What I did on my Fall Vacation
Sep. 25th, 2006 03:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lisamoeOk, the trip to Six Flags over Texas this weekend. We got there before the gates opened and when they opened the ropes we ran in to try to go on the Titan, which is a steel coaster about 255 ft. tall. It was closed however, because there was a severe weather watch from the national weather service. Same with the Texas Giant (a wooden coaster 143 ft. tall.) We let the kids ride a couple of small rides and then they closed every single freaking ride in the park! We all had to go in the theater for the Spongebob 4D ride and wait out the weather, as it had actually started storming by then. The kids were whiny about not getting to ride anything and R and I were worried that it would be like this all day, but eventually it cleared up and by noon they had most of the rides going again, aside from the big coasters. We took the kids on the Runaway Mine Train, which is a classic small coaster and Jesse (9) loved it of course. Dingo (5) thought it was scary, which is just bizarre as he's ridden Space Mountain, Expedition Everest and the Tower of Terror with no problem at all, but whatever. He rode the Mini Mine train a number of times though and loved that.
We rode several of the small rides like the swings, the train, the sombrero, the Mine Train again, and the Yosemite Sam Gold River (a boat ride) while waiting for the coasters to open. We let the kids play some ganes too and Jesse won a giant Bugs Bunny that we then had to haul around the rest of the day. We rode the Runaway Mountain ride too, which is somewhat Space Mountain-like. It's a twisty indoor coaster in total darkness and was great fun. You can't get a good impression of how high it is when you're in the pitch black, but I understand it's just about 50 feet tall. We actually rode the Spongebob 4d ride too, which was a lot more fun than just using it as a weather shelter. It was a pretty active simulator 3d kind of ride/show.
They finally opened Titan at 3:30 and we left Jesse watching Dingo on the Sidewinder (a scrambler type ride) and gave him $20 for concessions and inbstructions where to meet us while we waited through the 30 minute Titan line. Titan was just awesome. It's the tallest coaster I've been on and that first drop was just exhiliarating. (Before that my tallest coaster was the 205 foot Mamba in Kansas City, I think.) It ran you back up through more really tall drops and curves and was just well worth the wait to get on. Very scary and fun! I would have gone again immediately if not for the line. R had had a chili dog for lunch and didn't feel entirely well after we rode though, so we retrieved the kids and went off to ride more kiddie rides and shop a little. By late afternoon, the lines were starting to thin a little and R volunteered to watch the kids on their rides while I went off to ride Batman: The Ride, as he still was not feeling like riding another coaster. Batman is one of those rides where you're suspended under the track in seats with your feet hanging down and it turns you over a couple of times, plus has about three areas where you corkscrew around the track. I loved it of course and have never been on that style of coaster before. After I met back up with the boys, Jesse and I went to ride Judge Roy Scream, which is an older wooden coaster about 67 feet tall that I remember from my own childhood. It's just about Jesse's speed right now. He won't go on the biggest coasters, but he does fine on wooden coasters under 100 feet. We went back to the mine train area after that and let the boys ride their respective mine trains several more times.
We were getting pretty much ready to pack up and leave then, but it turned out R and the kids wanted to go up in the Oil Derrick observation tower and since I don't really like heights like that (funny, huh?) I ran off to see if there was a line at the Texas Giant while they went observing. There wasn't and I got to walk right up and get on the first train. I have ridden the Texas Giant before, but I guess I had forgotten just how much it rattles you around. VERY rough ride, even for a wooden coaster. I guess because it's faster than most wooden coasters I'm used to or something. It was fun and exciting, but I just felt jarred by the end of it. I was pretty much ready to go after that. R's pedometer said we had walked almost 9 miles and it was almost park closing time, so we made our way up to the exit. I'm disappointed we didn't get to go on La Vibora, which is a bobsled style coaster and Jesse said he was willing to ride with me. I've been on it before, but I wish he'd gotten to go. Still, after a very disappointing morning, we had a fabulous afternoon and evening and I feel like we got our money's worth even if we missed a few things. The kids seemed very happy with the day.
So anyway, Mr Freeze and Flashback were closed for the season, and we missed another big ride or two, but I did make it on Titan, the Texas Giant, Batman: The Ride, Judge Roy Scream, and the little classic Runaway Mine Train which is a nostalgic favorite of mine, and that seems like a pretty good coaster day, no? If you want to look up stats for any of these coasters, there's links at http://www.aceonline.org/census/parkDetails.aspx?id=2093
We rode several of the small rides like the swings, the train, the sombrero, the Mine Train again, and the Yosemite Sam Gold River (a boat ride) while waiting for the coasters to open. We let the kids play some ganes too and Jesse won a giant Bugs Bunny that we then had to haul around the rest of the day. We rode the Runaway Mountain ride too, which is somewhat Space Mountain-like. It's a twisty indoor coaster in total darkness and was great fun. You can't get a good impression of how high it is when you're in the pitch black, but I understand it's just about 50 feet tall. We actually rode the Spongebob 4d ride too, which was a lot more fun than just using it as a weather shelter. It was a pretty active simulator 3d kind of ride/show.
They finally opened Titan at 3:30 and we left Jesse watching Dingo on the Sidewinder (a scrambler type ride) and gave him $20 for concessions and inbstructions where to meet us while we waited through the 30 minute Titan line. Titan was just awesome. It's the tallest coaster I've been on and that first drop was just exhiliarating. (Before that my tallest coaster was the 205 foot Mamba in Kansas City, I think.) It ran you back up through more really tall drops and curves and was just well worth the wait to get on. Very scary and fun! I would have gone again immediately if not for the line. R had had a chili dog for lunch and didn't feel entirely well after we rode though, so we retrieved the kids and went off to ride more kiddie rides and shop a little. By late afternoon, the lines were starting to thin a little and R volunteered to watch the kids on their rides while I went off to ride Batman: The Ride, as he still was not feeling like riding another coaster. Batman is one of those rides where you're suspended under the track in seats with your feet hanging down and it turns you over a couple of times, plus has about three areas where you corkscrew around the track. I loved it of course and have never been on that style of coaster before. After I met back up with the boys, Jesse and I went to ride Judge Roy Scream, which is an older wooden coaster about 67 feet tall that I remember from my own childhood. It's just about Jesse's speed right now. He won't go on the biggest coasters, but he does fine on wooden coasters under 100 feet. We went back to the mine train area after that and let the boys ride their respective mine trains several more times.
We were getting pretty much ready to pack up and leave then, but it turned out R and the kids wanted to go up in the Oil Derrick observation tower and since I don't really like heights like that (funny, huh?) I ran off to see if there was a line at the Texas Giant while they went observing. There wasn't and I got to walk right up and get on the first train. I have ridden the Texas Giant before, but I guess I had forgotten just how much it rattles you around. VERY rough ride, even for a wooden coaster. I guess because it's faster than most wooden coasters I'm used to or something. It was fun and exciting, but I just felt jarred by the end of it. I was pretty much ready to go after that. R's pedometer said we had walked almost 9 miles and it was almost park closing time, so we made our way up to the exit. I'm disappointed we didn't get to go on La Vibora, which is a bobsled style coaster and Jesse said he was willing to ride with me. I've been on it before, but I wish he'd gotten to go. Still, after a very disappointing morning, we had a fabulous afternoon and evening and I feel like we got our money's worth even if we missed a few things. The kids seemed very happy with the day.
So anyway, Mr Freeze and Flashback were closed for the season, and we missed another big ride or two, but I did make it on Titan, the Texas Giant, Batman: The Ride, Judge Roy Scream, and the little classic Runaway Mine Train which is a nostalgic favorite of mine, and that seems like a pretty good coaster day, no? If you want to look up stats for any of these coasters, there's links at http://www.aceonline.org/census/parkDetails.aspx?id=2093
