Six Flags America (SFA) Discussion Thread

[samisthabomb]

I'd say these are the old slides. Either way, it's good to see some additions to the park!

[frozenflames]

I'm actually not so sure that this will just be the SBNO slides re-opening. Yes there are four of them, and there are four mentioned in that article, but the ones that are already there are tube slides, while the new ones are supposed to be body slides. Don't they use different widths of the slide channels? I can't imagine going down a slide meant for a tube on one's bare butt can be very comfortable.

[eddie200330]

I'm actually not so sure that this will just be the SBNO slides re-opening. Yes there are four of them, and there are four mentioned in that article, but the ones that are already there are tube slides, while the new ones are supposed to be body slides. Don't they use different widths of the slide channels? I can't imagine going down a slide meant for a tube on one's bare butt can be very comfortable.

 

When it was Wild World they were body slides. Somewhere @ Adventureworld's days they became tube slides?? That was quite scary as on the yellow slide the tube would come damn close to being halfway out of the chute on some of the lower turns as it was a pretty fast slide. I always wished they would put them back to body slides so you could arch your back and ride your shoulder blades and heels to get max speed!!!!

[KDCOASTERFAN]

I'd say these are the old slides. Either way, it's good to see some additions to the park!

 

A good addition would be a "new" addition,not a rethemed version of an existing ride.

[samisthabomb]

^Yes, but what I meant was that it's good to see some action around the park.

[coasterfreak101]

^I agree. I always enjoyed them when they were open as tube slides, so it's exciting to see them open again! Especially since when they closed, Tony Hawk just got plopped in front of the entrance and they left them to rot.

 

I have a feeling they'll need to rebuild some of those supports though...and do a lot of tree removal. That whole plot is a mess, it hasn't been touched for what, four years now?

[deathbydinn]

These are the slides in question, right?

 

 

Looks like they probably would have to replace a lot of the wood supports and perhaps put in new steel ones.

 

Photo Credit

[eddie200330]

^ That would be the ones in discussion....

[Skycoastin Steve]

Here is a super exciting video of Superman's crew today. Took it to showcase the new visual scan (still the most unintentionally hilarious operations policy in history), and ended up getting a nice view at how nothing has really changed with this park. I'll sign up to drive the bulldozer when they tear the park down.

 

[QueerRudie]

That's truly frightening. I mean that.

 

I have seen bad park operations there, but that takes the cake, pie and ice cream. P.G. County, and the state of Maryland for that matter, are actually adding more insult to injury to the park now- that's just ridiciulous.(sp)

 

I'm putting good money that this is it for SFA this season; recycling water slides is low- really low. No new major rides, no new major attractions- just a kiddieland. And renovated waterslides that have a weight limit on them. There's something wrong with this, and it bodes badly for the neglected bastard stepchild in the SixFlags chain.

[Skycoastin Steve]

^They were only running one train, and I'm not even exaggerating when I say there were a few times when I got off the train, walked down the exit, through the gift shop, back to the entrance, through the queue, and back into the station before they dispatched the train again. And it's not like I was running or anything, just a normal-paced walk.

[gforce532]

The birds chirping in the background could have very well have been grasshoppers. Well at least there wasn't a line, because if I had to wait through multiple cycles of that (let alone one) I would loose my mind.

 

I was thinking about stopping by the park during my trip to Great Adventure and Hershey next month. since I have never been there. But just seeing that video has made me decide not to go. So I'll wait until the park gets some new killer ride. Which probably won't happen anytime soon.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

The birds chirping in the background could have very well have been grasshoppers. Well at least there wasn't a line, because if I had to wait through multiple cycles of that (let alone one) I would loose my mind.

 

I was thinking about stopping by the park during my trip to Great Adventure and Hershey next month. since I have never been there. But just seeing that video has made me decide not to go. So I'll wait until the park gets some new killer ride. Which probably won't happen anytime soon.

 

See this is why I stopped going to this park four years ago.The 07 season was my last one after nine years as a passholder but what I don't get is WHY,when CF has been expanding operations at KD has SFI done NOTHING in terms of improving this park? I guess they know that they've let the place slip so far behind that they feel there's no way to redeem it when all they need to do is simply take a break from focusing their cap ex budget soley on SFMM & SFGRADV & start paying more attention to the smaller parks for a while.

 

I'm no longer able to post on t he SFA facebook page but left a post on the main SF page asking why they can't accept any constructive criticism from their guests via FB especially if that would help them better understand what their guests want but have yet to get a reply.

[BRTeller]

That by no means is the worst I've seen SFA, then again I haven't been there in probably five years. At least it looks like they were "trying" to pace through the train.

 

Really though, from my experience at least. At least they weren't rude like just about everyone I've dealt with from that park.

 

It's really a shame too. I used to go every year, and love that place. It USED to be a great park, that I enjoyed. Just seeing the pictures of those waterslides brings back memories.

 

One things for sure, if the park cleans up a bit, I'd go back in a heartbeat with, or without a new ride or coaster. Can't say I disagree about fixing up the water slides though. It's actually a good thing the parks taking into consideration cleaning things up. Either take them down, or fix them. Letting them sit was just the lazy way of not dealing with it.

 

Pretty much if they could add some atmosphere to the back of the park by superman, perhaps even loop it around back to roar. Keep things in good shape. They'd get A LOT of good business from the DC area. They have a pretty good location as far as population goes.

 

If that means stepping up security, and being extremely strict. So be it, but it's either close the park down, or do some of the simple steps to fix it. In today's economy, there should NOT be a struggle to get some half decent employee's. A lot of people I know would kill to have a minimum wage, reliable job. So that leads to it being ALL of managements fault.

 

There's my two cents.

[willh51]

I don't understand what's happening here but they do seem to be hustling at the end there... I guess the park was dead? After going to Kings Dominion that station is so much different than the vibe in Intimidator's station with people on headsets, running down the train, etc.

[gforce532]

As I watch the video again it reminds me of the last time I rode Speed the ride in Las Vegas. Granted for Speed they want to get a certain number of paying customers on the ride before they launch it.

 

I too would also like to know why SFI doesn't show much love for this park. You can argue that they invest more in Magic Mountain and Great Adventure is because they are located in a bigger populated area and have tougher local competition. But that sounds like SFA too. With it being near DC and Baltimore. And with being a small handful of hours driving distance from Hershey, Kings Dominion, and Busch Gardens.

 

In regards to customer service duing this time period. I completely agree with unemployment as high as it is, customer service in any industry should be at its very best right now. It annoys me when I go to the grocery store and the cashier dosen't smile, doesn't say anything friendly, and doesn't thankyou for shopping at the store when I could very easily choose to go to the other store accross the street.

[coasterfreak101]

^They were only running one train, and I'm not even exaggerating when I say there were a few times when I got off the train, walked down the exit, through the gift shop, back to the entrance, through the queue, and back into the station before they dispatched the train again. And it's not like I was running or anything, just a normal-paced walk.

 

I stopped in today with my boyfriend to get his season pass processed - first off, policy's changed so ANYONE going through the gates has to pay $15 for parking. We didn't plan on going into the park, but had to throw out $15 to go get his pass processed. We decided we had an hour to waste before he had to get home and go to work, so we headed back to Superman (since we already paid the money to park). We had one train in front of us to ride in the front, and a full 15 minutes later we finally sat down. And then it broke down. So we paid $15 to ride absolutely nothing.

 

There's a reason I don't go to my home park ever, especially now that season parking passes aren't good nation-wide.

[coasterfreak101]

Looks like they probably would have to replace a lot of the wood supports and perhaps put in new steel ones.

 

Sorry to double-post, but I talked to the guy at guest services today (complaining, actually), and he told us that the old Pepsi slides are being rethemed, and that the structure is actually in good shape and shouldn't have to be touched much at all. The way he put it, "it's been the plan for four years, so we let it rot a bit to add to the Amazon feel." He was joking, but the point is that the wood is staying, and we'll have body slides for the first time in over a decade! (Not that I'll be back.)

[paiging_jen]

In regards to customer service duing this time period. I completely agree with unemployment as high as it is, customer service in any industry should be at its very best right now. It annoys me when I go to the grocery store and the cashier dosen't smile, doesn't say anything friendly, and doesn't thankyou for shopping at the store when I could very easily choose to go to the other store accross the street.

 

Unfortunately that's customer service everywhere anymore. I've noticed it a lot more lately with a new job and seeing what I work with and those that come in or call looking for work. Professionalism just isn't taught anymore and it's pretty sad. I'm not saying you have to walk in with a suit on for every job you apply for....but just be slightly professional, clean and "put together" and it would go a long way!

[Skycoastin Steve]

^^^Ha, I was on the last ride before it went down. It was either because of weather or because they were having some serious issues with the computer reading that all the restraints were locked on the cycle before that.

 

Honestly, most of the staff was pretty friendly, but many operators were disinterested and slow. When I rode Roar, I was in the front row and they had already checked the first few cars of the train after locking the restraints. They had to unlock the train for some unknown reason, and then after they relocked it, they didn't even come back to the front of the train to recheck those restraints! That's Restraint Checking 101! I was shocked at that one. Some jackass could have left his lapbar up in the front of the train and nobody would have noticed.

 

The Superman crew was doing what they could and only really sped up when their supervisor was around. I'll go ahead and give them the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe they were new-ish employees, but still, effort is something that's easy to give no matter how long you've been there. It's tough to get teenagers to get urgent when the park isn't crowded, but the people in line don't want to wait any longer than they have to, regardless if the line is long or not. When you hear members of the GP wondering out loud why the operators are moving so slowly, then you know it's bad.

[robbalvey]

I'm no longer able to post on t he SFA facebook page but left a post on the main SF page asking why they can't accept any constructive criticism from their guests via FB especially if that would help them better understand what their guests want but have yet to get a reply.

Because maybe it's not what you say, but how you say it? I'll be honest, your comments come off rather rude and crass sometimes. No one wants to read that. If you were able to actually BE constructive, maybe that would be a different story...

 

--Robb "You asked a question, I'm giving you an honest answer..." Alvey

[Perilous Chris]

In regards to customer service duing this time period. I completely agree with unemployment as high as it is, customer service in any industry should be at its very best right now. It annoys me when I go to the grocery store and the cashier dosen't smile, doesn't say anything friendly, and doesn't thankyou for shopping at the store when I could very easily choose to go to the other store accross the street.

 

Unfortunately that's customer service everywhere anymore. I've noticed it a lot more lately with a new job and seeing what I work with and those that come in or call looking for work. Professionalism just isn't taught anymore and it's pretty sad. I'm not saying you have to walk in with a suit on for every job you apply for....but just be slightly professional, clean and "put together" and it would go a long way!

 

Many places I go, customer service issues are a problem. What's frustrating is that I know I am not alone. I've complained politely, and I've seen no change whatsoever. Having worked customer service jobs, I know that there are extremely rude customers who expect things that cannot be done and/or special treatment. The complaints I have are about basic common sense issues. For example, if you advertise that you close at 6, don't close at 5 just because it's dead.

 

Here is a quick comment regarding the SFA facebook page. There are quite a few park facebook pages I read. While they do welcome criticism, they need to keep them as family friendly as possible. Also, those facebook pages get tons of repetitive questions and comments. For example, even though SFGADv has stated multiple times that Green Lantern should be open by Memorial Day, there are tons of posts asking when it will be ready.

Edited April 20, 2011 by Perilous Chris

[KDCOASTERFAN]

As I watch the video again it reminds me of the last time I rode Speed the ride in Las Vegas. Granted for Speed they want to get a certain number of paying customers on the ride before they launch it.

 

I too would also like to know why SFI doesn't show much love for this park. You can argue that they invest more in Magic Mountain and Great Adventure is because they are located in a bigger populated area and have tougher local competition. But that sounds like SFA too. With it being near DC and Baltimore. And with being a small handful of hours driving distance from Hershey, Kings Dominion, and Busch Gardens.

 

In regards to customer service duing this time period. I completely agree with unemployment as high as it is, customer service in any industry should be at its very best right now. It annoys me when I go to the grocery store and the cashier dosen't smile, doesn't say anything friendly, and doesn't thankyou for shopping at the store when I could very easily choose to go to the other store accross the street.

 

That's the problem.

 

By the time the current owners got to it the park had fallen into a general state of disrepair & neglect,it was ten years ago back when Burke/Story were running the place that they got it in their heads that they should focus capital on SFMM,SFGRAM & SFGRADV at the expense of their other parks just so SFMM could win a stupid "most coasters in a park" title & get on those discovery channel coaster shows each year.

 

Along came Snyder/Shapiro & we thought that the park would finally start to rebound what with Snyder's stadium up the road when it turned out to be more of the same,instead he focuses more capital on SFNE & why?Because Shapiro has got family that he wanted to impress(and spoil) up there so once again the other parks suffered & here we are with the current owners & nothing so far has changed.

 

SFA was just starting to go from a local amusement park(which it always really was) to a growing recognizable park that would've grown & improved with proper investment but the owners dropped the ball & as a result I don't see them being around much longer.

[netdvn]

Wow! Complaining about getting some attention?

 

That's definitely something I didn't expect to see in the SFA Discussion Thread.

 

Everyone here is always complaining about being "neglected" and spouting doom and gloom, but Thomas Town and the waterslide upgrade doesn't sound like neglect to me. SF's highest performing park hasn't gotten a major coaster since 2002. Every single addition they've received since then was a family ride/attraction. SF's treating SFA the same way.

 

OK the service does suck, but that doesn't mean that SFA's being neglected by the parent company. I kinda feel the blame should be focused on the employees more than the parent company, since the bad service seems to be consistent to only SFA.

 

On another note, the doom and gloom is a good read.

[CardCraze]

I stopped in today with my boyfriend to get his season pass processed - first off, policy's changed so ANYONE going through the gates has to pay $15 for parking.

 

We were there Saturday to get our passes processed (before the park closed at 1) and didn't have to pay for parking...

 

*sigh*

 

We almost did it. We almost went more than two or three pages without complaining about neglect and operations. The fact remains, yes some of the operations do suck, but it's the same thing other places as well.

 

I've had Ride Ops at Kings Dominion that were uninspired.

 

In the end, the park can't force a ride op to be enthusiastic, outgoing, and energetic. And to be fair, in the video, they were hi-fiving and keeping the guests entertained, or attempting to.

 

It's like telling someone working at a Fast Food resturant to greet customers with a smile and enthusiastically. You can tell them until you're blue in the face, but in the end it's up to the employees to take the initiative.