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Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (SFDK) Discussion Thread


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Great report! It's great to see the improvements to the area and theming elements added along with this coaster.

 

How did that penguin get away and why did it take them so long to get him back?!?

 

I can't believe that dolphin pool is just gone. I mean, I can believe it, but it's sad for me to see. Hopefully this doesn't mean they're really trying to phase out all animal exhibits but maybe just rearrange things a bit? Anyone else remember the mid-2000s rebrand when they added the signage for Land/Sea/Sky? I think that was also when that pool and those exhibits (stingray, penguins, dolphin pool) were added. Obviously those exhibits don't particularly scream "DC Comics." While the very very back of the park is definitely pretty quiet compared to the front/ride areas of the park, it does seem the animal attractions are still popular in their own ways (though mainly the shows). There are also only so many rides they could put back there anyway due to height/noise restrictions. I guess only time will tell.

 

 

 

I found the dolphin pool near V2 embarrassingly small for creatures who can swim fast.

 

As for their new S&S free spin coaster, I rode the one at SF Chicago and was not a fan. The Intamin version at SFMM was worse (one and done for me, ouch!). I'm sure some people will love it but I'll stick to riding the RMC.

 

SFDK could probably use a coaster less intense than Medusa but stronger than Cobra, especially if they are slowly reducing (or phasing out?) the zoo part of the park. Something that doesn't go upside down for the thrill seekers in training.

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^To your last paragraph, I say they get rid of Kong and free up that space for a Gravity Group wooden coaster or (if they wanted another upside down roller coaster) a Gerstlauer Infinity coaster. However, that may be too much to ask for from Six Flags to add to SFDK. In my opinion, it just seems that Six Flags treats the park as the lower tier of their parks with SF America and SF St Louis.

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In my opinion, it just seems that Six Flags treats the park as the lower tier of their parks with SF America and SF St Louis.

Not at all, to me SFDK is in the tier with say SFNE and SFFT. Just look at what SFDK has gotten since 2012, and then use the same comparison with SFA and St Louis.

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In my opinion, it just seems that Six Flags treats the park as the lower tier of their parks with SF America and SF St Louis.

Not at all, to me SFDK is in the tier with say SFNE and SFFT. Just look at what SFDK has gotten since 2012, and then use the same comparison with SFA and St Louis.

 

2011 - Sky Screamer (Funtime Starflyer)

2012- Superman Ultimate Flight (Premier Sky Rocket II)

2014- Tsunami Soaker - Now The Penguin (Mack Twist N Splash)

2015- Dare Devil (Larson Loop)

2016- The Joker and Pacific Rim 5D (RMC Conversion, Iwerks Theater)

2017 - Wonder Woman ( Zamperla Giant Discovery) and Acquisition of Water World, Now Hurricane Harbor Concord

2018 - Harley Quinn (Skywarp)

2019 - Batman (S&S 4D Freespin)

 

If you were to calculate capital investment in 8 years, I am almost certain its equal to or greater than the money spent at the larger Six Flags parks.

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Had a nice time with the cutie yesterday (free ticket week with the pass!)

 

It was my 2nd time on the "free spin" S&S coasters, still fun!

 

Once Batman was running, the line was moving good. 4 cars (loading two at a time), they where ready to go a bit after the two on track made it back. Other than a puker on Medusa, the line was moving great, ready to go just the train came in. Joker with one train took a while.

 

Saw one maintenance dude 3 times! Fixing Joker and Batman, fishing a jacket out of the Wonder Woman. Me and the cutie both can't really handle the spinning of Wonder Woman. I pretended to be a ballerina and did the "focus on a point" move as the cycle ended, that helped.

 

Love the water bottle fillers, even with the filter in "red" status the water was cold-ish and tasted fine.

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Theme Park Review was invited to Batman: The Ride's media event and midnight party! According to Don McCoy, President of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, “As the world leader in thrills, Six Flags continues to raise the bar to deliver the most unique and innovative experiences in the industry." “On Batman: The Ride, riders are suspended outward on either side of the track as the cars flip continuously throughout the course of the ride. This coaster is a game-changer and the perfect complement to our already impressive DC Super Hero and Super-Villain lineup which includes Superman Ultimate Flight, The Joker and Harley Quinn Crazy Coaster.”

 

Here are some of the unique design of Batman: The Ride features:

 

- A massive, imposing, floating and twisting I-box track frame in a unique two-tone design;

 

- One-of-a-kind onboard magnetic technology featuring smooth head-over-heels free-fly flips, giving guests the feeling of weightlessness as they soar outside the confines of a traditional track;

 

- 4D wing vehicles that seat up to eight per vehicle with a total of five vehicles;

 

- Face-off seats that allow riders to face each other as they tumble head-over-heels;

 

- A 120-foot-tall, 90-degree hill that is ascended by an elevator-style, chain link lift; and

 

- Two beyond 90-degree “raven” drops giving the sensation of free-falling.

 

The media event was held in the morning and started off with some refreshments and then a statement by Don McCoy, Park President, and Kirk Smith, Director of Marketing. After that, there was the ribbon cutting ceremony and then the ride was open for the media! I was able to ride it quite a few times and it was a great ride! It was super smooth and it had some great drops and flips.

 

TPR was also invited to the midnight Six Flags Members opening. It was a really cool event and I hope they do it again in the future! The park was open 10 pm to 3 am, and by the end of the night, everything was a walk on and it was amazing! Everyone seemed to had a great time, and everyone I talked to said they should do a midnight event again.

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I've arrived for the event!

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The ride testing is always a good sign!

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Each track is unique. They put the "fins" in different areas of the track on each side so that each side give a different ride! I like the side closer to the road the best.

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A nice bag with some candy, a shirt, a battery pack, and more!

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Don McCoy, Park President, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom gives a statement before opening the ride.

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Time to open the ride!

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First riders of the event. The operations all day for the ride were excellent!

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Up the lift hill.

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It's a great ride is such a small area.

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Batman: The Ride has some pretty intense moments!

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It's finally my turn!

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The huge Batman logo can be seen from all over.

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The ride is moving through the course pretty well!

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Height sign.

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Entrance sign.

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One of the many times you flip around.

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The one and only Batman and the Batmobile!

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Penguin showed up to try and cause some trouble.

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This is my favorite part of the ride.

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Of course you have to have real bats at the opening to Batman: The Ride.

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I love the drops on the ride.

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It's a fun ride!

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This area was open for the media event. In a construction miracle, they were able to put in all the railings and queue lines in only a few hours!

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Safety signage

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They had a bunch of these technical drawings in the line.

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Some of Batman's weapons.

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More weapons.

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Signs.

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More signs.

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This was a cool holographic effect.

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More signs.

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The inside queue.

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I love the drops!

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The DC area has a lot of great rides!

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The 90 degree lift hill.

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They are having a fun time!

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Superman was running great as well.

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The Joker was open and was eating people all day. F

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The Flash Vertical Velocity was open as well.

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It's been a while since I've seen it running, and the new paint job looks great!

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It's a fun and unique ride.

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Batman looks great in the park!

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Wonder Woman was also running great today.

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Harley Quinn isn't the most amazing ride, but it is fun and unique.

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They seem to like it!

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The sky cleared up and it was a perfect day!

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Medusa was also running great today.

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Batman: The Ride really looks amazing!

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Here an advertisement for the ride.

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Medusa!

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I had to take my required "Ray" photo with my dad!

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I made it the whole day! Now it's time to hang out in the car for an hour and then head back in for the Member Appreciation Party!

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One of the perks of being a member!

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TPR got the VIP treatment with a bag full of cool stuff and a bunch of food vouchers!

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It's almost time to go in!

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Just follow the signs!

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The long walk to the DC Universe area.

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We had some special VIP seating for us.

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It's going to be a long and fun night!

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The did a great job with the smoke and lighting!

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It was really cool at night.

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They also had the other rides in the area open, except for the Penguin since it was really cold.

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I really liked the lighting that they had.

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They had a DJ and a lot of people liked the dancing.

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Only a few more hours!

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For food, I got these delicious buffalo tater tots!

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I couldn't take enough pictures!

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Here is the inside of the gift shop.

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And here is the other side.

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They had some cool slime stuff that I hadn't seen before.

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I love this ride, but it terrifies me.

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The best part of the evening was no lines!

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Oh yeah, they also had a bar in the VIP section!

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The DJ did a great job keeping everyone energized.

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Everyone is ready to ride!

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Don McCoy gives a brief speech before opening the ride at midnight!

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Some of the first ever GP to ride the ride!

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Faster than a.... whoops, wrong ride.

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It's a whole new ride at night!

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I love how the ride towers over the queue.

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This was the Joker line at around midnight!

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See, all these railing were put in in just a few hours!

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Joker line at about 1 am, it was amazing!

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This was the Batman line at around 1:30 am! I love this event!

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Around 2 am, you could just stay on all night!

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It got eerily empty around 2:30 am. There were only a few of us left who could last the night.

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This was the Wonder Woman queue

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I ended up having the ride to myself! (Yes, I put my phone with a non-rider after I took these pictures.)

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The lighting package looks great!

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And that's a wrap! A huge thanks to Six Flags for such an amazing day!

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Great media day report, that member preview night looked like a lot of fun. (I really hope SFMM does something like that when West Coast Racers finally opens.) Batman is a great fit for the park and the whole DC area looks amazing. I think that SFDK has one of the best themed and most cohesive DC areas of any SF park.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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^ 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.

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