JFrombaugh Posted December 1, 2008 Posted December 1, 2008 Six Flags has this holiday event (at least at my local parks). Called Holiday in the Park, it features several Christmas decorations, which light up at night, as well as one part with fake snow made out of some kind of foam. I think there's also a sledding area when it's cold enough, but I didn't see it. My Dad and I made a trip up to Dallas on November 29th, as I was off college on Thanksgiving break, and stayed in the Hyatt Place, which is a rather high class hotel at the low, low cost of $80 per night for a room. If you're planning on going to SFOT at some point, I would definitely recommend this hotel, as it is both well-kept and not too expensive (less expensive than some of the other simpler hotels in that area)!! At the park it was pretty chilly, with temperatures hovering in the 50s, but we were able to tough it out. One disadvantage of visiting out of season is that the park is only open afternoon to night (on this day it was 2pm to 10pm), and many of the rides were not running. The water rides were all closed (no big loss in the cold), as was the whole Gotham City area, and Flashback and Texas Giant. The main hit of the day for both of us was Titan!!! We were kind of nervous going on it, but honestly, it was REALLY GOOD!! If you've been on Goliath at SFMM, Titan will be second nature to you (just remember the bonus helix before the midcourse brakes), otherwise, if you're on the 2009 Texas Trip, know that you've got one really awesome coaster to look forward to!!! The ride ops at SFOT seem to be a diverse bunch - some of them have been really enthusiastic and having a great time operating the ride, while others were just quiet and doing their jobs. One thing that was uncalled for, though, was the op on the powered train ride around the park that told everyone to scream while going through one of the tunnels!...Though the autospiel on that train is funny: "Please refrain from tossing things over the edge, because if you don't want them, what on earth makes you think that we want them?" Anyway, here are the photos! The other fatality of the day was my necklace. =( Oh well, I'll just get a new chain. Thanks for reading! So as we're leaving, after about 5 minutes of driving, we note this odd rumbling in our car. Yes, we had a flat tire. Aaarrgh! In fact, this now marks the second flat tire to happen on a theme park trip (the first was on the way to Sea World San Antonio with my Dad and some of his friends). So we changed it in the cold weather at a gas station...ugh. On our way out of the park we noticed this cool lighting effect projected on the floor. The train ride passes by some more lights. Wish the quality on this shot could've been a bit better, but hey, you can't get everything you want out of life. Night falls and the christmas lights light up! There was chaos before boarding JRS as often two people waiting in one gate would board the train and sit seperately, leaving other riders with nowhere to sit! From here you can see how outside the park Judge Roy Scream is. It pretends to be pretty and tantalizing, but it really just kind of sucks! Some of the Christmas theming. The theming on Runaway Mountain is pretty good, if a little weird. In the middle of the park they have a monument of the original park map. Superman Tower of Power can be seen from all over the park! LOL! I didn't know SFOT's mine train was an ACE Landmark! Tony Hawk was fun, but not by any means fantastic. I decided not to buy the onride video. It makes me want to ride the Maurer spinning coasters even more, as it seems like those have better elements. Airtime! On Shockwave, if you sit all the way in the very front row, you'll hit nearly 6Gs in the two loops (5.9 to be exact). I rode it in that seat on my first visit, and it's not as insane as it sounds, it's more of a quick burst of Gs, unlike Titan's helix, which sustains about 4Gs. Be ready for some crazy Gs on the helixes!! First drop kicks a$$! I might like it even more than MF's drop. The airtime on the airtime hill lasts for awhile too. Titan is the largest coaster in the park which I missed out on my last visit, and OMFG, is it AMAZING! My Dad with Daffy Duck. La Vibora is a so-so bobsled. It has too many brake sections. I passed this time around. The closed rides. I already have my Mr. Freeze, Batman, and Texas Giant credits, and I've ridden boomerangs at other parks, so this wasn't that big a deal, it only made it so that my coaster count only rose to "94" instead of "95". From our room on the 6th floor we could see the park pretty clearly! Our hotel room at Hyatt Place. A real nice hotel at a real bargain price!
mattnz Posted December 2, 2008 Posted December 2, 2008 Still a park on my 'must do' list. Titan looks brilliant. La Vibora may not provide the greatest ride, but I do love that paint scheme!
BuschSchoe Posted December 2, 2008 Posted December 2, 2008 Nice trip report. Haven't heard much about Titan before... is that basically just a clone of Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain?
bgeguy Posted December 2, 2008 Posted December 2, 2008 ^Yeah, basically, but with an extra helix before the block brake.
miniviews Posted December 2, 2008 Posted December 2, 2008 Great trip report! I'm hitting this park after Christmas and unfortunately, I will miss several credits (Mr. Freeze & Batman, grrr). Oh well, at least I know I have to pack a jacket for Dallas.
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