SafariRob

We published a new blog with lots of pictures from our visit to Discovery Kingdom on Sunday. Check it out. https://www.sixflagsroadtrip.com/blog-1/2020/sfdk-08302020

This thread is kind of quiet. The park is only partially open. I get it. Here's a blog we just published. Nothing fancy. Just a quick recap of our trip with some photos and an 80-second video. Enjoy. https://www.sixflagsroadtrip.com/blog-1/2020/sfdk

Parking works the same as before. If parking is included in your pass/membership, you're good to go. I would assume that includes premium parking for Diamond Elite, but I cannot say for certain since our membership is only Platinum.

The park is honoring the refillable cups. Implementation varies throughout the park. Some of the restaurants gave us a paper cup with the drink in it. Some of the restaurants actually took our bottles and filled them.

Thanks! We cannot wait to hit the road next year and finally visit all the parks. I'm a little worried about the aftermath of COVID-19 and how it has devastated the theme park industry. I hope that Six Flags (and all the theme park companies) can recover and none of the parks will permanently close.

We are so conditioned to stand in long security lines and jump through all these hoops (empty pockets, metal detectors, bag checks, etc.) that it's become normal. Honestly, when we breezed through security without stopping, it felt very odd. It was nice, but we were like, "Wait, that's it?" I really hope that all major venues (theme parks, sports stadiums, airports, etc.) implement this technology.

TRIP REPORT 7/3/20 We arrived at the parking lot around 9:40am. There were no cars in front of us or behind us. We noticed a few people walking the path toward the park. We parked and took the shuttle to the front gate. (Note: They are only allowing groups with a disabled person on the shuttles to the park.) What happened next was amazing. We stepped off the bus and walked through a new tunnel/entryway. There were six people in my group and another group behind us, but all of us kept walking. No one stopped for a temperature check. No one stopped for a bag check. It was completely seamless. We all kept walking until we found ourselves in the entry plaza. Next, a park employee scanned our reservation bar code and wished us a great day. Finally, we breezed through the turnstiles with no wait (other than the time it took to scan our passes). We were off the bus and into the park in less than three minutes. We were inside the park just before 10:00am...in time to wait for rope drop. We did most of the shows and animal attractions. Right off the bat, we noticed that the animals were much more active than we have experienced before. The snakes were slithering around, not hiding. The lions were front and center (one was on top of the rocks). The cougars were not hiding, and neither were the wolves. It was nice to get a good look at the animals. They have cleared out the land for Sidewinder Safari and put up a construction fence around the area. They might have even poured some concrete footers. It's hard to tell. Other than that, not much going on. No big surprise. Here are a few of my observations (and some advice if you plan to go). 1. Shark Experience is closed, which makes sense because it's indoors. 2. Butterfly Habitat is open (according to a park employee), which is surprising since it's also indoors. 3. Mobile ordering at the restaurants is (mostly) a hit. It's very easy to do and (most of the time) very fast. We ordered food from four different places and they were all fast. The one exception was Johnny Rockets. 4. Johnny Rockets. What is it with this place? I waited about 70 minutes for two shakes. There were at least 30-40 people standing around waiting for their orders and all of them waited at least an hour. Keep in mind that park capacity is about as low as it will ever get. This place is typically slow, but I THOUGHT with mobile ordering and low capacity it would help. It didn't. If anything, it's worse. Normally, I would never wait that long for two shakes, but I had nowhere else to be (the rest of the group was at a show) and I was genuinely curious to see how long it would take. At one point, the park president and another fellow (similarly dressed) walked up to a woman near me and talked to her about an issue with her order. They said they would look into it. They disappeared into the restaurant and I didn't see them again. Bottom line: AVOID JOHNNY ROCKETS 5. No food on the bus. Maybe this was always the rule, but they never enforced it. We took our dinner to go and got on the bus. Immediately, the bus driver told us food wasn't allowed on the bus. We tried to explain that we were not going to eat on the bus and that the containers would remain closed. The bus driver was firm (and rude, in my opinion). We got off the bus and walked to the car...and arrived before the bus. 6. Show capacity can be an issue. When is the last time you were turned away from a show due to capacity limit? It's only happened to me once in seven years...and that was a very busy Saturday in July at the dolphin show. We were turned away from the tiger show today due to capacity. I think that there are two main reasons for this. The first is (obviously) social distancing. Limited capacity for the shows. The other reason is that everyone is on the same show schedule. Each show is scheduled 30-45 minutes apart with very little overlap. That means that many of the same people go from show to show because there isn't much else to do. Some of the venues have much more capacity than others. 7. The games are open. This was a nice break for us in the middle of the day. They clean all of the game equipment (balls, rings, etc.) after each use. 8. Food Court. TONS of new table umbrellas! Remember when just a handful of outside tables had shade? Now, nearly all of them do. 9. There are areas in the park where you can take a break and remove your mask. 10. There's nothing in the parks referencing Marine World or The Marine World Experience. There is one sign outside the park with The Marine World Experience logo. I thought there might be some special event merchandise. I asked several gift shops (including the main one), but there is nothing. No 1980's music in the park or anything else to reference the old park. Think of it as a typical day in the park without rides. 11. Everyone was wearing a mask, with the exception of people sitting down to eat. Social distancing was not an issue. The park was very clean and we felt totally safe. I posted some video and photos. I hope its okay to post these links. If not, please remove. https://www.facebook.com/sixflagsroadtrip https://www.instagram.com/sixflagsroadtrip/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWu05hQ_REo1TUqCDtczt0g https://www.sixflagsroadtrip.com

Is anyone planning to go to the Marine World Experience? We're going tomorrow. I know the rides won't be operating, but I look forward to being in the park and seeing the animals. I'll also get a good look at the Sidewinder Safari construction.

Agreed. The best part of the ride was the queue. Maybe they can re-purpose it somehow.

The elephant location makes the most sense. I didn't realize that's where the snake warning sign was. (I thought it was over by the giraffes. I haven't been to the park in a few weeks.) Hopefully they can keep most of the trees and integrate the ride/queue/animal exhibit with them. I'm guessing that they will relocate the current reptile building (and its residents) to the queue of the new ride. Maybe add a few more animals. I really, REALLY hope they get a komoto dragon or two.

By the way, I think this is a great addition to the park. They desperately need more family rides. A family coaster is a big win for the park.

We know it's a clone of Ragin' Cajun at Six Flags America. The footprint is fairly large (approx. 50% larger than the Butterfly Habitat). They could tear out Kong, but the space is about 4x too big. I suppose the animal exibit portion of the ride/queue could take up the remaining 75% of the space, but that is not likely. I think we are stuck with Kong for now. I briefly thought that they could shoehorn it in where Voodoo is, but after looking at a map, it would take some major infrastructure work to fill in the water behind Voodoo. ALso, the Sky Coaster is on the other side and I doubt there is enough clearance for both the swing and a 50-foot coaster. That said, how cool would it be to swing over the top of Sidewinder Safari? There is enough land for it to go outside the berm, just south of the giraffes. I think that's near where the "Snake Warning" sign was. There is plenty of room inside the (now defunct) elephant area. They would have to remove the Toyota Off-Road Experience, but that is a limited attraction anyway (runs twice a month). Also, they could probably shoehorn it in where Tazmanian Devil is. The footprints are almost identical, and Taz hasn't been running for months (maybe over a year). My location predictions (from most to least likely): 1. Inside the elephant area 2. Next to the giraffes 3. In place of Tazmanian Devil

We noticed that on Sunday, too. I asked around about what the plans are but no one seems to know anything. Are there any rumors out there? Not a lot of room for a new attraction there...except maybe bumper boats. Hey, Aquaman Bumper Boats. That could work!

Thanks for the feedback! Looking forward to it. What's the roller coaster that crosses state lines? It's cool how it's in both states.

Help for first-timers! We're planning a trip to NC this summer and will be in the Charlotte area these dates: SAT JUL 8 SUN JUL 9 MON JUL 10 TUE JUL 11 What do you think will be the least-crowded day? Based on the some of the research I did (much of it outdated), it seems like the least-crowded day would be Tuesday, July 11. Do you agree? We are a family of seven with kids ages ranging 6-16. We are going with my sister's family (locals) and their kids are all teenagers. Here are some other questions: 1. What are the must-see attractions? 2. Is there a "right" or "wrong" way to do the park. For example, do X attraction in the morning and Y attraction in the evening. 3. How much of a hassle is it to bring a picnic? It's vacation so I don't mind biting the bullet on food (to a certain degree) it I have to parade a family of seven a mile to the car, eat, and then back again. 4. What are the best food places? Best food deals (if any)? 5. Anyone have experience with special-needs kids at the park? My son has Down Syndrome and we can get an assistance pass, but I only do that (1) if the park is super-crowded and (2) for certain rides only. It's usually only good for 4-5 people, and we will be a group of 12. 6. Two of my boys love PVZGW. How is the ride/show? 7. Any hidden gems/secrets to know about? Simple fun stuff to do that out-of-towners might not know about? 8. Weather in Charlotte in mid-July? Hot and humid, right? 9. Average wait times? That's all I can think of for now. Thanks!

It's official! http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/worlds-only-motion-based-pacific-rim-5-d-experience-to-open-in-january-2016-300201827.html

I find this statement rather interesting IMO. So the people were begging for SFDK to bring their Action Theater back, while most people didn't care about CGA's Action Theater, even though they're basically the same attraction. I haven't been to CGA since 2012 when it was a Sponge Bob theme, but it was a very popular attraction on that visit. I cannot speak personally to its popularity now. I do know that I have seen multiple discussions/threads on the web/social media (including TPR) where people are calling for the return of the Action Theater. SFDK needs more attractions that the entire family can experience together and (IMO) this will be a very popular addition to the park.

SFDK actually listens to guest feedback. I know because several things I have pointed out to them and suggested were addressed shortly after I filled out the survey. Guests have been begging them to bring back the Action Theater for years, and I believe they wanted to, but the ROI just didn't make sense. Remember, it was shut down because it was too costly to maintain. Here's my theory...and this is pure speculation on my part. SFDK was waiting for the right opportunity to bring it back in some form. Maybe they received offers from various IPs to revamp the theater and they were holding out for something better...like JL:EFM. They probably lobbied corporate to get JL:EFM and hoped to put it in that space. When they realized it wasn't going to happen (at least, not in the near future), they started re-examining other options. Meanwhile, the economy picks up. AP's go up. Revenue goes up. They look down the road and worry about an attendance drop in 2016 because El Nino and the fact that there simply isn't enough to do indoors (or at least attractions to take refuge in the rain). Joker is coming in May...but that's another outdoor coaster. What could they do to get an attendance bump in early 2016 just as El Nino ramps up? They have the unused Action Theater. That's a major indoor attraction. They started entertaining offers from various IPs and chose the one that made the most financial sense (which is the one that kicked in the most money to help revamp the defunct theater). And there you have it. People are buzzing about it. I would actually consider a trip in the rain now because of it...and that's what they want.

Thanks for the advice, guys! What about the train ride? I've never seen anything quite like La Vibora. Is it a good ride? What's at the top of the Oil Derrick? Are the shows (Miss Ruby’s Wild West Cabaret, Texas Justice - Western Comedy Gunfight Show) worth checking out?

Oh, one more thing. What's the weather like in mid-June?

Hi everyone! My family is planning a cross-country drive in the first two weeks of June. It puts us in the Amarillo area somewhere around June 10-12. I want to take a detour to Arlington bring the family to SFoT for the very first time. We have Six Flags Season Passes and our home park is SFDK. I started researching SFoT and checked out a few rides on Youtube. It looks like a beautiful park with some well-themed areas/rides. One of the main motivating factors is JL:B4M (like half the country, I'm sure). Can you answer a few questions for me? 1. What are the crowds like in early/mid June (around June 10-12)? 2. Is there an official opening date for JL:B4M? I know that Six Flags likes to open rides around Memorial Day, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. 3. What are the "don't miss" attractions for children and also for adolescents/adults? Kids ages are 4-14. 4. I want to hit these family/semi-family rides for sure. Are any of them NOT worth it? What am I missing? -Runaway Mine Train (good family ride?) -Yosemite Sam and the Gold River Adventure (good dark ride?) -Runaway Mountain (looks fun) -El Aserradero (original log flume, right?) -Chapparal Antique Cars (looks like a good family ride) -Roaring Rapids (looks well-themed) -Texas Chute Out (reminds me of Knott's Berry Farm ride) -Superman Tower of Power (if anyone will ride with me!) -Texas SkyScreamer (same as Superman) 5. What are the best two or three coasters? We probably will not have time to do everything and a second day is not really an option. 6. What are some of the best places to eat? It’s Texas so I am assuming they have good/real Mexican food? 7. What are the pink things everyone is talking about? Thanks for your help. We are really looking forward to the trip!

We are headed to the park tomorrow. Does anyone know if Tasmanian Devil is operating? It's been down the past few times we went and my 10 year-old loves it. He's always bummed out when it's closed.

Does anyone know what the ride time will be? 4-5 minutes? I'm assuming it will be similar to Knott's Berry Tales and Kingdom of the Dinosaurs, but who knows. Did Knott's say if there will be actual animatronics inside the ride or will it be 100% 3-D projection screens?

I guess I'm in the minority here...but I'll just put it out there. I kinda like Kong. It's not my favorite, but it's worth a 20 minute or less wait. I don't get banged up when I ride it and I never really thought about how NOT to get banged up. I just ride it and try to keep my head from hitting the rails. The first drop is fantastic.

Good idea, singemfrc. I'll hit up Guest Services...although I suspect I might get a funny look and a shrug. We'll see.