Six Flags America (SFA) Discussion Thread

[SFA Regular]

I agree. If you remove Ship Wreck Falls, then whats one less water ride that we have and yet more complaining people will be doing. Leave Ship Wreck Falls, right where it is and just use Two-Face old spot for a small addition. Tones of land in Gotham City for coaster installations and possibly more room if they ever expand past Mind Eraser, which I think is way over do. The park should run in a complete loop so that you don't hit dead ends at every spot.

[frozenflames]

^^ Agreed. With the exception of a Fright Fest visit when there were no water rides running, I have never been to SFA without seeing Shipwreck Falls up and running to near full capacity. Removing it really wouldn't make any sense.

 

As for any new coaster rumors, I personally would be happy with anything, so long as it's a new addition. The park has indeed gone far too long without a new coaster.

 

But I must say, during my last visit to the park, last year, I ntoiced that the park has taken a turn for the better. Everything was much cleaner, and the ride ops seemed to be doing their job far more efficiently. Maybe now with the new management, the park could really live up to it's potential.

[SFA Regular]

^^ Agreed. With the exception of a Fright Fest visit when there were no water rides running, I have never been to SFA without seeing Shipwreck Falls up and running to near full capacity. Removing it really wouldn't make any sense.

 

As for any new coaster rumors, I personally would be happy with anything, so long as it's a new addition. The park has indeed gone far too long without a new coaster.

 

But I must say, during my last visit to the park, last year, I ntoiced that the park has taken a turn for the better. Everything was much cleaner, and the ride ops seemed to be doing their job far more efficiently. Maybe now with the new management, the park could really live up to it's potential.

 

Thank you for agreeing. I would rather see (SKull Mountain) go before Ship Wreck Falls. Skull Mountain has had so much down time in the past and the amount of land it sits on could be used for a good coaster or indoor ride. Someone else mentioned taking an indoor version of Skully Mountain, like they have at Great Adventure. I would so love that if they were to get rid of our water ride Skull Mountain. It could still be given a pirate theme with a bit of a story. Lots of ideas for special effects and possible additions for Fright Fest.

 

Think of an upgraded version of Great Adventure's Skull Mountain at SFA. A story line, special effects, and then taking a decent coaster course inside complete darkness with some strobe lights. It would be a great addition for the park. Both family and thrill seekers could enjoy it.

[Capitalize]

Just got back from a brief trip to the park. Superman was running amazing, only running the red train. I'd say it feels smoother and faster then the past few seasons, probably helped that the attendant didn't staple me terribly like I normally experience. Wild One still seems a bit "slow" this season. Less airtime then I'm use to experiencing, still a great ride of course, and once the summer heat really picks up it will probably be running wild again. Roar was closed all day.

 

Thomas Town has made huge strides, the kiddie drop tower is up and looks be nicely themed. The Thomas train and ferris wheel are also up along with a nice looking playground type structure. Paths are taking shape and there are hard at work getting everything ready. The area will have two nice looking entry gates on both ends of Jokers Jinx. I'll post some pictures I took a bit later.

 

All the employees were very friendly and helpful. It was nice to see the higher ups in the parks walking around helping keep things clean and asking people if they needed help finding anything. I think the park is really turning a corner and I am excited to see what the next couple seasons bring.

 

If a 2011 ride is added and goes by Roar I think it will go where the haunted house was. Its a huge plot of nice cleared land that is just waiting for something new it seems.

[SFA Regular]

Just got back from a brief trip to the park. Superman was running amazing, only running the red train. I'd say it feels smoother and faster then the past few seasons. Wild One still seems a bit "slow" this season. Less airtime then I'm use to experiencing, still a great ride of course. Roar was closed all day.

 

Thomas Town had made huge strides, the kiddie drop tower is up and look be nicely themed. The Thomas train and ferris wheel are also up. Paths are taking shape and there are hard at work getting everything ready. The area will have two nice looking entry gates on both ends of Jokers Jinx. I'll post some pictures I took a bit later.

 

If a 2011 ride is added and goes by Roar I think it will go where the haunted house was. Its a huge plot of nice cleared land that is just waiting for something new it seems.

 

Thanks for the updates. And you said Superman was running a better than it has been in the past few seasons. Good to hear that, because I also thought it was slow in previous years. As for the spot near Roar, I would rather see a new and improved building get built for a haunted house. Reason why is because its kind of small and there are far better spots than that one. We have been contemplating about Two-Face's old spot and the land between Superman and Batwing. Both of those pieces are two big spots for fairly decent coasters. The spot next to Roar should be used for a new haunted house building in order to spice up a 2011 or 2012 Fright Fest. Other than the train ride, there wasn't anything else worth coming to see at Fright Fest.

 

A neat idea I had in mind for a new haunted house, would be something that is two levels. You start off on the bottom and then make your way upstairs. For the exit, you would slide down a slide and out the other end of the building. It would be something completely new. Another good suggestion involves bringing the (Haunted Hay-Ride) back in action. It was really good when the park did it.

 

In other opinions, it would really surprise me if Alexander Weber managed to spice up all the Fright Fest at Six Flags parks on his first year. But he would have to get plans in with the park GM's now if they wanted to make big things happen, before the fall season.

[Spideyfreak]

Just got back from a brief trip to the park. Superman was running amazing, only running the red train. I'd say it feels smoother and faster then the past few seasons, probably helped that the attendant didn't staple me terribly like I normally experience. Wild One still seems a bit "slow" this season. Less airtime then I'm use to experiencing, still a great ride of course, and once the summer heat really picks up it will probably be running wild again. Roar was closed all day.

 

Thomas Town has made huge strides, the kiddie drop tower is up and looks be nicely themed. The Thomas train and ferris wheel are also up along with a nice looking playground type structure. Paths are taking shape and there are hard at work getting everything ready. The area will have two nice looking entry gates on both ends of Jokers Jinx. I'll post some pictures I took a bit later.

 

All the employees were very friendly and helpful. It was nice to see the higher ups in the parks walking around helping keep things clean and asking people if they needed help finding anything. I think the park is really turning a corner and I am excited to see what the next couple seasons bring.

 

If a 2011 ride is added and goes by Roar I think it will go where the haunted house was. Its a huge plot of nice cleared land that is just waiting for something new it seems.

 

I was there today as well. Roar finally did open at around 4:00 with both trains, and they put a second train on Mind Eraser and Superman. Batwing went down towards the end of the evening. And where is the pink train on Joker's Jinx these days? Are they using it for parts or something?

 

Just some thoughts for now, more to come in my PTR.

[B-RadG]

And where is the pink train on Joker's Jinx these days? Are they using it for parts or something?

I noticed that too, it wasn't on the transfer or anything. It wouldn't shock me, seeing as KD has salvaged one of Flight of Fear's trains for parts. Which really makes no sense... because Premier is still available to make parts.

[redfoot12]

Well, I've said I wouldn't go back to SFA until they get a new coaster and a Tony Hawk spinner would be enough for me. While not world beaters, I rode the Texas ones and they were quite fun.

I rode Roar in Sept 2008 and thought it was rough but still fun. This may have been discussed earlier in the thread, but has there ever been speculation as to whether Millennium Flyers could be installed on Roar?

I'll also add that I've been reading this thread for the last 20 pages or so and SFARegular has become my hero.

[SFA Regular]

Well, I've said I wouldn't go back to SFA until they get a new coaster and a Tony Hawk spinner would be enough for me. While not world beaters, I rode the Texas ones and they were quite fun.

I rode Roar in Sept 2008 and thought it was rough but still fun. This may have been discussed earlier in the thread, but has there ever been speculation as to whether Millennium Flyers could be installed on Roar?

I'll also add that I've been reading this thread for the last 20 pages or so and SFARegular has become my hero.

 

How have I become your hero?

 

Second, it would be kind of cool if we found out that the park sent the train to (Premier Rides) for modifications and improvements. So they just leave the yellow train there, so the ride can stay operational until the pink train returns. Once the pink train returns, they may do the same thing to that one. We will know if this is true, if it comes back and the ride feels a lot better. I always thought it needed some tweaking or a small jolt in speed, so that it doesn't slow down towards the top of the ride. Poltergeist at SFFT seems to keep its speed during the whole ride. Joker's Jinx needs the same treatment, so that it can pack more thrill.

[redfoot12]

I rode Joker's Jinx in 2008 and Poltergeist last year. JJ did seem to kind of meander through the course. Poltergeist became my favorite of the Premier "Spaghetti Bowl" designs.

Edited May 16, 2010 by Wes

[SFA Regular]

But atleast you noticed that Joker's Jinx is kind of slow when it gets to the top of the ride. It doesn't keep it's speed and slowly regains it's momentum. Even Flight of Fear at Kings Dominion has more speed than Jokers Jinx, even with the breaks up at the top of the ride. It still some how regains the momentum very quickly and packs the punch throughout the rest of the turns and the final inversion in the ride. Hopefully one day the ride can improve either by getting better trains or giving the LIM's a small jolt in the launch so that the ride is a little bit faster when it starts. There is a small procedure that the maintenance crew can do in order to give the ride more speed. One weekend when their not open, they could adjust the (stator coils) and space them further apart. Spacing the stator coils further apart, creates a stronger magnetic field, then giving the train more speed on the launch. Creates more torque. My guess, is this is what they did for rides like Flight of Fear and Poltergeist. Joker's Jinx has probably not gotten this treatment.

 

Superman needs new trains.

Edited May 16, 2010 by Wes

[SFA Regular]

If Alexander Weber, takes a tour of the Six Flags parks, what do you think he will say about SFA? Do many of you think he will say, we have to do something in order for this park to compete with it's closest rival? Will he say, the park needs to continue with it's family installations? Will he say, the park needs to fill in more of the empty spots? Will he say, lets upgrade what we currently have? Will he say, the park needs to under go a new management? Specifically, people that he knows from Paramounts?

Edited May 16, 2010 by Wes

[netdvn]

^ Honestly I see Weber walking into the park and calling it the next Paramount's Great America.

 

By that, I mean that the park will remain the same way that it is right now with the occasional family ride mixed in. I really don't see any really drastic changes coming into the SF chain in general.

 

Actually SFA is pretty much in the same state that CGA has always been in... Being treated as the red-headed stepchild of the chain that the park is operating under.

[SFA Regular]

^ Honestly I see Weber walking into the park and calling it the next Paramount's Great America.

 

By that, I mean that the park will remain the same way that it is right now with the occasional family ride mixed in. I really don't see any really drastic changes coming into the SF chain in general.

 

Actually SFA is pretty much in the same state that CGA has always been in... Being treated as the red-headed stepchild of the chain that the park is operating under.

 

But do you think he would say that, to a park that has 523 acres to build on and is currently only using 131 acres. Thats a lot of land to let go to waste. Not to mention, the park is very close to Washington D.C. and Baltimore. That's a lot of people that the park could attract on a regular basis if given the right improvements. Not to mention the park is like 99.9 percent Metro system accessible. You take the blue line to (Largo Town Center) and then a Metro Bus can take you right across the street from the park. Lets also mention that the park is right up I-95 from (National Harbor). If shuttle buses were set up, so many people could get brought to SFA. And if they had more stuff in there, people would love it. Atleast thats what I thought Alexander Weber would think if he came to Six Flags America. Remember, he has 40 years in theme park operations, so he knows how to draw crowds into theme parks. Being that close to DC and Baltimore area, should be open up new ideas to his idea thinking.

[Wes]

Hey guys, I don't really want to do this necessarily, but please keep the discussion in this thread to the park, and NOT about the people posting to the thread. The topic keeps getting sidetracked by people feeling they need to voice opinions on certain users' posts.

 

Please just keep the discussion about the park. Thanks.

[netdvn]

But do you think he would say that, to a park that has 523 acres to build on and is currently only using 131 acres.

WDW currently uses 1/5th of the land that it currently sits on right now (or around that much)... That includes all the theme parks, water parks, resorts, transportation, etc...

 

Not to mention, the park is very close to Washington D.C. and Baltimore. That's a lot of people that the park could attract on a regular basis if given the right improvements.

As long as the park continues to improve on its family-friendly image, and the rest of the park is cleaned up, people will be drawn to the park as well as bring back some customers that abandoned the park years ago and bring in some new customers.

 

If shuttle buses were set up, so many people could get brought to SFA. And if they had more stuff in there, people would love it.

Does SF even have the money to form a shuttle bus fleet? Is that even all that efficient?? A shuttle bus fleet would work better for a major resort park like WDW, but SFA is a regional theme park that doesn't have anywhere to send shuttle buses to. Where are the stops gonna be?

 

And then what about the hotels in the area that send their shuttles to SFA? Would SFA have to compete with those?

[SFA Regular]

As for the shuttle buses, I didn't mean they had to be in every corner. Just a few of the main places. Some popular spots would be National Harbor, Arundel Mills Mall, and maybe George Town. Those are three good spots to put shuttle buses in and people are around there all the time during the summer.

[netdvn]

^

 

- How far are those locations from SFA?

- How should SF pay for these buses? The drivers? Gas?

- How would SF make up for lost revenue from parking costs?

- How would shuttle buses affect any possible new attractions that are currently in the works for the park? Dates pushed back, canceled, etc...

[SFA Regular]

^

 

- How far are those locations from SFA?

- How should SF pay for these buses? The drivers? Gas?

- How would SF make up for lost revenue from parking costs?

- How would shuttle buses affect any possible new attractions that are currently in the works for the park? Dates pushed back, canceled, etc...

 

You have a good point. My idea of the shuttle buses were to bring a higher attendance of people to the park. Hopefully that higher attendance would support the amount of people being at the park to help pay for a new attraction. But I guess, I didn't think it all the way through.

[JEAPUgrad]

But do you think he would say that, to a park that has 523 acres to build on and is currently only using 131 acres. Thats a lot of land to let go to waste. Not to mention, the park is very close to Washington D.C. and Baltimore. That's a lot of people that the park could attract on a regular basis if given the right improvements. Not to mention the park is like 99.9 percent Metro system accessible. You take the blue line to (Largo Town Center) and then a Metro Bus can take you right across the street from the park. Lets also mention that the park is right up I-95 from (National Harbor). If shuttle buses were set up, so many people could get brought to SFA. And if they had more stuff in there, people would love it. Atleast thats what I thought Alexander Weber would think if he came to Six Flags America. Remember, he has 40 years in theme park operations, so he knows how to draw crowds into theme parks. Being that close to DC and Baltimore area, should be open up new ideas to his idea thinking.

 

Does the park have 500 something acres of land? Yes.

 

Can they build on it all? No.

 

I know for a FACT that they cannot build along the south side of the property within 2000 feet of Route 214. There are variances of different lengths for each of the surrounding neighborhoods to the north and the east of the property. There is a variance, if I'm not mistaken of about a half mile from the power lines that run through the west side of the property.

And that's not even taking into consideration all of the environmental protections that park has due to the wetlands and the creek that run through the park.

 

Let's compare apples to apples and not toss out generalizations for the sake of the discussion.

 

Re: National Harbor

 

Hate to break it to you, National Harbor is NOT a tourist destination. At least not yet. Let's say what Disney will do with the property they acquired in that area last year.

 

National Harbor was built to rival DC's still relatively new convention center. National Harbor is attracts large scale meetings and conventions and they use their location as one of their top selling points. National Harbor is not easily accessible to a Metro station and the touristy things that are DC are not a distraction to potential clients for meetings and conventions.

 

I have an extensive background in special events and meeting planning and I can tell you honestly that even though there may very well be a small leisure market segment at National Harbor, there is not enough to warrant the set up costs and transportation services to and from National Harbor.

 

From 2001-2008 I was part of the leadership team (#2 in command) that planned and produced Washington D.C.'s largest annual event with over 300,000 people in attendance each year.

[StarWars]

In relation to the the land the park owns, what's the deal with that old mansion behind Wild One and the Batman Stunt show? The last time I went (2006), it still had a blue tarp over most of it. Are there restrictions on what they can do with it, such as if they bought the land from someone, but only if the house stayed? I remember passing once on a hayride in 1999. Man, it looked real creepy!

[JEAPUgrad]

Over at SFAFans, many have said that the historical society has turned over the mansion to the park to do as they wish with it. Allegedly the park pleaded with the historical society to perform renovations on the property as the park couldn't touch it. The historical society decided not to pump any money into the mansion, stripped it of it's protection status and turned it over to the park.

 

Allegedly.

 

I don't believe that story myself as I've never heard of any historical society or government or whoever actually has the protection of the mansion just willy nilly turning over something that old in that fashion.

 

They could be right, I could be wrong.

 

In my opinion, it just doesn't sound feasible.

[StarWars]

I also remember in 1998, the last year of Adventure World, at HallowScream, there was a magic show in which the house was mentioned. The magician told a (probably) fake story about the family that used to live there. He said one day their son went missing and several days later was found dead in the woods nearby. I'm not sure if that portion of the story is true or false. The trick itself had the magician using toys on the stage, which were claimed to be the boys. Then it was made to be like the boy's ghost came to play with them. I know the trick was obviously fake, but I wonder if there is any thing close to the truth regarding the former family of the mansion. It sure does look like the type of house that would be haunted (if you believe in that kind of stuff).

[Capitalize]

Finally got those photos up... They aren't the best quality as I just snapped them with my camera phone.

Gate closest to Jokers Jinx's entrance the front of Gotham City.

General view from Jokers Jinx's exit.

The second gate, closer to SROS's entrance.

From here you can see the Thomas train and kiddie drop tower.

Old Two Face site, 2011 coaster coming here?

Old haunted house site close to Roar, 2011 coaster coming here?

[Capitalize]

As for the shuttle buses, I didn't mean they had to be in every corner. Just a few of the main places. Some popular spots would be National Harbor, Arundel Mills Mall, and maybe George Town. Those are three good spots to put shuttle buses in and people are around there all the time during the summer.

Why would someone in Georgetown want to hop on a bus to go to SFA? When someone goes to Georgetown its typically to shop, eat, or drink/clubbing in the evening. Its not a massive population area particularly, either so I doubt you'd see a massive amount of locals living in the area using a shuttle bus to the park.

 

Its incredibly obnoxious to get down there whether you drive or take Metro. The traffic for a bus to get from I-495 all the way to Georgetown would be an absolute nightmare.

 

I'm sorry but the bus fleet idea is not very feasible for SFA, especially not in this area. National Harbor would be slightly more logical, but still I don't see it happening personally.

 

Isn't something like that usually done by hotels anyways? Maybe in the future if SFA becomes a large enough destination that tourists will want to go out of their way to get there hotels would start a shuttle service to the park as an added perk of staying there, like many hotels in Orlando do.

 

 

I also remember in 1998, the last year of Adventure World, at HallowScream, there was a magic show in which the house was mentioned. The magician told a (probably) fake story about the family that used to live there. He said one day their son went missing and several days later was found dead in the woods nearby. I'm not sure if that portion of the story is true or false. The trick itself had the magician using toys on the stage, which were claimed to be the boys. Then it was made to be like the boy's ghost came to play with them. I know the trick was obviously fake, but I wonder if there is any thing close to the truth regarding the former family of the mansion. It sure does look like the type of house that would be haunted (if you believe in that kind of stuff).

I had always heard it was the dead daughter who was buried by the house, that haunted the place. Apparently on the day she died the park experiences a lot of breakdowns and other issues - but I think that's just a normal day for SFA personally.