Six Flags America (SFA) Discussion Thread

[BRTeller]

8 minutes ago, CedarFlags said:

Oof... first King's Island over Memorial weekend, and now this.

Six Flags America Closes Early After Large Fights

 

Interesting they kicked out the entire park, but I guess I get it's better to be safe than sorry. This park needs a strict no one under 21 policy if not accompanied by an adult and needs security beefed up clearly. It's always been one of those parks that if the employees and management took issues like this seriously enough, it would be a different atmosphere. A great comparison is Kentucky Kingdom, another park that has had it's fair share of issues and growing pains, but with new management has shown that it can be a quality top tier park that still competes with two amazing parks within 2 hours, similar to SFA's setup.

[disownedpear]

They were doing well with security this year, they had security on the platforms of every ride. Makes me think this must have been a pretty large scale fight for them to close the whole park if their sizable security team couldn't handle it. 

If you're under the driving age I agree you shouldn't be left unattended, some people practically use this park as daycare! 

[bert425]

I can totally see them saying anyone under age of 16 MUST be accompanied by an adult (18+).

no way will they go for 21+ restrictions. . but 18+ as the adult with younger?  yeah. . think for certain that's gonna happen.

[AmyUD06]

And honestly it would do nothing.  Most high-schoolers have at least one friend that's 18 and a senior.  21+ ONLY admittance is the way to go.  Too tired of idiotic children ruining things for the rest of society.

As a bonus, just think how much more extreme they could make the haunts?

[Jason Maier]

5 hours ago, bert425 said:

I can totally see them saying anyone under age of 16 MUST be accompanied by an adult (18+).

no way will they go for 21+ restrictions. . but 18+ as the adult with younger?  yeah. . think for certain that's gonna happen.

1. Isn't that the same policy that Kennywood has?
2. Yeah a 21+ restriction would really cut down attendance!

[BRTeller]

6 hours ago, bert425 said:

I can totally see them saying anyone under age of 16 MUST be accompanied by an adult (18+).

no way will they go for 21+ restrictions. . but 18+ as the adult with younger?  yeah. . think for certain that's gonna happen.

What I'm thinking is 18+ for yourself, 25+ if you're accompanying anyone under the age of 18. Similar to liquor laws here in PA, you can't drink unless someone is at least 25 at the table if someone is under the legal drinking age, holds the person a bit more responsible for the younger members of the party. The fact is, the people that cause these issues are between ages 15 and 20 years of age 90 percent of the time, there needs to be a system to prevent this. Many malls and entertainment centers have similar policies, I'd have to imagine since the park was forced to close early, they would be willing to take fairly drastic measures to keep the younger trouble makers away.

[Jason Maier]

So after closing early on Saturday night because of fights, this:

Six Flags America Fright Fest to close early after fights.

Yeah, next year I could totally see them doing some kind of age restriction thing.

[disownedpear]

"Thank you for being a Six Flags Pass Holder.

At Six Flags America, the safety of our guests and team members is our top priority. Recently, we've made some changes to our park policies that you should be aware of. In order to make the most of your visit, please consider the following:

During Fright Fest, there is no new entry and no re-entry allowed after 6 p.m. Please plan to arrive with plenty of time to get through the park entry process. If you think you'll need a jacket, bring it with you.

All our rides, themed walkways, and Halloween shows are included with your admission. If you wish to come face-to-face with our ghouls, make sure you purchase a Fright Pass, which allows access to all five of our premium haunted attractions.

Two of our premium haunted attractions, Twisted Fairy Tales and Total Damnation, will open at 4 p.m. to allow you to begin the scares sooner. A Fright Pass is required for access to these and our other premium haunted attractions.

All guests upon arrival will go through a contact-free electronic security screening process. To make the process go as quickly and smoothly as possible, please limit the number of items that you bring with you into the park.

We are proud members of Prince George's County and the State of Maryland who are committed to doing our part to create a safe, strong, and vital community for generations to come. The operational changes we have outlined above are just a small piece of the work we are doing to ensure our mutual success in reaching that goal. We thank you for your dedication, patience, and support as we move forward together.

Richard G. Pretlow II
Park President
Six Flags America"

 

So my understanding is that I know have to pay for something that was promised with my season pass because kids can't behave? And there are still no age restrictions whatsoever. 

 

 

 

[MisterBrow]

The mazes have been an extra fee as long as I can remember.

 

I think I may skip FF. Swing in for HITP. I normally would have already purchased my season pass and dining for next year, but not so this year. I think I will try something a little further away for a season.

[Jason Maier]

2 hours ago, MisterBrow said:

The mazes have been an extra fee as long as I can remember.

 

I think I may skip FF. Swing in for HITP. I normally would have already purchased my season pass and dining for next year, but not so this year. I think I will try something a little further away for a season.

True, they've always sold the regular/express line passes for the mazes.

I'm also mixed about renewing my membership for 2022. If I do change, I may do Hershey Park

[Jason Maier]

So I actually managed to do Fright Fest last night.

Weather was very unseasonable for early October (high of about 80 and only dipped to 72 at night); whereas with past Fright Fests I've had to wear long shirts/pants and one time in 2016; the day was actually halted early because of heavy rain.

But anyhow, it just felt weird this year. Maybe it was the aftermath of the early closure after the fights on September 25th? Also interesting with two of the mazes (Twisted Fairy Tales & Total Damnation) opening at 4pm. As usual, the longest line was of course The Haunting of Hall Manor; this year the path went a way where you could actually see part of the Manor house itself (past years have seen the path take routes where you could see the crumbling interior).

Dead Man's Party in the stunt arena was just .... meh. Another show in the BBQ saloon was ok; but there was actually a magic show (Aaron Radatz) in the Grand Theater. 

Overall, even though Fright Fest this year at SFA seemed dull to me (post COVID hangover); it was glad to see a Grand Theater show for the first time since 2019!

[MisterBrow]

I was also thinking Hershey for a year. I have not seen anything as cheap there as the SFA flash sale .

 

Scrapping Batwing wouldn't be the worst thing; end that scorching death march to the back of the park only to find it broke. Put a parking lot and rear entrance (Who doesn't like a rear entrance?) back there and that would basically split the dry and wet park crowds. Field trip busses could also park back there by the picnic area.

[MisterBrow]

It also addresses that age old- there needs to be a path to Superman plea.

Money saved on BW toward new trains on ME and then... RMC ROAR which creates a much better lay out. Until then Gotham to Mardi Gras is a good 2 hours of rides, walk with food, and sitting out the DC traffic when heading through.

[Jason Maier]

MisterBrow,

As far as I'm aware, Vekoma doesn't even provide spare parts for Flying Dutchmans anymore (I think the second BW train is a parts donor now) and it's up to maintenance at the park to keep the ride going.

But I like your idea of bulldozing it and making it a parking lot; it certainly has more uptime than Batwing!

Yeah, I haven't seen any cheap HP sales like the SF flash sale; but maybe a change for a year will do me good.

And of course, DC traffic is a ballbreaker!

[MisterBrow]

I am only 10-15 miles away and certain times it isn't worth the traffic.

For that matter, scrap ME and extend the water park all the way into Coyote Creek. That would also save money. Mind Eraser: stupid name with wild west theming.

And when the RMC Roar finally happens and I am too old to ride it, it should have a name that fits the Chesapeake theme better than Firebird. LOL. ICE CRAB! Firebird's logo should have looked like an Oriole. 

[thepoint4life23]

Can someone tell me when this park normally opens for the year? I have a wedding I am going near in April and hope the park is open. 

[Jason Maier]

1 hour ago, thepoint4life23 said:

Can someone tell me when this park normally opens for the year? I have a wedding I am going near in April and hope the park is open. 

The usual opening weekend for the park in either the last weekend of March or the first weekend of April.

[coasterbill]

They opened on March 6th this year which is a full month earlier than they've ever opened before.

[JG-77]

Visited this park this past Saturday, and had a good time. Some notes from my visit:

-Harely Quinn is a great addition to the park. Ton of fun, with strong positive G's followed immediately by blissful floater, super happy to have it in the lineup.

-I think I might like JJ more than superman now. To be fair, I only got 2nd row rides on superman this time, no first row rides, but I forgot just how intense and whippy JJ can be.

-I tried Roar in the back row for the first time in years. The last time I came off with a headache, but at least for me, this time I was spared, and actually enjoyed the extra whip in the drops, as well as the extra legroom compared to the front row. I did lean forward a little bit in an attempt to reduce the vibrations, so perhaps that helped.

-Batwing too was smoother than I remember, tho perhaps that had to do with getting the front row (this wasn't intentional, just worked out that way)

-Firebird is way overhated IMO, that first half inthe back row is actually a lot of fun, especially the loop and drops, and the corkscrew didn't feel as bad as in prior years.

-Pretty much all the crews were doing surprisingly good jobs two trains on everything except Roar and Batwing (which opened late, but still opened). Superman in particular often dispatched just as the 2nd train hit the brakes, sometimes even earlier! There were also employees at Batwing and Superman who would fill up the queue lines for each row for the next train while the current train was being loaded.

-Crowds started out light-moderate, with sub 10 minute waits on most rides, but certainly not dead, and got more and more crowded as the day went on. By the time I left around 8, JJ's line was well past the bottom of the stairs, and the station for Wild One was pretty much full.

-Plenty of security guards throughout the park, including on the midways and in the parking lot, more than I recall in the past. I think some of those groupers I mentioned earlier might have also been security guards, not sure. At no point did I feel like I was in any sort of danger due to patrons.

-They also had a very thorough bag check, most of the pockets in my backpack were opened, and the guy checking by bag actually pulled my sweater and raincoat out to ensure there wasn't anything underneath (he put them back, but in the wrong pocket). I didn't really mind this, but some people were wondering what measures the park had taken since the incident a couple weeks ago, so I thought I'd report on what I experienced.

[AmyUD06]

1 hour ago, JG-77 said:

-I tried Roar in the back row for the first time in years. The last time I came off with a headache, but at least for me, this time I was spared, and actually enjoyed the extra whip in the drops, as well as the extra legroom compared to the front row. I did lean forward a little bit in an attempt to reduce the vibrations, so perhaps that helped.

-Firebird is way overhated IMO, that first half inthe back row is actually a lot of fun, especially the loop and drops, and the corkscrew didn't feel as bad as in prior years.

Please tell us what drugs you are on that either of these coasters are tolerable, let alone "fun."  The rest of us would like the same experience.

[bert425]

^ I thought Roar was 'ok'

I mean, it's not like he raved how much fun he had on Mind Eraser.

now THAT would make me question. . . LOL

[disownedpear]

Wait Batwing is open? It was listed as closed indefinitely just last week.

[BRTeller]

8 hours ago, disownedpear said:

Wait Batwing is open? It was listed as closed indefinitely just last week.

It's SFA, there's a 99% chance the sign for the temporary closed broke so they brought out the indefinite closed one instead of purchasing/fixing the old sign. 

[Jason Maier]

Don't know how exciting HITP will be here; considering Gotham City is closed off.

May as well check it out one day.

[tndank]

35 minutes ago, Jason Maier said:

Don't know how exciting HITP will be here; considering Gotham City is closed off.

May as well check it out one day.

Could be worse...