Surprised my 13 year old twins with a trip to Six Flags over Texas! Boy, were they surprised and happy.
I purchased season tickets. the Diamond Pass, so I'd get the preferred parking and wouldn't have to park in the hinterland. Plus the perks of 20% off food and drinks is a nice bonus. VIP lounge at Six Flags water parks during the summer sounds like heaven.
The day started off cool but we didn't get out to the park until 2 p.m. because I slept in on Columbus/Indigenous Peoples Day. So it was crowded. We had to wait in line to get into the park several minutes. Since I have a heat monitor I brought a purse, to carry the monitor phone easier, which means we had to go through security. Security at Six Flags is more than just them looking through your backpack or purse, it entails, your belongings going through a security camera like at the airport. And then getting wanded by a security guard. I was a little paranoid that my heart rate monitor would set off the wand but it didn't. Then the kids who didn't have purses or bags got wanded, too. What the hay?
I'm not sure people who didn't bring purses or backpacks got the privilege of being wanded when they entered the park. Not sure why my children needed to be wanded but okay. There was definitely a police/security presence at Six Flags today. Not sure if they were on hand because of Fright Fest or some disturbances that have been occurring at the park recently.
We had a good time, the lines were long and it was hot for October, 93F degrees but the park had cooling stations and plenty of cold water was available for purchase. Also, lots of shady areas to sit.
I asked the kids what they wanted to ride first and the Sombrero was their first choice. My daughter says it is a tradition. The wait was short. It's the perfect ride for Nathaniel, not too scary, not fast. He said he thought the ride was probably similar to the movement of the tripod in War of the Worlds. Perhaps.
As I was exiting my seat in the Sombrero ride, my skort got caught on the locking mechanism and I was afraid I was going to rip my skort as I detangled myself. As soon, as I was free we briskly walked to the Conquistador ride. Emma wanted to sit in the back but unfortunately for her some older boys sat in the last row and she didn't feel comfortable sitting with them. Nathaniel and I chose to sit, in the row one away from the middle. I felt like this was very brave of Nathaniel and reminded him that the ride wouldn't be any rougher than the first day of sea on our Thanksgiving cruise. That was a day to remember but I digress. Both of the kids enjoyed the thrilling ride, it was fun and my stomach dropped as the ship went straight up as it rocked and rode the waves.
We decided not to get in line for La Vibora aka the bobsled ride, it was too long my daughter thought. Just as well, I always end up bruised after riding it. A couple of years ago, I bruised my tailbone riding that ride. I'm not sure Nathaniel really enjoys it. So we went looking for food and water in the Texas section. The smell from the restaurants was foul, and very over powering so we settled for chips and a drink at the Mercado.
Then we waited in line for the log boat, or El Aserradero ride. Only one flume was working, which seems to be the case for the last 4 or 5 years. The line didn't wrap around, it was only one long line from start to finish but it took over 45 minutes for us to get to our boat. Which got me to thinking about purchasing a flash pass. I'm fairly sure the flash pass riders were causing the wait in line. I watched the log boats as the passengers boarded and unboarded and was unable to discern what protocol was in place for the ride. Some logs were leaving 10 seconds after another, some 15 seconds and others at least a minute had elapsed before the next log departed the station. The logs would return to the station and hit the log in front that was empty of passengers but not released from the unboarding/exit area. I'm sure there is a method or rhythm to the departures and arrivals but I was unable to figure it out. Some logs left with a couple of passengers, a few with more than 4 people and even one log went on it's journey with one passenger - seems like a waste of space and time. Meanwhile the line is getting longer and the ride is fairly short. We finally board after waiting 40 minutes and Nathaniel notices the water below the ride is red. Perhaps from Fright Fest? The ride was short, it had a small lift and at the end of the ride a longer lift and steep descent. We posed for the picture but the picture booth wasn't open. Bummer. Six Flags lost money on that, but it could have been a staffing problem, who knows.
From there we went to the Shockwave which Emma rode twice. She really liked it. She was totally stoked about it. The line was short. Nathaniel and I waited in line with her so she wouldn't have to be alone by herself. As we were walking up the ramp, a kid about 12 or 13 runs in front of me. I had been walking behind a family for about 5 minutes with their annoying basketball dribbling and slow as molasses walking pace. I asked the kid if he was cutting in line in front of me and he slowly took a few steps backward. Line cutting has been getting out of hand at Six Flags and now the corporation is taking steps to oust people who cut lines.
The Run Away Mine Train is quite possibly my favorite ride at Six Flags over Texas, it's bumpy, it's rough, it's thrilling and kind of schmaltzy. My main irritation with the mine train is the installation of molded seats in the mine cars. I've lost 40 pounds and my butt barely fits in the molded seats. One of the thrills of the ride was sliding on the seat and bracing yourself around the twists and turns along the ride. The Mr. Freeze ride is right next to the Runaway Mine Train and our cars passed at the same time along the tracks and it was incredibly loud. I thought it added to the excitement of the ride but my kids disagreed with me. I enjoyed the Halloween decorations scattered around the ride and especially the spooky decor in the Saloon lift, I would imagine it would be creepy at night.
We were disappointed that several rides were closed. Emma likes to ride El Diablo aka El Loopo in the Spanish section of the park. And the Caddo Lake Barge was closed. It's a good ride for my son who gets dizzy and vomitous easily. It was a hot day, it would have been refreshing to ride the Roaring Rapids. The Speedway Go Karts, the landmark orange Oil Derrick and the Rodeo ride were all closed. Not sure if it was because of technical issues or lack of staffing. We left the amusement park before Fright Fest officially began. My daughter was drained from being around so many people - a wee bit introverted - and my son scares easily so it was time to depart before a ghoulie jumped out of the bushes.
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