Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (SFDK) Discussion Thread

[sfmman2000]

^ I've seen a number of people with the t-shirts. They're $14-$16, which is a better price than I thought (or maybe I'm just numb to Six Flags pricing).

 

FYI, I'm in line right now and the ride went down at around 11:30am. It's noon now and the ride is still down. No announcement or communication of any kind was made to those waiting in line. They've cycled a few trains empty, and that's about it. Waiting in tunnel, the music here could make someone go crazy.

 

I did get in one ride earlier today with about a 40 minute wait. It's a pretty darned good ride! So far, I'd give Wicked Cyclone the edge for intensity and speed, but once the Joker warms up I bet they'll be about even.

[XSupremacy]

^ I've seen a number of people with the t-shirts. They're $14-$16, which is a better price than I thought (or maybe I'm just numb to Six Flags pricing).

 

FYI, I'm in line right now and the ride went down at around 11:30am. It's noon now and the ride is still down. No announcement or communication of any kind was made to those waiting in line. They've cycled a few trains empty, and that's about it. Waiting in tunnel, the music here could make someone go crazy.

 

I did get in one ride earlier today with about a 40 minute wait. It's a pretty darned good ride! So far, I'd give Wicked Cyclone the edge for intensity and speed, but once the Joker warms up I bet they'll be about even.

any more word on the t shirts. I am almost there now

[sfmman2000]

^ What do you want to know? It looks like the line has shortened since 1pm passed.

 

BTW, rode two more times in the back (first ride was also in back). Feels much faster already. This thing hauls. First drop is Maverick-style ejector air.

[XSupremacy]

Just an alert to people. they are letting in people with shirts and people with season passes

[XSupremacy]

the ride is down now. they made us clear the line

[coasterlvr]

Waiting in tunnel, the music here could make someone go crazy.

 

I was in the tunnel for 20-30 minutes when it broke down yesterday. but I think being in the shade and hearing the music is better than being in the sun and no music. lol

[Fire2box]

Waiting in tunnel, the music here could make someone go crazy.

 

I was in the tunnel for 20-30 minutes when it broke down yesterday. but I think being in the shade and hearing the music is better than being in the sun and no music. lol

 

Yeah being in the tunnel below the station is a great place to get out of yesterday's sun and the wind was decent at 4pm when it broke down yesterday.

[mark549]

I got two rides this morning - front seat and back seat.

 

Glad i left before it broke down, but I could see the crowds approaching.

 

I think Twisted Colossus (dueling) is more fun, but Joker is more intense, more than a "Batman" (B&M) for a ride than TC. Both are great.

 

I look forward the off season to get lots of rides (with no waiting) on Joker. Today was a nice introduction but not a time for marathon sessions.

 

I'm glad SF put up a shade over the large queue and urge them to buy another tarp for the queue just outside the station (along the asphalt walkway).

 

I look forward to what RMC has planned for the future.

[XSupremacy]

lucky, I was in line when it broke. I am most likely coming back tomorrow though

[canadianparkfan]

forgot to add the new BBQ and sports bar place opens Saturday. I was pretty letdown it wasn't open today.

 

Holy fudge this ride is too good. Just got a back row ride in, getting one in the front before heading home. If you see a dude in a Beatmania shirt say what's up.

 

 

Edit: I would never say fudge.

 

 

Edit 2: wtf Riddler's station music is so good, I wouldn't be as into electronic music as I am today if I hadn't rode that as a kid.

 

I like Riddler's station's song personally

. But if your in there for like 20 mins it gets old. sorry if it seems like I didn't like it. I do.

 

 

Maybe the better phrasing would be. "The Joker has the worst station soundtrack I've personally ever heard."

Riddler music: 1:05... Dubstep music 15 years before it was cool???

 

As for joker, the ride looks great! Wish my home park had an RMC like this... Or any RMC for that matter.

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

Got 4 rides today. Even better than yesterday. We were on the brake run when it broke down the first time. Got one more ride later in the day when my friend left and I took a break to wait for my other friend.

 

However, when we went back around 4ish it was down and sounded like it would be for the rest of the day. Super sunburnt and dehydrated we looked at the other coasters and they had "hell no" lines. So we left around 6. Might be back again in the next couple days for my other friend to ride.

 

They REALLY need to shade more of the queue. We were dying waiting in the line for 45 min mostly in the sun. Annoying music tunnel was definitely a welcome respite!

 

Oh, and MUCH better operations! They ended up letting pass holders ride all day, and non pass holders with the shirt.

[Fire2box]

They REALLY need to shade more of the queue. We were dying waiting in the line for 45 min mostly in the sun. Annoying music tunnel was definitely a welcome respite!

 

I'll 100% let go of my requests for a single rider line if they put up shade netting along the entire line.

 

However they got enough room to make a small single rider line to the left of the entrance still separate from ADA/flashpass. then the ride ops can call for however many riders they need. the same thing can work for the exit too but that might be a little more of a nightmare to setup considering how tiny the giftshop/photo booth actually is.

 

I wish Six Flags would of let RMC tear down the station and build a new one on the ground. I don't know how hard it would of been to still have the repair station as is then have trains dip back down to ground level, but it would of been possible I assume. If it was on the ground then they wouldn't have to have the same POS elevator from Roar or the staircase they can't seem to make up their mind about. They want to keep the staircase clear it seems and that only helps the empty seating problem.

 

The good news is the ride operations can still be improved and I think they will be. if not, well medusa line's will hopefully take a hit and be shorter then ever.

[sfmman2000]

Oh, and MUCH better operations!

I can't even imagine yesterday then, haha.

 

It seems today (Saturday) they had a hard time dispatching trains consistently. But it's not as if the ops were working slow -- they weren't. I'd say the infrastructure and procedures are more to blame. Full rows were going out empty because they weren't letting enough people in the station. Lap bars are basically triple checked and are not to be pulled down by the rider. Mobs of people with exit passes crowd the exit stairs for "priority boarding" not leaving much room for exiting riders. And how could I forget, the visual scan in which every op strains their neck looking left to right, and then... does it all over again. It all adds up to not a lot of capacity.

 

However, there are positives! The ride is amazing. The theming is decent. The employees were friendly. However, I do feel they are handicapped by Six Flags' policies and procedures.

 

Another plus, Medusa's line was only about 10 minutes long (this was around 2pm). The ride's 3 person crew was hauling ass, barely stacking trains at all.

[singemfrc]

It seems today (Saturday) they had a hard time dispatching trains consistently. But it's not as if the ops were working slow -- they weren't. I'd say the infrastructure and procedures are more to blame. Mobs of people with exit passes crowd the exit stairs for "priority boarding" not leaving much room for exiting riders.

Yeah the checking system seems to be a little different, I noticed the ops having a bit of difficulty communicating when they wanted to recheck a seat or row not able to hear themselves over the evil repeating music...they'll come up with a signal system and get that down soon no doubt.

I asked about the seemingly crazy high number of riders preboarding through the exit and was told that though a few were people coming back that were on the ride when it broke down earlier (I dont think you should get exit passes for that on a ride's first day, but that's just my opinion) most were ADA riders. I think there were a fair few that decided to just use the ADA line to skip the wait.

[thrilladdict]

Wait, so can someone confirm that SFDK's Riddler uses the same song 'Ecuador' as SFMM's please?

 

No joke that's actually the song that got me into electronic music, or EDM as call it these days.

[sfmman2000]

^ It doesn't. The Joker music is basically out-of-tune funhouse music that plays continuously in a loop.

[coasterlvr]

Small little trip report. Made a last minute decision to go up north from so cal to check out The Joker. Decided to try the bus that other friends have used and was a cheaper option last minute. so, my plan would be, an overnight bus, get a couple hours at a friends house, a quick trip to CAGAm to ride Goldstriker, then off to SFDK. ending with another overnight trip home.

 

my bus left at 10pm and arrived at 4am. surprisingly got some good sleep on the bus. friend picked me up, and we went back to his house where i got a few more hours. had some breakfast his wife cooked us and we were off. we went to great america right around the 10am opening. buses galore, ugh. crazy packed to get into the park. i haven't been up north in a few years, before Goldstriker so i waited it out and got my one ride. my buddy was waiting for me outside since he doesn't have a pass.

 

off to discovery kingdom to ride the joker. took a while with some traffic but finally got there around 2pm or so. saw more school buses. oh well, really all i cared about was riding the joker. we hadn't eaten yet and wanted to get food before the lunch dining pass hours passed us by. after eating headed on over to joker and got in line. really slow train dispatches. actually, i'm not even sure how many trains had riders on them. we ended up under the station waiting for a while before the line was cleared for the breakdown. was getting that feeling you get when you're not sure you're going to be able to ride the new hotness and need to leave that night.

 

i didn't want to get stuck in a line somewhere so got an ice cream and we just hung around the area. that was when i saw alan by the lockers. i told my friend, alan is to coasters like george lucas is to star wars, the man. lol

 

i think the ride was down about an hour and the operators waved us in. so, just kept running around and getting in line and was able to get a number of rides in various seats. i'm a back row guy and overall, it was still my favorite on the joker. the middle part between your legs seems a bit beefier than twisted colossus and the shin pads seem to be larger or longer on the sides. anyone else notice this at all? still super comfortable.

 

i really like how fast the train leaves the station. alan said it could go even faster if they wanted it to. so many great elements but the ones i thought would be my favorites were. the two larger airtime hills, the mini double down like drop and the final one before the break run. and of course, still my favorite inversion, the zero g stall.

 

only other ride i rode was Medusa. i've only been to discovery kingdom once. Medusa was pretty new and it was before the spike on V2 was chopped down. 01, 02? i don't really remember. i thought medusa kicked ass. those pre drop b&m's with straight drops are awesome.

 

ran into a few really helpful and enthusiastic employees. that was nice. anyway, left around closing, got some food at outback and was back on the bus and got to union station in la at 6am this morning. should be able to get back later this year sometime.

 

 

My ride to San Jose.

Uh oh, Great America looks a bit crowded.

Many school buses in the parking lot and getting in looks like this.

Great looking skyline.

Ha, Ha, Ha!

Toyota Highlander on some IBOX Track. lol

Loved Medusa!

Back in LA Union Station 6am.

[Fire2box]

I didn't even know the Highlander was on ibox tracking. Not sure if they added a second one or moved that from the main stadium/dolphin show. either way, still doesn't make me want a Toyota and I doubt anything ever will.

 

 

About the Zero G Stall I barely felt "zero g's" except maybe in the far, far back. I could feel it in TC's but not that much here.

[chickenbowl]

I didn't even know the Highlander was on ibox tracking. Not sure if they added a second one or moved that from the main stadium/dolphin show. either way, still doesn't make me want a Toyota and I doubt anything ever will.

 

 

About the Zero G Stall I barely felt "zero g's" except maybe in the far, far back. I could feel it in TC's but not that much here.

 

With full trains I still felt plenty of 0g hangtime in all three inversions. But earlier in the morning Chad and I got a ride where we were the only 2 people in the train and we really felt insane hangtime!!!

 

Joker is just all around solid in every area. Too bad we missed Alan later in the day!

 

Where does Joker rank among the other RMCs for you?

[scooterdoug]

Well, I joined the masses and headed to SFDK yesterday to try out the Joker for my first time. You usually couldn't pay me to go to a park on a Saturday (during a holiday weekend to boot), but the opening of the ride I've been waiting for all winter got me to make an exception. I got 3 rides on it...2 in the front and one in the back. My impressions? I loved it. I think it's the best roller coaster on the west coast. Twisted Colossus is outstanding, but the Joker is far more aggressive and intense, with stronger g forces. I counted 14 clear moments of airtime on that ride. The first bunny hop out of the station gives you a surprising yank out of your seat. Heck, even the breaking wave turn (the turn itself) gave air (like the first overbank on Iron Rattler). It sped up noticeably during each successive ride. The train was in a hurry to get back to the station during the final lap.

As for seats, I guess I'm in the minority here in preferring the front. The back definitely gave superior airtime in the first drop and second asian camelback. However, the airtime was more consistent and strong (and longer lasting) in the front. Plus, the view! I can't wait to get back. I can feel that this is the very beginning of an unhealthy addiction. I told my wife all about it, and she says that she wants to ride it now. All in all, a fantastic ride...undoubtably the best in the park. I'm heading back there on June 14 to get me some more airtime. Honestly, I have no desire to ride anything else in the park now.

[chadster]

Here's the video Jake and I shot. 60fps!

 

[XSupremacy]

the ride is still down. they fixed one train and they are working on the second right now

[coasterlvr]

Here's the video Jake and I shot. 60fps!

 

 

so thankful for a great POV. sometimes when i see the videos the parks get i wonder who the hell they hired to take these videos?

[SharkTums]

Here's the video Jake and I shot. 60fps!

 

 

so thankful for a great POV. sometimes when i see the videos the parks get i wonder who the hell they hired to take these videos?

 

[Philrad71]

Man, that coaster just hauls some serious ass through the course.

 

Thanks for the great video!