Six Flags America (SFA) Discussion Thread

[pianojohn]

Went in 1986, 1995, 2005, and 2016.
Saw the park decline every single year.
Not surprised esp. since they have 500 ACRES of land, most of it undeveloped.

They will probably save some of the newer rides, but everything else gets scrapped.

Wonder how long before the park's clientele starts stealing bits and pieces of the park?

 

[Sportsdude360]

I suppose this was inevitable. It remains to be seen what other parks in the chain could end up on the chopping block.

[prozach626]

The first post on the last page of this thread is two years old. People loved this park.

[bert425]

this pic of us CHOOSING to ride MindEraser pretty much sums up my feelings on Six Flags America:

 

and one of my other memories of it were the absolute shit-holiest Carousels I've ever ridden (yes, it had a Pink Elephant on it, but there were freaking holes in the floor of it, and all kinds of tears in the canopy)


 

 

 

but to be fair?   I DO have some fond memories of this park too:

Daffy Photobombing our photo, when we asked him to step aside so we could get a pic with Sam only:

 

that fantastic sign for such a shitty, shitty coaster:

 

and the first time ever, I got to ride a coaster with Robb while he filmed:

 

 

so. . . all in all, I won't really "miss" it, but it wasn't the greatest park in the chain, and gotta wonder if a rival might pick it up and actually give it some love.

[ricklap77]

I hope Superman ends up being relocated and not scrapped!  I would not be surprised if more parks end up closing.  

[teacherkim]

We were there once for a day and a half in 2018. For some weird reason my strongest memory is watching a guy get a hamburger at a stand, pulling the tomatoes out and just throwing them on the ground next to the food stand. Those tomatoes lay there all day, every time we walked by, getting increasingly more gross. I guess that kind of  sums up the park. Not sure if they will relocate Wild One, maybe its historic nature will save it. Superman probably has a chance since several parks could use a hyper but are not likely to get the investment of a new one. Not sure much else is worth saving.

[AmyUD06]

I stopped by SFA Yesterday from around 1 PM through the 7 PM closing to catch the two credits I was missing from this park, get some final rides, and take some pictures to document the park's existence.  Gotta say this is probably the first time I've ever encountered other enthusiasts (identified by wearing shirts from non-local parks and their dialogue) at this place.  The park generally looked in much better shape than I've ever seen it, but it's still SFA at the end of the day.

Rides ridden:
-Ragin' Cajun:  One of the missing credits.  32 minute wait, including a breakdown.  Whatever, it's a spinning mouse. 3/10
-Wild One: 15 minutes for row 2.  Wasn't terrible; definitely a lot smoother than I remember. 7/10
-Great Chase: The other of the missing credits.  Whatever, it's a kiddie coaster.  3 laps.
-Skywinder (aka Mind Eraser): 23 minutes for row 4, only running one train.  Better with the new trains, but still awful. 2/10
-High Seas (their swinging ship): One cycle wait (at the request of a friend).
-Joker's Jinx:  45 minutes for front row, including a breakdown, only running one train with no other trains in sight.  This is clearly superior to the FoF clones....smoother ride, and so much faster through the second half due to no MCBR.  I know it'll be parted out to support the remaining 3 of these in the chain, but they really should just plop the whole ride as is inside Flight of Fear's box at Kings Dominion. 7/10
-Superman: 30 minutes for row 2.  New trains are nice; they are still the same restraint style (but now have ankle/calf-bars).  Only one was fully assembled and running.  These will serve Darien Lake well. 8/10
-Batwing: 1 hour and 15 minutes for back row, including two breakdowns and them only running one train (with no other trains in sight).  Remembered why I preferred these to the B&M flyers:  The loop is so intense.  Also remembered why I prefer the B&Ms:  The inline twist at the end is truly awful.  RIP, Vekoma Flying Dutchman. 6/10
-Superman: 30 minutes for front row.  Still not an exciting layout, but the pops of air are nice, and it's easily the star of this park. 8/10.

The most entertaining moment of the day came when the panel operator at Joker's Jinx (during the breakdown), asked the crowd in the station if anyone was sad the park was closing at the end of the year, and no one made a sound.  I had to laugh about that.

Fun Fact:  This is the only park I've ever been to where the crowd self-regulates in the station of coasters - without the presence of a grouper, they still line up with only enough people for the next train per row, on their own!  I was shocked.

Photos/videos to come later maybe.

[Zand]

4 hours ago, AmyUD06 said:

Fun Fact:  This is the only park I've ever been to where the crowd self-regulates in the station of coasters - without the presence of a grouper, they still line up with only enough people for the next train per row, on their own!  I was shocked.

You should've taken video so you can show this to the groupers at Carowinds when they send trains out with 4 empty rows because they can't keep up for some reason.

[MartinU]

Well, I'm doing it! June 18th, just bought my Memorial Day sale ticket. It'll be my first (and last) trip. I haven't been to a Six Flags since visiting the extinct one in Ohio . So... how low should I set my expectations? 

[AmyUD06]

26 minutes ago, MartinU said:

Well, I'm doing it! June 18th, just bought my Memorial Day sale ticket. It'll be my first (and last) trip. I haven't been to a Six Flags since visiting the extinct one in Ohio . So... how low should I set my expectations? 

Very.  Roar and Firebird are certifiable pain machines.  Superman, Wild One, and Joker's Jinx are fun.  Batwing is good for being the only remaining Vekoma flyer in existence*, but otherwise is a love-or-hate experience.  Blizzard River is a pretty rare experience.  Everything else is pure mediocre.

*You may not even have to worry about Batwing; rumor mill from Screamscape is that the lift motor died and if they don't have a spare on hand I can't see them spending the money for one.

[prozach626]

I hope they don't fix it, so I can read all of the comments of "We should be entitled to last rides!!" 

[MartinU]

I did have to laugh, I made my post and within an hour I saw the online posts about Batwing! Haha, classic! 

On another note, I have a friend that lives 10 minutes from the park and he and his kids love the waterpark! They love it, and are going to miss their "community pool" when it closes this year. I'm a little surprised (also not surprised at all) that Six Flags is closing the entirety of this park. Speaking again of Six Flags Ohio/Geauga Lake, they closed that park in phases. First, animal (Sea World) side, then the dry park, they condensed the waterpark and then eventually closed that too. The dry park closed in 2007 and the waterpark in 2016. I guess everyone learned a lesson and are simply selling everything to build houses over a theme park... again. 

[thepoint4life23]

Six Flags Ohio/Geauga Lake over all never made much sense. Cedar fairs had no reason to own orcas. When that side closed I understood but man was it a cool park that massive park. the dry side closing and leaving the water park never made sense to me. Maybe it was bleeding money but seemed pretty silly to close it as they could of marketed it better. Maybe it really was that they just didn't in the same market as Cedar Point. 

Like Geauga lake that i think the water park did okay for a few years,  not sure why they couldn't just keep the water park open. If they can just sell a water park pass and run it and make a profit seems dumb to just close it. All the trip reports I have seen of Six flags it always looks like 12 people showed up to the park so it closing was not shocked. 

[AmyUD06]

I figured I might as well share the pictures and videos from my trip before other parts of the park are closed and they becomes less applicable haha.

Presented without commentary:

 

[prozach626]

A lot of the areas look really charming. What a shame.

Thanks for posting.

[ricklap77]

It is a shame.  But unfortunately we haven't seen the end of SF closing parks to sell the land for housing.  I'm glad I have experienced the early 2000's when the amusement industry was at its peak.  Now it is saturated, there is less competition, and people in general have lost interest in amusement rides compared to 10-20 years ago.  Times change.  I am planning to visit SFA one more time this summer and hope they find a spare lift motor for the last surviving Flying Dutchman coaster!

[tndank]

3 hours ago, ricklap77 said:

 and hope they find a spare lift motor for the last surviving Flying Dutchman coaster!

Seems it's already been replaced and test trains have been going around. 

[ricklap77]

4 hours ago, tndank said:

Seems it's already been replaced and test trains have been going around. 

Great news!!!

[ricklap77]

I will go first week of July!  Vekoma, despite negative opinions from enthusiasts especially in the 90's and early 2000's have always had a special place in my heart because of their innovative side!  I was at Paramount Great America in 1999 when they were testing Stealth, the first Flying Dutchman model to open in 2000, and was mesmerized by it.

[prozach626]

The 90's and 2000's were great for massive expansion of thrill rides and roller coasters, but there's a lot to appreciate from the modern day park experience. From my recollection, those were the days had more focus on quantity over quality. Parks seem to have an increased goal of immersion. There's less focus on jamming as many thrill rides into a park as possible, with more attention to placement and detail from an aesthetic standpoint. There are more junior rides that cater to families. Restaurants, bars, and even coffee shops have been added and vastly improved. I'm thankful that the industry has almost seemed to progress with my age and desires.

Granted, my experience was limited. My home park was Six Flags Saint Louis, and I went to Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun once. We also had a trip to Disney. Splash Mountain (RIP from DEI death), Space Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean were pretty much all I can remember. I can't attest to quality parks such as Silver Dollar City, Hershey, and Cedar Point.

[HowieP]

I'm sure the rides will be dispersed throughout the chain, but the coasters I am truly interested in what will happen to them.  Here's what I think:

Superman:  With it being the tallest and largest in the park, realistically, I don't know if it will be saved due to its size.  It's possible, but I don't think it will happen.  But if, by chance, it does, here are the parks it could go to.  Michigan's Adventure (some bias here due to it being my home park), Kings Dominion (giving them a hyper finally that is different from Apollo's Chariot at nearby Busch Gardens Williamsburg), and MAYBE Six Flags St. Louis.

The Joker's Jinx: Sadly I see this being used for spare parts on Poltergeist at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and both Flight of Fear coasters.

Professor Screamore's SkyWinder: Since this got a refurb recently, this could go to any park in the chain that doesn't have a B&M or Vekoma SLC or similar.  My choice would probably be Valleyfair giving them a second coaster with inversions that they desperately need.

Ragin' Cajun: I actually rode this when it was at Six Flags Great America.  This is one that could easily be saved.  It could honestly go to any of the parks, but I think it could either return to Great America or go to Six Flags Great Escape, or even be sold to a traveling fair or another park outside of the Six Flags chain.

Firebird: I also rode this when it was Iron Wolf at Great America.  This may be done, but IF it were to move, I see Michigan's Adventure getting it, though I think Patriot at CGA is a much-better choice IMHO.

Batwing:  It's done.  Last Vekoma Flying Dutchman.  Yeah, this one is definitely getting scrapped and riding into the history books.

Great Chase: Of all the Six Flags America coaster, this one has the greatest chance of getting relocated due to its small size.  And I have a few choices for this one.  One, it could go over to Cedar Point in the Planet Snoopy area giving that area a coaster finally.  It could also go to Six Flags St. Louis for the Bugs Bunny National Park area and keep the same name.

And now the two wooden coasters.

Roar:  Honestly, I'd be surprised if this coaster is saved.  IF by chance it does get saved, there's only two places I believe it should go.  Cedar Point or Carowinds.  Here me out.  If this were to happen, they would have to have GCI completely re-track it and add some Millennium Flyers on it.  This would give Cedar Point or Carowinds a modern wooden coaster everyone was wanting.

The Wild One:  Again, like Roar, I would be surprised if it was saved.  Yeah it had moved once before and it is the oldest operating coaster right now, but is anyone in this day and age willing to move a coaster over 100 years old?  It isn't impossible, but still, I don't have high hopes for this classic coaster, not like Roar.

Those are my thoughts.

[prozach626]

Great Chase may get relocated. SFSTL could benefit from this but, it may cost more to bother with it than building a new one. Ragin Cajun may be in a similar boat. The question is if it's cost effective to save them. Consider the cost of transporting them, land clearing, pouring new footers, and building new stations. Both of them are just short of carnival rides.

Likewise, Superman would be a gigantic project to move and you'd have to find a pretty flat large piece of land for it.

I wouldn't be surprised if none of them get moved. The only real possibility would be SFSTL getting getting a used SLC.