Mysterious Sue
Strata Poster
I seem to be doing a lot of work at the moment for the oil drilling industry. This is the second June in a row that I’ve found myself in Houston, Texas. Last year, I tapped some holiday onto my trip, hired a car and drove out to Six Flags Fiesta Texas. I really enjoyed myself, so decided to repeat the idea this year. This time I trekked the 4 hours up to Six Flags Over Texas on the outskirts of Dallas (the new 4D vom-machine opening this year at SFFT was not enough to pull me back out west).
I came into Houston on a very bumpy flight with lots of storms and I got my first experience of air sickness - joy. The landing was also terrifying – the whole plane pitched left, then right several times, I guess due to the wind. It wasn’t until I got to the hotel that I realised the extent of the storms, which had turned downtown Houston into this…!!!
Despite the hotel basement being under water, all the lifts being out and fire alarms going off in the middle of the night, I survived the ‘FLOOD’. Had a bit of a look round Houston and took a boat trip to see the delights of the refineries along the Houston Ship Canal.
Work stuff complete and Houston finally off flood warning, I headed off early on a Saturday morning to pick up the hire car from George Bush airport. Then, there was nothing between me and the Corolla and…Dallas! Yee haw etc.
In reality, there was lots between Houston and Dallas, in the form of torrential rain (including lots of terrifying warning signs on the interstate that read ‘if water on road, turn around, don’t drown!), my first Ihop, and being pulled over by (very nice) Texas police for doing 85 in a 70. ‘But there were creds to get officer…’
Underwhelming, Ihop
I got to the park about 1pm I think and the rain thankfully stopped for the day. I quickly sorted out the world’s cheapest annual pass (less than £50 for every SF park for the whole year <3). As the park was open till 10pm, I decided to hit up the left of the park first, then go back to my hotel about 5pm for a quick shower and come back to do the right side and night riding
A rather wet entrance plaza
The first thing I noticed were the huge signs telling you not to enter with firearms. Nothing says 'welcome to our park' like being scanned for guns/knives. Ohh Texas, you’re so funny…*secretly terrified*.
The second thing I noticed was a sign saying that a number of rides, including New Texas Giant would be closed due to rain!!!! Seriously, first El Toro and now this… Thankfully, the lady at the desk said it should be operating soon, phew.
After a deep breath, the third thing I noticed is just how bloody gorgeous this park is. I mean, wow, it just ticks all my buttons! Especially the European area by the entrance. The initial layout was a little confusing – with La Vibora closed due to rain, I found myself in a dead end almost immediately and had to come back to find another way over to…
New Texas Giant, which was operating! A 15 minute queue later and I was in the hilarious station - which has a chicken coop area for people who wuss out of the ride (and makes appropriate chicken noises as you pass through). I’d hate to work on it but as a guest it was fab. The trains are…odd. Is it a bull or a car, a western or a racetrack?? And what’s with all the clear plastic fitted round the sides that obscure the view? None of it mattered though as the ride was awesome. A cracking first drop followed by buckets and buckets of airtime, plus sideways airtime and the best: airtime in tunnels – and I was in the middle of the train. I rate it far higher than the only other RMC I’ve been on, Iron Rattler, which has one fab drop but then doesn’t really do anything else. I was definitely looking forward to a night ride on this beast.
Next door was Titan, the ginormous old hyper towering over everything on that side of the park. But how the hell do you get into the queue – I finally found the entrance after going through a picnic area and entering the queue for a breakdance. This park seriously needs some signage and better ride entrances. The ride was walk on. I headed straight to the back and got settled in. It was at this point that I came face to face with the parks RIDICULOUS rule ‘you must have two riders in the back seat’. W. T. F. I’ve never seen this anywhere else, not even at other SF parks! I just don’t understand what it achieves?! So they had to open all the restraints and I had to swap with two people in the row in front of me. I was not a happy Sue. Still, second-to-last row gave an amazing ride. Considering its age, it wasn’t too rough, and apart from dithering about at the top for a while, it’s very enjoyable and the views are great. I was not prepared, however, for the seriously intense helix! Maybe it was the heat/humidity, but Titan gave me more grey spots that I305 (the only ride that’s ever come close to doing that to me before). The exit shop was completely flooded due to all the rain earlier – People were literally splashing around between the aisles!
I had planned to do the old classic, Shockwave next. But exiting from Titan took me near to some very interesting fake rockwork and my curiousness got the better of me. Heading into the queue I realised it was the family Premier Runaway Mountain (not to be confused with the similarly named Runaway Mine Train, also at the park!). The queue was great, lots of theming, nice shady trees and blood ponds with crocs lurking <3. I’m a bit of a premier fangirl and this did not disappoint. I managed to bag a front seat on this fab little ride in the dark. It had lots of sudden twists and turns and a real feeling of speed. Not sure on the restraints though that came in really high up and resulted in major boob squish </3.
A concerted effort later, I found the way into Shockwave past the tower. I’m not sure if the tower was closed but no one seemed bothered on such a humid day.
Unloved in the heat
The longest queue of the day, but I finally got a seat somewhere near the middle of the train on Shockwave. This was a sensible choice as it was showing it’s age and was a little rough in places. Again, good for its age though. Interesting that this ride had the longest queue - and I heard several guests comparing other rides to it all day – it must have a very special place in the hearts of local people. And I can see why – the double loop is forceful and the rest, despite some square-ish corners, is very fun. A slightly disturbing (although I’m sure deliberate) feature is the swaying of the track.
By then I was a sticky, sweaty mess and decided to head back to my hotel for a shower. Panda Express was closed so I grabbed some KFC-rip off chicken on the way and double-checked, but La Vibora was still closed. My hotel was only 5 minutes away so I was back in the park in less than an hour, and as the evening arrived, a fresh wind picked up and I began to feel a bit more human.
Food and wildlife break (Red Cardinal cred?)
I headed off B&M-bound to the right of the park but ended up detouring to pick up the woodie (which I think had just opened). To get to Judge Roy Scream, you had to go through the kiddie area and under a tunnel under the entrance road, basically outside of the rest of the park. It was quite odd! It looks (and rides) like a really old woodie, despite being opened as late as 1980. It’s very fun though – the sort of thing you could sit on all day, with just a whisper of airtime and beautiful views across the lake. Had a nice chat in the queue with someone from Louisiana who told me all about the rivalry between there and Texas! People seemed to have come a very long way to this park.
This was nearby. No way in hell I was riding it.
I ignored the kiddie cred (I’ve decided I’m too old and ashamed to attempt riding them on my own) and headed back into the main park area. I nipped down to attempt the mine train, but it was closed because of all the rain and the queue line was flooded. I popped back about 3 or 4 times over the evening, but it never opened. Oh well, there was lots of other stuff to occupy me.
I spied a single rider queue on the spiny Gerst. I had a little bet with myself that it was called Pandemonium…and yep. SF originality knows no bounds. Had a little chat on the way up the lift hill with the people I’d been shoved in with. Everyone in Texas is so friendly and chatty, it’s lovely. Although, one of the girls was traumatised once the ride started and screamed the whole way round. Haha. One and done.
Couldn’t quite believe I’d got to this point in the day and still not ridden the B&M! I hastily put this to rights and got a back row seat. Something very odd happened on this ride. I pulled down the restraint and thought I'd actually done it a bit too tight. Then the ride op came and actually jumped up on the restraint to pop it in again even further till I could hard;y breath. She even asked if I wanted it tighter still?! But I don’t think it can have made the last ratchet properly as I swear halfway round it came up one (I didn’t even know that was possible and it slightly unnerved me!). What is it with the weird back row operations at this park!
The ride, as usual for a batman, was intense, fast and fun. It’s kinda sad that I don’t really get excited about a batman clone anymore, but I do still enjoy them immensely. So many high-intensity rides in one park <3
Now if I’m, honest, I’d been putting off Mr Freeze till the very last, and I was more than a bit nervous as I got in the queue. Walking through the spooky warehouse on my own didn’t help either – it’s a great queue line though, I love all the crazy paint and industrial feel. This queue had also succumbed to the floodwater. Splosh! Splosh!
Once through the odd left then right batching, I was in the very impressive station. I opted for front of the train (as I don’t really like heights) and shoved myself in the seat before I could let the fear take hold of me. Got chatting with a nice girl who really loved the ride which made me a bit less nervous. Then, before I could even blink, there was that Premier launch. What can I say, the whole thing was a blur, but I remember delightful weightlessness and really odd sensations going backwards around the tophat and then some great speed going forwards. Wow! I haven’t been that disorientated since Psyke Underground. I leapt off the ride and ran straight back round again for another 3 goes, in the front and in the back. The launch is just right – enough to take your breath away but not as intense as an Intamin/S&S. Lovely floaty airtime. The ridiculous station with its queue eating (and amazingly cool to watch) double train loading system. And the fab ride ops who had it running like clockwork and who spurred on the crowd getting them to count down, or sometimes tricking them so that the launch was a surprise. LOVE it <3.
I would have loved to have had more re-rides on Mr Freeze but the long day and humidity were finally catching up with me, and the intensity and barrage to the senses from Freeze were wearing. So I headed over to the shooty dark ride, Hall of Justice, to recover. It was quite good for that generation of ride (we're all spoiled these days with the 3D, Transformer style shooters I guess). But then, I'm not really a comic book fan so it's probably lost on me.
Can any comic book goons explain?
By then it was time to head back over to the other side of the park. As the sun was setting, I headed to Judge Roy Scream for a ride watching the sunset over the lake. Yet again, no back row for me
When it got properly dark, I had a re-ride on Titan. The helix didn’t affect me quite as much second time round, so I’m blaming the heat for some of the effect.
Then I did a few re-rides of NTG. I never managed a back row ride in this (bastards) but I did get second from back and front. Such an impressive ride at night. The first drop is lush all lit up in the dark and the sense of speed is heightened. Then, there’s the lights turned on in the first two tunnels, followed by being thrown into the final pitch black tunnel. So, so good – just buckets of fun.
Finally, I left enough time just to have one final check if La Vibora was running. I couldn’t quite believe my luck, but there it was! I love this whole area of the park around the swinging ship and it’s especially gorgeous at night. The Gotham area may be much easier to find your way round, but it’s bland by comparison to this little corner. I don’t really get it, but people seemed to think this was a kiddie ride – I was the only one in the queue without a child and felt a bit self-conscious. There were even cartoons being played in the queue! I’ve been on a few bobsled coasters now, including the one at Efteling, and consider them quite adult, even ‘unsafe-feeling’ rides. These had a slightly different car design to Efteling’s, where you sit one person behind each other (like in a Swatzy). I had to get in with a mum and her kid which was a bit weird, but oh well, I got the cred. And it was great fun whizzing around in the dark and I love the snake theme and brightly coloured track. I did manage to badly whack my knee though – it’s quite violent in places.
All that was left was to wander around the pretty western/Europe areas, soaking up the ambiance and then say goodbye to this fabulous park.
Also has a little nosy at the heritage area - otherwise known as France!!?
I can’t wait to get back! If I ever do, I’m staying in the La Quinta, which has a great view of the woodie. I love the way the woodie and Shockwave run right round the edge of the park – it gives you a great view as you come in. I took some photos that night of the woodie over the lake. I came back and took a few more in the early morning too, before my drive back into Houston.
There was also a geocache lurking around this side of the lake and I managed to find it, but not before nearly putting my hand into a hole with a sleeping snake! Oh Texas!
‘Why did it have to be snakes?’
Some final thoughts on Texas as a tourist...
The people are so, so friendly and the food is ommnomnom (best steak ever).
But the irony of dressing your children in a pro-life shirt while queuing for a children's ride themed to guns, was not lost me...
Overall SFOT is an amazingly gorgeous park with a fantastic ride line-up and lots of big/high g-force rides. I'm going to have to make room for it in my top 10 parks list. Mr Freeze and NTG were the stand out rides for me, especially at night, but the filler rides were also of a really high calibre. With the exception of the ridiculous back row rule, the operations were pretty spot on too. Hope I get to go back next year
I came into Houston on a very bumpy flight with lots of storms and I got my first experience of air sickness - joy. The landing was also terrifying – the whole plane pitched left, then right several times, I guess due to the wind. It wasn’t until I got to the hotel that I realised the extent of the storms, which had turned downtown Houston into this…!!!
Despite the hotel basement being under water, all the lifts being out and fire alarms going off in the middle of the night, I survived the ‘FLOOD’. Had a bit of a look round Houston and took a boat trip to see the delights of the refineries along the Houston Ship Canal.
Work stuff complete and Houston finally off flood warning, I headed off early on a Saturday morning to pick up the hire car from George Bush airport. Then, there was nothing between me and the Corolla and…Dallas! Yee haw etc.
In reality, there was lots between Houston and Dallas, in the form of torrential rain (including lots of terrifying warning signs on the interstate that read ‘if water on road, turn around, don’t drown!), my first Ihop, and being pulled over by (very nice) Texas police for doing 85 in a 70. ‘But there were creds to get officer…’
Underwhelming, Ihop
I got to the park about 1pm I think and the rain thankfully stopped for the day. I quickly sorted out the world’s cheapest annual pass (less than £50 for every SF park for the whole year <3). As the park was open till 10pm, I decided to hit up the left of the park first, then go back to my hotel about 5pm for a quick shower and come back to do the right side and night riding
A rather wet entrance plaza
The first thing I noticed were the huge signs telling you not to enter with firearms. Nothing says 'welcome to our park' like being scanned for guns/knives. Ohh Texas, you’re so funny…*secretly terrified*.
The second thing I noticed was a sign saying that a number of rides, including New Texas Giant would be closed due to rain!!!! Seriously, first El Toro and now this… Thankfully, the lady at the desk said it should be operating soon, phew.
After a deep breath, the third thing I noticed is just how bloody gorgeous this park is. I mean, wow, it just ticks all my buttons! Especially the European area by the entrance. The initial layout was a little confusing – with La Vibora closed due to rain, I found myself in a dead end almost immediately and had to come back to find another way over to…
New Texas Giant, which was operating! A 15 minute queue later and I was in the hilarious station - which has a chicken coop area for people who wuss out of the ride (and makes appropriate chicken noises as you pass through). I’d hate to work on it but as a guest it was fab. The trains are…odd. Is it a bull or a car, a western or a racetrack?? And what’s with all the clear plastic fitted round the sides that obscure the view? None of it mattered though as the ride was awesome. A cracking first drop followed by buckets and buckets of airtime, plus sideways airtime and the best: airtime in tunnels – and I was in the middle of the train. I rate it far higher than the only other RMC I’ve been on, Iron Rattler, which has one fab drop but then doesn’t really do anything else. I was definitely looking forward to a night ride on this beast.
Next door was Titan, the ginormous old hyper towering over everything on that side of the park. But how the hell do you get into the queue – I finally found the entrance after going through a picnic area and entering the queue for a breakdance. This park seriously needs some signage and better ride entrances. The ride was walk on. I headed straight to the back and got settled in. It was at this point that I came face to face with the parks RIDICULOUS rule ‘you must have two riders in the back seat’. W. T. F. I’ve never seen this anywhere else, not even at other SF parks! I just don’t understand what it achieves?! So they had to open all the restraints and I had to swap with two people in the row in front of me. I was not a happy Sue. Still, second-to-last row gave an amazing ride. Considering its age, it wasn’t too rough, and apart from dithering about at the top for a while, it’s very enjoyable and the views are great. I was not prepared, however, for the seriously intense helix! Maybe it was the heat/humidity, but Titan gave me more grey spots that I305 (the only ride that’s ever come close to doing that to me before). The exit shop was completely flooded due to all the rain earlier – People were literally splashing around between the aisles!
I had planned to do the old classic, Shockwave next. But exiting from Titan took me near to some very interesting fake rockwork and my curiousness got the better of me. Heading into the queue I realised it was the family Premier Runaway Mountain (not to be confused with the similarly named Runaway Mine Train, also at the park!). The queue was great, lots of theming, nice shady trees and blood ponds with crocs lurking <3. I’m a bit of a premier fangirl and this did not disappoint. I managed to bag a front seat on this fab little ride in the dark. It had lots of sudden twists and turns and a real feeling of speed. Not sure on the restraints though that came in really high up and resulted in major boob squish </3.
A concerted effort later, I found the way into Shockwave past the tower. I’m not sure if the tower was closed but no one seemed bothered on such a humid day.
Unloved in the heat
The longest queue of the day, but I finally got a seat somewhere near the middle of the train on Shockwave. This was a sensible choice as it was showing it’s age and was a little rough in places. Again, good for its age though. Interesting that this ride had the longest queue - and I heard several guests comparing other rides to it all day – it must have a very special place in the hearts of local people. And I can see why – the double loop is forceful and the rest, despite some square-ish corners, is very fun. A slightly disturbing (although I’m sure deliberate) feature is the swaying of the track.
By then I was a sticky, sweaty mess and decided to head back to my hotel for a shower. Panda Express was closed so I grabbed some KFC-rip off chicken on the way and double-checked, but La Vibora was still closed. My hotel was only 5 minutes away so I was back in the park in less than an hour, and as the evening arrived, a fresh wind picked up and I began to feel a bit more human.
Food and wildlife break (Red Cardinal cred?)
I headed off B&M-bound to the right of the park but ended up detouring to pick up the woodie (which I think had just opened). To get to Judge Roy Scream, you had to go through the kiddie area and under a tunnel under the entrance road, basically outside of the rest of the park. It was quite odd! It looks (and rides) like a really old woodie, despite being opened as late as 1980. It’s very fun though – the sort of thing you could sit on all day, with just a whisper of airtime and beautiful views across the lake. Had a nice chat in the queue with someone from Louisiana who told me all about the rivalry between there and Texas! People seemed to have come a very long way to this park.
This was nearby. No way in hell I was riding it.
I ignored the kiddie cred (I’ve decided I’m too old and ashamed to attempt riding them on my own) and headed back into the main park area. I nipped down to attempt the mine train, but it was closed because of all the rain and the queue line was flooded. I popped back about 3 or 4 times over the evening, but it never opened. Oh well, there was lots of other stuff to occupy me.
I spied a single rider queue on the spiny Gerst. I had a little bet with myself that it was called Pandemonium…and yep. SF originality knows no bounds. Had a little chat on the way up the lift hill with the people I’d been shoved in with. Everyone in Texas is so friendly and chatty, it’s lovely. Although, one of the girls was traumatised once the ride started and screamed the whole way round. Haha. One and done.
Couldn’t quite believe I’d got to this point in the day and still not ridden the B&M! I hastily put this to rights and got a back row seat. Something very odd happened on this ride. I pulled down the restraint and thought I'd actually done it a bit too tight. Then the ride op came and actually jumped up on the restraint to pop it in again even further till I could hard;y breath. She even asked if I wanted it tighter still?! But I don’t think it can have made the last ratchet properly as I swear halfway round it came up one (I didn’t even know that was possible and it slightly unnerved me!). What is it with the weird back row operations at this park!
The ride, as usual for a batman, was intense, fast and fun. It’s kinda sad that I don’t really get excited about a batman clone anymore, but I do still enjoy them immensely. So many high-intensity rides in one park <3
Now if I’m, honest, I’d been putting off Mr Freeze till the very last, and I was more than a bit nervous as I got in the queue. Walking through the spooky warehouse on my own didn’t help either – it’s a great queue line though, I love all the crazy paint and industrial feel. This queue had also succumbed to the floodwater. Splosh! Splosh!
Once through the odd left then right batching, I was in the very impressive station. I opted for front of the train (as I don’t really like heights) and shoved myself in the seat before I could let the fear take hold of me. Got chatting with a nice girl who really loved the ride which made me a bit less nervous. Then, before I could even blink, there was that Premier launch. What can I say, the whole thing was a blur, but I remember delightful weightlessness and really odd sensations going backwards around the tophat and then some great speed going forwards. Wow! I haven’t been that disorientated since Psyke Underground. I leapt off the ride and ran straight back round again for another 3 goes, in the front and in the back. The launch is just right – enough to take your breath away but not as intense as an Intamin/S&S. Lovely floaty airtime. The ridiculous station with its queue eating (and amazingly cool to watch) double train loading system. And the fab ride ops who had it running like clockwork and who spurred on the crowd getting them to count down, or sometimes tricking them so that the launch was a surprise. LOVE it <3.
I would have loved to have had more re-rides on Mr Freeze but the long day and humidity were finally catching up with me, and the intensity and barrage to the senses from Freeze were wearing. So I headed over to the shooty dark ride, Hall of Justice, to recover. It was quite good for that generation of ride (we're all spoiled these days with the 3D, Transformer style shooters I guess). But then, I'm not really a comic book fan so it's probably lost on me.
Can any comic book goons explain?
By then it was time to head back over to the other side of the park. As the sun was setting, I headed to Judge Roy Scream for a ride watching the sunset over the lake. Yet again, no back row for me
When it got properly dark, I had a re-ride on Titan. The helix didn’t affect me quite as much second time round, so I’m blaming the heat for some of the effect.
Then I did a few re-rides of NTG. I never managed a back row ride in this (bastards) but I did get second from back and front. Such an impressive ride at night. The first drop is lush all lit up in the dark and the sense of speed is heightened. Then, there’s the lights turned on in the first two tunnels, followed by being thrown into the final pitch black tunnel. So, so good – just buckets of fun.
Finally, I left enough time just to have one final check if La Vibora was running. I couldn’t quite believe my luck, but there it was! I love this whole area of the park around the swinging ship and it’s especially gorgeous at night. The Gotham area may be much easier to find your way round, but it’s bland by comparison to this little corner. I don’t really get it, but people seemed to think this was a kiddie ride – I was the only one in the queue without a child and felt a bit self-conscious. There were even cartoons being played in the queue! I’ve been on a few bobsled coasters now, including the one at Efteling, and consider them quite adult, even ‘unsafe-feeling’ rides. These had a slightly different car design to Efteling’s, where you sit one person behind each other (like in a Swatzy). I had to get in with a mum and her kid which was a bit weird, but oh well, I got the cred. And it was great fun whizzing around in the dark and I love the snake theme and brightly coloured track. I did manage to badly whack my knee though – it’s quite violent in places.
All that was left was to wander around the pretty western/Europe areas, soaking up the ambiance and then say goodbye to this fabulous park.
Also has a little nosy at the heritage area - otherwise known as France!!?
I can’t wait to get back! If I ever do, I’m staying in the La Quinta, which has a great view of the woodie. I love the way the woodie and Shockwave run right round the edge of the park – it gives you a great view as you come in. I took some photos that night of the woodie over the lake. I came back and took a few more in the early morning too, before my drive back into Houston.
There was also a geocache lurking around this side of the lake and I managed to find it, but not before nearly putting my hand into a hole with a sleeping snake! Oh Texas!
‘Why did it have to be snakes?’
Some final thoughts on Texas as a tourist...
The people are so, so friendly and the food is ommnomnom (best steak ever).
But the irony of dressing your children in a pro-life shirt while queuing for a children's ride themed to guns, was not lost me...
Overall SFOT is an amazingly gorgeous park with a fantastic ride line-up and lots of big/high g-force rides. I'm going to have to make room for it in my top 10 parks list. Mr Freeze and NTG were the stand out rides for me, especially at night, but the filler rides were also of a really high calibre. With the exception of the ridiculous back row rule, the operations were pretty spot on too. Hope I get to go back next year
