Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Update - December 16th, 2023
Holiday in the Park Update!
Holiday in the Park is here again! And as always, we're here to cover and report it to you. As always, the event is great and the park looks so beautiful with all of the lights. Let's jump right in but don't miss the ending where we bring a couple of minor updates from the rest of the park!
Table of Contents
Holiday in the Park
Santa's sleigh greets you at the entrance to the park!
Of course, you can find signage all around the park
Areas
Let's walk around the park roughly clockwise and see all of the lands that Holiday in the Park brings us!
Christmas Tree Plaza
Like most years, the big tree is set up in the entrance plaza as the centerpiece of the first area: Christmas Tree Plaza!
Obviously the tree is the main attraction here
And there's actually a show here at dusk every day where some characters and a family turn the lights on for the night
But in addition to the tree, you can also send a letter to Santa
With some of this stationary
There's a little show that happens in front of the tree and on the stage in the plaza where some trumpets will play for guests!
In addition, Wave Swinger becomes Winter Whirl for the holidays
As do the bumper cars!
And as always, the bumper cars are always beautiful!
Also interesting in this area is the Happy Holidays message projected on the entrance roof! My camera couldn't quite get all of it!
Christmas Tree Forest
Moving clockwise, we get to Christmas Tree Forest
And like in years past, this area is a pretty simple one with some trees and nice lights
Of course, there's a nice photo backdrop that has characters to take pictures with at some points in the day
Santa's Toy Land
Santa's Toyland is the area that takes us from the entrance to DC Universe all the way up to the Seaside Junction plaza
As you'd expect it features plenty of the toy props we've come to expect!
Like some skates
Or this top
And you can see others behind it
Although my favorite new decorations are this inflatable
And especially this one!
The seasonal food stand in the Seaside Junction plaza has become Toon Treats
Which sells some grilled cheese which is great to warm you up on a cold day!
In addition to a set of alcoholic drinks
I tried the Peppermint Patty which was delicious!
Looney Tunes Sweetport
The Looney Tunes Seaport area becomes Looney Tunes Sweetport!
In addition to a kids show, it features tons of pretty lights
Including my favorite of Taz
And also a little tree walkthrough
Which was very pretty at night!
Jingle Junction
Seaside Junction becomes Jingle Junction!
Like other areas in the park, it features some ride renames: Air Penguins -> Arctic Penguins
And Merlin's Seaside Tours to Merlin's North Pole Tours
And Seaside Railway to North Pole Express (although it was down during my visit)
In addition you can find other activities like the Frosty Foam Party
Which is about what you'd expect: a foam party that your kids are sure to love!
There are also some activities that kids might enjoy in the store
And finally there's a fire pit to roast Smores at and to warm up at
Winter Wonderlane
Winter Wonderlane is a very small area that just takes up the walk in front of the aquarium
But like other areas in the park, it features costumed characters to take pictures with!
This was the full schedule if you're curious
Celebration Station
The food court is again Celebration Station with all of the signs of holidays celebrated around the world!
And again it features an awesome lit tree in the area!
Rides
Like the past few years, SFDK gives us some renames and slight revamps of rides for the holidays! In this case Monkey Business becomes Peppermint Twirl
And it gets enclosed and lit
Thrill Gorilla becomes Sugarplum Spin, among other rides!
Animal Shows
And also like years past, the park puts on a couple special versions of its animal shows, Dolphin Holiday which I didn't see and A Very Merry Christmas which I did see!
It features the story of a renegade elf trying to ruin Christmas who gets foiled and reformed by some very cute animals
And features the appearance of the big man himself!
But this fat seal steals the show as it flops itself across the stage! These shows are such a great thing the park does and really puts me in the Christmas spirit!
Misc Updates
Let's start off this section of misc updates with an interesting note: the snake exhibits at Sidewinder Safari were uncovered and seemed to have animals in them! Not the best picture but I'm so glad that the park is maintaining this part of the ride
Over at Scatabout, the ride cars were closed...
...there was a sign at the entrance...
...and there was our favorite elevation sign at the entrance
But no worries! There were lots of tools at the ride. They must be just doing a quick little refurb!
Sky Screamer was similarly closed but my money for this closure was on the higer winds
Following up on our report from October, the 2024 sign that was on the old walrus exhibit was still down. Think it's probably safe at this point to say that it's off the table
The penguins were still off of exhibit
But this time, there's a little bit more of a reason. Hope they are able to come back soon!
I could be misremembering but I don't think this mural was here last time!
The nursery has some signage up for Christmas!
Kinda interesting to see the Oktoberfest decorations still up in the Festival Center area!
Animals
And finally, let's end this update with some coverage of the animals of the park! Today was a beautiful beautiful day, not too cold, not too hot and so a lot of the animals were out for display, like the lions
Or the cheetahs who are such big, beautiful cats!
Some keepers were walking around with this parrot who was a lot of fun to see!
And finally, the former cougar exhibit is now home to a pair of mountain lions who had the keeper in the cage playing and interacting with them to get them used to humans
Holiday in the Park continues to be as great as ever and I especially love the lights and tweaks to the animal shows that the park does! It really gets me into the Christmas spirit! If you haven't been yet, definitely make sure to get out and see the event before it ends!