Six Flags Fiesta Texas (SFFT) Discussion Thread

[bert425]

Cutting it a little close, but SFFT finally released the schedule for the upcoming Roller Coaster Rodeo this morning.

this is an EXCELLENT event (with, honestly, the biggest selling point being that your badge works as VIP Flash Pass Access *all* day Friday & Sunday too. . . .so while you'll be too busy to use it on Saturday, it works all day before the event officially starts Friday, and all day after the event ends Sunday at Noon).

some changes this year and I'm a little bit sad they seem to have gotten rid of some of the "rodeo games" / "scavenger hunt". . . but mostly, I'll miss the Friday night "Frightfest" they had been doing for attendees in prior years, complete with two houses.    But I can get over that, as we're having an ERT DCU party instead.   (and it looks like Saturday morning ERT has been added to allow day time rides on the Crackaxle rides. . if i'm correct in my guess that's what "wild west sunrise shindig" is.

it's a great event, and so worth the cost!

[TheRattler_87]

Jeffrey was teasing something coming in 2027 during the Rodeo presentation. It must be big if we are talking about 2027 now

 

I’m wondering if we could get a FT92 this year to talk about 2026 or it gonna be a skip year til next year

[bert425]

fantastic weekend at RCR, and I'll get a trip report up in the near future.

Rattler mentioned Jeffrey's tease about 2027 - and I'm assuming that means really nothing will be added in 2026 (unless they put in a new ride onto the Kid Flash pad, once it gets demolished - as of right now, the ride entrance is totally walled off, which is a shame as the whole rest of the ride IS visible thru the chain link around the rest of the ride.   So gotta wonder if they will eventually just wall it all off).

but expecting something big to be announced for the 35th anniversary in 2027.   Perhaps that wood "out and back" on the boardwalk, that would fit perfectly in that area (and that side of the park could use another coaster).    I asked that in private to someone and got a raised eyebrow. . . so who knows that that means

in other news, tho Jeffrey was at the park during Fri/Sat for Rodeo (he had to go to Houston on Sun, and Jeff F. from SFOT (who used to be at SFFT) came down to represent). . . the new park GM, Robert, really ran RCR, and it was so smooth.   He was out and about, and I interacted with him several times - got a pic with him, so I'll post that in my report.     So while the individual parks might not have Park Presidents any longer?  they will have General Managers dealing with the day to day stuff.

[prozach626]

On 6/9/2025 at 2:36 PM, bert425 said:

Kid Flash pad, once it gets demolished - as of right now, the ride entrance is totally walled off, which is a shame as the whole rest of the ride IS visible thru the chain link around the rest of the ride.   

Do you think there's any chance it can be saved? I can't remember if there were any announcements or reports of you finding out.

[Arthur_Seaton]

A quick visit report, I suppose. I drove down to the park on Wednesday to "activate" my 2025-2026 season pass. It's still a bit unclear as to how the new pass works and what's involved (the guest relations rep was just as confused). Given that it's the middle of summer, I figured the park would be slammed and only planned on maybe walking around for an hour then leaving. However, the place was dead, so I jumped on a bunch of rides.

Iron Rattler was down all day. Not sure what's going on there, but the staff member assigned to the entrance said it wouldn't be opening at all. It was hard to see, but I think there may have been a train sitting in the station. In fact, quite a few rides were closed, with some going on and off line throughout the day. Wonder Woman was running one half-empty train, so the line was crazy even though the park was pretty dead. Operations, overall, were mixed, and I got the sense that weekends are likely when the park steps it up.

The new kids' area looks cool, and I rode the NebulaZ for the first time. It's a good-looking ride, and the manufacturer did a nice job of combining sound and music into the system. At first, the park was only running one half, so the loading and unloading was like a standard flat ride. Later, they started running all the seats and the loading/unloading time cratered. Obviously, there's no escaping this, but it definitely makes for a longer wait because of how the ride system works. The ride experience itself was pretty good, somewhat akin to a flat ride Knott's (and other parks) had a decade or two ago. Watching it run from the ground, it looks like you'd experience a slew of near misses with other cars, but I didn't find that to be the case while riding (you never really get that close to other riders). In terms of motion, it doesn't do much but it definitely gives a little more floaty air than expected for what is essentially a kiddie/family ride. It's a good install that bridges the kiddie/family gap well. Better than the Air Race installation which, despite looking just as good, is one of the most unpleasant ride experiences I've had.

^ I'm not sure if the 3D map is new (or needed), but the app popped up a few notifications based on it.

So, a shame Iron Rattler was down, and Wonder Woman seemed to be running on fumes, but I got to ride quite a bit of other stuff without any waits. 

[bert425]

^ it's because of the chaperone policy going back into effect. . . 

if the parents have to go with them starting in the afternoon, the kids don't want to be dropped off alone during the week.

so on the weekends they get SLAMMED as parents go with them.

so the days to go while still weekly operations (for the next several weeks still) are Tues-Thurs.

[Arthur_Seaton]

9 minutes ago, bert425 said:

^ it's because of the chaperone policy going back into effect. . . 

if the parents have to go with them starting in the afternoon, the kids don't want to be dropped off alone during the week.

so on the weekends they get SLAMMED as parents go with them.

so the days to go while still weekly operations (for the next several weeks still) are Tues-Thurs.

There were a good amount of rowdy and obnoxious teens roaming around, so I wasn't sure if the policy was in effect or not. There were few lines, but I did see some bad behavior and line-jumping by kids that was clearly orchestrated by adults. There was a huge family milling around the NebulaZ ride, and the kids would get off one cycle, then adults standing in line would have them skip so they could jump right back on without having to wait. It seemed like had a system going, and ride ops were pretty checked out.

[bert425]

The space cleared for the new attraction coming to SFFT in 2027 (?) is HUGE 

wonder if we’re looking at a MACK type water coaster coming to the park (as it absolutely seems like it is not part of the waterpark )

 

myself Robert (park manager) and Jeffrey Siebert at the construction tour 

 

[Nrthwnd]

Mmmmmmm ....... lots of dirt. 

[TheRattler_87]

did they have any hints?

[bert425]

8 minutes ago, TheRattler_87 said:

did they have any hints?

Jeffrey posted something yesterday with a full moon 

 

but the parks 35th anniversary is 2027

but the location is the edge of crackaxle where they removed several water slides 

 

and Jeffrey did tell me not to worry about the elevation or the road (which is not being removed)  so lift hill

so I really think we’re looking at a water coaster here 

[bert425]

pics from yesterday's visit for "Feliz Fiesta" during Holiday in the Park.

(and yes, they got TONS of lights from SFA  - I asked and was confirmed that the Texas parks got things from several other parks as well that were no longer doing Holiday in the Park)

the park is looking amazing, and the shows remain top notch!    

Majesty of Christmas, and the Dickens shows alone are worth price of admission, tho all the other shows are great as well.

 

because of Texas Department of Transportation sending out a crapload of warnings about how I10 & Loop 1604 (ie: right were the park is) being closed all weekend for construction, we allowed just over 2 hours for the trip to the park from Austin today.

so of course, we were so early that even tho the cones were up, they hadn't started any work yet, and traffic flowed - resulting in us being the first ones at the park, and stopped at the entrance gate.

so we took advantage to get out of the car, and snap this pic which typically you only can get while driving by. 

but after about 15 minutes, the parking gates opened and we headed in (with all the other folks that had backed up behind us).

of COURSE, this was right when the Six Flags app decided to update, and that made getting thru the toll booths a nightmare - how nice Six Flags stopped handing out physical (hard card) passes JUST before they updated the app and made it a huge mess to access your digital stuff.   

note: we did chat with mgmt about this during the day as lots of folks had issues, so it came up.  they are aware of issues, and are working on solutions, so "please stand by"

anyways, the park looks great.  the Day ended up being PERFECT (low 70s after a week of temps in the 40s and 50s), and the construction kept many away from the area, resulting in a very crowd comfortable day.

lots and lots of photo ops thru the park.   as mentioned, I'm guessing some of them came from other parks no longer doing HitP

and no trip to SFFT is complete without a stop in to say hi to "miss Connie" in Sangerfest halle.

she's a celebrity, and my friends all know I tend to go there first to get a pic.

after 1st rides of the day on Chubacabra, those of us attending Feliz Fiesta got to go backstage for a tour of the construction site that I posted yesterday.

as part of that tour, we also got to go down into the Gully Washer reservoir (drained during the off season upkeep) for some fantastic shots of Iron Rattler's drops. 

and then it was time to eat something for lunch (as our dinner wasn't until almost 5).

we headed into Blues BBQ, where here at Fiesta Texas, the Turkey Leg with stuffing is still included on the meal plan.

and as it's Holiday in the Park?   Santa was out all day, so we had to pop in and say hello.

naughty bert!

(and how fantastic that Santa played along)

one of the shows in the main square. . I believe this was the Tinker-Belles and the wooden soldiers

one of 3 large trees SFFT has on display.  this one is at the end of the main avenue into the park (and the tinkerbelles stage is at the bottom)

many, many characters were available today for Meet and Greets.   

not just the Looney Tunes in Holiday garb, but also multiple DC Heroes, and tons of Holiday themed characters.
 

and the "handlers" are happy to take your phone to snap pics for you.

this makes me laugh - this is what happens when they start snapping before you're ready for the picture. . . LOL

durrrrrrrr. . . . .

but we did get some great pics regardless

another throne. .and I do love my thrones  

more characters. . a bit horrifying, I thought, but happy to take pics

after this great meet and greet in DCU, I asked them how about an "action pose". .and that's the 2nd pic.

they understood the assignment - particularly Flash

walking back to the front for dinner in the picnic grove, caught the end of a Tinkerbelles & soldiers performance, and they were hanging around for pictures.

and yet, ANOTHER throne.    they must have gotten these from other parks.

a night time shot of the tree at the end of the main corridor.

here's the MAIN tree in  the park, in Rockville, during the Tree Lighting ceremony (that includes fireworks, Looney Tunes characters, dancers, and Santa on the stage in front of it)  .. oh, and "snow"

Jim and I in front of the main tree, before heading into the Rockville High Theater to see the Dicken's show - one of the parks two signature HitP shows

didnt' take any pics of the 1st part of the show, but it's a full on production with sets, dancing, and very good singing.

the camera came out during Ghost of Christmas Future, as I love the design of it.

ltr:  Scrooge, Ghost of Christmas Present, Ghost of Christmas Past, Ghost of Marley, and Ghost of Christmas future.

Scrooge seeing the error of his ways before he gets tossed into his own grave by Marley  (oh. . "spoilers". . . LOL)

 

after the show (and a few rides) we made our way up to the "big" theater in the park, for the amazing "Majesty of Christmas" - which, yes, includes live animals on stage in a wonderful production.

after this show, the park was about to shut down, but attendees of Feliz Fiesta get some ERT on the CrackAxle coasters (Iron Rattler, Roadrunner Express, and Dr. Diabolical's Cliffhanger). . so we took the "Holiday Express" which is what they transform the train into, for a full loop around the park complete with Holiday songs and tons and tons of lights.  

including new this year, lights representing the 12 days of Christmas. . . that you pass on the train, AS the song is playing synched to what you are passing.  

so simple, but so effective and impressive.

 

another photo op in front of Hurricane Harbor area

and the 3rd and final tree, in Crackaxle, which I was told came from another park that is no longer doing HitP.

 

it's a great event, and well worth going to.