Six Flags Improving Drastically
Six Flags Great Adventure: I went to SFGadv yesterday.
Alright, so yesterday i went to six flags great adventure, everything i ever heard about this park that was bad was all false! The staff are great, the park was as clean as a whistle, the rides were all working, they had good crowd control, and i didn't need a flashpass. believe it or not, i got on all the rollercoasters there without one. plus i went on nitro twice! This park is rediculously awesome! I went on a saturday in april and it was great. All the staff were nice and they all had materials to pick trash up with. The only long line i waited in was kingda ka, which was a 2 hour line. This ride was worth it all the way! It was so fast it was crazy! everyone was happy. Besides 2 mishaps in the line ( A person threw up and another person was assulting someone with a bamboo stick) people were pretty normal. there were no fights but people did use fowl language. Overall, i give the park a 9.5 out of 10. Please tell me what you think of the park or if you think the six flags chain is improving.
P.S: kingda ka is not very reliable, so if you are planning a trip to SFGadv, don't plan it for the sake of going on kingda ka, although it is a major attraction. it frequently breaks down and the waits can be outrageous. The other coasters are also great, except SUF kinda scared me, haha.
Its good you have seen what I see! However, what I think Six Flags' biggest problem is consistentcy. You went to Great Adventure, I go to Great America, but if you look right next to this discussion in the green box of top parks by attendence, both of the Six Flags parks mentioned are in the top 20.
From James Rao
Posted April 27, 2009 at 7:41 AM
Anthony is right, the improvement is slow and has started with the bigger markets first. There is no doubt Shapiro and his cronies are working hard to improve the brand, however, it may be too late to save the company from bankruptcy. We'll see.
Anyway, visit the pit that is Six Flags Saint Louis sometime and tell me what you think....
Sorry, I didn't finish my thought, but I think you know where I am going with this: I would venture to say SFGA and SFGAdv are probably the best and most successful parks in the chain at the moment. Case in point: both got the Dark Knight Coaster in 2008 and 2009 brings a new water ride to SFGA.
However, SFGA was not started by Six Flags, but actually Marriot Hotel Chain set up in a way similar to Disney. He saw the way Disney made their parks and really tried to copy it. Stragely enough, if they went back to their roots, it would be an even better park. The 80s-00s were not the best of times for SFGA. Sure, they kept up on the coasters, but it became a place of hoodrats and rebellious teens. The 00s brought back the family friendly aspect with the kids rides and the general upkeep, but they still have some ways to go with the food quality and its pricing. Are or where there BIG deals on tickets at the other Six Flags Parks? SFGA has always had some super great deals with the Jewel Supermarket Chain, Online, and with schools (if they kiddies read 600 minutes). So SFGA has always been pretty affordable, now that food...........
Well it's for the better if they improve, they are the biggest theme park chain in the world. (Right?) So if they made all the Six Flags at least up to the Cedar Fair level, I would actually bother to consider visiting there parks!
However, after a horrible experience at SF St. Louis, they'll have be a ton better to change my opinion.
I would tell everybody to check out SFGA and SFGAdv. While I think they both need improvement, they are probably the best ones put together.
I have heard bad things about SFSt.L and SFKK
From Tony Duda
Posted April 27, 2009 at 1:50 PM
Something to remember about Great Adventure, it is not thought of as a Six Flag park by New Jerseyans. It was a great park before 6Flags bought it and well regarded and 6Flags had very little impact on the thinking of regional park goers. With Wild Safari, GA is something different than all other parks. We (me being an original NJer) just don't think it is appropriate to lump it into the whole 6Flags mess. GA will be successful long after 6Flags mutates into whatever is next. But I moved out of NJ in 2002 and thinking may have changed but I don't believe it changed all that much.
wow, sfst must be really bad. i've heard other reviews about it too
From James Rao
Posted April 27, 2009 at 6:54 PM
STSTL was a pit during my visits in 2006 and 2008. I will not visit this year, or again, unless they build an awesome new ride, or someone can convince me there is a real reason to give it another shot. As it stands, SFSTL is the third best active theme park in the state of Missouri behind Silver Dollar City and Worlds of Fun. And it is a distant third at that.
From steve lee
Posted April 27, 2009 at 8:17 PM
Anthony, I can tell you four GREAT things about SFKK.
1. A Schwarzkopf shuttle loop. Man, I love those things.
2. Because the park is located pretty much on the Louisville fairgrounds, Six Flags can't mug you on parking like they do everywhere else. Last time we were there (2007), parking was five bones.
3. It takes you an hour and fifteen minutes to drive to Holiday World from there, but you're crossing a time zone line so it's almost like teleportation.
4. Louisville is a MUCH better city than most folks would automatically assume for the state of Kentucky. I totally dug the crap out of that town.
Not bad,
I just haven't heard too many good things since the accident with the Giant Drop thing......
Anyhow, Louisville is a fantastic city! I was there last year and loved it. Can't complain about the price of parking!
I like Louisville too. I spend 3 weeks there during the ice storm helping to restore power. Our base of operations was at the fairgrounds, right at the foot of Kentucky Kingdom. It was pretty cool to see a coat of ice on the whole park.
I wouldn't mind a visit to Kentucky Kingdom. What's holding me back is that I heard the Twisted Twins coaster won't be open this year. Frankly it's one of the few rides that I really want to ride at SFKK, so I'll probably hold off for now.
It's good to hear that six flags is improving. I've heard the same thing a few times recently, which is good since I'm supposed to be visiting Great Adventure late this month. Looking forward to it!
Glade someone had a great trip to Six Flags Great Adventure. Need to clear up a few misconceptions about Great ADventure. The park was crated and designed by Warner Le Roy, the restrant owner of Tavern on the Green, and Hardwicke Sub. Inc. It opened July 4th 1973. As Great Adventure entertainment complex. with the largest drive thru saffrie park outside africa, and the Enchanted Forest Entertainment Park. Which was very heavly themed. ANd had many flower gardens as well as rides shows and attractions. All the rides int he park where one of a kind and had custom theming done to them..to fit there areas..The shows which were many were all stagged by famous entertainers, and all the cast customes were done by a broadway designer. Ther were 4 band gazebos, thuru out the park and the Band Sand by the Lake hosted live bands the preformed non stop all day on a revoling stage. Mt. Le Roy also entered into a contract with Nickerbocker toys, for the rights to us famous stuffed dolls, as street entertainers and meet and greet. Such as Raggy Ann and Andy, Mother goose, etc. Al the Buildings in the park were large then life and designed by Mr. Le Roy. Theres a site with this info on it at Great Adventure History.com... And the funny part it that Mark Shapperio and I worked together there..The firt year. Six Flags did not come into the the picture till late 1978 and then was only the managment company. Mr Le Roy Did not sell his shares to Six Flags until 1993. And until the it was always advertied as Six Flags Presents Great Adventure...created and designed by Warner Le Roy..
That's good to hear. I've been going to GA since it opened when I was a teen. The only issue is that over time, the place always defaults back to its typical bad-reputation self. Trust me, I've been going there for decades! They follow the same pattern: mediocre service, bad, really bad, loss in attendance/revenues, management change, shock-treatment training, then service suddenly improves. But it's usually short-lived. After awhile, it's back to line-jumping, no crowd control, rude workers, etc.
Yeah,
SFGA has about half and half (good and bad workers/cast members) which is actually pretty sad because before it was Six Flags, it was known for its Customer Service. It was kinda iffy during the 90s, but improved in the 00s greatly.
Answer me this: One thing that SFGA has done well, which they do in Disney and Universal, is immerse you in a fantasy world. SFGA has made the park where the DC comic heroes and villians live. You can visit them and their rides (Batman, Dark Knight, Superman) and even buy/win their capes to wear around the park. Everybody wears a hero cape. I must say, I am Superman!!!
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