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Mexico 2024
All right. So time for our primary trip of 2024 (*Sigh* Our major trip has been postponed. AGAIN!!! SO F*CKING SICK OF THAT!!!!). We're off to Mexico. Yeah. This trip also nearly didn't happen because of money, but....this trip was organized by other people and was happening regardless, and.....I probably would've lost what little bit of sanity I had left had 2024 had NOTHING IN IT AT ALL!!! SO F*CK IT!!!! And.....taking advantage of the fact that the Metro has a bus line from Long Beach to LAX. Perfect. Now I don't have to worry about parking.
OK. So we're at our layover in Guadalajara. Now this trip initially was gonna stop in Guadalajara since.....there's a certain coaster in Guadalajara that I REALLY want to ride and am worried about the long-term survivability of it. However, other people didn't want to try and hit it due to its unreliability and didn't want to risk going to the park and having a National Lampoon incident, or go and the Bullet is closed, leaving only the crappy credit whoring coasters open. I was still initially gonna risk it cause.....I REALLY want to ride the Bullet. But.....I was stretched so thin for both time and money that.....I just didn't have the ability. The layover in Guadalajara was solely due to booking the cheapest flights. Not related to this at all. But hey. At least something interesting happened in Guadalajara.
I nearly lost my backpack at the Guadalajara Airport. So while going through security, I guess I accidentally left my backpack and just mindlessly forgot about it cause later, I paniced after I didn't see my backpack. I run around like a mad-man throughout the terminal, looking in shops and asking security guards if they've seen my backpack (Thank god for Google Translate). Eventually, I go back to the TSA portion, and sure enough, they had it. And it's a good thing too, cause all my clothes, and my phone charger was in that backpack. I know I travel pretty damn light on these trips. But even so. Would've been pretty damn bad had I lost that.
Really nice view of the Mexican countryside from the plane.
We have landed, and....hello random bridge.
Welcome to Mexico City.
First stop of the trip, the Frida Kahlo Museum.
OK. Not really. You see, the Frida Kahlo Museum is one of the most popular museums in Mexico City. And if you want to go, you have to book EARLY in advance. Seriously. If we truly wanted to make this a priority for this trip, we would've had to make reservations right around the same time we booked our airfare. And.....I didn't even think of doing this until about a couple days before we left, when thinking of an activity we could do in Mexico City during our bonus day since.....we arrived in the morning, while everyone else we travelled with arrived that night, giving us a full bonus day. And we only thought of this after Jason's friend who immigrated to America from Mexico recommended it as she's a huge fan of Frida Kahlo. Yeah. Mild bummer that we weren't able to do this. But not a huge deal since.....like I said. This wasn't a real priority. Not to mention, I think it's safe to say that I had MORE THAN ENOUGH museums on this trip. So missing one isn't something worth crying about. Oh well. We'll take note of that and make reservations far out in advance next time we're in Mexico City.
So we have a full day in Mexico City, and.....no plans or idea what the hell we're gonna do. Uh....here's Jason with some flowers.
OK. Here's a random park. Or rather, Jarden Hidalgo (Thank you Apple Maps constantly spying on me in order to give me this random, yet interesting information).
Hey look. They have a stage. Good for some local performances. Nice little touch.
All right. Trying some local place for lunch. And.....apparently this is a Mexico City chain.
It was good for a light lunch. Though I'm looking foreward to having a real proper meal later on.
Grabbing drinks from 7-11. And not so fun fact. When we browsed this 7-11 earlier, it was being armed by armed guards. Not exactly a fan of seeing people with guns when walking into 7-11.
HOLY CRAP!!! I FOUND MIRANDA!!! So if you don't remember the Scandinavia Trip, Miranda was essentially the Pepsi equivelant of European Fanta! And while Miranda wasn't quite as good as European Fanta, it still had a very similar taste and was the 2nd best Orange Soda. But I had forgotten about it until now. So.....hoping that Miranda just tastes like that and that it's not the same as Fanta, where it's much better in Europe than everywhere else. *Sigh* Nope. It's just like Fanta. Except.....Regular Miranda is FAR WORSE than Regular Fanta. Quick tip Pepsi. If you're gonna do Orange Soda not in Europe, stick with Crush. At least Orange Crush doesn't have this weird bitter taste that Regular Miranda did. Good to know to stay away from this soda when outside Europe.
OK. So.....unsure of what all to do, we decided to just walk from the area where the Frida Kahlo museum is to our AirBnB. I know this is crazy since.....it's a 6 mile walk. But hey. I'm not sure what else to do. And hey. We might see some cool things on this 6 mile walk (10 KM. Gotta go metric since we're not in America). Oh, and R.I.P Jazz.
Much like in Japan, bridges over streets are a common thing in Mexico. And.....they mostly don't exist in America! I want bridges like this god damn it! Particuarly over the Long Beach Traffic Circle. But that would involve this country being pedestrian friendly *rolls eyes*.
Ooh. Found a local candy shop. Sort of like Mexican Rocket Fizz. Unfortunately, we didn't get anything since.....we're on a strict budget this trip. But everything inside looked really good.
I can't pet the giant stuffed teddy bear and hug it!? LAME!!!! >=(
Ooh! Pretty building! *snap* I wonder what sort of fancy stuff goes on in there?
All right. We made it to Parque Mexico. A big park very close to our AirBnB. We can relax here. Partially because it's a really nice park. And also, Jason is tired and cranky from walking 6 miles (10 km).
So these locals were doing.....some sort of song and dance, and....they wanted audience participation. And......I guess I was in a generous mood. Cause Jason and I managed to sing along to their song. I have no idea what I was singing. Who knows. Maybe I was making an ass of myself. But regardless, I was having fun.
OK. So everyone else is running late, and I can't check to see what all is going on since...my phone is dead as a doornail. As is Jason's. So......go over to the local cafe to charge my phone, and buy myself a coffee to make myself welcome. Though seriously. This cafe was really cool and we spent many mornings here on this trip. Thanks for letting us use your chargers.
Everyone is here. And.....time for some actual dinner. And hey. Some local authentic taco shop does seem like a good place for dinner.
Oh, and since we're in Mexico, time for some MEXICAN COKES!!! I know this isn't too special as....you can get this back home. But hey. When in Mexico....=)
All right. Everyone is here. Time for Day 1 of the Mexico Trip (or I guess Day 2 for Jason and I).
Love the vibe I'm getting from these skyscrapers.
All right. Time for the first major attraction of the trip. Chapultepec Park.
If you're unsure what Chapultepec Park is, let me put in perspective. Chapultepec Park is to Central Park in NYC as Central Park is to your local park in town. Seriously. This place is F*CKING HUGE!!!! On top of tons of park, this place has multiple museums, a freaking castle very similar to the Osaka Castle along with all the other castles in Japan (which is also a museum), a zoo, and there even used to be an amusement park here. Yeah. It's clear why decided to spend a full day here.
So in Chapultepec, they have this monument called Monumento a los Niños Héroes. Basically, this momument is to commemerate the 6 soldiers who died protecting Mexico City from invading American forces during the final battle of the Mexican-American War. Sadly, I sense a sequel to this monument coming soon due to the horrendous state of the world and fascism returning to a certain country. =(
Hmm. I wonder what's in that building?
Yep. We've got tickets to tour the Chapultepec Castle and the museum inside. This'll be fun.
So fun fact. There used to be a huge amusement park in Chapultepec Park called La Feria Chapultepec Magico, and even featured some major coasters, including a large mobius racing wooden coaster and several Schwarzkophs. However, the park closed after a serious accident occured on Quimera, and when it was proven that the accident was totally preventable and solely caused by the laziness of the park and the greed in them wanting to save money on maintenence by cutting corners and faking safety reports, the entire park closed down, and the owners were arrested (fightfully so), leading to some of the strictest theme park regulations on the planet (Quimera was saved, and now lives on at Indiana Beach as All American Triple Loop. Expect an Incrediblecoasters visit to Indiana Beach as part of a Midwest Trip relatively soon). However, the land is still there, and they're building a brand new theme park from scratch in its place. Hey look. They already have a giant ferris wheel.
Hello random pond inside Chapultepec.
OK. Enough dicking around. Time to head into the Chapultepec Castle.
OK. So Chapultepec Castle has a VERY interesting history. It was originally built as the home of Bernardo de Gálvez, military leader of Spain who helped conquer Mexico. After Mexico gained its independence, the castle was vacant until it became headquarters for the Mexican Military for a while. Eventually, it was turned into a tourist attraction and museum of Mexican history, which is what it still is to this day.
Fancy paintings exploring all of the history and past of Mexico, including its Catholic and Spanish origins.
Columbus bragging to the church about finding all this land to grab and colonize for Spain? Wow. I hate everyone in this painting and everything that they're doing.
There's text describing who this person is. But it's in Spanish and I don't have the time to type out the entirity of a picture of the text into Google Translate to find out. But judging from the way this guy looks, he's probably some Spanish asshole who helped colonize Mexico and other territories presumably in the Carribean and Western U.S, and I most likely hate him.
Oh thank god! I just had this most horrible nightmare where I lived in this horrible country full of selfish cruel idiots who voted to bring back fascism and cause untold amounts of suffering to everyone (including themselves) for the dumbest f*cking reasons imaginable! Thank god that was just a bad dream. *Phew* I actually live in Mexico. =)
Hey! I think they have these globes in the average American classroom! ;)
Mexican Freedom Fighters.
Things suck in Mexico? No need to worry. Better things are coming Just Around the Riverbend.
A model of I presume the ships that sailed from Spain to Mexico and brought all the colonists.
*gasp* Wow! I never knew that I was such an important part of Mexican History to be included in a museum! =O
Ahh. There's a very nice fountain right outside the Chapultepec Castle.
We interrupt our tour of the Chapultepec Castle to take in this really nice view of the Mexico City Skyline.
Yawn. Sick of learning about all these boring white guys full of war crimes. Get to the good stuff! Show me Speedy Gonzalas! =P
Don't be fooled. It may be a shiny golden carriage now, but come midnight, it'll turn back into a pumpkin.
Just a quick reminder that every Mexican looks like that! =P
Ooh! Pretty chandelier! Must swing from it!
Yeah. It's pretty clear that my thoughts on the people who founded Mexico is.....negative to say the least. But I genuinely love the arcitecture. And these stained glass windows genuinely are really pretty. They at least did that right. =)
Aww. Standard tourist photo at Chapultepec Castle.
OK. That's enough Chapultepec Castle. Time to check out the rest of the park. And.....there's vendors selling tacky unliscenced merchandise here. OF COURSE!!!!
"What the hell is this thing? It's like a regular phone, but stuck in this one spot. I think it wants me to give it money. Sort of like a phone vending machine, I guess. How do I take pictures, text, or access the internet with this thing?"
OK. It's been 45 minutes since we left the Chapultepec Castle! We've nearly gone an hour without a museum! So now we're checking out the Museo Nacional de Antropologia.
This monument is dedicated to.....something. Not sure. Don't speak (very good or fluent) Spanish and too lazy to translate it.
Love this....futuristic mushroom shaped fountain right outside the Museo Nacional de Antropologia.
So we decided....meh. Let's just get lunch at the Anthropology Museum. I honestly went in expecting just bland generic food like you'd typically find at a museum, or theme park, or any place like that. But....no! The resteraunt here is actually really good! It has genuinely high quality food. And hey. They also had this sangria that we all decided to split. Much better than I expected. Only downside is that this is NOT a cheap resteraunt.
I don't care if they're on the pricy side! These tacos are really freaking good!
What a shock! Museo Nacional de Antropologia has a ton of anthropology in it!
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please? Jaguar is experiencing an extended delay. We do not know how long this will take, but we hope you enjoy the rest of your day at Knotts Berry Farm."
Nothing screams anthropology like freaking cactus!
Uh....guys? I think there's a wheel stuck inside your wall.
No, Jason. This is a rattlsnake. RATTLESNAKE!!! NOT SH*T!!!
Fun fact. Mexico City is literally built on top of what used to be a lake. That's honestly kind of mind-blowing, cool, and dumbfoundingly stupid.
Just a quick reminder that there are indeed pyramids in Mexico.
Taking a quick break and checking out the outdoor portions of the Anthropology Museum.
Ooh. There's a little mini forest out here. That's cool.
Just a quick reminder that we're in Mexico. (And while Mexico does fly its flag a lot more than other countries, such as those in the E.U and Japan, it's still not nearly as flag-happy as America).
I may be in a foreign country, but my habit of collecting coins still continues! I now have a peso!
You know what our day at Chapultepec needs? Animals. So....here's some fish.
Fish not enough!? Fine! How about a whole freaking zoo! Is that enough for you!? >=(
Yeah. Chapultepec really does have freaking everything. And....the zoo is just included. That's so f*cking cool.
Follow the butterflies. Follow the butterflies. Wee!
And to start off our time at the zoo, we check out one of the most exotic animals in the world. The goat.
You said you wanted a ride a camel over by the Pyramids of Giza someday? Well, I'm a camel. And the pyramids of Teotihucan aren't too far away! They may not be the most famous pyramids, but close enough! Hop on!
Another reminder that giraffes kick ass!
Before you get excited about seeing the zebras at the zoo, you should know that zebras are bastards.
"Hey Pumbaa! Can you help me find Timon!?"
Sure. The Chapultepec Zoo may not be the best zoo in the world by any means, but it's still pretty cool. And for a free zoo that's right there for an hour, it's a lot of fun, and I'm very glad I explored it.
Please tell me we'll be safe from hunters in here.
Excuse me sir. But we're lost. Do you happen to know how to get to Yellowstone from here?
A tiny little free smoothie sample from the smoothie shop at the zoo. Because hey. It's free. Why not!?
Walking back to the AirBnB. But hey. Let's take the long way and just walk through Chapultepec Park. It's on top of everything else, a really nice park.
This random picture inside our AirBnB. Which.....is it me, or does it look like a paw print with some mishapen Snoopy's head with Mickey Mouse ears right next to it?
So during our 6 mile journey to the AirBnB on the Mexico Preview Day (Day 0), I noticed this one resteraunt towards the end that looked good called Taco Naco. And....hey. When deciding on what we want for dinner, I remember it and shout it out! And now we're here! =)
Group photo at Taco Naco! =)
Yeah. I'm glad I noticed this place. Cause the food here was really good.
So for dessert, we decided to do as they do in Mexico, and get churros.
So 4 churros here was about 48 pesos. This sounds a lot, until you learn that 48 pesos is about $2.31, which is REALLY CHEAP!!! Funny enough, I would NOT be surprised if 4 churros at a Cedar Flags park actually cost $48 lol!
Should find some local place in Long Beach that sells churros, cause these are really freaking good!
OK. Day 2 of the trip. And....since we are IncredibleCOASTERS, we obviously have to throw in a theme park on this trip.
I've had enough museums and culture! I want the roller coasters and I want them NOW!!!
I initially thought that now with Six Flags Mexico, I finally have all the Six Flags parks (I already have all the Cedar Fair parks, so even with the merger. This still holds up)/ Unfortunately, I forgot about Darien Lake. Ugh.
Please tell me that these creatures are walking around the park! =)
Time for the first coaster of the trip. Superman el Último Escape.
Good thing we came when we did. We just got to walk right on.
Really like them using this logo for the ride.
So this ride is REALLY hyped by other enthusiasts. "It's not like the other Morgan Hypers! So much better! Far more like Phantom's Revenge than the Morgan Trio!". Hmm. Interesting. We'll see if this hype holds up.
Sorry to say, but.....No. This ride is DEFINATELY overhyped. It's still a really fun ride, and I totally enjoyed it. But.....No. The hype is not justified.
Honestly, parts of this ride are EXTREMELY similar to the Morgan Trio. The first drop, first big airtime hill? All the bunny hops coming back!? TOTALLY like those on the Morgan Trio. Which....yeah. Those are fun rides. But....they're not special.
However, what does make Superman: El Ultimo Escape better than the Morgan Trio and stand on its own 2 feet. A: The pre-lift. It honestly has a REALLY cool pre-lift section (Maybe someday, I'll make that Top 10 List. I know there's for sure 2 new Top 10 Lists coming soon. But not that one). B: The Lateral section. If there's any portion of the ride where the enthusiast hype is justified, it's during the lateral portion of the ride. Cause....the laterals on this ride are STRONG!!!! REALLY F*CKING STRONG!!! FAR STRONGER THAN ON THE MORGAN TRIO!!!! Or honestly, possibly ANY Morgan Coaster. They're just a ton of fun, and really give this ride a step up from the Morgan Trio. Which is fun, but.....yeah. It may be better than the Morgan Trio, but it's FAR CLOSER to those 3 coasters in ranking than it is to Phantom's Revenge.
And hey. I now can say that I have ridden every single Morgan coaster. I think this is the first time I've ever completely conquered and ridden a manufacters entire record. =)
WEE!!! AIRTIME!!!
If you're not sure when we visited Mexico, all the Fright Fest decorations and halloween stuff should give you a clue. ;)
And now, it's time for the star attraction of the park. Medusa Steel Coaster.
Fun fact. There's a brief part of the Medusa Steel Coaster line that sort of feels like a funhouse. Nice little touch that I really like.
Yep. This is the parks RMC, and......it's great! Sure, not the best RMC out there. But a solid middle of the pack RMC. And even the worst RMC is still a ton of fun. So naturally, this ride kicked ass! =)
Yep. It's got another one of those funky barrel drops that are also found on Storm Chaser and Twisted Timbers. Love these elements on both of those rides, and on Medusa Steel Coaster as well. =)
Honestly, the thing that stands most about Medusa Steel Coaster as opposed to other RMCs is that.....it feels the most similar to its original coaster (I'm guessing. I can NOT confirm as I never rode the original Medusa. So I'll never know for sure). Sure, it has the crazy barrel drop. But much of the rest of the ride feels like the original layout, only with steel track, and far smoother than what it was.
But don't worry. It still knows that it's an RMC. So we of course, have to sprinkle in some barrel rolls throughout the ride. ;)
The kids area? But we've only done the top 2 coasters in the park. Still seems a little too early to be getting into the really dirty credit whoring with the kiddy crap.
Hmm. I didn't think Gotham City had a waterfall like that.
Nope. We're not doing the really dirty stuff yet. Right now, it's just regular credit whoring. The stuff that's not special, but at least adult coasters. Starting off with Dark Knight since.....capacity is bad, and.....it's close to the front of the park.
Fun fact. This ride was originally meant to be at Six Flags New England, but they backed out at the last minute, deciding to get a coaster abortion. So with all the pieces of this Dark Knight coaster ready to be assembled, they just threw up their arms and said....."F*ck it! Just send it to Mexico!". And you can tell. They just did a lazy dubbing of the preview video in Spanish. But you can tell this was meant for SFNE since.....all the text in this ride and video is clearly in English lol.
Just like at SFGAm and SFGAdv, this ride is nothing special. But it's good to have a ride that Jason can ride.
OK. This ferris wheel looks.....completely abandoned. Like it hasn't operated since before COVID. And.....not gonna lie. Kind of wish I got to ride it, or some ride with ariel views. Cause guess what I saw while climbing up the lifthill of Superman? Track pieces of Siren's Curse back when it was supposed to be coming to this park before they.....backed out with another coaster abortion and sent that ride to Cedar Point (It looks really fun. Want to get on a Vekoma Tilt Coaster sometime soon. But....I really think this park needed Sirens Curse more than Cedar Point). Really wish I was able to ride some ariel attraction so I could've taken shots of the track (or that the park was POV friendly. *Sigh*).
Jason, it's not a problem that you were able to touch a bush while on the chairswings. That's not a big deal.
"This popcorn from Popcorn Stand 1 is a really good value."
The credit whoring continues as we venture on one of the most original and unique coasters ever built! Boomerang!
Yep. You can tell that this is a Six Flags parks with those wraps on the cars.
So this Boomerang is notable for being one of the first Boomerangs ever built. This Boomerang initially opened at some random park in Mexico called Rafaela Padilla, which from what I can tell, didn't even really seem like a theme park. But rather, some flea market that randomly had a Vekoma Boomerang (which at the time, were actually thrilling and unique rides) for some strange reason) until the "park" closed and the Boomerang was sent to Six Flags Mexico. And.....it FEELS like the first Boomerang ever built. Cause.....OOOF!!! This was NOT a smooth one. Possibly the roughest Boomerang I ever rode, only rivaled by the one that used to be at Knotts. BTW, they just renamed this ride to Batgirl for the 2025 season.
So Jason isn't exactly one who is big on major rides (Really hope to raise the bar for big rides, as soon as life isn't hell). But he's not afraid of heights. So the one major ride he'll do are Starflyers. He did the one at Six Flags America, and also the one here. =)
Moving onto the other credits at Six Flags America, we're now doing Wonder Woman.
Again, it's best we got this out of the way since.....these S&S Free Spins don't havery good capacity.
I gotta admit. This ran better than I expected. Sure, it's obviously no Arashi. But....by non-Arashi standards, it was one of the better Free Spins. It ran far more like SFGAdv Joker, and less like Batman @ SFDK and SFNE Joker.
Yeah. These Giant Frisbee's may be a ton of fun, but....Nah. I don't want to wait in that line for something that I can ride a clone of back home (though it has been too long since I've ridden Crazanity TBH).
OK. Next coaster of the day, Joker.
Again, I have to praise the line for this ride. Cause they LITERALLY have the line be a funhouse. While not the first time I've seen a ride do this, it just works so well.
Part of me wants to do a Top 10 Lines list, except.....as cool as the idea sounds here, there's not enough worthy contenders for a list of that type. This and Medusa Steel Coaster, Devil's Mine @ Fort Fun, and Dueling Dragons (R.I.P). No other coaster as a line worthy of being on a list like this without splitting hairs. So....not gonna happen.
And.....our luck has run out. The crowds have arrived. We didn't go on a great day. Mexicans simply are late-risers and don't get to the park in the mornings. So we just got all the good stuff and the low-capacity stuff done in the morning while everyone else was still sleeping and getting ready (I may be a night owl and late-riser as well. But this is why I will transform into a morning person for trips).
Fun fact. This actually isn't a new credit for me. I already had this credit from back when this ride was originally at Six Flags Discovory Kingdom before it was relocated to Six Flags Mexico.
But that's OK. Not only did we need to ride this so Evan could get the credit, but HOLY CRAP!!! THIS RIDE WAS SO MUCH BETTER THAN I REMEMBERED!!!
Not only does it look so much better with the Joker theming, but GOD DAMN!!! THIS THING SPUN LIKE CRAZY!!! TO THE POINT THAT IT'S HONESTLY ONE OF THE BEST NORMAL SPINNING COASTERS OUT THERE!!! This ride is SO MUCH BETTER here than it was at SFDK!
So....this was what my lunch consisted of at Six Flags Mexico. Eh....basically fast food fries with....ground beef, jalapenos, crushed Flaming Hot Cheetos, and....some green sauce. Eh. It was good. But....nothing too special. Honestly, seems like something I would make for a meal at home with leftover french fries from some fast food place.
Six Flags Mexico still dreaming of the day they finally get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
How do I make this more jungley? I dunno. Throw in a random waterfall.
We're done with lunch. But everyone else is still eating and we're done too early to meet up. Wanna snag this kiddy credit since....it's right there and there's no line. Might as well.
OK. While at Six Flags Mexico, I was asking myself "Who the hell is Dr. Simi?". After looking it up at home after the trip, it turns out that Dr. Simi is actually a real person, and that he's a Mexican businessman who runs a chain of pharmacies, with a cartoon version of himself as the mascot for said pharmacies (who's the guy you're seeing sponser this ride). He also was a failed politician BTW. Uh......this just gives me more questions. Cause.....I have so many questions after learning who Dr. Simi is.
Cha-Ching! Credit #694.
OK. In a new country, and.....I have to see how the Fanta is. Cause.....Fanta is SO MUCH BETTER IN EUROPE!!!, and in Japan, Fanta is it's own thing. Will Mexican Fanta continue this trend and be a 4th type? No. No it won't. Mexican Fanta is the exact same as American Fanta. Bummer.
I know it was down earlier. But.....the SLC has now opened back up.
Unfortunately, we now have to wait since the window of no lines in the morning has closed. At least I can use this time to get some shots.
And unfortunately, this was one of the worst SLCs ever built. Sure, it wasn't as bad as the infamous now defunct T3 (Good riddance), but HOLY SH*T!!! THIS RIDE WAS SO BAD!!!
WHAM!!! BAM!!! SLAM!!! And of course, the entire train is shaking, rattling, and rolling (or should I say bouncing) down the track. I know I tend to like SLCs more than the average enthusiast. But......*sigh* This was a bad one. A REALLY REALLY bad one. No defending this ride.
One other thing that makes this unique? It has 2 different sets of trains. One train is still the old-school original SLC trains.
And the other train has the new modern SLC trains. I guess wanted to upgrade, but couldn't afford 2 new trains. So they just half-assed it and bought one new train while keeping the other. Fortunately, we rode this ride with the new train. And....that may have spared us from headbanging. But that still doesn't change the fact that this coaster somehow has potholes in it, feels like it was made with chewing gum and rubber bands, and riding it feels like the sensation of a murderous babysitter shaking a baby to death.
Unfortunately, Justice League is closed for October. However, the reason it's closed is a valid one. They turned the ride into a haunt maze for Fright Fest. OK. That's badass. I'm totally OK with missing Mexican Justice League so they could have this badass maze (that I unfortunately coudln't do since I didn't bother doing Mexican Fright Fest).
I know I tend not to prioritize S&S Towers when at foreign parks. But A: I've got most of the credits. Only one kiddy coaster left. B: This is a pretty big one. C: It's a freaking Combo Tower that's both a Space Shot AND a Turbo Drop! Those are the best types! Yeah! We're TOTALLY doing this ride! =)
I know there's still another credit to get, but.....this ride is too damn good! We have to get another reride on Medusa Steel Coaster.
Ugh. Fine. No more procrastinating. Let's get this final credit for Credit Whore Kevin.
Hey. At least it's a Vekoma Roller Skater. There are FAR WORSE kiddy coasters out there.
The sun is setting, and it's now time for all the spooks and frights of Fright Fest to come out. >=)
Getting a reride on Superman el Ultimo Escape (unfortunately, we have to wait in a line this time). Both to get a night ride, also because its one of 2 coasters here that's actually special, and also to see if it runs better after being warmed up. Yes. It does. But it's still not on the same level as Phantom's Revenge.
OK. Time for dinner. And.....ooh! I want to see how a Six Flags park in Mexico handles Mexican food. I've heard good things about the food here.
Yeah. The people who argued that Six Flags Mexico has the best food in all the Six Flags parks is correct. Cause this is GREAT. Also, fun fact. The monsterous burritos you get back home are an American thing. Authentic Burritos are much smaller and simpler. And yeah. They're really good. I'm glad I got myself an authentic Mexican Burrito. But.....I love my monsterous American burritos back home. Those are simply too good for me to cry about "MAKE IT MORE AUTHENTIC" like I do with Pizza from Italy (excluding NYC) and Ramen from Japan.
Hmm. Anything more you wanna ride? Carousel? Meh. Why not.
Unfortunately, this is teacup BARELY spins. It's so slow, that....you might as well get a horse. You There's no going crazy on this carousel.
We may not be able to do the mazes of Fright Fest, but we can still check out the scare zones and see the general atmosphere. Cause they're doing a pretty good job here.
Hello circle-cloth cowebs. Glad to see you're a Fright Fest staple down here as well.
Hmm. There's something about my popcorn that tastes funny. But I can't put my finger on it.
Which one is the monster and which one is my fiance? I can't tell the difference! =O
Really hope to check out the mazes next time cause this looked like a really cool Fright Fest.
Yeah. 2 rides on Medusa Steel Coaster is NOT enough. We need another one.
And to make matters better, this ride REALLY gets better as it warms up. Yeah. It was good in the morning. But the afternoon ride was even better, and at night.....this thing runs like a bat out of hell, and REALLY FAST!!!
All right. Day 3 of the trip. And.....I think there's something wrong with the locals, Jason. I'd ask if they're OK. But my Spanish isn't good enough. =P
OK. This was basically, Tour Day. We're currently on a tour of Teotihuacan. For instance, we're also checking out the ancient Tlataloco neighborhood that was a huge place back during the Pre-Columbus days.
Yawn. The church is boring. Give me more archeological stuff. That's far more interesting.
*Sigh* Nope. We're now in the religious part of the tour, as next stop is the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. One of the most notable churches in Mexico City and the Catholic Faith.
No! It's been over a decade since I've gone to a church ceremony! I sure as hell am not gonna start now! No no no!
I may hate religion, but once again. The one thing I will give religion credit for is that it's very good at arcitecture, and knows how to make a pretty building.
I'm sure many people are are in awe because a place like this is so meaningful to them. Meanwhile, all I can think is "Hmm. That bell tower looks funky and futuristic. I like it".
Hey! I know who that is! It's Junípero Serra. He's the guy who created all the missions in California for the Spanish Empire. Cool to see a face I recognize over here.
One thing that really surprised me in Mexico was honestly......just how much the country reminded me of Italy. No really. I get VERY similar vibes from both countries. Almost like you can tell that both countries are Catholic. Hell, Spain too. There's a certain vibe from all these Catholic majority countries.
Honestly, the most depressing part of the trip was....seeing this dog. This dog was just.....laying on the ground in the plaza. I literally thought it was dead at first until I noticed....."Oh thank god! The dog is breathing!". But even so! BARELY!!! It GENUINELY felt like this dog (who I'm guessing is a stray) was on the brink of death. =(
The tour is now taking us outside Mexico City. But hey. Getting some cool views of the city while on our way out.
Before we get to the pyramids, it's time for another stop to learn even more about Mexican history and culture.
I think this was some ancient sort of sunshield. It was very pretty and looked cool.
"Yeah. Sure. I'll gladly be the guinea pig to demonstrate how these ancient Aztec back massage tools worked (So glad I saved my pesos and didn't book that massage)."
Oh yeah! They're bringing out the alcohol! Way to make this tour more exciting! =)
On the one hand, they had this booze. Licor de Xoconostle. It's a liquor made from prickly pear cactus, and.....MAN!!! THIS STUFF IS GOOD!!! I'd want to look for it at a liquor store, except I'm FAR too poor to be buying booze (which is honestly for the best considering how life is going lol). But seriously. This stuff was GREAT!!! Thumbs up for Licor de Xoconostle.
On the other hand, we have Mezcal, which is the infamous liquor that has the worm in it. Eesh. Yeah. That alone turns me off to it. But hey. I'm adventerous. Let's give it a try. And......oof! Yeah. Not a fan. Too raw and too much of a fire drink that just burns. Plus, I think the worm is having a negative psychological aspect on the taste. Sorry, I know it's authentic, but thumbs down for Mazcal.
OK. Lunch time. And this is the only resteraunt around. But hey. This place is good (and honestly gives a VERY similar vibe to a certain resteraunt I visit often back home. Except this version does Mexican food).
OK. So this was by far, the biggest mistake I made on the trip (OK. Fine. 2nd biggest mistake, only behind forgetting my backpack at the Guadalajara Airport). I ordered this....monstrosity because.....I read the part where I see all that it contains, and.....it sounded REALLY FREAKING GOOD!!! So I blindly ordered it. It wasn't until afterwards did I realize the portion sizes. And.....oh f*ck. What have I done? This is a party food meant to be shared. And.....they WEREN'T MESSING AROUND!!!! Yeah. The food itself really was good. And....if this was a resteraunt in SoCal, not a problem. I would take the 2/3rds of it home, and it would become tomorrow's lunch (as well as tomorrow's dinner in this case). But.....I'm over 1000 miles away from home, and in a foreign country. This clearly isn't gonna work. So.....I wound up (after begging others to "PLEASE TAKE SOME!!!") having to waste at least half of that (and that's after gorging myself and eating as much of it as I physically could), wasting not only really good food, but also money (thank god everything in Mexico is cheap. Cause in America, this mistake REALLY would've cost me).
Because we haven't had enough alcohol on this tour, lunch wouldn't be complete without some Mexican Margaritas. =)
OK. Time for the non-coaster highlight of the trip. Yep. Time to finally check out Teotihucan, AKA the Mexican Pyramids.
I know I often will just check out foreign historical tourist sites on my own. But I'm REALLY glad I did this with a tour. Cause I would've never bothered to check out the underside of the city and would've just blindly checked out the pyramids. This was totally worth it.
Our tour guide demonstrated how local plants can be used as paints, and he did so by painting this picture. And he gave it to Jason since.....he and the tour guide really got along. Now where did he put this random picture?
I CAN'T CLIMB THE PYRAMID!!? BOO!!! LAME!!! I really wanted to after seeing photos of people in the past doing it. However, it turns out that the real reason they stopped allowing tourists to climb the pyramids was because all the cimbers were harming the pyramids and they wanted to protect the pyramids. So at least it was done for a good reason. Still a bummer as they only banned climbing after COVID. So had I done this trip earlier, I would've been able to climb.
I may not be able to climb the pyramids, but I can still climb the miniature versions that give you a better view! Now pretend this was as big of an accomplishment as actually climbing the pyramid!
Standard tourist photo at a standard tourist site.
So we had 2 tours scheduled for this day. However, the Pyramid tour took longer than expected, and......we were freaking out because we had to get from where we got dropped off from the Pyramid Tour to where the Lucha Libre Tour starts. And.....we had to hurry our asses and scramble to get into an Uber, Amazing Race Style, to get there. And just as our luck had it, we were right in the middle of rush hour Mexico City traffic, and were about 10 minutes late. Luckily, that wasn't a problem.
So our Lucha Libre Tour started out with a complementary meal before the show. And....yeah. More authentic Mexican tacos sounds good with me.
This is not enough! I gotta have more Tacos! =P
So I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but on top of praising German beer, I've also bashed Mainstreem American Beer (specifically Bud Light) and also took some pot-shots at Mexican Beer as I wasn't a fan of that. Well, I apparently learned in Mexico that I've been drinking Corona (as rare as that is) wrong the entire time! You're supposed to add lime to it. And.....while that still doesn't make it as good as German Beer, it GREATLY improves the taste. If I do drink Corona again (which I'm still not planning to since....I rarely drink outside of parties and special events, and when that does happen, I drink much better beer), I'll be sure to add lime to it.
While they were giving more backstory about the history of Lucha Libre, I was too distracted by some annoying kids playing with their toy plane in the background, fully expecting them to crash their plane into someone during the presentation. While they didn't hit a person, they did get their stupid plane stuck in the wires above. Which.....close enough.
Should we play some real authentic Mexican song for you? Nah. You're all dumb tourists who wouldn't understand the song. So here's "La Bamba".
Not only did we get to watch the Lucha Libre, but they even gave us our own masks. Aww. A souviner to take home. Jason, please sing karaoke while wearing that. Particuarlly do a hyper feminine song in a gruff deep voice while wearing the Lucha Libre mask. I think Pink Pony Club would be a good candidate for this. >=)
So I'm pretty notorious for my hardline anti-sports stance. I don't care about them. But.....I still had fun watching this Lucha Libre live. Not only did it feel like this melodramatic soap opera with violence and costumes, but.....the crowd made it far more entertaining. Especially getting that quick little Spanish lesson where the guide explained all the popular phrases, so we could actually know what they were screaming and even join in.
"YOU WANNA KEEP BOOING ME!!? HOW ABOUT YOU GET YOUR ASS IN THE RING AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!!! OR ARE YOU GONNA COWER IN YOUR SEAT AND HURL CHEAP INSULTS CAUSE YOU'RE TOO MUCH OF A PUSSY TO ACTUALLY FIGHT!!!"
All right. Day 4 of the trip. And.....ooh. I love the name of that Escape Room. Very Dr. Suess like. But.....HELL NO!!!! I CAN BARELY DO AN ESCAPE ROOM AS IS!!! FAILED REPEATEDLY BEFORE I FINALLY ESCAPED ONE OF THE EASY ONES WITH LITERALLY LESS THAN 30 SECONDS TO GO UNTIL "TIMES UP"!!! NOW DO THAT IN A LANGUAGE I DON'T SPEAK!!!? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
OK. Time to check out the Mexico City Metro. How is the public transportation situation in Mexico City?
BUSY!!! HOLY SH*T!!! I WAS SHOCKED AT JUST HOW PACKED THESE METRO TRAINS GOT!!! Seriously, the Metro here was even busier than the vast majority of Japanese trains (which still reign supreme BTW. No surprise there)! The ONLY exception was the PACKED commuter train from Kyoto to Osaka. And even that only seemed SLIGHTLY more crowded than these Mexico City subway trains. It was THAT crowded.
OK. Time to hop on the Mexicable.
So the Mexicable is a cable car meant to transport people around the city and take you to the outskirts. We didn't do this to actually go outside the city. We honestly just rode it for fun and to get some cool views of Mexico City.
So while going past this, I snapped a picture, wondering what the hell sort of graveyard is this. Turns out that it's a militry graveyard and one of the biggest in Mexico. Hmm. Mildly interesting.
Kind of like riding a skyride at a theme park. Except getting cultural city views instead of theme park views and snagging some cool ariel shots of various different coasters.
Hey look! I see the new Chapultepec Theme Park (Aztlán Parque Urbano) from the Mexicable!
So the new park isn't gonna have a ton of major cool rides. The most this new park is getting is a Spinning Mouse and a modern Family Vekoma SLC. Mainly just credit whoring stuff, but it'll still be cool. Hey. I don't think there's a single photo of this coaster on RCDB as of the posting of this update. Well.....here's a photo of the coaster if you want it. =)
OK. Riding the Mexicable was fun. But now, let's hang out right in the middle of downtown Mexico City.
While trying to figure out where to have lunch, some guy, knowing we were tourists pitched us the idea of eating at this local resteraunt up in one of the towers in the plaza (I assume he worked there and was hired to bring in business). And....hey. Why not?
Not gonna lie. The guy was telling the truth about the view from up here being really nice.
I decided to be more experimental and get something off the menu I normally don't get. And....while it wasn't bad, I do wish I had gotten something like an enchilada, or a burrito, or more tacos. I would've enjoyed the meal more had I done that. But....at least I tried something new.
God damn it. Really? We're exploring yet ANOTHER church?
Does looking inside as a tourist to admire pretty arcitecture and seeing this for cultural reasons count as stepping inside a church? Cause if not, and none of my tourist walkthroughs count, then it's been over a decade since I genuinely stepped foot inside a church. Let's keep it that way.
This statue has the pope, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus on the cross. Is it Christian enough for you?
OK. I have no idea who these people are or what sort of dance or performance this is, but I really like it. It looks cool and.....different. Would love to learn more about this.
HEY!!! IT'S OCTOBER (when the trip was)!!!! FAR TOO EARLY!!! TAKE THOSE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS DOWN!!! PUT UP HALLOWEEN STUFF OR DIA DE MUERTOS STUFF!!!
See! This building has the right idea and took my advice! I suggest you do the same!
I guess we have as of this Mexico trip, turned into Incrediblemuseums, as we hit YET ANOTHER MUSEUM!!! Museo del Templo Mayor.
So this is basically the Archeology museum of Mexico City. And while archeology isn't my thing, it still was cool to check this place out.
Is it me or did these Aztecs put.....some sort of mouse creepy dude hybrid on their vase? I get trying to spice up an ordinary vase. Even during olden times, make your appliances more festive and fun. But....this looked creepy.
So the weird thing about the Museo del Templo Mayor is.....the outdoor section. There's this outdoor section between exhibits where you.....sort of walk in this line. I think it's because there's outdoor ruins they want to show off. That's cool.
Not gonna lie, it does make the place stand out more if you're walking by it since....you just see this outdoor section and people walking in a line through it. Kind of works as a form of advertising in all honesty.
Who did you get to model for this statue? They clearly have such a beautiful face. If they were still alive, I'd ask them to be a model! =P
Models of the pyramids we saw yesterday.
WHY SO SERIOUS!!? >=)
Hmm. There seems to be something off about this years Halloween masks.
OK boys and girls. For arts and crafts class, we're gonna make faces on our knifes. Does everyone have their googly eyes ready? =)
And of course, it's not just archeology. They also go over a lot of the Mexican history and culture here too, which is cool.
Still hard to believe that this city is literally located where a huge f*cking lake was (Yeah. That's had MANY bad environmental consequences)!
Wait. I thought this was an archeology museum. Why am I learning about marine life here?
Who killed this bird!? >=(
Don't like the ocean? No worries. You can learn about land animals as well, since.....I guess the museum stopped giving a f*ck about archeology and is just doing whatever the hell it wants.
But seriously. Museo del Templo Mayor is really cool, and I'm glad it showcases not just the archeology, but just life in Tenochtitlan (Mexico City before it was colonized by the Spanish), including the people of the Aztec Empire, their culture, and even the wildlife in the area and in their waters. That's really cool. Nice showing of the Eagle Warrior BTW.
That's enough history and culture. Back to the present day.
Hmm. I wonder what Torre Latinoamericana is?
So Torre Latinoamericana is one of the most notable skyscrapers in Mexico City and a huge landmark. And.....I guess this is our obligatory skyscraper visit of this trip.
Up at the top, they have this balance beam that functions as a VR attraction to make it look like you're tightrope walking at the top of the skyscraper. It sounds like a cool idea, but.....I think knowing its VR probably would ruin the illusion for me. But it'd still be fun to try it, except money.
Hey look! The window isn't locked! It's possible to push the window open and jump straight to your death! Better make sure no suicidal people come up here lol.
"Hi! I'm an anthropomorphic version of the skyscraper! And I'm lonely! Please buy me and all my friends!"
You know, all skyscrapers should include a bull. It makes them all much cooler.
Ariel view of Mexico City.
And now we go up to the tippy top of the skyscraper, and the outdoor portion. Funky looking stairs BTW.
Greetings from the tippy top of Torre Latinoamericana.
We went up at the perfect time. We went up during the day, saw the sunset, and now are getting night time ariel views of Mexico City. Very happy I got to see it all. BTW, it's technically possible to see Six Flags Mexico from up here if you know what to look for and where to look.
So long Torre Latinamericano! It was good going up you (BTW, here's a photo of the building).
Checking out the Plaza Republica, a cool looking monument celebrating the Mexican Revolution.
For our final dinner of the official trip, we decied to have dinner at this place called La Llorona.
Group shot for the final (group) meal of the trip.
The food was....interesting. Very unique, and.....definately was memorable. Most notable was the fact that along with the food I actually ordered, it also came with Bone Marrow, which is apparently a culinary delicacy. OK. I'm adventerous, and I tried it. And......this is essentially just fat. Eating bone marrow is honestly, EXACTLY like eating a slab or lard, or the fat off steak. Sure, it might be good as an additive in cooking. But.....I don't want to eat a thing of it raw for the same reason I don't want to eat a plain stick of butter.
So the trip is over for most people. The AirBnB is gone, and everyone else has left already. But Jason and I have another bonus day since....just like how our flights had us land really early in the morning, the same is true in reverse, with our flights leaving late at night, giving us essentially an extra day.
*Sigh* If I had left with everyone else and only had yesterday's experiences to judge the Mexico City Metro, I would've said "I had no problems with it. Sure, it was PACKED and I felt like a sardine in there and it induced claustrophobia, but it still was good and worked as intended. Thumbs up". Unfortunately, I have to also factor in today in my assesment of the Mexico City Metro, and.....OH BOY!!! IT WAS A DUMPSTER FIRE TODAY!!!! First off, most of the lines were just.....CLOSED!!! Which......if you want to be good public transportation, you have to be CONSISTANTLY RELIABLE!!! Good days and bad days is not acceptable. And that doesn't even get into trying the buses, which.....honestly, don't. They're more trouble than they're worth. You really are FAR BETTER just getting an Uber, especially with how cheap they are in Mexico. So....thumbs down for the Mexico City Metro (excluding the Mexicable. That still gets a thumbs up). =(
So the original plan for the day was to do some credit whoring at Kataplum (The park may not look amazing, but a Spinning Mouse and a Family Vekoma SLC, plus a kiddy credit, is enough to get me to whore it in some free time), and then spend the rest of the day exploring the mall as well as the National Park right on by (Parque Ecológico Xochimilco). Unfortunately for us, Parque Ecológico Xochimilco is closed on Mondays, and Kataplum is HYPER STRICT about rain, to the point where if a single drop of water falls from the sky, GAME OVER: PARK SHUT DOWN (Doing this the first preview day wouldn't have worked either since....Kataplum is closed on Wednesdays). And....yeah. Weather is NOT on our side. So.....that got cancelled (Bummer, but not a huge deal since....this was a bonus activity). But now, this leads to a new question. What are we going to do on our Final Bonus Day in Mexico City?
*drumroll* YET ANOTHER F*CKING MUSEUM!!!
So for our final bonus museum, we checked out the Museo Soumaya, which is the biggest art museum in Mexico City. And.....it was pretty cool. Saw a lot of cool art, and big props to the staff, who was very friendly and helpful.
Hey look! They have a replica of the statue of David here. That's cool. =)
"Come on Billy! There's naked women waiting for you if you get in the water! JUST PLEASE!!! GET IN THE WATER AND TAKE A F*CKING SHOWER!!!"
"See! I told you all the immigrants and foreigners were the cause of all these wildfires!" >=)
Blugh. More religion. =(
Is that a knife in your tits, or are you just happy to see me? =P
The english translation of the title of this painting is "Three Women on a Sofa in Clos Cezanne". Uh.....I may suck at math, but even I know that that's NOT 3 women. ;)
"Shh! My dad thinks I'm helping out by stacking the hay. But I'm just turning it into a giant set of boobs!"
Prettiest looking human I've ever seen.
Oh yeah. I forgot to mention this. But there's also an active volcano right by the city. Thanks for reminding me with that painting. =)
Hmm. Mexican Muscular shirtless buff farmer boys? Gee, I wonder why this was painted. ;)
Ooh. Pretty waterfall. And.....guess what? This is a real place (it's actually in Puerto Rico).
But seriously. This place is awesome. And.....if you're a fan of art and art museums, then this is definately a place to check out.
Hey. Just wandering through the parks in the rain. It's kind of nice. Particuarly parks that are far away from us and not ones we frequently visit out of boredom.
If you're missing America while in Mexico (considering what the country has become, WTF is wrong with you if that's the case!?), no need to worry. For they have the Lincoln Park, which is a local park solely dedicated in the honor of Abraham Lincoln and some cool facts to learn about him. They also have a MLK Jr. Park right next door. This is a nice little touch, and I'm glad we managed to walk through here and stop here for about 5 minutes.
I know it's just yet another monument to the Mexican army, but that seriously is a cool looking statue.
Sexy as Cheese. You know, I tried mainly eating authentic Mexican food on this trip. But.....this place genuinely looked good. Cause....hey! I LOVE cheese. Maybe next time.
Instead, we checked out this little hole in the wall place for some Tamales, since.....Jason does love his tamales.
Not only did they have regular tamales, but they also carried dessert tamales. So we not only had some regular chicken tamales, but also some dessert tamales. Specifically Pineapple Tamales.
Just sitting at a park, enjoying some tamales. That's nice.
All right. The time has come to finally head home. Before getting on the plane, we decide to break the authentic food rule, and.....screw it! We had some KFC. And.....I'm glad we did. Cause....shockingly enough, they do KFC differently in Mexico as opposed to home. Specifically, they have cool menu items they don't have back home. It's not even a Mexican thing. They.....just don't have these back home. I'm very certain that the BBQ Bacon Sandwich, the Chipotle Bacon Sandwich (which is the one I got), and the Chizza Sandwich would all be popular in America.
All right. We're here at the Monterrey Airport. And......*sigh* We have ourselves a 10 hour layover here. Unfortunately, the 10 hours we're here are from 1 AM until 11 AM. Yeah. Had this been from 1 PM until 11 PM, I would've tried exploring Monterrey and doing something in the city since....10 hours is long enough to leave the airport and do something. But....that doesn't exactly work in the middle of the night. =( The most I could do is be on my phone, and try and take a brief cat-nap (Sleeping in the airport really doesn't work, and....I got about as well a night of sleep as on a typical suicide night). Also, quick note. But....both the Mexico City Airport as well as the Monterrey Airport were VERY FRUSTRATING!!! Not as bad as Charlles de Gualle, which is still the worst airport I've been in. But....PLEASE PROPERLY MARK YOUR GATES!!! Thank god I had so long to figure it out. Would've been so much worse had I been in a rush.
And with that, our Mexico trip is officially over. And.....I had a blast. Mexico pretty much met all my expectations. Six Flags Mexico, while personally a little overhyped by other enthusiasts, still was a ton of fun. And the rest of Mexico City was great. I got in a lot of culture while visiting several cool museums. Got to explore the pyramids, and even see a Lucha Libre, which....I may not be a sports fan, but I still had fun there. Had a lot of great Mexican food, and.....I just had a ton of fun. All the fears of Mexico City being unsafe and full of violent crime? Overhyped and paranoid. I never felt unsafe in Mexico City. I totally want to go back sometime. Even though going on this trip was grossly irresponsible and by most metrics, the wrong thing to do, I still don't regret it. I had a blast and look foreward to going back to Mexico sometime soon.
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