San Antonio Advice

[hollers25]

Hello, all!

My husband and I are taking a sort-of last minute vacation to San Antonio in March, and I'm hoping some of you can give me some tips or opinions on the area, as we've never been there.

 

We're going March 7 through 13th. He has a drag racing thing that's going to eat up all day the 8th and probably most of the 10th, too. We know we have to do the Alamo, but what else? I noticed that SFFT and Sea World both open that weekend, and we'd like to do at least one of them. If we ~have~ to do only one, which one should we do? It occurs to me that we'll be there at the height of Spring Break , so any tips on how to deal with that would also be appreciated.

 

Also, any suggestions on places to eat, especially along the Riverwalk, would be helpful, too. And anything else that we "must see". Really, any advice anyone can offer would be great - I usually like the planning part of trips almost as much as the trip itself, so this feels very rushed and last minute to me, and I 'm looking for HELP!

[XanderLee]

Well...Both parks will be busy probably but it all depends on what you want to do.

 

There are only 4 coasters at Sea World (one being kiddie, one being well..questionable)...and Fiesta Texas has 8 with only one being a kiddie coaster. Fiesta also has Flash Pass, so there is a way to beat the crowd..sort of.

 

Sea World is open each day you will be in San Antonio and you really should go if at all possible. It's only about 15 minutes from Six Flags.

 

San Antonio is really a tourist destination, so going at spring break will mean things are probably pretty busy...

 

As far as food and the river walk...you definitely need to go to the river walk...I always try to eat at a place called Casa Rio. It's very historic (First San Antonio business to open their doors on the river walk) and inexpensive. They can get quite a wait, though... Last time I went they were closed for a private function and I had to chose another restaurant and I was very disappointed in it...can't remember the name though.

 

Also if you like burgers, cheese (lots and lots of cheese) and hole in the wall burger joints, you should try Chris Madrid's. It is consistently voted San Antonio's best burger joint.

 

You might also want to check out Hemisfair Park (Site of Hemisfair '68) and the Tower of The Americas. San Antonio also has a critically acclaimed zoo, but I was disappointed in it the last time I went.

 

Hopefully this will be some help to you..if you have any more questions let me know!

 

-Xander

[Olsor]

Which park you visit depends on your preference. SeaWorld's got only a few big rides, but it's a beautiful park, it's got good food, and there's plenty of non-coaster stuff to see (penguins, sharks, dolphins, Shamu). Fiesta Texas is the more traditional amusement park, with more rides and shows.

 

Personally, I'm a bigger fan of SeaWorld. A lot of locals still don't even know that SeaWorld has rides, so you don't have the same type of crowds (read: throngs of teens) and lines that you have at Fiesta Texas. But they're both terrific parks. They just offer different things, and they complement each other well.

 

Definitely see the Alamo. It doesn't take too long, even if you do the tour. If you want to avoid crowds at the Riverwalk, go during the day, or go during early evening or late at night. You really can't go wrong with any of the restaurants there, although I'd avoid the national chains (Dick's Last Resort, Hard Rock Cafe, Rainforest Cafe), just because you can eat at those places in any city. As mentioned, Casa Rio is excellent. If you want some terrific barbecue, try County Line. And two great places to get a drink are Jim Cullum's Landing (jazz bar), which is right next to Mad Dogs, which has a British-pub theme.

 

You can also visit the San Antonio missions: http://www.nps.gov/saan/. And northeast of town, you can visit New Braunfels and Gruene (locally pronounced like "green"). They've got cute downtown areas with shops and antiques, and they have a lot of bed and breakfast type places.

 

And if you're into live music, Austin's a little over an hour's drive northeast of San Antonio. There's more music there than you can shake a stick at.

[SharkTums]

Riverwalk is very nice, I've eaten at most of the big non national chains along there and the only one I remember being disappointed in was the Italian place. Heck, even the Chinese restaurant was good, but stay away from the Italian place!

 

Like others have said, deciding between SFFT and Sea World is just preference.

[hollers25]

Thanks, guys! That was very helpful. We'll definitely have to check out Casa Rio, and possibly Jim Cullum's. And we'll be sure to avoid the Italian place, of course!

Still trying to decide about the theme parks. Leaning towards Sea World, though, mainly out of concern for the crowds...

Thanks again!

[jamesdillaman]

Two words of advice:

 

1: SFFT is actually one of my favorite six flags parks, and Krypton Coaster is one of the best floorless coasters out there. Poltergeist is fun if you've never been on a spaghetti bowl with out the building around it. As far as Sea World goes, it does have a couple great rides, but I actually enjoyed SFFT better. You might also consider stopping at Schlitterbahn either on your way in or out, as it is hands down one of the best waterparks in the nation. If you do go, stay away from the weekends there, as crowds can be appalling.

 

2. Don't piss on the Alamo.

 

-James Dillaman

[hollers25]

2. Don't piss on the Alamo.

Dang it! And we had a whole theme day planned, finishing with a trip to see the bats in Austin...

 

I looked into Schlitterbahn, but from what I can tell by their website they don't open until April. A shame, but I'm having a hard enough time deciding between two parks. Thanks for the tips, though!

[Sue]

Since this thread is about San Antonio, does anyone know of any decent discounts for Sea World(i.e. not just a couple dollars off)? Our friends who were visitng last October said someone gave them coupons out of a local paper for 1/2 price so I'm trying to find something along those lines.

[cpfan101]

Here is my take on what to do.

 

Definately see the Riverwalk and there is a lot of shopping to do around town. There definately is not a shortage of things you can do while in San Antonio. Personally, I live here, so I don't think the Alamo is all that amazing, but tourists love it. (I think it's because I have lived here for 17 years.)

 

Between the 2 parks.

 

SFFT has more roller coasters however, some of the shows are just country singing and Mexican dancing, and frankly, not my cup of tea. During Spring Break, prepare for lines and lines and more lines! The park does have roller coasters, however, outside of roller coasters, there are only a handful of flats. If you don't see any shows and just do the rides, granted some are AMAZING!, you can easily have the park done in half a day. I went on the day of the Plain White T's concert and we started at 11 o'clock and were done by 3. Take my advice, do not ride in the back car on the Rattler. IMO, the rides they have are fun but are not very thrilling. They are more fun but just leave you wanting "more". Also, the park can get very dirty and frankly, is way overpriced in terms of food and drink. Also, avoid the water park, its disgusting.

 

Sea World is the more family oriented all day walk in the park type experience. The water park here is pretty darn good and really clean. As far as rides, there is not all that there however they do have the more intense Batman clone of the 2 here and a pretty good hyper if you sit in the back. (Yes, our clone is more intense because it is like 100 or so feet shorter because they removed all of the straight sections of track from it to cram it into a smaller space.) The shows here are pretty good too. Definately check out the VIVA! show as it is really fast paced and interesting. A word of advice: as you walk into the park, the main way to go is right of the fountain since the park is based around a lake and that is where all of the rides are. However, if you go left at the fountain, you find a small area of park where Dolphin Cove, Hospitality House, and Sharks are. Also, the food is much more reasonably priced however, I might suggest eating at the Rio Loco Bar B Q resturant as frankly, the BBQ there is pretty darn good but it will be expensive since it is a theme park resturant. Also, I haven't tried this but I have heard good thigns about them from the guests, invest in one of the behind the scenes tours.

 

At both parks, you need to plan your day. Trust me, I work at Sea World and this is going to be my second season and druing Spring Break, both parks are going to be very very hectic.

 

--David

[hollers25]

Thanks, David. Yeah, we really didn't mean to go during spring break (I avoid travel then if I can) but a friend of ours is in a drag race that's being filmed for tv at SA Raceway, so we thought we'd go see that and make a vacation out of it. And we feel like if we're going to the trouble of traveling down there, we really can't miss the Alamo, since it's, like, the first thing most people (who don't live there) think of when you mention SA.

So, for two adults, no kids, is Sea World really a full-day park? I still think I'm leaning towards going there, since we've got SFStL and SFGAm near enough, but I'm afraid to miss out on anything really great. I really hate making decisions...

[larrygator]

^^Do they still sell corn on the cob off the grill at SFFT? I thought it was awesome.

 

and holler - if you like taking pictures, the train at SFFT allows for great views of Krypton Coaster.

[jamesdillaman]

Krypton Coaster is worth the trip to SFFT by itself, IMO.

 

-James Dillaman

[Rastuso]

S:KC is a great floorless, and is a bit unique as far as B&M loopers go. But, imho, it's the only "great" coaster at SFFT. The new Batman this year will be great, I'd assume. Poltergeist is nice if you like intense loops. Rattler blows, Boomerang blows, Rollschacoaster is a tiny kiddie coaster, Road Runner is fun but very short, and last time I rode they'd gotten rid of the great Wile E vs RR theming. I haven't ridden Tony Hawk, but have ridden clones. They're fun, but not worth the wait it'll have during Spring Break. The log ride does a decent job telling a classic Bugs Bunny cartoon, and should be ridden at least once.

 

 

Sea World has a great Batman, a decent mini hyper, a kiddie, and a notacoaster Shoot the Chutes that was so insanely overhyped it's frightening.

So, neither park offers a whole lot, imho. But, if you're in to loops, you'll love SFFT.

 

Most important advice: Be at the park you choose well before opening.

 

-R

[spong8]

Well speaking as an employee at six flags you are coming at the wrong time my friend. Spring break is mostly for the rider who need to get there quick adrenalin rush. pardon my spelling. spring break like said before Lines Lines and more lines. If you want to ride some roller coaster and go to a zoo, choose Sea World. If you are going for pure thrills and don't mind waiting in lines for a great ride and maybe see some of our award winning shows.

 

Also it really isn't fair to say our water park is disgusting. IMO all water parks are gross so many kids all the urine the chlorine, the ocassional band aid floating on the surface of the water. You get the idea.

 

 

 

ps.

 

I also forgot to mention that we are getting a new roller coaster The Goliath aka batman the ride, aka the great white at seaworld.

 

pss

 

We do not have the flash passes anymore but have those new Qbot things.