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Six Flags Over Texas (SFOT) Discussion Thread


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some news from SFOT the other weekend when I went up for Lonestar Coasterthon, and bumped into - and had a VERY nice conversation with Chris Kearsing, Director of Operations at SFOT (he recognized me from my trip reports here on Theme Park Review, and specifically for my input into the conversation on the Six Flags St. Louis thread about the length of the refurb of their carousel).

We talked about several things. . but - and he told me it was ok to post this, as I didn't want to get him in trouble - very soon, Six Flags Over Texas will begin an extended, multi year, refurb of it's classic, 1928 Silver Star Carousel.

So while it will be sad that it won't be available for a while once they start the refurb? I'm thrilled this classic ride will fully Re-furbished, and they are planning on taking the time to do it correctly!

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52 minutes ago, thrillseeker4552 said:

Cool! I will be at the park on Thursday (first time since Dec 2019) and I remember absolutely loving Mr. Freeze backwards - still excited to try it forwards too.

Has Aquaman been running reasonably consistently?

Yes, Aquaman is running great!

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I’m planning on going Sunday 8/27 while I’m in the Dallas area for work. I do plan on getting flash pass to make sure I can hit everything major, though I’ve never used a flash pass & only Cedar Fair’s fast lane. Any pointers on the park, i.e. what to do first?

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How is this park's 2024 addition not getting any attention?

Quote

Six Flags Over Texas – The world’s first log flume now becomes one of the world’s longest log flumes in 2024. The new El Rio Lento will feature one new lift hill and two big drops including a giant, steep nosedive to add to the fun. It’s a family fun ride for thrill seekers of all ages!

https://www.sixflags.com/overtexas/attractions/el-rio-lento

We all used to be such log flume enthusiasts...what happened?

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It’s definitely nice to see Six Flags give their original rides some love and updates (SFGAdv doing the same), but I think what hampers this announcement is that there aren’t any visual renderings. 

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With all the backlash the new management gets, I will agree that I enjoy attentiveness to things other than roller coasters. Out of all the additions going to other parks, this is the one I'm most excited for. I love arrow log-flumes, and honestly I wish this had been done to log jammer back at Magic Mountain. With so many log flumes getting taken away, it's awesome to see that this one is here to stay.

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I don't about that.  There was some media coverage around here, but it was very subdued.  Even the park's social media announcement was low key, almost blink and you would miss it.  I just don't think this is something that people are going to get in much of an uproar over.

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Hi Everyone!

Would you look at that, I'm playing catch up on trip reports again. I had the privilege of doing both Texas and NorCal this summer, interspaced with a very busy work schedule. I'll start things off with the park that, for better or worse, I spent the least amount of time on Six Flags Over Texas.

This was the year that I finally bucked up and bought a Six Flags pass. I knew I wanted to do the Texas parks, and was pretty sure I'd be going to Discovery Kingdom as well so the math seemed to work in my favor. I don't know if I'll continue it for next year, since its value is directly tied to my currently undecided travel plans, but it was nice to have.

Anywho, Over Texas was the first Six Flags park I had ever visited...I know great start right...

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And well...it was fine I guess...

I went straight to New Texas Giant, over my better judgement of going to La Vibora, which was my first RMC I-Box. And while I though it was good, it definitely felt like a proof of concept. It was smooth, but not all that adventurous with it's layout.

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One thing that I thought was really interesting was how the ride was positioned, not in the physical sense but in the marketing sense. I though it was interesting how the ride seemed to be presented as an updated version of the Texas Giant, rather than as a whole new ride. I mean think about it for a second, to my knowledge every RMC I-Box conversion since this one has been marketed and presented as a brand new ride. They may pay homage to the old attraction in the name or elements, but they are seen as a whole new experience separate from the old one. This ride felt like Six Flags wanted to position it as, "the Texas Giant, just good now!", rather than a whole new ride. From the minimally modified layout and theming, to old Texas Giant sign still in the gift shop, it didn't feel like they wanted it to be seen as a new ride, just a refurbed version of an old one.

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Maybe I'm reading too much into this, what you guys think?

While I was in that corner of the park I did Titan. And wow...what a waste of a coaster. I should be able to remember some moment from a hyper coaster, and well I can't. In fact I had to go back and edit this part of the trip report to include the part that I road it...

After Titan, we headed towards the other side of the park. Sadly we passed the then closed Pirates of Spelunker Caves...I was really bummed about that. It looks like a really unique attraction, especially for Six Flags. We hit up Knock-off Space Mountain on a Budg...I mean Runaway Mountain. Seriously though, can't you at least put something, ANYTHING, EVEN ONE OF THOOSE AWFUL ADVERTISEMETNS, in there to look at rather than a "meh" Premier coaster in a box.

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Next we did Justice League, which while impressive for a Six Flags, I'm not all that big a fan of shooting dark rides and I'm not the most familiar with the DC universe so it didn't resonate all that well. I like the vehicles and the animatronics and effects which seemed to largely be in working order. But the heavy reliance on screens and the shooting aspect really detracted for me. I have yet to ride a shooting dark ride that I've ridden and not said that be better without guns. I think it's just a ride genre I struggle with.

After Justice League, we noticed some storm clouds in the distance and a check of the forecast confirmed that our day was probably gonna get cut really short. I got in line for Mr. Freeze but with a relatively long line and 5 minute dispatches I was like nah... So I went to Batman instead.

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And it was fun. Not my favorite invert by any means, but a solid ride. Of the three Batman's I road in Texas this one fell squarely in the middle, not to rough but not so smooth either. Glad I got the cred.

Not so glad I got the cred...Judge Roy. Goodness, what a POS. Maybe this layout was fun at one point, but thanks to Six Flags maintenance it looks, sound's, and rides like it's gonna collapse. I'm pretty sure the intensity warning in the station is an excuse...

Grabbed a quick snack and my complementary souvenir cup, then headed for Casa Magnetica. This was probably the experience that stood out the most to me. While a little short, I really enjoyed the wacky humor and "crooked house" effects (Who am I kidding, the peacock idol is ALIVE!!!). I'm glad the park brought this experience back and I hope other parks nationwide consider these smaller, more subtle experiences.

I was gonna hop on New Texas Giant again, but then it went down for lightning. We thought about waiting or doing the log flume, but with the storm clouds quickly rolling in, I called it quits. And good thing, I got in my rental car and it POURED and I mean POURED. Now I'm from the PNW and whats more the rainy part of the PNW, yet I can only remember a few times it rained like that. Also, I got in the car started driving away and remembered Shockwave exists...RIP cred.

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As a whole I thought Over Texas was an interesting park. It felt like at one time someone cared and had a grand, well-planned, vision for the park, and somewhere along the way someone else said "to heck with that" let's put random rides and stuff everywhere. I liked the little details that someone clearly thought about when they were built. The remnants of that early vision were very apparent, and it looked like a recent effort has been made into restoring many of the older and broken down parts of the park. To be a good park though I think it still has a long way to go. Maybe Selim's idea of a higher standard for Six Flags will carry through and start here, but somehow I doubt that.

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And that's my hope for the future of this park. That someone who actually cares will be put in charge, and chart a new course forward. Build upon Casa Magnetica, Pirates of Spelunker Cave, and all the other improvement projects they seemed to be working on. Create a long-term vision that can buoy the park, and then clean the place up. If this park didn't get any new rides for a few years, but just restored an area of the park a year, I would be happy.

I'll leave with a picture of what is now the only Intamin bobsled coaster in the US, here to hoping that it and the park can not only hang on, but thrive in the next few years.

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I mentioned earlier that I had bought a Six Flags pass, and that I did all of the Texas parks. So you probably know what my next Six Flags was...but first a stop at a park that actually surprised me. A park I didn't think would be so cool, but ended up giving me a lot of hope for it's chain and the other parks in it.

See you all next time!

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6 hours ago, The username said:

Potentially planning to visit for the first time in Mid December. For holiday in the park what coasters will be closed. I'm really going for shockwave, Freeze, NTG, Vibora. Is this a good time to go or should I save my money for another time?

Post-COVID might be a different story (others please chime in if so). But I went in mid-December 2019 and every coaster was open. Weather sat in the 50s most of the day and dipped down to the low 40s at night and everything remained open. It was actually a wonderful time, and my first time at the park. HITP is such a great event (or at least it was great that year... Six Flags has changed a lot recently so take it with a grain of salt).

Although I suppose Aquaman may be closed. For weather, or "maintenance" or both, or no reason.... so maybe don't hold out hope for that one. I went back in July this year and Aquaman was incredibly unreliable and on-off all day.

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