Six Flags Fiesta Texas (SFFT) Discussion Thread

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Haven't been to Mexico, but I agree with you that Fiesta Texas and Great Adventure are both awesome and for completely different reasons. Just like Texas and New Jersey are both shitshows, but for very different reasons.

[dankeykang]

I was just at Fiesta Texas this past weekend, and there were several things that stood out to me:

• Staff were very friendly, probably more so than any other SF park I've been to
• They did a good job getting all the rides open, despite the colder-than-normal temperatures.  The staff were saying that it needs to be around 55 degrees to open Poltergeist, it definitely didn't get that warm on Saturday but it still opened for the last hour.  On Sunday, Goliath was getting maintenance for most of the day but it also opened for the last few hours.  Plus the log flume was open both days which was a pleasant surprise
• You can get a $13 funnel cake as a snack on the dining plan, which seems like a ridiculously good value to me.  Not sure if similar value is offered at any other parks in the chain

I agree that Great Adventure or Magic Mountain have better ride lineups, but Fiesta Texas is a great visit during January/February when crowds are light.

[bert425]

^ and most - if not all - of the specialty foods for Mardi Gras booths are also on the snack/meal plan!

did you get the Funnel Cake with Ice Cream and Fruit from Funnilicious (across from Batman). .yeah. .that's a snack!

[teacherkim]

3 hours ago, coasterbill said:

Fiesta Texas is weird. It's a much, much higher quality of park than any other American Six Flags park and I have no clue why. They paint things, they theme things and they maintain things. It's wild. The only other Six Flags park that's on their level is Six Flags Mexico.

I'm not really sure what I'd call the best in the chain. For me, it's probably either Fiesta or Great Adventure for entirely different reasons. One looks great and has a very good coaster lineup. One has a world-class coaster lineup that includes El Toro but also looks like a crack den.

At GAdv we ACTUALLY saw someone smoking crack (or possibly heroin based on their reaction to it) while sitting with their family including small children just outside the King Da Ka entrance about 5 and half years ago. True story. Just last summer they had huge signs as you entered warning people that "marijuana possession would not be tolerated" even though from the skunky smell of the park that was clearly totally ignored. 

As far as SFFT I think their park president has a lot to do with it. He is just clearly so customer satisfaction and quality oriented and even though it sounds trite that sort of thing does trickle down to the employees and the quality of their work. We've been there once and as guests had a quality conversation with him, my son works at SFSTL and has never even met the park president there. Plus being able to design coasters to dive off of cliffs is just too cool.

[dankeykang]

1 hour ago, bert425 said:

did you get the Funnel Cake with Ice Cream and Fruit from Funnilicious (across from Batman). .yeah. .that's a snack!

Ice cream and crushed Oreos, actually   Incredible amount of food, one of the very few times I haven't been able to finish my meal at a park (not because it tasted bad, but because it was huge)

[bert425]

1 hour ago, dankeykang said:

Ice cream and crushed Oreos, actually   Incredible amount of food, one of the very few times I haven't been able to finish my meal at a park (not because it tasted bad, but because it was huge)

you caught it before the Cinnamon Bread came back in it's permanent location (it will have a space in the currently being rennovated Sangerfest Halle. . .but they were selling it from a booth for Holiday in the Park.

It too. .is a "snack"  (FOUR of us sharing it couldn't finish it)

 

[prozach626]

15 hours ago, coasterbill said:

Fiesta Texas is weird. It's a much, much higher quality of park than any other American Six Flags park and I have no clue why. They paint things, they theme things and they maintain things. It's wild. 

13 hours ago, dankeykang said:

• Staff were very friendly, probably more so than any other SF park I've been to
• They did a good job getting all the rides open, despite the colder-than-normal temperatures.  The staff were saying that it needs to be around 55 degrees to open Poltergeist, it definitely didn't get that warm on Saturday but it still opened for the last hour.  On Sunday, Goliath was getting maintenance for most of the day but it also opened for the last few hours.  Plus the log flume was open both days which was a pleasant surprise

 

9 hours ago, bert425 said:

you caught it before the Cinnamon Bread came back in it's permanent location (it will have a space in the currently being rennovated Sangerfest Halle. . .

 

So... SFFT.... Best park in the chain?

[bert425]

It was a very windy and kinda chilly day today at SFFT - which kept the crowds down, and most all of the coasters down as well.

Roadrunner Express & Wonder Woman are really the only coasters that operated all day - tho Batman made an appearance about an hour prior to close, and operated as well.

The wind gusts also kept several of the "big" flats, including Scream drop tower, Skyscreamer swings, and Joker Pendulum down most of the day.

But most of the flats operated, and had an incredible time riding what was up and running despite the cold & wind.   And YES.. Daredevil Dive was operating. . tho in "wind" mode, meaning the plane chassis didn't go to the top of the tower, and the planes flipped at ground level. . but was still a great ride.

I got to ride in the Mardi Gras Parade, and also was able to get an up close tour of Dr. Diabolical's Cliffhanger post Parade - that was offered to those of us who had attended a casual meet up today for a Texas based group called Thrill Seekers United.

. . and the absolute highlight of the day?

Park President Mr. Jeffrey Siebert hopping onto our 3pm casual train ride (to ooo and ahhh over the coaster construction) and commandeering the mic at the back of the train to provide commentary and stats on the coaster being built!

I'm not sure if most of the folks on the train realized.. but I sure did, and wow was that a wonderful treat.

I'll have a full report up in the coming days over on the "Bert visits Texas Themeparks" thread

but here are a bunch to share now:

 

NOT the sign you want to see out front. . but we were expecting it due to the forecast. . lots of wind gusts, and chilly weather kept most of the rides down all day

 

Skyscreamer is no longer on Flash Pass. . instead, that "lane" is now a dedicated lane for the "flight option"

Mr. Siebert told me that they have 4 harnesses ready, but are only using 2 for the moment, and will keep them up until Spring Break to see how demand goes, before deciding if they want to install the other two Harness set ups.

at only $5 a pop?  that's SUPER reasonable!

 

not many of the big rides are open today due to wind gusts, but the ones that are open?  don't have much of a wait

 

I got a Cajun Bloody Mary with my lunch today

Holy . .that's a LOT of pig.

 

look look look what's open!! 

yes, it was windy, and a bit chilly. . but you know what that meant?   yup. . NO LINE!

 

flume walk on. . . I'll bet CoasterBill thinks I have my priorities correct

we got "moist" but not soaked. . as the spitting dragon wasn't on today.

these are sprinkled thruout the park for the 30th Anniversary. . and I love em.

hope they stay up for a long while.

 

lookie who's on the mic for our ride on the train

 

heh. . one more drink - frozen Hurricane this time - and I was certainly up for getting dressed up and riding in the Mardi Gras parade.

it was fun to throw out beads to the folks watching the parade route.

our crew of 4 on "our" parade float

beaaaaaaaaaaaaads. .

from the up-close construction tour.
This coaster is gonna be amazing.. that lift his is steep - 45 degrees!

these supports will be getting a patina. . and the two closest to the train tracks will be the "tester" ones. . so keep an eye on em!

[JJLehto]

On 2/10/2022 at 2:18 PM, bert425 said:

SFFT continues to release teases on the official park Twitter account (in addition to Jeffrey's account). . . and they just released this tease of the new trains:

 

oh no. . is this a "comfort collar" . . on a B&M Dive Coaster?

(really hoping that's just extra support for the water dummies. .and not actually part of the restraint)

Sadly not. This is how it is on Valravn and from what I know, all B&M dives now. It's a damn shame because it takes away some from the drop. I greatly prefer Sheikra to Valravn because you feel more on the drop with the normal OTSR. Sucks, and makes 0 sense bc there's no need for em

[bert425]

and just like that. . the skyline of SFFT changes forever:

 

[bert425]

Friday evening update from Mr. Siebert's twitter.

Dang. this thing is really getting imposing!   Gonna be incredible when the queue goes among the coaster

 

[Nrthwnd]

^ Yep. That's a tall one.

[LegendLover]

Wow I know this ride is only 150 feet tall, but it certainly looks massive! 

[bert425]

Tonight's twitter update from Park President Jeffrey Siebert:

and a better look at the pics (shared with his permission):

 

 

 

 

 

if the weather isn't total crap tomorrow, planning on popping in to get a look at it in person myself!

[slither37]

Hello . Going to SFFT for the first time April 2. Will have one day at the park. Would like to know if the Flashpass is a necessity to get a ride on everything. Rally pumped for Iron Rattler as I do love me some RMC

[teacherkim]

5 hours ago, slither37 said:

Hello . Going to SFFT for the first time April 2. Will have one day at the park. Would like to know if the Flashpass is a necessity to get a ride on everything. Rally pumped for Iron Rattler as I do love me some RMC

Yes it is necessary. We were there last April for a full day and then a few hours the next day. Had fastpass, had ert time because it was for an event, and still didn't get on everything. Got on almost everything.

[tndank]

Finishing up the last piece of the top right now. Flag is now flying. 

[bert425]

6 hours ago, slither37 said:

Hello . Going to SFFT for the first time April 2. Will have one day at the park. Would like to know if the Flashpass is a necessity to get a ride on everything. Rally pumped for Iron Rattler as I do love me some RMC

to echo what Kim said, yes.   and I'd get the highest level you can.

SFFT does do the annoying thing that many SF parks do, in that the Flash Pass merge is pretty far back in the queue, and they'll hold the general queue line prior to the merge point to try and make the Flash Pass a better value.    But most of the rides, there's still a bit of a wait after the Flash Pass entrance (in particular on Iron Rattler, Poltergeist, and Goliath).

WonderWoman, Joker, Superman, and Daredevil Dive, the merge is fairly close to the station, and you don't have too long of a wait once you use your pass.

and Bug's Whitewater Rapids (flume) Flash Pass puts you directly into the station.  and on a warm day?  this will help you skip an hours long queue.

note: Skyscreamer is no longer on the Flash Pass system.


too bad you're not going later in April. . . in late April White Water Bay opens, and that section will drain much of the crowd from the "dry" areas of the park.

have fun, it's one of the best Six Flags parks.

[slither37]

Thank you all very much !

[bert425]

Park President Jeffrey Siebert just tweeted out the following Friday night gift.

all I can say is holy crap does this look good.

 

[Nrthwnd]

<SIGHS> looking at this. ^  Already it's looking pretty awesome.

[bert425]

Jeffrey shared these last night, and I didn't have time to share here until now.

wow. .this is not only looking amazing, but going up SO fast:

 

 

bigger versions of the pics  (I wont' get back to the park until next weekend. .then I'll have lots of pics to share)

 

 

 

[AmyUD06]

I love how low to the ground it is.  More coasters need to be that way.

[bert425]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. .  new signs going up today, to warn that the Railroad might not operate consistently due to how close to the tracks the construction work is:

OMG. . I love this park & Park President.

[CaptainUnknown]

^All hail Jeffrey Seibert.