Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (SFDK) Discussion Thread

[tanthonyam]

The area would be even better without that eyesore Harley Quinn ride. Sorry it's just a bad ride...

[Sluggo77]

Awesome report. Very cool with the midnight opening event as well!

[moviemansig]

This is a trip report for last Saturday. The Joker line was extra long because they were running just one train. It took two hours for Batman to open. I thought the ride was intense and fun, but way too short. With the exception of Monsoon Falls, which had a minimal wait, lines seemed to be on the longer side. Vertical Velocity and Harley Quinn were down all day.

[JJLehto]

Im kind of excited to try here, even if its mostly for Joker and Batman (I hear these types of spinners are the best)

I know it goes to weekend hours in Sept, is it likely to be crowded?

[RollaroundBadness]

I'll be there July 2nd. I let you know if anything happens.

Edited July 12, 2019 by RollaroundBadness

[Canobie Coaster]

If SFDK's 2020 addition was to consistently run two trains on Joker, that'd be well worth it.

[mark549]

If SFDK's 2020 addition was to consistently run two trains on Joker, that'd be well worth it.

 

 

I haven't gone since Railblazer opened nearby, but I've always seen Medusa running two trains, even on chilly empty days in December.

 

Have only been a couple times since Joker opened but I must have lucked out, it always ran two trains.

[DBJ]

Thanks for the pic and review. Nice to see the area coming together pretty well! The new Batman ride does look quite good, and props for the extra effort into the theme.

[bluestreak]

Hi all, I'll be at the park Wednesday. What kind of crowds should I expect? And tips/tricks? Thanks!

[Canobie Coaster]

^ Joker is the park's best ride and they tend to run just one train on it, so I'd recommend going there early before a queue builds. If you see V2 running, ride that asap since it breaks down a lot.

[TheAmericanKnight]

SFDK's Batman the Ride actually does look like a nice ride! I like how there is a decent amount of theming in the queue as well.

 

I'm really hoping that Six Flags Darien Lake gets an exact clone of this with the theming as well. Hopefully next year, or is that wishful thinking?

[bluestreak]

^ Joker is the park's best ride and they tend to run just one train on it, so I'd recommend going there early before a queue builds. If you see V2 running, ride that asap since it breaks down a lot.

 

Second train not even in sight today. Wonder what happened to it.

[Canobie Coaster]

RMC Predator? Keep an eye for it an Darien Lake.

 

In all seriousness, the fact the ride has its own custom sign for one train ops shows this is a normal occurance even if the train is on the transfer track.

[Bubba]

^ Joker is the park's best ride and they tend to run just one train on it, so I'd recommend going there early before a queue builds. If you see V2 running, ride that asap since it breaks down a lot.

 

Second train not even in sight today. Wonder what happened to it.

SFDK never ran two trains on Kong or Roar besides the summer months over the past decade I've attended, which would make me pretty frustrated in the off-season. Even with the park crowded on a summer day you'll get on those rides quicker than going in the off-season. It is unusual for them to have one train in the summer though I hope this doesn't start becoming a habit as well. Oddly enough, I've never had a break down on V2 & it's open nearly every visit I've attended.

[alpengeistdude321]

I just got back from the park. Does anyone know why The Flash (V2) has not been open? It was open for a few weeks if I recall but has been closed for the last month.

 

Joker is still on one-train ops. It is unacceptable for Six Flags to be running their marquee attraction at SFDK this way in the middle of peak season. I would not be surprised if the ride will just permanently run on one train at this point.

[scooterdoug]

I just got back from the park. Does anyone know why The Flash (V2) has not been open? It was open for a few weeks if I recall but has been closed for the last month.

 

Joker is still on one-train ops. It is unacceptable for Six Flags to be running their marquee attraction at SFDK this way in the middle of peak season. I would not be surprised if the ride will just permanently run on one train at this point.

I’m not sure about V2. I was there on Wednesday, and it was down as well. It seems to spend half of the year closed.

As for Joker, the second train is off the transfer track and presumably undergoing rehab. According to the ride op, they’ll be getting it to two train operation soon. I certainly hope so, it’s been running one train for what feels like nearly a year.

[RollaroundBadness]

Evereything is great.

Edited July 12, 2019 by RollaroundBadness

[jray21]

I've been surprised at how many rides have been down the past few visits. My last visit on June 20, Flash, Batman, and Harley Quinn were down all day. Joker was one train, and Wonder Woman and Superman were constantly opening and closing all day. It was like they were rotating the opening hours. Only Penguin was open fully in the entire DC area. It ended up being about 25% of all the rides/coasters were closed throughout the park in the middle of summer.

[scooterdoug]

^I agree, the park has been pretty inconsistent as of late. I went last Wednesday, and none of the rides in the DC area were open at the park's opening time. The Joker was the first to open at 11, followed by Batman close to noon. Superman was perhaps a full half hour after that. I was there yesterday as well. Batman opened pretty promptly (though not exactly at 10:30, while Joker opened at about 11. Superman was open right on time, while Wonder Woman opened later in the day. It's frustrating. They did, though, get The Flash up and running in the early afternoon.

The good news: The Joker's second train is back (as of yesterday). They were running it empty when the park first opened (with the plastic wrap still over the seats). Though, they took the train off before opening the ride. For the rest of the day, the ride ran with only one train, while the other train sat on the transfer track, being worked on by mechanics throughout the day. So, it looks like the park's best ride will be back to two-train operation soon (if it isn't already).

[dmax11]

i went this past Sunday 6/30.

 

morning started out good sense i hung out in DC area and they opened joker around 11 am and i got on pretty fast, then i went to medusa, about a 10 minute wait not bad then i headed back over to DC area and go in line for batman. about half hour wait wasn't bad. not a big fan of the ride though little to no g-forces its all just spin and scare you crap, i'll pass going forward its a glorified carnival zipper to me. so far joker easily best ride here (knew i would be) and Medusa is a great floorless B&M. after batman i debated waiting to get on superman but given the sour taste in my mouth from batman spinner and the long lines i figured it would just be a waste and a similar gimmic so i went back over to the medusa side of the "thrill park" if you will and to my suprise it was even shorter wait there nearly walk on so got on it again, it is a great coaster. after that i roamed the park for some beer and food and checked out the rest and animal exhibits a bit then thought i might get back in line for the joker again but line was ridiculously long and slow thanks to single training it.

 

So I went back over to medusa side of the park and decided surely Kong wouldn't have a long line because its well known to be terrible right? wrong. line was about 45 min at least but i slogged through it and rode in 3rd car from the front and frankly it wasn't terrible to me, i would never wait in that long of a line for it ever again but it didn't live up to its head banging rep it has to me which is i guess so infamous even the ride OP was making side comments the whole time i was in line about how rough it was and they always joked when the train came back in about how amazing the ride was.

 

of all the major rides only Medusa and Batman were running more than one train. worth noting that Medusa has 3 trains and the 3rd train was in the bay clearly not ready to go. Kong's 2nd train is easily visable and clearly not anywhere near operable there are no restraints on the cars at all on it it looks like its being used for parts. The Joker's 2nd train was there but had some plastic or something over most seats didn't look ready to go but surly its mid summer and this is the best ride there they should have it running two by now! the Flash was closed no sign of anything or any reason, Harley Quinn ride also closed and all the plastic seats have been removed and when i was walking in before open there was exactly one person working on the seat mounts with a drill at the time so it appears they are retrofitting new seats onto it or modifying it in some way but once again appear to not be in any rush whatsoever in getting it back up and running.. I'll not get into the status of many older flat rides there that are basically abandoned outside of the "thrill" sections of the park.

 

overall i have to say the park is not terrible but comparing it to my real home park which is CGA its no comparison CGA is better maintained more coasters are running multiple trains, nothing is in disrepair in plane sight there and given Railblazers addition CGA has a better coaster lineup with more real coasters even though most are quite outdated and/or short. I wouldn't likely go back to SFDK and only bought a membership because i'm going to SFMM for a few days in the coming weeks and i was *slightly* cheaper if i got it there first.

[dmax11]

Update : visited again today to grab missed credits. crowd was decent but not excessive. The Joker was running two trains (finally) really did have a much better time though their operations do seem quite shaky at times still Joker was very late to open and broke down right as i got on it my 5th time (but really it wasn't broken they just needed to cycle the train again but made us wait over nothing heh)

 

top rides there imho

 

#1 The Joker: any seat but back will get you the most ejector as with any RMC i have ridden

#2 Medusa : Front i have found is best overall experience on B&M floorless coasters and this one does not disappoint

#3 Superman Ultimate Flight : Rode it twice today a really good launch coaster but i think full throttle at SFMM is better.

 

after that it gets wishy washy to rank

 

good rides:

Wonder woman pendulum most SF parks have now is fun and relaxing.

the flash: vertical velocity very good if its operating and it was today!

Batman S&S freespin eh its good if your into it but i'm still of the opinion even after a 2nd ride that its a glorified Zipper, not a bad ride but not a great one either.

 

meh coasters :

Kong (SLC) if you know what your in for and keep your head pinned back and body stiff you'll survive the kong but its still hardly fun after exerting all that effort to prevent headbanging.

Cobra: boring kids coaster that doesn't belong in the same area as the rest of the rides in that area.

 

ride counts

The Joker 5x (front, back and various middle seats)

Medusa 3x ( Front, near back and middle)

Superman 2X (Front of 2nd train and 2nd row in front train)

The Flash V2 2x (2nd from front and rear)

Kong 1x

Cobra 1x

Batman 1x

Wonder woman 1x

 

overall edge still goes to CGA for me. its a better rounded park and just needs another great coaster and perhaps a launch coaster to put it heads above SFDK its already slightly ahead of it overall to me with a nice mix of rides and a solid top 3 of coasters.

[Canobie Coaster]

#1 The Joker: any seat but back will get you the most ejector as with any RMC i have ridden

 

You didn't find the back of Joker to have the strongest airtime? I found that row significantly better than the front when I visited the park last year.

 

Glad they got 2 trains running for you.

[thrillseeker4552]

#1 The Joker: any seat but back will get you the most ejector as with any RMC i have ridden

 

You didn't find the back of Joker to have the strongest airtime? I found that row significantly better than the front when I visited the park last year.

 

Glad they got 2 trains running for you.

 

I believe he meant to say "any seat [is good], but the back will get you the most ejector....." Oh, the importance of a comma!

 

Also, for the locals, has the Flash been running fairly consistently? I'm heading to the park on Monday and given that it was closed when I went last summer, I'm really hoping it's running that day. I know there's no way to tell now, but if it's been running fairly consistently since the retheme, I will *slightly* raise my expectations!

[grsupercity]

Kong (SLC) if you know what your in for and keep your head pinned back and body stiff you'll survive the kong but its still hardly fun after exerting all that effort to prevent headbanging.

 

I am a fan of SLC's. I always found my best riding style on those was to hold my head all the way forward out of the restraint. You get zero head banging that way a pretty enjoyable intense ride.

[dmax11]

#1 The Joker: any seat but back will get you the most ejector as with any RMC i have ridden

 

You didn't find the back of Joker to have the strongest airtime? I found that row significantly better than the front when I visited the park last year.

 

Glad they got 2 trains running for you.

 

I believe he meant to say "any seat [is good], but the back will get you the most ejector....." Oh, the importance of a comma!

 

Also, for the locals, has the Flash been running fairly consistently? I'm heading to the park on Monday and given that it was closed when I went last summer, I'm really hoping it's running that day. I know there's no way to tell now, but if it's been running fairly consistently since the retheme, I will *slightly* raise my expectations!

 

Yes indeed missed comma made that come out wrong, the back is the best for airtime of course

 

as for the Flash yes it appears to be up and running pretty consistently based off my last trip and also from checking https://queue-times.com/parks/33/queue_times i have not seen it down most days i check lately.