Six Flags America (SFA) Discussion Thread

[Voxelmatic]

It seems that SFA is applying to get a What The Fried? and a Six Below location.

[cal1br3tto]

^How long has SF been using those cringeworthy names? I'm sure SFMM was the first to get them. Deep fried Full Throttle anyone?

[alilstronger]

Yet more unhealthy choices for the park. I want to see them get some more healthy options. I wish they get a awesome salad place like Hershey has with Salad Mine in Minetown.

[Zem]

Yet more unhealthy choices for the park. I want to see them get some more healthy options. I wish they get a awesome salad place like Hershey has with Salad Mine in Minetown.

 

I personally prefer to splurge when I'm at a park. But then again maybe that's because I have an incredible teenage metabolism and don't have to worry about eating unhealthy occasionally. Still healthier eateries would be nice. I'd recommend leaving the park for lunch though if you are concerned about the health benefits of what you are putting into your mouth.

[alilstronger]

^ You are right. Sometimes I leave but leaving is so time consuming and there still isn't anything relatively close enough. I usually just eat Subway or Panda Express when I am there. I do splurge but I go so much it would still be terrible for my health. Yes, I have a ultra fast metabolism too since I work out a lot but I think about my health for the future. I look at older people and I see how many pills they are on and I think to myself I do not want to be that way when I am older. I want to take care of my body now so I will not be falling apart and suffering from diseases when I am older.

[jray21]

I just hate that most 'healthy' options are even more overpriced than the other food. I'm all for healthy food, as long as it tastes good.

[cfc]

^Yes, "healthy" doesn't have to taste bad. However, I'm not sure that a Six Flags park can pull off good-tasting healthy food; after all, they have to appeal to a pretty broad audience (most of whom are going to want junk).

Edited March 23, 2013 by cfc

[Aceattack52]

^ They CAN'T pull off good tasting healthy food BECAUSE they have to appeal to a broad audience.

[cfc]

As in "broad in the beam"?

[ArundelHigh Coasters]

So today, I went to SFA for opening day. It was awesome, and SFA made major improvements. My day started when I got there around 12:10 pm. Season Pass processing was easy, but buying them before hand took forever. It all started with the line being cluttered with guests complaining that they did not get a refund for their parking tickets even though they bought gold and/or season parking passes. I understood their frustration though. I was meeting up with a few friends from school who were also getting season passes. My friend Noel was excited because she hadn't ridden a roller coaster in a year. After we got in, Noel wanted to ride the swings, but maintenance was working on them, so we headed to the Mind Eraser instead. The park was non crowded the whole day. We went on The Mind Eraser two times in a row. When we were riding Mind Eraser, I noticed the orange train wasn't on the transfer track, and the pieces were under the station. I think they did something with Mind Erasers trains during the off season because the sound of the lift hill changed this year. After The Mind Eraser, we rode the Apocalypse. Noel just moved back to MD a while ago and never got to ride it because the last time she was in MD, it wasn't there yet. It was bumpy, but fund. After Apocalypse, We rode Jokers Jinx. The lines were short, and it was fun. I also noticed some of the supports on Jokers Jinx looked like they had a fresh coat of paint on them. I think this indicates that Jokers Jinx is in the process of getting a new paint job. As for Batwing,it saddens me to say it's most likely going another year without paint. Anyways, after Jokers Jinx, we rode the train. Noel's dad used to do landscaping for SFA 6-7 years ago, and he did the pond in Coyote Creek. It originally had a sign with his landscaping companies name on it, but the sign was removed, and that made Noel sad. During the train ride, I told her, "maybe your dad's sign is in the boneyard over there." We both said we wish we could go over to the boneyard and keep some of the cool old stuff there. After the train ride, we ate at the Gotham City food court. I got a Spicy chicken sandwich basket with a powerade drink. The food there was pretty decent for fast food. After we ate, we rode Roar. It felt much smoother this year for some reason. The line was really short. Then afterwards, I saw a coaster enthusiast friend I was supposed meet up with, but his phone died, and he looked tired, and he needed to leave. Later on, Savanah and Matt wanted to ride Wild One, so Savanah's brother and Noel played shoot out, and we rode Wild One after that. After Wild One, we were going to ride Superman, although due to multiple malfunctions, the ride was shut down for the rest of the day. We headed over to Batwing instead. The line was kind of long because Superman broke down, and everyone wanted to ride Bawting. Everyone enjoyed it though. Savanah kept holding on to her beanie on every roller coaster instead of taking it off like Matt did, lol. After Batwing, we rode Jokers Jinx again. The line got a little longer, but it was great. After the Joker's Jinx, we were going to ride Apocalypse again. Matt didn't want to ride it again because I think it gives him a headache. The line was quite short, and right when we got in our air gates, the ride ops. announced that there were technical difficulties. We left, and rode Roar a second time. There was no line, we sat in the front. After Roar, we rode The Mind Eraser again which Matt did not want to ride because it gave him headaches. After The Mid Eraser, we went back and rode Jokers Jinx one last time. It was amazing, and the ride ops were super sweet. They told us told keep our hands up the whole ride, and I did. When we came back to the station,they told us to stay on for a second time. We didn't even have to ask them. The staff were so friendly. I had one of the best days at SFA so far and I think SFA really improved over the off season, and they are way better than last year.

[Voxelmatic]

That sounds like a great start to the season! I think the park has only been getting better since about 2010. I'm going to head up today, I'll try to have a trip report up!

[alilstronger]

I am excited to see what the park looks like this year. I went to Great Adventure for opening day and will hopefully get to SFA once I get back from California next month.

[vacoaster09]

I hearing no more locker policy.

[ArundelHigh Coasters]

I hearing no more fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo policy.

 

You heard right. They have cubbies in ever stations locker.

[Wes]

I hearing no more fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo policy.

 

You heard right. They have cubbies in ever stations fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo.

 

Poor fluffy bunnies.

[alilstronger]

Wait a min... no more lockers at any coaster?

[ArundelHigh Coasters]

Wait a min... no more fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo at any coaster?

 

 

Yes. Every coaster has cubbies in their station now. You can store all your items for free there. However, they still have fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo for those who feel safer using them instead of the cubbies.

[vacoaster09]

AWESOME!!!!!! No more Lockers... (we'll you have a choice)? If you choose to reserve a locker can you add time to it or switch it to a different location?

 

I was looking on a different SFA forum site and it showed pictures of the SFA using the sliding door cubbies... where they slide the door over the cubbies corresponding to the train that is out on the course to help minimize potential theft.

 

Seriously this is great news. We actually have a choice vs. being forced. Good Job SFA?

 

Now how about the landscaping on the capital railways train... did they clean it up?

Where they running two trains on the coasters?

 

I understand it was cold and the crowds were minimal but I'd figured Id ask although I probably know the answer. I'm sure the cold gave them some downtime issues with some rides like it did at great adventure.

 

I heard they made a change over at Bones Chicken and Waffles too (can you still eat inside)? and where is the park is "What the fried" and "Six Below" located?

 

Edit: also found a cool opening day video.

[ArundelHigh Coasters]

AWESOME!!!!!! No more fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo... (we'll you have a choice)? If you choose to reserve a fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo can you add time to it or switch it to a different location?

 

I was looking on a different SFA forum site and it showed pictures of the SFA using the sliding door cubbies... where they slide the door over the cubbies corresponding to the train that is out on the course to help minimize potential theft.

 

Seriously this is great news. We actually have a choice vs. being forced. Good Job SFA?

 

Now how about the landscaping on the capital railways train... did they clean it up?

Where they running two trains on the coasters?

 

I understand it was cold and the crowds were minimal but I'd figured Id ask although I probably know the answer. I'm sure the cold gave them some downtime issues with some rides like it did at great adventure.

 

I heard they made a change over at Bones Chicken and Waffles too (can you still eat inside)? and where is the park is "What the fried" and "Six Below" located?

 

Edit: also found a cool opening day video.

 

Lol, they really made a lot of improvements this year. Yes, they installed cubbies in each station which passengers can use for free. They have slide doors on them to help prevent theft. I don't know about the lockers thing because nobody really uses them anymore, lol.

 

I can't really answer the Capital railways question because opening day was my first time riding it in a long time . I really like the boneyard view though, it gives you a feel of the good ol' SFA, and a lot of the passengers were wowed by the items they saw.

 

Yes, Superman was closed due to inclement weather. I thought it was down due to malfunctions, but I found out it was due to the weather. Surprisingly, Joker's Jinx was running all day. Speaking of Joker's Jinx, some of the supports looked like they had fresh paint on the bottom of them. This made me think Joker's Jinx could possibly be getting a paint job during the season? I could be wrong.

 

No, there were no two train operations. It wasn't really needed. All of the coasters except Batwing had a lot of empty air gates. Batwing's lines were still pretty small. Mind Eraser's orange train was off of the transfer track and some of the pieces were under that station. This made me think something was done to Mind Eraser during the off season because the sound of the lift hill also changed.

 

I don't really know about the restaurant changes. I just ate in Gotham's food court, it was the closest. What I do know is that Ben & Jerry's was replaced with a new ice cream place and new food options came to the park this year.

 

These minor improvements will really boost SFA's attendance, and lead it to it's rising future. This shows us SFA is an amazing park with quality. The staff were always friendly to me, but they were extra friendly this year. They were joking around with guests, they let us on Joker's Jinx twice in a row (at the end of the day) without passengers even asking them.

 

I hope you get to go to the park soon btw, and thanks for sharing the video.

Edited March 26, 2013 by ArundelHigh Coasters

[vacoaster09]

I don't know if minor changes will boost attendance however it could boost returning guest numbers as guest could possible enjoy themselves more inside the park. I also wouldn't get too carried away with the beginning of the season team members... the true test is during the hot summer days after they've started working double shifts nearly everyday... see if the smiles are the same then.

 

However, un-doubtably, these are some great changes to the park, and too bad the park's signature coaster Superman was unable to open to the guest. I would think that if Nitro and Kingda ka were able to open in a state that further north (possibly colder climate) than SFA then Superman would be able to run (especially given that its course is so low to the ground). However wind could play a factor too.

[Spideyfreak]

^Maybe the chassis on the trains finally rusted out all the way?

[coasterfreak101]

However, un-doubtably, these are some great changes to the park, and too bad the park's signature coaster Superman was unable to open to the guest. I would think that if Nitro and Kingda ka were able to open in a state that further north (possibly colder climate) than SFA then Superman would be able to run (especially given that its course is so low to the ground). However wind could play a factor too.

 

Superman has a hard time making it over that second hill and over the last two hops when it's cold and/or windy. I've been enlisted by the employees there to ride "toward the front because we need some extra weight" early last season at park opening. The ride has valleyed on more than one occasion in the last stretch, so they might've been playing it safe by keeping it closed.

 

Or, it's just SFA.

[ArundelHigh Coasters]

Yeah, I think it's better to keep it closed when the weather is too cold. It's not unusual. It's closed sometimes for the first week of the season. They had Joker's Jinx open though, and that's usually closed for the cold too, but it wasn't .

[Voxelmatic]

Superman was open near the end of the day on Sunday, but I noticed it was barely getting anything more than floater air at the end. ROAR, however, was running the best I've ever seen it, airtime on almost every hill!

[alilstronger]

I don't know if minor changes will boost attendance however it could boost returning guest numbers as guest could possible enjoy themselves more inside the park. I also wouldn't get too carried away with the beginning of the season team members... the true test is during the hot summer days after they've started working double shifts nearly everyday... see if the smiles are the same then.

 

However, un-doubtably, these are some great changes to the park, and too bad the park's signature coaster Superman was unable to open to the guest. I would think that if Nitro and Kingda ka were able to open in a state that further north (possibly colder climate) than SFA then Superman would be able to run (especially given that its course is so low to the ground). However wind could play a factor too.

 

Thank you! I agree!!! I never judge park workers till its August and they are in the dead of the heat at 2 PM in the afternoon. If at that time they are giving me good customer service I commend them.