Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (SFDK) Discussion Thread

[CharlieT.]

Agreed, from what I can remember riding Roar. I always loved the back seat mainly because of the first drop, and the hill after the first turnaround as it provided some nice floater air in the rear. *Calls dibs on back seat for ERT *

 

I kind of figured having an 'offset' Pandemonium car would increase the amount of spinning...so any smaller people want to join my cousin and I? Not that I'm excessively overweight or anything...

 

So I'm completely unfamiliar with the Six Flags Fluffy Bunnies (AKA Lock-ers) policy. If you happen to bring a hat (to keep the sun out of your face) do those have to be stored in those dreaded compartments as well? I know their policy pretty much sums up any 'loose article' such as beverage containers, backpacks, etc...from what I read on their site. On the other hand, and I'm sure we've all complained about this but I think it's unfair to say 'no beverage containers' yet provide overpriced soda...cheap way to make money. And if you're in a longer line that's not quite shaded (such as Medusa's queue before entering the lower level station building) I guess you're supposed to deal with the sun in your face? Maybe I'm overreacting as I'm a bit spoiled by CGA's providing of storage cubbies complete with sliding or trap doors to cover everything that still keep the loading platforms safe and clear of any possible tripping hazards.

 

In my recent visits to the parks, most of the main coasters, if not all of them, have souviner cup holders in the station where you may leave those. The park has also been more lenient on the lock-er process. In my visit last week, they were letting you leave your shoes/hats by the drink holders, however not jackets.

 

Also, keep in mind that many of the popular attractions still actually have free cubbies. Currently, V2, Boomerang, Sky Screamer, Tazmanian Devil, and probably a few others still have this free way to store your items while you board. I think that they are most strict about the lock-er policy on Roar.

 

A little advice that works really well: say you are in the Medusa/Kong ride plaza, aka Oasis Plaza, and would like to ride both coasters and have a backpack or some large item that the park will not allow you to bring to the station. Well, the lock-re's last 2 hours, so you may use 1$ to store your items in the medusa or kong lock-ers, however ride both, even multiple times depending on the wait time. Good way to save some money.

 

Hope this helped. Have fun!

[Lady Gaga]

According to Screamscape Sky Screamer is back in operation!

[Angry_Gumball]

^Hooray!

^^Actually, I plan on taking as minimal as possible when attending SFDK. My camera's small enough to stuff in the pocket along with my cell. I'll save the backpacks and souvenir cups for CGA...so if I can avoid a lock'r, I will. How have wait times been on average for a Saturday at SFDK anyway?

[Andrewoplis]

I usually don't go on Saturdays, but on the few times I did, your looking at around 1-2 hour waits for rides like medusa and roar, good thing we have ERT on them! Ive seen the wait for kong up to 3 hours sometimes, but thats with one train. You don't have to really worry about some of the "less poplar rides" like Voodoo, but some of the rides that are normally like this on weekdays, like V2, can get very long lines on Saturdays, so make sure you hit those rides first!

[greatamerica1990sfan]

My mom is thinking about getting me a ticket for the Dolphin Swim program at SFDK. Is that worth it?

[Mechanic]

If someone else is paying, then of course it's worth it.

[paulm12]

is Roar rough? Like comparable to Ghost Rider or Colossus (SFMM, isn't too bad IMO)? How good is it compared to Terminator/Apocolypse? Heard its butter smooth and also really rough from many.

[FrightFest1408]

is Roar rough? Like comparable to Ghost Rider or Colossus (SFMM, isn't too bad IMO)? How good is it compared to Terminator/Apocolypse? Heard its butter smooth and also really rough from many.

My friend just came back and he said its hell in the back just like ghostrider.

[Mechanic]

It's gotten rougher the past few years. It's not as bad as Ghostrider was when Ghostrider was really bad, and not nearly as smooth as Terminator/Apocalypse. Overall, I'd call it medium-rough, but not spine-adjusting rough. You'll just have to ride it for yourself to see where it lands on your rough meter.

[Andrewoplis]

Smooth in the front, rough in the back, but not colossus rough IMO, and some of the best airtime on that ride is in the back!

[Angry_Gumball]

One other question as I'm not sure how crowd behavior is at SFDK compared to CGA. Should I prepare myself for "Going Dumb" and rowdy behavior or see similar environment that CGA has? I know Vallejo is a 'rough' city.

[ABW]

Oh absolutely, there's a reason I fork out the extra drive to CGA over SFDK! Prepare to dumb down... a lot! SFDK has the worst crowd behavior at any theme park I've ever been to. Whenever I go I can't help but notice all the ghetto idiots that do nothing but swear, wear their "pants" all the way down to their knees and act in an extremely uncivil way! I'm not kidding a bit when I say this. It gets to a point where I just miss the at least semi-civil crowd that CGA has! Vallejo, like you said is an extremely "rough" city and the only beautiful place in the whole city is the park itself.The best advice I can give is just be prepared and you'll probably be fine. I hope this helps and despite all of what I said, I'm sure you'll still enjoy your visit to the park.

[Angry_Gumball]

As long as I don't get bombarded with a bunch of line jumpers. I would probably end up having to bite my tongue and not say anything if I don't want to start any fights. I haven't been there since 2006 so I don't really remember it being 'ghetto' status then. But last time I was in the area in 2009 we were actually not in the park. We were meeting a friend's parents at the SFDK parking lot next to Medusa's loop. Afterwards we went into Carl's Jr/gas station combo building to use the restroom and get something to drink when I noticed the excess amount of gang writing and grafitti in the bathrooms. It overall had a filthy look due to it. I'll now at least be able to accurately compare and contrast the 2 parks after this weekend, operations-wise and overall crowd/demographics-wise.

 

And I guess afterwards, I may have plenty of stories to share in the GP thread

[MrSum1_55]

^^I agree that the park is the nicest-looking thing in town, but the park does not look too nice either! It looks like it could be one of the most beautiful parks in the country driving up to it, but once you get inside, you will see little more than a giant permanant carnival. Recently, I was looking through many of the photos I have taken, and many of my photos from other parks like Disneyland or SFMM appear full of life with excellent backdrops(DL) or foregrounds (SFMM's trees) My SFDK photos, however, mostly looked ugly with concrete backdrops.

 

Operations are pretty bad here, and I don't think I have ever seen anyone picking up trash. It is good that the park is usually light on crowds, so you probably will have a good time. However, if go on a crowded day, you will be jealous of anyone who went to SFA that day!

 

I would always suggest going to CGA. Even if you live further away from it, at least you are guaranteed two-train operation on most rides, except Vortex, and a very clean-well rounded park. While CGA does not excel in any category, it has a great balance of coasters, flat rides, water rides, family rides, cleanliness. The only real problem is the staff are just as slow at dispatching as SFDK, if not a little worse. Still, having the only real standout coaster in the bay area (besides GD) makes up for that.

[Angry_Gumball]

Actually, CGA's a closer distance, about 20 minutes away while SFDK is almost double for me. I'll definitely be prepared for slow single train dispatches (from what I've read here and on yelp), stacking (like a bad game of tetris:P) and trash everywhere (afterall, this isn't a Cedar Fair park loaded with trash cans that actually keep things clean looking). If I recall, Medusa had a wall on its stairwell leading to the station that was caked with gum. Wonder if it's still like that or if it finally got cleaned.

[Andrewoplis]

As long as I don't get bombarded with a bunch of line jumpers. I would probably end up having to bite my tongue and not say anything if I don't want to start any fights. I haven't been there since 2006 so I don't really remember it being 'ghetto' status then. But last time I was in the area in 2009 we were actually not in the park. We were meeting a friend's parents at the SFDK parking lot next to Medusa's loop. Afterwards we went into Carl's Jr/gas station combo building to use the restroom and get something to drink when I noticed the excess amount of gang writing and grafitti in the bathrooms. It overall had a filthy look due to it. I'll now at least be able to accurately compare and contrast the 2 parks after this weekend, operations-wise and overall crowd/demographics-wise.

 

And I guess afterwards, I may have plenty of stories to share in the GP thread

 

Line jumping is a HUGE problem at sfdk, and very few employees tend to care about it.

 

EDIT: Oh, and the operations HAVE gotten a lot better, more two train operations and faster dispatches on many of the rides

[SoCalCoasters]

All my visits to Discovery Kingdom in the past have been quite nice, and I've never really ever seen anyone line jumping before. The park was clean and tidy, ride operations were decent, except for Thrilla Gorilla (which sucks, don't ride it) and all the shows were quite entertaining.

 

When I've been during the Holiday in the Park, I've had an even better time due to lower crowds and festive theming. The snow hill was quite a welcome addition, as it removed the smoking section that used to choke the people in line for the lakeside flatrides.

 

The only issue with HitP was the random campfires set up, which often caused me to gag on the first drop of Medusa...

 

Anyway..

 

I've always found SFDK to be the black sheep of SF parks, sort of how GCA is the black sheep of CF. The park is quite good for being run by SF.

[JJnCFL]

SFDK has gotten much better ever since the rebranding to "DK", much cleaner, employees are enthusiastic and give you high fives, and I've never waited longer than 20 minutes on all the rides, including the major ones, every time I went with the exception of SkyScreamer since it's new. Lines are pretty much non-existent on the weekdays. Regarding the "clientele" both CGA and SFDK have their mix of bad apples, but majority is fine. Be advised they are really strict with their "fluffy fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo" policy, be warned!

[robman]

you guys might think im insane but when a rode Roar last week in the front I thought it was very rough and bumpy. Then I rode Kong in the back and I felt that it wasn't too rough it was a little but not to bad. The front is a lot worse on Kong compared to riding in the back.

Edited August 2, 2011 by robman

[Angry_Gumball]

^Good, now I feel more relieved. I'm bringing as minimal as possible to avoid their fluffy bunnies. There shouldn't be an issue with having a camera stored in your pocket, right? I mean, it's no different than carrying your cell phone or wallet. Not too sure about their policy is if you happen to have a hat so I may just leave that behind.

 

And by the way, I got called 'crazy' by my parents when I showed them Sky Screamer and that I was going to check that out.

[MrSum1_55]

Actually, CGA's a closer distance, about 20 minutes away while SFDK is almost double for me. I'll definitely be prepared for slow single train dispatches (from what I've read here and on yelp), stacking (like a bad game of tetris:P) and trash everywhere (afterall, this isn't a Cedar Fair park loaded with trash cans that actually keep things clean looking). If I recall, Medusa had a wall on its stairwell leading to the station that was caked with gum. Wonder if it's still like that or if it finally got cleaned.

 

Medusa's queue is just as terrible as always. The park has finally started running more than one train, but be prepared for horrible stacking. On my last visit, Medusa was running all three trains. Sounds great right? Well, the crew had enough talent on consistantly stack all three of them. Like Tetris: The Ride.

 

Although, in the giant room, while I was playing "count the trash" in the 2 hour line, I could not help but notice something on the wall. It appeared to look like a GIANT band-aid covered by a wet paper towel. I do not know what it was, but I do know no one was around to scrape it up!

[ABW]

Please pardon this incessantly cynical post. Thank you immensely.

Edited February 9, 2016 by ABW

[JJnCFL]

^Good, now I feel more relieved. I'm bringing as minimal as possible to avoid their fluffy bunnies. There shouldn't be an issue with having a camera stored in your pocket, right? I mean, it's no different than carrying your cell phone or wallet. Not too sure about their policy is if you happen to have a hat so I may just leave that behind.

 

And by the way, I got called 'crazy' by my parents when I showed them Sky Screamer and that I was going to check that out.

 

Everytime I went they were more relaxed with people with hats, I just put mine in my jacket. On Medusa they were more stricter with people leaving their flip flops on the side and told them they had to bring it with them. You should be ok having your camera in your pocket.

[Angry_Gumball]

Flip flops being allowed as a loose article, may as well lift the loose article policy at that rate. Imagine being smacked by one's flip flop at 65mph if somehow they lost grip of them. I've been smacked by someone's hat when riding Cobra coming down the first drop sitting in the rear car. Yes, it hurt and that was at a slower speed.

[deathbydinn]

In a shocking bit of news, Screamscape sources have confirmed to us that SFDK will soon remove Pandemonium (aka: Big Spin) and send the ride to another Six Flags park. Lets hope that they will replace this coaster with at least a new one of equal or bigger size.

 

http://www.screamscape.com/html/six_flags_discovery_kingdom.htm

 

This seems a bit out there. I know Zonga left after operating for a very short time, but didn't it have a fair share of mechanical problems and rider discomfort? This just seems more unlikely, but I guess there have been a few crazy SF ride relocation rumors lately.