Misc GA Mumblings

[rj1972]

All very good points and insight.

 

I don’t know what GA has done to their shows over the years, but they have none other than during Fright Fest and HITP.  Throw people in a large theatre and sell them overpriced snacks and beverages while they enjoy a show in the shade to cool down. 

 

We enjoy seeing the street shows in World Showcase at EPCOT, as do the thousands of other people that frequent them. 

 

 

[Yoshi]

I can't believe some of the wait times Queue Times is showing. 30 minutes for the carousel and 45 minutes for the Tea Cups? That sounds like Fright Fest crowd level wait times.

[rj1972]

Pardon the language, but today was an absolute s*** fest!

 

 I suspected that it would be crowded, as the result of the nice weather, but I had no idea that they were going to be so short staffed today.  It made me appreciate being a SixFlags shareholder, but did not make me appreciate being a SixFlags customer.

 

The gates opened around 10:20,  so I hightailed it over to Nitro.  Sure to form, Nora was in charge of the ride, and it did not open until 10:50.  Of course her passive aggressive nature must’ve told her not to send an employee down to the gate to inform the customers as to the status of the attraction.  Once we arrived into the station, she told us that we needed to wait until all the cues were filled. That did not go over well with some of the customers. Regardless, I was able to get two rides on nitro before it went back down. It’s seemed to go up and down all day. In fact, I was in the line again at 6:30 when they had further mechanical issues, so decided it was time  to call it a day. 

 

 After nitro, I headed over to the flash pass center to retrieve my flash pass, only to find that the line was out the front door due to all of the diamond and diamond elite members picking up their line skip vouchers. It took me 90  minutes to obtain my flash pass. One lady in the queue verbally lashed out at the flash pass associates. It was extremely uncalled for, but she wanted her diamond skip past, and felt it unwarranted to have to wait as long as she did. You would’ve thought that American Express bestowed a centurion card on her, and she was unhappy with a benefit.  I can’t say that I disagreed with her feelings, but her tactless handling of the situation was unnecessary. Granted, some of the flash pass associates in the back room could have helped the three young ladies that were working the counter, but Six Flags is not exactly known for their high level of customer service. 

 

 El Toro also had intermittent mechanical issues throughout the day,  so I finally decided to put myself into a Safari vehicle, and make the most of it.  At least, that was my hope. There was a family behind me who talked over the guide during the entire experience. Not only did they talk over the guide, but they were extremely loud. Not that it matters,  but they were speaking Spanish, so culturally, they may have not thought twice about it.

 

Then there were the food concession lines. I don’t know too many of them that were under an hour wait, including Rita’s. The challenge is that not all of the dining establishments were open. It looks like Cold Stone is gone, and Go Fresh by Nitro is being converted to a Primo Pasta kiosk. The  only remaining Go Fresh was closed today. I did wait a little over an hour for Macho Nacho, but that was about all the wait I could stomach. Even the beverage kiosks had lengthily lines.

 

 It definitely was not one of my better days, and I certainly hope they remedy the flash pass debacle. I did speak to Len about it, so we shall see if they come up with a better solution for the Diamond members to obtain their line skip passes. It certainly does not make sense to agitate families spending hundreds of dollars for a daily family flash pass. Didn’t management realize how many Diamond memberships they sold, and the ramifications it may cause to the Flas Pass headquarters?

 

Needless to say that I’m not rushing back to the park anytime soon.

 

 

[Viper26]

Honestly, operations have gone downhill this year compared to last year. Staffing seems to be one of the main issues but it is always a problem with the spring season and after Fright Fest.

[Yoshi]

That sounds horrible. It's too bad they can't just load the line skip passes onto the membership card automatically and scan that at the ride, like the dining pass.

[The Master]

That is disappointing news. Seems like quality is on the decline in general for the whole amusement industry. 

[Lemur]

On 4/13/2018 at 12:44 PM, fs76 said:

 

Just curious, is this speculation or did you hear from an employee? I don't doubt it needs it, last time I was there in November the Houdini head was not operating so we just got a disembodied voice. I'd be up for them updating the pre-show with some more modern effects but that might be a stretch. Anyone know any more info on this?

 

Read it on one of the Facebook groups that has some insiders and park rats, so take it with a grain of salt.  No timetable for reopen, which kills me as I freaking love this ride.  It really is a pretty unique ride.

 

On 4/14/2018 at 11:08 PM, Yoshi said:

That sounds horrible. It's too bad they can't just load the line skip passes onto the membership card automatically and scan that at the ride, like the dining pass.

 

Yes.  This was my exact fear with these new perks on the busy days.  Wait 90 minutes here to get a pass for a ride with a 60 minutes line.  They seriously need to get this sort of thing worked out. 

 

13 hours ago, The Master said:

That is disappointing news. Seems like quality is on the decline in general for the whole amusement industry. 

 

All reports I read from this weekend read like horror stories.  I sincerely hope they can get the staffing levels up to where they need to be to get the park running smoothly.  I know it's tough when the college kids aren't home and they foreign workers aren't here yet.  I just fear they won't get the number of foreign workers they'd had in previous years.  Also, I really hope someone is taking note of all of this and coming up with some plans for the future.

[Viper26]

 

On 4/27/2018 at 6:56 PM, Six Flags FUN! said:

I'm going to the park on this Sunday, what is the weather for this Sunday?

It's gonna be partly cloudy with a high of 56.

 

Good thing about today is that overall operations have improved drastically since my last visit; basically "back to normal". There were more employees, food lines were shorter, more places were open, and rides weren't breaking down too much. Park surprisingly wasn't too crowded despite the nice weather.

[Mr.Six]

Finally, the path has seemed to reopen from a plaza del Carnival to the Golden Kingdom.  Looks to be where Bloodsheds queue was.

[Squidy2201]

I heard they said that the path would open when the area was developed more. Apparently a construction wall from where Liberty Snacks was built is not closing off an area near the KK side of the path. Maybe that is the new area for expansion next year.

[The Master]

Finally rode Nitro for the first time this year on Friday after it was broken down on my previous trips. Only rode it twice before a female security guard barred me from my third ride saying keys are not allowed, which really pissed me off. So now they are enforcing no keys on KK, ET, and Nitro. I guess they have banned keys on all of their rides as the recorded safety message at the skyride now says keys are not allowed on that, WTF? The park is getting f'ing ridiculous with this policy. Seems all they can think of is how to make the park experience increasingly inconvenient, they are getting worse than an airport. Over regulation is very bad, especially for a business. 

[Yoshi]

It would seem difficult to ban keys on the Skyway. Even if someone gets a locker for keys near Skull Mountain or (log flume if open at the other station, or they use the lockers at Bizarro), many people use it as a transportation ride and won't be back to that section of the park for a while if at all that day. It also is strange that keys wouldn't be allowed when that is one of the few rides in the park that allows on ride pictures and video, a phone being held seems more dangerous than keys, not that I want the park to stop allowing pictures to be taken while riding.

[Viper26]

Do they still allow phones to be brought into the line for Nitro?

[fs76]

 

18 hours ago, Viper26 said:

Do they still allow phones to be brought into the line for Nitro?

 

Nope. I went on Saturday and had my phone in my pocket. The security guard stopped me despite not being able to visibly see my phone and told me it had to be in a zippered or buttoned pocket. I guess he saw an outline in my pocket but why are you looking that closely? So dumb because I know from experience the restraints will hold my phone in my pocket. If they are worried about photos or videos and people dropping their phones...I don’t see how a button or zipper prevents that.

[Yoshi]

That's been the policy for years for all the major coasters then last year it changed at Kingda Ka, El Toro and Joker to not allow any items even if they are in a button or zippered pocket.

[SFGadv123]

I keep my keys in my back pocket so they won't be able to see it. I never bring my phone into the park though because I'm afraid it would either fall out or they would see it and I wouldn't be able to ride. 

[Yoshi]

I have zippered pocket shorts that I only wear to parks (so they don't get worn out) or jackets with zippered pockets to avoid any problems. I don't trust buttons or velcro pockets especially on rides with a lot of inversions or air time.  The only bad thing is zippered pocket shorts can be difficult to find and also being able to find ones that can hold a phone. wallet and keys in a side cargo pocket.

[Viper26]

2 hours ago, Yoshi said:

That's been the policy for years for all the major coasters then last year it changed at Kingda Ka, El Toro and Joker to not allow any items even if they are in a button or zippered pocket.

I have yet to see a security guard stand at the entrance for The Joker telling riders the no phones/keys rule that is done at El Toro.

[SFGadv123]

3 hours ago, Viper26 said:

I have yet to see a security guard stand at the entrance for The Joker telling riders the no phones/keys rule that is done at El Toro.

So fare every time I have gone on The Joker an employee (not security) is standing there asking if anyone has a phone or keys on them

[The Master]

I went to the park again Sunday and there was only one guard for Nitro standing over by the lockers. On Friday, there were three guards screening everybody at the queue entrance for Nitro.

Also noticed GADV has new bicycle mounted security zooming though the park like Dorney has had for years.

[ericthewanderer]

WTF is all this about a "no keys" rule for the rides?Usually when I go to a park the ONLY things I have on me is a season pass and my car keys.....is SF trying to force more people to pay for the lockers? 

[Lemur]

11 hours ago, ericthewanderer said:

WTF is all this about a "no keys" rule for the rides?Usually when I go to a park the ONLY things I have on me is a season pass and my car keys.....is SF trying to force more people to pay for the lockers? 

 

Keys hurt when they fly out of your pocket and hit people.  It's not about making money - a third party licenses the right to operate lockers there so SF already got paid.  It's about SF lowering their litigation risks and insurance premiums.  If people don't bring keys or cell phones onto rides, they can't fly out of hands/pockets and fewer people will injured.

 

 

Edited May 8, 2018 by Lemur

[SFGadv123]

I get that it is about safety but it's just ridiculous that it seems like eventually it's going to come down to the point that unless you get a locker you won't be able to enjoy yourself and get on all the rides. 9/10 people are probably going to either have a phone or keys on them

[The Master]

13 hours ago, Lemur said:

 

Keys hurt when they fly out of your pocket and hit people.  It's not about making money - a third party licenses the right to operate lockers there so SF already got paid.  It's about SF lowering their litigation risks and insurance premiums.  If people don't bring keys or cell phones onto rides, they can't fly out of hands/pockets and fewer people will injured.

 

 

 

The park tried free lockers for one year before they switched to pay lockers. Even Universal offers free lockers for their no lose item policy. Money and greed are major motivations behind GADV's policy as well as their new membership program. Over regulation causes many more problems than it solves and consumers disliked being hassled. It is simply bad customer service and it keeps getting worse. 

Edited May 9, 2018 by The Master

[rj1972]

Six's stock price is down nearly 8% YTD, so they need to scrape every penny they can out of customers.  The memberships will certainly help, but the lockers have me perplexed. 

 

I usually wear cargo shorts with button or zippered pockets, so my phone goes in one, and my keys in the other. Never a hassle with the ride operators or security personnel who love to wield their authority.