Six Flags America (SFA) Discussion Thread

[palmerleeberry]

For this season, Six Flags America has definitely improved itself. I've been there twice so far and I plan to return one more time for Frightfest ( So I can finally ride Ragin' Cajun). I bought the season pass at that park so I could use it when I went to Six Flags Great America last August, and I haven't been disappointed (yet).

 

As for the new ride (Bourbon Street Fireball) coming next season, I thought to myself Oh, it's another looping flat ride. Not the greatest ride, but it's better than nothing. Then when I read the specs about this ride and saw some pictures about it, that changed my mind real quick. SEVEN STORIES HIGH? The loopers I've often seen on fairgrounds are usually twenty-five to thirty feet high, but SEVEN STORIES HIGH? That is one big looper! Now that Six Flags America has announced their newest attraction that should generate some interest, now I hope they can get that ride up and running by opening day 2015. Then that'll should stop any talk about Six Flags America being the bastard stepson of the Six Flags family.

[G$ Kurt]

I really thought they would dump those old Intamin trains when they moved Iron Apocalypse. Really surprised they didn't, and thats what leads me to believe they won't be going anywhere soon.

[vacoaster09]

I had no idea that those trains were in-fact B&M trains... anyone care to share the story of why the trains are Intamin (did it have to do with the fact that, perhaps, B&M was not making its own trains at the time of its first coaster). Are the other early gen B&M stand ups (Vortex CGA and Carowinds) also intamin trains. I wonder if CP will sell their Mantis trains?

[Rayj]

After going to fright fest today, I see why people don't like this park. It was very ghetto and crowded. There were at least 5 fights and I witnessed a person get knocked out. It was so bad that they had to shut Gotham city down.

[RCF]

After going to fright fest today, I see why people don't like this park. It was very ghetto and crowded. There were at least 5 fights and I witnessed a person get knocked out. It was so bad that they had to shut Gotham city down.

That's the customers SFA attracts. Doesn't necessarily show how SFA is run, just the demographic it provides. However, something is being said about the park if these are the kind of people it gets in the gates most of the time. If they just gave better operations and rides it would most likely change.

[Highridin]

? I was there. Had a good time. I've seen fights at many parks over many years. No where else is different, especially during fright fest. I saw a drag out battle at BG last year in front of Alpengeist. By the way, there was no 'big fight' in the park. I saw or heard of no big fight. (Not that I was everywhere at once ) I also just checked the news to validate. The only problem was something in the parking lot with one person. Still, I wouldn't doubt if there was a fight or two. It was pretty rowdy last night. It probably will b better next weekend. This weekend was bring a friend for free. Usually more crowded on those weekends.

[mike541x]

How are Fright Fest crowds on Fridays? I might hit the park up on the 5th since I got an extra day off of work. Also do you actually have to buy a "Scare Pass" for haunted houses?

[vacoaster09]

At no point was Gotham city shut down.... I was there too and Gotham was pretty much where I stayed... I was never asked to leave! Flash Pass definitely came in handy finally. yeah there were a bunch of teens but in now way should that correlate to "ghetto" (I am interested in what you were implying there). Fights unfortunately happen I've seen it at others parks too not just SFA... KD's parking lot (i think someone got shot there) and another SF park.... it happens especially when there are tons of teens. It was the first night of FF and I can see why it drew such a huge crowd, particularly teens. The park was Packed! I do not think the park can legally block teens from coming to the park.

 

How are Fright Fest crowds on Fridays? I might hit the park up on the 5th since I got an extra day off of work. Also do you actually have to buy a "Scare Pass" for haunted houses?

 

After my experience yesterday you might want to aim for Friday or Sunday.

 

Oh and Batwing was running out of both stations for part of the day and it appears as though they somehow sped up the lift hill on superman (did anyone else catch that)?

Edited September 29, 2014 by vacoaster09

[Highridin]

I caught it! Thought I was going crazy. One reason it was so packed was because it was bring a friend free. Following weekends shouldn't be as bad. I like what they did to curve line cutting too (put a guy where he could see 'most' everything). How much u wanna bet that one poster didn't even go. He may have been looking at social media where things were blown out of proportion.

[Rayj]

Actually, I did go. What I was referring to when I said that they shut Gotham city down is that the security guards were not letting anyone in.

[Highridin]

Where'd u see the 5 fights? According to their official press release and 4 others that went, there were '0'. I'm not including the one in the parking lot. I'm focusing my attention inside the park. Not saying that there were none, but I had a pretty good experience on Saturday. The stunt show was a lot better than last years too. I'll echo what vacoaster said, what are u referring to as 'ghetto' teens?

[eddie200330]

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Panic-At-Six-Flags-On-The-First-Night-of-Fright-Fest_Washington-DC-277380351.html

[vacoaster09]

^reports came from outside the park it seems... the police were on the regular roads in that video... not in they park or parking lot. The park already has police on duty. Really don't trust the media especially given that I was in the park ... who ever they interviewed stated "they closed the park early" ... that's interesting because I didn't I nor anyone else left the park early or were told it was closed. They blow things out of proportion occasionally.

[Highridin]

Yeah, was there to the end. Only fight was outside.

[eddie200330]

The final statement at the end of the video kind of dispels all the so called eye witness accounts....makes you wonder why it even made it on TV anyway.....sometimes I think the parks do this stuff just for publicity.

[GwaziBSRider1]

I was at the park on Saturday to process my new Six Flags Gold Pass, and even though the fight wouldn't have affected me at all, I'm still glad I wasn't there for it.

 

I don't know if anyone else was there Saturday, but it was an atrocious day for operations. I waited 20 minutes for the front seat of Superman and there were only three trains in front of me. Joker's Jinx broke down a few times and was running much slower than I remembered it (No wonder it valleyed). Roar, Apocalypse, and Wild One had major stacking as well. I was very surprised that Ragin' Cajun was the only coaster I rode with good operations.

[boldikus]

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/One-Person-Hurt-at-Six-Flags-America-during-Fright-Fest-277359381.html

 

One of the kids in the fight is in a coma.

[DJeXeL]

Sad to hear. Hope he pulls through.

[3Mutts]

Oh Maryland...

[vacoaster09]

^yeah its terrible that he has to endure such extensive surgery due to the senseless actions of his peers.

 

Also I think it worth noting the following:

 

The park is catching a lot of hell from this as if it was completely their fault. However, according to the new stories, the parents admit to being present to pick up their kids... insinuating that their kids were unsupervised in the park. There were probably many of kids who were also unsupervised. I know Disney does not allow unaccompanied minors under 14 to be admitted to or roam their parks. Do any other parks require this?

 

Further, as these parents stated, they were there to pick up their kids, which means they likely dropped them off in front of the park. I bet these parents did not pay the parking fee to enter the parking lot just to drop their kids of. SFA has a pick up/drop off circle just in front of the property (red circle). Just beyond that circle are the parks gates/fences (yellow). Cars cannot enter the left side (as that is the exit) and if they enter on the right that enters the gates to the parking toll booths. These eye witness accounts were coming from people who were picking up kids which leads me to believe that they were out along central avenue. A public road that runs along the private property. The white box is where I have seen people stating and waiting for their rides to pick them up when I leaving from my visits.

 

Its unfortunate that these alleged events took place alongside a public road in front of a theme park's gates. However, I think the media is clearly trying to lead people to believe it happened within the parks gates... especially the vine video of the girl laying in the grass... the grass in the white box. Looks like this is also going to fall within local police to also patrol the public roads during let outs (like they do for large events like concerts... theme park let outs should no different).

 

Also latest reports are that the trouble may have been pre-planned via twitter or social media.

www.inquisitr.com/1510889/six-flags-fight-a-real-life-purge-twitter-organized-brawl-fractures-teens-skull-video/

www.hngn.com/articles/44184/20140930/six-flags-fright-fest-massive-fight-involving-200-kids-planned.htm

[mikeykaise]

^yeah its terrible that he has to endure such extensive surgery due to the senseless actions of his peers.

 

Also I think it worth noting the following:

[attachment=0]sfa aerial.jpg[/attachment]

 

The park is catching a lot of hell from this as if it was completely their fault. However, according to the new stories, the parents admit to being present to pick up their kids... insinuating that their kids were unsupervised in the park. There were probably many of kids who were also unsupervised. I know Disney does not allow unaccompanied minors under 14 to be admitted to or roam their parks. Do any other parks require this?

 

Further, as these parents stated, they were there to pick up their kids, which means they likely dropped them off in front of the park. I bet these parents did not pay the parking fee to enter the parking lot just to drop their kids of. SFA has a pick up/drop off circle just in front of the property (red circle). Just beyond that circle are the parks gates/fences (yellow). Cars cannot enter the left side (as that is the exit) and if they enter on the right that enters the gates to the parking toll booths. These eye witness accounts were coming from people who were picking up kids which leads me to believe that they were out along central avenue. A public road that runs along the private property. The white box is where I have seen people stating and waiting for their rides to pick them up when I leaving from my visits.

 

Its unfortunate that these alleged events took place alongside a public road in front of a theme park's gates. However, I think the media is clearly trying to lead people to believe it happened within the parks gates... especially the vine video of the girl laying in the grass... the grass in the white box. Looks like this is also going to fall within local police to also patrol the public roads during let outs (like they do for large events like concerts... theme park let outs should no different).

 

Also latest reports are that the trouble may have been pre-planned via twitter or social media.

www.inquisitr.com/1510889/six-flags-fight-a-real-life-purge-twitter-organized-brawl-fractures-teens-skull-video/

www.hngn.com/articles/44184/20140930/six-flags-fright-fest-massive-fight-involving-200-kids-planned.htm

[mikeykaise]

^yeah its terrible that he has to endure such extensive surgery due to the senseless actions of his peers.

 

 

 

www.inquisitr.com/1510889/six-flags-fight-a-real-life-purge-twitter-organized-brawl-fractures-teens-skull-video/

www.hngn.com/articles/44184/20140930/six-flags-fright-fest-massive-fight-involving-200-kids-planned.htm

 

 

oops sorry for double post, had a brain & hand disconnect,

That first article is great, not sure who wrote that but I live in Louisville and I can 100% confirm that police were not shooting people, no one was walking around in masks, and in fact it was a quiet night so there was a whole lotta uproar over something that never happened when the kid posted the flyers about the "purge".

[OISU8P]

Well, this may be a game changer...

 

Teen injured in Six Flags brawl was banned from park

WASHINGTON -- The 15-year-old recovering from brain surgery after a fight at Six Flags America in Maryland was banned from entering any of the amusement chain's parks.

 

A source familiar with the investigation told WTOP the teen was banned "indefinitely" from all U.S. Six Flags locations on July 26 of this year.

 

It's rare for the park to enact such a ban, says the source, who asked to remain anonymous as they are not authorized to speak publicly on the topic. But there are two possible reasons an individual could be penalized in such a way -- inciting violence or theft.

 

The teenager, who was injured in a large fight that broke out at the park in Prince George's County, was trespassing, says the source.

 

The teen and his mother signed a trespass notice in July, which stipulates the boy could be subject to arrest and prosecution of criminal trespass if he entered a park location.

 

The teenager remains in a coma after recovering from surgery Tuesday morning during which part of his skull was removed to reduce swelling of his brain

 

http://www.wtop.com/41/3713851/Teen-injured-in-Six-Flags-brawl-was-banned-from-park

[Password121]

Went to the park for a quick visit yesterday from about 6:45 until 9:30, my first visit since mid-summer. Not a TR, but a few miscellaneous thoughts...

 

Main Street looks very nice with all the FF decor. After the Gotham entrance through Wild One, the effort level quickly diminishes as you walk further towards Superman/Batwing in terms of scare actors/theming, as it does normally in terms of theming/landscaping.

 

Didn't do any of the haunted attractions given the limited time, and I wanted to ride most of the coasters before closing with my girlfriend, being her first time at the park.

 

It rained where I was earlier in the day, so I assume that it was kept the crowds so extremely low for a FF Saturday night. At least I hope it was, or Six Flags has a problem (another problem, I should say). I went closing Saturday in 2013, and waited 15-45 mins for most of the coasters and 5-30 mins for the Haunted Houses. There were no people in line for most Haunted attractions this year, and the longest I waited for a coaster was 15 mins for Batwing, which was a three train wait (long cycle times, 4-5 mins including track run for Batwing, not as pathetic for other coasters).

 

Thoughts on the coasters I rode, in order of when we rode them:

 

Joker's Jinx: 1 train wait, 1 train running. Just as I remember from the dozen or so times I rode it this year, I don't think the launch speed was increased much, if at all. 7/10.

 

Superman: 1 train wait, 1 train running. Waited in an empty line, which was one of about 3 empty lines in the station. They opened the air gate and didn't block off the line, but the restraints were locked and they told us to get back in line, after shutting us out behind the air gates. Tssk tssk. Two nice people let us go in front of the for the next train. No big deal, just poor operations as usual. 7.5/10.

 

Batwing: 3 train wait, 1 train running. Worst dispatch times at the park, as usual. Fun ride at night, but nothing worth riding more than a few times. 7.5/10.

 

Apocalypse: Nobody in line, 1 train running. Ended up being us and about 4 other people on the train. Worse headbanging than usual. One and done, as usual. 3/10.

 

Roar: Nobody in line, 1 train running. Got the front row as nobody was even near the ride, other than a few for the Haunted House next door. Ran pretty well, some shuffling towards the end. Could've re-ridden, but decided to move on. 6/10.

 

Wild One: Nobody in line, 2 trains running, only 1 train loading. Not much to say here. A good classic wooden coaster, but I'm not as big a fan as many others. Rough and shuffling in the helix. 5/10.

 

Didn't ride Mind Eraser (why would we?), Ragin Cajun (too spinny for our taste), or any flats.

 

The staff was nice, but very slow as usual. More FF actors than people in some places, most did a good job. I might make a return trip closing weekend if I don't make it up to Jersey for Gadv.

 

Also processed our 2015 Gold passes. The cards are thinner/cheaper than last years'. Now that I think about it, I believe they advertised a free sport bottle if you process before closing day. That didn't happen. Oh well. Until next time/next year, Six Flags America.

[Highridin]

The bottle was if u ordered the food pass.