My First Visit to ZDT's Amusement Park

After hearing great things about Switchback, a small wooden coaster that opened in 2015, I vowed to stop in Seguin for some rides on my next trip to San Antonio.

Overview

This report is part 1 of 3 about a July 2021 trip to San Antonio that I took with a friend. Check out part 2 at SeaWorld and part 3 at Six Flags! We arrived at ZDT's around 12:15PM and stayed for two hours. All outdoor attractions were closed the first hour due to thunderstorms, so we ate lunch first. When the weather cleared, we rode Switchback 6 times (4x in the back, 1x in the front, and 1x in row 3). We never had more than a 2-train wait for this coaster. Employees at ZDT's were very friendly, and the place had a good variety of attractions. My only complaint was that the inside eating area was very dark and needed better lighting.

Coaster

The Gravity Group's Switchback is such an awesome coaster! It's small but mighty, and in many ways it feels like the little brother of Boardwalk Bullet at Kemah. Switchback has an excellent drop that delivers ejector airtime until the bottom in every row I tried. The forward pass gives airtime in all expected spots. I really like the overbanks and near misses. The vertical rollback is a little disappointing, especially in the front. This element on Switchback does not provide near the thrills that taller rollbacks on steel coasters do. Going backwards isn't quite as fun as the forwards trip due to less airtime and not being able to see the direction of the track. However, the backwards trip makes the ride feel more complete and still has enough speed to satisfy me. Overall, I'm very impressed by the layout, creativity, added effect of traveling through and around buildings, and the concept of this wooden shuttle coaster. Switchback is very smooth and comfy. For me, it's a back row ride that was running great after a storm during my visit. As of 2021, it even sneaks into my Top 50 Coasters!

Other Rides

ZDT's has a nice collection of other attractions, including water rides, go-karts, flat rides, playgrounds, and arcade games. Since my friend and I were just stopping on our way to SeaWorld, we did not ride anything other than Switchback or participate in any activities except eating.

Food & Merchandise

I had the grilled chicken sandwich combo for lunch. The food was yummy, fresh, and just the right portion size. ZDT's had merchandise, but I did not purchase anything.

Cost

It cost $19 for a Switchback wristband - good for unlimited rides on just the coaster for one day. ZDT's offers other passes, admission options and wristbands for all sorts of needs, detailed on their website. My lunch cost $10. I thought these prices were reasonable.

Photos

These photos were taken by me. Please credit this website if used.