the USA and the 9th one built in the world. It is the Supreme Court of Rock & Roll. However, on this day it was completely dead! We ate dinner and took a taxi to DFW to pick up our car rental. We are flying home from DFW on 7/4 and we need to return a rental car there instead of Love Field.

 

It was 7pm and I knew that SFOT wasn’t closing until 10pm. We decided to go there on the way back to the hotel to see what we could ride. When we arrived at the gate, we noticed that not all of the rides were running. In fact, Judge Roy Scream was the only one operating. The toll booth lady had her hand on her chin and looked really depressed. She asked us if we were here to ride the roller coasters. We said yes. She said they’re all closed because of lightning in the area. I asked if we could still park and she said okay, no charge! We parked in the premium parking and went in. First thing we did was head to JRS to ride it, since it was the only thing operating. Great ride, not the best, but I am into the old wooden coasters. We rode it twice and noticed that Superman was running, then Titan, the Texas Giant, holy cow! We got back in and rode Batman, since we were over there anyway, then I rode Flashback. This is where I encountered line jumpers. Next we rode Mini Mine train. The ride ops on this ride were total jerks and smart a$$e$ about it! We realized that we both couldn’t fit in one row. I went to the back of the train and Gyendolynne went to the middle. I got through the gate that felt like it was open forever, when Gyendolynne was starting to go through, the ride op closed it on her! I looked at Gyen and she said the girl looked right at her and did it on purpose. I stood up out of my seat and to the left (loading area) of the train. The male op on the left side asked, “Are you having a problem or just goofing around?” I said that I want to ride the ride, but I would like to ride it with my wife. Can you open the gate? They got miffed and then become even more smart a$$e$. It’s a kid ride for crying out loud! Once we got off that, we rode the mine train next to it. I liked the mine train in the end because of the saloon and the tunnel, otherwise it was all that great. We walked by Superman. It was the only ride we encountered with a wait. Oil Drigger was closed because of the high winds. At this point we thought we better try to get on Titan and Texas Giant. We rode Giant first in the front row (2 train wait for the front!). What a great ride, but only in the front. We would find out tomorrow that the ride in the last row is TERRIBLE.

 

We went to Titan next and wanted to wait for the front. It was around 9:40 at this point. The parade was still going on.

 

When we were around 7 trains from riding it, the ride op came over the loudspeaker and said, “The park is closed, if you are in line waiting for the front row, we are only running 2 more trains. The last two on the ride will be the guy in the green shirt and his friend in the white shirt.”

 

We were around 5 groups (trains) from these people. I thought, this SUCKS. Why not say that BEFORE we get in line and wait? We stood there for 20 minutes for no reason. We could have ridden in another row and ridden it already. I also haven’t encountered that before. I thought if you were in line, then they would run it. Titan is a good ride. I think it is a little more forceful than Goliath at SFMM. Since the park is closed, it is time to leave. Unfortunately there are quite a few people trying to leave, especially since the ballgame just ended too. For those that don’t know, the ballpark in Arlington (where the Texas Rangers play) is right next to SFOT. It took a little while and, with the help of a police officer, we were able to get out of there. We thought, hey what a great day! We were in San Antonio at Sea World, we were able to change our flight to an earlier one, we hit the HRC, and we went to SFOT and almost rode all the coasters.

 

What can happen tomorrow?

Any ride is good with little or no wait.

Batman should be better. The lightning left the area and everything opened back up!

Oh my god, this is going to hurt....

On-Ride photo...teheee

It's running, and it is operating 2 trains with no wait!

I don't know, it's worth a shot to go over that way....

The Justice League was there...

The band was playing, but no ride was running because of lightning in the area.

By getting on the earlier flight, we were able to stop off at SFOT before they closed.

Use the napkin when you're making a mess.

uh-oh, not another close pic...

Elvis was there! See I told you this place was dead....

Just look away people, I tend to make a mess with the wings. I think I'm going to need a napkin.

I warned you earlier about the up close pictures today.

but it wasn't crowded, it was his 21st birthday though.

This was a neat Hard Rock,

mmmm, time for a beverage.

See, we have our suitcases!

Straight from the airport to here.

Hello Hard Rock Cafe Dallas!

Good-bye Sea World,

Now for the second reason we are here, free beer, or Hospitality!!!

The two down below seem to be just laying there, waiting....

Pretty scary looking

da da....da da....da da... it's their theme song

Big aquariums, but where are the sharks?

Every time I see a stingray now, I think of Finding Nemo!

and those look like stingrays.

Onto the Shark exhibit, but wait, these are jelly fish

No hamlet would be complete without Natalie the donkey!

Yep, the Clydesdales

In case you didn't know, here's where we are!

Not a really good shot, but the mare is cleaning the foal and vice versa.

A new foal was born! I guess even horses get born on dating....

Another ski show shot.

A little bit of the ski show.

and a third one, just for good measure.

Here's another.

The following pics are a couple shots of Steel Eel

Four of the five whales are splashing the audience. No one ran too, not like at Sea World San Diego!

and then it's come chase me.

A little more bonding.....

Just awesome!

Like I said before, I think this is one of the coolest things to be riding on his nose.

Here's the bond that they have.

Blurry pictures...GRRRR, she lays down on Shamu and has him take her out of the stadium. It was really great to see!

The show is starting.

This type of picture becomes a habit today.

Time for some ice cream and the Shamu show.

I figured, what the hell, I will spend a quarter to get them wet. Look just to the left of my face, that is the water coming at them that I am shooting.

As is normal with the south, it stops raining and warms up. We decided to have the BBQ for lunch. All Anheuser Busch parks have a great BBQ place by the way!

Great White's loop

I really couldn't believe that there was a wait for this. There was no wait for Steel Eel and Great White!

It's wet and rainy and these people are waiting for the water ride

Nothing like a perfect on ride photo, eh?

ride the coaster with no wait!

First thing we have to do is....

Gyendolynne needed the poncho

We're at Sea World in the rain and these two employees were pretty funny just outside the gate as we walked up.

We think this was the vehicle that knocked the branch on our car yesterday. It seems to have the right height for it?

[Coaster Palooza]

More pics from Day 2

Here we are on Texas Giant.

 

Thanks, More pics to be up soon...

It's the #1 wooden coaster....in 1999.

Here's the line for Texas Giant

There's only one Superman though....at this park

Hmmmmm, which one, Mini Mine Train, or Mine Train, so many decisions.

Hey, it's their 45th anniversay. I can tell because it is all over their trash cans!

Mr. Freeze, why do you mock us so...

[Hattuchili]

Ahh, more great pictures from your trip! It looks like you had a fantstic day and the food looks awesome, again! I am really looking forward for my days off! Then I am also going to a park and enjoy the rides and the food! hehe... Anyway, I hope to see more pitures, soon! Rick, great TPR so far!

 

--Sören

[Coaster Palooza]

Just one more day to add here Soren. I hope you have fun on your days off and I am looking forward to some trip reports from you too.

[PhishyBrewer]

Must be nice not having any kids

[fmulder21]

What did you do with the seaworld pics steal my Nikon!?

[Coaster Palooza]

^^Wally, yes it is nice not having kids....at the moment.

 

^No one ever said that the Sea World pics were exclusive shots!

[verticalzero]

Great report and lovely photo's

 

What is Steel Eel like to ride, does it have much

 

Is the Rattler a good ride or is it rough..?