Six Flags America (SFA) Discussion Thread

[jray21]

Thanks for the report. I did like Joker's Jinx when I visited. A little rough in parts, but pretty crazy to have all that track tangled in such a small area.

[frozenflames]

I went to the park for the first time in three years today, and spent most of the day there. I don't know if it was because of the extreme heat (I think it hit 102 degrees) or because today is Thursday, but there were very few crowds. Here are my general observations:

 

-I thought it was interesting how the park was almost "Cedar Fair-ized" regarding the trash cans. There must have been 18 trash cans for every 100 feet of walkway. I didn't see any litter, so that's a good thing.

-Half of the slides in the waterpark weren't running. Paradise Plunge and both slides of Shark Attack were closed, despite the fact that they had water coming down them. Why even turn on the pumps for the slides if they're not going to be opened? Also, if it's that hot out, as many of the water slides as possible should be up and running.

-NONE of the misters in the park were working. It also wouldn't hurt to install some sort of foot-sprayers, as the concrete in Hurricane Harbor was unbearable to walk on.

-I didn't quite understand why every coaster had only one-train operation. Granted, it wasn't that busy today, but still.

-We were told upon entry to the park that Bonzai Pipeline would be up and running, but I never personally saw anyone on it all day.

-There was a person taking a short survey about whether I had been to the park before, how long it had been since I was there, and asking if I had ever visited any of the park's competition (Hersheypark, Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens, and Six Flags Great Adventure to be specific)/held a season pass to any of them. I thought that last past was a little bizarre.

-I actually was impressed with the themeing efforts on Apocalypse.

-Someone needs to tell the ride-ops that they should enunciate when they're using the intercom. Most of them were completely unintelligible when they were giving the ride spiels.

-I preferred the old lockers that opened using a wristband. The new ones with the numeric keypads seemed to take too much time, although I did like their use wasn't mandatory in the main park.

 

I managed to get on Tornado (twice), Reef Runner, Half Pipe, all four slides of ZoomAzon Falls, the bumper cars, Renegade Rapids, Mind Eraser, Superman, Apocalypse, Joker's Jinx, Shipwreck Falls, and The Wild One. There were several rides that had breakdowns. I was in line for Roar, and the lift both stopped while the train was in the station/had to be manually restarted, and stalled with the train almost at the crest of the hill, so I never got on it. Apocalypse and Superman both ended up doing several safety test laps while I was in line, and Shipwreck Falls had one of its boats hiding behind a shed near Roar, and the other boat had a broken restraint in one row. I also got very fed up with the stupid layout of the park, as well as the lack of shade. The other main complaint was that all of the coasters I went on, except Superman, has gotten rough to the point that I didn't want to re-ride any of them.

 

I did manage to have a good day at the park, but I have a feeling it will be quite a while before I get back there again.

[vacoaster09]

I know Prince George's County (where the park is located), since Monday night, has been under a mandatory water restriction due to a serious water main issue that they have been addressing all week. I thought that might have something to do with it but then you said the water was running on the slides yet not open... so i'm at a loss as to why.

 

I agree, that the park should make it a action item to encourage the operators and anyone for that matter to speak with diction and to enunciate. Teens can tend to get lazy with their talk, but they must be held to a professional standard. Otherwise, they should just move to automated speils.

[alabardo84]

reported on the website are the closures of the attractions of the water park, maybe it is a water problem

[Jman0477]

Does anyone know why Batwing is opening daily at 1:30pm

It is posted on the website for sixflags.com

[Voxelmatic]

reported on the website are the closures of the attractions of the water park, maybe it is a water problem

The major water main in Prince George's County is being repaired, so the water rides cannot run.

[deathbydinn]

Not only are water slides closed, but according to their website the train, the carousel and the rodeo are all closed too. Anyone know if these rides are having actual problems?

[frozenflames]

At least some of the water slides were running when I went on Thursday. The only ones that weren't were Bonzai Pipeline (that I saw, anyway) Mako, Hammerhead, and Reef Runner. The latter three had water pouring down them the whole day. It doesn't make sense to me that they would have a restriction on running some slides, but not others. Also, Renegade Rapids, Shipwreck Falls, and Penguin's Blizzard River were all operational. It just seemed weird to have that sort of inconsistency.

[The49er]

According to Screamscape, SFA is also considering a family Vekoma suspended coaster (Freedom Flyer at Fun Spot America, Kvasten at Grona Lund, etc.) Sounds like a nice addition if this proposal is selected.

[Rollercoaster Rider]

According to Screamscape, SFA is also considering a family Vekoma suspended coaster (Freedom Flyer at Fun Spot America, Kvasten at Grona Lund, etc.) Sounds like a nice addition if this proposal is selected.

 

 

Guess that Vekoma Embargo has ended. I read somewhere that after Deja Vu, Six Flags stopped buying rides from Vekoma which is true if you look at the installations from 2002 to now.

[NAMTABSFGAm]

Where on the website do you see that those rides are closed?

[deathbydinn]

^ The ride closures have been removed from the site.

[vacoaster09]

I agree a vekoma junior suspended would be a great addition. Six Flags America doesn't really have a inbetween coaster for those the Looney tunes Coaster and Wild One. So this is a perfect addition. I wonder where they would put it. It would make sense to go right there where Two Face used to be because its right next to Looney Tunes Movie Town that way families don't have to walk far.

 

The watermain issue was resolved as of the weekend so all should be well again in terms of water use restrictions.

[ArundelHigh Coasters]

So, I went to the park yesterday, and here is an update on a few things that have changed:

 

Mind Eraser's yellow train is now mainly black, and advertises KIA. Here's a look at it:

 

 

 

Also, Bonzai Pipelines opened to the public, but it's not open. I hear it's been closed for the past few days:

 

 

 

Edit: The carousel and Roar were closed for quite some time, but they are now re-opened. I don't know about the Rodeo though. I Forgot to look at it on the way to The Mind Eraser.

[jray21]

Gotta love SF and their train advertising.

[coasterfreak101]

Went to the park last Friday to check out the new slides - seriously awesome. There's some mild drowning and confusion that happens when you drop into the tube, followed by probably some of the best forces (along with the purple slide on KD's Pipeline Peak) on a slide out there. It's a short ride, but it's great to ride, and almost as great to watch!

[RideofSteel]

Does SFA have lockers at the major coasters? I may bring my DSLR to the park this weekend... But only if there are lockers.

[cfc]

Hmm--I guess Kia's idea is this: "Hey, our cars are way more comfortable and much less painful than Mind Eraser."

[Dr. M]

Hmm--I guess Kia's idea is this: "Hey, our cars are way more comfortable and much less painful than Mind Eraser."

 

Ha! I do wonder if at any point in the process anyone at Kia questioned the wisdom in having people staring at their logo while having their heads bashed around on an awful ride.

[alilstronger]

Does SFA have fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo at the major coasters? I may bring my DSLR to the park this weekend... But only if there are fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo.

 

Not every coaster has them. I know Wild One, Jokers Jinx, and Apocalypse does for sure. I know Mid Eraser does not. I am not sure of the rest off the top of my head.

[coasternut]

I haven't been to SFA in a very long time. I tried to research this on their website this morning, but it keeps locking up with either firefox or chrome. It appears like they've got an early entry program for gold pass members. How does this work at this park and what ride are included if applicable?

[alilstronger]

^ You really do not need to enter this park before opening. It does not benefit anything. If you get to this park at opening any day you will get all the coasters finished in less than 2 hours.

[Dr. M]

^Basically he's saying, the less time you spend in the park, the better.

[alilstronger]

^ No not really. This is my home park and I go all the time. I like the park. Is it anything special no. I am just happy to have something to go to that is relatively close to my house. I like going to the day a couple times a month to just the water park.

[Jman0477]

Was at Six Flags today not sure if this is a change on all wooden coasters there or just roar but while loading we weren't allowed to put down our own restraints only fasten seatbelts then the operators closed all restraints, Has anyone else noticed this ?