Six Flags Fiesta Texas (SFFT) Discussion Thread

I love Air Race at Lagoon. I imagine adding some height to it will make it even more awesome. Great addition!

I recently relocated to the Austin area for work (although I’ll be flying back to SoCal often) and figured I’d re-up my 2020 pass at Fiesta Texas instead of Magic Mountain. I knew yesterday would be busy, but I figured it’d be a good opportunity to get to know the park, crowd watch, and maybe jump on a couple of rides. It was busy, but not absurd, so I managed to get on all the major stuff that I wanted. It was my first visit so I don’t know how I feel about the park yet overall, and I think I should make a few more visits before I decide. I found the place to be very scenic, but Six Flags-scenic (a bit inconsistent). The boardwalk area looked especially nice at night, and I’d love to see more parks develop boardwalk / carnival-style sections like this. A few thoughts on the rides:

Poltergeist: I’d ridden the indoor version of this at Kings Island and kind of disliked it there — mainly because it’s a ride that warrants defensive riding, which is impossible in the dark. The Kings Island one was a combo of rough and snappy which, when ridden in the dark, resulted in pain. This was better, but it’s still whippy and rough. Operations were brutal; between eight and twelve minutes per dispatch. This, it turns out, was the fault of walks of shame. The train in front of me had seven and the one behind me had five. The ejected were definitely big, but not spectacularly so. The issue, it seems, is that the seats fold you forward in kind of an extreme way — which isn’t great for folks carrying extra weight. As such, a “25-minute wait” was well over an hour. It’s fun enough, but it’s not something I’d ride often if there’s a line.

Wonder Woman: A “20-minute wait” was more like 90 minutes (full switchbacks) because they were only filling three or four seats per train consistently. The line jumping was so out of control that I’d just call it a free-for-all. Dispatches were fast (three trains on constant rotation), but because they could only seat so few, most of the trains went too fast pass holders or went unfilled. Once I got to the station, I saw what the problems were in terms of only partially filling trains. They did indeed have several seats blocked off, but the odd loading system seems designed to fail.

As for the ride, I’m not as big a fan of RMC as most, and this kind of summed up everything I tend not to like about their more recent designs. The ride seemed way too fast for such a small layout, and it was all over in seconds. It’s certainly intense, but the intensity was more about the positive forces than the negatives, a couple of which bordered on gray-out inducing. It has the thigh-bruising ejection of other RMC rides, but in this case, it’s really only two uncomfortable slams (the first bunny-hop thing and the drop that follows the spiral. The first drop looked way worse than it was, and after that, much of it was a blur. For me, it was all breakneck speed and not that much fun. I thought the best part was looking at the drop while going up the hill — which just looks nuts. I was pretty amazed that the ride could handle such tight moves at that pace, but it makes sense given the proximity of the train to the track.

I rode it again at night before I left, and my impressions are largely the same. From the perspective of innovation, it’s great. It really does seem like a lot could be done with this concept, but this particular model’s not for me. I think the design would benefit from something more spread out or just longer (like the Poltergeist spaghetti bowl, or a really creative rethinking of a wild mouse). Don’t get me wrong, I’ll ride it again on revisits because I didn’t find it overly unpleasant. But the speed is just too ridiculous for such a compact track.

Superman: Again, an astounding amount of line jumping — like, shameless line jumping. There was no staff to be seen, so I guess it’s to be expected. Fortunately, the line for this was short — in spite of the line jumpers.

As far as the ride goes, it’s a fun B&M floorless. The acceleration into the first dive was great, as was the turnaround / rise up and drop out of the brake run. The rest was kind of standard-fare B&M (not a bad thing). As someone who actually likes Magic Mountain’s Scream (when it’s running well, at least), I do kind of prefer that one. Yet, I think I prefer Superman to Rougarou though as that was rough as hell when I rode it in its opening year. (I took a second ride later at night and in the back seat. Again, the two drops from the cliff are great. The rest is textbook B&M.)

Iron Rattler: This ended up being closer to a 90-minute wait. It was the weed-smoking section, it seems. The ride was running one train, dispatching every five or so minutes, so the queue was a place for folks to chill and get high. The line jumping was bad, but not as bad as the other rides because the line really wasn’t moving anywhere. Once the line got to the ramps, the line jumpers really had to work extra hard.

Anyhow, the ride’s fantastic. This is the kind of RMC I love: a good mix of intensity and plain old fun. It’s quite short (too short, really), but the first drop and subsequent elements are all great and so well paced. No RMC is ever rough, but this one’s extremely smooth all the way around. I sat in the back and I suspect this would be great in the front as well. I still give Twisted Colossus the edge for first-drop intensity, but this is a fantastic coaster. Of the RMCs I’ve ridden (about six or so), Texas Giant and this one are at the top.

Road Runner Express: The purported 50-minute wait was actually 10 minutes, and the station was nicely shaded. I love old-school arrow mine trains and this is one of the best I’ve been on. A really unique layout with more speed and force than you usually get on these models. The first drop was surprising and the ride was pretty smooth overall given the more “intense” layout. Really great coaster for its type.

Batman: I was dreading this as Green Lantern is, by a very long shot, the worst ride I’ve ever been on. X2, in my perspective, isn’t far behind. But X2 can be tolerable if you know how to ride it and / or plan your day around a potential migraine / injury. While I assumed this would be more comfortable than Green Lantern, I still anticipated it being an awful ride. Well, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I don’t know if I’d ride it again as it’s the opposite of fun for me, but it was smooth throughout and the spins weren’t uncomfortable. It’s disorienting to the point where you can’t see a thing — basically making it a pointless experience IMO — but it wasn’t painful. When it does face plant you, you certainly feel it, but it’s nothing like the pain produced by GL.

I skipped Goliath as it’s a Batman clone that I’ve ridden many times before (it looks cool at the entrance though). Also, I skipped Pandemonium because I’ve ridden something like it at the other Texas Six Flags. Boomerang was down (terrible shame) and I skipped Fireball as I’ve ridden the carnie version and am totally fine never riding one of those again. Joker drew huge crowds all day, and I’ve been on Crazanity a bunch so I didn’t need to ride it. I’m sure everyone knows by now that Crazanity and Joker are incredibly intense rides, and perfect for parks like this. I hope more parks invest in them going forward.

I rode Sky Screamer and Scream as well. Sky Screamer gave great views despite being somewhat shorter than others I’ve ridden. It was still pretty freaky. Scream seemed unusually tame. Supreme Scream at Knotts is probably my favorite drop tower, but it goes to show that size matters as the Fiesta tower felt surprisingly small. Still, I love S&S drops.

So, a decent first visit in which I rode much more than I had expected. I’ll return soon on a slower day so that I can really take in the details more, but it looks like the park has very limited hours right now.

^ Dear God. That’s the most negative TR I’ve ever read.

Idk if it got any better..... But I stopped reading after your Iron Rattler section. So much negativity. It makes me wonder.... Whats the point of such a negative TR? Like.... anyone who can truly complain about Wonder Woman just blows my mind.

Like.... anyone who can truly complain about Wonder Woman just blows my mind.

I think it's okay (at least I hope it's okay!) to have different opinions on rides? I'm not a fan of extreme thigh-crusher airtime (I really didn't like Skyrush either, for example).

But yes, I think you might have misread my take (or not read, as you state). I really liked a number of the rides there: Iron Rattler and Road Runner in particular — both of which were excellent. It was interesting first visit, to say the least, but a good introduction I'd say.

I recently relocated to the Austin area for work (although I’ll be flying back to SoCal often) and figured I’d re-up my 2020 pass at Fiesta Texas instead of Magic Mountain. I knew yesterday would be busy, but I figured it’d be a good opportunity to get to know the park, crowd watch, and maybe jump on a couple of rides. It was busy, but not absurd, so I managed to get on all the major stuff that I wanted. It was my first visit so I don’t know how I feel about the park yet overall, and I think I should make a few more visits before I decide. I found the place to be very scenic, but Six Flags-scenic (a bit inconsistent). The boardwalk area looked especially nice at night, and I’d love to see more parks develop boardwalk / carnival-style sections like this. A few thoughts on the rides:

 

Poltergeist: I’d ridden the indoor version of this at Kings Island and kind of disliked it there — mainly because it’s a ride that warrants defensive riding, which is impossible in the dark. The Kings Island one was a combo of rough and snappy which, when ridden in the dark, resulted in pain. This was better, but it’s still whippy and rough. Operations were brutal; between eight and twelve minutes per dispatch. This, it turns out, was the fault of walks of shame. The train in front of me had seven and the one behind me had five. The ejected were definitely big, but not spectacularly so. The issue, it seems, is that the seats fold you forward in kind of an extreme way — which isn’t great for folks carrying extra weight. As such, a “25-minute wait” was well over an hour. It’s fun enough, but it’s not something I’d ride often if there’s a line.

 

Wonder Woman: A “20-minute wait” was more like 90 minutes (full switchbacks) because they were only filling three or four seats per train consistently. The line jumping was so out of control that I’d just call it a free-for-all. Dispatches were fast (three trains on constant rotation), but because they could only seat so few, most of the trains went too fast pass holders or went unfilled. Once I got to the station, I saw what the problems were in terms of only partially filling trains. They did indeed have several seats blocked off, but the odd loading system seems designed to fail.

 

As for the ride, I’m not as big a fan of RMC as most, and this kind of summed up everything I tend not to like about their more recent designs. The ride seemed way too fast for such a small layout, and it was all over in seconds. It’s certainly intense, but the intensity was more about the positive forces than the negatives, a couple of which bordered on gray-out inducing. It has the thigh-bruising ejection of other RMC rides, but in this case, it’s really only two uncomfortable slams (the first bunny-hop thing and the drop that follows the spiral. The first drop looked way worse than it was, and after that, much of it was a blur. For me, it was all breakneck speed and not that much fun. I thought the best part was looking at the drop while going up the hill — which just looks nuts. I was pretty amazed that the ride could handle such tight moves at that pace, but it makes sense given the proximity of the train to the track.

 

I rode it again at night before I left, and my impressions are largely the same. From the perspective of innovation, it’s great. It really does seem like a lot could be done with this concept, but this particular model’s not for me. I think the design would benefit from something more spread out or just longer (like the Poltergeist spaghetti bowl, or a really creative rethinking of a wild mouse). Don’t get me wrong, I’ll ride it again on revisits because I didn’t find it overly unpleasant. But the speed is just too ridiculous for such a compact track.

 

Superman: Again, an astounding amount of line jumping — like, shameless line jumping. There was no staff to be seen, so I guess it’s to be expected. Fortunately, the line for this was short — in spite of the line jumpers.

 

As far as the ride goes, it’s a fun B&M floorless. The acceleration into the first dive was great, as was the turnaround / rise up and drop out of the brake run. The rest was kind of standard-fare B&M (not a bad thing). As someone who actually likes Magic Mountain’s Scream (when it’s running well, at least), I do kind of prefer that one. Yet, I think I prefer Superman to Rougarou though as that was rough as hell when I rode it in its opening year. (I took a second ride later at night and in the back seat. Again, the two drops from the cliff are great. The rest is textbook B&M.)

 

Iron Rattler: This ended up being closer to a 90-minute wait. It was the weed-smoking section, it seems. The ride was running one train, dispatching every five or so minutes, so the queue was a place for folks to chill and get high. The line jumping was bad, but not as bad as the other rides because the line really wasn’t moving anywhere. Once the line got to the ramps, the line jumpers really had to work extra hard.

 

Anyhow, the ride’s fantastic. This is the kind of RMC I love: a good mix of intensity and plain old fun. It’s quite short (too short, really), but the first drop and subsequent elements are all great and so well paced. No RMC is ever rough, but this one’s extremely smooth all the way around. I sat in the back and I suspect this would be great in the front as well. I still give Twisted Colossus the edge for first-drop intensity, but this is a fantastic coaster. Of the RMCs I’ve ridden (about six or so), Texas Giant and this one are at the top.

 

Road Runner Express: The purported 50-minute wait was actually 10 minutes, and the station was nicely shaded. I love old-school arrow mine trains and this is one of the best I’ve been on. A really unique layout with more speed and force than you usually get on these models. The first drop was surprising and the ride was pretty smooth overall given the more “intense” layout. Really great coaster for its type.

 

Batman: I was dreading this as Green Lantern is, by a very long shot, the worst ride I’ve ever been on. X2, in my perspective, isn’t far behind. But X2 can be tolerable if you know how to ride it and / or plan your day around a potential migraine / injury. While I assumed this would be more comfortable than Green Lantern, I still anticipated it being an awful ride. Well, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I don’t know if I’d ride it again as it’s the opposite of fun for me, but it was smooth throughout and the spins weren’t uncomfortable. It’s disorienting to the point where you can’t see a thing — basically making it a pointless experience IMO — but it wasn’t painful. When it does face plant you, you certainly feel it, but it’s nothing like the pain produced by GL.

 

I skipped Goliath as it’s a Batman clone that I’ve ridden many times before (it looks cool at the entrance though). Also, I skipped Pandemonium because I’ve ridden something like it at the other Texas Six Flags. Boomerang was down (terrible shame) and I skipped Fireball as I’ve ridden the carnie version and am totally fine never riding one of those again. Joker drew huge crowds all day, and I’ve been on Crazanity a bunch so I didn’t need to ride it. I’m sure everyone knows by now that Crazanity and Joker are incredibly intense rides, and perfect for parks like this. I hope more parks invest in them going forward.

 

I rode Sky Screamer and Scream as well. Sky Screamer gave great views despite being somewhat shorter than others I’ve ridden. It was still pretty freaky. Scream seemed unusually tame. Supreme Scream at Knotts is probably my favorite drop tower, but it goes to show that size matters as the Fiesta tower felt surprisingly small. Still, I love S&S drops.

 

So, a decent first visit in which I rode much more than I had expected. I’ll return soon on a slower day so that I can really take in the details more, but it looks like the park has very limited hours right now.

Do you consider Six Flags and Seaworld your home parks because you relocated to Austin if your a theme park enthusiast I know it’s weird that the city doesn’t have a theme park do you find the drive stressful to drive an 1hour or 2?

^ I've lived in Austin for 30+ years, and yeah, Fiesta is absolutely my home park.

it's only about an hour 1/2 from my house to Fiesta, not much longer than my commute to work on a busy morning.

so yeah, the drive isn't bad at all. (and you gotta remember, Texas is BIG.. . even in Houston, it can be 50 minutes to get from one side of the City to the other).

Iron Rattler: This was the weed-smoking section, it seems. so the queue was a place for folks to chill and get high.

Six Flags just keeps getting stranger with their smoking area placements.

it was me. . .this Austin hippy wears hemp underwear, and was gassy.

I think there are multiple questions here, so I'll try to break up your sentence accordingly:

Do you consider Six Flags and Seaworld your home parks because you relocated to Austin

They're the closest parks to where I currently live, so if that's how you determine "home park," then yes. I've never been to Sea World, so I can't really say that feels like a "home park" to me. However, I'm in SoCal every couple of weeks, and I've been to Knotts and Magic Mountain more times than Fiesta Texas since I relocated. I consider them to be "home parks."

if your a theme park enthusiast I know it’s weird that the city doesn’t have a theme park

I'm not quite following you here. I think you're asking me if I think it's weird that Austin doesn't have a theme park? The answer is no.

do you find the drive stressful to drive?

No, I don't find the drive stressful.

an 1hour or 2?

I've only driven it once. It took about 75 minutes — just a little more than it'd take to get across LA to Magic Mountain.

if your a theme park enthusiast I know it’s weird that the city doesn’t have a theme park

I'm not quite following you here. I think you're asking me if I think it's weird that Austin doesn't have a theme park? The answer is no.

Hellboy thinks it's weird that every city doesn't have a theme park.

^ yep.

and note, that Arthur even says he waited in line for Iron Rattler ~90 minutes. and the drive from Austin to SFFT for him was ~75 minutes.

so yeah. . . it took him less time to get to the park, than the time he waited in Standby for Iron Rattler.

Hellboy seems to think that any drive more than 10 minutes or so is a horrible chore.

oh, and Arthur - I'd highly recommend on your return visit to give these flats a shot:

Hustler - it looks like teacups, but it's such a strange and wonderful experience to be inside the ball and spinning. one of our faves in the park.

Spinsanity - this next gen version of Tilt-A-Whirl spins so dang much (tho it doesn't look it from walking by), that we only ride it every few visits. . . and always BEFORE eating.

Wave Runner - this sizzler on the boardwalk was shut down for many, many months. . . if it was a motor issue? they are taking full advantage of the fix, as it runs a really intense program. Among the best programs of any SF park I've been at (the only one that even comes close to me, is the program they run at SFA).

Bugs Bunny WhiteWater Rapids - the queue has been sadly lacking characters for a while, and the spitting dragon on the ride itself is hit or miss as to if it's working. . but this is a wonderful log flume, that goes up and above Spassburg. it's always worth the wait (if the line isn't spilling out into the walkway in front of the ride, as that means the queue is completely full and is a 2 hour wait).

I also really like "Pirates of the Deep Sea" - a well themed shooter tucked away, way back in the corner of the boardwalk behind WaveRunner & the Ferris Wheel. it's not "exciting" but it is a very pleasant "take a break" ride, and very well done for a Six Flags. and because it's tucked back there? it never has much of a line, even tho it's the new ride from 2019. . folks just don't know it's there! (don't be discouraged if the line is outside. .the hold the queue there for Flash Pass. . typically the entire indoor queue is empty and they are just holding the line outside)

ETA: if you ride Skyscreamer in the Summer months, or early evening - when the Hawks are out? it's even better.

there are several Hawk nests up there on the Quarry Wall, and to be circling above them as they fly? is just awesome.

(and of course, I love the SFFT Carousel. . it's restored beautifully. . .tho I don't love the location it's in now. But I'm just glad to have it back (it most recently used to be where the entry plaza to Wonder Woman is, so when they started building that? the Carousel went into refurb and was out of the picture for almost a year!)

oh, and Arthur - I'd highly recommend on your return visit to give these flats a shot:

 

Hustler - it looks like teacups, but it's such a strange and wonderful experience to be inside the ball and spinning. one of our faves in the park.

 

Spinsanity - this next gen version of Tilt-A-Whirl spins so dang much (tho it doesn't look it from walking by), that we only ride it every few visits. . . and always BEFORE eating.

 

Wave Runner - this sizzler on the boardwalk was shut down for many, many months. . . if it was a motor issue? they are taking full advantage of the fix, as it runs a really intense program. Among the best programs of any SF park I've been at (the only one that even comes close to me, is the program they run at SFA).

 

Bugs Bunny WhiteWater Rapids - the queue has been sadly lacking characters for a while, and the spitting dragon on the ride itself is hit or miss as to if it's working. . but this is a wonderful log flume, that goes up and above Spassburg. it's always worth the wait (if the line isn't spilling out into the walkway in front of the ride, as that means the queue is completely full and is a 2 hour wait).

 

I also really like "Pirates of the Deep Sea" - a well themed shooter tucked away, way back in the corner of the boardwalk behind WaveRunner & the Ferris Wheel. it's not "exciting" but it is a very pleasant "take a break" ride, and very well done for a Six Flags. and because it's tucked back there? it never has much of a line, even tho it's the new ride from 2019. . folks just don't know it's there! (don't be discouraged if the line is outside. .the hold the queue there for Flash Pass. . typically the entire indoor queue is empty and they are just holding the line outside)

 

 

ETA: if you ride Skyscreamer in the Summer months, or early evening - when the Hawks are out? it's even better.

there are several Hawk nests up there on the Quarry Wall, and to be circling above them as they fly? is just awesome.

 

(and of course, I love the SFFT Carousel. . it's restored beautifully. . .tho I don't love the location it's in now. But I'm just glad to have it back (it most recently used to be where the entry plaza to Wonder Woman is, so when they started building that? the Carousel went into refurb and was out of the picture for almost a year!)

I'll definitely give those a try and I'm going to try to get back down there either this weekend or next. It's shame that the hours are so heavily restricted right now otherwise I'd be down there during the week. Spinsanity looked like an old Waltzer ride from the UK — like a more-intense tilt-a-whirl. I'm not a big fan of twisters (I don't think I've ever been on the Magic Mountain or the Knotts one), but I'll give it a shot next time I'm there. In general, super-spinny flats are once-and-done for me, and I've ridden models like them at some point or other in the past. Even though I didn't ride it (as I know the ride well from riding Crazanity), Joker was such a cool-looking install — perfectly placed with amazing lighting.

I did ride the Pirate ride and dug it. Like the Justice League rides, it's not something I'd ride again but it was fun to see. I'm a sucker for old-school dark rides, so I actually preferred it to the various Justice League installations. That whole area looked beautiful at night.

And yes, the water ride was the one ride I didn't make it onto this time even though I really wanted to. Next time, for sure. I think that a return visit for me will most likely involve marathoning iRat (amazing ride), Road Runner (excellent), Poltergeist (if the ops improve), and Superman (a solid B&M). I need to figure out when the best times to visit are and I'm hoping to hit up the Halloween stuff at some point as well.

Thanks for the tips!

^ we'll be there Sat afternoon (likely between 1-4 pm or so). . we have to go activate our 2020 passes.

ping me via IM if you're gonna be there, we can meet up and say "hi" !

as to the hours? yeah, very light right now, but at least it's now a year round park, so it IS open every weekend (at minimum). . they'll go back to daily operations here and there in Oct (fright fest) and Nov/Dec (Holiday in the Park)

ETA. . the ops on Poltergeist will *never* improve. Those restraints are so funky, it always takes them that long to load (and there are always those that have to walk from the train). They don't often run two trains, since the 1st gets stuck on the brake run in the sun while they are attempting to load the 2nd. . but maybe in the cooler months they will start back with 2 train ops more frequently.

and Joker is worth waiting in line for, simply for that Funhouse in the queue. it really is amazing (and Joker is a bit taller than Crazanity. . it and WonderWoman Golden Lasso are the tallest in the USA).

as to best times to visit? Sunday mornings.

Texas loves their Church. . so if only open on weekends? anytime between open and ~2pm is nice and slow.

ETA. . the ops on Poltergeist will *never* improve. Those restraints are so funky, it always takes them that long to load (and there are always those that have to walk from the train). They don't often run two trains, since the 1st gets stuck on the brake run in the sun while they are attempting to load the 2nd. . but maybe in the cooler months they will start back with 2 train ops more frequently.

Yeah, it was running two trains when I visited a few weeks ago and the train did indeed sit on the brake run for 5+ minutes. The walks of shame on that ride are something else but I can see why given the awkward restraints. It's a ride that I think I'd come to like more once I get a better feel for the layout and the moves it makes.

Thanks again for the tips, and a Sunday morning sounds good to me!

Chiming in with some reality. 1. With traffic these days, it takes 2.5 hrs from Austin to Fiesta for me even on a Sunday. Lets not get people's hopes up. 2. Justice League in ATL was an impressive 10/10, Pirates was a 0/10 for me. 3. As I just got back from Great Adventure, Fiesta is not the most scenic park in the chain. The quarry wall is nice but I still see plenty of litter and chipping paint everywhere. Could use a powerwasher on all paths big time. Besides that, above average park but could use an El Toro or Kingda Ka clone Jeff you reading this?

Seconded on Pirates of the Deep Sea. I had no idea that ride even existed, we just stumbled upon it as we were leaving the area. It is fantastic. Do not miss this ride.

Jeffrey Siebert just posted to FB some additional theming added across from Joker (in front of SuperVillian Swing)

I'll be there on Sat, and will get my own pic to give to Larry for the TPR pages, but in the meantime? looks fantastic.

Chiming in with some reality. 1. With traffic these days, it takes 2.5 hrs from Austin to Fiesta for me even on a Sunday. Lets not get people's hopes up. 2. Justice League in ATL was an impressive 10/10, Pirates was a 0/10 for me. 3. As I just got back from Great Adventure, Fiesta is not the most scenic park in the chain. The quarry wall is nice but I still see plenty of litter and chipping paint everywhere. Could use a powerwasher on all paths big time. Besides that, above average park but could use an El Toro or Kingda Ka clone Jeff you reading this?

Let's put some reality on your "reality":

1) I've lived in Austin for over 30+ years, and in Cedar Park (ie: far NORTH Austin) for 15 of those. It takes me exactly one hour and 30 minutes from my house to get to SFFT parking lot.

on a light traffic day, can make it in 1:15, and on a busy traffic day, it most certainly can take ~2 hours. But it NEVER takes 2 1/2.

if it is taking you 2 1/2 hours to get to SFFT from Austin? you simply do not know how to drive, or you're taking some "shortcut" thru hill Country that isn't really a shortcut.

From downtown Austin, it takes about an hour & 10 minutes. DJCoasterMark and his spouse were just in Austin (I met them last Thurs for lunch) and they went to Fiesta both Friday AND again on Sat, from where they were staying in downtown Austin. it did *not* take them anywhere near 2 1/2 hours to get there.

2) JL is a high tech dark shooting ride with screens and technologically advanced vehicles.

Pirates of the Deep Sea is an old school dark ride, that was a conversion of Scooby Doo Ghostblasters - re-done entirely in house.

your likes/dislikes are your own, but there is simply no comparison between the two rides - other than they are both shooting rides at Six Flags parks.

3) again, your opinion is your own, but completely disagree with you. (and find it hysterical you think Great Adventure is a prettier park than several other options in the chain). SFFT is top 2, in the chain, but I'd have no issue calling it the nicest park it the chain. And hell no to an El Toro or a Kinda Ka. . .you clearly don't understand the charm of this smaller SF park.

We do sorely need a woodie, and hopefully we'll eventually get an out and back that goes along the quarry behind the boardwalk. but extreme coaster? nope. . if I want that, I'll go to another park in the chain.

The Falls. It is a pretty park.

Bert playing peek-a-boo

Met up with Bert for dinner on Thursday at Baby A's. Dear gawd those margaritas. Everclear? Oy !

Drove to Fiesta from just outside of downtown Austin on a friday during rush hour. But first, hit up Barton Springs in Austin. So nice.

Left at 3:20 and still made it to the park before the 5pm opening. It was Bring a Friend Free day but did not get busy until after 7 pm. First ride up was, and a surprise, Road Runner. So much fun. Rode it twice. Next of course was Iron Rattler. OMG, Loved it. Then hit up Bugs Bunny's log flume as it had just opened and had no line at all. I will say, the dragon was working a bit too well. It sprayed me the entire time we were in the loop of it. The dang thing followed me in the boat and I was quite wet.

The park started getting crowded with BAFF and opening night for the Haunts. Got a ride on Hustler (per Bert's recommendation) and had a blast. Didn't get on everything but El Hubcap agreed to come back the next day.

Oh larwdy, even more.

Barton Springs is huge, and deep, and cold for us Floridians.

^ but it's always the same Temp. . if it's 110 out, or 50's out, the water is always the same

Had such a wonderful time meeting y'all, hope you do a trip report on Fiesta (and how your Sat went). . did you do ZDTs? or the Riverwalk while killing time till open on Sat?

We went back on Saturday with a stop at the Alamo first. It only took an hour and 15 to get there.

Got to the park a bit before the 5pm opening again, but there was a private party going on earlier that day and the park was already packed. Still we got on Bugs again, ( Love this flume) Road Runner, and Batman with very short waits. We did use our single flash pass for a night ride on Iron Rattler. OMG, that thing is insane in the complete darkness.

Overall, we were quite impressed with the level of theming of the park AND how freshly washed and freshly painted everything looked.

Our only regret is that we didn't get to ride Joker, as the line was waayyy into the temporary queue they had set up. Wasn't going to wait 2 hours. Next time tough.

We are going to keep an eye out for another $14.50 flight deal to go back.

Thanks Bert for all your good advice.

PS- Iron Bear on Saturday night was a blast. It was Singlet night. Need I say more ?

Alamo

Next time.

^ heh. . I'm too fast for ya.

glad you made the trip back. . and for sure we'll visit when in Tampa next

^ Had a great time. Ran out of time for ZDT's. Next time, as we will definitely be coming back. Great meeting up with you and hopefully we can get to meet Nick too. Let us know when your in our neck of the palm trees.

Ok Bert, Next time you drive. My buddy took us non 35 route on Sun June 23 and it took from 10:30 and we were there around 1. That night google was saying 3 hrs but there were traffic jams in NewB and SanM. About scenic Over Georgia is really nice also with hills and giant pine trees. Great Adventure is out in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by river and forest.