Six Flags' mandatory lockers

July 26, 2007, 1:25 PM · According to a posting at Screamscape.com, lockers are required for ALL loose articles at Six Flags over Georgia's Goliath. The same policy is in effect at Six Flags America.

These aren't the same free lockers you would find at Universal Orlando's Hulk or Dueling Dragons roller coasters with free use for the first 2 hours. Six Flags is CHARGING $2 for the first 3 hour window and a whopping $5 an hour after that. Six Flags loves to encourage you to play their carnival games to win a basketball or large stuffed animal, now they are charging you extra to leave it somewhere while you ride a roller coaster.

Do you think this charge is justifiable? Would you rather leave your bags on the loading platform?

Replies (15)

July 26, 2007 at 4:35 PM · Busch Gardens Europe has instituted a similar policy. The park actually removed all of the bins from the coasters and have forced cast members at the queue entrance to ask guests to place loose articles in pay lockers. Cedar Point has this policy, but it is only in effect on Milennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster.
July 26, 2007 at 6:02 PM · Disgusting.
July 26, 2007 at 6:19 PM · I actually like lockers, but that price is crazy!
Leaving articles on the loading platform wouldn't be so bad if you could get back to them before the people who left on the previous train.
At KD I went on the Italian Job coaster and everyone had to leave their stuff on a table that looked like a yard sale.
July 26, 2007 at 6:48 PM · Doesn't bother me one bit. Now I can depart the station knowing my personal belongings are safe in a locker that I only have the key for. Is it really that much? We're talking $2 for 3 hours. That is less than $1 per hour. Do you know how much you can do at SFA in three hours. You could easily cover all of the coasters in the park in 4 hours, so I don't think it would be to hard to ride as least half of them in three hours.
July 26, 2007 at 8:38 PM · SFA also has all-day lockers in the Hurricane Harbor section for $9. If you plan on being there all day, I recommend getting one of these. While I was there, this past weekend, I ran into a lady that had spent $6 on three rides on the "temporary" lockers. She stated she didn't know about the lockers in the waterpark. Also, the waterpark closes an hour before the regular park but the locker area stays open till the park closes so that people can retrieve their items.
July 27, 2007 at 7:17 AM · The first time I was exposed to being required to put items in a locker was at IOA on the Hulk. At the time it was a mild inconvenience because it was hard to stuff my overload backpack in there. However, I appreciated that it was free. For a park to charge you for a ride locker is a little ridiculous. Yeah it's only two dollars, but I already spent $60-$100 (depending on the park) to get into the park with my wife. I like how my home park (Worlds of Fun) and its sister park Knott's approach this. They have cubbyholes at the loading area and I have never had anything lost or stolen.
July 27, 2007 at 1:31 PM · Sea World San Antonio does this for the Steel Eel, and Great White - lockers are only 50 cents, though. It still feels like a toll to ride a ride you already paid for.
July 27, 2007 at 1:48 PM · I think it's rediculous. Just another way to skim money out of our pockets when we've already spent almost $100 just getting into the park, not to mention food. I carry my fanny pack on my person at all times regardless of rides, no one has said anything to me yet, it moves to the side or haunched over the bar if necessary. If a family has a lot of stuff then I think it'd be worth it but like someone else said, look for all day lockers, kinda like all day parking in Nashville, pay $8 for all day & you don't hafta worry but forcing patrons to do that is wrong, it should be an option. On boomerang at SFFTx, they just said put your stuff over to the exit side, there was a gate w/the attendant who also pushed the start button to keep others out of the area. However, this last time for Poltergeist, the attendants were allowing ppl from the exit hop on although there were others in line waiting so I don't think that was fair plus it made me feel uncomfortable for those who left stuff in the bin, the people who were standing in the exit area cudda just walked or reached over & grabbed stuff. It was totally unorganized with the new flash pass.
July 27, 2007 at 2:15 PM · ridiculous. But I almost never buy souvenirs anyway, except when I'm in Orlando, but Universal has their locker deal.
July 27, 2007 at 2:47 PM · They should do what they are doing at Six Flags New England on Mind Eraser and Batman:DK. They have lockers, one side painted one color for one train, the other painted a different color. They slide a door between the two different sides, and that protects people's valuables.
July 27, 2007 at 3:48 PM · The forced locker situation is OUTRAGEOUS! I think the sliding door over the cubby holes, monitored by an attendant is a brilliant idea (which they have on another coaster and should be done at every major ride - especially during peak season.) At the beginning of the summer I went to Skull Island at SFOG and paid, I believe it was $8 to an attendant (would have been $11 for a large locker) because the electronic system was not working. I just did not want to risk someone walking off with my $500 camera while I was on the water slides. At Carowinds recently I used the lockers by the Borg Simulator. They are a VERY reasonable 75 cents. HOWEVER...it was a long walk to a store to get change. They NEED a change machine or even a host there to make it easy to stow articles since the way the ride loads they would have to move all personal items over the track. (They already have to carry a bin over filled with all the flip flops!!!)
July 27, 2007 at 8:07 PM · Cargo shorts. You can get just about anything into the pockets - cell phones, small-to-medium-sized cameras, even a floppy hat can go in and be safely tucked away. How can a SFoAnything be losing money? how much is parking? admission? the "special attractions"? the food? Oh, and now you have to use the high-priced lockers, too???

Please. Enough already. I'm not going back to 6F.

July 28, 2007 at 5:42 AM · They can take those rides and shove them as far as I'm concerned; I'm serious. Sorry to say this to you theme-parks, but NO ride is worth being subject to surcharged lockers. (Free keyed lockers just before the loading platform I'd be perfectly cool with.) On my last several theme-park visits I've purposely had nothing loose with me at all except for a hat. However I'm not about to store this in a locker for half the day. It's not only for show but for sunburn prevention, and thus "essential equipment at all times". This includes while waiting in line; not all queues are shaded.

At Knotts several rides also have that setup with the compartments and sliding cover. It's good to hear other parks do this too. I think every ride where loose articles are a risk should have this. I put off riding Silver Bullet for hours because I was afraid things would get stolen and I knew of course you can't carry things between your feet on that type of ride. Eventually I took the chance and fortunately it turned out to have those compartments.

July 28, 2007 at 6:40 AM · Yet another example of why i will not attend a Six Flags park. Poor guest service, poor house keeping, rides that appear unsafe and un managed, and just down right rude employees. Now they want to charge you extra for all of this...
August 1, 2007 at 10:32 AM · I recently saw the slide cover on the cubby hole feature & thought it brilliant. (Wish that they had that on the Demon at Great America when that idiot chose to steal my six flags umbrella).

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