Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (SFDK) Discussion Thread

KarlaKoaster · June 11, 2018

Crazy Coaster is testing, and it sounds crazy loud. Looks quite fun as a support ride though!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj3xoNYF4oa/?taken-by=coasterupdater

theredskull84 · June 11, 2018

Not gonna lie...it looks pretty badass to me, and I kinda like how loud it is too. I would LOVE to see a traveling fair version of this someday!

CPmillenia94 · June 12, 2018

Looks great!

Superbatboy · June 13, 2018

Crazy Coaster is testing, and it sounds crazy loud. Looks quite fun as a support ride though!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj3xoNYF4oa/?taken-by=coasterupdater

I hope the ride cycle goes in both directions

jonskinny12 · June 18, 2018

How busy does this park get in the summer? I'll be there on August 2 (a Thursday) and wondering if I should plan on a flash pass. We'll also be visiting CGA and I'm planning on getting FL for that park. At SFDK I mostly just care about The Joker and Superman as I've never ridden one of those Sky Rockets before. Is Medusa still good? I might try the new Crazy Coaster but going backwards on rides usually makes me sick so I'm not sure about it.

Any tips for a first timer at the park? I have an old Six Flags gold membership from last year, not sure if I still get free parking so I'll have to look that up.

thrillseeker4552 · June 19, 2018

How busy does this park get in the summer? I'll be there on August 2 (a Thursday) and wondering if I should plan on a flash pass. We'll also be visiting CGA and I'm planning on getting FL for that park. At SFDK I mostly just care about The Joker and Superman as I've never ridden one of those Sky Rockets before. Is Medusa still good? I might try the new Crazy Coaster but going backwards on rides usually makes me sick so I'm not sure about it.

Any tips for a first timer at the park? I have an old Six Flags gold membership from last year, not sure if I still get free parking so I'll have to look that up.

Quoting this because I pretty much have the same questions! Although I'll be there on Monday July 23.

Also, is Vertical Velocity open? Any chance it will be open late next month? I'm not holding my breath since I know that thing is down all the time, but I'd like to ride it when I'm there.

RAWKIN_coaster38 · June 19, 2018

^&^^

Since it's your first time at the park, getting a Flash Pass is not a bad idea at all. You can wait until you get to the park to decide, if you'd like. There aren't many coasters, but because of that, on hot busy days they can accumulate decent lines. The good thing about SFDK is that there are other non-ride things to do during the busiest times (midday, mostly) that you definitely shouldn't miss. As a local, oftentimes I would kill time midday by going to see the shows and look at the animals while I waited for the majority of guests to leave the park. Since you aren't locals, I'd say opt for the Flash Pass.

Also, V2 and Medusa are definitely worth doing. I've been on a fair amount of floorless coasters and Medusa is still my favorite.

jonskinny12 · June 19, 2018

^ Thanks for the info! I'll wait until we get to the park but it sounds like I should plan on getting a Flash Pass.

I'll definitely make sure to hit Medusa, not sure about V2 as I don't think Wicked Twister is all that great. But that's the only Intamin Impulse I've ridden. I tried to ride Steel Venom once at Geauga Lake but it only launched about 10 feet and then stopped, and was down for the day.

jray21 · June 19, 2018

Looks like it's been delayed again. This time, they didn't reschedule the dates.

Announcement: HARLEY QUINN Update
HARLEY QUINN Crazy Coaster will not open for Season Pass and Membership Holders on Saturday, June 23 or the public opening on Sunday, June 24 as we previously announced, but you can still meet HARLEY QUINN herself this weekend, Friday through Sunday, June 22-24! Meet one of the most iconic Super Villains around at the Kingdom Stage from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

We will let you know as soon as possible when the new date for the special Season Pass and Membership Holder previews will take place. Thank you for your understanding and patience as we know the excitement has been building!

Manic Monte · June 19, 2018

Uh oh...It's running too fast. Time for trim brakes!

jray21 · June 23, 2018

I tried upgrading my season pass to a membership. What a nightmare. In classic Six Flags fashion, it didn't work. Of course, I didn't expect it to at all, but thought hey, why not. The issue was with the upgrade portal. You have to use the portal to upgrade and pay for the new membership, then you go back in and put your season pass info in. That's where it stopped working. Of course, the instructions they give you haven't been updated with the correct wording. They said to go to "Finish Upgrade," but that wasn't anywhere. I could figure out where to go, but when I inputed my info it said it didn't find my info. I had to put my pass number, last name, and date of purchase. I had my actual card so I know that wasn't wrong, I know my last name, and I have the email confirmation of when I bought it, and nothing worked. I tried with my upgrade, my son's, and my wife's. Not one of ours worked. So, I got the joy of playing how many clicks does it take to get to the customer service email form. I'm going to the park this weekend, so hopefully they'll have it done by them, but I'm not holding my breath. It's amazing, but sadly not unexpected, how terrible they are. Rant over. Have a Six Flags day!

cal1br3tto · June 23, 2018

^That doesn't suprise me in the slightest. Not only because Six Flags, but because I've also had issues with that site. I'm still waiting on an email from them that I was specifically told to expect.

Lotologist492 · June 24, 2018

I tried upgrading my season pass to a membership. What a nightmare. In classic Six Flags fashion, it didn't work. Of course, I didn't expect it to at all, but thought hey, why not. The issue was with the upgrade portal. You have to use the portal to upgrade and pay for the new membership, then you go back in and put your season pass info in. That's where it stopped working. Of course, the instructions they give you haven't been updated with the correct wording. They said to go to "Finish Upgrade," but that wasn't anywhere. I could figure out where to go, but when I inputed my info it said it didn't find my info. I had to put my pass number, last name, and date of purchase. I had my actual card so I know that wasn't wrong, I know my last name, and I have the email confirmation of when I bought it, and nothing worked. I tried with my upgrade, my son's, and my wife's. Not one of ours worked. So, I got the joy of playing how many clicks does it take to get to the customer service email form. I'm going to the park this weekend, so hopefully they'll have it done by them, but I'm not holding my breath.

I had a very similar experience at SFoG upgrading from a gold SP to Diamond Elite. However, I called the member services number and explained my situation from start to finish. The lady was very helpful and pleasant. After all was said and done, I was credited the full purchase price of my 2018 season pass in the form of Six Flags Bucks (in-park currency that you can use anywhere in your home park) and my 2018 dining pass was moved over to my membership. Honestly, I like the new membership options but the company rolled it out too fast creating all sorts of problems which even park staff don't know how to fix yet. Maybe by the time the 2019 season rolls around the membership buying process will advance past the 'beta' phase.

Having said that, we have been very happy with our Diamond Elite memberships.

jray21 · June 24, 2018

Good to know! I'll give them a call on Monday. At Discovery Kingdom it's an even better benefit because of the free one time Dolphin Discovery and Animal one as well!

cal1br3tto · June 24, 2018

I'm not in the exact same situation as you guys, but it's good to hear about a positive experience with the customer service line, just in case I need it. Not that this improves my overall opinion of Six Flags.

DoinItForTheFame · June 25, 2018

So, I finally got around to watching a Harley Quinn testing video... Honestly I kind of forgot that it was even being built. That being said, it actually looks like a fun addition. I'm not begging for one to come to a local SF park... But I wouldn't hate it if one did.

That being said... HOLY SH!T THAT THING IS LOUD!!!

larrygator · June 28, 2018

Did Discovery Kingdom bring in ride oops from La Donde to run Joker?

cal1br3tto · June 28, 2018

^Hmm, interesting. Last year when I visited in September/October and in November, basically every crew member on Joker was hustling. They also had like a wall full of operations award certificates or somesuch. It definitely helped compensate for some of the delays that can be inherent to RMC trains. Shame if they're slacking at the moment.

(I also liked that there were one or two attendants who had no inclination to assign seats--it's clearly still a policy since others were doing so during the same time periods, so it wasn't just crowd-based.)

The Yeti · June 28, 2018

^I think he meant they were speaking French.

cal1br3tto · June 28, 2018

^Lol!

If you're right, then I love how I jumped straight to the assumption that they were the worst ops ever, or underperforming at best. Which was it, Larry?

Sportsdude360 · June 29, 2018

I, for one, am very interested in the new Skyline Skywarp ride. A lot of parks might be getting these, so I'm dying to know how it is. I hope someone will post a review when it finally opens.

CaptainUnknown · July 3, 2018

As one who has operated Valleyfair's Larson Loop, I think I'm more interested with how it will be operated, especially in comparison to the Larson Loop. I also am curious as to how it will handle rain.

larrygator · July 3, 2018

^Lol!

If you're right, then I love how I jumped straight to the assumption that they were the worst ops ever, or underperforming at best. Which was it, Larry?

None of them were speaking French. Just taking their sweet time. 5-6 minutes between dispatches.

Edited July 3, 2018 by larrygator

cal1br3tto · July 4, 2018

^Gotcha. So yeah, I'm a bit surprised after noting the hustle on previous visits.

jray21 · July 4, 2018

We went to the park last Friday and we had a good day overall! It was super hot, but the crowds were pretty light for a Friday. Joker had some issues, and quite a few rides were closed. That was kind of annoying, especially since it was 4th of July weekend, but oh well.

Jewy joined us for the morning, and I had my nephews with me as well. We had a flash pass for two people, and it worked out well between all of us and it not being too busy. I feel kind of bad that my newborn daughters first ever amusement park was Six Flags, I hope she doesn't hold it against me. Jacob has finally hit 42", so he was able to hit a few more rides, but more importantly, the Sky Coaster! He's been wanting to do it for a bit and he loved it! He is not scared of heights at all, so I ended up being a lot more scared on it than he was.

I still can't believe how ridiculously priced the food is. It is more expensive than Disneyland and some baseball stadiums, and the quality is much much lower. Oh well, that's Six Flags! The operations were ok. In general, the employees that work in the kids areas are excellent at SFDK. I've always been extremely impressed at how fun, nice, and kind they are in the kids areas. It's generally the opposite operations on the big rides. Pretty slow, just going through the motions. Anyways, SFDK still seems like one of the better run SF parks I've been to.