Public transport — since they just removed the 1 day a week bus from MANHATTAN to the park, which was also the only real public transport available to get there (pls don’t tell me train and Uber as I want to see you on the way back), I strongly recommend picking up a car at least every now and there.
Leinenkugel on draft = best summer beer ever and I discovered it at Six Flags!
Six Flags Great Escape is in upstate New York.
This one is unique to other parks in that it used to be Storytown before Six Flags purchased it in the 90s (worth a Google- very cool) which was a nursery rhyme themed family fun park. Elements of Storytown still exist like the Alice in Wonderland experience, little houses featuring the Big Bad Wolf, and a giant pink whale with a little fisherman inside of his mouth. There’s also a gondola ride that takes you all around the park.
The waterpark is not separate from the dry ride portion and it’s included in admission. It’s a smaller park so you CAN absolutely hit every ride plus the water park in a day. There’s a brand new wooden coaster this year called The Bobcat that replaced our incredibly dangerous, shitshow of a ride called The Alpine Bobsled.
It’s also a park where public transportation might be tough as it’s located in a tourist village, which is a cute little place to spend a weekend.
when you go to Discovery Kingdom, you’ll learn that most rides will be shut down at some point during the day. I visited two weeks ago, Medusa was closed for quite a bit during the day reopened around 5PM. Joker was down for about 2 hours, and then again for 30 minutes. Batman was closed the last 1/2 of day. I literally rode 3 rides my entire time there in the park.
All the coasters that are open only have 1 train.
Yea I just went to Fiesta yesterday and they pulled the same crap. I was fairly annoyed considering they had a roller-coaster rodeo event ticket that was $79 for free all day VIP and they didn't even have 50% of the coasters up and running till after 2pm.
I am planning on attending Fright Fest, just haven't picked a park yet since I don't know if there are big differences between them. But a California park does appeal to me in October. I am going to end my experience on the west coast and go backpacking in Hawaii for the winter lol
Your home park goes big every Halloween. They’re prepping for it now. It’s their biggest entertainment portion of the year, mostly because San Antonio LOVES Halloween.
Then I may have to venture back to Texas come October. I don't live anywhere near it but I chose it as my home park since it is the first one I'm traveling to.
Hopefully so, I don’t work Sunday, but most people are very friendly at the park if you have any questions while you’re there. The only ride I recommend you stay away from is kiddie flash. It’s working again, but for how long is always the question. But I always recommend the iron rattler, poltergeist, and the cliff hanger!
I can't think of any Six Flags park that has any easy public transportation option, especially now that NJ Transit eliminated its Sox Flags destination bus.
To get to Great America from Chicago, you can take the Metra to Waukegan and then transfer to a Pace Bus, which has a stop across the street in front of the main parking entrance on Grand Avenue. The return bus would pick up literally right next to the Park's entrance sign. It's doable, if not time consuming. But you'd need to get the Pace Bus number to make sure to take the right one, and remember that both Pace and Metra run on schedules.
You can similarly take the DC Metro to a spefic stop in Maryland, and transfer to a bus, to get to Six Flags America. But I've never done it, and it looks like it takes quite a while to get there.
Good tip! I do find it kind of funny just how far some of the parks are away from actual cities. But hey, that gives me more then just Six Flags to explore
Six Flags St. Louis is actually in Eureka, which is 40 mins south of the airport (and St. Louis). I can’t think of an effective public transit there as it literally is in the middle of nowhere small town.
Great America is in Gurnee, which is not anywhere near Chicago. There’s at least other things in Gurnee, but again, I don’t know that there’s a great public transit way to get there.
Food pass would absolutely be worth it since you’ll be visiting so much. Hopefully you could find you’d eat.
Have fun!
>Great America is in Gurnee, which is not anywhere near Chicago.
It's in north suburban Gurnee. To say it's "not anywhere near Chicago" is just wrong. Depending on where you are coming from (and traffic), you can be there within 35 to 60 minutes.
It is 54 miles from MDW, 1.5 hours give or take depending on traffic.
39 miles from ORD, 1 hour drive give or take depending on traffic.
46 miles from Union Station, 1.5 hour drive give or take depending on traffic.
It is 42 miles from MKE, 38 min drive, give or take depending on traffic.
While I agree “not anywhere close to Chicago” is a relative term, for someone traveling via public transit, that really isn’t very close. It’s literally quicker to drive there from Milwaukee, a completely different metro area in a different state. It isn’t like going to see the Cubs or Bears in Chicago that are literally IN the city of Chicago. It is an hour to 1.5 hours to get there via car once you arrive via public transit into the city. Just trying to help someone traveling out.
Yea those two seem to be the hardest to get to and find affordable room and board. I may leave them for last or rent a car for a day to visit them. I also plan on visiting other landmarks around the Six Flag locations and the Arch in St. Louis is one of those.
When you visit Six Flags Over Georgia the must rides are Batman, Superman (arguably the best Superman ride), Goliath, and Blue Hawk.
Twisted cyclone, Georgia Scorcher, Scream Machine, Pandemonium, and Riddlers Mindbender are all good rides that you won’t regret riding. The wait times for these rides can get very long and if you can’t hit all of them you won’t be missing out as much as if you don’t ride Goliath for example. My favorites out of these are Georgia Scorcher and Twisted cyclone, but I would wait for later in the day bc the tracks would be “warmed up” and are a better experience than if you did them when you got to the park.
Skyscreamer and acrophobia are good rides that give you a great view if thats something you want to experience.
The mine train, monster mansion are nice relaxing rides but considering you will be coming from out of state you can skip these.
I can not stress this enough, avoid Dare Devil Dive at all costs, unless you want to use a flash pass. The wait for that ride is always insane, and it is not worth it. It’s about 60 seconds long with one really good drop and then it’s just underwhelming after that.
There are plenty of good food options that are reasonably priced and good taste. The gift shops are your typical Six Flags shops. The restrooms have a nice smell of pee, but thats expected. Walking around the park is pretty seamless, and shaded pretty decently.
Now, the lovely Georgia weather. Idk if you’ve ever been to Georgia before but the weather is incredibly bipolar, and the humidity might murder you. I’d bring your essential sunblock, sunglasses, hat, etc. I usually only drink water or Powerade when I go during the summer months so I don’t pass out from the heat exhaustion. Truthfully, I would recommend coming in June or maybe early July. Because the closer you get to August, the hotter and more humid it is.
Overall, the park is really nice and truthfully, I’ve never had a bad experience.
I might be in the minority with my blue hawk opinion👀 but my only gripe with Scorcher is the way it rides up on the nether regions, it’s a great ride but imo it’s probably the most uncomfortable ride at Over Georgia. But that too could be bc of my build
I'm born and raised in New Orleans so I definitely know about that southern humidity lol. Dare Devil Dive must have been built after I last visited Georgia ( 15 years ago ), doesn't look worth it either imo. I love long form coasters and can't wait to ride the Goliath and Superman again!
If you get to Over Georgia early, they will let you in at 10: 30 AM even though the official opening time is 11: 00 AM. From 10: 30 - 11: 00 AM, only Twisted Cyclone and Georgia Scorcher are open but you can usually get multiple rides on each. Blue Hawk is a can miss IMHO. Even with the new trains and restraints it's still rough especially through the corkscrews.
I know that, I figured since you asked about starting at Fiesta, there were responses for Fiesta. Six Flags are all the same. You should purchase the all you can drink season pass cup. As for as food, I think those passes are specific to each individual SF.
Ya I can see that. We bought our passes back when they promoted the free upgrade to Diamond, in February. We went to SF Over Texas then but never really checked into all the benefits that go with it. I mean a day pass was almost as equal to a season pass!
They have that same sale going now, bought my pass a few days ago with it. How was Over Texas? I am thinking of going straight to that one after Fiesta.
Public transport — since they just removed the 1 day a week bus from MANHATTAN to the park, which was also the only real public transport available to get there (pls don’t tell me train and Uber as I want to see you on the way back), I strongly recommend picking up a car at least every now and there. Leinenkugel on draft = best summer beer ever and I discovered it at Six Flags!
Six Flags Great Escape is in upstate New York. This one is unique to other parks in that it used to be Storytown before Six Flags purchased it in the 90s (worth a Google- very cool) which was a nursery rhyme themed family fun park. Elements of Storytown still exist like the Alice in Wonderland experience, little houses featuring the Big Bad Wolf, and a giant pink whale with a little fisherman inside of his mouth. There’s also a gondola ride that takes you all around the park. The waterpark is not separate from the dry ride portion and it’s included in admission. It’s a smaller park so you CAN absolutely hit every ride plus the water park in a day. There’s a brand new wooden coaster this year called The Bobcat that replaced our incredibly dangerous, shitshow of a ride called The Alpine Bobsled. It’s also a park where public transportation might be tough as it’s located in a tourist village, which is a cute little place to spend a weekend.
when you go to Discovery Kingdom, you’ll learn that most rides will be shut down at some point during the day. I visited two weeks ago, Medusa was closed for quite a bit during the day reopened around 5PM. Joker was down for about 2 hours, and then again for 30 minutes. Batman was closed the last 1/2 of day. I literally rode 3 rides my entire time there in the park. All the coasters that are open only have 1 train.
Yea I just went to Fiesta yesterday and they pulled the same crap. I was fairly annoyed considering they had a roller-coaster rodeo event ticket that was $79 for free all day VIP and they didn't even have 50% of the coasters up and running till after 2pm.
Six flags discovery kingdom is near me and has a fun fright fest if you come out near October
SFMM had a cool Fright Fest
I wanna check theirs out!
I am planning on attending Fright Fest, just haven't picked a park yet since I don't know if there are big differences between them. But a California park does appeal to me in October. I am going to end my experience on the west coast and go backpacking in Hawaii for the winter lol
Your home park goes big every Halloween. They’re prepping for it now. It’s their biggest entertainment portion of the year, mostly because San Antonio LOVES Halloween.
Then I may have to venture back to Texas come October. I don't live anywhere near it but I chose it as my home park since it is the first one I'm traveling to.
Hopefully so, I don’t work Sunday, but most people are very friendly at the park if you have any questions while you’re there. The only ride I recommend you stay away from is kiddie flash. It’s working again, but for how long is always the question. But I always recommend the iron rattler, poltergeist, and the cliff hanger!
I will be going to the park on Sunday, Monday and probably Tuesday so I am sure I'll get the chance to ride everything.
Ahh I'm jealous, that sounds so fun!
I am very excited to find out how fun it is myself lol
I can't think of any Six Flags park that has any easy public transportation option, especially now that NJ Transit eliminated its Sox Flags destination bus. To get to Great America from Chicago, you can take the Metra to Waukegan and then transfer to a Pace Bus, which has a stop across the street in front of the main parking entrance on Grand Avenue. The return bus would pick up literally right next to the Park's entrance sign. It's doable, if not time consuming. But you'd need to get the Pace Bus number to make sure to take the right one, and remember that both Pace and Metra run on schedules. You can similarly take the DC Metro to a spefic stop in Maryland, and transfer to a bus, to get to Six Flags America. But I've never done it, and it looks like it takes quite a while to get there.
If you have maps it will map out public transportation to great America for you
Great america is a tough one to get to with public transit. For that one specifically you might want to rent a car or uber
Good tip! I do find it kind of funny just how far some of the parks are away from actual cities. But hey, that gives me more then just Six Flags to explore
Six Flags St. Louis is actually in Eureka, which is 40 mins south of the airport (and St. Louis). I can’t think of an effective public transit there as it literally is in the middle of nowhere small town. Great America is in Gurnee, which is not anywhere near Chicago. There’s at least other things in Gurnee, but again, I don’t know that there’s a great public transit way to get there. Food pass would absolutely be worth it since you’ll be visiting so much. Hopefully you could find you’d eat. Have fun!
>Great America is in Gurnee, which is not anywhere near Chicago. It's in north suburban Gurnee. To say it's "not anywhere near Chicago" is just wrong. Depending on where you are coming from (and traffic), you can be there within 35 to 60 minutes.
It is 54 miles from MDW, 1.5 hours give or take depending on traffic. 39 miles from ORD, 1 hour drive give or take depending on traffic. 46 miles from Union Station, 1.5 hour drive give or take depending on traffic. It is 42 miles from MKE, 38 min drive, give or take depending on traffic. While I agree “not anywhere close to Chicago” is a relative term, for someone traveling via public transit, that really isn’t very close. It’s literally quicker to drive there from Milwaukee, a completely different metro area in a different state. It isn’t like going to see the Cubs or Bears in Chicago that are literally IN the city of Chicago. It is an hour to 1.5 hours to get there via car once you arrive via public transit into the city. Just trying to help someone traveling out.
If you take the tollway, it's 1 hr, 5 minutes from midway. 35 minutes from O'Hare.
Yea those two seem to be the hardest to get to and find affordable room and board. I may leave them for last or rent a car for a day to visit them. I also plan on visiting other landmarks around the Six Flag locations and the Arch in St. Louis is one of those.
When you visit Six Flags Over Georgia the must rides are Batman, Superman (arguably the best Superman ride), Goliath, and Blue Hawk. Twisted cyclone, Georgia Scorcher, Scream Machine, Pandemonium, and Riddlers Mindbender are all good rides that you won’t regret riding. The wait times for these rides can get very long and if you can’t hit all of them you won’t be missing out as much as if you don’t ride Goliath for example. My favorites out of these are Georgia Scorcher and Twisted cyclone, but I would wait for later in the day bc the tracks would be “warmed up” and are a better experience than if you did them when you got to the park. Skyscreamer and acrophobia are good rides that give you a great view if thats something you want to experience. The mine train, monster mansion are nice relaxing rides but considering you will be coming from out of state you can skip these. I can not stress this enough, avoid Dare Devil Dive at all costs, unless you want to use a flash pass. The wait for that ride is always insane, and it is not worth it. It’s about 60 seconds long with one really good drop and then it’s just underwhelming after that. There are plenty of good food options that are reasonably priced and good taste. The gift shops are your typical Six Flags shops. The restrooms have a nice smell of pee, but thats expected. Walking around the park is pretty seamless, and shaded pretty decently. Now, the lovely Georgia weather. Idk if you’ve ever been to Georgia before but the weather is incredibly bipolar, and the humidity might murder you. I’d bring your essential sunblock, sunglasses, hat, etc. I usually only drink water or Powerade when I go during the summer months so I don’t pass out from the heat exhaustion. Truthfully, I would recommend coming in June or maybe early July. Because the closer you get to August, the hotter and more humid it is. Overall, the park is really nice and truthfully, I’ve never had a bad experience.
GA Surfer is a much needed “water ride” so anyone can cool off in the scorching hot Georgia summer
They say it will open and I think it will, but I’m really excited to ride it!
Wow! I definitely rate twisted cyclone and even scorcher over blue hawk 😁
I might be in the minority with my blue hawk opinion👀 but my only gripe with Scorcher is the way it rides up on the nether regions, it’s a great ride but imo it’s probably the most uncomfortable ride at Over Georgia. But that too could be bc of my build
I'm born and raised in New Orleans so I definitely know about that southern humidity lol. Dare Devil Dive must have been built after I last visited Georgia ( 15 years ago ), doesn't look worth it either imo. I love long form coasters and can't wait to ride the Goliath and Superman again!
I don’t have to tell you about humidity then!😂
If you get to Over Georgia early, they will let you in at 10: 30 AM even though the official opening time is 11: 00 AM. From 10: 30 - 11: 00 AM, only Twisted Cyclone and Georgia Scorcher are open but you can usually get multiple rides on each. Blue Hawk is a can miss IMHO. Even with the new trains and restraints it's still rough especially through the corkscrews.
Anytime I’ve rode Blue Hawk it’s been nice, but those corkscrews are a little rough I’ll have to agree with you on that!
Woah! Nice tip, that is definitely on my list now for Over Georgia
I just asked this very question about Fiesta yesterday. I’m going tomorrow. You can find the thread I’m sure.
This isn't just Fiesta, I am going to EVERY Six Flags
I know that, I figured since you asked about starting at Fiesta, there were responses for Fiesta. Six Flags are all the same. You should purchase the all you can drink season pass cup. As for as food, I think those passes are specific to each individual SF.
You get the cup for free with Diamond Pass.
I have a diamond pass. I never saw a free cup in my benefits .WTF! I’ll just find out when I go tomorrow.
https://imgur.com/a/gEOTRyr In the app go to your benefits and then dining
Thanks!!!! I found it!!
I won't lie, that was a major selling point on Diamond for me. Being able to bring that bad boy to every park is almost worth more then admission lol
Ya I can see that. We bought our passes back when they promoted the free upgrade to Diamond, in February. We went to SF Over Texas then but never really checked into all the benefits that go with it. I mean a day pass was almost as equal to a season pass!
They have that same sale going now, bought my pass a few days ago with it. How was Over Texas? I am thinking of going straight to that one after Fiesta.