Lotologist492

I visited this park with friends last summer for the first time in 14 years and I admit it was a better experience than I remembered from years' past. It looked like the park was actually trying to improve - but still had a long way to go. I still say we need to give Spanos & Co a chance to make a difference. They have their hands full with a post-COVID world right now, but I have hope SF is listening. I do not expect to see VF-quality bathrooms overnight but at least we are seeing some improvements to dining / seating areas.

This also begs another question: will masks be required on water rides? What about water parks? The disposable masks are not waterproof and could actually be dangerous to wear while swimming. It could be that water rides and water parks do not open at all. And enforcing the use of masks might be difficult considering how many riders will have them fly off on coasters. Enthusiasts like us will be prepared for that but not necessarily the GP. Hopefully the parks that do open will provide disposables for their guests or otherwise they might only be able to limit the mandatory wearing of them to park entry.

While Governor Kemp is ambitious, he has explicitly excluded amusement parks (as well as concerts, bars, nightclubs, and others) from opening next week. While I do appreciate his motivation to restart business, I admit I am a bit nervous as well. I also bear in mind that although some business categories may be permitted to open on a limited basis, many national chains might opt to remain shuttered. Hopefully the public will follow the rules and make this soft opening successful.

That's a good question and it makes sense, but I'm still not sure you'll have the demand. Also, if we're completely in the clear enough for parks to be open I'd imagine schools would be in the clear to open. I bring that up, because wouldn't next year's school year start a lot earlier to make up for this year? I'm not sure if it works like that, but that will shave days off of the Monday - Friday operating season. Has anyone heard any rumors on what's going to happen to the school year? Nothing in Georgia beyond the current school year - yet. You are right in that there will probably not be much demand for theme parks in the 'off season' (if any additional parks go year round) but it would be a way to help membership retention. Just by being open, SF parks can add days to the calendar justifying membership payments and perhaps making up for our current extended 'off season'. And for the hearty souls that enter the gates, this gives SF a boost in attendance numbers, something they have already been doing gradually over the past few years with the addition of Holiday in the Park and a couple of new year-round ops at their Texas properties. It would also give the affected SF park(s) something 'new and exciting' to announce, in the absence or reduction in capital spending.

Once theme parks in general are able to resume operations, it will be interesting to see if any of the more seasonal parks, particularly Six Flags, might look at adding more operating days and possibly adding year-round weekend ops to the parks that do not currently do so. With attendance numbers going in the tank this could be one way to offset the losses and attract employees, particularly since it would be hard to hire seasonal help when the season will be short. And after all, SF Corporate has enjoyed having the ability to boost annual attendance numbers by extending the season gradually over several parks, adding holiday events and now in some parks, operating all year. Everything is speculation at this point. We all want the parks to reopen sooner than later but there are just too many variables in play. Balancing economic health and physical health is indeed a balancing act.

For those of you on Facebook, there is a group page dedicated to the history of SFoG. With so many of us under stay at home orders, many awesome vintage photos are being dug up and posted of this park. Just look up "Six Flags over Georgia History" and join. I am seeing stuff I have not seen since I was seven years old!

Although I do not consider any publicly traded company a charity case, we must be mindful that there can be terrible 2nd and 3rd order effects of a company going bust. Suppose for a second, if Six Flags' value descends low enough, certain investors can attempt to buy out the park chain. And if that happened, who is to say that entity is even interested in the theme park business, but rather the land underneath? It would be pretty crummy to wake up and find out our town has become the next Astroworld case. Although SF has announced their 'poison pill' strategy to lower that risk, it could still happen if things do not turn around. It would be a devastating blow to many of our summer coaster trips. Also - it reminds me of how many folks despise Wal-Mart. What if these individuals got their wish and the chain just magically went away? You better believe there would be 2nd and 3rd order effects. This does not mean pass the charity hat, but be careful what we wish for.

It is nice to hear some of us supporting our SF parks during this crisis. I know Six Flags is not perfect, perhaps far from it, but they provide us with many good times and support our fantastic hobby. It is understandable that SF is continuing to collect membership dues. Just like most other shuttered businesses, they really need the cash flow to stay afloat. I will just leave my membership alone and keep paying. The extra months at the end may be useless but the added perks we will eventually get are really nice. And yes - I will be at the gates on opening day 2.0. At the end of the day, we all want our local parks to reopen and for them to return to profitability.

Well, in the last great recession, oil/gas prices suddenly dropped, the market tanked, interest rates dropped, and people stopped paying their mortgages. So, basically yes, pretty much the same so far but who knows how quickly things will recover this time. Six Flags also has more debt than their properties and depreciated improvements are worth, so a negative price to book ratio doesn't help. My biggest fear is that if their credit rating downgrades too far; they will sell Magic Mountain for the land value. One major difference between 2007-2009 and today is the Great Recession was a financial crisis pure and simple, while this is a health crisis, not a financial one, although the economy is suffering immense collateral damage. Spanos has not really had much chance to do or change anything yet. From what I am hearing, SF parks are investing a great deal in cleaning and freshening up their properties and doing a lot of the little things that really need to be done. The largely lackluster slate of 2020 additions came under his predecessor. He inherited a mess and cannot clean it up overnight. to say COVID19 is hampering his efforts is a gross understatement. Time will tell. Once parks begin opening up again, Americans and theme park fans, having been pent up for so long may very well re-energize the industry. But - there are so many what-ifs and variables to what is happening, nobody really knows. All we can do is hope and pray for the best possible outcome.

This sounds like the future "Titanium membership" level. Hmmm....

Hopefully as a result of this crisis, many folks will drop the petty nonsense and learn to be better neighbors, and truly appreciate theme parks, warts and all. Sometimes we do not realize what we have until it is taken away.

Thank you for your service. You guys are among the unsung heroes dealing with all of this.

Let's hope so! Additionally we could have one more 'weapon' soon: warm weather. If this COVID19 responds the same way as seasonal flu, this could help flatten the curve sooner. Australia has cases, but not nearly as rampant. Summer just ended there.

I know it's not a theme park but I received an email letter from Starbucks which had at least some potentially good news in it. The letter states the usual precautions most US businesses are taking for COVID19 which they too are implementing. In the same letter they mention mainland China where cases are now declining and 90% of their locations have since reopened. This would suggest a 2-3 month cycle for this virus to run its course. Whether or not this plays out the same way here in the States remains to be seen.

If you have a red membership cup it is valid indefinitely. You can use either the old version or the new version. Your membership entitles you to a new cup once per calendar year but if you ask at member services they will probably just give you one (provided you have platinum or higher membership).

My Six Flags season began Sunday. It is always interesting to see what the park is up to after the off-season. After THEUSERNAME's trip report, I will follow up with a few more photos and observations. In total, three coasters were closed as well as all of Gotham. The Railroad is not operating either. Crowds were very light with most rides being walk-ons. Pandemonium and Justice League were the only two rides where I saw any significant line. My first impression of the 2020 season was abysmal. Upon entering the park, I go for lunch at Promenade Pizza. Same old same old....only six people in line ahead of me and still a 30-min wait. Food getting cold waiting to be served while three employees are huddled over the register trying to get it to do something. Tick tock.... At least the employees seemed friendly in accordance with the 'opening day glow'. And that dining room was filthy. So much for surveys. After that icky start, things got better. Ride lines were short and what was open was working well. Goliath was running 2 trains and doing it very efficiently. Some coasters were running 1 train but it did not seem to matter as the lines were short anyway. And much to my surprise...Thunder River was operating! With waterfalls! (The observation deck with the water guns was closed though.) It does look like there has been lots of work done to the retail locations. The new Coaster Candy Express was really nice (and YES they are still selling Jelly Belly products - and that giant Jelly Belly is still sitting on the bench for his photo-op!) Half of the Looney Tunes Expo store at the front of the park has been completely remodeled. The DC Comics section of that store is all new while the deeply immersive Looney Tunes section is largely unchanged. The Coke Freestyle store near the Crystal Pistol is closed for a full renovation. My second meal of the day was better than the first. Macho Nacho was my Dinner and it took about 10 minutes to get my food, which is not bad for this location. And as for the dining passes, nothing appears to have changed from last season. Your lunch, dinner, and snacks are good basically all day. If you arrive at 6pm, they will still use your lunch pass first. (I observed this on another transaction ahead of me.) The weather was absolutely gorgeous. The sun being out made up for at least some of the park's shortcomings. Now we wait for the all new Gotham City to open. I will be back next weekend. Never fear...Inside the new Coaster Candy Express they are still selling Jelly Belly...lots of it! Coke Freestyle near the Crystal Pistol undergoing a transformation The view over the fence towards Gotham City "Hard Hat Area!" Another view of Gotham City. The old sign is still up but for how long? Notice the Bobcat equipment in the walkway (way in the distance beyond the sign) For reasons unknown, they removed a 20' section of the arbor near the USA section. Sign of the times. This was the only hand sanitizer station I observed though. New Looney Tunes Exposition store. It really looks great inside!

We are planning on being there Sunday the 8th. At least as of now, there is no rain in the forecast this weekend.

From what I understand, Aquaman can also operate as a dry coaster by simply adjusting the water level, which is pretty neat knowing this coaster can operate during cooler months as well.

And SF likes to say "pass holders and members are their most valuable guests". Hmmm....

When the area was newly themed to Gotham City in 1997 (and the new Batman The Ride opened), Mindbender was given its current theming. There was talk about re-naming it to "Riddler's Revenge", but the decision was made to keep the Mindbender name while adding Riddler theming (the question marks, etc). Now, with all the work taking place in Gotham, including what appears to be a full renovation of Mindbender, including new paint and different trains, we can only wonder if the "Riddler's Revenge" name might finally be used. Personally I hope not. "Mindbender" is such a legacy name and has been in use since 1978. I am eager to see the transformed Gotham City when the park opens.

Amazing that their water park is opening a full week earlier than SFoG Hurricane Harbor.

I do not but I did observe cranes and temporary fencing in the area adjacent to Mind Bender while driving by on I-20 and it did appear work was occurring there. Those SFMM Revolution trains spotted behind the ride are likely being installed as well. This is likely all part of the Gotham City overhaul.

Now that the 2019 season at SFOG has come to an end, this is a good opportunity to look back at the past year. Overall, I believe operations improved - slightly. There is still tons of room for improvement. Anyway, this is my summary for the year gone by: LOWS: - Lackluster customer service overall, particularly at food and beverage locations. No passion for the job. This also applies to White Water - Cleanliness. On far too many visits the park was very dirty. Not every day, but most of the time. - Membership deposit refund policy. Although the website reads after a 1-year commitment, the deposit will be refunded in the way it was paid (in my instance, a credit to my card); my money was instead refunded via Looney Loot (in-park cash). Basically, I had to spend this money inside the park before the end of the 2019 season; receive no membership reward points on LL purchases, and cannot spend it at all in the cash-free USA section. - Locomotive / train inoperative most of the season - Fluffy bunny (personal storage) policy - ride ops continue to feel enforcing this rule is worth holding up dispatches. - Park entrance line - very slow process many days. Special Membership-only line is often longer too. HIGHS: - Older rides slowly getting attention. Repainted Scorcher looks GREAT. - Dining pass - elimination of hours; can use lunch, dinner, and snack anytime of day up until closing. - Food wait times - slight improvement on average (but can still be much better). Changes to the Dining pass likely played a role by eliminating rush times. - New Pandemonium ride - an excellent addition to the park! - Addition of beverage refill stations around the park. (But please, can we clean them?!) - Holiday in the Park - addition of ScreamPunk District (and Pandemonium) Now on to 2020.... I am eagerly anticipating the newly renovated Gotham City section in addition to the new rides. This area has been in dire need of some love. Also - Scream Machine is undergoing re-tracking in the off-season. According to park management, this is a 5-year overhaul, which started in 2018. On my final visit of the year, I had the opportunity to talk to the park President Dale Kaetzel. He indicated there are "more exciting announcements to come" in the new year. Indeed the speculation will help these nine weeks of off-season go by a little faster... Could this winter be the final off-season for SFOG? With both Texas parks now sporting year-round ops on weekends, our park would be the next logical domino to fall. Memberships are much easier to sell without an off-season. These are my observations and opinions on the 2019 season. If you had a different experience or have something to add, lets hear it!

No. The three rides you mention are closed off. The app site is notorious for being inaccurate. What is new is the ScreamPunk District, including Pandemonium is open, thus expanding the HitP footprint a little. There is a barrier fence just before you reach the Lickskillet stage (where the Bad Bob show normally takes place).