Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (SFDK) Discussion Thread

[154bmag]

^ That's shocking.

[JJnCFL]

[Tmcdllr]

Some nice rusty razor wire would do good.

[cal1br3tto]

Didn't something like that just happen on Sidewinder at Elitch Gardens? Hopefully it's not becoming a thing (I doubt it).

[Double0Kevin]

Like SFDK needed any more bad press after the SUF stall. What a selfish thing to do; it sounds like he didn't plan on actually doing, but if he did, why kill yourself where kids come to have fun? That's terrible.

 

Ummm... totally different. Even the media isn't going to link those situations. And when is suicide not selfish? It's pretty much the most selfish thing a person could do. Glad that it worked out and the park didn't have to deal with an actual death. As far as the security goes, people are crafty; if there is a will, there is a way. If people can break out of prisons, someone can break into Medusa's infield.

[singemfrc]

^ I didn't mean to imply it was the same thing, it's just another incident that may make the park look bad in a lot of people's eyes. (Because of the perceived lack of security, not specifically because of a suicide attempt)

[c0sterfreek]

Weird question. My family and I are going to spend the day at SFDK tomorrow and was wondering if they have electric wheelchairs and if they do, how much. I know SFMM doesn't have electric ones (i'm guessing due to the hills). I tried calling the park and they operators are only their Monday-Friday. This will be a big help.

[Andrewoplis]

^I've never seen them there, Ive only seen regular wheel chairs. Have you tried their website yet?

[c0sterfreek]

The website doesn't say much. We went like 4 years ago and they had them but wasn't sure they still.

[Double0Kevin]

They do have electric wheelchairs, but I'm unsure of the price.

[singemfrc]

I've been thus far unsuccessful trying to reach anyone at the park by phone either while the park is open or while their admin offices are open, so hopefully someone here will be able to answer a couple quick questions I have.

 

Just bought a Gold Pass for the first time and want to get it processed this Sunday. What I'm wondering is, will SP Processing always open at the same time as the park or would it possibly sometimes open a few hrs later? Also if you buy a voucher for season parking, do you have to pay for parking when you go to get it processed (since it's just a voucher at that point) or do they waive it due to having the voucher? I assume they waive it the first time just like park admission since you've technically paid for it, just want to make sure so I know how much cash to have on hand when I drive down there. (I'm one of those people who never carries cash unless I specifically need it for something)

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

So a semi-late TR:

 

I was at the park on Sunday with rolercstrluvr and met up with a few other TPR members, including two we randomly connected with in line for Superman because rolercstrluvr recognized them from WCB.

 

Highlight of my day:

GETTING TO GO ONSTAGE DURING THE DOLPHIN SHOW! I have a video of the whole escapade I'll upload when I can, it was epic!! Literally, since I was a kid I've dreamed of getting picked for the whale or dolphin show, and I finally got the opportunity! I got SOAKED, completely soaked, but it was worth it! One of the best things I've ever gotten to do, soooo amazing! The rest of the day, I felt like a celebrity as random people said, "I saw you at the dolphin show! Are you still wet?" I was. Video soon, I promise!

 

Other notes:

--I hadn't seen the sea lion show in years, but we went after the dolphin show and it was hilarious!! Definitely a hidden gem! Later we went to the bird show and it was amusing, but not as hilarious as the sea lion show!

 

--Superman closed for several hours during the middle of the day for mechanical difficulties. When it reopened later, there were a few delays in operation but nothing really bad.

 

--We decided to ride every coaster in the park, including the kiddie coasters. Roadrunner is not meant for adults and actually hurt me more than Kong. I actually don't mind Kong as long as I'm bracing well. Boomerang isn't as bad as Knott's Boomerang, but I can't say I enjoyed it. I've been getting some decent pops of air in the back seat of Roar, esp. off the first drop... I really don't think Roar is as bad as most enthusiasts make it out to be.... I like Roar.

 

--The whale from the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom sign driving into the park, the whale from sign with the dolphins under V2 at the entrance, and the whale statue behind Shouka stadium in the bushes were all there on Labor Day Monday, but gone Sunday. I felt glad when I spotted them all laying out in the backstage lot behind Odin's temple. Weirdly enough, if you had never been to SFDK before, you'd never miss them, but seeing them gone after being used to them is quite a shock.

 

These photos are not mine, I just pulled them up from a google search.

^No more whale here

^Or here

[Angry_Gumball]

Sounds like you guys had a good time, I was wishing that I would have been able to make it, especially after hearing that the crowds were pretty light...I still need my Superman credit! Oh well, next time!

[scooterdoug]

Sounds like a good time. I was there Sunday as well. I briefly thought about posting here prior to my trip to see if anyone wanted to meet up, but totally forgot to. Oh well, maybe next time. Now that the season is winding down, I head there quite a bit (close to every other Sunday) to enjoy the diminishing crowds.

[Angry_Gumball]

I've been getting some decent pops of air in the back seat of Roar, esp. off the first drop... I really don't think Roar is as bad as most enthusiasts make it out to be.... I like Roar.

 

Roar's a great ride, love the layout, the elements, etc...it's just the condition of it that takes away from the ride. I'm not sure how it is running this season but when I rode the very back seat just over a year ago (my typical coaster seat for any ride except Medusa), I was being bounced around and had graceful moments of air being killed by sudden jolts and jack-hammering sensations. Good thing those Millennium Flyer trains are nicely padded!

 

I'm hoping that one of these days Roar will get some TLC so it can run like it did in its younger years/early 2000s. In the mean time, I'm hoping CGA's Gold Striker doesn't fall into the same condition as Roar in its coming years.

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

^ I can see it has gotten rougher over the years and some restoration wouldn't hurt, but I really don't find it too bad. Different make, but we rode Ghostrider this year and it was so painfully rough, any semblance of airtime or enjoyment was instantly killed by its bone-rearranging horrible jolting painful roughness. It might not be the most... comfortable... but I don't experience any pain on Roar at all. Of course, I might not be the right person to ask because on both recent trips I've actually asked to ride Kong and somewhat enjoyed it.

 

Sounds like a good time. I was there Sunday as well. I briefly thought about posting here prior to my trip to see if anyone wanted to meet up, but totally forgot to. Oh well, maybe next time. Now that the season is winding down, I head there quite a bit (close to every other Sunday) to enjoy the diminishing crowds.

So there were at least 7 TPR members at SFDK that day! Unless you were one of the two we talked to in line for Superman?

[scooterdoug]

Sounds like a good time. I was there Sunday as well. I briefly thought about posting here prior to my trip to see if anyone wanted to meet up, but totally forgot to. Oh well, maybe next time. Now that the season is winding down, I head there quite a bit (close to every other Sunday) to enjoy the diminishing crowds.

So there were at least 7 TPR members at SFDK that day! Unless you were one of the two we talked to in line for Superman?

 

Nope, that wasn't me, though I did ride Superman 4 times. I wasn't there for very long, only from opening until about 1:30. I only go for a few hours at a time to get some riding in while my wife is home with the kids. I'll make sure to post something before I go next time. It would be great to meet up with some of the regulars in this thread.

[Double0Kevin]

I've been thus far unsuccessful trying to reach anyone at the park by phone either while the park is open or while their admin offices are open, so hopefully someone here will be able to answer a couple quick questions I have.

 

Just bought a Gold Pass for the first time and want to get it processed this Sunday. What I'm wondering is, will SP Processing always open at the same time as the park or would it possibly sometimes open a few hrs later? Also if you buy a voucher for season parking, do you have to pay for parking when you go to get it processed (since it's just a voucher at that point) or do they waive it due to having the voucher? I assume they waive it the first time just like park admission since you've technically paid for it, just want to make sure so I know how much cash to have on hand when I drive down there. (I'm one of those people who never carries cash unless I specifically need it for something)

 

I didn't even know SF was doing "Gold Passes" now, but I assume they will do it like they did when you bought a parking pass in the past and just scan the bar code on your voucher and then let you in just like they would do if they scanned your season pass. Usually the park opens SP Processing right away since they are doing their end of the year push for 2013 Pass sales and typically have a lot of people processing, that said I would wait till the evening to process when the crowds are typically much smaller, unless you go there first thing before any rides. Also the toll booths take credit cards so I wouldn't worry about carrying cash.

[singemfrc]

I've been thus far unsuccessful trying to reach anyone at the park by phone either while the park is open or while their admin offices are open, so hopefully someone here will be able to answer a couple quick questions I have.

 

Just bought a Gold Pass for the first time and want to get it processed this Sunday. What I'm wondering is, will SP Processing always open at the same time as the park or would it possibly sometimes open a few hrs later? Also if you buy a voucher for season parking, do you have to pay for parking when you go to get it processed (since it's just a voucher at that point) or do they waive it due to having the voucher? I assume they waive it the first time just like park admission since you've technically paid for it, just want to make sure so I know how much cash to have on hand when I drive down there. (I'm one of those people who never carries cash unless I specifically need it for something)

 

I didn't even know SF was doing "Gold Passes" now, but I assume they will do it like they did when you bought a parking pass in the past and just scan the bar code on your voucher and then let you in just like they would do if they scanned your season pass. Usually the park opens SP Processing right away since they are doing their end of the year push for 2013 Pass sales and typically have a lot of people processing, that said I would wait till the evening to process when the crowds are typically much smaller, unless you go there first thing before any rides. Also the toll booths take credit cards so I wouldn't worry about carrying cash.

Thanks on all counts. I absolutely am planning on getting there before the park opens and going straight to SPP, that's the primary reason I'm going on Saturday, I want to get this processed so I can use it at SFMM next month...but if I can sneak in some rides while the lines are short I definitely will.

[singemfrc]

Once again I stumbled on a day that's way busier than it should be..I have a real knack for that. Still, got my SP processed as planned and managed to get several rides in before 1:30 when the lines were starting to get out of control, even with all coasters running two trains that could. I wanted to get a second ride in on SUF but by the time I headed over there it was a 45 min wait so I just left.

 

I did manage to get several rides on Kong and concluded that the orange train is awesome, especially in the back row; the yellow train is absolutely evil. The train shakes significantly more than the orange one and on top of that it has different OTSRs (or at least different "padding") that gives much less room for your head to move, resulting in the pinball effect. If you want a decent ride on Kong, try back row orange. It's still no B&M, but it's a world of difference.

First ride of the day: Kong back row. Yep I walk in the park and go straight for Kong. I'm that guy. This is the evil yellow train. Note the Vekoma death grip being firmly applied.

Vekoma..I think that means "You're a long way from China." Or maybe "Hold on for dear life."

Oh yeah, finally get my fix on SUF! Rode in row 4, cramped quarters. I can definitely see why they don't have bigger people in this row.

Lots and lots of wood. Rode back row of Roar, yes there's a little bit of airtime, but it just beats the hell out of you so much you don't even notice it unless you're looking for it.

This is literally the only sign in the entire park for Boomerang....on the ride itself. For some reason it seems they really don't want you to find it.

You can see six coasters from the Kong station.

Well I think I know how that guy got in to climb Medusa. There doesn't appear to be any lock whatsoever on this gate, and the ride is open. I believe this gate is powered and you need a remote to open it from outside, but there's still a gap large enough to just squeeze in if you're of a mind. In light of recent events they might be wise to correct this.

[Tmcdllr]

Both of those gates are manual and for both of them to be unlocked with the ride running, for this restricted area, is not acceptable.

[robman]

I guess I have always been lucky with Kong, never really had a bad ride. What was really strange yesterday while riding in Flight Deck's Eagle train I had a roughest ride on a B&M and it made Kong feel glass smooth.

[singemfrc]

I guess I have always been lucky with Kong, never really had a bad ride. What was really strange yesterday while riding in Flight Deck's Eagle train I had a roughest ride on a B&M and it made Kong feel glass smooth.

Yeah see you probably just luck out and get the orange train every time. I think most people don't usually ride Kong enough times in a row to put 2 and 2 together, but I was puzzled by every once and a while getting a nice ride and once in a while getting multiple concussions, so I rode several times in a row front and back on both trains to figure out where the trouble was. Definitely the evil yellow train. From now on I'll just wait out the orange train.

[robman]

^ Alright that's good to know, I never really payed attention to which train I had gotten so I could have just lucked out every time. I still need to get a visit in this year as I haven't gone and it's killing me! Hoping to go during Holiday in the Park.

[singemfrc]

One other thing I noticed today but forgot to take a photo of..there is attached to SUF a thick wire (looks almost like a guy wire?) that is attached to the top of the first hill (right before the loop) where the train stalled a while back. It appears to be anchored to the ground backstage. Not sure what this is accomplishing..