Augusts in Texas are known for their brutal heat, so we expected nothing less during our visit to Six Flags over Texas on Sunday, August 18, 2024. After all, a National Weather Service heat warning was in effect for an expected high of 104°F.
We have long suggested that super hot days such as this can be some of the best days to visit due to light crowds, if you can endure the heat yourself. Nevertheless, we were well hydrated and primarily there to see if anything else was new since the Six Flags/Cedar Fair merge had finalized, and what all was being done for the upcoming Fright Fest and Oktoberfest events.
Getting into the Park
Three of the six available parking entrance gates were open when we arrived right at park opening at 11am — fairly typical.
Parking lot entrance at opening
Speedy Parking continues to be less than speedy. Speedy Parking was a chain-wide investment to utilize license plate reading technology to automatically admit pre-registered cars into the parking lot, yet despite this, it simply does not seem to work. Every lane is still staffed with an employee, and despite our car being registered since the beginning of the year, we have still needed to provide our season pass to scan every visit.
Getting through security and the park entrance was pleasantly quick and unremarkable.
At the Star Mall entry plaza, colored rocks now fill the planters and new colors adorn the Silver Star Carousel stage, a welcome departure from some of the pastels.
Colored rocks fill the planters and the Carousel Stage sports some new colors
A Walk-On for La Vibora?
As one of the lowest-capacity rides, La Vibora almost always has a long, slow-moving line. However on this visit, with such light crowds, it remained a walk-on as we passed by so we decided to take a relatively rare ride (for us) on one of the few remaining bobsled coasters in the world…
A bobsled leaves the station
Ouch. Now I remember La Vibora being a little rough (especially when entering the blocks), but what I don’t remember is the ride absolutely jackhammering your tailbone at the bottom of the first several drops. The main problem is the padding on the seats is wholly inadequate at cushioning your bottom from what this ride has become over the years. I can safely say I’m good on La Vibora for the foreseeable future.
We also got rides in on Titan and New Texas Giant, both of which were walk-ons. Operations on New Texas Giant left a little to be desired, with the crew badly stacking trains (with the ride only running 2 trains) due to training a new employee. Now obviously training is important, but not at the expense of significantly disrupting efficient ride operations.
Dino: Off Road Adventure
We finally got to ride Dino: Off Road Adventure, with it still being under construction during our previous visit. It’s a fun family ride and most of the animatronics are still operating and look pretty good. The added landscaping is nice and the numerous water features the park got working again look great.
Dinosaurs along the track
Staffing still seems to be an issue, especially with school starting back up. Only one ride attendant was available to load/unload cars, which meant big stack-ups of cars at the exit. Still, employees remained friendly and positive, despite the oppressive heat.
Fright Fest/Oktoberfest Construction
Fright Fest starts in less than 4 weeks, so we kept an eye out for progress on the haunted house and scare zones. Especially because Fright Fest 2024 is expected to be a big year, with the park having access to a number of big-name horror IPs including Stranger Things, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, SAW, and more.
In the Texas area across from Pirates of Speelunker Cave, the large concrete pad is now home to a big tent structure. We couldn’t tell what was going on inside.
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Large tent expected to house a haunted attraction across from Speelunker Cave
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Large tent expected to house a haunted attraction across from Speelunker Cave
The old kiddie train from Looney Tunes USA has apparently been re-purposed as Fright Fest theming in the plaza by Pirates of Speelunker Cave’s entrance.
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Old train pieces from a past Looney Tunes Land train ride are now being used as Fright Fest theming
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The skeleton makes it theming for Fright Fest
Elsewhere in the Texas area, ghoulish cowboys have popped up, and signage has been installed for the Polynesian Palm haunted house that was present for Scream Break.
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Cowboy zombies added to Texas area
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Cowboy zombies added to Texas area
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Signage installed for the Polynesian Palm haunted house
Over in the Tower Area, the Texas Arena has long existed just to house Fright Fest haunted houses. However it doesn’t look like much is going on inside just yet. What is apparent, however, is how bad the Texas Arena needs a new paint job… And ideally, some sort of better use other than sitting dormant 10½ months out of the year.
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One of the haunted house entrances at Texas Arena
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Not much progress on the haunted houses within Texas Arena
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The paint is failing pretty badly on the Texas Arena
Speaking of theaters only used during Fright Fest, Majestic Theater will presumably be used for the Reject Row haunted house, though nothing was apparent yet from the exterior.
Majestic Theater will presumably house the Reject Row haunted house
Some other minor Fright Fest props have popped up in France and Mexico sections.
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Fright Fest prop added in France section
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Fright Fest Figures in Mexico
The “black-top wasteland” corner in Gotham City is generally used for several other haunted houses, though it didn’t appear any work was being done in the area yet. With Harley Quinn Spinsanity closing, this area of the park is screaming for a major future attraction. And shade. Please. Add. Shade.
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No apparent progress is happening on any Fright Fest attractions in Gotham City yet
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Instead of Fright Fest haunted house construction, there's just old Johnny Rockets awnings so far
U.B. DED, a Fright Fest store in the Texas area that’s purported to be year-round was open during our visit, selling a variety of merchandise for the park’s most popular event.
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The year-round U.B. DED Fright Fest Store
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Fright Fest merchandise at UB Ded
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Some Fright Fest merchandise at UB Ded
Finally, we strolled around the Old South & France section to see if anything was going up for Oktoberfest, but nothing was done yet. Of course the Oktoberfest theming should go up much quicker than haunted houses, so that’s not all that unusual.
Nothing has been themed for Oktoberfest in the Old South section yet
Shaded Seating Areas
One of the welcome changes since Cedar Fair management’s team has taken over is the addition or improvement of shaded seating areas.
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Covered seating area next to Texas Arena
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New covered seating area in the Shock Wave queue entrance
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Where the historical display previously stood by Mine Train is now a heavily-misted, covered seating area
Boomtown Bar is Open
The large, covered structure for the new Boomtown Bar is complete and legitimately looks great.
Boomtown Bar structure
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Boomtown Bar
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The Boomtown Bar structure is complete and open to the public
New Bugs Bunny Boomtown Rides
The two new Bugs Bunny Boomtown attractions were also open. The return of Daffy Duck Bucket Blasters was a popular way for kids to cool down in the extreme heat, and the new Sylvester and Tweety’s Pounce and Bounce is a family-friendly stepping stone toward conquering Superman Tower of Power one day.
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Daffy Duck Bucket Blasters is open and being enjoyed by families looking to cool down
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Family-friendly drop tower is now operating
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Old Air Racer planes now dot the Bugs Bunny Boomtown landscape as an interesting form of theming
Roller Coaster Coffee Improvements
Speaking of understated improvements, tons of highly-shaded seating and a new custom mural adorn the front gate’s Roller Coaster Coffee location. This is now a great option to take a secluded break from the bustle of the rest of the park.
A nice custom mural and heavily-shaded seating area for Roller Coaster Coffee
Signs point to the Roller Coaster Coffee location entrance in Bugs Bunny Boomtown
Pirates of Speelunker Cave
Pirates of Speelunker Cave remained closed past park opening but we took a ride when it did open. Despite being a little over 2 years old, it seems every time we ride through the Speelunker cave, less and less of it is working.
Pirate now bizarrely posed doing a high kick
During this particular ride, lots of background music/audio wasn’t working, making for a weirdly quiet ride-through. Maybe about 1 in 4 Speelunkers still move. Several figures are now posed in bizarre ways with their heads or torsos twisted around (possibly due to guest vandalism?). Several scenes and aren’t lit up anymore, effects no longer work, and fountains no longer pump. Behind-the-scenes lights always seem to be left on. The battle scene is particularly eerie and bizarre with almost no motion or effects occurring.
The ride is no stranger to mishaps, with it flooding several times in its early days due to severe weather. It’s still disappointing, however, to see how the ride’s current state compared to its initial version. And yes, it is worse than when the ride reopened after flooding. We hope the park’s new corporate leadership will help put some focus on what should be one of the park’s premier, unique attractions that pays homage to one of its earliest rides (The Cave).
Parking Lot Construction Project
A large construction project is ongoing in the overflow lot. It’s reportedly going to be a long overdue storage warehouse. Wouldn’t it be nice to ride Titan and not see a bunch of old ride parts strewn about?
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Work continues on a project in the overflow parking lot, reportedly a warehouse for ride component storage
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Work continues on a project in the overflow parking lot, reportedly a warehouse for ride component storage
Other Observations
A new snack stand was been installed next to Gotham City stage, which currently offers guests to do karaoke on a big stage.
New snack stand next to the Gotham City stage
The esports “Gaming House” remains closed with signs saying as much. We’re not sure what will become of this interesting experiment.
Sign saying the e-sports gaming house closed
Updates to Johnny Rockets’ exterior look complete, and it turned out pretty nice.
Updates complete to exterior of Johnny Rockets
On the other hand, Casa de las Banderas is still closed (as it often is), though now a sign at least explains that it’s being used for employee dining.
Sign explaining that Casa de las Banderas is only open for employee dining
RIP Pink Thing
And finally, although it has been the case for quite some time, it’s probably worth specifically mentioning the death of the Pink Thing. Our previous articles have explored the history of the Pink Thing, and then the return of the Pink Thing. Most recently it existed in the form of a frozen bar found in various gift shops and stands. But for quite some time now, the park’s quintessential, uniquely Six Flags frozen treat is simply no more.
Don’t let the signs fool you, Pink Things are no more
Which makes it all the more confusing why there’s still a Pink Thing stand at the park entrance, clearly advertising the Pink Thing, with no Pink Thing in sight. An employee confirmed it had been discontinued. I can only imagine how many times a day they have to repeat this (at no fault of their own).
Closing Thoughts
Six Flags over Texas seems off to a slow, albeit positive start under the combined Six Flags/Cedar Fair regime. Parking prices have dropped, the idiotic $1.30 surcharge per food order is gone, and various improvements to the guest experience have popped up throughout the park. Unfortunately it still seems like major park investments may not come for some time, likely until Six Flags can outright own the Arlington park instead of its partial ownership and management arrangement for the time being.
The park still has quite a bit of work to do to prepare for Fright Fest, especially given the high expectations for the new IP-driven haunted attractions. We will continue to monitor and report on updates, so continue to visit our main page and event pages for the latest updates.
We’re gonna go cool down now. Did we mention it was really hot?
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