Six Flags America (SFA) Discussion Thread

[CardCraze]

^^Because SFA doesn't have good rides? Because Superman, Batwing, Wild One, PBR, Skull Mountain, and so forth are not good rides?

 

Hell even just Superman and Wild One are worth the trip at least once a year. It's certainly not a pak that's the same caliber as KD or BGW, but that doesn't mean you and your army of KD Fanboys need to contantly remind us how much you despise Six Flags America.

Edited October 15, 2010 by CardCraze

[CardCraze]

^^Again, has your internet been down for the past year. Six Flags America DID HAVE AN ADDITION THIS YEAR. Just because it wasn't a 200 foot coaster doesn't mean the park is being neglected. Do they need a new THRILL ride? Yes, but they are not neglected.

 

Edited for clarification issures

[alilstronger]

^^Because SFA doesn't have good rides? Because Superman, Batwing, Wild One, PBR, Skull Mountain, and so forth are not good rides?

 

Hell even just Superman and Wild One are worth the trip at least once a year. It's certainly not a pak that's the same caliber as KD or BGW, but that doesn't mean you and your army of KD Fanboys need to contantly remind us how much you despise Six Flags America.

 

 

It is not that these are not good rides. For me, they are just getting old. I am tired of going there and getting on the same rides year after year. Batwing is one of the worst coasters I have ever ridden. It is considered a lay down coaster when in reality you are NOT laying down. You are sitting in a seat that has been tilted and is parallel to the ground. The lay down coaster that was in Washington State was a true lay down coaster. PBR is boring, very boring for me. Skull mountain was fun when it was new. The pointless tunnels of darkness are boring in my opinion.

 

The park could be on par with KD or BGE if the money was put into it. SFGA and SFMM are on par with KD and BGE, how come SFA can not? I do not get it.

 

And I am NOT a KD fanboy. I do not like that park either. The rides there are just as boring.

[JEAPUgrad]

I'll be at the park with the new beau on Sunday after 4pm if anyone is interested in meeting up.

 

I'll probably be in my umpire uniform as I will be coming straight from the ballfield.

[CoasterNERD502]

^^Because SFA doesn't have good rides? Because Superman, Batwing, Wild One, PBR, Skull Mountain, and so forth are not good rides?

 

Hell even just Superman and Wild One are worth the trip at least once a year. It's certainly not a pak that's the same caliber as KD or BGW, but that doesn't mean you and your army of KD Fanboys need to contantly remind us how much you despise Six Flags America.

 

lol im not a KD fanboy. I love SFA dearly (i live right across the street from it) but for me, I've been riding these same 6 coasters my whole life. I just want something new and thrilling, and KD has that. For people that don't live around here and its their first time visiting, they will have a good time, but for me its the same old rides over and over.

Thomas Town's nice and all, but a coaster or a thrill ride of some sort would be better, atleast in my opinion.

[StarWars]

I really hope one day SFA adds tall body slides to Hurricane Harbor. I know they body slides now, but they are not tall at all. Maybe they can convert some of their tubed slides into body slides. Maybe, just wishful thinking, they can go for a body slide height record. Or they could add one of those body slides where you stand on a door which pulls out from under you and for a split-second, you are falling vertically. Those looks scary, but fun.

 

Also, does anyone know if SFA is still planning to renovate the lazy river. A few years ago, I remember hearing that the lazy river was going to be expanded, with a misty cave section being added. I think that would be really cool (pun intended), especially with the hot, humid days Maryland gets.

 

^^Because SFA doesn't have good rides? Because Superman, Batwing, Wild One, PBR, Skull Mountain, and so forth are not good rides?

 

Hell even just Superman and Wild One are worth the trip at least once a year. It's certainly not a pak that's the same caliber as KD or BGW, but that doesn't mean you and your army of KD Fanboys need to contantly remind us how much you despise Six Flags America.

 

 

It is not that these are not good rides. For me, they are just getting old. I am tired of going there and getting on the same rides year after year. Batwing is one of the worst coasters I have ever ridden. It is considered a lay down coaster when in reality you are NOT laying down. You are sitting in a seat that has been tilted and is parallel to the ground. The lay down coaster that was in Washington State was a true lay down coaster. PBR is boring, very boring for me. Skull mountain was fun when it was new. The pointless tunnels of darkness are boring in my opinion.

 

The park could be on par with KD or BGE if the money was put into it. SFGA and SFMM are on par with KD and BGE, how come SFA can not? I do not get it.

 

And I am NOT a KD fanboy. I do not like that park either. The rides there are just as boring.

 

Penguin's Blizzard River is useless in my opinion. It's a big tease. You go on it expecting to get a nice cool down, but you get off nearly as dry as you did when you started. Why make it a water ride, if you barely get wet?

Edited October 27, 2010 by StarWars

[netdvn]

SFMM is getting three coasters next season... Seriously, could Six Flags just do the DC area a favor and sell the park to someone who will actually make investments into it? It would be nice to have a decent park that is worth visiting more than once every few seasons less than an hour away. I've made excuses for the park and Six Flags Inc. but this is just plain ridiculous.

 

Actually technically MM's only getting one coaster...

 

The other coaster was supposed to be built this year and Escape from Krypton's been there since 1997 (although I guess you could call it something new).

 

On top of that SFA just got Thomas Town so I don't understand where this "lack of investments" is coming from.

 

 

Yeah! This image pretty much suits this thread.

[CoasterNERD502]

^Thomas Town was the first new attraction to the regular park since 2006. While almost every other park in the chain gets new attractions, thrill at that, yearly, we just feel that SFA lacks that. SFA hasn't recieved a coaster since 2001. SFA loses an attraction every year. Thomas Town consists of only about 3 new rides, everything else was moved from somewhere inside the park.

 

To sum it all up, we just feel that SFA is in need for a new thrill. A coaster would be awesome, but really, any type of thrill will do.

[netdvn]

^ Tell that to SFFT... What did they get this year?

 

Tell that to California's Great America... At least SFA still has their signature attraction. CGA's was removed over a decade ago and they haven't gotten anything significant since. And don't pull that stadium controversy either... CGA's been the red-headed stepchild ever since Marriott owned the park.

 

I'm pretty sure all the SF parks will receive at least one thing during the two anniversary years. Most of the additons haven't really been the biggest (at least compared to the early 2000s). The majority of the rides being added are Starfliers and the only exceptions to the rule are the ride upgrades, Green Lantern west, SFGAm's water park ,and DDD.

 

There's the problem with maintenance... I remember reading that SFA had a problem hiring mechanics to run the rides and keep them in top condition. That's probably why they're losing attractions. If they can't hire enough mechanics to keep the park running, how are they supposed to run any new rides?

 

Then there's money. Can a brand new thrill ride attract enough people to SFA to pay it off? It didn't really work chainwide in the early 2000s. It may work now though because the thrill rides are smaller. Bigger parks (like KD) get bigger rides on a regular basis because they have a high enough attendance to do so and it would be easier for the park to pay off the ride.

 

And even then... I still don't know where this "lack of investments" is coming from... Yes Thomas Town is only three rides, but its three new rides. Regardless of size, three new rides is still an investment. Whether its a good investment is a different story.

[CoasterNERD502]

^SFFT recieved a coaster in 2007 and another in 2008. SFA's last coaster was in 2001. Thats what I was talking about, COASTERS not random little baby rides.

 

CGA is not in the SF chain so thats an irrelevant comparison. But CGA might be the "red-headed step child" of CF, I feel SFA is the "red-headed step child" of SF.

 

KD gets bigger rides not because its a bigger park, but because CF and Paramount actually invested money in the place, year after year. SF invested money in SFA when they first bought the property, then stopped adding attractions and the guests slowly stopped coming. SFA has plenty of space for new additions, but SF does not invest. Why? Nobody will ever know.

If you think its because people won't come, your wrong. There are millions of people in the DC metro area. Everybody is just tired of riding the same old rides over and over that they rather travel an hour down to KD or 2 hours to SFGAdv or Hershey. SFA has the potential of being huge, but SF does not realize that.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

^ Tell that to SFFT... What did they get this year?

 

Tell that to California's Great America... At least SFA still has their signature attraction. CGA's was removed over a decade ago and they haven't gotten anything significant since. And don't pull that stadium controversy either... CGA's been the red-headed stepchild ever since Marriott owned the park.

 

I'm pretty sure all the SF parks will receive at least one thing during the two anniversary years. Most of the additons haven't really been the biggest (at least compared to the early 2000s). The majority of the rides being added are Starfliers and the only exceptions to the rule are the ride upgrades, Green Lantern west, SFGAm's water park ,and DDD.

 

There's the problem with maintenance... I remember reading that SFA had a problem hiring mechanics to run the rides and keep them in top condition. That's probably why they're losing attractions. If they can't hire enough mechanics to keep the park running, how are they supposed to run any new rides?

 

Then there's money. Can a brand new thrill ride attract enough people to SFA to pay it off? It didn't really work chainwide in the early 2000s. It may work now though because the thrill rides are smaller. Bigger parks (like KD) get bigger rides on a regular basis because they have a high enough attendance to do so and it would be easier for the park to pay off the ride.

 

And even then... I still don't know where this "lack of investments" is coming from... Yes Thomas Town is only three rides, but its three new rides. Regardless of size, three new rides is still an investment. Whether its a good investment is a different story.

 

I've pointed out several times in this thread for years that the reason attendance has been on the decline is due to a lack of new rides in the park over the years....and in regards to the lack of mechanics to fix rides:doesn't SFGRADV have a lack of staff needed to operate rides & yet they still keep getting new ones so that's also not an alltogether valid excuse.Oh & don't forget SFFT has gotten a couple of coasters in recent years so they're doing ok in that dept.

 

Coasternerd:SFI didn't buy SFA per se,Premier parks which owned the park as Adventure world bought SFI & rebranded the park but you are right in pointing out that,when the investments stopped coming then so did the people....the locals had expected the trend of new rides that started with the SF conversion to continue but SFI ruined that by all of a sudden ceasing to invest in new rides for the park after the first few seasons.

[netdvn]

KD gets bigger rides not because its a bigger park, but because CF and Paramount actually invested money in the place, year after year. SF invested money in SFA when they first bought the property, then stopped adding attractions and the guests slowly stopped coming. SFA has plenty of space for new additions, but SF does not invest. Why? Nobody will ever know.

If you think its because people won't come, your wrong. There are millions of people in the DC metro area. Everybody is just tired of riding the same old rides over and over that they rather travel an hour down to KD or 2 hours to SFGAdv or Hershey. SFA has the potential of being huge, but SF does not realize that.

 

When you compare a park like KD to a park like Carowinds, you'll see that KD recevied far more major additions on average of every other year while Carowinds hasn't received any really big attractions (at least before 232) since BORG and before that, Top Gun.

 

Same goes for Canada's Wonderland, which got many major investments in the early 2000s but Paramount decided to build larger rides at KD and KI instead of investing in its most popular park.

 

If you think its because people won't come, your wrong. There are millions of people in the DC metro area. Everybody is just tired of riding the same old rides over and over that they rather travel an hour down to KD or 2 hours to SFGAdv or Hershey. SFA has the potential of being huge, but SF does not realize that.

As for attendance, there's no telling that people will flock to the park, but will there be a high enough attendance of people willing to spend money? Teenagers don't spend their money and enthusiasts make up a small portion of the people visiting theme parks in the first place. The mistake that SF made in the early 2000s was that SF kept investing too much on buying parks and building capital investments in hopes of getting a return. That of course didn't work... Especially with smaller parks like EG and Darien Lake.

 

and in regards to the lack of mechanics to fix rides:doesn't SFGRADV have a lack of staff needed to operate rides & yet they still keep getting new ones so that's also not an alltogether valid excuse.

What park has been removing tons of flat rides because they built too much in the early 2000s? And is in dire need of some flat rides? Yeah they're getting coasters, but they're also losing rides.

 

Lastly since when did the investments stop coming to SFA again???? They still receive investments on a regular basis, but their investments tend to focus on families (with money) and not on big bad thrills...

[CoasterNERD502]

GADV loses flats, but in return they recieve coasters.

SFA loses flats, a coaster, waterslides, food stalls, games, and more, but we have nothing to complain about because we got Thomas Town this year!!! Yayy!!

[CardCraze]

Not food stalls! Oh no! And Games?!?! Where else can I give money away in such a short period of time?!?!

 

In all honesty, SFA could use another small to moderate sized coaster (a wild mouse, for example(, but they are certainly not neglected.

[CoasterNERD502]

^SFA definitely is neglected. The park recieves little to nothing (minus last year) compared to all the other parks in the chain. Nobody that is not a SFA regular or someone that shows interest in the park wouldn't care that SFA is neglected because their parks are being taken care of.

SFA loses more and more attractions each year with hardly anything coming in. What is SFA getting this year for the big 50 years celebration or whatever, NOTHING. But I can gaurentee that we will lose something.

[snowboard83]

^SFA definitely is neglected. The park recieves little to nothing (minus last year) compared to all the other parks in the chain. Nobody that is not a SFA regular or someone that shows interest in the park wouldn't care that SFA is neglected because their parks are being taken care of.

SFA loses more and more attractions each year with hardly anything coming in. What is SFA getting this year for the big 50 years celebration or whatever, NOTHING. But I can gaurentee that we will lose something.

 

OMG! You whine more than Nappa Valley. Would you like some cheese cries with your waaaaaaaaaaaamburger?

 

Robb & Co. have warned before that if this thread does not become something other than a b*tchfest about the park, the thread would be locked. This might actually bum out some that want to use the thread to share good times and thoughts about the park (Me as an example.) Unfortunately some of these fans have been scared off from this thread because they get sick of negativity.

 

SFA has not added a coaster in years. They had too many for the attendance they recieve anyhow. 7 is potentially the most they can support! Funds may not be available to support more than that! I DO frequent SFA and, until this year, they have been plagued with break downs. Some coasters they currently have are maintainence whores! S:ROS and Batwing are down very often, but when I was there Friday night October 29, not A SINGLE ride was down (outside of kiddie areas which were closed for frightfest), nor broke down the entire night. The park took out a maintainence problem in 2008, coaster #8 (Two Face), and everything began to balance out it seemed around last year. Do they want to really chance messing the balance up with another coaster when they just figured what their maintanence team and budget could support? If SFA would have gotten SFKK's wild mouse you would have whined about the park getting a used coaster. Give the park time to continue getting better. The park has had mannnnnnnnnnnnnny more issues and concerns in recent years. 5 years ago it was one of the worst parks I have been to, now it is pretty far from it and is one of the cleaner Six Flags parks I have seen. Walk around SFGAdv. Tell me that place looks better than SFA...You would be lying. That park has been neglected in improvements to make the total park experience better. Nothing in the park that I have seen recently appears to be freshly painted. Concrete is crumbling all over the walkways...etc. SFA fixed most of their infrastructure issues, and that could not have been cheap. If they had not, the park experience would have continued to slip, and a new coaster would have attracted customers, but then lost them when they saw the park's condition. Now when one does get built, these customers have a chance of returning. Give the park another year to work on what they have been working on so greatly the past 5 years. THEN return with your "expectaions." Until then...try keeping them to yourself Negative Nancy.

[CoasterNERD502]

Since when has sharing an opinion become whinning? I guess its whinning because nobody agrees with me. Your right.

 

Whether you like it or not, I feel SFA is neglected. I will feel this way until SFA atleast annouces something new for 2011. If you have a problem with it, oh well. This is a forum where people discuss opinions and such. Not a "If you dont see things how I see it, then your a whinny baby" forum.

[larrygator]

Since when has sharing an opinion become whinning? I guess its whinning because nobody agrees with me. Your right.

 

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[snowboard83]

Since when has sharing an opinion become whinning? I guess its whinning because nobody agrees with me. Your right.....

Not a "If you dont see things how I see it, then your a whinny baby" forum.

 

And it is totally ok, but you go on...and on....and on....and on....and on...and on.....BUT...

 

Also...

^SFA definitely is neglected.

 

That isn't opinion sharing...its an attempt to force your opinion on others.

 

EDIT:^ LMAO!!! Nice one Larry!

[redfoot12]

If SFA were truly neglected then nothing would get repainted, no marketing would be done, Thomas Town wouldn't have opened, and a host of other things. Everyone knows that SFA is not one of the featured parks in the chain. Accept it. SFA still has 2 top-tier coasters in Superman and Wild One (and I would include Batwing too personally), be grateful for what you have. This thread has become one of the biggest jokes on the site.

[larrygator]

I'm going to ask that everyone lay off the topic of whether, SFA is neglected or deserves more love and attention?

 

There are clearly two sides to this argument and neither side is going to convince the other side to change their mind.

[snowboard83]

So, as I mentioned, I was at SFA on Friday, October 29, and it was a very good visit. Crowds were moderate, and lines for some coasters were sizable even with, IMO, very good operations. Minderaser was about a 20 min wait with 2 trains. One would dispatch within 30 seconds of the other hitting the ending brakes. That is about as fast as I have seen an SLC dispatch anywhere. Batwings crew was FLYING with 2 trains. Nice new voiceover on Batwing during loading and dispatching too by the way. Batwing was only using one side of the station, but dispatches were very quick for a Vekoma flyer. About a 20 min wait from the 30 min wait sign in the queue. Batwing was running best I have ever felt it, or seen it. Superman and Jokers Jinx were on 1 train operations, as I have typically seen all year. JJ's crew left a lot to be desired. 30 min wait. (Why have they begun 1 train ops on JJ anyhow? It's always been 2 trains, even on uncrowded days.) Did not ride Superman due to a particularly long line. Roar had a 10 min wait around 7pm, with 2 trains. First time Ive seen Roar with a line recently. Crew was doing pretty fair on it too. Shortest line was Wild One with a 2 train wait with 2 trains running. 2 of the 3 sides of Tower of Doom were running...as usual. Crew on that was doing good as well with about a 8-10 min wait. All non-kiddie/non-wet rides I saw were open, and NO BREAKDOWNS ALL NIGHT.

 

I watched the family oriented Halloween show in the Saloon, and it was cheesy but OK. Also watched the costume contest and was amused by that. A girl with a very impressive Avatar costume was the winner. The BBQ sandwich platter from the Saloon is very good by the way...as is the alcoholic cider (pricey)!

 

The Bridge of terror had a 40 min wait, and I passed on it. Ran out of time to try out the train haunt as well. Coasters are usually better than "just another haunt" anyhow.

 

Staff was friendly, though not the friendliest I have seen at the park in recent visits.

[CoasterNERD502]

Everytime I visited SFA this year, they were very good on dispatch times! Good job SFA!

[coasterfreak101]

^^Two trains on one side?? That's how they need to do it - usually if they're ever running two trains (read: twice a year, maybe) they automatically use both sides. I'm glad they realized that they're plenty more efficient if they stick with two trains on one side!

 

And I agree, the new voiceover is a nice touch. And they brought back the JJ voiceover from a few years ago. Or it might be different, but regardless, there's a little something to get you involved in the ride!

[snowboard83]

^Really? I never have seen SFA run 2 sides of Batwing. Seen 2 trains on 1 side twice now though. When have you seen both sides being used? JJ didn't have its voiceover on Friday