8 reasons to add San Antonio to your theme park vacation goals

With three theme parks, four water parks, a beautiful and historic downtown area, and lots of attractions all around the city, San Antonio offers plenty of fun. Visit San Antonio recently invited us on a hosted visit to the area to see just a sample of what they offer. Although the theme of our visit was to see all their Halloween offerings, the city would be fun any time of the year.

Here are my top reasons why you should consider San Antonio for your next vacation.

San Antonio is known as the theme park capital of Texas. There are three major parks in San Antonio: Six Flags Fiesta Texas, SeaWorld San Antonio, and Morgan’s Wonderland.

Six Flags Fiesta Texas

Six Flags Fiesta Texas is located in a former limestone quarry, which provides a spectacular view. It has a mix of high-thrill rides and roller coasters, as well as fun for families and kids with the largest DC Universe area of any Six Flags park.

You’ll find a mix of both kiddie and thrill rides in the DC Comics area. They also feature the Looney Tunes, which appeal to all generations.

Quick note: Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio is sometimes confused with Six Flags Over Texas in the Dallas area.

SeaWorld San Antonio

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and SeaWorld San Antonio helps prove that, as it is one of the largest SeaWorld properties. They also have a great mix of roller coasters, and kids’ rides. And of course, they also have some great animal attractions and shows.

In fact, SeaWorld San Antonio is the only SeaWorld park to have Pacific white-sided dolphins, and a dedicated “Aldabra Island” habitat (Aldabra is one of the largest tortoise species). Guests can participate in an interactive tour that allows them to feed and even pet them.

Bonus! Howl-O-Scream is included in regular park admission at SeaWorld San Antonio, and this year marks the debut of “I Know What You Did Last Summer” at the event.

Morgan’s Wonderland

Speaking of one-of-a-kind, Morgan’s Wonderland is the only fully-accessible theme park in the world. While I wouldn’t call Morgan’s Wonderland a major theme park in the same way Six Flags and SeaWorld are, it’s a good-sized park that is great for families of all kinds. 

Every ride, playground, pathway, and attraction is intentionally inclusive. The park features adaptive equipment, sensory-friendly spaces, wheelchair-accessible rides, and thoughtful details throughout.

Everyone’s disability is different, so there is no guarantee that everyone can ride everything at the park. If there is a way to accommodate each person, Morgan’s Wonderland has generally figured it out. But don’t think of Morgan’s Wonderland as a place only for people with disabilities. Anyone is welcome to visit the park and have fun on their rides.

In fact, our media group had a blast riding one of the most thrilling rides at the park, a back-and-forth electronic zip line that goes high above the lake.

Cultural and local experiences

The Riverwalk

What started as a solution for flooding in downtown turned into one of the most beautiful areas of any major city. 

Mostly located one level down behind the hotels, restaurants, and shops on the streets, is a serene river running all through the city, extending many miles from one end to the other. There are beautiful bridges, trees, and gardens all along the river, as well as walking paths on either side.

You can even take a boat tour, which is beautiful day and night. All along each side of the river are shopping and dining options, as well as easy access to the street level. If you visit San Antonio, don’t miss the Riverwalk.

History Tours, Museums, and Gardens

As one of the oldest cities in Texas, dating back before it was even called Texas, San Antonio is full of history. Its most famous museum is the Alamo, which is located downtown, right off the Riverwalk.

In fact, in the last few years, the area around the Alamo has been turned into the Alamo Plaza. They have closed off some of the streets and turned them into a large walking area with shops, dining, and attractions all around.

A few other notable attractions include: Japanese Tea Garden, San Antonio Botanical Garden, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, San Antonio Museum of Art, The DoSeum, and The Witte Museum, just to name a few.

Festivals, Holidays, and Events

It seems there is always something happening in San Antonio. Of course, Halloween is one of the biggest times of the year and Six Flags and SeaWorld go all out. 

SeaWorld has not very scary, family fun during the day with Spooktacular, but at night the park hosts Howl-O-Scream, which includes very frightening haunted houses. Unlike the other SeaWorld and Bush Gardens parks, Howl-O-Scream is included with park admission in San Antonio.

We got a behind-the-scenes tour of one of their returning haunted houses, Dis-Assembly Line.

Six Flags Fiesta Texas hosts Fright Fest during the Halloween season. In addition to their own scare zones and houses, they also feature some major intellectual property-based haunted houses.

Besides Halloween, the theme parks also feature many Christmas festivities and decorations. But it’s not just the major holidays; you’ll find new things to do anytime of the year in San Antonio. Other happenings at different times of the year include Dream Week for Dr. King, the San Antonio Rodeo, St. Patrick’s Day festivities (they even turn the Riverwalk green), Fiestas, Mardi Gras, World Heritage Festival, Day of the Dead, Diwali, Pride, and more.

Other Attractions

Besides the major theme parks, you’ll find all kinds of different fun attractions in San Antonio. From the ones you might expect, such as escape rooms and mini golf, to some unique to San Antonio, like Natural Bridge Caverns cave tours and a wildlife ranch. We took part in one of the cave tours during our trip and really enjoyed it.

Some other notable attractions include Sea Life, Lego Discovery Center, Andretti Karting and Games, Holey Moley mini golf, Popstroke mini golf, Ripley’s Believe or Not, Zero Latency VR, San Antonio Zoo, Kiddie Park (America’s oldest children’s amusement park), TopGolf, and RJA Ghost Tours.

Look into a San Antonio CityPASS if you want to do more than a couple of the smaller attractions.