We took a trip to the lovely Six Flags Discovery Kingdom for the first time in weeks to provide an update for you guys. For better or worse, we had a very interesting and crowded day, but that just gives us more to talk about. Between the Latino Fest event, Rage of the Gargoyles/Kong, Joker and plenty else, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover let’s get going.
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KONG!
Kong of course has closed in preparation for Rage of the Gargoyles, and immersive VR experience during Fright Fest. In addition to the VR the trains will be receiving new restraints (although we don’t know what kind), and there is extensive track work being done to smooth the ride out, on the turn leading into the double inline twist.
The bottom of the first drop is also being worked on extensively which is nice to see, that pullout can get quite shaky.
There were also some workers on a cherry picker doing welding work on the first drop itself.
We’re very much looking forward to Rage of the Gargoyles. We were informed that is it likely that the VR will continue even past Fright Fest. We can’t wait for Discovery Kingdom to have such a different immersive experience to offer, and hopefully on a smoother ride.
Fright Fest!
Starting on September 24th is the ever popular Fright Fest halloween event. It is clear that thing are already gearing up around the park for multiple mazes and areas, including our big puppet friend in the entrance plaza, terrifying guests from the minute they walk in.
Cob webs are spread over just about every plant in Oasis Plaza is preparation for the event.
Decoration for the Mt. Rotting Cemetery scare zone have been put up.
The dolphins from the fountain at the entrance of the the park have been taken out in preparation for Fright Fest. The usual Fright Fest version of the fountain feaures some skeletons and a flame thrower. 
Also up by Toyota Stadium there are some more tombstones despite there being no scare zone in this area.
Scrapyard of the Dead will be returning this year in the same location behind V2.
Massacre Manor will be returning and there are plenty of walls up, as well as construction material in the Bumper Buggies building.
One of our personal favorite mazes Carnevil-Death Under the Big Top is of course coming back, and it looks like they’re pretty much ready to go. We can’t wait to experience this one again, it’s a goodie.
A new maze will be making a debut this year by the name of Dark Oaks Asylum, themed to a 1950s insane asylum in which all the employees and inmates mysteriously disappeared. It could very well be going in the old location for Boathouse on Blood Lake as that maze will not be returning.
Latino Festival
We visited the park during Latino Festival which is quite an extensive event that draws large crowds. In the entrance plaza as well as the food court there was traditional music in dance from all over corners of Latino Americano culture.
In addition there were plenty of delicious food locations set up across the park including this delicious looking Michoacana Taqeuria. Overall the event definitely added some atmosphere, and certainly some attendance, so we expect to see it return.
Joker
The Joker, the park’s new addition for 2016, was operating greatly. In addition, we didn’t cover in the past that the test seat was finally installed in front of the ride. So here’s a picture of that. 
The ride’s queue is a bit more “fun-house”-esque right now, since the park added several mirrors. 
The ride itself has really broken in quite nicely. It runs more consistently, the operations are very good. Trains are usually dispatched without any stacking. And the ride is running faster and intenser.
It’s a way better ride than it was when it first opened, as it ran a bit slowly. But the Joker finally throws you around the way we expected it to.
Of course we can’t forget how crazy good the finale of the ride is, with the pure-ejector hill seen below. 
In addition to the mirrors in the station, the station also received all the new lights that enhance the theming. Some of you may remember seeing the renderings of the station with these lights that we released a while ago. 
Crowds…
We had a terrible experience with our food service during our visit. We went to the Macho Nacho Burrito location at about 2:45 pm and got in line for what looked like a moderate wait on a semi-crowded day. Little did we know just how terrible it was going to be. After about 45 minutes of waiting, our dining pass option for lunch had already expired and we only moved a few feet, not even half way through the line. The employees were clearly a little inexperienced and even looked like they were being trained, and they were getting no help. Most ridiculous of all, only one of the two serving stations were open and none of the addition registers were open. By the time we actually got the the front of the line it was 4:45 and dinner had already started. We had waited two hours, that’s right: TWO hours in line for food. Fortunately a very nice woman named Marina was able to give us both our lunch and dinner on the dining pass since we had been waiting in line since well before lunch ended. Other than that, it was a terrible experience, and the kind that will genuinely antagonize guests, we really hope something is done about this because that is not how you treat paying guests of your park.
Animals though!
Sting Ray Bay has reopened after quite an extended period of being closed earlier this year. It seemed to be a popular attraction among guests during our visit. 
Baby Sea Lion! The park has a lot of baby seals and sea lions, go check them out at Seal Cove when you’re at the park!
The Toyota stadium has a new Animal Art stand where guests can purchase artworks made by dolphins after the show. In addition the stadium is now equipped with umbrellas for the trainers. 
Dolphins! 😀 
Of course we also saw Odin’s Temple of the Tiger during our visit. Still one of our favorite demonstrations anywhere. Very educational, and always impressive to see these tigers up-close. 
Rides related news.
Scatabout seems to have received a repaint and is missing the branding in the ride mechanism. 
Across the midway, the ropes at the start of the Boomerang Coast to Coaster queue have been replaced with wood boards. 
Hammerhead was also open during our visit, which we missed out on quite a few times this year. It was running a very short cycle. Perhaps because of the crowds, we hope it’s not permanent. 
The Medusa station received a lot of touch-ups that it desperately needed. The station building looks a lot better from the outside and the inside now.
The SimEx Iwerks theater where they show Pacific Rim 5D has been added to the park directories again. 
Except Pacific Rim 5D is currently closed. 
Speaking of rides that are closed… White Water Safari that had been closed for quite a while has reopened! 
Wonder Woman: Lasso of Truth and 2017
Moving on to 2017… the new Flash Sale promos and 2017 Season Pass promotions are to be found all over the park and the parking lot. Including the parking-booths. 
Inside the park Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth is also heavily advertised.
This here is the location where the new ride will be located. In between Superman Ultimate Flight and The Joker. 
Here’s the current construction site.
In person it truly seems like a tight fit. Which means that the ride will really become a staple and offer amazing views and interaction with the three surrounding coasters; Superman Ultimate Flight, The Joker and the park’s largest attraction: Medusa.
Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth will be a 147 feet tall Zamperla Giant Discovery, and will add a perfect thrill t0 the line-up of the park. Read more about it here. 
That’s about all for today, thanks very much as always for reading. Make sure to check out our recent Six Flags Magic Mountain update here, and we’ll also be back with all sorts of NorCal coverage in the near future so stay tuned. Are you excited for Rage of the Gargoyles? Do you think the track-work will make a difference? Comment below and let us know!
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I still haven’t see Odin in a LONG time. It’s been about three or so years since I last saw it. I miss it every time.
It’s good to see Medusa getting some love. I always hated seeing the peeling faux stone skin on the station because it always made it look cheap and I don’t want my home park to look cheap, I want it to look presentable.
I guess you are right about The Joker in that it’s been broken in by now. I suppose it’s because I’ve only ridden in five time and three of those were on Media Day. I’m just not WOW’d by the layout, but it’s still a fun ride nonetheless, just not an AMAZING ride.
I’m really loving all the little projects DK has going to spruce up the park without saying anything. It’s good to finally see them using their budget to do some noticeable maintenance.
In terms of Hammerhead Shark I’ve heard some word that someone (Charles) has been fiddling with the ride profile a bit. Mostly for crowds of course.
As for Wonder Woman, yeah, I always thought it was a bit of a tight space so I’m really looking to see how they go about fiting it in there as well as making fences to assure that guest, when the area opens, don’t climb the fence and get hurt.
I also love seeing the SimEx iWerks theater finally being noticed. The website made it look like there will finally be a new film or at least an updated one for it so that’s definitely a plus.
On FF I get the feeling that DK might be soon removing upcharging for FF mazes soon as we’ve seen with Fiesta Texas just ridding charging people for it altogether. I guess it is not all that profitable except in areas where scare mazes are popular like at Magic Mountain. Probably won’t be this year for sure, but I do see them doing that eventually since they eliminated a maze this year…
So, quick question: On the photo with the guy on the lift for Kong, is the yellow wench he has affixed to the track to pull it in? So they are literally bending the track closer together??? If so I guess it makes sense, but it seems a little barbaric…
¯\_(?)_/¯
PS: I live a little closer to the park: about an hour so if you guys ever need photos when I’m there let me know. I know you can’t always get out there, but I’d love to help. I don’t drive at the moment (even though I’m 18, just never got around to getting it done) so I kind of have to work with whatever times my family wants to go so… Either way, do let me know if I can help in any way shape or form… Thanks! 😀
The wench was the exact difference between track pieces. So they could alter pieces of track by welding on a layer of steel to perfect the difference between the rails and minimize the shaking of the train.
Two whole hours for food? Was it a situation where you just really wanted something from that location or everything had that long of a wait?
I’m the type of person to dip out after 10 minutes if the line isn’t moving.
Lines were long in general, and as a site that writes about park operations, we waited out the line to see how long it would take… sadly it took terribly long.