Interview conducted by Spencer Bollettieri, lead freelance writer for Theme Park Magazine
Described as a “hidden gem” and a world-class destination, San Antonio offers a blend of culture, entertainment, and local flavor that sets it apart from the rest, and there’s no better example of that spirit than Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Recently, Theme Park Magazine connected with Jeffery Siebert, President of Six Flags Fiesta Texas, to get the inside story on its history, its hidden secrets, and what makes this park so uniquely and authentically San Antonio.
From Show Park to Thrill Destination: The Evolution of Fiesta Texas
Theme Park Magazine (TPM): Six Flags Fiesta Texas was originally conceived as a “destination musical show park.” How does that original vision continue to influence the park’s entertainment strategy and investments in live shows today, especially in an industry that often prioritizes new ride installations?
Jeffery Siebert (JS): That’s a great question. The park was originally built by Gaylord Entertainment and USA Insurance. It was very show-heavy. Disappointingly for them, that concept really did not resonate with the market. So, it required a pivoting. It required a shift to build what our guests really wanted. So, that’s where you saw Six Flags come into the equation very early on, because the park was not performing nearly to the level it should, although it was great quality entertainment.
Really, guests were saying, hey, where are the rides? So, that’s what led Six Flags to enter into the picture and create the pivoting that you see today, which is just so true to our show beginnings, but really delivering what our guests wanted and want even more today, which the name of the gate is Six Flags, which is synonymous with epic thrills, fun rides, and even more so now for multi-generational family thrilling experiences.
And that’s where you really see us pivot and continue to have throughout the year. So, we still offer a great show foundation and show base. So, even today, or if you come through the summer season, we’ve got Forever Hollywood, which is our main stage musical in the Zaragoza Theater. We’ve got our great show in Rockville High School. We’ve got other shows around the park in Teatro and our Bubble Pop, along with lots of street-mosphere. And, of course, on nights where we stay open late, we’ve got our brand new fireworks show that also launches above the quarry wall.
So, still plenty to do for entertainment, but really the innovation has been even more so on the ride side, and this year culminating with the expansion of our DC Universe, which is three new rides and attractions really tied up with a bow in a much more thematic way around our DC characters, which have also been a staple, believe it or not, since almost the park’s inception. It was only those very first few years that the park did not have DC characters or Looney Tunes characters, but 99% of our entire history has been with Looney Tunes and DC characters.
The Iconic Quarry: Challenges and Creative Opportunities
TPM: That’s incredible. Ok, so the next question is: The quarry setting is arguably the park’s most unique physical attribute. Beyond the obvious visual impact, what are some of the lesser-known operational challenges and creative opportunities that come with designing and operating a theme park within such a dramatic landscape?
JS: It is iconic. I mean, there is no doubt the fact that we’ve taken advantage of the iconic setting of the Beckman Quarry, which is more than 100 years old, and is actively still being mined for limestone across the freeway today. So, although this section is no longer obviously actively being mined, that really affords some interesting operational challenges. But we’re still mining it across the way.
But with our signature waterfalls, tunnels for both the Iron Rattler and our train ride, it really does offer a unique setting that is just uniquely ours, which is very cool. But like anything, it was designed to actually benefit the park for a variety of reasons. One, we actually capture all the rainwater, and in many ways, we’re sitting in a big bathtub.
So, the water’s got to go somewhere…so, we actually capture all of our water. It goes through a series of retention and mitigation ponds before we’ll actually use all the rainwater for our waterfalls, water features, and even for our irrigation. So, when you see us watering our plants, it’s all water that we captured, either from Mother Nature, or as you can imagine, we’re in South Texas, and there’s lots of air conditioning. So, we even capture our air conditioning condensation and also use it for those purposes. But, because we are in a bathtub, when we do get flash-flood-style events, our big waterfalls are actually valved in reverse to pump water out of the park, so this way it just doesn’t fill up.
So, basically, more than two inches of rain in an hour, the waterfalls will reverse and keep our water level in the park kind of at a consistent level. So, there’s a whole bunch of nuance from the engineering side that really came into play when designing Fiesta Texas originally.
And, of course, it offers unique topography to have rides interact with the quarry wall, both in the past and, hint, hint, in the future. We will be adding more rides and attractions that really take advantage of our unique topography from day one, the park had the train go through the tunnel, and Iron Rattler through its own tunnel. Of course, we added Superman Krypton Coaster and other rides that have taken advantage of Roadrunner Express, of this really cool setting, and no doubt our guests love it when we really begin interacting with the wall.
If you go around the country, you can see that most quarries are just abandoned. So, what a great idea to take this abandoned, cool amenity and really turn it into something that resonates and works for our fellow fans, residents, and, again, just uniquely San Antonio.
Embracing San Antonio’s Heritage: Themed Lands and Culinary Delights
TPM: Los Festivales in Spassburg are deeply themed to San Antonio’s Hispanic and German heritage. Can you elaborate on the research design process that goes into ensuring these areas and their culinary entertainment offerings authentically reflect these cultures while also being engaging for a diverse park audience? Like, are there specific San Antonio landmarks or traditions that have directly inspired some of the elements of the park?
JS: Well, the park was designed to pay tribute to San Antonio, which is great. Which is the real magic of a theme park, is you lean into the local history. And there’s no doubt we’ve begun leaning heavily back into that, With our theming, attention to detail, from the way the park is painted, to the landscaping that goes in the areas, to the surfacing, to the music, it all leans back into the theming and storytelling that the park was originally designed, which is to celebrate all that’s great with San Antonio.
But not only that, that you’ll see from a show content standpoint, from a haunted house standpoint, everything we do is still themed to the area. So, for example, if you come back during Fright Fest, our whole Los Festivales is transformed into the Day of the Dead. Which is a beautiful, again, it takes our local heritage and cultures and just makes a really beautiful, organic part of Fright Fest. We do the same in Crackaxle Canyon, which is kind of the western spirit of Texas.
In our German area, Spazburg, which literally translated means “party city.” Because the whole park is designed, I mean, it’s in the namesake. Fiesta Texas. We are supposed to celebrate and have one party that never stops. And that’s what the park really is. But even in our German area, we’re reigniting new haunted houses that play to the German history and heritage of the region.
When you go into our Rockville area, it’s kind of that 1950s growth boom that Texas and San Antonio all encountered. And how do you continue to play off that from not only the rides and attractions selection, but the way that it looks, to also the other amenities and overlays that we have throughout the year, just to continue to pay tribute to the regions and what we celebrate.
Especially, I imagine you’ll see our new Sangerfest Hall, which is in the process of still being themed, but it serves Spetzl, which is a German traditional dish, along with a beautiful sliced pork loin, really good bratwurst. If you like bratwurst sausage, it pairs really well with our fried apples. So a lot of the German heritage in there.
The Art of Entertainment: Consistently Delivering Award-Winning Shows
TPM: Six Flags Fiesta Texas has a legacy of award-winning shows, including a ten-year streak for “Best Shows.” What do you believe are the key ingredients to consistently producing high-quality, memorable live entertainment that resonates so strongly with guests and industry critics?
JS: It’s creating what our guests want to see. So really listening to our guests and what our guests want us to do. So when you walk around the park, the entire park is based on that.
If it was Jeffrey Land USA, everything here, like you’d probably be 550 feet would be tall, everything would go thousands or hundreds of miles an hour as fast as you can. Strangely, not all of our guests want that. I don’t know why. I don’t know why our guests don’t want that.
And strangely, our guests don’t always want things that are just overly crazy all the time, although we would. We would love it. So it really is trying to find those things that our guests want.
What do our guests want us to produce from a show standpoint? And more importantly, what do our guests want us to produce from water park attractions? And what do our guests want us to produce for new rides?
And that’s really the impetus behind DC Universe is the three rides that were selected are multi-generational attractions that when you go out there, you’ll see everyone rides them. Everyone in the family, from grandma, grandpa, mom, and dad, to the smallest kids, the height requirements and the scope allows everyone to ride together. And as we’re looking at show content, to your actual question, we do the same.
We make sure that if you like something that is more of a spectacle, we have something that’s more of a spectacle. If you like pyrotechnics and fireworks, well, luckily, lots of people do. So continue with the fireworks.
If you like street-mosphere, so we have lots of shows that just aren’t inside, that as you’re walking by, you’ll just hear the music, which kind of sets you in a positive tone, and you keep walking on your way. So there’s lots of passive atmosphere as well to the show content that we produce. So even if you don’t actually go into the venue to see it, hopefully you still get some play value just by walking by and kind of setting you in a great tone for the rest of the day.
Along with our character program. So if you want to meet the Toons, you can meet the Toons. You want to meet Wonder Woman? You can meet Wonder Woman. Where else can you do these types of things on planet Earth except at theme parks, specifically Fiesta Texas?
The Six Flags and Cedar Fair Merger: New Horizons for Fiesta Texas
TPM: With the recent merger of Six Flags and Cedar Fair, what opportunities do you foresee for Fiesta Texas to further enhance its unique offerings, and how do you plan to ensure the park maintains its distinct identity and high standards within the new, larger company structure?
JS: Oh, my gosh. It’s just all new opportunities. And that’s the great news for all of us in Team Texas. As you guys know, I now oversee the six parks in Texas, and what you’re seeing, specifically the things that the team will show you today, are all mostly post-merger. So Sanger Fest Hall was post-merger. All the new refill locations, post-merger. The reigniting of painting rides and attractions, Pur Batman ride,
Pur re-theming that we’re doing from Goliath to Chupacabra. Again, leaning into the actual theming and storytelling of the area. That’s a great example of it was just a generic Six Flags name post-merger. It’s now Chupacabra, and our team is creating new sculpts and thematic pieces to lean into the history of our region and area. Because this area has lots of cryptic kind of lore to it, which is very fun to play off of.
The Power of Theming: Immersive Storytelling in Every Ride
TPM: At Theme Park Magazine, we love hearing about the theming, the immersion, the lore…
JS: As you guys walk around, we’ve been going ride by ride, example of example, of adding more theming and storytelling into our rides and attractions. From flat rides, like our Daredevil Dive, which has fireballs and a musical soundtrack, to even the two new rides we added this year have a soundtrack to them.
One is our Penguin Ride, which is a redone Zamperla attraction. Actually, it’s like a book and record, for lack of better terms. It actually tells you the story of what Shenanigans Penguin is trying to do.
Or if you ride our Nebulas, which is the Cyborg attraction, you actually hear Cyborg, and of course his villain comes in, takes control of the ride, which causes it to go crazy. Luckily for us, Cyborg takes control again and brings you all to a general stop. Like, whoa, that was crazy.
So, but that’s just part of the fun aspect of that. How do we put storytelling and theming into rides and attractions? For us, I want to say we now have six rides in the park that are synchronized to audio, and we have a variety of rides in the park that have pre-shows to them, like our Joker Funhouse, our Cliffhanger, all have a series of pre-shows and excitement that just enhances hopefully the ride experience.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Fiesta Texas
TPM: You know, we always love to have fun at Theme Park Magazine, so if you could build a ride based on any of the properties, Looney Tunes, DC, you know, any kind of attraction, which one would you most want to see or want to create?
JS: The one that is yet to come.
TPM: We’ll have to keep an eye on this place, right? But we really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us.
JS: Oh my gosh, my pleasure. Have fun today. Stay cool.
Feature image: by MegaZeph from Fandom Six Flags Wiki, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.
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Six Flags Fiesta Texas Tour
Explore More: Resources
- Website: Six Flags Fiesta Texas (official)
- Website: Visit San Antonio (official)
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As a biologist, journalist, and writer, Spencer Bollettieri has written for sites such as Screen Rant. Although mostly based out of New York, he’s traveled the world in pursuit of new stories.
