Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (SFDK) Discussion Thread

[singemfrc]

Joker is opening with the park!

 

Nice! Is it running both trains?

Just the green train right now and their restraints are being extremely temperamental. I don't know why they're not opening the purple train because the queue is practically full it's easily 60 + minute wait. Must be something wrong with it.

[Intimidated305]

Joker is opening with the park!

 

Nice! Is it running both trains?

Just the green train right now and their restraints are being extremely temperamental. I don't know why they're not opening the purple train because the queue is practically full it's easily 60 + minute wait. Must be something wrong with it.

Maybe the recall will reach Joker as well...

[scooterdoug]

Joker is opening with the park!

 

Nice! Is it running both trains?

Just the green train right now and their restraints are being extremely temperamental. I don't know why they're not opening the purple train because the queue is practically full it's easily 60 + minute wait. Must be something wrong with it.

Thanks for the real-time updates. I'm planning on going Wednesday and/or Friday. If The Joker isn't open, then I won't bother. This makes me more hopeful, but I'm not digging that the whole restraint issue seems to be persisting. I guess we'll see...

[CrazedZooChimp]

Joker is opening with the park!

 

Nice! Is it running both trains?

Just the green train right now and their restraints are being extremely temperamental. I don't know why they're not opening the purple train because the queue is practically full it's easily 60 + minute wait. Must be something wrong with it.

Maybe the recall will reach Joker as well...

 

I assume this IS part of the recall. It would explain why Joker was closed last week, and could explain why they're only running one train (the parts have been replaced on the green train but not the purple train).

[Intimidated305]

Joker is opening with the park!

 

Nice! Is it running both trains?

Just the green train right now and their restraints are being extremely temperamental. I don't know why they're not opening the purple train because the queue is practically full it's easily 60 + minute wait. Must be something wrong with it.

Maybe the recall will reach Joker as well...

 

I assume this IS part of the recall. It would explain why Joker was closed last week, and could explain why they're only running one train (the parts have been replaced on the green train but not the purple train).

Didn't even think of that. Makes sense now, but makes me wonder why Wildfire and Lightning Rod aren't running at all if they could run one train and fix the others.

[knaiwear]

Makes sense now, but makes me wonder why Wildfire and Lightning Rod aren't running at all if they could run one train and fix the others.

 

because neither train has been repaired on LR or WF.

[Intimidated305]

Makes sense now, but makes me wonder why Wildfire and Lightning Rod aren't running at all if they could run one train and fix the others.

 

because neither train has been repaired on LR or WF.

I mean, obviously not? If SFDK is running one train with restraint problems and fixing the other one, then wouldn't the other parks be able to do the same?

Edited June 19, 2016 by Intimidated305

[Intimidated305]

Double post...

[alejon]

Makes sense now, but makes me wonder why Wildfire and Lightning Rod aren't running at all if they could run one train and fix the others.

 

because neither train has been repaired on LR or WF.

I mean, obviously not? If SFDK is running one train with restraint problems and fixing the other one, then wouldn't the other parks be able to do the same?

 

Because you don't run trains with restraint problems? Mind you, Kolmården haven't found any problems at all with their trains, but they still won't run Wildfire until they get the parts replaced. Always safety first!

[Intimidated305]

Makes sense now, but makes me wonder why Wildfire and Lightning Rod aren't running at all if they could run one train and fix the others.

 

because neither train has been repaired on LR or WF.

I mean, obviously not? If SFDK is running one train with restraint problems and fixing the other one, then wouldn't the other parks be able to do the same?

 

Because you don't run trains with restraint problems? Mind you, Kolmården haven't found any problems at all with their trains, but they still won't run Wildfire until they get the parts replaced. Always safety first!

This was posted earlier in this thread...

Just the green train right now and their restraints are being extremely temperamental. I don't know why they're not opening the purple train because the queue is practically full it's easily 60 + minute wait. Must be something wrong with it.

Have you read the previous page?

[CrazedZooChimp]

Makes sense now, but makes me wonder why Wildfire and Lightning Rod aren't running at all if they could run one train and fix the others.

 

because neither train has been repaired on LR or WF.

I mean, obviously not? If SFDK is running one train with restraint problems and fixing the other one, then wouldn't the other parks be able to do the same?

 

Because you don't run trains with restraint problems? Mind you, Kolmården haven't found any problems at all with their trains, but they still won't run Wildfire until they get the parts replaced. Always safety first!

This was posted earlier in this thread...

Just the green train right now and their restraints are being extremely temperamental. I don't know why they're not opening the purple train because the queue is practically full it's easily 60 + minute wait. Must be something wrong with it.

Have you read the previous page?

 

I assume the green train has been fixed and that is why it has started running. Assuming it actually was the same problem (obviously we don't actually know that), then the green train on Joker was probably the first one fixed, and the others have not been repaired. As they get repaired they'll open up one by one.

 

I'm just speculating, though. I assume it takes a few days for RMC to make the part and replace it.

[singemfrc]

I think the recall must be something exclusive to the RMC original coasters based on which ones closed and which ones didn't.

 

Anyway, trip report today - got to the park at about 9:45 and based on the amount of traffic thought it was going to be a crazy busy day with it being a holiday and all, but it turned out not to be that bad. By the time we got to the front gates they were already open (and I noticed Joker wasnt on the closed list) and doing a hold at the ropes. While waiting at the rope we saw Joker testing so we knew we'd get to get on there at least once.

 

Unfortunately only the green train was in use the whole time I was there despite a pretty long queue. They were using ~90% of the switchbacks and the line was backed up to the entrance. The green train, and it seemed to be particularly bad in car #6, was extremely sensitive to people with large legs. Not necessarily overweight people, but even just people with a lot of muscle. It was causing havoc with dispatch times (5min+). The purple train was sitting on the transfer track, it didn't look like anything was being done or planned to be done with it. Either they just weren't using it or it was completely inop, I didnt get the impression that there was any way it was going to be used today.

 

Other than Joker though the park wasn't really that busy. Lots of cars in the lot, but it seemed like everyone in the park was just riding Joker. Voodoo, V2, Hammerhead, and Kong were all closed (though they said Kong might come back up later in the day) and with all those rides closed and not drawing people, Medusa was still a walk-on and was running two trains. We waited about 15 mins for first ride on Joker and about 45 for the second, then did one ride on Medusa, walked around the park for a half hour and then left.

 

I didn't see real heavy inbound foot traffic on my way in but I did notice signs saying that the fairground overflow lot was open today so maybe they expected it to get busy later. I kind of thought it would be lighter later in the day with everyone home watching the Warriors in game 7.

[alejon]

Have you read the previous page?

 

Yes, I have. My question was more why you should keep running rides which might have a fault on them, it seems pretty stupid to me and I'm glad that parks are putting safety first and waiting for parts before running again.

[Intimidated305]

So do we know for sure the status of the trains? So we know that there's a good chance that the train on the transfer track isn't operable. That, or they just didn't bother to put it on, which seems a bit unlikely for lines like that. The train in use, do we know if it has been fixed or not?

[singemfrc]

So do we know for sure the status of the trains? So we know that there's a good chance that the train on the transfer track isn't operable.

Probably, but we don't know why. Any speculation is just that.

That' date=' or they just didn't bother to put it on, which seems a bit unlikely for lines like that.[/quote']Hi, I'm Six Flags. Have we met?

The train in use' date=' do we know if it has been fixed or not?[/quote']Sure doesn't seem like anything has been fixed on it, its temperamental as hell. Anyone know which train was running Saturday? If it was green then you can pretty safely say nothing has been done since the announcement, not that it really matters.

 

BTW that reminds me - ride ops in the Joker station today were really harping on people to not even get near the air gates. They kept saying "Joker's gates are very touchy and if you press on it the ride will go down for a while, you don't want to be that person." Anyone who got within arm's reach of the gate was getting scolded.

 

Which also reminds me - there was an employee there named Matthew who I thought was doing an outstanding job today. He was basically running around doing everyone else's job because no one else was doing it. He was grouping, he was answering questions, he was maintaining the switchbacks, and he really seemed like he cared about the ride operating as efficiently as he had control to make it. Pleasantly unusual for Six Flags, I really noticed and appreciated it. Forgot to stop by guest relations on my way out, maybe I'll call the park later and let them know.

[JGuy]

BTW that reminds me - ride ops in the Joker station today were really harping on people to not even get near the air gates. They kept saying "Joker's gates are very touchy and if you press on it the ride will go down for a while, you don't want to be that person." Anyone who got within arm's reach of the gate was getting scolded.

 

Well, public humiliation IS a great deterrent.

When you say that the restraints were being temperamental, do you mean that the sensors monitoring them were giving false warnings?

[singemfrc]

BTW that reminds me - ride ops in the Joker station today were really harping on people to not even get near the air gates. They kept saying "Joker's gates are very touchy and if you press on it the ride will go down for a while, you don't want to be that person." Anyone who got within arm's reach of the gate was getting scolded.

 

Well, public humiliation IS a great deterrent.

When you say that the restraints were being temperamental, do you mean that the sensors monitoring them were giving false warnings?

Not false, just that they were constantly reading unsecure and causing rechecks and walks of shame. The ops were telling people who had to get off not to feel bad because apparently the sensors were requiring the restraints to be at a very small size to read ok to dispatch. Sounds like they need some adjustment, especially as it seemed to be more prevalent in certain rows.

[JGuy]

BTW that reminds me - ride ops in the Joker station today were really harping on people to not even get near the air gates. They kept saying "Joker's gates are very touchy and if you press on it the ride will go down for a while, you don't want to be that person." Anyone who got within arm's reach of the gate was getting scolded.

 

Well, public humiliation IS a great deterrent.

When you say that the restraints were being temperamental, do you mean that the sensors monitoring them were giving false warnings?

Not false, just that they were constantly reading unsecure and causing rechecks and walks of shame. The ops were telling people who had to get off not to feel bad because apparently the sensors were requiring the restraints to be at a very small size to read ok to dispatch. Sounds like they need some adjustment, especially as it seemed to be more prevalent in certain rows.

 

Well, that worries me. Most of my bulk is in my legs, and I'm still not large enough for a walk of shame. I hope this is fixed quickly.

[singemfrc]

Well, that worries me. Most of my bulk is in my legs, and I'm still not large enough for a walk of shame. I hope this is fixed quickly.

It was mainly I believe rows 5 and 6 on the green train having that problem, so avoid those. I have kinda big legs too and I sat in the back row without a problem, so aim for that. It's the best row anyway.

I don't think the purple train has the same issue for whatever reason because when I was there last time I never saw it once happen on purple but even that day I heard ride ops talking about restraint issues with the green train.

[JGuy]

Well, that worries me. Most of my bulk is in my legs, and I'm still not large enough for a walk of shame. I hope this is fixed quickly.

It was mainly I believe rows 5 and 6 on the green train having that problem, so avoid those. I have kinda big legs too and I sat in the back row without a problem, so aim for that. It's the best row anyway.

I don't think the purple train has the same issue for whatever reason because when I was there last time I never saw it once happen on purple but even that day I heard ride ops talking about restraint issues with the green train.

 

Oh, that's a relief. I've only ridden in the back row and loved it, so it's good to know that it's functioning.

If I recall correctly, the purple train had a row or two in the middle unavailable during the Season Pass previews.

[scooterdoug]

At the park now. One train operation on the Joker. Roughly 40 minute wait. I haven't really noticed any restraint issues. A couple of big guys needed a second check, but it was quick, and they got to ride. People have been leaning on the gates in the station all day. No ride ops have said anything, and the ride seems to be unaffected. As has been noted before, the purple train is sitting on the transfer track, no employees have gone to it all day. Waiting on replacement parts? And the first drop is completely insane in the back left seat.

[singemfrc]

At the park now. One train operation on the Joker. Roughly 40 minute wait. I haven't really noticed any restraint issues. A couple of big guys needed a second check, but it was quick, and they got to ride. People have been leaning on the gates in the station all day. No ride ops have said anything, and the ride seems to be unaffected. As has been noted before, the purple train is sitting on the transfer track, no employees have gone to it all day. Waiting on replacement parts? And the first drop is completely insane in the back left seat.

Sounds like the purple train is non-op then since it hasn't been used all week. If they were just choosing to use one train they'd probably alternate.

 

Agree on that first drop, I think Joker cracks my top 3 list for best first drop. 1. X2, 2. Maverick, 3. Joker.

[coasterfreak101]

Very intrigued to see what's going on with these new RMC trains...has anything changed since the ones they built last year? They had such a good track record before this season, and now three of their four new rides have been delayed.

[JGuy]

Very intrigued to see what's going on with these new RMC trains...has anything changed since the ones they built last year? They had such a good track record before this season, and now three of their four new rides have been delayed.

 

A cylinder that they use for the restraints has changed since last year's model. It was apparently found that a manufacturing defect occurred on on Lightning Rod's trains, and based on the issues Joker's been having, it might be affecting Joker's trains, too.

[singemfrc]

Very intrigued to see what's going on with these new RMC trains...has anything changed since the ones they built last year? They had such a good track record before this season, and now three of their four new rides have been delayed.

 

A cylinder that they use for the restraints has changed since last year's model. It was apparently found that a manufacturing defect occurred on on Lightning Rod's trains, and based on the issues Joker's been having, it might be affecting Joker's trains, too.

I don't think that's an accurate analysis. SFDK must know about the recall, and that being true they wouldn't intentionally keep running a train with a part they knew to be recalled when RMC specifically said to shut down all affected rides. If it were the same part, Joker would be closed. The fact that it's still open proves that whatever issue Joker is having, it's not the same that caused the recall.