Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has just come off the back of a big investment, and even better hit with The Joker. With that, we understand another coaster is most likely not coming in the next year or two. Despite all this, we had a chance to check out Batman: The Ride, the S&S 4D Free Spin model at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, and boy were we big fans. We loved the ride as a whole, but more than anything we noticed just how well such a ride would fit at our very own Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.
We were blown away by our experience on Batman: The Ride. You can read more in our Six Flags Fiesta Texas trip report. The main takeaway was that Batman was absolutely insane and incredibly thrilling, while also being a very comfortable well-designed ride experience. Despite all the intense flipping and beyond vertical drops, Batman was not painful, not nauseating and just not the least bit unpleasant, unlike the similar looking Green Lantern: First Flight at Six Flags Magic Mountain. This is due to both the magnetically assisted spinning and an axis of flipping that actually revolves around the riders and not the ride vehicle. Very intense and very comfortable, these two aspects are key reasons as to why Discovery Kingdom would be the perfect home for such a ride.
Despite some excellent and world class coasters such as the headliners Superman: Ultimate Flight, Medusa, and of course The Joker, there is nothing at the park that really reaches that next level as far as pure intensity goes. Batman has intensity in spades, and manages to give even seasoned coaster enthusiasts just the slightest bit of apprehension while climbing the vertical lift. Magnetic fins cause the already free moving cars to spin wildly in both directions providing a minimum of six inversions.This is only interrupted by the occasional beyond vertical drop with can provide any kind of force depending on which way you’re facing. Vertical lift, free spinning, and beyond vertical drops are all elements unlike anything else at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, all while providing unparalleled thrills.The constant flipping only interrupted by the occasional beyond vertical drop is such a totally different kind of thrill from anything else the park has to offer, and reaches a new level of adrenaline pumping craziness.
A comfortable ride has become the expectation these days rather than a luxury, and just about everyone prefers a smooth, pleasant experience. An S&S Free Spin would provide just that and add another coaster that guests will want to get right back in line for. Speaking of re-rideability, this model of coasters delivers different experiences every time your ride it, depending on weight distribution and seating position, so you won’t ever tire of riding it. This combined with the smooth and comfortable experience it provides makes this ride an instant favorite and something that will keep guests including you coming back to the park for more.
We already discussed how this ride if it ever comes will not be in the near future, and we at California Coaster Kings don’t care to speculate about future additions very much. However, from a practical standpoint this addition does work quite well. Standing at 121 ft, it fits right in with Discovery Kingdom’s 150 ft height limit. As a ride with a very small footprint and vertical layout, it works quite well with the limited available space.
Some possible spots that have been mentioned are as a replacement for Kong, or the go carts near Superman: Ultimate Flight. The latter location would be perfect if the Batman theme was used, as essentially every other attraction in the area is some DC Comics property and Discovery Kingdom is one of the few Six Flags parks not to have a ride by the name of Batman. Having a Batman would really help tie the area together. Unless V2 does get turned into Batman as some speculate.
In addition, this ride works great at a smaller park like Discovery Kingdom. The same model has been the only non RMC coaster added to Six Flags Parks in the past few years, and was most recently added to Six Flags Great Adventure. For such a large park, this seems like a rather trivial addition and left many disappointed. In addition, at the acceptable capacity of 720 riders per hour, this ride would handle the smaller attendance at Discovery Kingdom, whereas that can be an issue at a larger property like Six Flags Great Adventure. At Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, capacity would not be an issue among a smaller audience and a new unique coaster would have no trouble getting general public and enthusiasts alike excited for the new addition.
These are just our thoughts on why an S&S 4D Free Spin would be such a great addition for the park. Again, this is not speculation or prediction, we’re just saying how awesome this ride would be at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. What are your thoughts? Would you like to see this addition? Comment below and let us know!
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Let’s hope V2 will operate again. I was there a couple of weeks ago and the train was still partially dismantled. Much like wicked twister being closed for a bit, who knows how long parks are gonna keep their impulse coasters. It’s funny cause a bunch of coaster enthusiastis discussed the same locations to build a 4D free spin the day of Joker’s public opening.
I know someone who works at SFDK and they said the trains are on the tracks
Sweet! When we mentioned V2 and Batman we were talking about a possible future retheme. Good to know the ride is soon open again though, it’s been down for a while! 😀
You do know that the track of the 4D Free-Fly coasters are made by RMC. Ask Alan. He’s been working with them on it. Why do you think the tracks of both Joker coasters are EXACTLY the same shade of green and purple… RMC…
Of course we know. But that wasn’t the point of the article, and since it’s an S&S Model sold by S&S Sansei, we only mentioned the seller.
Dear God, this park needs to lose Kong! I’ve been on that 3 times, and each time, I ended up with a 5-day migraine from all the bouncing. If you’ve been to SeaWorld Orlando, Kraken is like Medusa, but with the concussions of Kong. I would love to see a S&S ride put in where Kong is. It’s the least popular ride towards the front, not where the kids rides are, and there’s no way that SFDK will lose Medusa, or Skyscreamer. That leaves V2, Superman, and Joker to be replaced. And honestly, I was hoping for an S&S during this year’s announcements, but hey… We got Joker! I’m sorry if this is all over the place, I’m a little high, and I had 4 shots earlier. I would like to thank Autocorrect, you are truly a God. I Would also like to thank Speech to Text for listening to my high ass ramble on. Goodnight!