bachir

The strip has actually got better in the past couple of years. The lighting package around Time Traveler at night is very nice. Can't wait till later in the year to catch it at night again. The bluegrass version of Clocks by Coldplay is my favorite played while in queue. Thunderation at night is like Expedition Everest, another experience. Well, all the coasters are really. Actually enjoyed quite a few songs in the TT queue. It'd be great if a loop showed up somewhere on-line

I go to Six Flags once a summer with my kids. My annual trip was Friday July 27. Between 11:30 - 12:30 more than half the rides were not operating, and that might be generous. I went to guest services and politely expressed my surprise that so many rides were down, and she just kind of slumped her shoulders and said "we were surprised too". With so many rides not operating, Six Flags reminded me of a mall with 20% occupancy. I rode the Boss. That thing is so rough its unacceptable. Its terrible. Rename it 'the concussion' or 'battered'

Back from Tampa and our trip to Busch Gardens. Thanks again to the members of this board for providing some great tips, helped quite a bit. A few thoughts: I hadn't been to Busch Gardens in almost 30 years. What a great park. Awesome thrill rides, great layout, great theming. The park is massive, so I'm glad we booked for two days, as initially we only planned on one day. We hit the smokehouse both days for lunch. That wasn't the plan, but it was so good we said why not. Also, we were sure to get the pretzels in Pantopia (tip from this site) and we were not disappointed. The food and wine setup was impressive with the layout and presentation. We didn't participate but wish we could have. Really great ambiance throughout the festival. A few negatives. -The Busch Gardens app is worthless. I couldn't find the wait times. If the wait times are on the app, then it isn't intuitive. I spent a while on the app, then gave up. -Wait time boards. Because the park is so massive, they could use more wait time boards throughout the park to help manage the day. In two days, I only spotted one board outside of Sheikra. Maybe there are more in the park, if so, they need to be bigger and more visible -Why no single rider lines? It would help their capacity big time. Every roller coaster train had empty seats as it departed the station. This is frustrating when the average wait time last saturday was 45-75 minutes. Also, the staff wasn't really interested in managing capacity in the loading area. -The two deserted rides make for quite an eyesore in an otherwise beautiful park. I know there is a plan for these eventually, but the sight of Gwazi in the middle of the beautiful food and wine festival was a buzz kill. -The staff at Busch wasn't particularly great. Not that they were bad, it just doesn't compare to the service you get at Disney or Universal. They go above and beyond imo, the staff at Busch compares more to Six Flags than that of Universal or Disney. These are just some observations, not meaning to rip the park. We would recommend this park to anyone. In fact, we are planning to hit Williamsburg next. But in my opinion, I think Busch belongs in the same category as Disney and Universal, and that's a compliment. But by the same token, that means they need to up their game with the app, the overall service of the staff, ride capacity, etc. (Yes, yes, I know of the current financial difficulties). Thanks again to this board for helping us plan our trip! It never lets me down.

Fyi - On the website Phoenix is down for maintenance May 29 - June 14. However the ride is down now for annual maintenance, per the sign at the entrance yesterday.

I really do appreciate all of the tips and advice for navigating this park! Thanks a ton. We are looking forward to this visit. Haven't been to this park in many, many years. Believe it or not, AB used to give all of its employees free tickets to Sea World and Busch Gardens. I believe every employee got 10 tickets per year. We would make the trip every summer from MO. Williamsburg, Tampa, San Diego.

This site has never let me down on tips and advice for visiting a theme park for the first time. We'll be at Busch Gardens friday and saturday of Easter weekend. I would expect large crowds. We'll arrive at rope drop. What's the best route to take to ensure we hit all of the major rides before the lines start expanding? Also, best place for a decent lunch (by theme park food standards)? I downloaded the app. I was hoping to get wait times, no luck. Do they post wait times within the park, if not at ride entrance, do they have wait time boards? Thanks in advance. We've done the Universal and Mouse trips before, we are excited to do something a little different.

Unlimited QQ is $79.99 on March 30. For my family of 5 that's $400

Family of 5 coming to BGT from MO so this might be a one and done trip for my family. We'd like to do everything and would hate to miss something because the lines were too long. We'll be there at the opening and leave at close. We're coming March 30, which is Good Friday. I suspect most schools are off. Crowds? Willing to buck up for the limited QQ option. Or would Thursday be better? Longer hours on friday which is why we chose friday. Thanks

I plan on adding an extra day to our DC trip and hitting BGW. My family of 5 is really looking forward to this. We'll be there on March 30 or 31, a Friday or Saturday - Spring Break and Easter weekend. My question, is one day enough to hit everything? Since we're coming from the middle of the country, this might be a one and done trip for us. We don't want to miss anything. Also, does BGW offer a fastpass? There is no mention of it on the website. And if they do have a fastpass, is it unlimited? Thanks.

I'm surprised the website doesn't have operating hours posted for 2018. Anyone know the schedule for March and April?

Are there metrics that Six Flags reviews to see how well (or poor) their guest throughput is? I've always assumed yes, but maybe not?

I know its been said before, but it shouldn't take as long as it does to get people into the park. Saturday morning was a mess, and it was still a mess when we left at 2:30. For management, you'd think there would be a sense of urgency to get people thru the turnstiles (to spend money). I'm not talking about the bag check or security, I'm talking about scanning tickets and passes. Why not have 2 people at each station, one scanning and the other prepping the next person in line? Better yet, why don't employees just scan passes? Part of the issue is guests lining up the bar code themselves, then having to do the finger print. It takes too long. Why not simplify it for the guests so they only have to do the finger print? I can't imagine what this is like on a Saturday in July (we know better than to go then)

Ok, we're driving 6 hours to Branson today to hit SDC first thing Thursday. Its supposed to be 77 degrees and sunny. I suspect the park will be crowded. Any vets of the park care to give some tips for best route once we are inside the park? Hoping to ride everything in one day. I suspect we should hit Outlaw first but maybe not?

No one knows for sure, but it's being hinted as their biggest addition ever. ^When a park makes a minor decision to take something as insignificant as a wall down. This is how the coaster community responds, because we all know what's best for the park more than the engineers, designers, management, corporate finance, etc. I wasn't saying that because "I know what's best", because I don't. All I was saying is that it's an unusual change that's gonna make the entrance area look very different. I was just trying to think of a reason why they'd do it. No harm in that Back on topic, does anyone know if most Missouri schools are on spring break this week, or will be next week? I went on my spring break last year and we had about 1 hour waits on everything. From what I've heard from friends in the area, a few were off this week. Also, has anyone checked out the new taco restaurant? Saw a few photos of it online and it looks really good! I would also appreciate any insight into crowd levels this week. I can tell you the majority of MO schools are off this week and next week. We're planning a trip there next week but if its likely to be bonkers we may push to a later date.

You have to put everything in a fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo on the roller coasters...it sucks... There will be fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo near the entrance to the rides, but it's usually a clusterf---, especially by dragon challenge. That's what I was afraid of...are they free? I doubt it Yes, the 1ockers are free for a certain period of time, which gets adjusted for the wait time of the rides. But they are very strict with the metal detectors on the coasters, you can't even have change in your pockets. So just put everything in the 1ocker so you don't get denied at the metal detector. Watches, jewelry, necklaces?

The high on Sat looks to be around 83 degrees. I suspect crowds on Saturday will be heavy.

Props to Dollywood for continuously improving the park. While I don’t consider my family to be a ‘theme park family’ per se, we did see the advertisement for Lightning Rod and were intrigued. We booked a trip in the summer, traveled seven hours, stayed at the very nice DreamMore resort, and spent 3 fun days between Dollywood and Splash Country. Without interviewing guests, I would guess its very hard to get reliable data on what impact a new ride has on attendance. But my experience would be one where the new ride ‘pulled’ in an audience who otherwise would not plan a trip to Dollywood. Based on our experience (nice accommodations, great service, overall fun time at the park) we plan on making the seven hour trip every summer. In fact, we’ve turned into promoters, which has to be music to any executive’s ears who tracks NPS.

Boomerang broke down over two months ago. They haven't even started repairs?

Assuming Kong isn't fully open yet? I'm surprised at the lack of updates for such an anticipated ride.

Call me crazy, but when I go on vacation I prefer not to have to pick my meals months ahead of time, or predetermine which rides I’ll go on (and when) because all of the popular Fastpasses book up so quickly. The Disney Deluxe hotels are convenient for getting to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot but good luck getting to Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios in under an hour via the inferior bus system in the middle of summer. Contrast that with Hard Rock, Portofino or Royal Pacific where I can walk (yes walk) to each of the hotels in 5-7 minutes. I can leave either park whenever I want and have lunch poolside, just by walking. Same goes for City Walk and probably Volcano Bay. You just can’t beat that convenience. And then there is the Fastpass v Express Pass comparison. The reality is there is no comparison. Express Pass Hands down. They could charge double for that thing and I’d still pay it. We've always left Disney missing out on certain rides because the lines were too long and we didn't have a Fastpass (because they run out). That just doesn't happen at Universal. Sure, Harry Potter fills up quick, but that's when early park entry comes in handy - yet another convenience factor.

Part of the greatness of Universal (and why our family ranks it ahead of Disney) is the convenience. We typitcally stay at the Hard Rock or the neighboring Portofino, where we can walk to anything. It does not appear that you can walk or take a water taxi to Volcano Bay. Can anyone confirm?

Remember when RMC publicly threw their subcontractor under the bus way back in March? And then directed all questions about the opening to the Dollywood? This thing has been a fail from the beginning. I hope they can get their act together.

Is Kong an Express Pass ride?

You must have been too focused on the coasters...or finding the bread. In either case, there is one that would almost slap you if it could by Thunderation and has the awesome Family Feud with chicken and fried okra, and over on the opposite side of the park path coming down from the flume that dumps out down the hill. You are correct, I was focused on the coasters! Can't believe I missed it. Guess I wasn't looking hard enough. At SDC, I can smell the stuff a mile away, no such luck at DW.

was looking for those skillets at Dollywood in May but had no luck