Thinking of Six Flags brings back memories of the Rides, the Shows and the visual effects, such as the covered walkways. There are other memories too, however. The Gifts and Souvenirs sold in the park over the years are as important to our fond memories as the rides and shows. This page is dedicated to memories of days gone by, of little trinkets and toys we begged our parents to buy. I will start us out with some of my own best, you finish the page by adding the rest.
I remember back in the 80's my parents bought me one of those cola bottles where the neck had been melted and strecthed up in a funny spiral shape. It was almost 2 ft tall. They were absolutely useless, but at the time I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I thought the Sprite bottles looked best because they had those little bumps along the side of the bottle that stretched up too.
We bought a Caddo Canoe Paddle w/ SF logo. I still have a bell with a crucifix mounted on the top from Mexico. Also, I still a nice ash tray, mug and plate, all with pictures and logo. My map, c. 1965, is still on my wall. We bought the whip, skull on a stick, a picture album, various hats, patches and many forgotten items from the 60's, most are gone now. We loved them into oblivion.
I always had to get one of those big plastic pencils that had about 50 different removable colors. You could pull out what color you wanted and put at the tip for writing. Of course, I took it to school so that all my peers would know I had just been to Six Flags. I thought I was soooooooo cool.
The Spectrum in the modern section was THE place to get souvenirs. You could get a poster of any celebrity or musical group (I had my Shaun Cassidy for a long time) and how about those gags like the plastic throw up, the spilled cola, and the invisible dog...ah the memories...
I bought this item in 1976 it was a little plastic base with holes and it came with the Six Flags Over Texas that included the flags that the park used, as some were not accurrate such as france....none the less i enjoyed this trinket for many years. In time the flags became faded and I decided it would be a quest to replace it...being as they didn't sell them anymore, if i did not want bugs bunny crap I was outta luck. I keep a keen eye open at all gift stands in my travels around the state and manage to find a replacement at where else but the Alamo...it had to be a historical place as Six Flags had long strayed from upholding history as it was based on. One of my favorite memories with this souvenier was when i was working in my familys bowling center in the restaurant on one Texas Independence day i set up my Flags and a guy who was working in the bowling center dubbed my Restaurant "The International House Of Jesse" with signage he placed next to my flags......
Little Mexican Jumping Beans, jumped around in a little plastic box. Made a clicking sound as they hit the sides.
Remeber they sold the Texas Giant shirts. They had the picture of the Giant drawn on the front with its claim to fame, and on the back was the ride stats. I wish they would bring back the ride promo shirts or buttons. Also I would love to see those huge maps come back, I still have 2 from years past.
While you were inside the park, a free black and gold bumper sticker would magically appear on the rear of your car. You got a free souvenir and Six Flags got several new pieces of advertising rolling off the parking lot each day. My dad wasn't a bumper sticker fan, so he always left the sunvisor down as instructed by the signs at Toll Plaza. By the time I bought my first car, I had to shell out part of that $2.90 per hour paycheck for one.
There was a stand right next to the Magic Shop that sold ID tags similar to those worn in the military. The host or hostess working there had final say on how much vulgarity was allowed. There's probably a tag that says "Great. How's It Going" around here somewhere.
I remember I couldn't wait to finish my pink thing to see what character would be hiding underneath. I don't know why the Ooloo Fudge didn't have them either, but they didn't.
I got these my last season at Six Flags(97). The Daffy Duck statue is, well, just Daffy standing there posing with a small wooden base and a small tag that says 'Daffy Duck-Six Flags Over Texas'. The Marvin the Martian one is Marvin and his dog K-9 standing on a 'moony surface' and they're looking down, and on the front it says 'It's a Long Way Down!' and behind them is a large white and blue rocket that has 'Six Flags' in red letters. I dunno, I guess I'm a sucker for Looney Tunes stuff...
They came in different colors of tissue paper and they were on a wooden stick. I think maybe they sometimes had a little wire 'n' nylon butterfly on them. Anyway, the only place I remember seeing, and buying (and believe me, I bought my share of those ugly things!!!) them was in one of the Mexican section gift shops. I used to taunt my cats with them until they got all torn up! AHHH, the good old days!!
My favorite souvenir (and my dog's LEAST favorite...heh heh) was the little stick with a plastic alligator head at one end. You pulled the trigger at the opposite end of the stick and the gator's mouth would open and close. Perfect for a 5-year-old to chase the dog with at home (THEORETICALLY, of course...*fake innocent look*)
They were delicate beer glasses with colored water inside. The brandy snifters contained the same. They were constructed so that an unsuspecting person might try to drink out of one, but, of course, the fluid was trapped between two layers of glass, and could not be reached. I say they are my favorite with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. As a kid at SFOT, any souvenir was great, but as an employee, certain "gift items" were hell on earth to keep clean and stocked. These beer glasses were that kind of item. They broke very easily, either in transit from the warehouse, during pricing,or by some sausage-fingered guest knocking over a few by accident. The B&O box (broken and obsolete)which every shop had, was usually filled with wet pieces of glass with soggy price tags hanging from them. Keeping those suckers dusted on the display shelves,(also glass...how intelligent!)was one of the many joys of my young life. They were such incredibly stupid items. We would just shake our heads and marvel at what useless trinkets people were willing to shell out good money for.(bad sentence construction,that!)Fanny pinchers, ugly coffee mugs, "I'm With Stupid" T-shirts....what memories! For the average G&S worker, this is a question that could keep one going on and on...
No....not something you eat, the skull was a plastic skull (almost life size) mounted on a black wooden stick. They were sold in many of the gift shops around Skull Island. Way Kewel, fer sure.
Every year that I went to Six Flags, I would get two things. The first would be a souvenir map (I wish they would sell them again!) and the second would be a magic trick from Cyrus Cosmo's store. I was devastated when the store was removed.
I think the store was in the Tower Area, but it might've been located elsewhere.
Everyone had to have one of these at some point of their kid vacation life. I know I did...But it wasn't until years later that I could relate with Rusty Griswald.
I wanted that real bullhide whip so bad I couldn't sit still until I got it. I don't know why but my parents finally bought it for me. I could crack that whip up and down. I would crack it about a foot away from my sisters but I never really popped anyone with it, Thank God. I still have it today.
Charlie Patton, one of the original RR Engineers in 1961 would cut some bamboo, make a triangular cut, insert a plug, and give these away. I treasure mine.
I used to always want a hat when my family visited SFOT. I grew up in Arlington so we went every year. I do not remember all of the hats I purchased, I still have some. I also have my Bull Whip that I saw mentioned on this page.
As a young kid, after every trip to the park, I always wanted one of the large souvenir maps. They were great for showing your friends what you saw and did. (I didn't live near the metroplex, so my friends hadn't all heard of the park.) They were also great for "re-living" your trip until the next time you got to go. As an adult, the maps are excellent for researching the park's history. They don't sell the big maps anymore. You just get the little sketch map in the guide books, which just aren't the same thing. So I vote for Souvenir maps as the best all time gift or souvenir.
Picture postcards give you a quick and easy photo of your favorite ride or attraction. You can also send them to the family back home. The first year the park was open, there were probably 20 to 30, maybe even more, different cards available. Now, the park is trying to unload the last few remaining ones made up about four years ago. In the days of generic souvenirs (that being ones that say Six Flags and can be sold in any park), Post cards can't make the cut.
Back when Six Flags was a theme park based on the Six Flags of Texas, you could buy little flags all over the park. They were on sticks about two feet long and were about a foot long. There were seven to buy, since Skull Island had its own, the Skull and Cross Bones Pirate Flag. Great to decorate the room with your favorite section's flag.