A Big Ole to SIX FLAGS Fiesta Texas
Written: Jun 12 '01 (Updated Jun 26 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Large, clean, amusement park with a variety of shows and rides.
Cons: They charge extra for at least two rides. Smaller crowd means fewer attractions open.
The Bottom Line: Try to go on an off day, use a coupon, but be prepared to stand in line.
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| colleenmf's Full Review: Six Flags Fiesta Texas |
Disney may be the standard by which all other amusement parks are judged but Six Flags is doing its best to capture a more local market with their clean, family friendly parks. They have several all over the country each with it’s own unique theme. Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio’s theme is little towns or villages. They have six different areas (if you count the water park) where the food, the storefronts, and the rides are suggestive of various places.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas opens at 10:00 am and we dutifully arrived at 9:30. Parking cost $7.00 and the attendant explained that many of the kiddie rides and a few “medium” rides would be closed that day. This was not a problem for us, but you may want to call ahead of time on slower days to see if any particular attraction is closed. We paid our parking and got the ticket as well as a little memo that explained Six Flags was expecting a large number of school groups that day. They gave some estimated crowd times for restaurants and turnstiles. At first I was apprehensive but the memo also explained that they were leaving between 4:00 and 5:00 pm. We were staying until closing at 9:00 pm. You do the math. In reality, the park was very empty all day, hardly any lines and virtually no crowds to maneuver through.
We bought our tickets using a discount coupon for $21.99 each adult. The regular prices are
Adults $35.99
Under 48” $17.99
Seniors and disabled $24.99
Under 2 years free
Discount coupons are easy to find. The most common coupon is $4.00 off. If you are an AAA (or CAA) member the discount is triple on Wednesday. Our coupon came from a Family Network membership (won at Qool.com). I heard an advertisement, but did not see coupons, for $20.99 admission, supposedly available at Albertson’s. The San Antonio Chamber of Commerce sent several coupons, one good for $11.00 off, one good for a free child’s admission with an adult purchase, senior admission at $18.00, and next day free. Find what works best for you and use it.
Six Flags did not allow us through the turnstiles early. They did allow season ticket holders to enter at 9:00 am and a few attractions were open early to accommodate them. The main entry led to a section called Los Festivales, which was built to look like a Mexican courtyard. They had shops, a Mexican restaurant, Guest Services (we got our maps), stroller and wheelchair rentals, and rest rooms. There was also a theater with a show called Cirque Magnifico but it was dark that day. The only adult ride in Los Festivales was the Boomerang roller coaster. This ride shoots you backwards and forward through a loop-the-loop. It was closed because 2 days earlier, one car of the train detached in mid ride.
We moved right on to Spassburg, a little German Village. We wanted to get on the train and take a quick trip around the park to get our bearings but it wasn’t opened yet. So we headed to the flume – also not yet opened. The major disadvantage to going to an amusement park during the off-season is that they may not have enough help. Since San Antonio High Schools were still in session, there were not enough employees to have everything running when the park opened. But both of these attractions were open by 10:30 and we rode them each several times.
Now, I should comment that the park is surrounded on three sides by a limestone wall. The park looks like it was carved out of quarry. This makes for at least one interesting roller coaster, attractive waterfalls, a spectacular laser show, and even provides a tunnel for the train.
Crackaxle Canyon is an old west town featuring country music and BBQ. Crackaxle Canyon boasts 2 roller coasters. The Rattler is built on the floor of the canyon, through the limestone wall (in the form of a tunnel), and on the edge of the top part of the wall. There are no loops but it is a very long exciting ride with plenty of drops and plenty of speed. This one reminds me of the old wooden roller coaster at Coney Island. The Road Runner Express is a more compact and less traditional roller coaster. We hit both of these attractions before noon and neither line was longer than 10 minutes. We also saw two different country music shows in the Sundance Theatre – classic country and more modern country.
After the coasters we were ready for some air conditioning so we headed over to Rockville to see a show. Rockville is a 1950’s style small town, with soda fountains and burger and pizza joints. At the high school we saw a 1950’s song and dance review. It was actually a short play (35 minutes) involving at talent show, a greaser, a jock, some cheerleaders, the principal, poodle skirts, saddle shoes… they got all the 1950’s clichés in one show. It was quite entertaining and later in the evening half the cast put on another 1950’s review on the sidewalk in Rockville.
At noon the Fiesta Bay Boardwalk opened. This area is built on a wooden boardwalk, has a ferris wheel, other “seashore” type rides, and a roller coaster called “The Joker’s Revenge” which was not operating. There were two other rides not operating that charged an additional fee. One was the racing go-karts ($5) and the other was Screamin’ Skycoaster (cost unknown) which looked liked a giant swing, about four stories high (just a guess). Am I the only one who has a problem with a park that charges over $35 admission and then another $5 to ride go-karts?
The last area of the park is called Armadillo Beach and is a water park. We didn’t get over there because we hadn’t brought our swimsuits. But the description shows pools, kiddie areas, slides, and lockers. They warn that there may be a line to enter as they limit the number of guests in that section.
For lunch we went back Spassburg and watched two different shows in the Sangerfest Halle. These were primarily singing and dancing reviews. The international food court offered American, Mexican, Italian, and German food and beer. We stayed for two shows because it was air conditioned, quite comfortable, not terribly crowded, and we could eat.
The day ended with a laser and fireworks show on the canyon wall. The show lasted about 30 minutes and generally told the story of Texas. There were a few disconnected parts about the US at war and there could have been some explanation for the six flags that have flown over Texas but as laser and fireworks displays go, it was quite good.
There were two rides we decided to pass on because hubby was still recovering from the loop-the-loop ride at Sea World. The Poltergeist (no earrings allowed – go figure) starts by shooting the cars out of the starting area at 60 mph. The Superman Krypton coaster has at least three loops and two spirals. The last ride we took was called the Scream. It is essentially a free fall ride. The line was about 30 minutes because only one of the three towers was operating. They shoot the carriage up the tower and then let it drop, bounce you around a little bit and then bring it down. Very quick ride, very exciting, but not worth more than a 30 minute wait.
My recommendations would be to arrive early, find out which attractions are closed and which will open later in the day, hit the most popular attractions (those with height requirements) early in the day, hit the late opening attractions as soon as they open, and get a show schedule so you can plan on spending the afternoon hours in some air conditioned buildings. This would be a good time to see if your toddler will take a nap. The shows are quite professional. (I remember reading an article years ago about famous performers who started in the Six Flag system, but the only one I can remember off hand is Betty Buckley who was in “CATS” on Broadway and was in “Eight is Enough” on TV.) In the early evening, the lines get a little shorter as some families and bus groups leave so you can pick up any rides you may have missed earlier. Use the train to save time getting from Spassburg to Crackaxle Canyon (or back) as there are two train stations.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
colleenmf
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Member: Colleen Farley
Location: Lubbock, TX
Reviews written: 146
Trusted by: 147 members
About Me:
Happily married, mostly retired, and addicted to the internet.
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