Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Update - February 25th, 2023
Flash Coming Back in 2023! And Other Ride Updates
I have a treat for you today! On my visit today to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom I found an unexpected but very exciting sign for Flash: Vertical Velocity. It's coming back later this year! And the train is in the station. I can't wait to ride it again after such a long time away. So we'll talk about that but we'll also talk about the Mardi Gras festival at the park as well as some more ride removal news. Lets get going!
Table of Contents
Flash Reopening in 2023
Let's lead with the big news! There's a sign hung out front of Flash that says that the ride will open in 2023! For a ride that hasn't been running since March of 2020 (I saw it running on March 8, 2020) that's exciting news!
Taking a look at the plaza, looks somewhat similar except for that train!
Yep, the train looks to be mostly back together and it's in the station!
I can't wait! So glad to see them making real progress on this ride. I'll keep my eye out but I'd expect it to be open for summer!
One last picture of Flash, looks like some of the paint is already starting to peel. This is from the park entrance plaza
Mardi Gras
After that excitement, let's talk about the event of the month: Mardi Gras!
The main fountain got into the act and had its dolphins replaced with some decorations
This is the first year that the park put on the event
And they did a good job! Let's break it down to food and entertainment!
Food
As you'd expect, food is an important part of the holiday! There are booths selling drinks and churros throughout the park if you want a really quick bite
But there are more substantial foods too, like at French Quarter Cafe
Let's take a quick peek at the menu
We also get Bourbon Street Cafe in the former Seaside Sandwiches location
And the menu. The mint julep was amazing!
If you were in the mood for a shrimp boil, they had that too!
Other cafes throughout the parks had different special foods
Entertainment
When you think Mardi Gras entertainment, you think two things: first is live music. The park featured a one man band (shown here) and a bigger band under the food court tent
And second a parade which the park had!
It featured musicians, costumed characters and beads and it wrapped around the park starting and ending from the food court area. I was actually very impressed. It wasn't Universal Orlando level but for a little regional park, I'm glad they had it at all
Kinda cool, when the parade came by, they had this bubble maker that filled the bubbles with fog
And finally, there was a Looney Tunes dance party that I didn't get to see!
Other Ride Updates
Let's start with the big news, Tava's Jungleland is coming back!
As of my last visit, the Halloween decorations were still up in this back section of the area but now they've been taken down
The area is still closed off
But the front gates mention that the area will be returning
Not sure what this means (part 1)
Does this mean new rides? Or just reopening? We'll see! (part 2)
There's been a big thing lately about how certain rides don't have web pages. We've been through this in the past. Sometimes rides that don't have web pages get them back and reopen (like The Ark), sometimes they don't (like Tazmanian Devil). Frog Hopper has no page and isn't together but hasn't been removed
Tava's Elephant Parade on the other hand has been removed
I think it's pretty safe to say that it's not coming back
Speaking of removed rides, Daredevil Dive had its queue removed
As have the trains
I'm not ready to call it dead until the ride is removed but it's really not looking good
Seaside Junction remains closed. We'll see if it ever ends up reopening
Misc Updates
I reported last month that Thrilla Gorilla and Monkey Business got new signs. Well, Thrilla Gorilla's sign has been changed, presumably due to the tribal caricature that used to be on the sign
Most of the animals were in today for the cold day but the giraffes were out as were the penguins
Construction continues in the cougar exhibit
Safari Grill had the scrim over its logo and menu removed. Wasn't open today but should be in the future
There are some tables set up near the bottom of the Odin's Temple of the Tiger steps
Kong was closed for maintenance today and Medusa still wasn't running by the time I left. Not a great day if you were visiting to ride today!
Unless you wanted to ride Monsoon Falls in which case you were in luck!
Bring back the penguins!
Superman had the banners in its entrance removed. Good, they were getting pretty faded
The stingray exhibit no longer has a net over it
Not sure if I've noticed this before but the signage for Chop Six is gone
The walls up at the bumper cars finally made their way down
The soccer dart game seems to have been torn down
Absolutely love the idea for Scream Break!
Yep, that'll finish it up for the day! I enjoyed my visit even with a few of the marquee rides down. But I enjoyed hearing the news about Flash even more! Can't wait to ride it later this year. I'll be headed back to the park for Scream Break and I'll bring you coverage of that!