Consumer Review of the Tower of the Americas, San Antonio Texas

Read our review of the Tower of the Americas attraction at San Antonio Texas, including videos and pictures. See what we thought about the observation deck, gift shop, 4D ride, and much more. An unbiased, thorough review of the Tower of the Americas.

During Spring break 2010, we traveled to San Antonio Texas and observed many of the tourist attractions there. One of these attractions, the Tower of the Americas, left us both inspired and disappointed. Located inside Hemisfair park, the tower is an ominous inclusion. Visitors to the tower can see the entire city of San Antonio via the observation deck, buy San Antonio souvenirs or other items at the gift shop, enjoy a 4D ride showcasing the history and geography of Texas, and much more.

Initial Impression of the Tower of the Americas

Approaching the tower, one feels so small. The tower is so tall, in fact, that you can see it from most locations in San Antonio. The Hemisfare park surrounding the tower was very beautiful, and everything was exceptionally clean in spite the fact that a major festival was underway around its base.

Purchasing tickets at the Tower of the Americas

Considering that this was our first visit to the tower, we did not know what to expect or what was inside. So, like most tourist, we paid for a ticket to go inside. The clerk at the ticket counter was very friendly and polite. The price for tickets according to the menu was $21.95 for adults. I do not recall the price for children or senior citizens, but children three and younger were free if I remember correctly.

Our ticket price included unlimited admission to the observation deck, admission to the 4D ride, and freedom to roam about the Tower of the Americas as we chose. We felt that the ticket price was rather high, but if we wanted to see the view we didn't have any choice. We were not interested in the ride, the restaurant, or any other aspects of the tower; we only wanted to see the observation deck. All visitors are required to purchase the combination ticket regardless of their intentions or if they planned to take advantage of the unlimited admission opportunities.

Our thoughts about the 4D ride at the Tower of the Americas

The 4D ride is advertised as a remarkable journey through the history of Texas as well as the unique geographical features of the city. It stimulates all of the major senses, except for taste, to create a realistic experience. You will hear, see, smell, and feel "Texas."

Our ticket purchase gave us unlimited access to this attraction, but I can honestly say that one trip was more than enough. In fact, we wish that we had never ridden it at all.

Visitors must first lineup outside of the main door in a roped off area. In groups of no more than 30, people are taken through this main door into a room that is decorated like a sitting room from an estate or mansion in old-time Texas. The walls are decorated with numerous artifacts, antique heirlooms, historic old pictures, and much more.

While standing in this room, I commented to my husband that it seemed very smoky in the area. A large sign inside this room gave a warning about not riding if you have back or breathing problems. Now I have been in rides like these before, and I can honestly say they were not that bad. I had no reason to believe that this ride would be any different. On the other hand, I felt obligated to ride since we paid for the price to do so and there were no refunds.

After a few minutes, the ride operator opened another set of doors and ushered us inside. In the new room was found a number of rows of theater style seats. There was also an area for people who are in wheelchairs. The smoke was very thick in this room, even though the ride was supposedly over. I had difficulty breathing at this point. My husband asked if we should leave and I said no, surely it wouldn't be that bad. Little did I know that it would be!

4D rides, as a general rule, are very entertaining. It is like a 3-D ride except that it adds little spurts of water in cases where you're watching a water movie, air jets to simulate bugs flying by you, smells to match whatever is on the screen, and sometimes your seat might rumble. So I was looking forward to this ride, assuming it would be similar to the ones I have experienced before.

In this ride, the seats jerked around violently. In fact, the jerking was so abrupt that I had to set completely forward on the edge of the seat. The jerking motions were unpredictable as well. In one scene of the video, we were supposedly on the back of a bucking bull in a rodeo, and the seats jerked right along with it.

The smoke in the room was difficult to bear as well. It was trying to make the smells and shallow breathing of a dust filled field in Texas, or a rodeo grounds where the mud and dust has been stirred up. If you have ever been to one of these areas, then you know how difficult it is to breathe sometimes. And in this case, it wasn't just an issue of a smell, it was an issue of making the air thick and uncomfortable. In my opinion, that effect was not necessary.

Thankfully, the ride only lasted about three minutes and we were able to leave. I was very thankful when this occurred!

I recalled that while purchasing our tickets there was no warning signs or indications that the 4D ride might be physically hazardous. I suppose the Towers of America staff covers their backsides by putting a sign inside the ride rather than outside. They know that they have you hooked once you buy your ticket since there is no refunds. But it would be nice for people to be forewarned before they buy the ticket, not afterwards.

I do not recommend this ride to anyone who has any type of back problems whatsoever. And even for those people who have perfect backs, you could very easily get whiplash from this ride. So, if you visit the Tower of the Americas, consider yourself forewarned about this attraction.

Our review of the observation deck at the Tower of the Americas

Visitors who wish to go to the observation deck must wait in line for one elevator. The elevator takes about five minutes per round, with two minutes of travel time one direction. The observation deck provides guests with a spectacular view of the San Antonio area, including some of the city's most cherished historical buildings and sites.

The elevator ride up gave us a beautiful view of the city. In fact, I took a video of this ride as I was poised right beside the window. It was amazing to see the skyline and city of San Antonio opening up right before our eyes. The elevator operator was very friendly and courteous as well, making the ride very enjoyable. Instead of listening to elevator music, we were treated to some information about the Tower of the Americas, including its height and date of construction. From the time the elevator doors closed to the time that they opened at the observation deck was about two minutes.

When the doors opened, we were ushered through the snack bar and miniature gift shop area in the observation deck. There are two levels to the deck, one being in an open air location with no obstructions to your view, and the other is in a platform area closer to the center of the tower. You can see the two different levels in part one of our videos of the observation deck, as listed below.

It is important to mention that there are steep and short stairs leading from the upper platform area to the lower observation deck. If you have difficulty walking, going up and down stairs, have a disability, are using crutches or a cane, or are in a wheelchair it will be difficult to reach this lower level. Thankfully there is one wheelchair lift on the other side of the observation deck for those who have difficulty transversing stairs.

The crowd was very thick in the observation deck at the Tower of the Americas, and everybody had to move in a single file line for the most part. Once we made it to the outer area of the observation deck, however, we had much more elbow room. The observation deck allowed us to walk all the way around and see the entire city of San Antonio. We took the videos as we went around the observation deck, and in fact these videos could be spliced together to make one continuous view of the city.

We made some wonderful observations of the area's landmarks and even found our hotel. We noticed a very large cemetery off in the distance. We discovered that one of the Alamo buildings is shaped like a cross. The Hyatt hotel has a swimming pool on its roof. We learn that there are Segway rides available to the public as we watched different people zooming back and forth across a parking lot area. We discovered that there were numerous tourist attractions in San Antonio that we never knew existed thanks to our view from the observation deck.

While walking around the deck we came to an area that was exceptionally windy. It was so windy in fact that it nearly blew our shirts off. I had trouble standing up! My ponytails spun around in this wind like a whirligig. It felt as if we were in a gale force hurricane wind, but without the threat or danger.

Around the corner from this windy area we found a woman and her stroller with a baby stuck in the wheelchair lift. She was trying to make it from the lower observation deck level to the upper platform area. Sadly the list got stuck midway. Apparently she had called for help but nobody had arrived. By the time we saw her she was becoming distraught in her condition. Thankfully my husband knew what to do and went down to help her. Even the crew of the Towers of America did not know how to get the doors open or to help her get out! She was thankful for our help and we were glad to help her.

We stayed in the observation deck for about 45 minutes, taking lots of videos and pictures along the way. We saw a wonderful sunset over San Antonio as well!

On the ride back down, the elevator gave us the best view of all. It was right at sunset when we went down, and once again I took up a position right beside the window. My video camera captured an amazing sunset that progressed at a rapid speed as we travel down. From the top of the observation deck it would appear that the sun had just finished setting, with most of the light from the sun still shining around the city. By the time we made it to the ground floor, however, it was dusk in San Antonio and people needed to use their light. This one trip and this one video made the whole observation deck experience worthwhile. I hope that you will enjoy this view with me by scrolling to the bottom of this article and enjoying the video for yourself.

Overall we were very impressed with the Tower of the Americas observation deck experience. While the price for the tickets was more expensive than we liked, it was a very enjoyable view. I would recommend seeing San Antonio via the Tower of the Americas observation deck to everyone.

Review of the Tower of the Americas gift shop

No visit to the Tower would be complete without stopping at the gift shop. Filled with the standard fare of Texas souvenirs, T-shirts, and Towers of America items, visitors can rest assured that they will find something worthy of purchase. A few pieces of artwork and some mounted heads filled a few empty corners on the walls.

The prices at the gift shop seemed a bit high to me, but then again what gift shop isn't?

Overall the shop was very clean, well-stocked, and the staff was very friendly. I can honestly say that I was pleased with the selection there and would recommend it to anyone who is visiting the tower. In addition, if you would like a souvenir that specifically says something about the Tower of the Americas, Hemisfair Park, or the surrounding area rest assured you can find it here.

Other observations about the Tower of the Americas

We thought that we had to buy a ticket in order to enter the Towers, but as it turns out people could come in through numerous side doors. So, if you want to visit the tower but not go inside the observation deck or ride the 4D ride, then don't bother buying a ticket.

We also noticed that there is a special tour for the Charter house restaurant in the Tower of the Americas. This door is manned by professionally dressed hosts or hostesses. While we did not have a reservation, we did have the opportunity to watch a few guest being greeted and ushered through the door. Charter house restaurant also has its own private elevator, which is very convenient for dining guests. We did take a moment to look at the menu, which was posted outside, and it was obvious that the restaurant was very exclusive with a fine dining experience.

The walls in and around the Tower of the Americas had numerous works of art, historical items, information about San Antonio, or historical maps among other things. All around the base of the tower were small kiddie rides, crane machines, candy machines, and so forth.

Overall we were very impressed with the Tower of the Americas and would recommend visiting it to anyone who travels to San Antonio.

Tower of the Americas videos

1. An educational video about the Tower of the Americas, as seen while standing in line for the observation deck elevator. Talks about the history of the tower, the ammenities it offers, and other interesting information:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/671836/educational_video_about_the_towers.html

2. Take a look inside the base of the Tower of the Americas. See the Tower of the Americas gift shop, games, artwork, souveniers, and some (shall we say) interesting tourists!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/671838/view_inside_the_towers_of_america_hemisfair.html

3. Watch the San Antonio skyline unfold right before your eyes as we ride the elevator to the top of the Tower of the Americas. Once we arrive, the elevator doors open to a beautiful 360 degrees view of San Antonio on the observation deck.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/672014/towers_of_america_watch_the_san_antonio.html

Videos from the Observation Deck, Tower of the Americas

By watching these videos in order, you will be able to see the entire 360 degrees view of San Antonio from the Observation deck. Videos can be spliced together for one continual view if desired. See some of the city's most cherished landmarks, historic buildings, and points of interest. In many of these videos we make unique observations about the layout of San Antonio. Lucky for you, the spectacular view is yours for free, thanks to these videos! Thank you, Tower of the Americas, for a beautiful (albeit expensive) view!

Part 1: http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/672016/view_of_san_antonio_texas_from_the.html
Part 2: http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/672022/more_of_the_view_from_the_observation.html
Part 3: http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/672024/video_series_of_the_towers_of_america.html
Part 4: http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/672026/towers_of_america_from_the_observation.html
Part 5: http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/672028/towers_of_america_from_the_observation.html
Part 6: http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/672178/towers_of_america_from_the_observation.html
Part 7: http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/672184/towers_of_america_from_the_observation.html
Part 8: http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/672188/towers_of_america_from_the_observation.html
Part 9: http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/672204/towers_of_america_from_the_observation.html
Part 10: http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/672216/towers_of_america_from_the_observation.html
Part 11: http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/672220/towers_of_america_from_the_observation.html

And the grand finale of our whole trip to the Tower of the Americas...

This final video makes the whole trip so worthwhile. While taking the elevator down from the observation deck to the ground floor, the most spectacular sunset over San Antonio was captured on film. Romantic sunsets are very enjoyable, but in this case it is a sunset on crack. When we start the 1 1/2 minute ride down, the sunset is glowing with that just-settled-sun look. By the time we make it to the bottom, it is dusk with people's lights on.

See this amazing video here:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/672240/see_the_amazing_sunset_over_san_antonio.html

Here are a few slideshows of the Tower of the Americas, taken in various areas:

1. Some old pictures of San Antonio Texas, including "Save the Alamo" rallies through the downtown area. These were on display inside the observation deck.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/49824/old_pictures_of_san_antonio_texas_including.html

2. Some pictures in and around the Towers:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/49822/pictures_of_the_towers_of_america_san.html

3. Pictures from inside the base:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/49820/pictures_of_the_towers_of_america_looking.html

4. The 4D ride at the Tower of the Americas. We did this ride and it was horrible. Unfortunately, you are required to buy a ticket whether you plan to ride it or not, and there are no warnings about what the ride can do to you when you buy these tickets either. Be forewarned: If you have any back trouble at ALL or if you don't like breathing thick smoke, don't bother with the ride. Here's a couple pictures of it all the same.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/49812/4_d_ride_at_san_antonio_texas_inside.html

5. A beautiful picture of the sunset over San Antonio, as viewed from the Tower of the Americas observation deck. We wish that it could have turned out a little better!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/49810/a_beautiful_picture_of_sunset_over.html

6. Pictures of the Tower gift shop:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/49802/pictures_of_the_tower_gift_shop_inside.html