We visited Six Flags over Texas on June 1, 2025 to not only get updates on the New for 2026 dive coaster and try new food offerings around the park, but to celebrate a big GuideToSFoT milestone (more on that in a bit).

Titan Repainting

Titan’s repainting slowly but surely continues. Only a handful of teal supports remain on the lift hill, but it’s unclear when they’ll be painted with the park now in daily operation.

2026 Coaster Updates

You’re first made aware of the 2026 coaster construction before you even make it to the front gate. The entire front preferred parking lot is blocked off (including the picnic area) to stage the arriving track and supports, forcing guests to take a lengthy detour around it. New logs for El Aserradero are also being stored there, as part of refurbishments for the historic water ride.

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  Supports and track for the 2026 ride begin to pile up in the parking lot

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  Supports and track for the 2026 ride begin to pile up in the parking lot

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  Long sections of rebar begin to arrive

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  Newly-manufactured logs have arrived for El Aserradero

As has been widely reported, the supports are a dark brown and the track is a two-tone tan and lighter brown, and should integrate nicely into the Mexico and Spain section of the park. A ride theme and name have not been released, but hints posted by the park have led some to think it will be called Matador or have a bullfighting theme.

Speaking of inside the park, a piece of track has been placed in front of the barricaded Spain entrance to further generate hype for the still-unannounced ride.

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  A piece of track from the 2026 coaster on display

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  A piece of track from the 2026 coaster on display

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  Lots of nuts and bolts connecting the track to a support element

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  An identification label on the track on display

We have learned that a formal announcement for the record-breaking ride should come some time this summer.

Entry Plaza

Renovations to the entry plaza appear complete for now, with construction fencing removed revealing the grand plan of apparently emphasizing openness.

The women’s restroom at the park exit and fountain next to Guest Relations (which was repainted along with a new awning installed) have both been removed and replaced with picnic tables.

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  Entry plaza guest services with new awnings

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  Unshaded picnic tables where the large women's restroom previously stood

The Mercado gift shop also underwent a similar renovation with new awnings and an updated look.

 

Summer Entertainment

As we recently wrote about, entertainment options for Summer 2025 are quite limited and likely linked to chain-wide cost cuts and savings goals. The Texas Justice Stunt Show—a long-standing guest favorite—is the only option for now until a Dueling Piano show starts in mid-July. Keep that in mind if you’ve historically planned a Southern Palace show in your summer visit itinerary to escape the heat.

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  An actor preps the expanded Courthouse Stage for a Texas Justice showing

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  Sign for the Texas Justice show

Drink Stations

One of the themes of 2025 projects appears to be drink stations. Throughout the park, existing drink stations are being redone with new ones being installed as well. We spotted new ones next to Six Flags Universe and next to Aquaman Power Wave. We didn’t get a photo of it, but E.G. Sugarwater’s has reopened with a emphasis on beverage refills.

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  A drink refill station being installed between Six Flags Photos and the Six Flags Universe store

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  New drink station near Aquaman Power Wave

On the other hand, one of the long-standing structures which recently served as a Coca Cola Freestyle shop (amongst other things) has been bulldozed with nothing but the concrete pad remaining. It’s not clear what the park plans on doing with this small plot, but it does open up a nice vista to the creek and waterfall.

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  Picnic tables line an area that formerly housed a Coca Cola Freestyle shop

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  A sign mentioning improvements on the concrete pad that formerly housed a Coca Cola Freestyle shop

JB’s Smokehouse

A renovated JB’s Smokehouse is open, sporting a new cafeteria-style food line that’s designed to serve guests faster. The new menu features brisket, smoked chicken drumsticks, pulled pork, and chicken tenders, with a variety of sides and desserts.

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  JB's Smokehouse after the 2025 renovation

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  New layout for cafeteria-style serving

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  The new menu offerings at JB's Smokehouse

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  Chicken tenders, cornbread, baked beans

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  Buttered corn, smashed potato, and mac & cheese

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  Beverages, salads, fruit cups, and banana pudding

We ordered a brisket platter for our first taste of the new JB’s. Unfortunately it did not deliver.

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  Brisket, smashed potatoes, and cornbread

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  Tough, inedible brisket

The brisket, which appeared to consist mostly of unrendered fat, was easily the worst brisket I’ve ever had in my life. It had the consistency of a well-done steak and was literally impossible to pull apart with plastic cutlery, snapping one of the forks in the process.

After trying a few unpleasant bites and contemplating if I wanted to be that kind of customer, I took the platter back and requested a swap. I had intended to ask for a different protein because I’ve had JB’s brisket in years past with similar results and therefore didn’t think a new serving would be any better, but they automatically gave me another platter with more brisket without asking.

The second brisket attempt was slightly better, but still incredibly dry and tough. Perhaps most remarkable was the lack of smoke flavor. It was like eating unseasoned, boiled steak.

The smashed potatoes had a nice crispy texture but could have used more seasoning. The cornbread was good and fairly standard.

Our JB’s visit was a bust due to the awful brisket, which was disappointing given the hype leading up to its renovation. It’s not clear if the brisket being served is the new variety that’s smoked in-house yet. Hopefully it’s not and it will inherently improve once the smoker is up and running. Either way, we do not recommend it until the park can implement significant improvements.

All American Cafe

After the disappointing visit to JB’s, expectations were low for our visit to the newly-renovated and just-reopened All American Cafe which is also sporting a new menu. Thankfully, our experience at All American was better.

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  A newly reopened All American Cafe after the 2025 renovation

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  Switchbacks and a cafeteria-style food line inside the newly renovated All American Cafe

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  All American Cafe Seating

Like JB’s, All American Cafe was changed over to a single queue line with cafeteria-style serving. The new menu consists of double-patty cheeseburgers, hand-breaded chicken tenders, Detroit-style pizza, and a number of sides and shakes.

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  Options and pricing for the new All American Cafe menu

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  Cheese and pepperoni pizza, double-patty cheeseburgers, and hand-breaded chicken tenders

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  Variety of sides including fries and breadsticks

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  Brussel sprouts and mac & cheese

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  Pre-made vanilla and chocolate shakes

We ordered a cheese pizza and chicken tenders, along with fries and Brussel sprouts. The chicken tenders might have been the most surprising in a positive way. They were hot with a crispy exterior but still had a juicy interior with nice flavor.

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  Hand-breaded chicken tenders with fries

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  Cheese pizza with Brussel sprouts

The pizza was decent, but I wouldn’t call it Detroit-style. Real Detroit-style is known for having a thick crust but with a crispy crust edge that comes from it essentially frying in the deep pizza pan. This pizza only had the thick crust aspect (and boy was it thick, at around 3/4 to 1″). This is the kind of pizza that will certainly weigh you down. I definitely prefer the thinner pizza over at Primo’s.

The fries were okay but inconsistently seasoned. The ones with a nice coating of seasoned salt were fairly good and not soggy like some of the fries I’ve eaten in the past. The Brussel sprouts were also fairly decent, and were honestly a pleasant surprise as a side offering.

They had just pulled a tray of fresh burgers on the line that I’ll definitely try next time I’m in the park. The pre-made shakes were interesting, though I’m not sure how well they were staying in milkshake form.

Ride Closures

One strange recurring theme was the number of ride closures we encountered, with many claiming to be weather-related. We are quite familiar with the impact weather can have on rides, but today was sunny (and hot) with winds topping out in the 10-15mph range—not conditions that typically shut down rides en masse. In fact at one point, Batman was the only large ride we saw running in Gotham City.

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  Justice League closed

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  Catwoman Whip closed for "inclement weather"

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  The Joker closed

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  Riddler Revenge closed for "inclement weather"

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  A closed Texas SkyScreamer with a Guinness World Record sign posted in front of it

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  Judge Roy Scream closed for inclement weather

In addition to the rides shown above, Oil Derrick was closed (as it often is), and Mr. Freeze appeared to go down for an extended amount of time (likely not weather related). Whenever I see this mass ride closure phenomena, I usually question whether it’s actually just staffing issues.

Other Observations

The one ride we typically hit up every visit is Pirates of Speelunker Cave, if only just to see what new level of disrepair it has achieved. Today’s ride was no exception. There are so many non-functioning characters, lights, and sounds throughout all the scenes. Literally only one Speelunker in the first scene is moving at this point, compared to most having some sort of animation in the initial version. The battle scene is without any battling. Yes, there have been minor prop additions here and there, presumably to try and distract from the dozens of stationary or missing characters, but the ride desperately needs TLC.

We finally got a chance to see the new sign from ACE designating Shock Wave a Roller Coaster Landmark. It’s a nice touch highlighting the historical significance of the 47-year-old ride that also pays homage to the park’s efforts in maintaining it.

The Runaway Mine Train’s queue line has also been split, presumably for Flash Pass.

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  New sign designating Shock Wave as a ACE Roller Coaster Landmark

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  Mine Train's queue has been split into 2, presumably for Flash Pass

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  A variety of turtles bob their heads out of Caddo Lake as visitors pass by

And wildlife sightings are always a pleasant sight. I’ve never seen this many turtles in such close proximity at once. Unfortunately it looks like they were looking for guests to feed them some of the park food, which definitely can’t be great for their diet. #BringBackTheTurtleFoodVendingMachines

A Guide To SFoT Milestone

And finally, today’s park visit marks a major milestone for GuideToSFoT.com. As of June 1, 2025, Guide to SFoT has been online for 15 years, consistently documenting, delivering news, and being an unofficial information source for Six Flags Over Texas.

GuideToSFoT.com first launched on June 1, 2010, during the construction of a significant new coaster—the New Texas Giant. Our coverage of that project has since been compiled into a comprehensive three-part series, Texas Giant: Reinvented.

On a personal note, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all the visitors and fans who have supported GuideToSFoT.com over the years. Your engagement, feedback, and enthusiasm have helped sustain this personal labor of love for a theme park that I’ve grown up with—one I’ve had the privilege of watching evolve, for better or worse, over the years. I look forward to continuing to develop and grow the site as the park does the same. I don’t recall the last time the park’s outlook provided as much anticipation and hope as it does now.

As always, if you have any feedback or suggestions, encounter any issues, or just want to get in touch, please visit our Contact page and leave us a note. Thanks!

— Brandon Rodriguez