How would you redesign the Safari?

[truepolak90]

If they're going to transform the safari, I hope they invest a good chunk of change into this. I remember when the golden kingdom first opened up the themeing and landscaping was AMAZING! If the safari is going to be anything similar, then they have a winner on their hands.

[29yrswithaGApass]

^ Trying to use an Appeal to Ridicule fallacy I see.

 

If they do this it will suck. Everytime SF does a major change like this it is almost always for the worse so they can grab or save an extra buck.

 

Locker nazis suck, flashpass over in HH making standby lines there artificially longer sucks, ads everywhere looks trashy and sucks, almost all the FF attractions being up-charges sucks, closing off the middle in GK sucks, not doing anything with Old Country sucks, etc. I do not see this being different.

 

I value your opinion and not arguing some of your points... I too dislike most of the things you mention.

 

But there is a difference between policy related annoyances like lockers and flashpass and major capital investments. As a park we have been very fortunate to have capital invested in new additions like major roller coasters, water slides, area upgrades etc. each and every year.

 

I think your saying "it will suck" is a little premature given that none of the details (or even a confirmation) of what is going to happen have been announced. I suggest we wait until August 30th before forming opinions.

[acq10uaz]

I think your saying "it will suck" is a little premature given that none of the details (or even a confirmation) of what is going to happen have been announced. I suggest we wait until August 30th before forming opinions.

 

Your whole post was the point I was trying to mak, but what I quoted is especially what I was trying to say. I think the park is taking a huge risk and I'm really looking forward to see everything they have planned with this. I mean, making an upcharge into something free is a HUGE risk to take. The rumors say that there will be water falls, rocky terrain, and other special effects to enhance the story. I have also even heard rumors about different activities such as ATVing and a zipeline course. This has been something that's been in plans for a few years now and Fitzgerald is really invested in this project. I trust a lot of the decisions he has made in his short time as park president.

 

 

[truepolak90]

I couldn't agree more with acq10uaz, despite we lost the tiger show we got Green Lantern, Slingshot (reliable unlike eruption) as well as flats.. Much better then a mouse in a box with a airplane ride and loss of 10+ rides. I think John is doing an excellent job and has very good things in store for our park.

[Thunderbolt]

If they do this it will suck. Everytime SF does a major change like this it is almost always for the worse so they can grab or save an extra buck.

 

Locker nazis suck, flashpass over in HH making standby lines there artificially longer sucks, ads everywhere looks trashy and sucks, almost all the FF attractions being upcharges sucks, closing off the middle in GK sucks, not doing anything with Old Country sucks, etc. I do not see this being different.

 

Part of the Safari's appeal is to get away from the smelly crowds for awhile, not to be jammed into a small van with them and another long line to boot. I can easily see SF only running one or two vans most of the time regardless of wait times.

 

My major gripe are the yes-men who go into denial over really bad ideas like this.

 

Personally I think a much better solution is to install invisible fencing along the road so animals can't reach the cars to eat stuff from the few stupid people.

 

That is my opinion and if someone disagrees then they can disagree.

Sadly, I have to agree here. It's these decisions (lockers, ride removals, poor operations) that has kept me from patronizing Great Adventure since 2008. Don't forget all the parking fee increases Six Flags Corporate and Mr. Fitzgerald implemented. We'll have to wait and see where Six Flags goes with the Wild Safari Animal Park. Hopefully, they won't alter the place so much, that the drive through aspect couldn't return at a later date.

 

Six Flags could easily make the Safari free, as was the case during the Premier Parks Era.I also agree that fencing along the roadway is a more practical solution, while conducting an "up-charge" tour to get customers closer to the animals. People are always quick to champion whatever current management team is in charge. It's due to our emotional investment in the park and the brand. However, Mr. Fitzgerald has followed in the path of his predecessors in ignoring areas of the park in need reopening/re-imagining. What has been done to "The Golden Kingdom" is disgraceful. It's even sadder to see how Red Zone and current management are not taking care of Hurricane Harbor.

 

"The Green Lantern" is a nice addition, but it's not a major capital investment. Mark Shapiro all but stole it from Kentucky Kingdom (Six Flags didn't own the ride, nor did it install it). Lord knows, Mr. Fitzgerald plopped out in the middle of the parking lot.

 

[29yrswithaGApass]

Sadly, I have to agree here. It's these decisions (lockers, ride removals, poor operations) that has kept me from patronizing Great Adventure since 2008. Don't forget all the parking fee increases Six Flags Corporate and Mr. Fitzgerald implemented. We'll have to wait and see where Six Flags goes with the Wild Safari Animal Park. Hopefully, they won't alter the place so much, that the drive through aspect couldn't return at a later date.

 

Six Flags could easily make the Safari free, as was the case during the Premier Parks Era.I also agree that fencing along the roadway is a more practical solution, while conducting an "up-charge" tour to get customers closer to the animals. People are always quick to champion whatever current management team is in charge. It's due to our emotional investment in the park and the brand. However, Mr. Fitzgerald has followed in the path of his predecessors in ignoring areas of the park in need reopening/re-imagining. What has been done to "The Golden Kingdom" is disgraceful. It's even sadder to see how Red Zone and current management are not taking care of Hurricane Harbor.

 

"The Green Lantern" is a nice addition, but it's not a major capital investment. Mark Shapiro all but stole it from Kentucky Kingdom (Six Flags didn't own the ride, nor did it install it). Lord knows, Mr. Fitzgerald plopped out in the middle of the parking lot.

 

Knowing how the public responded to them fencing off the baboons (which was done for a very good reason) I can only imagine how people would react (or I should say reject) to fencing off all the animals. If they did it and upcharged for up-close encounters everyone would complain about them digging in their pockets again. Instead the rumor is that it will be an attraction included within the theme park, and a better attraction at that.

 

As far as recent attractions, I don't think John ignored the park or the guests. We just witnessed the reopening of a long neglected section with the addition of several family rides which is what was requested. It still has other areas to redo but progress has been made.

 

As far as Lantern, it didn't walk to NJ and pop up magically. It cost money. And as far as location, although the theme could be better, it replaced a ride that was at the end of its operational life. Besides, had it been placed somewhere else in the park it would have probably meant the removal of trees and we all know that goes over really well.

 

Finally, in regards to Hurricane Harbor, how can anyone argue with three new slide additions in the last four season (assuming the 2013 Screamscape rumor is true)? That is more than any other local water park that I can recall.

 

No doubt the park has stumbled in the past and some of the new things make you scratch your head (like Golden Kingdom), but things seem much more hopeful than seasons past.

[The Master]

SF would probably increase admission prices for included Safari tours, but this would also give them little incentive to run it at maximum capacity. I.e, only have a small fleet of vans and only operate a small part of that fleet, they may not even bother to keep any back up vans in case of break downs. Also being made better is subjective, it could be made better for some but may be worse for others.

 

I agree that not every area can be fixed up at once, and the new flats are a step in the right direction.

I agree GASM was really outdated and was never the smoothest coaster. However closing off the middle section of GK was disgraceful. The excessive ads make the park look really junky. Many of the policies such as the lockers are unneeded hassles that degrade enjoyment of the park experience .

 

No one is complaing about the new slides at HH, that is changing the subject. The problem at HH is it's operations, really the lack of them. The lifeguards are under staffed, I have seen a single lifeguard operating six slides at once. You will never see that at other water parks. I already stated how the new flash pass there makes the standby lines artificially longer from where they were last year. Then there is the lacking supply of free tubes and rafts for the slides. Last time I rode the toboggan slides only 4 were in service since 2 had gone flat and they are still flat. Even the lifeguards were complaining that HH did not have any spares for back ups. The river does not have adequate number of tubes which forces people to either walk or rent. Very few water parks bother with rental tubes anymore, even Disney did away with them. I have been to HH 5 times and only rode Tornadeo once and the King Cobra once due to the long slow moving lines. I only been to Hershey's Boardwalk 3 times, they also have long lines but they move so I was able to ride their Tornadeo 12 times this year and their Vortex slide 20 times. Heck I rode Morey's Skypond slide 25 times in 3 hours, and that is with a long line and breaks from sliding. I know I could never slide that many times in HH in a day without a flashpass and tube rental upcharges now. Despite 5 trips to HH I have let to slide down all their slides once each this year. Last year I had slid on all of them several times by now. Sadly they could add all the slides I would want but due to poor operations I would have a hard time sliding on them even once. This is why I am concerned about plans for possible big changes to the safari, due to SF's less than steller track record with big changes like this. I would hate to see it be another War On Lines mistake.

Edited August 16, 2012 by The Master

[truepolak90]

When I went to the water park this year it was the WORST experience I ever had at any waterpark. The whole new flash pass system is a complete disaster and it's ridiculous that they don't provide enough tubes for anything! We got flash pass gold and we ended up waiting 25 min. On the family raft slide only two levels down from where you board. With more tubes the lines can be eliminated by half. It was practically pointless toget flash pass for 25$ if we just rented a tube for 5$. I just hope that with this safari makeover they don't Condense everything unless they leave room to Put in perhaps a Giga along the perimeter to save on tree removel. If what everyone is saying is true this might put Great Adventure on the map again since Ka and El Toro and we can possibly see that hotel much soon then we thought.

[Thunderbolt]

Knowing how the public responded to them fencing off the baboons (which was done for a very good reason) I can only imagine how people would react (or I should say reject) to fencing off all the animals. If they did it and upcharged for up-close encounters everyone would complain about them digging in their pockets again. Instead the rumor is that it will be an attraction included within the theme park, and a better attraction at that.

It's up to the park to adequately communicate the necessary changes. Great Adventure does employ P.R. staff after all. Plus, doesn't Wild Safari Animal Park already offer up-charge "off road" tours?

 

As far as recent attractions, I don't think John ignored the park or the guests. We just witnessed the reopening of a long neglected section with the addition of several family rides which is what was requested. It still has other areas to redo but progress has been made.

The addition of 4 new "flat rides" (2 of these are brand new, the other 2 refurbished and 1 transferred) is a great. The park needs these desperately. However, Mr. Fitzgerald has also subtracted an entire well themed section of the park ("The Golden Kingdom's Balin's Jungleland"). I am kind of neutral, to borderline negative on this. The loss of "The Golden Kingdom" epitomizes exactly why Six Flags fails. They take the best themed section in the entire chain, and replace it with... nothing.

 

As far as Lantern, it didn't walk to NJ and pop up magically. It cost money. And as far as location, although the theme could be better, it replaced a ride that was at the end of its operational life. Besides, had it been placed somewhere else in the park it would have probably meant the removal of trees and we all know that goes over really well.

With all due respect, "The Green Lantern" is a nice addition at a park that didn't need another roller coaster. Sure, I am glad to receive it. However, while a major addition to Great Adventure, "The Green Lantern" is hardly a major "capital expenditure". Six Flags got the ride for FREE. All Six Flags paid was to refurbish and transport the attraction. Considering what a brand new Bolliger & Mabillard "Stand Up" costs, this was a steal.

 

As for "The Great American Scream Machine" being at the "end of it's operational life", I call B.S. on that one. I am glad "The Great American Scream Machine" is gone. The coaster saved Great Adventure, and deserves praise for being a highly reliable attraction. I do think Six Flags should have sent it to Six Flags America versus scrapping it, but that's another story. Arrow Coasters never die. Parts are easy to acquire, and the coasters see little down time. They live on to inflict pain on riders the world over.

 

Finally, in regards to Hurricane Harbor, how can anyone argue with three new slide additions in the last four season (assuming the 2013 Screamscape rumor is true)? That is more than any other local water park that I can recall.

I'll leave the operational deficiencies up for others to describe ("The Master" seems to have covered it.). My complaint lies with the fading paint, and withering theme. "Hurricane Harbor" was beautiful when it opened! It's was a tropical oasis fantasy. Like "Atlantis" in the Bahamas. Now, it's starting to look like Nassau in the Bahamas. I wish the park would see a lot of fresh paint, and the theme aspects fully restored. Also, fire the person who chose a low capacity attraction that can't service the weight of 60% of the U.S. Population.

 

No doubt the park has stumbled in the past and some of the new things make you scratch your head (like Golden Kingdom), but things seem much more hopeful than seasons past.

Hope springs eternal. We'll have to see. I just won't hold my breath.

[29yrswithaGApass]

This topic has gotten way off-topic in many directions and its obvious points and opinions can be made from all sides. I would suggest that if anyone else has comments add them now and then let's get back on topic.

[scipiomask]

Personally, I'm very excited for the official announcement about what exactly this new Safari attraction will be. Think about how much cooler this will make our park -- we'll be the only Six Flags park with a Safari ride included, and we'll be the only park around that has a safari ride. I mean, how cool is that? I'll definitely miss being able to drive through the safari (I get my license in 12 days, hopefully, and I plan to try and drive through before it closes), but when one door closes, another one opens, right? Personally, I hope they add a storyline to the safari, and have tour guides who tell corny jokes, like the Jungle Cruise. I also hope it's part of Golden Kingdom and not Frontier Adventures, because if it was part of the latter, that would mean we'd have three different park sections with safari-themed attractions.

[ThemeParkRider]

I just hope they place the new entrance in a smart location... Like next to Ka or behind Rolling Thunder. Even next to the gift shop could be a stretch. Or basically, not in the parking lot.

[GAcoaster]

Most likely it will be in Medusa/Bizarro area.

[gafreak]

id prefer to see the entrance in gk myself, with the whole center of the area closed off, i think the area needs to have this, Ka alone really doesnt justify a entire "themed" area of the park and it kinda already fits the the safari/jungle type theme.

[gafreak]

guess this topic is officially done...

[ericthewanderer]

I know this is expecting alot from SF,but maybe they will redevelop the Safari into something along the lines of Disney's safari ride at Animal Kingdom:basically large off-road,open-air vehicles travelling around with the more dangerous/troublesome animals seperated by less-obvious barriers.And I wish they left the tigers inside the ride park!

[FlumeOp1974]

Ok hereis my thoughts ...Im betting we will still see the Safari. Im thinking that the Gate will be moved to the Old Safari Hospitality Area. And we we see a Hunnington Train used to transport guests thru the park. It will still be a seperate gate from the main park. Or we will see it as part of the Golden Kingdom. With a African Theme Train Station. Im thinking several trains. With one departing every 25 mins. And each being lead by a member of the Safari Cast giving explations about the animals and the area their from..And heres the kicker Im seeing the hotel being built around the the currrent safari gate. Thus allowing it to be operational as a year round resort. I dont know call it a huntch

[ericthewanderer]

How about if they had buffaloes instead of baboons next to Medusa(with the baboons located elsewhere)?

[The Master]

I see GADV has some sort of deal with a bus company who already runs the parking lot shuttles and the Safari VIP vans which are really the same type of vehicle. What will probably happen is that GADV will expend thir deal with this bus company so they run a few more fully enclosed shuttle vans though the safari and window seats could be an upcharge. Probably will have locker nazis for the vans and a quarter of each van's capacity will be reserved for only flashpass users.

[acq10uaz]

-__- So pessimistic. The vehicles are more or less the same as Animal Kingdom's vehicles.

[29yrswithaGApass]

Any park would be thrilled to get what we are going to receive in 2013!

[gafreak]

in todays newsletter, it said thursday it will reveal the 2013 new items, not item....,so i think we could see more then just a safari makeover, i just hope it they have enclosed vans the ac actually works

[ButchDring]

I believe the best way for the safari park is the way my husband designed the original park....The new system eliminated the up close and personal experience that Butch provided the guests. ...I believe a huge mistake was made. ....

[29yrswithaGApass]

I believe the best way for the safari park is the way my husband designed the original park....The new system eliminated the up close and personal experience that Butch provided the guests. ...I believe a huge mistake was made. ....

 

Mrs. Dring, do you or Mr. Dring have any recollection of plans for a boat ride tour of the Safari? I would love to know how close this came to being a reality or if it was just an early idea that never materialized. You can read our topic on the subject by clicking HERE.

[Switlik Property]

I believe the best way for the safari park is the way my husband designed the original park....The new system eliminated the up close and personal experience that Butch provided the guests. ...I believe a huge mistake was made. ....