Six Flags Discovery Kingdom!

[Ryan King]

Hey everyone! Well...I decided to do a Photo Trip Report "Jahan Style". What I mean by this is that I feel as though the BEST way to describe my park experience is to talk about it along with some pictures (Kind of Like Jahan's SFMM Updates, Get It?)

 

Anyways, this was my first visit to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Ok, I lied; I was last there at the age of 4? Anywho, In this report Id like to express how much of an excellent experience I had at Discovery Kingdom. Just a Photo Trip report wouldn’t quite do it! So, follow along with me as we do Discovery Kingdom "Jahan Style".

 

The Coasters

 

Welcome To Six Flags Discovery Kingdom!

 

As I stated above, this was my "real" first trip to SFDK. I was actually very excited to see this Six Flags park. Due to the recent re-theme, the park looked "Brand Spankin New". All the new Safari themeing looked fabulous! Since I read a lot o The PTR's that were going around here on the forums, it only made me more pumped up to experience what this "new" park had to offer!

 

Right As You walk through the front gates you’re greeted by this new Safari themed sign! Below this sign you can meet some "interesting" creatures that SFDK has to offer, very cool!

 

The Park opened at a reasonable 10:30, we didn’t get to the park till around 11 O’clock. Upon arriving we waited only about 20 minutes to get Kevork a Season Pass! Not too shabby!

Upon entering the park Kevork and I decided it would be best to try and get our "Faulty" Vekoma credits first, and then hit the rest of the park towards the afternoon. Never know when these things could break down on you!

 

KONG! Anyone ready to get their head bashed around early in the morning? Hey, maybe we can hope it will be as smooth as a baby’s bottom?

 

Sadly, they were only having one train operations. (It turned out to be like this the rest of the day, which was a real bummer.) We only ended up waiting an estimated 20 minutes for this ride. Since Kevork had NEVER ridden an SLC before, I decided it would be best to ride in the back row!

 

There are five Inversions somewhere in that mess of track!

 

KONG Exploding out of bamboo foliage.

 

In Conclusion, The crew was running at a somewhat slow pace. (But Hey, Its only one Train Operation!) Although, they made up for it by greeting and interacting with park quests while in line! The KONG crew was also checking children’s' height, which was definitely an A+ in my book. I RARELY ever see them do this at Magic Mountain!

 

But In the End, KONG Actually gave us a VERY nice ride! Wow…can you believe it? Kevork was satisfied with his first EVER SLC! The only argument I would have with KONG is a decent repaint. It was in a DESPERATE need of some TLC, but other than that, it was a GREAT way to start the morning!

Here is a full shot of KONG’s Track. Sadly, the Paint was peeling on KONG. It looked like a sun stained Orange and Yellow? Hopefully It will soon get a well deserved repaint!

 

And With that, we trucked up a smaller version of SFMM's Hill to “Boomerang Coast to Coaster”.

Good Morning Mr. Boomerang! I also found our fellow TPR Member “Rollerholden” working with the Boomerang crew!

 

For some ODD Reason, Kevork was REALLY looking forward to his first Vekoma Boomerang! So again, why not treat him to a wheel seat? Yeah, I know, I’m a jerk of a friend! The crew was runny extremely fast and there was really no wait at all. I was so far really impressed; this day was beginning to turn into a really awesome park experience.

 

Going into the Cobra, this was one of few good Boomerangs I’ve ever ridden. Although not as smooth as the Boomerang at Knotts!

 

“EXTRA! EXTRA! ALIENS ATTACK BOOMERANG! Apparently there IS intelligent life out there.”

- FLIPDUDE

 

Goodbye Boomerang, well be back to ride you sometime later in the day!

 

So back down the mini version of SFMM’s “Hill” to go over and ride that huge green and purple B&M. Basically our goal today was to get all of our credits in, keeping in mind that the park attendance MAY get a little higher later in the day. So come the afternoon we would go see the animals etc. So, on with the show!

 

Medusa – That Green and Purple B&M.

 

When riding a roller coaster, I don’t always just go for what the coaster has to offer. The themeing also plays a key role in my coaster riding experience. Medusa offered a VERY nice feel; it really played into the “Safari” theme like the rest of the park. I never felt like any coaster was “out of place”. Six Flags has done a fantastic job at incorporating the rides with themeing.

 

 

This was all that was in the station…an empty Queue and a half full train! It was SO nice to be able to get off the ride and return for a re-ride.

 

The Medusa crew was absolutely AMAZING! They worked together to get as many trains out as they possibly could. They were running two trains, even with an empty Queue. The ride op was actually TIMING the crews train dispatch. Their quickest time was something under a minute! I was in shock. I don’t understand WHY Magic Mountain can’t do this also.

 

You can see plenty of empty seats! We rode about 3 times that morning. Twice in front and once in the way back.

 

The Medusa crew was working together to try and fill as many seats as they possibly could. Kept the trains moving, and strived to give everyone the ride they came here to have. While up in the station, I gave the crew a have five and told them to keep up the good work. They said their goal is to have all three trains on and running by next week. Amazing!

 

Here are some pictures I took of Medusa, since not everyone has seen this coaster before.

 

One of the only disappointing things about this coaster is that it too is a “Parking Lot Coaster”. The Queue is extremely well themed and so is the station. But the Landscaping is just way too blah. There are trees surrounding the perimeter of the coaster. But nothing below it. Really gives a “blah” feeling when riding it. But no doubt, is it a good coaster.

 

Medusa train going through one of its many forceful corkscrews. Medusa really reminded me a lot of The Hulk.

 

MEDUSA! THROUGH THE PALMS!

 

*sigh* What would a PTR be without a vertical loop for Derek. Here you go, now go crack open a cold one…

 

Ohh..Look at the Curves! Medusa’s Loop > Buffalo!

 

Last shot of Medusa’s Twisty mess of track. Hmm…Kinda like Medusa’s Hair?

 

See, Discovery Kingdom has an odd set up. ALL the coasters are at the front of the park. And to hit the animals section, you have to walk to the back of the park. It’s a bummer…the back side of the park doesn’t see as much action as the front side does. Oh Well.

 

SO, walking back towards the front of the park, we stopped to get my Cobra credit. (Kiddie Coaster)

Welcome to Cobra. An old fashioned figure eight Zierer

 

I really don’t have much to say about Cobra.

But here’s My Rant about the Ride –

Cobra only had ONE ride operator. Cobra’s train is REALLY long…which help with capacity. But to get the train out…the ride op had to walk ALL the way down and check EVERY single restraint. At the same time, she was also checking height for EVERY kid that got on the ride. Then walk all the way back to the operating panel. So dispatch took an estimated 8 minutes! It was extremely time consuming.

 

 

It’s not like we don’t see this type of thing at other theme parks. *COUGH* SFMM *COUGH*

But I mean, when you have a queue FULL of jittery, impatient, little kids, it just leads to a bad situation. Not to mention you have a handful of frustrated parents. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait in line all too long to get ON Cobra. But sitting for 8 minutes just to go around a track once was really crazy. So hopefully Six Flags can put two ride ops on Cobra to help speed up the process at least a little bit.

 

– End Rant

 

Although that was kind of disappointing, it didn’t damper my spirits. I was still pumped to get the rest of my credits and “discover” this Kingdom.

 

The Most OUT OF PLACE Coaster ever known to man!

 

Vertical Velocity was my first Twisted Impulse Coaster. IMO, this was a VERY “WTF” coaster. The themeing of the coaster had NOTHING to do with the rest of the park. Vertical Velocity was just really out of place to me. Not to mention it also has been repainted an odd Purple and red which also in no way matches the themeing. But, a credit is a credit and I decided to suck it up and just ride it.

 

 

Kevork and I arrived to an EMPTY station. This made be begin to question the reputation of this coaster.

 

Our death seats awaited us…

 

I was NOT expecting the launch! I assumed it was just going to pull us back like a Boomerang…

 

That’s more like what I was expecting!

 

After Riding Vertical Velocity I still really felt the same. The coaster really didn’t do much for me…It just seemed like a space filler. All it really was, was a launch, some twisty stuff, then back up a tower to do it again. I rode it once, and don’t really plan On riding it again anytime soon. Sorry V2!

 

As I walked away, I turned around for one last look, gave it a wave…and left.

 

Just across the river bend, standing tall was…

 

I AM ROAR! I AM A COOL GCI COASTER! RIDE ME OR DIE!

 

So I kindly obliged…

ROAR looked like it was going to be a sweet ride. I had never been on Millennium Flyer Trains before. So I was REALLY looking forward to a great ride. But with that, ROAR turned out to be an “interesting” experience. To say the least, I’ll let the pictures do the talking!

 

So then…why don’t we ever talk about it…?

 

Upon arriving to the station, we found the ride to be under “Technical Difficulties”. So I figured we’d wait it out and see what happened. Thanks to the quickness of the ROAR crew, the ride got back up and running in no time. Sadly it was only one train operation. Kevork and I had also decided, since I had never done these types of trains, and this was his second woody, we came to the conclusion of waiting it out for front row.

Little did we know, this would be one of the most irritating waits I had ever experienced…ever.

 

Trains came and went.

 

But Then…

 

There Was THIS!

 

This “Thing” was in front of us while in line for ROAR. You may think I’m being a total asshole right now but trust me, you would NOT when to be stuck behind this person. She was covering her ears the whole time while in line. She was chanting some sort of pig Latin chant that no one could understand. I’m assuming she was “special”.

One of the ride ops for ROAR asked her if she was ok. She looked up at him and kind of did a scream of sorts and went back to covering her ears and chanting pig Latin. I was extremely disturbed by her and was really frightened for my safety. I just was thinking in my head “Where the HELL is this girls parents?”

 

ROAR also delivered an extremely smooth and enjoyable ride! I wouldn’t say it’s the best woody I have ever ridden, But it was certainly not the worst! So Two Thumbs up to another good coaster at SFDK! Man, thus far, you wouldn’t even begin to believe it was actually a Six Flags Park! Magic Mountain could REALLY learn a thing or two from these people!

Anywho, here’s some more photos for you all…

 

She’ll be comin round the mountain when she comes!

 

ROLLER COASTER THROUGH THE ROLLER COASTER!

 

And a shot of the station…

 

So Really, That’s a Wrap on the Roller Coasters! OVERALL, I had an AWESOME time on these coasters. Mostly quick dispatches, all the rides ops were polite and speedy. Speaking of ride ops…its time to talk about the “little things” that I noticed. Some disappointments, some positive comments. So follow me to the second half…

 

Random Park Material

This is just a short little section about stuff that doesn’t really fit into part one!

 

Employees

I’m sure when you heard that, you thought back to Jahan’s SFMM updates. Seeing employees with cell phones, un-tucked and sagging shirts, along with mismatching uniforms! Well, there’s no way Jahan could dig dirt up on the employees here at Discovery Kingdom!

Just an example of how these employees ALL are wearing their Six Flags shirts. All wearing their tan pants / shorts. The guys have their shirts tucked in and they looked VERY respectable! They didn’t look like a group of screwballs at all!

 

I was really able to tell the difference between the two parks. If I went to a concession stand at SFMM and ordered a drink. I’m sure the employee would slug out of their seat, put their cell phone away, and lazily hand me the drink. (Ok, not ALL employees are like this, just bear with me!)

At Discovery Kingdom, I was given quick service. All employees were bright and alert. Being very polite and I was even asked on many occasions how my day was in the park! I was appalled at the wonderful service I was getting.

 

The park also had employees pushing these carts around. You could order snow cones, cotton candy, and popcorn. Other carts had sodas, lemonade, and some other little things. This really helped to lessen line waits at other concession stands. (Again, Note, Tucked in Shirts, Matching Uniforms etc

 

The only thing I would argue, well not really argue, but I just find these shirts to be WAY tacky! It looks like someone made it in Microsoft Paint or something! But the point gets across, so I guess I should be glad at the message it’s projecting.

 

Please keep the park clean…because MY FAMILY comes here too! Haha!

 

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

 

The Good

Throughout the day, SFDK did one hell of a job at keeping guests entertained. They had “mascots” out walking about the park. They also had animals walking around the park too! Although I only saw an elephant, some goats and other furry little creatures!

 

I’m with Stupid…

 

Wow..this is a REALLY creepy picture of Kevork!

 

And here is some animal pictures I took…

 

*meep*

 

…and thanks, for all the fish!

 

Wanna Touch My Wii?

 

Discovery Kingdom also had a Wii Hut Thing around the corner from the Boomerang. It was kind of tucked way back in the corner. Although I didn’t go inside the hut, they had about 7-9 Wiis set up. They also had an employee working the booth (Unlike SFMM).

Wii Hut?

 

It seemed to be very popular among guests. Later in the day it had a line outside the hut!

 

The End

Well, That about wraps up my trip to SFDK! I was totally amazed by the quality and decency of the park! I would go back there ANYTIME! Themeing was remarkable. Employees were Grade A and everything was just perfect!

 

Anyways, Questions, Comments, Racial Slurs are always appreciated! Thanks for reading!

-Ryan

Also, Thought Id Throw This In There For the End!

Just For Robb...

[Tobias94]

Great photo trip Ryan.

[GMAN962]

Great TR! It was very like Jahan's.

 

You make it almost like you can imagine being there.

 

Where it flows like a story. Each picture kind of has it's own story.

 

Glad you seemed to have fun!

 

-Mike

[arrowfanman]

LOL! Great PTR Ryan! I loved the format.

 

That crazy chick you describe really reminds me of the "velociraptor kid" we came across at my last trip to Disneyland. Very creepy experience! They're like, a match made in heaven!

 

Damn you for the penguin photo!

 

I liked V2 when I went. I can agree with you in that it doesn't fit in! But it created a nice kinetic feel to that front entrance and was certainly an "interesting" experiece.

 

I think that the kiddie Cobra ride should have 2 ops. One "grouping" and checking heights while the other is checking restraints and cycling. That would make for non-stop operation, like with Dumbo at Disney or something along the sorts.

 

 

 

 

Anyway, great PTR. I'm really glad to see that the park is so beautiful and clean. In a way, parks like this and Fiesta Texas are sort of like the new-age "flagship parks" for the chain, so it would be nice to see the others follow suit.

 

-Jahan

[jimbobcoaster]

Great trip report Ryan! I'm glad you had a good time at SFDK. I am surprised that you liked Kong though... Just saying, I think it is slow and rough, but still, great photos and captions and everything!

[SLUSHIE]

This is my home park. I've been there so many times its become old.

 

Thanks for reminding me how good of a park it really is.

[Calaway Park]

This place looks fantastic, great TR!

[Calvin]

Six Flags Donkey Kong is really good, isn't it? The two rideable Vekomas, the amazing park service. I had a similar experience, defenitely a top park for me. Nice photo trip report, it felt like I was actually there. Protip! Take photos of the flat rides for the flat ride people like me. No fair catering to the loop people.

[Rollerholden]

Ah yes, Boom was down for about an hour...

[PKI Jizzman]

Grea TR, Ryan! Also awesome captions! And I think it is safe to say penguins are taking over theme parks and the world...all started with Happy Feet...and now they are surfing in this preview I saw today. another Jon Heder movie!

[FLIPDUDE]

Awsome TR, Ryan!

 

Thoguh nice job putting in my caption right after saying how smooth it was XP

 

glad you had fun

[Menghini]

It really looks like a great park, nice TR.

 

Still, about the Vekoma standard SLC. I don't like them, but when a friend (who doesn't like coasters anymore ) came with me on that coaster, that's the only time when I really liked the ride (Condor at Walibi World). So maybe if you take someone who never did a Vekoma standard SLC, you'll like it?

[socalMAN123]

Great photo TR Ryan! I'm glad this park is way better than SFMM. Hopefully I'll be at SFDK next summer!

---Brent

[cobra_roll06]

This park looks really good. Great TR! Hmm I always thought V2 looked really good...but yet looks deceive. Oh well. Thanks for the pics!

[Ryan King]

Thanks Everyone! I really appreciate all the positive comments! I had a really great time there. I'm really glad to hear I was able to bring you guys all along for the ride!

 

-Ryan

[Sean Menefee]

It's always nice to hear great feedback about DK. Great TR, it was fun to read about your day.

 

Sean-

[verticalzero]

Great report and pic's Ryan, nice to see a Park so clean taking care of their rides and guests.

 

All coasters should have a min of 2 Ops as standard procedure

 

SFMM has a lot of catching up to do

[Director_Guy]

Great TR. Although, personally, I prefer the TR's with people in them having a good time. These are great, too, however. Excellent "FoToes".

[BarryH]

Great PTR!

 

Did you get bit by a whale like Elissa?

[Ryan King]

Great Photo TR!

 

Did you get bit by a whale like Elissa?

 

No! I wish I did...

[DATman]

Wait, what was the bad, and what was the ugly?

 

Good PTR! I really enjoyed it, and I'm glad that at least one SF park is decent.

[rosscoe]

Great TR Ryan...one of these days might have to get myself back to the good old u s of a

[scooterdoug]

Fantastic TR Ryan. I especially like the opening shot of Medusa (such a beautiful floorless). I also like the format. I plan on taking a stab at a TR soon, and would like to do one "Jahan style" as well. How is that done? I've used the search function on the forums, but the sheer volume of results is staggering. Any advice on a "Jahan style" TR that you (or anyone) could give me would be much appreciated. Thanks. And, again, great TR. It makes me want to ride Medusa again.

 

-Doug

[eskater132]

That TR was in perfect format!

[shepp]

Interesting TR. SFDK/MW has been my home park for years (though I haven't been there since the makeover), so it's cool to see how enthusiastic you are. Honestly, the ops have always seemed like a mixed bag to me - usually friendly, but without much hustle. Nice if there's been a concerted effort to pare down dispatch times. And though Medusa and Roar are very good, and I find V2 fun but queasy-making, there hasn't been a new coaster (or any major new ride, for that matter) since the Zonga fiasco. Gee, wouldn't it be swell if the newest coaster weren't 6 whole years old? Whatever you might think of SFMM, at least you can't finish off all their major rides in the first half-hour the park is open.

 

On the other hand, your TR didn't cover the animal/marine part of the park, which is equally well done and well-themed...and one of the big reasons I keep renewing my SP.