pashacar

On 8/1/2020 at 11:26 PM, jollyroger said:

I am all for renovating stuff, but the Six Flags shop looks so plain compared to the Looney Tunes shop.

Strongly agree. It was fun and distinctive, and now it's neither. So too Hurricane Harbor's themed environment -- what an eyesore all of the cheap, screenprinted signs are.

15 hours ago, Six Flags FUN! said:

So the president said there will be 30 more days of guidelines. I think the park will open in mid May because in two weeks, they will start peaking the virus down soon.

I'd love to see that be the case but I think it's very wishful thinking. The virus will continue to spread to less-dense areas even if it begins to slow down in our big cities, which will draw out the public health crisis. Many events in June are already cancelled around the country, so I'd place late June as the absolute earliest GAdv opens.

On 3/29/2020 at 7:47 AM, Six Flags FUN! said:

^ NYC will peaking down virus in next month or May soon. It should be fine for the park's opening.

And the virus will be everywhere soon after. Just hit NY first because more international travel lands here.

On 3/22/2020 at 12:55 PM, DantheWoman said:

I've already went! I went on The Shredder and the Nickelodeon Slime Streak while my brother and his girlfriend went on Shellraiser.

How were they?

On 5/28/2018 at 1:20 AM, Daved Thomson said:

While TW certainly improved theming at the parks, those themes completely destroyed much of each parks’ uniqueness in architecture and characters.  I don’t think the individual parks needed to eliminate their unique characters when the TW characters were brought in.

Sorry to bring something back from so long ago, but bored for obvious reason over here....

This is a great point that I hadn't considered. The SF parks really did each have unique and often beautiful architecture, and Time Warner's acquisition began the step towards whitewashing and standardizing much of that.

5 Costumed ride attendants (Houdini especially)

4 Severe enforcement of code of conduct

3 Live entertainment

2 Glow in the Park parade (or equivalent)

1 Cohesive theming within each section – signage, music, etc.

On 3/10/2020 at 5:38 PM, GAcoaster said:

 

 

 

 

One of the things that really bums me out about GAdv in recent years is how much the signage quality has deteriorated. It appears that the once-expert signage department has probably been reduced to a guy with Microsoft Paint and a screen printer.

On 2/11/2012 at 6:36 PM, RideOfSteel said:

I Just Wanna Run by the Downtown Friction. They always played that in El Toro's line.

Have never heard of this, but just put it on and it's like the *quintessential* Six Flags song. Captures that throwaway teenage pop-punk vibe perfectly.

It's similar to the one song that really reminds me of all SF parks, which is "Grow Up" by Simple Plan. I remember it was used in a SF ad in 2002 or so (video here) and turned me onto that band before they blew up.

On 3/20/2020 at 8:01 AM, laurenalexis said:

They're cute!

 

I haven't been on the safari since 2015. Do the trucks go through the monkey area at all? I recall that they didn't the last time I rode it. 

They still don't, unfortunately.

Great report, Harry.

Has anyone done the “Holiday Craze” Mirror Maze? Is there anything holiday about it, or is that just clever branding?

On 11/12/2019 at 2:49 PM, Yoshi said:

I also thought it was great that all rides were open except in the case of a breakdown. On a Monday in November Great Adventure is able to have all the rides open and most food places open yet Hersheypark has 30+ rides closed on weekends. I remember in the early 2000's, out of Great Adventure, Dorney and Hershey, I thought Great Adventure was the worst run of the 3 parks for many reasons. Now it's the opposite and I think Great Adventure is run much better than Dorney and Hershey and it's not even close.

 

Totally hear you. Things have gotten A LOT better at GAdv (not to mention worse elsewhere.)

I miss the Discover perks. 5% cashback on everything (10% in your first year) was pretty hard to beat. Hopefully this comes close.

On 11/8/2019 at 10:34 AM, Pineracer said:

It seems Wonder Woman is not on the Holiday in the Park Ride list

Where do you see that? Hard to believe based on its location, and the abundant decorations right there....

I rode it yesterday and it's about right, space-wise. Plus you're only in that space for a minute or two. Much better procedure.

20 hours ago, 29yrswithaGApass said:

I have never understood how the Safari is Halloween entertainment except that it adds to the lineup.  It is not like what they use to do at the Safari Exploration Station for Fright Fest.

Oh man, the Exploration Station was such an awesome attraction. I miss it.

23 hours ago, lynn41103 said:

What pictures are you guys referring to? I don't ever recall this being advertised as anything more than what's pictured above in those photos.

Initial videos and imagery showed more activities. Just small things like more fountains, mushrooms, etc. Nothing like a Discovery Bay, but more of an activity pool than just a pool.

Just seeing this report, but great to have an entry from you, Tom! Appreciate the perspective now that you're an Orlando guy.

I haven't used Dorney's app, but have noticed the same issue on CP's. Six Flags' is not perfect, but far more accurate on wait times.

On 9/3/2019 at 11:59 PM, ZachMan said:

I was a happy lad when I was on Batman today as most of the OG sound effects were working, obviously not Alfred or the cop car but a lot of the sound effects like the dripping water, motor, theme, and more were back on for the first time in a while. Last time I was in the park was only a couple weeks ago and only some of the effects were on.

That's awesome. I wonder how those effects are preserved now that we're like 25+ years into the ride's life. Anyone know? Highly doubt they're digitized in any manner we'd consider sophisticated today.

On 8/7/2019 at 12:06 AM, The Master said:

I agree, where are the water mushrooms? Small body slides? gang slides? Lillypads? etc? 

Agree as well. It's...a pool. A nice place to park your stuff, I guess, but totally underwhelming as anything more than that.

Great report, Harry. I so appreciate your attention to detail, especially signage.

On that note, and yes, I say some version of thi every time a SFHH report is posted, but it remains true, as a fellow lover of themed signs (and theming in general), it's painful to see what they've let this park become. Look at all the unique personality in that original Big Bambu & Reef Runner sign you captured. Compare that to the Calypso Springs sign, or the Paradise Grill one, or the Coke stand, or one of 1,000 other things around the park. What a shame.

On 7/8/2019 at 1:12 AM, Yoshi said:

I can't handle intense rides like I used to. Years ago, I could ride Batman The Ride 5 times in a row no problem, now it's a once per trip ride for me.

I feel you. Still love coasters, but been able to tolerate less and less with each passing year. Rerides used to be the holy grail and now they're a big no-go.

Great report! Too bad about the effects on BSC. Surprised to see 1 train on so many rides at a larger CF park.

On 6/21/2019 at 7:37 PM, Matt Kaiser said:

Not surprisingly, the Member Appreciation events have been swapped.

June 28th is now the Hurricane Harbor "Summer Kick-off" member appreciation event instead of the Calypso Springs preview. They'll be giving out the Hurricane Harbor logo pin. I assume next month will be the Calypso Springs pin, but not sure if the dates will align for the event to be a member preview of Calypso Springs.

 

https://www.facebook.com/events/384804415720262/

Has Six Flags hit any of the planned opening dates this season? Across the chain?

LOL sure, *just* that there's sticky asphalt. Don't mind the huge crane working on the ride, nothing to see, just a coincidence.

What an embarrassment; they can't even get a flat ride to function safely or pave a midway properly. Who knows what corners are being cut on safety elsewhere in the park these days, all to save a buck or two.

Love the solar panel news.

But the rest of the report sure depressed me. It's disgusting what the company has done to this water park. What was once a gorgeous, tropical paradise is now a concrete, sheet metal experience overrun with poor maintenance and loud corporate advertising. And that's before you even get to the park's operations. As a theme park lover, it's tough to look at.