teacherkim Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 Sigh. Well I'm sorry to hear about the further mess down there. We are just going to do a HW, KK, KI, CP road trip. Easy to control/modify and since these are all parks we go to usually once a year, not a big deal if we can't get on certain things. in fact I may spend one day just laying on the beach at the Breakers. Just as well that Joel doesn't ask for too much time off of work since they are having such a short season anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jconsolmagno Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 Video from last week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainUnknown Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 ^ usually most everything is open except for: the Bumper Cars (it gets used as "skating" rink). the Gully Washer (whitewater rafts) Bug's WhiteWater Rapids (log flume) some years seems to operate, and some years doesnt. . so not really sure on that one. and the Whitewater Bay (waterpark "land") will be closed for the season Most everything else should be operating I'd expect. the Train morphs into the Holiday express, so it wont' stop 1/2 way, and instead just does a trip around the park from the Crack Axle station. as to Flash Pass? I never buy it, but it's my home park, so I just ride things another time, if a line is too long. that said? you'll need it for: Wonder Woman (terrible capacity, especially if they are still only filling every other seat), Iron Rattler (even if they have the 2nd train running, this one always pulls long lines), Poltergeist (Premier Launch coaster - that has really long load/dispatch times, so even a short line will take a while, and Flash Pass entrance puts you right into the station), and Joker (the new ride from last year). so if you want to get a lot of re-rides? I'd spend the $$ on it if offered. just my 2cents. oh. . and Goliath (Batman clone at the front), Superman Krypton Coaster (B&M Floorless), and Pandemonium (Gerstlaur spinner) are all people eaters. . so even long lines move really fast for those. Batman (S&S freespin) rarely has a line (people are scared of it for some reason), and on the other end of the spectrum, Boomerang (Vekoma) ALWAYS has a line - I think that's the location tho: it's the first major ride if you walk into the park and go straight ahead to the main plaza. So many folks go to it. Hint: take a left immediately past the main gates, and Goliath is right there. .it's amazing how many people walk right by it not realizing that's the entrance. Roadrunner Express will sometimes pull long lines during HitP, because so many families with kids.. I don't know if that has Flash Pass tho. . think they may have removed that line a while back. It's a custom Arrow Minetrain that's worth a ride. Thanks for all that info, Bert! Now here's hoping that trip doesn't get pushed back even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bamwa Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Dare Devil Dive is coming along. Saw a vid on TTS. I hope it runs faster than shown however. Anyone hear when it opens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston Thrills Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 ^They've been saying late this month or early next month for DDD opening. Looks like they're mainly finishing up theming elements right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillseeker4552 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 That's a nice surprise to see that SFFT's new addition will open this year. Good for them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert425 Posted August 23, 2020 Share Posted August 23, 2020 Updated my Texas Trip Report thread with a report from my trip to SFFT yesterday. great visit, and the park is doing a good job re: Covid Bunch of pics of the new ride too https://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1942507#p1942507 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lotologist492 Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 Updated my Texas Trip Report thread with a report from my trip to SFFT yesterday. great visit, and the park is doing a good job re: Covid Bunch of pics of the new ride too https://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1942507#p1942507 Great Pics! This is one park I cannot wait to return to in the next year or two. If the Dare Devil Flying Machines is a success, I bet my next paycheck they will install a copy at SFoG in their new ScreamPunk District. They will need to pick another name since they already have a Dare Devil Dive Coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacherkim Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 Bert! Congrats on the weight loss and thanks for the trip report. We are determined to reschedule for next year and make it down there. Will have a lot to celebrate at the end of the school year; my last year teaching and the boy's last year in high school. Of course at the moment I am teaching virtually from an empty classroom. We are required to drive in to school but are not allowed to meet with anyone, so we have to zoom with other teachers in other empty classrooms. Seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert425 Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 Bert! Congrats on the weight loss and thanks for the trip report. We are determined to reschedule for next year and make it down there. Will have a lot to celebrate at the end of the school year; my last year teaching and the boy's last year in high school. Of course at the moment I am teaching virtually from an empty classroom. We are required to drive in to school but are not allowed to meet with anyone, so we have to zoom with other teachers in other empty classrooms. Seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert425 Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 (edited) Looking forwards to getting back to Fiesta this coming Saturday. Hopefully the park won't be slammed this close to Halloween, but regardless - gonna mask up and have a great time! Edited October 12, 2020 by bert425 Upload a pic to try it out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert425 Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 they've added Fire Effects to DareDevil Dive's lighting package! at first I thought that maybe just for Halloween, but they are too well integrated, and too well themed (steampunk!), to just be temporary. looks great - check it out below. . and here's my TR from yesterday's visit if you wanna see "Hallowfest" (not "Frightfest") pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur_Seaton Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 I visited the park today — my first time back to this or any park since quarantine. My expectations were low, and the visit was more of a reconnaissance mission to assess how SFFT is handling restrictions. The trip was predicated on the clause that if I sensed guests were being too reckless or park protections seemed sketchy, I'd bail. I did indeed end up bailing after just two hours, but that was really because the park was more crowded than I find tolerable in or out of quarantine. I try to keep in mind that folks' experience and concerns about safety varies, and that perhaps not everyone will be as cautious as I've been since lockdown. I’d say that I felt relatively safe in the park — largely due to the open areas — but there were a few moments that raised concern. One of these moments was a rope-drop, which I didn't anticipate having to contend with and I'm not sure is a wise idea for the park to encourage such a thing. I signed up for an 11:15am registration slot only to find that the main sections of the park didn't actually open until 12:00pm. In the 45 minutes it took to access the splinter pathways, the various plaza areas grew increasingly packed with folks not social distancing at all and many who'd apparently ditched their face masks upon entering. Once open, I legged it over to iRat and had maybe 30 or so people in front of me. There was no distancing at all in the queue line, and no distancing on the train (or any of the rides I went on). In fact, when I boarded, a total stranger with their mask in their pocket plopped right down next to me. They do have plexiglass screens in some stations now, but I’m not sure what good that’d do. Over the course of two hours, I got one ride each on iRat, Superman, Wonder Woman, Fireball, Pandemonium, Poltergeist, and Goliath. This was my first time on Fireball as it’s never looked that appealing, and I don’t fancy riding face-to-face with strangers on it. Since there was no-one in line, I jumped on for no other reason than to check a box. It’s what I expected: basically the equivalent of being pushed slowly around a loop in a janky shopping cart. I ventured back round to try and score some more rides on iRat and Superman (the park’s best rides, in my opinion, and examples of RMC and B&M’s best as well), but the lines were now seemingly long. By this point, more and more people were flooding in, so I decided that was enough and time to head out. On my way out, I noticed that the Fast Pass building by Boomerang had developed a line well beyond the barricades, so I assume that was a sign of a busy day. From what I could tell, the rides were operating well — all running good amounts of trains. In terms of social distancing, the experience wasn’t great. Guests were not paying much attention to markers when waiting for rides, and the rope-drop business was akin to attending an outdoor concert. Although it did seem like the ops were trying to minimize the amount of people on the platforms, there was no separation on the rides themselves whatsoever. In terms of face coverings, despite what the website says, they’re not required. Plenty of guests were boarding rides and chatting with employees with masks below their nose or off altogether. The Wonder Woman crew seemed a little more diligent about this, but I even saw employees in the carnival stands by Superman with their masks off, too. From a purely observational standpoint, I’d say that about 50% of guests were wearing adequate face coverings. The other 50% were either wearing them below the nose, around the chin, or dangling from an ear. There were, sadly, more than a few who appeared to take this to a performative level as though wanting to make a statement. Again, my reasons for leaving were really because the park was too busy. Even with seemingly-solid operations, the lines were more than I prefer to deal with. As noted, social distancing was poor, and guests’ willingness to show conscientiousness was as bad as can be expected. Having said that, I do think that it’d be possible for someone concerned about their health and/or the wellbeing of others to still visit and potentially work around these issues. For me, I’d rather return on a quieter day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert425 Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 ^ were you there today (Sun) or yesterday (Sat). . because tho yesterday was absolutely jam packed? we saw the opposite of what you are reporting in terms of mask usage. (the no social distancing? yeah, that happened as the park got way more crowded, but pretty much everyone was wearing a mask - and except for one very prominent example where a whole group cut in front of us, all of them wearing masks under their noses. . . for the most part, everyone did have masks on and wearing them properly. Goliath, Poltergeist, Wonder Woman, and IRat were all running 2 trains, Superman running all 3, and Pandemonium had 5 cars going. Can't tell for certain on Roadrunner, as the line was too long for us to bother (even with Flash Pass), but I'll bet they were running both trains. Shamefully tho, Boomerang was only running 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan the Coaster Man Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 Sounds like a decent effort at best from Six Flags. It really is more of a mask compliance thing than anything. I am interested in visiting SFFT in the coming months, and it sounds like I would be okay as long as it is not as crowded as it was for you. With the staggered entrance times, it will get increasingly busy throughout the day/night. Some people are paying a full ticket price only to be allowed to enter at 6pm, so I think people will stay longer than average. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur_Seaton Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 ^^ It was today, Bert — from about 11:15am to 2:00pm. The mask business was bad. I'm over getting bent out of shape about such things, but I did get a few stealth-creeper snapshots to send to friends. I'm not posting them here because, in a couple of cases, the masks were emblazoned with political messages and, well, not worn on the face. I did get a few general panos of rope drop / super-spreader pens as well. I must say, though, I stopped by the outlets on my way back to Austin, and it was the same business there, mask-wise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur_Seaton Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 14 minutes ago, Dan the Coaster Man said: Sounds like a decent effort at best from Six Flags. It really is more of a mask compliance thing than anything. I am interested in visiting SFFT in the coming months, and it sounds like I would be okay as long as it is not as crowded as it was for you. With the staggered entrance times, it will get increasingly busy throughout the day/night. Some people are paying a full ticket price only to be allowed to enter at 6pm, so I think people will stay longer than average. To be honest, that's what came to mind while I was there: they're doing the best they can. I'm assuming they've had to scale back to a skeleton crew, and that was perceptible on rides like iRat that appeared to be running trains with just two ride ops, one of which was both checking restraints and manning the controls. Given the circumstances, I couldn't help but think how challenging it must be to work under those conditions, with that kind of a crowd. It was disappointing to see employees with masks worn incorrectly, and I suspect that an increased security presence might prompt a little more pressure to uphold the rules. But I think it really comes down to the fact that peoples' experience of the pandemic and their response to it is all over the map. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert425 Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 ^ sorry you didn't have as good a day as us. if you take a look at my TR, you'll note most everyone is wearing masks properly (tho there are a few cases where the noses are peeking out). I did note folks were making use of the "Mask Break Zones" - several areas around the park. . . so I was thinking that was helping keep folks following the rules (and the ride ops on all major coasters were repeating every few minutes how masks MUST BE WORN EVEN DURING RIDE). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 ^ I agree with this idea, of creating Rest Zones for people who just want to chill w/o the mask on, for a bit of time. Properly distanced, of course. Especially for those big parks, like this one and others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur_Seaton Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 2 minutes ago, bert425 said: if you take a look at my TR, you'll note most everyone is wearing masks properly (tho there are a few cases where the noses are peeking out). I did note folks were making use of the "Mask Break Zones" - several areas around the park. . . so I was thinking that was helping keep folks following the rules (and the ride ops on all major coasters were repeating every few minutes how masks MUST BE WORN EVEN DURING RIDE). I did see your pics! It looks like the young women you're sharing a flume ride with would benefit from hearing that message a little louder It was really only the Wonder Woman crew who were announcing the mask mandate today, and it didn't have a great deal of impact for anyone in that queue or on the ride. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert425 Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 ^ they were two rows away, and facing away from us, so I honestly didn't' worry too much about that (and keep in mind, to be fair, this is a water ride, and they were telling folks they could remove masks to keep them from getting wet - since not everyone has cloth masks that can take the moisture). but yeah, your comfort level is up to you. I wasn't concerned in this case, so had no issue sharing a log with them. Would I have sat RIGHT BEHIND them? nope. . but two rows back seemed safe enough - especially since we all kept our masks on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur_Seaton Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 ^ Good point! It's a particularly-wet water ride as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert425 Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 Just saw a commercial promoting the "Freaky Car Show" display that Fiesta had going on. and *NOW* I understand why the crowds were so insane (and so busy when you were there on Sun, @Arthur_Seaton) apparently if you buy your ticket via the "Freaky Car Show" website? you can get in the park for ~$19. That's an amazing price for anyone that is not a Member, or PassHolder. Didn't catch if it includes parking or not, but I kinda bet it does - since it's a Car Group running the promo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sportsdude360 Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 This past Saturday- October 24th, The Texas Thrillseekers were invited on a behind the scenes tour of Superman: Krypton Coaster by park President Jeffrey Siebert! Here are a few photos from that tour. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasBaby Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Those are some great pics, Superman is by far my favorite floorless coaster. The way that it interacts with the quarry is just incredible and so unique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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