Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Update - November 9th, 2019
Holiday in the Park Construction & Veteran's Weekend
Hey everyone! Got a longer update here from SFDK. This is my first visit since Fright Fest and there's been a decent amount of changes since then. So let's hop right into it, starting with the progress on deconstruction for Fright Fest and the start of Holiday in the Park!
Table of Contents
Fright Fest Remnants
Fright Fest deconstruction was nearly done when I visited this weekend. There's a couple of signs and props still left standing and a ride or two that aren't open that used to be mazes but most everything else was back to normal.
Some leftovers from Sawmill Pass near the shark aquarium
A couple of the picture backgrounds are still up, like this one...
... and this one
You can still see Demon Lair and St Hades but these stay up all year so no suprises here
And there's St Hades
No Nightmare Manor anymore
But the bumper cars aren't quite ready to go yet
But they look like they should be operational again soon!
Anyone want to buy a shirt? I looked inside and they didn't have any
Holiday in the Park
Holiday in the Park decorations were starting to be put up as well. So far that mostly consisted of store decorations, displays and merchandise but the rest of the props aren't far behind I'm sure.
Merch is out! These glasses looked pretty nice tbh
Store window displays are starting to be switched over
And the stores already were partially set up
Sidewinder Safari
Still no real progress to speak of here. Just being a wild mouse type coaster, you wouldn't expect them needing a ton of time for the ride but with what we've heard of the animal exhibit around it being incredible, we'd expect the construction to start before too long. It should be an awesome ride though! And most importantly adding a draw to the back of the park. Everyone seems to go either right or left at the gate to get to DC Universe and Joker, Superman, Batman and Flash or to Medusa, Kong and Skyscreamer. Hopefully Sidewinder Safari and future additions to the park can spread it out a little bit more.
The banner sign is up for the ride
But other than that, nothing much happening
Yep, nothing happening at the construction site
General Park Updates
Member Appreciation Weekend and Veterans Weekend
This weekend was both Member Appreciation Weekend and Veteran's Weekend. Member's Appreciation Weekend featured special animal meet and greets exclusively for members as well as some free soft drinks. I wasn't able to partake since I prefer to carry a pass (been a SF season passholder for 8 years now) but it looked like some nice perks for members!
I didn't get a shot of the exclusive animal meet and greets but if it matters it was from 1-2pm at Tava's Jungleland
Veteran's Weekend was highlighted by a special color guard ceremony in the morning, an exhibit by a local military museum by the food court that featured some military vehicles and uniforms and finally special admission deals for veterans.
A (late) shot of the color guard ceremony
The overall vehicle display. The booth with more info was to the left of this display
The biggest vehicle
Patton's Jeep which is pretty cool!
And the last vehicle
There were also plenty of mannequins dressed in uniforms
New Flash Passes
I've already written an article that describes in a little more detail about the experience with the new devices so I won't go super in depth here but it's nice to get a better form factor of devices!
The new device
Interestingly Batman was off the sign but was selectable to be reserved from the device
General Updates
Never a good sign to see a long list of ride closures but fwiw Scat-A-Bout, Chaos Coaster and Harley Quinn were all open
Tazmanian Devil is still closed. Hopefully it reopens soon!
Not sure if I've just been getting unluckly but I've never actually seen Gotham City Snacks open until today
HQCC was running today but with only one side
Penguin is hibernating for the season. Too bad because it was warm enough to warrant running it
Random but I've never noticed the Zamperla logo on the Jungle Jeeps ride
It's always a good sign when a park map from even 2 years ago looks woefully out of date
Interesting find here: the signage for Pacific Rim 5D is back up. I know that I saw the signage as Happy Feet earlier this year
But on the other hand I can't imagine why they'd bring back this IP. So I'm leaning spring cleaning instead of 2020 reopening but we'll see!
When I walked by Medusa, it was stopped on the MCBR for a little bit. Luckily for the riders it was a pretty nice day to enjoy the view
Tried Kickin Chicken for the first time today and yumm... It was really good!
Construction is ongoing at the food court seating. Work walls are up
Other Pictures
I watched a bunch of shows today so enjoy a few of my favorite pictures I took!
Discover Our Ocean Friends
Odin's Temple of the Tiger
Drench!
Seals, Sea Lions and Otters
And a random penguin!
The Wildlife Experience
Overall it was a great day at SFDK! The more I come here, the more impressed I am with the park. When I first came here in 2016, I only rode Joker, Superman and Medusa and was kinda let down by the park. But this year, now that I've been coming back and enjoying more and more of what the park offers, I'm more and more impressed. The rides are great and the collection is pretty solid and the animal exhibits and shows take this park to the next level. Until next time SFDK!