Who says you need to head to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras? In San Antonio, you can celebrate Mardi Gras all month long starting on March 24 through April 30 at Six Flags Fiesta Texas at their 2017 Mardi Gras Festival. Mardi Gras Festival transforms the amusement park into a Texas version of downtown New Orleans, featuring “eight visually stunning authentic Mardi Gras floats handcrafted by world-renowned float designer, Kern Studios.”
From the epic Mardi Gras parades to the specialty cajun-style culinary options, and of course, a long list of live entertainment, Six Flags Fiesta Texas brings the party on Bourbon Street straight to you.
Mardi Gras Festival Parades
The Mardi Gras parade runs daily starting at 5:30pm following a route through the Rockville, Kidzopolis and Spassburg areas of the park. The procession also stops twice along the way to feature live music from the seven-member King William Brass Band. Of course, plenty of green, yellow, and purple beads will be thrown from all of the 16-foot-tall floats. Park guests should keep an eye out for stilt walkers, street performers and other Mardi Gras characters that help bring the essence of The Big Easy to the streets of San Antonio’s Six Flags Fiesta Texas.
According to Six Flags, “The designs featured on the [parade] floats will vary from Mardi Gras King and Queen to one displaying the seasonal celebration, Dia de los Muertos, and several others depicting special festivals in other parts of the world, including Rio’s Carnival.”
If watching as an onlooker as the parade passes by isn’t enough, Six Flags does have another way for you to get involved in the action. Groups, such as marching bands, cheer, dance & drill teams, have the opportunity to march alongside the eight beautifully decorated parade floats in celebration of the Six Flags Fiesta Texas 25th Anniversary. Space is limited, but groups can also add-on a catered meal, meal vouchers, souvenir bottles or souvenir photo vouchers—all available at a discounted price. Additionally, for every 25 paid tickets sold, you will receive one complimentary ticket.
For more information, Six Flags suggests that you contact Group Sales at (210) 697-5241 to reserve your performance slot.
Mardi Gras Festival Culinary Offerings
Is your mouth watering yet? Because the Mardi Gras parade isn’t the only thing to get excited about at the Six Flags’ celebration. Guests should also look forward to the array of southern, New Orleans-style cookin’.
From King Cake to beignets to Cajun style popcorn crawfish, Six Flags ensures that there is something to please everyone’s palate. The park will offer authentic adult beverages, such as New Orleans hurricanes and Southern Comfort Sweet Tea. There will also be Mardi Gras themed gumbo, jambalaya, milkshakes and colorful cotton candy.
In additional to the Mardi Gras-themed offerings, Six Flags Fiesta Texas also has dining plans and meal deals that will help visitors save an extra couple bucks. According to Six Flags, “With a Season Dining Pass, you can eat at the park every time you visit for just one up-front payment. No limit. The more you visit, the more you save!”
Season Dining Passes also include a free season drink bottle and 20% off most in-park merchandise. There are Premium, Deluxe, and Basic dining passes to choose from. To find out more or purchase a dining pass, visit Six Flags Fiesta Texas Season Dining Passes.
Rides & Other Attractions
Even when it’s not Mardi Gras Festival at Six Flags, there’s a lot to see and a lot to do. On top of all the New Orleans festivities, guests to the park should save time to visit some of Fiesta Texas’ main attractions. Here’s a list of just a few of the top rides and attractions you won’t want to miss:
- BATMAN: The Ride: “A world class 4D Free Fly Coaster that thrusts you into a totally immersive, high-speed Gotham City adventure. You can board Batman’s latest creation – a mind-warping thrill coaster loaded with special effects and cutting edge construction. The utterly innovative design of the ride delivers a brand new coastering experience that is the only one of its kind in the world. Magnetic fins cause you to flip as you fly over the top of a 12-story hill and two beyond vertical drops.”
- Boomerang: “The boomerang was invented by ancient Australian tribes as the ultimate weapon. What’s the benefit of the boomerang over a plain old stick? When you throw it, it slices through the air and then comes right back to you. But what happens if you hurl a mega-ton steel train down 938 feet of track at nearly 60 miles per hour? And what if we threw in two mind-ripping inverted loops and a corkscrew to get in your way? You’re gonna fly through this monster and then return to the starting point.”
- Bugs’ White Water Rapids: “Go back in time with Bugs Bunny to a land where rabbits wore armor and fought fire-breathing dragons. Yes, it’s a little known fact about medieval England that talking rabbits were some of the greatest knights! In the 1958 mini-movie “Knighty Knight Bugs,” your favorite bunny proved it, and now you can relive the adventure on this wild flume ride.”
- Fireball: “New high-adrenaline thrills on Fireball! Featuring a massive 7-story looping frenzy, this ride brings unforgettable thrills to Fiesta Bay Boardwalk. You and 23 others sit facing each other in the hot rod style train preparing to be rocked forward and backward until becoming fully inverted and completing a full revolution. Throughout your ride journey traveling forward and backward you’ll encounter six full inversions.”
- Goliath: “As far as roller coasters go, there are beasts, there are giants, and then there are Goliaths. Find out why bigger is better on this extremely extreme 50 mile per hour body-blaster that is not for the timid.”
- Poltergeist: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. And this journey of four inversions compressed into a half-mile pile of twisted steel begins with a launch—a very fast launch. Poltergeist’s cutting edge linear induction motor launch system will get you from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than 3.5 seconds. That’ll get your spirit moving!”
- Superman: Krypton Coaster: “Your seats on the largest steel coaster in Texas come in SUPERMAN’s iconic colors of red, blue, and yellow—but unfortunately they don’t come with a floor. This is a floorless coaster so you can experience the way SUPERMAN flies. Against the stunning backdrop of Six Flags Fiesta’s famous quarry walls, you’ll soar up to a skyscraper height of 168 feet. Then get ready to experience the life of a Super Hero first hand, as you fly through the 4,000-foot course. “
*Ride descriptions courtesy of Six Flags Fiesta Texas.
To learn more about Mardi Gras Festival or any of the rides and attractions, be sure to visit the official Six Flags Fiesta Texas website.
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