Editor’s Note: In our DIS*Similarities columns, we examine non-Disney locations for little reminders of Disney magic. If you have been to a place that reminds you of Disney, please consider sharing your DIS*Similarities with us! Contact Christy@WDWRadio.com
by Jamie Robbins-Longoria
About a month ago, I visited our local Six Flags with my 5 year old daughter Kayla. I have not been to this park for many, many years, upwards of maybe 8 or 9. I visited here many times growing up and as a teenager, but in my 20s I only visited maybe once or twice. I have fond memories of this park, as I grew up here in between my Disney visits, and was so excited to bring Kayla! Now that she is old enough to really enjoy a visit to a theme park, and has 3 Disney trips under her belt, I knew we would have a fun time.
During our visit, I noticed many similarities to things that you can find at Disney Parks and references to movies. I spent the day updating my Facebook with my comments, which some of my non-Disney friends found irritating, but my Disney friends loved! I was asked by Christy if I would write up a blog article! I greatly appreciate the opportunity Christy, thank you!!
We arrived to the park a half hour after opening, and entered the park after validating Kayla’s ticket and purchasing mine. We did go through security, which did include a metal detector and a bag check. There was a slight delay here, but nothing any different than the few minutes at WDW entrance gates.
We took a train ride around the park. The full ride lasts about 20 minutes, has only 2 stops, and offers you a preview of different areas of the park. I did notice the water tower at each stop, and wondered if there is a back story to the train ride like there is at WDW.
One of our first rides of the day was the Chubasco ride, which is very similar to the Mad Tea Party teacups! As you can tell, Kayla LOVED the ride!! I truly believe this ride does spin faster than the teacups…of course; it could also just be me getting older and not able to handle the spinning!! The one thing I missed was the unique stopping noise that you hear at WDW…this one was a very gentle stop and barely any noise.
We walked by this store and I had to do a double take at the name….
Everything inside was M & M’s themed…I just smiled though at the name!
I had decided to test out something that works at WDW…wanted to see if it was offered at SF as well. AT WDW you can go to any counter service restaurant or cart that has a soda dispenser and ask for a cup of ice water for free! Well, I was happily surprised that Six Flags offered this as well…unfortunately only a very small cup, not a large one like WDW does, but still. It saved me a lot of money on soda that day, even though later on, I did break down and purchase their refillable mug for $15 with free refills all day of your visit and 99C refills on future visits.
We did also take in a show in the air conditioned theater in the later afternoon when it was too HOT to walk around and a certain princess was getting crabby! It helped to refreshed both of us! We watched a documentary style movie about old attractions, and it was very nostalgic for me because the time frame was when I was growing up and things I remembered. This reminded me of the specials that Disney presents and things that they talk about on their blog, and it just was neat to see how another theme park honors its history.
Kayla noticed this gift shop and asked if Woody and Buzz were around. I had to explain the difference to her between Disney and Six Flags and characters, but she still didn’t understand why this store was here. I just thought it was cute!!
Outside the shop, someone was drawing a beautiful picture on the sidewalk with chalk…reminded me of the water art that some of the custodial workers do on Disney property!
As we sat down to eat, in a restaurant that reminded me of Pecos with awesome BBQ…I found a Hidden Mickey!!!
After we ate, we found an awesome ride where we got to pretend to be pirates and even rode in pirate ship! In the queue line, I spotted this quote by non-other than Jack Sparrow!
Later that night, as we were walking to find a spot for the nighttime parade, we came across this gentleman, who I swear I saw just a few months ago at Port Orleans French Quarter!! Mardi Gras everyday huh??
At the entrance to the park, there is the beautiful carousal that is the “Cinderella Castle” icon of the park and everyone takes their picture in front. Six Flags even has their own version of Photopass photographers there to take your picture!
We enjoyed our visit to Six Flags, it is a nice place to visit in between Disney trips, gives us just enough of that theme park feel and enjoyment, but there is no place like HOME. Walt Disney World…we will see you next summer!!
Follow Jamie at her blog at www.mydreamingcorner.blogspot.com and follow her on Twitter @jrobbins79
