Tips for Visiting Six Flags with Little Kids

Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about the Polar Vortex and how I wanted to marry it how it was so “chilly” my kids were wearing jackets in July…in Texas? Well, WE LUCKED OUT. We planned a trip to Six Flags Over Texas and it just so happened to fall on one of the coolest July days in Texas history. With temperatures hovering in the comfortable 70’s, we got to enjoy Six Flags to the fullest…and no one (including me, the World’s Biggest Weather Whiner) complained about the heat. I call that a WIN!

Because we had two little kids with us (Jack is five, and Claire was still two at the time), we were somewhat limited to what we could do (no upside-down roller coasters for us!). But even with the height restrictions, we still had a full day of rides and fun – and that’s what I am going to share with you. Here’s how to enjoy Six Flags with toddler and little kids.

Six Flags, although known for its crazy rollercoasters and thrill rides, is actually a super family-friendly location with enough rides that even the littlest of kids can get in on the fun.

The rides fall into several categories, from family-friendly (anyone can ride) to thrill rides, but most of them fall somewhere in between. You can visit the Six Flags website, find your park, and see the height restrictions on all rides – this is helpful if you want to know what to expect and how many rides your kids will be able to enjoy!

Tip #1 – Get there when the park opens, and head straight to the kid rides. The lines are shorter first thing in the morning, and we were able to walk right on to many of the rides…this was fantastic when you’ve got two excited little ones begging to ride everything!

Tip #2 – Get a free map as soon as you enter the park and pick your rides. The map will not only tell you where to go, but it will also give you the height restrictions for all of the rides, which is super helpful if you don’t want to get the kids excited about a ride only to find out they aren’t big enough to ride it (don’t ask me how I learned that lesson).

We started off our adventure in Boom Town, which is full of rides designed just for kids.

Many of the kid rides at Six Flags Over Texas are concentrated in Boom Town, but there are also a bunch of other ones spread throughout the park – so be sure to branch out!

And apparently, some people *do* like scary rides. I’m not one of them, but Charles is. I hung out with the kids while he did some of the scarier rides. The crazy, way-too-high-for-me swings were his favorite (this ride is 400-feet tall and the swings go 35 MPH…NO THANK YOU!!).

The kids managed to talk us into playing a couple of games (the games have an additional cost associated with them), but we found one that had a winner every time. And who doesn’t like giving darts to two-year-olds and five-year-olds to see what happens, right?!

Tip #3 – Bring your own water and snacks. Food is expensive, and you’ll probably want to buy a meal at the park, but we brought in some light snacks and water for the kids and were so glad we did!

After spending the morning on rides, we took a lunch break and let the kids cool off – which is funny, because it was already cool and this resulted in them complaining about being chilly. Go figure.  Also? Claire dressed herself, and when I gently (and then not-so-gently) suggested she match her socks, it quickly turned into a battle-not-worth-having…and so, mismatched socks it was!

Tip #4 – Bring a stroller. Claire ended up sitting in the stroller quite a bit, and Jack would have if we’d let him. It was a lifesaver! Definitely bring a stroller, even if your child doesn’t regularly sit in one. It was great to have for all of our junk and helpful when Claire got tired or we wanted to get somewhere quickly. Because trust me – they’re going to get tired. Get ready for a car nap on the way home.

Tip #5 – Bring hand sanitizer or wipes to keep hands clean and fresh between rides and before eating. Six Flags Over Texas is very clean and well-kept, but I still get a little skeeved out about all the germs (I’m not even kind of a germphobe, but all those hands touching all those rides? Kinda icky!). I carried around a package of Wet Ones to wash the kids’ hands with every now and then, and especially before lunch. 

You can read another post I wrote about visiting amusement parks with kids here – be sure to check out the comments, there were some REALLY helpful and creative ideas for enjoying amusement parks with kids in the comment section!