Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (SFDK) Discussion Thread

[dannyboy13]

Was at the park today. Pretty solid crowds. Joker was 30-45 min, Superman 30, Kong almost 30, and Medusa 10-20.

 

This was only my second visit this year, and so I had only been on Joker twice before. It honestly felt much faster and much more forceful the 3 times I rode it today versus either 2 before. That was back in late June I think

 

It really is an awesome coaster. The negative g's are crazy

[singemfrc]

Great day today. Rained like hell earlier so a lot of people stayed home and crowds are light but it's clear now and everything is open. ~15 min for Joker, less for all else.

 

Only every other row loading on joker or it'd be just a station wait.

[Rollercoaster Rider]

Any construction yet on Wonder Woman's Golden Lasso?

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

Any construction yet on Wonder Woman's Golden Lasso?

It didn't look like there was anything new when I was there a little less than a week ago.

[dannyboy13]

Nothing done in Wonder Woman. Got flattened dirt and that's it. It really shouldn't take any time at all to put up though.

[edgeboy]

Is there any possibility of it being open by Spring Break? I've heard Patriot may be open by March 25, so it'd be nice to hit both new attractions at the same time.

[coasterbill]

No

[Mater]

Is there any possibility of it being open by Spring Break?

 

 

Absolutely.

[CrazedZooChimp]

No

 

Is there any possibility of it being open by Spring Break?

 

 

Absolutely.

 

 

I would bet more likely Patriot is done first, but I assume Wonder Woman doesn't require too much on-site work so it's not impossible. But they sure don't seem to have done much yet, whereas Patriot is well under way.

[coaster_cliff]

Hey all! I'm thinking about making a trip up from Los Angeles tomorrow (Sunday, January 8th) and I understand it's been forecasted to rain in Valejo for the majority of the day. Can I expect many rides to be closed? Will it be worth it to make the trek up there? I haven't been since before they've redone V2 so there is a lot that will be new to me.

Thanks for any heads up.

[scooterdoug]

Hey all! I'm thinking about making a trip up from Los Angeles tomorrow (Sunday, January 8th) and I understand it's been forecasted to rain in Valejo for the majority of the day. Can I expect many rides to be closed? Will it be worth it to make the trek up there? I haven't been since before they've redone V2 so there is a lot that will be new to me.

Thanks for any heads up.

I would expect the park to be closed tomorrow. It's closed today due to inclement weather, and it's supposed to be just as wet tomorrow. I would be very surprised if it was open tomorrow.

Is there any possibility of it being open by Spring Break? I've heard Patriot may be open by March 25, so it'd be nice to hit both new attractions at the same time.

Unlikely. I was there yesterday, and nothing has been done yet.

 

Speaking of yesterday, it was glorious. I got to enjoy one of the perks of teaching in a school district that has a later winter break. I had all of last week off, so I went yesterday hoping for low crowds. I didn't get low crowds, I got no crowds. I spent the day camped out on The Joker, and ended up with 19 rides by the time I left. The seat assigning policy is more relaxed on quiet days. They either didn't assign seats at all, or allowed you to choose any open row. Even during the latter scenario, they still honored row requests (I do love my front row rides). They also allowed people to re-ride in empty rows. Like I said, it was glorious. It's the first time I've come home from a day at that park and felt a little fuzzy from all the g-forces.

[dannyboy13]

With CGA's 20 year plan approved by Santa Clara city council, they look poised to really improve that park significantly during that time period. What does everyone think SFDK does to try to keep pace? Taking into account 2017 additions (Wonder Woman and Patriot), I'd say SFDK has the better stable of attractions, but if they want to keep it that way, they'll definitely need to spend some significant money.

[JGuy]

With CGA's 20 year plan approved by Santa Clara city council, they look poised to really improve that park significantly during that time period. What does everyone think SFDK does to try to keep pace? Taking into account 2017 additions (Wonder Woman and Patriot), I'd say SFDK has the better stable of attractions, but if they want to keep it that way, they'll definitely need to spend some significant money.

 

They can keep building new rides, but they're low on space as it is now. They'd need to remove an existing coaster to build a new one. They also wouldn't be able to compete with CGA's planned hyper coaster anyway due to the 150ft height restriction. They could build another Justice League dark ride here (Assuming they could clear enough space), as CGA doesn't have anything like it, though.

 

Discovery Kingdom had been lucky that their only competition in the area had almost been neglected in regards to development over the past decade or so, which allowed them to create a better ride lineup. Now that CGA is going to be expanding over the next 20 years, SFDK will need to step up attraction development if they want to continue pulling in crowds. This, of course, will require corporate to increase their budget, which probably won't happen for a park this small.

[AfrosaurusWrecks]

I have a feeling we could see a 4d free spin at the park in the years to come. While the opinions on them are very mixed, they would no doubt be great for competition, as CGA has no plans on building anything like it. Plus they are relatively cheap, small, and take up very little space, so it may be a good move for SFDK of they were to do so.

[dannyboy13]

I think it's inevitable that they get the Justice League dark ride. I also think they're going to get the S&S 4d free soon as well, Batman themed. I'd say both of those can happen in the next 5 years, and without removing any existing rides. From there, if I could fantasy plan for them a bit, I'd remove VooDoo, the pirate ship, boomerang, and Tasmanian Devil and put in some sort of custom family coaster or woody. The park desperately needs something above Cobra that doesn't go upside down. I'd love to see Kong taken out and that space used better as well. There's a decent amount of room there.

 

Beyond that, I'm not sure there's much more they can do beyond upgrade some flats. The ones back by the lack come to mind. They definitely don't have much room without taking out animal exhibits, but that's part of what makes it such a great well rounded park. I do still wish they could fit a drop ride somewhere

[grsupercity]

Don't they still have empty animal exhibits that could be cleared for flat rides? They can move some flats around. Vekoma vest restraints on Kong. A S&S 4D could be put in anywhere. I could even see a small B&M wing rider. At the end of the day animals should be the big thing. That is what they can do different then CGA. You wanna what competes with a Hyper? Kids who love animals that will bring loads of family's in.

[JGuy]

With the former flamingo habitat behind Voodoo being empty, do you guys thing it would be possible to replace Voodoo with a Free Spin?

[dannyboy13]

I'm thinking they move the go kart track and put a free spin there. Call it Batman, DC area complete.

Edited January 26, 2017 by dannyboy13

[CrazedZooChimp]

They can keep building new rides, but they're low on space as it is now. They'd need to remove an existing coaster to build a new one. They also wouldn't be able to compete with CGA's planned hyper coaster anyway due to the 150ft height restriction. They could build another Justice League dark ride here (Assuming they could clear enough space), as CGA doesn't have anything like it, though.

 

They're not really anymore space constrained than CGA is, it's actually a bigger park. They have the animal attractions which take up space, of course, but CGA has the water park.

 

I also think a Free Spin is likely in their future, very possibly in place of the Go Karts (that was even sorted of hinted to me by one of the employees back at Joker media day). And I'd be shocked if Justice League didn't come eventually, even though there isn't an obvious theater near the other DC rides to put it in. Maybe the dolphin discovery pool would be moved? It's sort of by itself now as an animal attraction over there. Are the elephants gone completely now? Perhaps some other animals could be moved over that way?

 

I like the idea of using the space around Tasmanian Devil and Boomerang for something new, they definitely could use a small family coaster (more intense than Cobra, less intense than everything else), especially since the animal attractions really position it as a family friendly park. The other space I always wonder about is the old water ski show amphitheater. Maybe there's enough space there for a Justice League dark ride? Anyone know the footprint those need?

[scooterdoug]

With CGA's 20 year plan approved by Santa Clara city council, they look poised to really improve that park significantly during that time period. What does everyone think SFDK does to try to keep pace? Taking into account 2017 additions (Wonder Woman and Patriot), I'd say SFDK has the better stable of attractions, but if they want to keep it that way, they'll definitely need to spend some significant money.

I don't think this is a "one or the other" type situation. The Bay Area has a large enough population that both parks can do just fine. Los Angeles has 4 major theme/amusement parks, Orlando has 2 major properties. None of them seem to be in danger of shutting down due to the competition. I imagine that any drop in attendance in either park would be due to that particular park's decisions and business practices, not because of what the other park does. Allegiance to a particular park might be due more to proximity. CGA could build an amazing Intamin hyper (not in their plans, just for argument's sake), but I would probably go to SFDK more often because it's closer (a 30 minute drive vs. a 1+ hour drive).

[dannyboy13]

I didn't mean to imply that one of the parks will go out of business. I absolutely think there is market for both of them for all the reasons you already listed. But there is a competition of sort between the parks as to which is the "Premier" NorCal park. It was most just an excuse to fantasy plan my home park, I'll be honest

[MrSum1_55]

^I would say that whichever one is the "premier" park has gone back and forth the past few years. SFDK was ahead for a while, but I would say CGA pulled ahead when they got Gold Striker. SFDK claimed that title back then they built The Joker, but with CGA's new plan, they might regain that back again.

 

I am just really happy to see investments into both parks. I would say that they both went through a dry spell for a long time. In the last 5 years alone, CGA has gotten what is arguably the best wood coaster in this half of the country, while SFDK got an RMC and an SRII. As long as competition between the two parks encourages more investments like these, I am all for it.

[XSupremacy]

^SFDK's had the title since Superman. Having four amazing coasters vs. 2 at CGA helps.

Edited January 27, 2017 by XSupremacy

[Vonni]

I could see Vertical Velocity being replaced by a Free Spin

[AfrosaurusWrecks]

^personally, (being quite a big fan of V2 myself), I'd much rather see them put it where the go-kart track is, as many have speculated, but I do see the possibility of a V2 removal happening. On most days the ride hardly has a line, and a free spin would fit quite nicely in its place. On the other hand it is a very unique ride, the launch isn't spectacular but is certainly more powerful than Suoerman's, plus the vertical spike is quite fun, especially in the back row