Six Flags Over Texas

My nephew Bryce is in Fort Worth this week visiting Grandma and Grandpa (Mike's parents), and yesterday he, Grandma and I laid siege to Six Flags. And we could not have picked a better day to go. The weather was great and the park was not crowded at all, which meant that we hardly had to wait in any lines. For Bryce this was wonderful because he was able to ride all his favorite rides again, and again, and again. And believe me, he most certainly took advantage of that!

We arrived at the park around 1 p.m. and started our day of fun riding El Sombrero, La Vibora (formerly known as the Bobsled), Conquistador, and the Log Ride (which now has some fancy new name that I can't remember). One of my favorite rides, and the one I look most forward to going on, is the Conquistador - I know that this probably seems like an odd choice, but I really like the swinging sensation, going up and down, up and down. Bryce, however, did not share my fondness for this ride, and pronounced that we would not be riding it again. So off we went in search of my other favorite, the Roaring Rapids. We were getting kind of hot by then, so it was the perfect time to get wet!

As we were deciding where to go next, Bryce declared that it was time to find a roller coaster. Being the sensible aunt that I am, I thought we should start off slow and directed the group towards the Mini Mine Train. That was fun, but not nearly scary enough so we progressed on up to the Runaway Mine Train and then to a new coaster (well, new to me) called Tony Hawk's Big Spin.

After being jerked around quite a bit, Grandma and I (ok, mainly me) needed a break! (I realize that this puts me in the "old" category, but when did these rides become so jerky? Surely, they weren't like this when I was a kid.) We had an early dinner of burgers and fries and then went to a show before foraging ahead to go on more rides. Once we were back at it, we enjoyed the Swings, the Parachutes, and the Judge Roy Scream.

As we were winding down and had finally dried out from our first round of the Roaring Rapids, Bryce wanted to ride it again. There was no way Grandma or I could say no to that sweet face, so off we went. Since there still were no lines, we rode it not once, not twice, but four times in a row. Bryce and I were pretty soaked, but Grandma was drenched like a wet rat. We laughed so hard, and it was definitely my favorite part of the day!

Since we were already wet, we proceeded to the Log Ride again, which we rode twice. Don't we look like we're having fun?

Besides the Roaring Rapids, Bryce's favorite ride was the La Vibora. So we headed back to the front of the park so he could ride it again. We spent the last hour that Six Flags was open with him riding that, El Sombrero, and the Tea Cups so many times that I lost count. By this point he was an experienced rider, and told us that he could go on these rides all by himself. So as Grandma and I watched him go around and around and around, we enjoyed an essential Six Flags treat, a funnel cake! And I took one last ride on the Conquistador, all by myself.

You probably noticed that we did not ride any of the "BIG" roller coasters. To some, this might have been a huge disappointment, but not to me. My enjoyment of Six Flags at this stage in my life is definitely on an 8 year old's level, and I was perfectly happy riding all the rides that we did. As a teenager, I remember looking at these roller coasters and thinking "What a thrill this is going to be!", now I just look at them and think "This cannot possibly be safe!" (There's no doubt that this confession makes me "old".)

We all had such a great time. (Really, it was the most fun that I have had in weeks!) On the way home as we were reminiscing about our day, Bryce declared that next year he was going to go on all the "really scary" rides. Boy, I sure am glad that I got to go this year. . .

Because it looks like next year I will be sending Uncle Mike!