Photo TR: SchlitterCon IX

[texcoaster]

Just got home from SchlitterCon IX at Schlitterbahn New Braunfels, the world's best water park. It's no wonder they obliterate their competition for that title every year...

 

SchlitterCon is quickly becoming known as a premier must-do event with a boatload of offerings for a ridiculously low registration.

 

Two days at the park, early/late ERT sessions, games, meals, hot tub parties (with free booze), a live steel drum band, t-shirt, more food (it IS an ACE event after all!), and a 25% discount on lodging... all for $25. Seriously.

 

Many kudos to Jeffrey Siebert (who turned 40 on Sunday, Happy Birthday!) and the fine crew at Schlitterbahn for putting on a fantastic event!

Got to the room around noon. Yes, this is the "resort" - but it's clean and the beds were comfy and the A/C worked really well. What more do you need after all day in the park?

This was the view. Nice. You can almost see a water park amidst the greenery!

Some of the rooms are really close to the attractions!

Some parks require that you rent their tubes and have a deposit as well. This forces you to keep up with it all day, even when you might want to do body slides or other non-tube stuff. SB offers free tubes, so when you need one, you just get one from the huge stash (see left of pic)

New Braunfels has long been known for "toobing" down the Comal River. Many of SB's tube chutes recreate that with their periods of calm interspersed with rapids. Some of the flumes can take a half hour or more to complete.

a few of the chutes are chock full of rapids, though, some of them fairly intense. Note that these flumes in the old section are filled with water from the river - no chlorine-faded suits here! It's spring-fed and ice cold.

A few slides empty into the million-gallon swimmin' hole, also filled with river water. To combat the icy depths, there's a giant hot tub with a swim-up bar. For SchlitterCon, there were two private after-hours hot tub parties. Beer/wine/snacks/etc were included in the registration fee.

After a few rides and slides, it was time to head to the registration area and get some grub. The catering department outdid themselves, truly. Foods like beef tenderloin stuffed with crab and goat cheese, chipotle butter shrimp, maple sweet potatoes, homemade apple and cherry pies, and a "baked french toast" for breakfast that was worth the trip by itself.

back to the rides... many of the tube chutes have forks that let you choose your own adventure. This fork is in the Cliffhanger Chute; the right fork goes on for another 10 minutes or so with rapids and a tunnel. The left side ends in a looooong steep drop into a pool.

Not all the flumes stick with the rustic look the entire way. This portion of the Raging River flume scoots along in a more traditional trough.

Another plus for SB is that it doesn't even look like a water park, at least in the original section. Landscaping, shade, trees, the river alongside, it all looks like it belongs.

The tube chute in the previous picture has a section that runs through the l0cker area before dumping into the lagoon

There are non-tube attractions as well, including this very aggressive body slide. By the last two turns, you'll probably have flipped onto your face once or twice. Good thing the flumes are padded!

The Downhill Racers are fun, especially when you can cream an innocent tuber (between the lanes) with a wall of water.

And YES, if you get a good push at the top, you will become airborne on that second drop.

By mid-afternoon, I hopped the free tram to Schlitterbahn East, home of Surfenburg, Tubenbach, and Blastenhof (shown here). This is where the more high-tech rides live. Master Blaster was a (ahem) BLAST. As much as I love Wildebeest, there's just something extra-special about getting freaking blasted up a hill on a huge water rush that just doesn't happen when you're being propelled up by other means. Master Blaster wins this one, I'm afraid.

I should mention that registration also included a free SkyCoaster ride (until all the ride times were filled, anyway)

Dragon's Revenge is a Master Blaster slide with special effects and is "dedicated to the American Coaster Enthusiasts" according to a sign near the entrance. Good ride and plenty of fun. Nighttime ERT on it was c-c-c-c-c-cold, though!

After all the ups and downs of Dragon's Revenge, it ends with a long drop into a long downhill run back to the bottom.

BoogieBahn surf simulator is one of those things that I love, even though I completely suck at it.

On the left is the upper part of The Falls, the world's longest water ride. It's intentionally tame in several places, allowing you the ability to get in or out of the water easily. The lower portion (unseen here) is almost all rapids and swift water. The right side of the pic is the Comal River with folks "toobing" - not part of SB.

At the lower end of The Falls, there's a giant Aquaveyor to take you back up top. You can ride around all day if you like, each circuit taking about a half hour. I probably did 10 or more laps over the weekend. Loved it!

This horseshoe turn around the new Treehaus lodging takes you from the calmer top portion of The Falls to the swift rapids in the lower part. I almost always got knocked off my tube at the bottom of this, but that's half the fun.

Sunday evening ended with an hour of ERT at Blastenhof, followed by a nighttime float down the Hillside Tube Chute in glow gear. Gotta love ERT... where else could you see folks floating down a water park ride with a beer in their hand?

[johnychen]

Great trip report. It has been a while since I last went Schlitterbahn. Looks like I will need to go again soon. Couldn't make it out to SchlitterCon but will definitely plan on going next year.

[texcoaster]

Apparently, SCX is going to span both the New Braunfels park and the South Padre Island park. No solid details yet, though.

[Xmeister]

Thanks so much for the great report. I probably want to experience Schlitterbahn more that almost any U.S. amusement park I haven't been to yet. (I hope that made sense.) I've driven by it a couple of times on my way to see family, but just haven't had the time to go to the park.

 

Your photos make me want to go that much more. So thank you.

[texcoaster]

Thanks so much for the great report. I probably want to experience Schlitterbahn more that almost any U.S. amusement park I haven't been to yet. (I hope that made sense.) I've driven by it a couple of times on my way to see family, but just haven't had the time to go to the park.

 

Your photos make me want to go that much more. So thank you.

 

You can only see a tiny portion of it from the road. You're going to be amazed at how big it is.

[Ed Farmer]

I love Hurricane Harbor(s) because they shorten lines at the dry parks- that's about the extent of it. Waterparks just aren't my thing. This, and Splashin' Safari are the exceptions for me. This one actually looks better than a few dry parks.

[Rastuso]

Apparently, SCX is going to span both the New Braunfels park and the South Padre Island park. No solid details yet, though.

 

Yeah, I guess I was in the minority of those not thrilled with that announcement. Turning the current day one that is usually a dinner and night ERT on Dragon's Revenge, into a day with 12 hours of bus rides to and from a park that isn't that large, and really offers nothing that the New Braunfels park doesn't do better, just isn't very appealing at all. With the 12 hours of bus rides being the obvious big negative. Plus, I don't see how there will be ERT there, unless they are going to do redeye bus rides, which is what I have a feeling they are planning to do.

 

We had a blast this weekend, though, for sure. I've got a lot of GO PRO videos to get on youtube here soon that I'll share.

 

Great pics. My normal underwater camera seems to be about done. The flash no longer works, and it's getting water inside in the lens area, so I didn't get many with it. The GO PRO pics are a bit fish-eyed, but still good.

 

-R

[PKI Jizzman]

Texas Trip 2009 Holla! I loved Schlitterbahn...so much fun, so many things to do. And no matter how freakin' hot Texas is, the water from those streams will always be right at 35*

[Midgetman82]

So now I see why this park is so amazing! Thank you for the report, it looks like a lot of fun!

[cfc]

Schlitterbahn is a water park I've wanted to visit for years. Thanks for the pictures.

[Philrad71]

Looks like a very unique park and one that I would definitely want to go to eventually. Love the swim up bar and ERT with beer allowed in the lazy rivers!

 

Does the water eventually warm up through summer, or is it always cold because it's spring fed?

[Rastuso]

Only the old section is river fed. Even in August, it is pretty darn cold, which on a vey hot day, is awesome. On a warm evening, like this past weekend, it's a bit of a shock.

 

R