Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is once again turning its focus to the park's various animal exhibits in 2023 with the addition of The Rainforest Trail. The attraction will be "set amongst water features and plant life designed to represent the special ecosystem of a rainforest" and will feature "over 500 free flying butterflies from around the world, colorful fish, a slot and more."
Guest will be able to take the whole family on the journey to the Rainforst Trail, which is meant to "transport guests to a lush tropical environment which includes encounters with exotic animals."
“We are excited to continue the park’s 37-year legacy of providing educational and thrilling wildlife adventures for our guests,” said General Manager Kirk Smith. “The Rainforest Trail, new Shark Experience, and other recent animal additions solidifies our commitment to delivering the most unique and innovative experiences for our guests. From world-class rollercoasters to breathtaking animal presentations, we have it all.”
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom will also be creating a newly enhanced Shark Experiences for visitors to explore. The park will make state of the art audio and visual enhancements and add-on interactive educational opportunities to "compliment the existing walkthrough underwater tunnel and floor to ceiling viewing windows" that visitors have enjoyed for three decades. Other animal additions in 2023 include new animal interaction programs:
Dolphin Discovery – Swim alongside these amazing ocean creatures; Wildlife Adventure Tour – An intimate and private tour around the park with awe-inspiring meetings with the park’s majestic animals; Sharks in the Dark – Sleep overnight in the park’s Shark Experience amongst the calm shadows of these creatures of the deep; Backstage Safari – Go behind the scenes and learn how the park’s animal care specialists care for the unique assembly of animals at Six Flags; Merlin’s Fins & Friends – Come face-to-face with the park’s famous Bottlenose Dolphins; Paint N’ Create – Create a truly unique work of art with a dolphin or penguin; Cain’s Lion Encounter – Discover the unique personalities of the park’s lion pride; and Sal’s Slither & Scales – Burrow into the fascinating world of reptiles.
More California park reopening news! Today both Six Flags Magic Mountain and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom announced that they will reopen their parks - with rides - starting on April 1st. That's the earliest date that they are able to open under California's plan, meaning they are quite excited to welcome visitors back as soon as possible.
Six Flags Magic Mountain's plan will see the park open on April 1st and 2nd to members and passholders only, with the general public able to attend starting April 3rd. To make sure they stay within California's opening guidelines they will utilize a reservation system to limit attendance and only residents of California are able to attend. The park will follow the other Covid-19 safety precautions found at other Six Flags parks that have reopened since last year.
“Six Flags Magic Mountain is the undisputed Thrill Capital of the World, and we are excited to get our park open and our world-class collection of coasters running again,” said Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Park President Don McCoy. “Our team is eager to return to work and entertain our guests in a safe environment, providing the much-needed fun and escape we have all missed this past year. I am also looking forward to seeing guests come out and experience West Coast Racers, our newest racing coaster that was only open briefly in 2020.”
The park will be open daily in April with hours of 10:30 am until 6 pm and then longer operating days as the summer season sets in. Reservations are already live for the park's reopening.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom will follow a similar pattern for their reopening - members and pass holders will be able to attend on April 1st and 2nd, with the general public to follow on April 3rd. Only California residents are able to attend the park per State orders, and a reservation system will be utilized to adhere to daily attendance limits.
“We are very excited to be able to offer our full selection of rides and
attractions for the first time in over a year,” noted Six Flags
Discovery Kingdom Park president Janine Durette. “Six Flags creates
wonderful memories through the incredible experiences we provide guests
of all ages. We are excited to welcome more guests to the park and to
bring back more of our dedicated team members.”
The park will operate on weekends through the end of May, with some exceptions of weekday operations. Hours vary from 11 am until 6 pm upon reopening, with extended hours until 8 pm as the park moves into May. Reservations are now live on the park's website.
California has provided a new plan that will allow amusement and theme parks to open in the state as soon as April 1st, although with strict capacity limitations in place. Prior to Friday's update the only way to get to reopen a large park was for the county it is located in to reach the yellow or "minimal" rating, which has proven impossible as the pandemic continues.
Now, even parks in counties that are in the 2nd red "substantial" tier can open starting April 1st. The reason this is important is because the counties that contain the largest parks in the state are expected to move from the purple "widespread" ranking into the red ranking in the next couple of weeks. I believe that California's Great America is already in a county in the red ranking.
In the red ranking parks are limited to 15% capacity, which is a very small amount. The state wants no groups larger than 10 visiting the parks and no more than 3 household groups together. Indoor attractions will have a 15% max capacity, with "time restrictions" in place, there will be no indoor dining and quite importantly, no out of state visitors are allowed at the parks.
In the orange or "moderate" ranking the capacity limits increase to 25%, with the other rules still in place, although indoor dining is allowed. In the least restrictive yellow phase capacity is limited to 35%, but indoor capacity remains at 25%.
So this is progress, no doubt, but 15% capacity will be a big issue for parks like Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Knott's Berry Farm and Universal Studios Hollywood. One has to wonder if when they reopen with those restrictions in place if they will hold expanded versions of the food and retail festivals nearly all of them are already holding. Knott's has been at this for almost a year now, with Disney and Universal joining them soon. Adding some rides and attractions to the mix, kind of like what Busch Gardens Williamsburg has been doing, could but a good fit for 15% capacity.
These parks could continue to hold separate cost (or discounted for pass holders) events that will help them more easily stay within the 15% capacity limit, while still charging a higher ticket price that can help things stay positive at the bottom line. Especially with the popular Disney parks, I can't see them just having it be a free for all with regular daily tickets offered for such a small attendance amount. Perhaps this could work for parks up North, like California's Great America, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and while not North, even maybe Six Flags Magic Mountain. Maybe. I'm not convincing myself fully though.
I remember last year a lot of parks started out by limiting the amount of season pass holder reservations available each day, but when the crowds didn't materialize those restrictions quickly fell off. That could come back as a more important issue this year for the California parks. I guess regardless of the capacity mix of pass holders versus day tickets, I can't image these parks will be able to open all their attractions with a 15% capacity limitation, as keeping costs to a minimum will be a major concern.
Unless, of course, we see daily ticket prices go up to $250 a person or something! I think Disneyland Resort fans would happy whip out their credit cards, but probably not so viable for the other parks. One thing is for sure, the parks will get creative and find some way to entertain their guests despite these strict rules. And that's great news to look forward to!
All California theme parks have stayed shuttered during the pandemic, with only some opening in order to have special food and retail festivals or operate as zoos. While parks in some parts of the country opened as early as June, there have been no rides operating in California since March, or so. Recently the parks across the state have urged the California Governor to release a plan so that they know when they will be able to open the gates again, and now the plan has been released. You can read the full document here, but in short, parks in California won't be reopening any time soon.
The plan features color coded stages related to positive COVID-19 test results and cases rates per county. Purple (Widespread) is the worse, followed by Red (Substantial), then Orange (Moderate) and finally Yellow (Minimal). These follow the larger reopening plan that the state has had in place for some time, and the risk matrix for each stage is below.
No parks are allowed to open at all in counties in both the purple and red stages. Starting in the orange stage "small" parks (overall capacity less than 15,000) can open but on at a maximum of 500 guests or 25% of capacity, whichever is less. That's a severe restriction that would make operations unprofitable for nearly every park I can think of. Plus, in the orange stage, these parks cannot open indoor attractions and visitors can only be from the same county the park is located in. The logistics of checking that operationally seems like a nightmare as well.
If a county gets to the yellow stage then a park within it can operate at 25% of maximum capacity and all indoor locations in the park can only have 25% capacity. That would allow parks to open in similar ways that others around the country already have, as there are also a full set of rules related to face masks, cleaning, social distancing, etc.
The catch is that currently less than 10 counties in California are in the yellow stage, none with parks in them. Less than 15 counties are in the orange phase, which would come with the strictly limited attendance, and they don't have parks in them anyway. So all the bigger parks, like Disneyland, Universal Studios, Knott's Berry Farm, Legoland, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, California's Great America and a multitude of others, are currently stuck in purple or red stages.
Essentially, this means that under the Governor's current plan we won't see any of these parks open any time soon, especially with COVID-19 cases surging across the country once again.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom reopened earlier this summer as The Marine World Experience, with only the park's animal related attractions open. Like other theme parks in California, they're not allowed to open any rides, but instead could utilize their zoological attractions to operate during the pandemic within State guidelines.
The park did not announce that they would host a Hallowfest event like several other Six Flags parks, but have now revealed that they will be holding Boo 2020! instead. The park is describing Boo 2020! as "a monster mash up that combines the Marine World Experience with themed activities for the entire family in a safe environment."
Listed activities at the event of course include the park's animal exhibits, but also family fun like a Trick-or-Treat trail that has pre-bagged candy and treats for kids. There will also be a daily Kids' Halloween parade for those 8 years old and younger. The park will have plenty of special Halloween themed treats for sale as well, including a Funnel Scream Cake, Scare-acha boneless wings, Zombi Takis, Ghostly Grape Drinks and Candy Monster Dippin' Dots.
There will be special ways for guests to learn more about the animals that the park cares for, and special Boo 2020! versions of the park's Dolphin and Sea Lion Shows, along with a new Halloween Bash and Ghoul School productions.
Boo 2020! will take place on Saturday and Sundays in October 17th through November 1st.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is not yet allowed to operate as a full amusement park, however local officials have allowed zoo attractions to reopen. The park is taking advantage of this fact to reopen at the Marine World Experience, a throwback to when the park opened as a zoological experience in 1986. The Marine World Experience will open to pass holders and member on July 2nd and 3rd, and then to all guests July 4th.
The park will offer their wide variety of animal exhibits and encounters but it is important to know that zero of their rides will be operating while the park is the Marine World Experience. If the state allows the park to open as an amusement park this year they will proceed with that.
The park will be following all other Six Flags properties in terms of COVID-19 response, including increasing cleaning standards, the use of face masks, a reservation system, social distancing and more.
Six Flags American has also announced that they will reopen soon. The park will welcome back pass holders and members on July 1st and 2nd, with all guests welcome starting July 3rd. The park's COVID-19 response is the same as all Six Flags parks, with full details of the plan available at this link. Important to know before you go, the park requires reservations for your visit.
New for 2020 at the park was scheduled to be Harley Quinn Spinsanity, which I believe was constructed at the park but is no longer listed anywhere on the website. The new for 2020 link gives a denied access warning, and the attraction is not listed among all the rides. I wouldn't expect the ride to open in 2020.
Pennsylvania's Knoebels has announced a July 1st reopening date. The park has been working hard to get the park ready and have enough staff hired, so for the first few weeks the park's hours will be noon until 8pm. Additionally, they will only use individual tickets for rides, they will not have all day wrist bands available.
Since the park has no gates they will manage capacity through the parking lot - if necessary as they put it. They are also doing more employee training, putting up barriers between employees and guests, increasing cleaning efforts and more. They just made the announcement, and promise more details on visiting the park will be posted next week.
Disneyland and Disney California Adventure previously announced that they would reopen starting July 17th, but the parks have now announced that those dates will not happen.
The state of California will not issue full details on how and when parks can open until after July 4th, which means there is not enough time to prepare the parks to open for the 17th Disney says. They have also had a lot of pressure from their unions to do better COVID-19 testing and prevention before opening as cases of the virus in California continue to spike.
They still plan to open Downtown Disney, which has shopping and dining, on July 8th. But for now the parks do not have a clear reopening date.
Cedar Point is still planning on opening on July 9th and 10th for season pass holders, then also for resort guests on July 11th. They have launched their full mini-site that gives details on visiting the park this year with regard to COVID-19. You can read through the very thorough amount of information here.
They also published a new blog post that gives some more granular details. The park will have no early entry this year - and also daily park hours of 11 am to 8 pm have been posted. Forbidden Frontier on Adventure Island, Snoopy Bounce and Snake River Falls will not operate in 2020. They have also decided not to open their water park, Cedar Point Shores, in 2020. They will also not sell any new Fast Lane wrist bands this year, however if you already purchased one it will be valid. Finally, smoking will be banned inside the park, can guests must exit the park to smoke - this is actually something we are hearing that will be true at all Cedar Fair parks in 2020.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown, located in Texas, was supposed to open on June 29th but due to rising COVID-19 cases in Texas it no longer will. The reopening has been postponed indefinitely. The park is located in Harris County, which just recently put into place a brand new stay at home advisory to try to control the spread of the virus. I believe this is the first time we've seen a park plan to reopen but have to stay closed due to orders of their local officials.
Six Flags Entertainment has sent out a press release that gives updates on a variety of topics, including their corporate response to the pandemic, capital spending and their financial health.
First up, like most companies, Six Flags is using their revolving credit loans with banks for survival, and they have increased their lines from $350 million to $481 million. They estimate that they will be able to handle their bigger debt payments until the 4th quarter of this year, even if worst case the parks do not open until September. They have also recalled their EBITDA forecast for the year and cancelled their investor day which was scheduled for late May.
They have cancelled the dividend payment for the second quarter as well (and going forward until they pay back and cancel the additional credit lines). That's on top of reducing seasonal labor to nearly zero, having full time staff take a 25% pay cut and suspending all marketing programs for the time being.
They also will cancel or defer $30 - $40 million of "discretionary capital projects" planned for 2020. These "increased investments" were "announced in its fourth quarter 2019 earnings release to improve the guest experiences." Understandable, but this is a bummer as that money was probably mostly to improve aesthetics, food, operations, etc.
They also will defer or eliminate $40 - $50 million of capital projects for the 2020 season. That's where things get dicey. This means items already announced as new for 2020 will be pushed back a year, or never happen at all. No details on this were revealed as of yet, but browsing around Six Flag's websites I noticed some oddities.
For starters, the page on Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's website for their new coaster, the Sidewinder Safari, is now Access Denied. The What's New page now links to the Batman coaster, so it seems like Sidewinder Safari is maybe not happening any longer? Somewhat similarly, Six Flags Darien Lake still has a page up for their new slide, Wahoo Wave, but when you click on What's New it links to last year's SkyScreamer and Six Flags Fiesta Texas also still has a page for Dare Devil Dive, but the What's New page links to 2019's Joker pendulum ride. These could just be sloppy website maintenance, or something more - I can't confirm either way.
I expect this to be the first of many updates from all theme park operators as tough decisions are made to preserve the parks for the future.
We still have a lot of ground to cover with regard to Six Flags Theme Parks' new for 2020 announcements. We've posted about a couple of the largest attractions, now let's take a look at the other rides headed to the parks.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom will be adding a new roller coaster, the Sidewinder Safari, which also has an animal exhibit located in its queue. Riders will enter a safari themed queue that features rattlesnakes and other reptiles. The coaster itself appears to be a clone of Rajin' Cajun at Six Flags America. The ride is one of Zamperla's family spinning wild mouse coasters, standing 42 feet tall with 1,378 feet of track.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas will open a brand new type of thrill ride next year, named Daredevil Dive Flying Machines. Themed as a steampunk flying machine, the attraction will be one of Zamperla's new elevated Super Air Race rides. The ride has six plane themed cars (each one seats 4 riders) that soar and rotate as the attraction rises to five stories above the ground. Daredevil Dive Flying Machines will be located in the Crackaxle Canyon section of the park.
Two parks will be adding a Booster ride from Funtime, at The Great Escape it will be known as Adirondack Outlaw and at Six Flags St. Louis Catwoman Whip. The Booster ride is also commonly called a "salt and pepper shaker" and features sets seats on each end of a large ride arm. The arm rotates and sends rides up 160 feet in the air at 50 miles per hour - oh and the ride carriage is able to rotate freely as well allowing for inversions.
My description of the ride may not be perfect, but this animation of the Six Flags St. Louis version definitely makes the attraction clear. I believe that Catwoman Whip will have more seats - 16 per ride cycle - than at The Great Escape, which looks like it will have 8.
A pair of parks will add another recently popular ride, Zamperla's Endeavour. The ride is the modern version of a Huss Enterprise, and visitors to parks are eating them up. The ride will be named Supergirl Sky Flyer at Six Flags New England, and Catwoman Whip at Six Flags Over Georgia. Riders are seated with their legs hanging free below them and rotated in a giant circle to seven stories above the ground.
Six Flags Over Georgia will place their ride in a newly renovated Gotham City area, with new theming, food, and a second new ride, a traditional Scrambler named Poison Ivy Toxic Twister. Six Flags New England's ride will be placed in the DC Super Hero Adventure themed area.
Good things come in pairs at Six Flags, and the trend continues with two parks building massive spinning pendulum rides in 2020. Six Flags America is going to add Harley Quinn Spinsanity, one of the 147 foot tall, 70 mile per hour version of the ride. To be located within the park's Gotham City area, it is sure to breath a lot of new life into that part of the park.
Six Flags Mexico is also building a pendulum ride, CraZanity, which is one of the even larger versions of these rides which tie as the tallest in the world. Standing 170 feet tall at maximum swing, CraZanity will hit 75 miles per hour at its top speed.
Turns out the rumors of Six Flags Magic Mountain's Green Lantern being transported to La Ronde were totally true, as the park has announced the ride as Vipere. The coaster opened in California in 2011 but has a difficult time at the park since then. Hopefully the ride will be better suited for Canadian audiences. The ride is one of Intamin's Zac Spin coasters, standing 105 feet tall and featuring cars that can spin wildly on the multi-level track, should the park desire those operations.
Last but not least, Six Flags Over Texas is building North America's first Mack Rides Power Splash ride, named Aquaman: Power Wave. The ride has a 700 foot long track that uses LSM launches to send boats both forward and backward up 148 foot tall towers at 63 miles per hour. At the end of the last drop the boats soar through a splash pool creating a drenching finale to a thrilling ride.
It's great to see one of these rides come to a park in North America, as they look very exciting. It is rumored that this ride was fabricated for the cancelled Six Flags Dubai project - in this case much to the gain of Six Flags Over Texas!
Batman has swooped into Six Flags Discovery Kingdom with the opening of the all-new Batman: The Ride roller coaster. Billed as the "west coast's first 4D Roller Coaster," the new attraction features cars that suspend riders on either side of the bright yellow track as they flip and soar through the sky.
Batman: The Ride is one of S&S Worldwide's 4D Free Spin coasters, which features a vertically stacked layout that begins with a 120 foot vertical lift hill. At the top the cars are released to move through several hills, dips, and dramatic raven turn plunges.
On board magnetic technology guarantees that riders will be flipped at least six times during the experience, according to the park's press materials. The combination of gravity along with the magnets makes each ride a bit different than the one before, though all are thrilling.
The coaster is a part of the park's new DC Universe themed area, featuring other attractions themed to characters like Wonder Woman, Superman, the Joker, Harley Quinn and more.
To read more about Batman: The Ride check out the park's official website.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has announced its plan to combine many of their existing DC comic themed rides along with the brand new Batman: The Ride into a new area, named DC Universe.
The decision makes an awful lot of sense when you look at the DC comic themed rides at the park that are located close to one another. Already at the park are Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth, a giant spinning pendulum ride, Superman Ultimate Flight, the first Premier Rides Sky Rocket II, Harley Quinn Crazy Coaster, the first Skyline Attractions SkyWarp, The Penguin Ride, a spinning water ride, and The Joker, the Rocky Mountain Construction transformation of Roar.
Also to join the new DC Universe, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is renaming Vertical Velocity, an Intamin shuttle ride, into The Flash: Vertical Velocity.
“We take great pride in bringing our guests innovative, new experiences
every season,” said Park President Don McCoy. “DC Universe is the
biggest park expansion in recent decades. This newly branded area brings
together DC’s most iconic Super Heroes and Super-Villains for a
thrilling, one-of-a-kind experience. And our Members and Season Pass
Holders can enjoy free, unlimited visits to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom,
Hurricane Harbor Concord as well as Six Flags Magic Mountain and all
Six Flags theme parks across the country.”
"The DC Universe themed area will also offer a host of new food, shopping and entertainment options. Guests can satisfy their inner super hero or super-villain at The Daily Planet, The Joker Funhouse Shop, or the new Batman-themed retail store. For those super appetites, Quick Quenchers Refill Station, and Big Belly Burger, featuring mobile ordering, will be ready with hot, delicious food and icy cold beverages. Members of the Justice League will also be on hand for meet-and-greet and photo ops throughout the day."
New for 2019, the theme park is building Batman: The Ride, an S&S Worldwide 4-D Free Spin coaster. Standing 120 feet tall and featuring a vertical lift hill, the ride uses individual cars that will invert riders at least six times. The course includes two beyond 90 degree drops and moments of weightlessness.
Swooping in to save the day at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in 2019 is Batman: The Ride, billed as Northern California's first 4-D Free Fly Coaster. The same model as has been installed at various Six Flags parks over the past few years, Batman: The Ride will be manufactured by S&S Worldwide and stand 120 feet tall with three layers of track.
The coaster features individual cars that will flip at least six times during the ride, using seats that rotate independently depending on onboard magnetic technology. The trains will head up a vertical lift hill to 120 feet in the air, then start their journey along the many curves and "raven drops" built into the layout. Passengers will have their legs dangling with nothing above or below them during the ride.
Batman: The Ride will be located next to the Harley Quinn Crazy Coaster on the former location of the park's go-karts. It will be a tall presence along the border of the park, drawing attention from those arriving for their day of fun. These concept drawings show an elaborate indoor queue and even what looks like a small area for possibly a Batmobile display.
Check out this preview animation of Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom:
One of the most recent water parks to join the Six Flags family, Hurricane Harbor Concord has opened a massive new water play structure named Splashwater Island. Serving the market around Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, the water park embarked on its largest expansion in more than a decade with the addition of Splashwater Island.
The new attraction officially opened on July 6th, with families eager to explore the giant structure's many interactive features.
The new attraction is tropically themed, as seen in the various thematic elements present in the photo above. The structure has giant fish, gulls, surf boards and even faux palm trees lining the various towers. The theming matches the new decor that has been added to the park as part of its transformation in to Hurricane Harbor.
“As a world-renowned leader in thrills and innovation, Six Flags has
taken this park to the next level with the new Splashwater Island,”
said Park President, Don McCoy. “Our guest experience is greatly
enhanced by all the new improvements, brightly painted waterslides, and
fun, whimsical theming we’ve added all around the park.”
One of the most popular features of Splashwater Island is a giant tipping bucket that is perched on the top of attraction. Once filled it slowly tips, dumping an immense amount of water onto the ground below, seen in the above publicity photo. The various levels of Splashwater Island feature more than 100 different interactive water play features, including sprayers, net climbs, spouting geysers, fountains, jets and waterfalls. Located on various parts of the attraction are a total of nine open air and enclosed water slides, which together offer 600 feet of sliding fun.
For more on the new attraction at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord, click here.
The first instillation of Skyline Attractions' brand new ride, the Skywarp, is currently progressing at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom where it will be known as Harley Quinn Crazy Coaster.
The Northern California theme park has started to receive parts of the new ride, and quickly began installing them at the work side, located just next to the Superman Ultimate Flight roller coaster.
Harley Quinn Crazy Coaster features bright red track and dark gray supports, and will give riders a thrilling experience including many inversions. Dual trains of riders will be powered through the layout which resembles a giant figure eight on its side, and the movement of the trains will include both forward and backward motions. This photo, from manufacturer Skyline Attractions, shows some of the first tall pieces of track being installed.
Just a day later this photo was taken, and it shows that even more of the track has been put in place. The photo is from Jeff Pike, President of Skyline Attractions, who is understandably proud of the company's first 'big' ride being constructed. The Orlando Sentinel recently did a feature story on the growing company, which can be read at this link.
And now just today Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has completed one half of the ride's track, standing around 62 feet tall. Harley Quinn Crazy Coaster will be able to accommodate around 800 riders per hour when it opens.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom also did an unveiling of the ride's trains, which just arrived at the park. Can't wait to see them installed on the track and the ride fired up for the first time!
Six Flags has announced that Waterworld Concord, which joined the Six Flags family last year, is being rebranded as Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord. The water park is located near Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, and serves as an additional experience for pass holders of that park to check out and enjoy.
Six Flags currently has many Hurricane Harbor themed water parks located throughout North America, each containing tropical theming and plenty of exciting attractions. Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord will receive many upgrades for 2018, including theming upgrades to match the park's new name and vibe.
The water park will also debut a brand new addition, named Splashwater Island. The attraction will be a massive water play house with more than 100 interactive features such as sprayers, water jets and geysers. It will feature multiple levels of play areas, have seven of its own water slides extending off of it, and keep families busy with a giant tipping bucket, water curtains, dancing fountains and more.
“Six Flags is a world-renowned leader in thrills and innovation and we are excited to add the Six Flags Hurricane Harbor name to our newest park,” said Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord President Don McCoy. “The new Splashwater Island attraction will delight families with young children and guests of all ages will enjoy the colorful, new theming and many park enhancements.”
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord will see more improvements as well. New luxury cabanas and comfortable lounge chairs will be added to the park, along with renovated dining and retail establishments, new paint on many existing slides, and new signage throughout the park. A giant new entrance marquee will greet guests as they start their day.
For more on Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, which opens May 5th, check out the park's official website.
Six Flags is currently working on a project to make Six Flags Great Adventure the first theme park run almost entirely off of solar power, and has now announced that two more parks will soon run off of clean energy.
Six Flags Entertainment has again joined with JLL, a global real estate and investment management company, to bring solar power to both Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags Magic Mountain.
“We are committed to making all of our properties more energy efficient and sustainable for years to come,” said Six Flags Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasurer, Steve Purtell. “California’s support of renewable energy, the solar potential in the state, and the environmental benefits associated with solar energy made this the right decision for our guests, our team members, and our communities.”
The California sunshine will be utilized to run both parks on renewable energy, and the solar set up will be built, owned and operated by a third party Independent Power Producer.
According to Six Flags, "when it becomes operational, the system at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom will exceed 7 megawatts of electricity generated. Six Flags Magic Mountain’s system will have capacity for nearly 15 megawatts and will be the largest solar carport anywhere in North America."
The solar covers over the parking areas will not only help power the parks, but also have features such as providing covered parking, integrated electric vehicle charging stations, enhanced parking surfaces, and security improvements through the addition of closed circuit cameras.
While these three parks are the only ones announced so far to receive solar projects, the company is actively looking to expand the project to other parks located around the country. No date on when the solar grids will come online at the two California parks was mentioned as of now.
“Six Flags has pioneered a long lists of firsts in its 57-year history and as good stewards of the environment, we are excited to apply the latest green technology and create eco-friendly parks for future generations to enjoy,” added Purtell.
It has been quite a long time since I've done an Aerial Antics post, but I recently was buzzing around Google's aerial maps and noticed that some new-for-2017 attractions were already featured. To that end, I thought it would be neat to look at some before & afters of several projects.
Worlds of Fun took on a massive new entrance project for 2017, along with adding two 'classic' flat rides. The new entrance project also included a large new catering facility as well. There's a lot to compare in these images, but you can see in the upper right that a former junk yard of sorts became the catering area. The main entrance received all new gates and different positioning, and the area beyond it is totally reimagined. Where there used to be a couple buildings there is now a large open space meant for gathering and able to be used for performances. Large walkways lead down a hill to it, then the rest of the area then blends into the existing park.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom added a brand new spinning pendulum ride, Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth. It can be seen added to the North of Superman Ultimate Flight. The ride is pretty shoehorned in, but still is able to swing out almost over the entrance to the park, and then opposite toward Superman's station.
You'll also note that I used a bit older "before" aerial to include Roar's transformation into the RMC'd Joker coaster. You can follow the layouts and see that while they are similar, there are some notable changes in the new steel track version of the ride.
Kings Island added a large new coaster for 2017, the wooden ride named Mystic Timbers that was created by Great Coasters International. The ride stretches out over the park's river rapids ride, into a heavily wooded area. The park was able to keep many trees around the coaster when it was built; take notice that the 'after' photo here was in the spring when the trees did not have their leaves yet. If it had been taken in the summer much less of the ride would be visible.
Finally, Six Flags Over Georgia redeveloped a section of the park to make room for the instillation of a Justice League themed dark ride. The park had to remove their bumper car building and change some of the adjacent game stands to get the building to fit. That allowed not only the building needed for the ride to fit, but also the large Justice League themed entrance plaza to be formed. You can see the decorative pavement for that area in the after photo very clearly.
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