Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Update - December 14th, 2019
Holiday in the Park & Sidewinder Safari?
It's been a while since I've been to SFDK! I had wanted to go each of the last two weekends but both weekends called for rain in the forecast all day. But Saturday looked good all day so I figured I'd be safe!
Table of Contents
Holiday In the Park
The big event going on right now is obviously Holiday at the Park and we took advantage of a bunch of the things that the park offers for it.
Ice Skating
So just like CGA, SFDK also has an ice rink that you can skate on. At SFDK it takes the place of the bumper cars and as such accommodates less people than CGA. Also, I thought it was interesting that it didn't look like it was ice that they were skating on, instead it was some kind of plastic. Is there an ice substitute when ice doesn't make sense?
The rink had an igloo in the middle
And the lights around it was nice too!
Themed Areas
I liked the Christmas themed areas that SFDK has added around the park. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to take pictures of the areas due to unexpected rain in the forecast but expect those pictures within the next few weeks!
Christmas Tree Forest
Christmas Tree Forest was right outside the old 4D simulator and as you can imagine was full of little Christmas trees.
Toy Land
Toy Land is in the Medusa/Kong courtyard and featured plenty of big toys!
Santa says hello!
As does the toy bear!
I really like the small little drummers throughout the area
Candy Cane Lane
Candy Cane Lane is on the walk from the entrance to DC Universe and is full of candy canes and lights!
Merry Marketplace
And Merry Marketplace is near Toyota Stadium and is full of food, drinks and shopping!
Take a break and get your pictures taken with Santa!
Tree Lighting
The one holiday show I did take the time to see was the tree lighting. Taking place in the front plaza, it featured a group of dancing characters and then finally a lucky family that got to officially turn on the tree. It was a great way to kick off the night!
The mice were the first ones on the stage
Gingerbread man leads the beginning of the show
Our MC gets introduced
Pulling the lever to get the night started!
And finally, the tree looks beautiful after it was lit!
Misc
When I arrived at around 3 or so, the stage at the front of the park was full of a local youth dance group performing to Christmas tunes.
They did a great job!
Just like in CGA, the games were rethemed to Christmas and snow. It's a snowflake race!
One of my favorite parts about HitP is all of the Smores pits around the park and the amazing smell they add to the park
But the best part of the event by far is the photo op near Sea Lion Stadium
You can get your picture taken with a penguin!!!
The keepers had to reorient him to look at the camera every shot but he did a good job regardless!
And now for some random shots of the beautiful decorations around the park.
Sidewinder Safari
Some interesting work over at the SS site. There are some sort of blue supports over at the site. The coaster itself is supposed to be yellow and green so I don't think that this is pieces from the coaster but I also can't think of any coasters or rides that feature this type of support that this might be leftover from. Maybe it's some hidden or buried support for SS?
Here is the support at the site
A little closer
There's also something covered with tarp. Maybe a small segment of track?
I wonder what the tarp is covering
And finally an orange barrier guards the site
General Updates
And finally some general park updates.
The solar panels in the parking lot are all done. It's awesome both that the park is using renewable energy but also that my car will have shade on hot summer days!
SFDK ride opening boards are always questionable. Medusa was open just fine today
Batman looks great
And the entrance plaza with Superman, Wonder Woman and Joker on your left and Medusa and Cobra on your right always gets me excited for the park!
The butterfly exhibit was closed today
I've never noticed this sign before between the butterflies and Tava's Jungleland. Kinda cool!
The animals in the nursery today was a bat...
And a couple of tortoises
I don't think I've ever seen Boomerang have a line. Which is odd because it wasn't a busy day at all.
Tazmanian Devil remains closed
But at least it's all put together
We reported last month about the Pacific Rim 5D signage resurfacing. Well it's still there but the sign for the theater is gone now so I'm pretty confident that this is still spring cleaning. Here's hoping I'm wrong though!
Hey look, it's an old school V2 sign!
HQ was down again today
But Joker was running better than I think I've ever ridden!
And I like the funhouse lights on the station
Overall, it was a great day at SFDK! I'm looking forward to getting out to the park again in a couple of weeks where hopefully I can get some shots of the lights at night!