Day 3 -- Six Flags Mexico
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Scorecard:
Batman: The Ride (x2)
Medusa Steel Coaster (x5)
Superman el Último Escape (x3)
Sky Screamer
Boomerang
Tsunami
Joker
Medusa Steel Coaster
-- Lunch --
The Dark Knight
Roller
Freaky Dolls
Medusa Steel Coaster (x3)
The Report:
It was an early morning out of the hotel, but we had early morning plans for our biggest park day of the trip. We reached our destination at Six Flags Mexico -- the largest amusement park, by both coaster count and visitor count, in all of Latin America. Originally opened in the early 80s as Reino Aventura, the park was sold into the Six Flags umbrella at around the turn of the millennium. The park is located in the southwestern section of Mexico City, about ten miles from downtown to the north, and just a few miles from the tallest mountain in the entire Federal District to the south.
We met our contact with the park's staff and probably confused a few of the rank-and-file employees as we shuffled in beside them through the back entrance. Nonetheless, we had some filming to do, and it was time to get started! Our first session was on Batman, though, uh, this probably isn't the Batman you're looking for. Once that was done, it was off to the highlight of the day, and one of the biggest highlights of the entire trip -- Medusa. We did five rides during our morning session on this outstanding RMC coaster. We then headed off to Superman for a few rides as the park was opening. Our final ride during filming was Sky Screamer, which had just opened in the weeks prior to our visit.
When that was all done, my small group split off to pick off the rest of the coaster credits. The pace was generally leisurely, thanks to the excellent VIP fast pass system -- an extremely inexpensive purchase for what's basically just a receipt that you show at the queue entrance. None of us needed to use up all of the VIP pass credits we'd been given, especially with crowds not being especially heavy on the day we visited, outside of a few major attractions when the passes did come in handy. Sure, there were numerous school groups at the park -- you couldn't walk 10 feet without running into one of them -- but it wasn't a huge issue in terms of lines. Sure, the kids were loud and having fun, but honestly I didn't see much of the debauchery I'd expect from an amusement park absolutely run over by the 10-14 year old age group like this one was! So, hey, good for them!
I ended the day with nine rides on Medusa, but I think most of others got ten. I actually had to skip one cycle just before lunch as I was fighting off a headache, but I was feeling good enough for three more rides near the end of the day. I did split off for some photography near the end, as I definitely wanted to try to capture some of the unique rides and interesting landscape at a park that not many enthusiasts get to visit. I probably would have tried a few of the park's flat rides if I'd been feeling a little better, but we had no shortage of things to do. Oh, and I had to get some churros on the way out, and I recall them being above-average for a corporate park! I mean, you'd hope so in Mexico, right?
I think we were at the park until 6PM or 7PM, but I didn't have my time zone settings right on my camera, so I'm just gonna guess and say it was 7PM. Close enough. Suffice to say, we had a great day and I didn't even run and hide from the group picture at the end!
Overall Impressions:
I think we all came away pretty happy with our day at Six Flags Mexico. People on the 2013 TPR trip were pretty happy with the park too, and that was before Medusa got the RMC treatment. In several ways, it stacks up very well against the rest of the Six Flags chain. Here are three:
1) The landscaping and design are way above average for Six Flags. In terms of feel and appearance, it's probably the second nicest Six Flags park I've been to, trailing only Great Adventure. That's not to say it doesn't have a couple rough spots, but there's a variety in architecture and scenery you don't get from the average corporate park in the US. And am I crazy for thinking that there's maybe not quite as much advertising as in the US parks?
2) If you like flat rides, this park's got a great collection of them, including several that are pretty rare. I'm not big on flats or spinny things, but with a little more time, there are a few I would have tried! Oh, and add in some of the other experiences too -- the laser tag, the haunt, the dolphin show, the reptile house, and other things. This is a well-rounded park.
3) Medusa. My coaster count has grown significantly since going to Mexico in 2015, and it's still easily in my top 10. It's huge to have a destination coaster like this, and I hope it continues to draw enthusiasts from around the world to check the place out -- not just the park, but Mexico City.
That sort of leads to what I think is the park's biggest weakness -- a lack of other top-tier thrill attractions. The rest of the coaster collection isn't terribly strong -- not a single B&M or Intamin, showing a desperate need for some modern steel. The park's made two big additions since our visit -- a Justice League dark ride in 2016, and one of the S&S Free Spin coasters for 2018. That's a good start. I hope they keep it going, because while I'd already like to return at some point, another good excuse wouldn't hurt.
The Attractions:
Medusa Steel Coaster: Wow. What a ride. Among RMC credits, Medusa's location in Mexico makes it among the most rare. That might have contributed unfairly to some lofty expectations, but it met them and then some. Everyone in the group was ready to put it in their top 10 (if not top 5) after just a couple rides. This was my first of the "small" RMC coasters, and I've since been on Storm Chaser, which even without the barrel roll would be the closest comparison. But while Storm Chaser is an outstanding ride, Medusa's got better pacing and a relentless sense of speed to go along with all the crazy elements. Videos don't do justice to how much intense airtime there is on the entrances and exits from all those raised turns. I have to say, I was skeptical about the barrel roll, but it's way more awesome than you'd expect. Add in one last detail -- the brief right-side-up moment at the top of the lift offers some great views into the heart of Mexico City. Be sure to watch the POV video that Robb filmed on our visit, which includes a guest appearance by the author of this post!
Superman el Último Escape: Just being honest, but I was slightly disappointed by this one, and had a lesser opinion of it than the rest of the group. It's said to be one of the best Morgan hypercoasters, but honestly I'll take its little brother Steel Eel any day. Part of the problem is that all the turns on the first half of the layout -- including one that breaks up the first hill after the lift -- really kill any chance at airtime. At least the pre-lift section is kind of odd and fun! I'll also say that while it was far from the roughest coaster I've ever been on, something about it gave me some issues, and I spent most of the morning with a headache. That's just me -- I don't think anyone else had the same problem.
Batman: The Ride: Umm... if you're looking for a B&M clone, you're at the wrong Six Flags park. Yep, it's a fully themed inverted Batman coaster, but it's a Vekoma SLC. So, yeah, you know what you're getting out of these. The less said, the better. Fine, want one good thing? Batman and Superman both provide some great views to the higher terrain to the south and east, including -- way off in the distance -- two gigantic volcanoes, Popocatépetl and Iztaccihuatl. And I thought that was pretty awesome.
Joker: The rest of Gerstlauer's Tony Hawk clones are carrying out their lives in relative anonymity under the Pandemonium name, but Discovery Kingdom's moved to Mexico City and picked up some of the best theming I've seen on a Six Flags coaster! These are fun rides, but the props and tunnel on the coaster's circuit bring the experience to another level. I've got some pictures of the awesome funhouse queue in the report below as well!
The Dark Knight: The same mouse-in-a-box as all the others, but this one's dubbed in Spanish!
Boomerang: This isn't just any Vekoma boomerang. It's the first ever created Vekoma boomerang. It originally opened in 1984 at a small park in Puebla, Mexico. It moved to Mexico City later in the same decade. Guess what? It rides like it's the first ever Vekoma boomerang. One and done.
Tsunami: One of those gigantic-trained Tivoli family coasters, identical as best I can tell to Blackbeard's Harley Quinn Crazy Treasure Train at SFGAdv. Decent ride.
Roller: The final coaster of the park's eight -- at least as of our visit in 2015 -- is a Vekoma junior coaster. I like these, especially compared to kiddie/junior coasters by other manufacturers.
SkyScreamer: Medusa Steel Coaster opened in 2014, so the new hotness for our 2015 visit was SkyScreamer. Loved the views from this one, high above Mexico City! Probably my favorite views from any of the SkyScreamer or WindSeeker rides I've been on, just thanks to the interesting landscape, though Cedar Point's up there too.
Freaky Dolls: I normally skip haunts -- just not my thing -- but decided to go for this one. I don't remember being overly frightened, but it's tougher to be scared when the actors are yelling at you in a language you're only marginally familiar with!
).. . . I'm pretty sure that we could get a cheap direct flight from Austin airport to Mexico City.
