I took the chance today to get out to Six Flags America for the first time this season - get my passes processed and see how the rides are running this year and what has changed since last year.

I arrived around 11:20, the parking lot was mostly empty and there was no-line at all for pass processing, the first employees I encountered outside the gates were all extremely friendly and helpful. Notably more pleasant then what I've grown accustomed to. Awesome start to the day.

I was starving, so I figured I'd get some food first off, after grabbing a bite to eat we headed off to Southwest Territory to get some rides on Wild One. On the way there they seem to have told the game attendants to really REALLY try to get people to play the games. All the stalls had employees acting much more aggressive then I was used to seeing, and that trend was true all over the park. I found it to be a nice addition to the atmosphere and good for some chuckles throughout the day since some of those kid are hilarious... On a related note, the new basketball game they added is a nice touch and gets a lot of attention based on what I saw.

On to Wild One, we grabbed a front seat ride with no wait. The ride is running great like always, very smooth with some fantastic pops of air throughout. For most of my rides the trim before the helix was off completely leading to some insane laterals in the turn. After the front seat ride we jumped in the back seat and took a couple spins in a row. The back row had a little bit of jackhammering but still gave an awesome ride with lots of airtime.

After Wild One we headed back towards the front of the park because my girlfriend loves swings and we always go on them at every park we visit. No line here, nice ride with a long cycle.

It was on to Gotham to check out the coasters over there, first was Jokers Jinx. We jumped on in the back with no wait, and were able to stay on for a second ride. A nice launch and smooth exhilarating ride, and an operator who had some fun with the launch. All in all good times.

Next we went to Penguins Blizzard River and Avalanche, both with no wait, both leaving me a bit woozy with all the spinning.

Superman was next on the agenda, both trains were running and there was no line at all except one or two trains for the front, very nice. We jumped on in 5th row followed by a quick re-ride in the back row. Didn't feel as smooth as last season when I thought it improved significantly over the past year or two. Still an awesome ride with great airtime.

Batwing had been sitting idly with mechanics working in the station to get it open while we were on SROS, it was perfect timing as we got off after our 2nd ride and saw a train rising up the lift doing test runs.

So we go over to Batwing where we find a small crowd of people in line but its a no train wait to sit in the back of the train. We get all buckled in and ready to go, recline to the laying position, "all clear - dispatch", then we move about a foot before we stop suddenly. Oy, mechanical problems. Thankfully we were only stuck laying there for a few minutes and the mechanics were quick to arrive and the problem was fixed very quickly. After switching trains and doing a test run we were ready to go. Definitely ran better then I remember, felt smoother and gave a great exhilarating ride. I totally dig the Vekoma flying dutchmen coasters.

On the way back towards the rest of the park we stopped at Superman for a front seat ride. So smooth, fast, and loads of airtime. Awesome stuff. The front seat is easily the way to go with this ride.

I figured we should check out one of the parks new additions this year, the picnic grove train being open to all guests. I had been on the train before so it wasn't really anything special or new for me, but eh, I enjoy a nice leisurely ride around on a train getting some nice views of the coasters and everything.

After this we made our way over to Roar for a front seat ride, no wait here either. Not much has changed since last year, still gives a relatively rough ride (for a GCI coaster at least), but has some nice pops of airtime and is still a lot of fun in my opinion.

We rode Skull Mountain next which also had no line. Its a pretty cheesy ride, but still a fun time. The drops are always good.

Next we walked over to the Rodeo flat ride which once again left me dazed with the crazy spinning.

Although it was pretty chilly out we went on the river rapids. Didn't get wet at all, thankfully. Gave a nice ride. I mostly enjoy it for the nice views you get of Roar, Superman, and Mind Eraser.

Mind Eraser came next. There was no line for the back. It was surprisingly not too awful. The first half was a lot of fun and pretty smooth. Unfortunately after the sidewinder it absolutely beat the crap out of us.

After Mind Eraser we made our way over to the ferris wheel to kick back and relax for a bit. Finally we stopped by the swinging ship, rough seas or w/e its called. Pretty fun flat ride that really swings you high up there.

After all this it was late afternoon and we were feeling ready to head back home and come back in a week or two to get on some more coasters and take a dip at the water park. All in all I was very, very pleased with the park. Lots of small improvements can be spotted all over the place. Everything was clean and all the employees were doing a very good job. All the ride ops and attendants were running efficiently and having some fun with each other and the guests, and all the food service employees were very pleasant and helpful. Most notable, the rides were all running great. Even though the crowds were very light and all the lines were walk ons, every coaster was running two trains. All the rides were running the majority of the day, Batwing had a small break down, but it was quickly fixed and I even saw it running two trains later in the day for the first time in I can't even remember how long. Most notably, even Tower of Doom was running all three sides of the tower! That was unheard of for the past few seasons in my experiences as one side was always broken or being used for parts to keep the other two sides operating. This was very impressive to me and seemed to really put in perspective that things are getting a lot better for the park.

The park is definitely heading in a great direction if it can keep this up for the long summer ahead. However I know that the daily operation in the summer and long working hours takes it toll on the rides and the employees. Causing things to breakdown and employees to become less amicable, so hopefully these positives will stick around all season.

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"For each path you walk down, there are several others you have to bypass. Maybe walking those paths would have made you happy, maybe they wouldn't have. You'll never know. Choose your path, walk it, and make the best of it."

This is basically the same great experience I had with the park last month. I as well do get beat up on Mind Eraser after the sidewinder. The first half runs pretty forceful and I guess smooth for a SLC.

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Thrillnetwork Moderator - Sophomore Original sn: CHILLERLC1
2008 & 2009 TN Coaster Draft Champion
You knew I wanted the other repeat too

Nice trip report. Sounds like you had fun at a nice park.

I really don't know why so many people want to hate this park. From what I have seen it's reasonably well themed. The ride selection is lacking in places but I can say the same for pretty much every SFI park.

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Michael C

I definitely think the biggest problem is guest relations. In general in the past the employees simply didn't do a great job with being nice and helpful to guests, or working very efficient on the coasters.

But thus far after this trip it seems to have improved a good deal this year.

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"For each path you walk down, there are several others you have to bypass. Maybe walking those paths would have made you happy, maybe they wouldn't have. You'll never know. Choose your path, walk it, and make the best of it."

I can see how that can be aggravating. And how it could bring people opinions down about the park.

Hopefully teh customer service remains high. I think the pore economy has helped the park with a broader range of people looking to work at the park.

Hopefully the Thomas town and Hopefully more teen adult additions will help people opinions about the ride selection.

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Michael C