The City That Plays

Top ways to cool off with a summer vacation in Frisco

Beat the Texas heat this summer with a cool road trip — Frisco is just north of Dallas, and it offers plenty of ways to stay cool. From pools to sweet treats to splash pads and more, there's no shortage of refreshing things to do.

Dive in
Pool days are a necessity here in Texas, especially when the temps start climbing.

Many hotels are offering great rates and deals, and be sure to get the most out of your hotel stay by taking a dip in the newly renovated pool at The Westin Stonebriar Golf Resort & Spa, which now sports an adjacent bar called Ranch Water that features craft cocktails with regional spirits and light poolside fare.

Or take in the views from the rooftop pool at the Omni Frisco Hotel, which is located at The Star, the Dallas Cowboys' headquarters and training facilities.

Speaking of sports, catch a Frisco RoughRiders ballgame at Rider's Field, where you can blissfully float throughout the innings in the Lazy River.

If you're looking for a little more splashy action, head to the Frisco Athletic Center Water Park where seven water features await, including the Preston Plunge and The Fort. It's open through the end of September, and day passes are only $11 for youths, $13 for adults, and children 2 and under are free.

Splish splash
Some days a pool is too much of a commitment, so how about a splash pad instead? You'll find some excellent ones at Frisco Commons Park, Shepherd's Glen Park, and J.R. Newman Park.

For a true hidden water gem, head down the unmarked path through the trees at Limestone Quarry Park and discover a small swimming hole fed by a creek — there's even a waterfall. Be sure to wear water shoes or sneakers that can get wet, because the limestone rocks are rough on bare feet.

Cool treats
Pause your playtime for some icy refreshments, like snow cones from the Frisco Snow Cone Lady, a summer staple in the area.

Or order up a Stacker at Cow Tipping Creamery for a Texas-size sundae that layers homemade toppings between freshly churned ice cream.

At the small-batch coffee shop and bakery La Finca, each bean is roasted in-house with its specific flavor profile in mind. An iced latte or shakerato — or even a good ol' iced coffee — will provide the delicious buzz you're craving.

Soak up the AC
You'll need a break from all the sun, so head inside and enjoy that sweet, sweet air conditioning. Collect clues and solve the puzzle at Countdown 2 Escape, visit the National Soccer Hall of Fame, or bowl a few games, rack up points in the arcade, or play laser tag at Strikz.

The Frisco Discovery Center houses three museums in one building: TrainTopia, National Videogame Museum, and Sci-Tech Discovery Center. Here's a pro tip: You can save 25 percent and experience all five of Frisco’s museums with the Frisco Museum Pass.

Soak up all Frisco has to offer this summer — visit the website for more vacation ideas.

Catch a baseball game from the Lazy River at Rider's Field.

Photo courtesy of Visit Frisco

Catch a baseball game from the Lazy River at Rider's Field.

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Airline News

American Airlines to take things up a notch at DFW Airport

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

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Fort Worth-based American Airlines is making changes at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), its largest hub and hometown airport, including departure times spread throughout the day.

DFW has an outsized impact on the rest of the airline’s operation and on the journeys of the nearly 700,000 customers the airline serves every day across its global network. More customers and more bags travel and connect through DFW every day than any other airport in American's network. What's good for DFW is good for everyone.

More banks
For more than a decade, American’s schedule at DFW has been concentrated across nine banks, or large clusters of flights across the operating day. As all airline bank structures do, this times large groups of flights together, coordinating arrivals and departures, and ultimately, coordinating quick and seamless connections.

Beginning in April — and visible in the airline’s schedules starting December 27 — American’s DFW operation is evolving to a 13-bank structure, providing more certainty to the airline’s average 100,000 peak daily customers traveling on the more than 930 average peak DFW daily departing flights.

With this structural schedule change, customers will find more departure options in highly desired time windows and fewer early morning departures to DFW.

American is also making an investment in block time for flights to and from DFW. (Block time is the total scheduled time between pushback from the departure gate to arrival at the destination gate.) The goal is more on-time departures, which lead to more on-time arrivals and fewer delays.

Connections
They're also working on improving connection times, making it easier to connect through DFW. The new structure should reduce the concentration of very short connection times.

Customers on the go such as business travelers can still book tight connections when time matters — but the schedule enhancements will now provide more options for a stress-free experience with more time between flights. Reflowing their schedule means fewer air traffic delays and more on-time departures and arrivals.

By spreading out its DFW flight schedule across the day, the airline is also spreading out customer volume, including everything from local customers arriving in parking garages, checking in at lobbies, and clearing security, to connecting customers making their way through American’s terminals to their next flights.

Terminals
Other improvements include modernizing American’s facilities and airport terminals, including Terminal A and C Pier extensions adding nine incremental gates.

They're also adding Terminal F to be completed in 2030, with 31 new gates that can accommodate increased widebody capacity, state-of-the-art baggage technology, dedicated premium lounges, Flagship check-in, and a new U.S. Customs facility.

New programs in partnership with the Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection include TSA PreCheck Touchless ID — allowing customers at DFW (and 16 other locations across American’s U.S. network) to use facial recognition technology for more secure and efficient identity verification.

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