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Six Flags America (SFA) Discussion Thread


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I’d say go for it. IMO, it’s a fun spot to spend half a day or so at. Generally low crowds and good rides. Most of my visits have been positive. Operations are often slow (especially food) but I’ve rarely waited more than 15-20 min for anything in the dry park excluding Wonder Woman, Ragin Cajun, and Batwing, even on crowded days.

 

A few tips to consider:

-Ride Superman in the very front, preferably the red train if possible

-Batwing is fun and intense IMO, but too rough for some, though it will probably be down for your visit anyway. If it is open, ride it as early as you can, the line for that ride can easily reach 45 min if it’s down the steps and through a switchback or two and on one train, due to very long dispatch times.

-I like Wild One best in 2nd to back. If you’re riding alone, ride in the left seat. If with a partner, the larger person should be in the left if possible. You’ll thank me on the helix.

-RC is fun IMO, but if the queue is mostly full, you’re looking at a 45 min wait based on my experiences, which isn’t worth it. If not riding with a partner, push down against the slopes metal plate by your feet to avoid awkwardly sliding around in the car.

-Ride Firebird in or at least near the back row, preferably an inner seat

-JJ is good anywhere on the train, but I find it most intense in the front

-The drop tower is short but has a good kick to it

-The show near the Wild West section was cheesy/goofy fun that I personally enjoyed

-The fries and onion rings side at Jonny Rockets is a snack on the dining pass and is a generous portion (by Six Flags standards).

-If it winds up being crowded and you park way in the back (doubt it since it’s a weekday in May), don’t take the tram, just walk.

-I wouldn’t ride the penguin raft ride if I were you.

-If you want shade, go to the looney toon kids area near RC and the kiddie coaster

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^^JG just said it all. Though, I'll say ops are moving quite good this year, but sometimes it depends on the crowds. More people=faster ops.

 

Also, if you want the Mind Eraser credit, ride only in the front or second row. On Roar, the best ride is 3 seats from the back.

 

If you plan on going to the water park, and actually don't want to rush, plan on an entire day.

 

I actually enjoy every food place there, but I recommend going to the saloon to have brisket or pulled pork, while watching the show that they put on in there. It's a good production.

 

If you are doing any drinking, Hurricanes in Mardi Gras is the place to go. Good music and atmosphere. Also, the place by the wave pool is a great place to have a brew.

 

Ride Cyclone. Probably the best scrambler that I've ridden, especially when talking about the ride cycle.

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Not sure if you are aware of this, but Batwing is closed until further notice. Everything else should be up and running for you tomorrow. Have a great time and make sure to get lots of rides on Superman and Wild One!

 

No great loss for me, dispatch times on it are quite slow . . . . I'm assuming it's down because a part has to be ordered?

 

Wonder if we'll be hearing come August something along the lines of "Batwing will be closing and something else is going to be in it's place?"

 

From what I've read, wasn't Batwing the best of the 3 Flying Dutchman's?

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It dawned on me recently that Batwing was the last brand new roller coaster added to Six Flags (not counting the relocations of Apocalypse/Firebird and Ragin' Cajun). That was 18 years ago.

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While that is true, I honestly don’t think it matters that much since the park has a lot of coasters for the size of the park. Plus, they added Superman, Joker’s Jinx, Batwing, and Roar all within a short period of time. What they have been doing lately is very smart since they are going around the park and trying to fix some of the worst parts of the park. First with Southwest Territory then with the waterpark. While most of the people here complained about the Wahoo River addition, it was such a great idea since it was one of the worst if not THE worst lazy river. The next focus for them I think is going to be a Gotham CIty makeover starting off with the addition of a Zamperla Frisbee.

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I thought Firehawk and Batwing felt exactly the same. Neither one was worse or better than the other. I did, however, think Nighthawk was a step down since the whole ride was rougher, especially the moments where you lay on your back. Obviously no more Firehawk, but I will be back on Batwing and Nighthawk later this month so I'm curious if my opinions will change (assuming Batwing is even open).

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^ I thought Batwing was the worst of the Dutchmen. It was quite rattly last year when I rode it in April. Firehawk was the slowest but it was the smoothest.

 

I haven't been to SFA in a few years, but I did think Batwing was surprisingly decent.

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Photo Trip Report 6/5

 

My friend Casey and I had 3.5 hours to spend at the park as I had to work at 3pm. Since it was a Wednesday in early June we figured crowds would be light and that we would be able to do everything we wanted to in that time. We were right. SFA was pretty dead that day with everything being a walk on. Every coaster was running one train and for good reason. Wasn't even mad haha. I was bummed that Ragin Cajun was closed as I have yet to ride it. Batwing was also down but that is no shocker. Renegade Rapids was also closed and drained of water. We started the day with Wonder Woman: LOT, this was more disorienting than Windseeker but I really enjoy these rides and I like the location of it. As for the coasters that day, Superman was running great in the front seat but the back wasn't as smooth. Nothing that noticeable though, still running great imo. Joker's Jinx was hauling a$$ and was really smooth. Wild One was showing it's centennial age a little towards the end of the ride and the helix but it's still a crazy fun woodie with some unique elements (that double down though). Mind Eraser was Mind Eraser Anyone else think SLC's are really forceful? We both agreed that there was some strong G's on the first inversions. We rode Firebird in the front row and I really enjoyed that. I have yet to try the back on it however. Roar was the surprise of this trip as I was dreading giving this ride another chance. I am so glad I did though because it was actually running quite well. Smoother than Wild One actually. I still say RMC it SFA but it's not too bad and I would of definitely rode it again. I was honestly pretty disappointed in the cost of a single day ticket for this park though. Luckily, Casey had gotten us discounted tickets but originally it would of cost me $92 for a single day ticket with parking included. That was the slightly discounted online price too. In all, it was a great 3.5 hours at the park though considering our circumstances.

Onto the pictures!

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Casey is ready to go!

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Did not realize this part of Typhoon Sea Coaster was still standing! Pretty neat.

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We headed in on Saturday to finally ride Firebird a few times and hit Macho Nacho. Entry lines at 10:30 were all the way out to the parking lot and along the sidewalk. When we left cars were parking all the way out in the overflow lot beyond the water park. Most of these people must have been in the water park, no coaster lines.

 

Since we could see Firebird wasn't running yet we hopped on RC, WO, and Fireball. We were met with staff explaining that Firebird was down and they were working on it. Too early for dining pass lunch so we headed to SM. Batman was also down. This is where the day became exciting. Right before the last bunny hops I got caught from elbow to wrist with branches. Sitting waiting to get into the station, blood on my shorts, a 6 inch piece of shrubbery on my lap, and leaves sticking out of my forearm. I walked over to the ride operator to tell him and show him the welts all over my arm and he just shrugged. The other ride op says, people have been complaining about that and they kept loading cars, so I handed him the stick. We left our phones in the car so I don't have a picture.

 

Walked up to guest relations and it was swamped so I went into first aid. I received another shrug of the shoulders there and was asked, "So do you want a band-aid?" I said I would like to report this as they are still running the ride. He took my name, address, etc... and finally offered an alcohol pad to clean up. He reads his narrative which ended with "guest sustained a scratch." I said I have a dozen welts and six punctures where I pulled leaves out of my skin and my shoulder is sore from being pulled. Then he gets accusatory with hold on all you didn't say anything about that before. I said you've only taken my contact information. He asks, "Were you riding with your arms up?" I'm thinking to myself have you ever ridden a roller coaster? of course my arms were up (keep in mind that I stand a near 5'4").

 

We went back to Macho Nacho to eat. One person in front of us and one person after, and they botched the orders. As we finished up I could hear a chipper guy apologizing for Firebird being down so we went over and found that it was a manager. I said, "Is Superman down because someone got hit by a tree? That was me." Long story short he said he would give me call yesterday, still no call today.

 

Overall I feel OK, I probably wouldn't go bowling today. They were even working on the doors of the new restrooms so I didn't even get to do that. Just a debacle.

 

The important information is that they are waiting on a part for Batman again. When I asked if it was related to the part they were waiting for last year he gave a big laugh. Firebird he claimed "woke up grumpy." Tried asking several ways and got that same answer. So, if you were there Saturday, that's why three coasters were down.

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I was honestly pretty disappointed in the cost of a single day ticket for this park though. Luckily, Casey had gotten us discounted tickets but originally it would of cost me $92 for a single day ticket with parking included. That was the slightly discounted online price too. In all, it was a great 3.5 hours at the park though considering our circumstances.

Onto the pictures!

 

Nice pics, tho it sounds like the park often is that dead (it was like that on our visit last summer too).

 

 

I'm a little shocked at the price, but hopefully you didn't pay near that much.

 

I'd guess that Six Flags has the prices jacked to drive folks to Season Passes/Memberships.

 

Really, they've been running Season Pass sales out the wazoo over the past week (I keep getting emails saying this is the LAST sale for 2019), with Season Pass running under $60. . and it's good at all parks, and upgraded to Gold (which gets you parking at all parks free).

 

so surprised y'all didn't just do that- if you visit any other Six Flags park during the year, would have been worth it. . and heck, was cheaper than the 1 day price anyways.

 

glad you had a good time tho!

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We left our phones in the car so I don't have a picture.

 

did you take pics the moment you got to the car?

 

hopefully so, and even if you did not? email corporate. Tell them you were injured, tell you have witnesses, and tell them the ride ops/security/First Aid reaction you got.

 

they can't make improvements (or even give lip service on the improvements), if they don't know.

 

 

we just visited SFStl, and despite the horror show of Justice League running reduced capacity, and the lady working the ADA / Flash Pass entrance being completely slammed (and I'm certain dealing with complaints about how dang long the line was and how slow moving it was).. I made sure to note her name (Denise), and sent off an email to Six Flags StL this morning, complimenting on how much we enjoyed interacting with her, and how much we appreciated the help she gave us in getting our ADA help needed person on the ride.

 

so yeah. . tell them bad and/or good. .they need to know.

 

 

and hope you're feeling better.

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