Six Flags extends Lo-Q another four years; adds 2 parks

Is it really hard to figure out days when a park is going to be crowded? When it comes to regional parks, Saturdays once school is out will be bad, Sundays will not be much better, 4th of July is either depending on the park a great day to go or one of the most crowded, Saturdays during a Halloween event are also a huge no-no. If the weather is good, there will be more people there, if it isnt there will be less. No matter what the first and last two hours of operation are the best time to ride the big rides, as the lines tend to be shorter (especially during the first two hours.) Full year parks have rather obvious crowded and not crowded seasons.

Its not hard to figure this stuff out, the only time you can be thrown for a loop is if a company picnic occurs on some random week day.

I tried to figure it out, but being from the next State over, I misjudged.

It was a Thursday in September, during the first week of school for PA kids. I think my mistake was to think that it was the first week of school for NJ and NYC kids too.

The new coaster at the time, Kinda Ka, was supposed to be reopened from a lengthy fix, but was closed. The Batman and Robin launch coaster was closed most of the day as well. Superman and Rolling Thunder ran one train. The rest of the coasters were stacking terribly. Half of the flat rides were closed. Lines were ridiculous. I felt that in order to have an okay day and not waste the five hour drive, I was going to have to spend the extra fourty-something dollars on a Q-Bot. It made me feel crappy.

Why couldn't they just run all the rides at capacity with fast operations? Because that would have meant bad news for Lo-Scam's bottom line. Weather that's true or not, it seemed that way.

Not to mention how lithargic the staff was.

This was a long time ago, way before the alleged improvements to guest service and capacity. I'm still very reluctant to hand them my hard-earned money when there are so many other choices out there.

LostKause said:
I'm still very reluctant to hand them my hard-earned money when there are so many other choices out there.

The good news is that you don't have to...with so many other choices, you can just go elsewhere. The real question is where your reluctance to just move on comes from. *** I'm not really asking, so please don't answer***

It is just really time to move on. You had a bad experience with the chain. You've demonstrated that nothing they do is going to change that. So it's time to just accept it and attend elsewhere, don't ya think? :)

It was also September - the time pretty much every park suffers staffing issues.

You went on a busy day, had some bad luck with rides and at a time when the park was poorly staffed.

The trifecta of suck. :)

(plus, the Jersey park always seems to be busy unless you show up on a rain-out kinda of day and roll with the punches)

I don't know for sure that you only get one ride on X2, but my other information came directly from the signs in the building. I am making an educated guess about X2 based on how popular it is and that they are only using a limited number of trains for flash passes on X2 only. I have a feeling that if they used the normal flash pass policies on X2, everyone who goes to SFMM would use all or most of their reservations just on that one ride and the normal line would never move at all. It seems like a good idea to limit it like this since X2 is so much more popular than any other coaster there. For example, when I was there on 3/1, X2 had an 1 1/2 hour line and every other coaster was at or near walk on. This happens on many of my visits.

That being said, my advice would be to get there before the park opens, go on X2 first, then go buy a Q-bot if you think the park will be crowded that day. My next 1-2 visits are going to be on school days so I am not going to buy one. My next visit after that will be during the week following Memorial Day or in the early part of summer vacation, so on that visit I will get one. Not to mention Terminator will be open by then.

Lord Gonchar said:
It was also September - the time pretty much every park suffers staffing issues.

You went on a busy day, had some bad luck with rides and at a time when the park was poorly staffed.

The trifecta of suck. :)

(plus, the Jersey park always seems to be busy unless you show up on a rain-out kinda of day and roll with the punches)

From my experience last season the park is really doing better with crowds. I went in September last year, KK was a walk on in the middle of a Sunday. I guess it is also because so many rides have been removed or SBNO that they can keep the rides they do have fully staffed and running. Last year was my first year with a SF SP and I was surprised to see 2 and 3 train operations even when not needed all season.

^ I was there on a Sunday (arrived around 11 am) in July last year and the park was packed, but we were able to do every coaster (multiple rides on some) by the time the Glow in the Park Parade started. The park looked great, the staff was friendly, and they seemed to be managing the crowds really well. KK had what seemed to be a huge line but we waited only 15 minutes in the queue. It was my first time there and I was really impressed with what a great park it is.

Carrie M. said:

The good news is that you don't have to...with so many other choices, you can just go elsewhere. The real question is where your reluctance to just move on comes from...

It is just really time to move on.... So it's time to just accept it and attend elsewhere, don't ya think? :)

I was responding to the few posts above mine, in which it was said that one should figure out when the best time is to visit SF. I should have made it more clear that I had a hard time doing so, probably because I was from another state. My easy solution is to, like you said, go somewhere else now.

Voicing my last experience at the park does not mean that I haven't "moved on". I "attend elsewhere" all the time, so the answer to "Don't ya think?" is yes, I do...and I am not the only one.

I had a fantastic time at BGW near the end of last summer. I will probably have a fantastic time when I go to KI on opening day this year. I could have chose to go to SF instead, but that's not going to happen. Every time I go to one of their parks, it's a suckfest, so I stopped going.

To keep this on topic, Q-Bot has a lot to do with creating the suckfest.

Show support for the parks you like, and don't support the park you dislike. It's easy.

Explaining why I dislike SF is a lot better than just saying "Six Flags sucks!"

^My dislike of SF has far more to do with other things then the Lo-Q stuff. I personally cant blame you one bit for choosing BGE over a SF park, as I would do the same every time. What I objected to was the way you made it seem like you could never guess when a park is crowded. Its now clear that the crowds weren't a problem so much as a lack of employees due to it being a Sept weekday. There is a reason that most parks go to weekend hours in the fall, you should consider yourself lucky that the park was even open on a weekday after Labor Day, no park around me is. Ive personally stopped going because for one, I dont have to now (living in WI it was really the only option I had for a while,) I personally think that as a whole those parks dont have enough non coaster rides, they nickel and dime you to death (which by the way, I dont think Lo-Q should be included here, its an upgrade for a better expereience just like CP's VIP Pass Im talking more about parking fees, food prices, etc,) and I dont live near SFFT, SFOG or SFOT by far my favorite parks in the chain. If I end up in Texas this summer (and there is a good chance I will) my 4 year streak of not going to a SF park will be over.

LostKause said:
Explaining why I dislike SF is a lot better than just saying "Six Flags sucks!"

I hear you. I really do. I read the majority of your post as another vent about your frustration with the operations at Six Flags, though, not about your difficulty in selecting a day to attend when the crowds are lighter.

At some point these discussions stop being a productive conversation about the state of operations at Six Flags and start becoming just another reason for some folks with a grudge to vent and complain. I think we are at that place.

If you have indeed moved on and decided that your business/money is better spent elsewhere, then why continue to lament about your frustrations from a few years ago?

Because I still hold a grudge, and SF needs to know that with some people, the repercussions can echo for a very long time.

I know it's pretty much looked down on to have a negative opinion of the chain here on CB.

You know, I've been considering the 6 hour drive to SFG, just to experience a different SF park. I just don't know if it's a good idea or not when so many other parks are so much closer. The price is right this year at only $39.99.

Georgia is a nice park, but in my experience one of the other seemingly-crowded-all-the-time parks. It's the other SF that, while I enjoy it, it's can be a tough time and another park where Q-bot is considered (and sometimes used) each visit.

Maybe I've just had bad luck there though. :)

LostKause said:
Because I still hold a grudge, and SF needs to know that with some people, the repercussions can echo for a very long time.

But you aren't telling SF here. The most effective way to tell them is to stop giving them your business. You have done that.

Speaking out on behalf of a grudge isn't the best way to be taken seriously.

I know it's pretty much looked down on to have a negative opinion of the chain here on CB.

I'm not sure where this perception comes from. But if it has anything to do with our exchange in this thread, I want to explain that I do not look down on you or anyone else and I certainly don't represent the overall views of the entire site or club.

I speak for myself.

You know, I've been considering the 6 hour drive to SFG, just to experience a different SF park. I just don't know if it's a good idea or not when so many other parks are so much closer. The price is right this year at only $39.99.

I think that's great and hope you will be able to find a time to go when it's the least crowded. It also sounds like, based on the accounts of some others here, that you may be able to attend those closer parks, too, at a more opportune time.

I'm sure SF comes here to entertain themselves sometimes...lol.

I must have hit SFOG on a good day then, the park was not crowded at all and it was a summer weekday. I haven't even ridden Goliath yet, but the Scorcher is by far my favorite stand up, Mindbender is some Anton goodness, GASM is a lot of fun and Monster Plantation is just a great dark ride (and apperently the redo is also looking good.) It also has some pretty darn good themeing and, dare I say it, charm for a SF park. The two in Texas are better (especially the one in San Antonio) but SFOG is a nice solid park.

Touchdown said:
There is a reason that most parks go to weekend hours in the fall, you should consider yourself lucky that the park was even open on a weekday after Labor Day, no park around me is.

If they're going to open and charge full price, they should at least have the staff to run the park at reasonable efficiency.

:)

Here is a link to the new flash pass page on SFMM's website. Gold is $60 and regular is $32. I thought that $36 price for gold seemed strange and too good to be true. Also, Deja Vu, Batman and Superman are not on the list. Although that can change day by day.

X2 (additional fee, limited availability)

Looking forward to someone letting us know how this works.

That makes two of us. I am not going to get one on my next 1-2 visits, so unless somebody else reports, I won't know until late May or early June.