My trip to SFA this summer was a literal meme. I was at 96 credits and I decided that it would be hilarious to make one of the worst Vekoma SLCs my 100th credit. I was expecting the worst on my first trip but I was legitimately shocked, in a good way! Superman, Joker's Jinx, and Batwing (especially, I love that thing) are a pretty awesome top three, and rides such as Wild One and Rajun Cajun are surprisingly good. I also love the "small park" vibe, given that my home park is Great Adventure. Definitely plan to stop down there again this year.
My 100th also is at Six Flags America. Though I decided not to make it a meme and had it be Wild One. Similar to my first credit, Big Dipper at Geauga Lake. I also didn't think the park was that bad. Definitely better than Darien Lake and Indiana Beach(all 2021 visits).
@@frisco557 I'm going to Darien Lake this summer and I'm a big Arrow looper guy (see my profile pic) so I'm ecstatic for Viper. My expectations aren't that high tho for the rest of the park (besides Superman ofc).
I really appreciate you giving a nicer review of the park highlighting their improvements and what they do well while also pointing out what could be improved. I’ve heard from other recent visitors that the park is better than people say so good to hear you see that as well. It would’ve been so easy to bash on Six Flags America since it has become a meme due to it’s bad reputation but you didn’t do that which is nice. Great review!
I was at an ACE event here back in October, there was a Q&A with the park management. They said the want to focus on improving areas rather than adding new additions for the next few years. They also said that they’re doing a full retrack of Roar over the off-season, so it means RMC Roar probably won’t happen, at least not for a while.
I think area/park improvements are more important than new rides, personally. A Roar retrack should be awesome! It's not a bad layout, so if its smoother then that should really help.
Should be noted that a new park president has come in since all of that was announced several months ago... as such, what the park chooses to focus on moving forward may also have changed.
This is my home park: -Operations have gotten better -the fright fest crowd is the reason why people think this park is “unsafe” -when it comes to investments, this park is in trouble roller coaster wise. The new park resident was honest and admitted that the park does not have $10 million to RMC roar. I don’t see this park getting a new coaster until 2025 at least.
And you were right. Also, the reason they don’t have that money is 1, everyone in the area has already overused six flags and no new coasters have been added. It’s just the same old. 2. There’s some people who don’t pay for tickets. There’s alot of easy was to sneak in without paying. Also, it’s 2024, they haven’t had any new coasters or even announced any, so you were right about 2025. Really hoping for a new one
@@David.124 I might have to push back that 2025 addition even further because six flags/cedar fair think the park isn’t worth putting in large investments. It’s the 25th anniversary of it being a six flags park and the 50th anniversary of overall park, and all we got was a small flat right and a rethemed area. Meanwhile, kings dominion is getting a new coaster and rethemes of their coasters in 2025 for their 50th anniversary. Busch gardens is getting a new family coaster in 2025 for their 50th anniversary. Great adventure is getting a new coaster and a safari camping experience for their 50th anniversary. In 2023, six flags america had some of its lowest attendance is recent memory. The new water coaster never opened and fright fest was terrible, there’s a reason it was no lines. People are starting to get impatient with the downfall of this park. - Last coaster addition was 10 years ago with ragin Cajun (a relocation) -Gotham area goes unused the whole year with no shows or entertainment -the park removed fireball, zydeco zinger, rodeo, and whistlestop park. -Batwing probably only has 5-10 years left on its lifespan Harley Quinn is the best addition the park has received since batwing. 23 years since a brand new coaster, and the park wonders why it will never compete with local parks. I can see RMC Roar coming to the park in the next 5 years, but I don’t think they can afford it (former park president basically confirmed that) The waterpark is really carrying this park and is the reason they haven’t shutdown yet. I hope the park starts getting investments with the cedar fair merger, but it’s unlikely
I have no idea why this park doesn't get bigger investments. It's in one of the biggest metros in the country. Even though there's competition nearby, just having such a large population base should make this way more of a priority. Frankly, if they just RMC Roar and add a couple of other off the shelf coasters -- West Coast Racers clone, a hangtime clone, a power splash, or even a Gravity Group junior woodie -- they could be a force in the region.
Actually the competition you speak of is comparatively not that close. KD is like 2 or 3 hours away, Hersheypark and Busch Gardens are farther. Six Flags is really accessible for DC area and Baltimore area people
It's because the park and general area is ghetto as hell, anyone around the area that doesn't want to deal with that will go to Hershey Park or Kings Dominion
@@psychotical21 the "ghetto" area you speak is actually a relatively safe suburban area falsely labeled ghetto due to its location in PG County an area that is predominantly black. the view of the area as "ghetto" is one that is heavily steeped in racism.
@@Unique2U05 Thanks for agreeing with me I am 43 years of age I have been going to this park when it was wild world all the way up till now. I have seen this park evolve for many years. When Six Flags took it over back in 1999 as time went by they really didn’t do anything with the park bat wing was this park largest investment 24,00000 dollars. Every negative thing I say about this park are actual facts but no one wants to talk about that.lol
DC's reputation has really changed, crime has gone down a lot of new development restaurants, apartments, attractions etc have propped up. The bad parts of DC are SE and east of the river in general. Baltimore is still really sketchy, even the less bad parts you can get carjacked so that rep is still very well deserved.
Agree, we just went to Six Flags America and loved it. Living locally in Maryland, we regret not checking them out sooner. The employees are all very hard working and to be on their feet the whole day in all weather is impressive, people need to be more understanding. Not sure why people are so critical of this park. We are a family with small kids and it was clear, safe and immensely fun for them. Some of the bathrooms would benefit from updates but there were tons of bathrooms all over the park so we never had issues.
I’m from the DMV area there is absolutely no reason to go to this park especially when you have Hershey Park and Kings Dominion each within a 2 hour drive and Busch Gardens Williamsburg less than 3 hours away.
@@RY30DM So you wouldn’t drive the extra hour to Hershey Park which is arguable one of the nicest overall Amusement parks in America? If I lived within walking distance of Six Flags America I’d still go to Hershey every time.
People from DC are used to going to Six Flags because it’s in the DC metropolitan area so of course DC prefer Kings Dominion the other places in Maryland that are not used to anything goes there 😂
I might consider revisiting the park if they actually do have a new management team. My partner and I's experience here in 2017 amounted to one of the worst ever experiences at an amusement park. A very violent fight broke out after complaints to staff were ignored in the queue of Superman. Staff had every opportunity to de-escalate the confrontation or manage what began as a mere argument between families. They shrugged and laughed. After the fight erupted, and guests were hurt, they still laughed. The ride was shut down for half an hour as a result, while security detained and removed the offenders and cleaners mopped up the blood. Another incident occurred when we rode Wild Thing. A guy sitting a couple of seats ahead of us with nobody in between spat multiple times into the air knowing full well it would land on us. we yelled at him, but it didn't phase him. As soon as the ride stopped we got out and went straight to the ride crew at the exit and told them what happened. The man who obviously wasn't right in the head left and staff said they would notify security and in the meantime, we should stay away from him. Not long after, he appeared out of nowhere and continued to threaten, harass and spit at us. We went to the main entrance security and complained as he waited nearby. They hadn't received any word of the incident earlier and said that they would remove him from the park. Half an hour later, there he is stalking us again, so we left because it was clear that the safety of guests meant nothing to the staff.
Came here today with my son for the first time ever. We usually go to Great Adventure, our home park. We’re from Philly. Definitely was worth the drive. We had a GREAT TIME! Road all coasters at least twice. Jokers Jinx was a blast! The classic woodies were great! Superman exciting! Road Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman too. Park was busy but lines were short. Went to Hurricane Harbor and cooled off. It’s nice that the waterpark is so easily accessible, rather than disconnected from the main park. Ride operators were so friendly and engaging with guests, instead of just going through the motions and sounding like robots. Yes, it’s not one of the biggest Six Flags but it was still great. I will definitely return.
I went here last year and felt very unsafe. First in line for the Wild One these kids kept bumping into my girlfriend and I kindly asked them if they can please back up and stop knocking into her. I was then promptly threatened and cussed at by these kids for my simple request. Later that day, we saw a police car drive up next to Superman and a few people getting arrested, put in the back of the police car, and then the car was driven off into the woods (or at least in that direction). I got a very sketch vibe from the place.
Yeah it can be bad during the summer and Fright Fest seasons. But I go by myself from time to time and have no problems during the slow seasons. I like to go when the weather looks nasty to some people because they turn away and leave the park early. I remember i had 3 rides on Wild One and 2 rides on Superman.
This park is a favorite destination of the "urban DC" crowd. A lot of Marylanders I know either head north to Hershey Park or south to BG Williamsburg if they can afford it. The second time we went there was apparently a mugging in the parking lot.
When I visited, I had one of the weirdest experiences I've ever had at a theme park. Around noon, all the white people left the water park and moved to the main area as soon as large groups of black families moved in. Granted, this was probably about 15 years ago so I don't know if its changed but I'll never forget it. It was as if someone signaled for one racial group to leave and the other to come in.
I’m not racist,but many times they take our chairs without saying anything like “can I sitting here with you ?”. White peoples always ask my permission if they want sit with us because they didn’t get chairs or they feel they tired and need to sit down. I like Hershey Park better then Six Flags🙏
Glad you’re reviewing SFA! Been my home park for years and I really love it. We should get better investments, but every year since I started visiting in 2015, the park’s infrastructure has been improving. Operations are now some of the best for any park I go to! And I find some of their rides very underrated - I’ll always stick up for Roar lol, Firebird is really fun especially in the back, and Voodoo Drop is one of the most forceful drop towers I’ve been on.
From my observations, Six Flags America is the same caliber of park as Michigan's Adventure. Tons of land for expansion, evidence of investment at one point in history, and the short end of the stick from corporate no matter the monetary highs they see.
It kinda seems like it, but the place is still better than some of the others. Six Flags "Michigan's Adventure" is La Ronde, the place they literally don't even try. They didn't relocate an easy enough to move coaster there, and allowed it to decay "Cobra" knowing it was too close to the bridge and got messed up from it, nor did research prior. Also, an SLC and a B&M invert...just why. Not to mention, Monstre is basically rotting away, might just end up another hole at some point while MAYBE they'll give them a relocated coaster...Le Vipere aka Green Lantern from freaking SFMM.
I think an RMC raptor would be a perfect addition for right now. Also with a new name and new trains for Mind Eraser (does anyone even ride it outside of maybe a station wait). Also this was the first Six Flags Park I went too and Ik I got lucky with Batwing working perfectly every day but still. Firebird made "Apocalypse/Iron Wolf" actually rideable and fun, and a preserved piece of history. Having it AND Wild One (even though it could use some retracking mainly in one area) from that is pretty cool, especially since relocating a wooden coaster basically doesn't happen anymore. I personally would NOT want to see them RMC Roar. I think it is heavily underrated, and the park takes good care of it. I do however, think it'd be a good candidate for a titan track GCI job-and I mean putting in an inversion somewhere, as well as some steel track in areas not visible from the outside where it takes more hits, so the park could save that money for future rides/coaster/improvements. Of course new trains. Joker's Jinx is also pretty solid, very enjoyable, just needs some R&R. I think even with my "complaints" at the time, or thoughts now, I was given almost TOO HIGH expectations when going to others Six Flags Park's especially the ones people rave about lol. Also blame 2020 for the place's improved reputation leading to it...not being seen as better. Not saying anymore on that.
I definitely had a very interesting experience when I revisited the park for a couple of hours this past summer, in an attempt to get the rest of the credits that I was missing. It was a Tuesday in June, and Firebird had a line that took around an hour to get through. Then I went to Batwing, which was miraculously operating. Even though the line was only perhaps 7ish trains long, there were 2 different breakdowns while I was waiting. Finally, they got the coaster running again for the last train of us at around 6:50, just 10 minutes before the park closed. The ride operator closest to me actually *nudged*/gently pushed me toward the train as I walked through the loading gates. I found this amusing, and I assume she just wanted to get the shift over with and get us sent out before another maintenance issue popped up. I got off the train at the end of the ride and went as fast as I could toward Rajun Cajun - another credit at the park I still needed. Even though it was 6:57pm when I showed up at the entrance, the line was already "closed". I say "closed" because there was no sign or chain or anything blocking the entrance, just a ride operator on the mic repeatedly saying that the line was closed as I walked up, and telling me/others not to get in line. Also the one bathroom I went in there was pretty dirty, and certainly very out of date
This park needs at least 3 NEW coasters. I don’t think they should RMC roar however. It’s one of 2 wooden coasters they have. They should leave it alone and make a ground up RMC. Actually RMC needs to build 2 coasters here. A hybrid coaster and a single rail coaster.
It should be renamed to Six Flags Mid-Atlantic because there's already a Six Flags park that has America in the title and an across America theme, that is Six Flags Great America near Chicago.
Nice fair review. I have been here a few times (mainly in the early 2000s) and it was definitely hit or miss. I remember our first trip I was stoked to have S:ROS 90 minutes away from where I lived (30 mins north of Baltimore). I've also been here when the operations were extremely extremely bad.. like.. the ride ops were making a point to be slower than what was humanly possible. I worked at Universal (Dragons/Unicorn) and Disney (Everest) and we were always motivated to get the most number of riders per hour.. especially with 6 train ops at Dragons. SFA was the polar opposite of that for at least 75% of my visits in operations, F&B and season ticket sales. I'm glad to see they are making strides in the right direction. I really feel like anything they add in the future are going to be easily relocated or removed to the scrap yard once this park ends up being sold to developers. Although if that hasn't happened yet with real estate prices the way they are maybe they have bigger plans for this park.
my parents brought me to six flags america for my birthday 3 years ago and i enjoyed it a lot. most of the coasters are the type i prefer to ride and ended up going on multiple times. the halloween event was also going on and it was pretty fun being chased by scary creatures 😅 i was surprised to see the backlash this park got, it’s really not that bad. I agree some theming needs work but entertainment wise it was very fun. my parents didn’t really enjoy it but i would love to go again haha
At fright fest several years ago SFA security lost control and several fights broke out. I was there that night and left right when the crowed was turning ugly. Memories like that stick with people, a park’s reputation is changed and takes a long time to recover. My best to the new management but with so many great parks nearby there is little reason to go back to SFA.
Haven't been here since like 2003. Grew up in the DC area and everyone would just go to kings Dominion, Busch gardens, or Hershey park even though they were further away cause this place was always considered run down. I remember Jokers Jinx breaking down and people getting stranded on the ride in the middle of August for hours in the blazing sun
I grew up in the DC area. This park was fine in 90's, early 2000's. I went every summer in those times. When I started going back in the late 2000's, early 2010's, thats when things started to decline. There hasn't been a new ride in years and the ones that exist are not well maintained and shut down a lot. I won't say the park is 'ghetto' since this park is located in an area with a huge African American population and yeah, I agree there are still a lot of white people today that want nothing to do with black people but I will say this park attracts a lot of trashy people. Last time I was there in 2014, a fight broke out near one of the rides and it's not the first time this happened! A better experience is going to Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion in Virginia or even freaking Hershey Park in Pennsylvania.
I'm from Japan and a big coaster nut. I visited this park because of Mind Eraser's reputation. Yes it lived up to it but I really loved Wild one and Roar. Joker's Jinx I found to be a bit boring and Cajun was possibly the best Wild Mouse I ever been on. I think if more money went into the park it could be something special. Frustrating to see a park have so much of it waisted.
Use to visit there when it was a just a water park called “Wild World” back in the 80’s and early 90’s before it became “Adventure World”. Wild One was the parks only coaster for a long time. And I remember when Mind Eraser opened because it had commercials on TV starring Cal Ripken Jr. from the Baltimore Orioles.
I honestly gotta disagree on this one. The wife and I went last summer and SFA is absolutely at the bottom of any amusement park list we've ever been to. Probably the worst day we've had at a park. It started out good with a ride on Batwing but then superman was closed and when we asked if there was a status update we were told by the employee at the entrance "no, go away." Roar is borderline unbearably rough as well as Mind Eraser. Jokers jinx was sporadic operations at best. Dispatches were almost the same time you recorded. The food selection is bare minimal and what is there is terrible tasting. Employees as well as management just didn't seem to care no matter where I looked. The whole place smelled and there was trash all over. As for safety, did the rides feel unsafe? No. But the environment of the park sure did. It felt almost hostile. Like you had to watch what you did or said to anyone or a fight would start. I was wary going into the park for my first visit but it was just bad. Like bad bad. For me there's zero redeeming qualities about this park.
I went here for the first time last summer and it was absolutely horrible. Wild One and Ragin Cajun were surprisingly fun, and Superman Ride of Steel was actually really painful because I kept getting stapled sadly.
Last time I went to this park was a few months after I moved to the DMV waaaaay back when in 2002! And have had no desire to ever go back, it was a complete let down. So yeah I'd rather drive to Kings Dominion or Busch Gardens.
Part of the problem is the demographic that attends this park. Ive been a few times and every time I've gone there have been fights, loud verbal brawls and other run-ins and this extends beyond just Fright-Fest.
As a person that went there a lot through my later childhood and teenage years (I'm soon to be 25 now)... The reputation you spoke about was absolutely valid even up into my last visit there, 5 or 6 years ago. All I'm gonna say is when I was sitting in guest relations let me tell you how this lady was going all the way off bc a group of 16 ppl line jumped her, she reported them and then SHE got put out of the line 🤣😭! And that's just ONE story! But I'm glad to hear it's getting better now and another awesome video park analysis in the books man!
Roar, Superman, and The Joker save the park from being a crummy experience. It's still a Six Flags, so crew is inefficient, so even on less busy days, lines still move slowly. I often picked Kings Dominion over Six Flags despite Six Flags being closer and traffic on 95 between DC and Richmond is abysmal.
I'm glad you were able to rereview this park as so many things have changed about SFA since the og. I remember Taylor was on the verge of getting cancelled because of a certain quote in the original review. NOW PLEASE REVIEW BEHEMOTH AT CW
Was it that one or the La Ronde one? TBH, the La Ronde one deserved it, Six Flags NEEDS to let that park go, and maybe try to actually 100% own/buy Darien Lake instead.
@@coasternerd6978 lol honesty just isn't the best policy these days unfortunately, what a joke, feelings over facts. Same is true for SFOG and it also needs operations improvements. La Ronde is just a disaster-didn't relocate Cobra within the park when it was being damaged being too close to the bridge, Super Manage was already falling apart, Monstre will be basically unfixeable if it sits to rot for who knows how many years, why is there an SLC when there's a batman the ride clone, oh and they might eventually get not even a S&S free spin but "Le Vipere" aka crappy Green Lantern from Magic Mountain (probably the worst coaster the park ever had, people might say Z-Force/Flashback but it was not considered rough/hated until it kept getting relocated).
Can you start doing coaster parodies again. It’s why I started watching your channel and I’m sure a lot of people would want to you do it too Edit:that aged very well
This is just an observation but this park is pretty underrated. Have you been here at night? Because the dark coasters really change your opinion on this place.
I used to go here since it was called Wild World. You pretty much nailed it. Most of the people I know won't even go here anymore. It's a trashy place with garbage people and half the rides are always shut down.
This park is my new home park and I went this summer. I feel like it just gets shade for no reason nowadays, it was really fun when I went this summer for the first time.
This used to be my home park funny enough, and I truly do not understand the insane hatred this park receives. Whenever my family went, there were never any lines or insane wait times, the front entrance awesome, and the theming in the south west area will never get old. They truly should add more though, this park is insanely empty and a major investment would bring the rest of the millions of the people in the DC metro area to the park
1st time at this park was Halloween 2005ish. I watched the Super Man ride break down in front of me. One car was waiting to go over the drop and the 2nd did blew past the stop and was on its way up the drop!!! They pulled the emergency break or somethin. I've been back sine and had a great time
I grew up with this as my home park, and we rarely traveled for other parks. And I'll say when it's all you have/are used to, it's not that bad! I had a season pass for a few years and we always had a great time going. I think it's easier for people privileged enough to visit multiple parks in their life to judge SFA, but SFA provides a lot of enjoyment for those that have it as their only option.
I worked there in the early 2000s and management had a special walkie talkie code for “gang fight”. I heard it called once the summer I was there but my manager said it resolved itself before the cops came.
I've been watching you channel for a while now.great stuff, I'm also local more closer six flags America. All your points are valid and I agree with everything you said. As a local and theme park fan it really comes down to the demographic that comes to that park. In no way am I trying to offend. But thats what I think is the real reason why the park gets a bad rap and I've been going to that park even before six flags took it over and it was called Adventure world( when the Mind eraser first came out it ran very differently..also still my favorite coaster lol) even then the argument was still the same. Maybe since your operations video they are starting to listen And just focus on what the park needs for a bigger audience. Who knows, we can hope for the best.. Anyway.. you gonna be at Busch gardens for pantheon's opening day?
YOU ARE TELLING THE TRUTH! Local to SFA as well. I was 9 when Premier Parks bought Adventure World. In the early 2000’s Six Flags made up in their minds they weren’t going to continue to invest because a good majority of the faces coming through the park didn’t equate “return of investment/profits” 🤣 it’s not funny but after Batwing, they were like “Ya get what ya get”
I’ve been to Six Flags America when it was owned by Time Warner! My ex husband worked for AOL and became a company under the umbrella of Time Warner. We received season passes and quite frankly I preferred Bush Gardens Williamsburg! It was more immersive for our kids!
I was very pleasantly surprised by this park. It has a great coaster lineup, some great theming and is run decently well. I actually like this park more than Great Adventure and Over Georgia.
We were on a road trip and stopped into this park. It was a hot day, no shade to be found lines for drinks not moving, had to wait 1/2 hr for a water. Ended up spending 6 bucks on a bottle of lemonade from a vending machine because we were dealing with dehydration and couldn't wait. Superman was good, but half the rides were down, and every other ride we got on besides supes was a jackhammering mess. Now I've been to 5 six flags parks, New England, NJ, America, Great Escape, and Magic Mountain, and this was by far the worst. To top it all off, I leave the parking lot following the exit signs, and get yelled at to go the other way.... It made no sense. It could be a decent mid tier park, but it's like no one cares and there's enough traffic to keep it going that it justifies just existing.
I recently had a semi-bad experience at Kings Dominion - sketchy park guests, slow ride operations, and even a few sketchy ride operators! The guy running Reptilian was literally badgering park guests using the microphone, very uncomfortable and ridiculous. So anyway, I'm going to be in Maryland next month but will probably skip this one for that reason.
It def needs work. Something about Six Flags America is not inviting . The buildings all need a fresh coat of paint. I went bc it was free. The thrill rides were fun. The park is probably more for teens and adults. Not for kids
I use to go to this six flags a couple of times around my birthday and when they did their Halloween events and yes if they could invest in it more as well
I agree with you on this video. I live 20 min away and have been going all summer which has been fun. I normally go to Busch Gardens Williamsburg which is a WAY better park but considering that they have season passes for $55 and that I'd spend way too much money driving all the way to Williamsburg, this park made for a great solution.
I know I’m late but I just went to Six Flags America first time on my second attempt to get there. In Sept I went down from Delaware and they just didn’t open; I don’t know why I checked the schedule and it said it would be open but the schedule changed while I was driving down. Now my second attempt was successful at least at getting in. But half the rides were closed and the lines for every major attraction were about an hour long since it’s was a busy Saturday night. Scare actors weren’t good either. And Ragin Cajun hurt my knee (granted it was probably done in by the Baltimore Marathon and the ride just pushed it over the edge). I do agree it’s not the worse park in the chain. I give that honor to Great Escape, but I’ve still only been to four parks (five if you count Elitch Gardens cause the one time I visited it was a Six Flags park). And it definitely had the worst operations.
Six Flags America has a decent coaster lineup. Superman, Joker, and Batwing are a solid top 3. Wild One is a great wooden coaster. I didn't find Mind Eraser to be rough at all. Firebird and Roar on the other hand are two of the roughest coasters I have ridden. And I'm sure kids enjoy Rajin Cajun. Like you mentioned, the biggest thing they need is some updating and filling in the empty areas of the park. The park has an unfinished feel to it.
Interesting. I found Mind Eraser to be hell and Firebird to be tolerable. I agree though Roar is awful it has to be one of the worst coasters I have ever ridden
I remember years ago when I myself was a young adult right after high school this park was trash. Unruly patrons and rude staff. It was always fights breaking out but now since they changed area codes and probably got new management. It seems like people have a better experience here and I have not heard of any major incidents happening here as of late so maybe they have changed for the better which is good.
How on earth do people question its safety? What's "dangerous" at this park? It may nothave the best rides but what does safety hav to do with anything?
Sometimes it has nothing to do with the park itself, it can be the guests. Last October there were a bunch of rowdy individuals who went off into the parking lot and smashed windshields.
This was my home park for 2020. One time no joke I was driving into the car park and saw a cop with a shotgun running after an individual who went into the woods. He then took a a handgun out of his pants and threw it down the bank. It's not the park but that area has seen a massive increase in crime recently and seeing that stuff really can get you anxious if you are taking a family there.
I really like six flags america,I used to live in maryland, I actually worked their as a electrician for 2 years ,the park I will agree need some upgrades and there is a lot of unused property, I think more roller coasters would be nice ,overall as a season pass holder and prior employee ,I really enjoyed the park and enjoyed working their as well
I want the to rmc roar so bad. And I want them to put an rmc ground up, original single rail coaster in too. Also want a intamin LSM coaster. Hoping. It'll never happen tho :(
This being my hometown park I actually kinda agree, I used to go there so much in the mid 2000’s and slowly but surely me and my friends started driving to visit other parks because sfa became so bland after awhile as a kid back in like 06 to me I thought this park was the best thing out until now lol. It just needs more love and attention
Always enjoyed this park. The water park is a highlight however I do wish they had a raft elevator for the slides that require the big clover leaf rafts. Wild one runs great for such an old coaster. This is a solid ride. 7/10 Roar is a good time but is rough. You'll not want to marathon it. 5/10 Batwing is a neat experience, but kinda uncomfortable. 6/10 Superman is a fantastic ride with good airtime, and that straight track is kinda cool. The complaint I have is a very hard brake right on a bunny hill that if you're in the wrong seat will bust your shins. 8.5/10 Jokers Jinx is a ton of fun. Ride operators like to play games with timing the launch. They'll fake you out. It's fun. Very good head choppers 9.5/10 Mind Eraser runs better than some other SLC's but still isn't great. 5/10 Firebird is an abomination. Please just tear this ride down and put something better in it's place. Uncomfortable. The worst headbanger I've ever ridden. I've given it three tries on three different visits a few months apart. Even used a skip the line pass on it. Word to the wise? Skip this ride completely. 1/10 Rajun Cajun is a fun spinning wild mouse. Good ride for a good laugh. Good to come back too multiple times through the day. They also run a bunch of cars so the line moves fast. Only gripe is there is little to no shade in the ride queue. There are misters in the queue however. 7/10
Im sorry, i love six flags america and i live a couple min away but why they gotta use the 2nd best themed area for a bad roller coaster, would like to see a single railed coaster with maybe a horse model and maybe like the wonder women single railed coaster but scaled down to replace mind eraser and if they give it a wild west themed area it goes through it would be a huge improvement overall for the park
I love this place. Can't understand why everyone in DC is not here every weekend in the summer. They have great deals for locals for season passes, food passes, and season drink passes.
I grew in the DC area. Being honest here, many of the rides have poor maintenance and there are more exciting theme parks like Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens in Virginia and even freaking Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. Last time I was there, a huge fight broke out. It tends to attract trashy people.
I’m planning on going in two weeks. Because of its reputation I plan to be there for a short while but I have an extreme pass at SFDK and I’ll be in DC, might as well check it out right?
In my strong opinion six flags needs at Least three new Major rides to bring a lot more people there. They need two Major roller coasters. One of those coasters should be another fast, Long, crazy design Like Steal Vengeance? Only Higher, longer and more crazy. The other coaster should be I think Is a Stand up coaster also which will be Higher and faster, Longer. And Last they need a high, fast, and Long in Length WATER Coaster that I think people will Love. You have to Invest money In order to make money.
I haven’t been here so I can’t say. But I saw something recently with the new management for six flags the company food is something they are changing up for this season
Hey Taylor. Liked the review. Growing up an hour away from this park, I have gotten to see it transition from its Wild World days to Adventure World, then finally, Six Flags. Six Flags did sink a lot of money and rides into the park all at once. Sadly, this park has never had a coaster that wasn't either a relocation, a clone, or was later cloned. The closest thing to original would be Roar, I guess, since it's clone is now gone? That being said, I've always had fun here - even when it was Wild World and Wild One was the back of the park. And as for that Frontier theming in the Mind Eraser area, you can thank Adventure World for that. Speaking of Mind Eraser, do you ride it every visit? Over the last 3-4 years, it hasn't run as bad, in my opinion. I have even ridden it 4 times in a row on several visits in 2020 and 2021. My head bangs around a lot less on it than Firebird, that's for sure. I think Firebird and Roar are a less enjoyable experience compared to Mind Eraser. Over the years I was one of the people who began to dislike the park. We grew up going to Hersheypark since Wild World wasn't there when I was a kid. If I remember correctly, it used to be a safari? Anyhow, things are getting better. Ride operations have improved. Cleanliness has improved. And customer service has gotten better. Sadly, the people who tend to ruin experiences here tend to be those visiting (see the big fight that happened last year for Halloween).
Wait. this is my home park even though I drive from Delaware. SFA i havent been since their Harley Quinn edition. But i have seen it at its worst when I used the coke can coupon back in 2004 and remember freshly of TWOFACE the ride and Iron Eagle. The best flat ride edition was Wonder Woman because they were the only park I know of. That reverse that ride during Fright Fest, some people turn away, but I love it at night.
My biggest complaint with this park was operations. Riding Roar, the ride operator knew my dad couldn't get the belt buckled when she came to check the lapbar. Instead of letting him get that buckled she rudley told him to move his hands, pushed the bar down, and let the train leave without the belt being done. I know the lapbar was secure, but it just didn't sit right with me as it's part of the safety procedure to have that belt buckled in case something were to happen.
park needs an RMC. They have a hyper, a floorless looper, a launched coaster, flying, they just aren't the best in their categories unfortunately. They can't all be replaced, and adding more of the same would be redundant. However, I feel like they really should replace the SLC with a B+M even though nobody is really ordering b+m inverts anymore. an RMC conversion and a large b+m invert would be great. Maybe one of the $10m justice league dark rides? Otherwise Kinda stumped. Keep the existing GCI and build a ground-up rmc if you wanna grow the roster. Strange little place but it's getting there. They also get things that I wish my home park, six flags great america, would get. The star flyer, the zamperla swing ride (cant remember the model name), and that gorgeous colonial main gate. The urban planner in me wants to take that large plot of land between superman and batwing and do a little placemaking project. build a lake/pool/water feature like kennywood's, have seating, dining, fountains, an elegant flat ride or ferris wheel, and a coaster (maybe a goliath clone from SFGAm running north and south from batwing to superman's helix, boxing the entire area in, and then reconnecting to the park by firebird to create a full loop. there would be a lot of kinetic energy in that space.
I went here for the first time back in March, only Six Flags ive ever been to. Maybe my expectations being so low helped but i had a great time. It really scratched my coaster itch being the only driving distance park open at the time and tickets were dirt cheap. The park was dead so ops weren't an issue but Batwing was closed the whole day :( they really should have put Harley Quinn back there with it to liven it up more
The real reason SFA has a reputation of being "sketchy" is because of all the black people that frequent there. That's it. I used to work/frequent there as a teen in the late 90s/early 2000s (and went as a child from the early 90s when it was Adventure World) and it has generally always been talked about that way because it is nestled in a predominately black county in MD, the blackest place next to Baltimore City, and even though PG County is heavily middle-to-upper middle class, black faces was always more than enough to make some white folks (especially those from outside of the area) want to avoid the park. I will never forget talking to a white classmate in high school who lived in Bowie (15 minutes away from SFA) but had NEVER been his entire life, and when I asked why, he laughed and said because it was "ghetto." Had to have gotten that info from his parents of course. But fine by me, he was missing out. And I take my children there today and its actually nicer than it was when I was a kid (more upgrades, better rides--I mean, the Superman and Harley Quinn are CONTENDERS for sure!) but still a laid back vibe. There was never any crime or anything in the early 2000s or late 90s, so don't believe that. Just the same old occasional groups of teen boys clowning around too loudly or teen girls being told to cover their bikinis--like any other theme park in the summer--except with black faces.
thats not true lol the dmv area has gotten worse haha u cant go anywhere in dc or md without sum bs happening istg ppl are just losing their minds fr tourists shouldnt go there lol
![Дон ДОН, Алаудинов и СБЕЖАВШИЕ из под Курска ахматовцы 😁 [Пародия]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dEfCf5IK26Q/mqdefault.jpg)
Just an observation, a lot of the coasters here are really old! That's not necessarily a good or a bad thing
r/rollercoasterjerk
theyre all like 20-15 years old
@@kjmmssare you counting how much time they’ve spent at the park, or in total
My trip to SFA this summer was a literal meme. I was at 96 credits and I decided that it would be hilarious to make one of the worst Vekoma SLCs my 100th credit. I was expecting the worst on my first trip but I was legitimately shocked, in a good way! Superman, Joker's Jinx, and Batwing (especially, I love that thing) are a pretty awesome top three, and rides such as Wild One and Rajun Cajun are surprisingly good. I also love the "small park" vibe, given that my home park is Great Adventure. Definitely plan to stop down there again this year.
Was the SLC as bad as you expected tho lol
My 100th also is at Six Flags America. Though I decided not to make it a meme and had it be Wild One. Similar to my first credit, Big Dipper at Geauga Lake.
I also didn't think the park was that bad. Definitely better than Darien Lake and Indiana Beach(all 2021 visits).
had us in the first half ngl
@@goodusernamesareoverrated I legitimately think it's a 5/10. Could not believe that I preferred it over a B&M, but I'd take it over Firebird any day.
@@frisco557 I'm going to Darien Lake this summer and I'm a big Arrow looper guy (see my profile pic) so I'm ecstatic for Viper. My expectations aren't that high tho for the rest of the park (besides Superman ofc).
I really appreciate you giving a nicer review of the park highlighting their improvements and what they do well while also pointing out what could be improved. I’ve heard from other recent visitors that the park is better than people say so good to hear you see that as well.
It would’ve been so easy to bash on Six Flags America since it has become a meme due to it’s bad reputation but you didn’t do that which is nice. Great review!
I was at an ACE event here back in October, there was a Q&A with the park management. They said the want to focus on improving areas rather than adding new additions for the next few years. They also said that they’re doing a full retrack of Roar over the off-season, so it means RMC Roar probably won’t happen, at least not for a while.
Oh so u saw the guy who was stuck on Superman that morning which was me yikes💀
😂 Yeah I remember that
@@coasterking4980 it’s bad that I joked about getting stuck right before getting on so I knew it was gonna happen as soon as I hit the breaks lmao
I think area/park improvements are more important than new rides, personally. A Roar retrack should be awesome! It's not a bad layout, so if its smoother then that should really help.
Should be noted that a new park president has come in since all of that was announced several months ago... as such, what the park chooses to focus on moving forward may also have changed.
This is my home park:
-Operations have gotten better
-the fright fest crowd is the reason why people think this park is “unsafe”
-when it comes to investments, this park is in trouble roller coaster wise. The new park resident was honest and admitted that the park does not have $10 million to RMC roar. I don’t see this park getting a new coaster until 2025 at least.
And you were right. Also, the reason they don’t have that money is 1, everyone in the area has already overused six flags and no new coasters have been added. It’s just the same old. 2. There’s some people who don’t pay for tickets. There’s alot of easy was to sneak in without paying.
Also, it’s 2024, they haven’t had any new coasters or even announced any, so you were right about 2025. Really hoping for a new one
@@David.124 I might have to push back that 2025 addition even further because six flags/cedar fair think the park isn’t worth putting in large investments. It’s the 25th anniversary of it being a six flags park and the 50th anniversary of overall park, and all we got was a small flat right and a rethemed area.
Meanwhile, kings dominion is getting a new coaster and rethemes of their coasters in 2025 for their 50th anniversary. Busch gardens is getting a new family coaster in 2025 for their 50th anniversary. Great adventure is getting a new coaster and a safari camping experience for their 50th anniversary.
In 2023, six flags america had some of its lowest attendance is recent memory. The new water coaster never opened and fright fest was terrible, there’s a reason it was no lines.
People are starting to get impatient with the downfall of this park.
- Last coaster addition was 10 years ago with ragin Cajun (a relocation)
-Gotham area goes unused the whole year with no shows or entertainment
-the park removed fireball, zydeco zinger, rodeo, and whistlestop park.
-Batwing probably only has 5-10 years left on its lifespan
Harley Quinn is the best addition the park has received since batwing.
23 years since a brand new coaster, and the park wonders why it will never compete with local parks.
I can see RMC Roar coming to the park in the next 5 years, but I don’t think they can afford it (former park president basically confirmed that)
The waterpark is really carrying this park and is the reason they haven’t shutdown yet. I hope the park starts getting investments with the cedar fair merger, but it’s unlikely
I have no idea why this park doesn't get bigger investments. It's in one of the biggest metros in the country. Even though there's competition nearby, just having such a large population base should make this way more of a priority. Frankly, if they just RMC Roar and add a couple of other off the shelf coasters -- West Coast Racers clone, a hangtime clone, a power splash, or even a Gravity Group junior woodie -- they could be a force in the region.
Actually the competition you speak of is comparatively not that close. KD is like 2 or 3 hours away, Hersheypark and Busch Gardens are farther. Six Flags is really accessible for DC area and Baltimore area people
It's because the park and general area is ghetto as hell, anyone around the area that doesn't want to deal with that will go to Hershey Park or Kings Dominion
@@psychotical21 the "ghetto" area you speak is actually a relatively safe suburban area falsely labeled ghetto due to its location in PG County an area that is predominantly black. the view of the area as "ghetto" is one that is heavily steeped in racism.
@@connormurphy683 great adventure is way closer to nyc/ct/newark than dc
@@henry2650 Okay? The video was about 6F America
Taylor: "There are definitely some parks in the Six Flags chain that I would put below Six Flags America."
*cough* La Ronde *cough*
The park only ever had that reputation of being sketchy and unsafe because it shares the same reputation that DC and Baltimore have
I 100% agree with you trust me I worked here for 3 seasons I definitely have some stories about management and horrible guess experiences.
@@darrylellis4809 I'm a local that has gone to this park quite regularly throughout the years....I have to agree with you.
@@Unique2U05 Thanks for agreeing with me I am 43 years of age I have been going to this park when it was wild world all the way up till now. I have seen this park evolve for many years. When Six Flags took it over back in 1999 as time went by they really didn’t do anything with the park bat wing was this park largest investment 24,00000 dollars. Every negative thing I say about this park are actual facts but no one wants to talk about that.lol
Sketchy and unsafe is a understatement never go here during fright fest.
DC's reputation has really changed, crime has gone down a lot of new development restaurants, apartments, attractions etc have propped up. The bad parts of DC are SE and east of the river in general. Baltimore is still really sketchy, even the less bad parts you can get carjacked so that rep is still very well deserved.
Agree, we just went to Six Flags America and loved it. Living locally in Maryland, we regret not checking them out sooner. The employees are all very hard working and to be on their feet the whole day in all weather is impressive, people need to be more understanding. Not sure why people are so critical of this park. We are a family with small kids and it was clear, safe and immensely fun for them. Some of the bathrooms would benefit from updates but there were tons of bathrooms all over the park so we never had issues.
I’m from the DMV area there is absolutely no reason to go to this park especially when you have Hershey Park and Kings Dominion each within a 2 hour drive and Busch Gardens Williamsburg less than 3 hours away.
Hersheypark is definitely farther away from Six Flags America. It’s easily an hour and a half from the Baltimore area.
@@RY30DM So you wouldn’t drive the extra hour to Hershey Park which is arguable one of the nicest overall Amusement parks in America? If I lived within walking distance of Six Flags America I’d still go to Hershey every time.
People from DC are used to going to Six Flags because it’s in the DC metropolitan area so of course DC prefer Kings Dominion the other places in Maryland that are not used to anything goes there 😂
good observations
I might consider revisiting the park if they actually do have a new management team. My partner and I's experience here in 2017 amounted to one of the worst ever experiences at an amusement park. A very violent fight broke out after complaints to staff were ignored in the queue of Superman. Staff had every opportunity to de-escalate the confrontation or manage what began as a mere argument between families. They shrugged and laughed. After the fight erupted, and guests were hurt, they still laughed. The ride was shut down for half an hour as a result, while security detained and removed the offenders and cleaners mopped up the blood. Another incident occurred when we rode Wild Thing. A guy sitting a couple of seats ahead of us with nobody in between spat multiple times into the air knowing full well it would land on us. we yelled at him, but it didn't phase him. As soon as the ride stopped we got out and went straight to the ride crew at the exit and told them what happened. The man who obviously wasn't right in the head left and staff said they would notify security and in the meantime, we should stay away from him. Not long after, he appeared out of nowhere and continued to threaten, harass and spit at us. We went to the main entrance security and complained as he waited nearby. They hadn't received any word of the incident earlier and said that they would remove him from the park. Half an hour later, there he is stalking us again, so we left because it was clear that the safety of guests meant nothing to the staff.
Came here today with my son for the first time ever. We usually go to Great Adventure, our home park. We’re from Philly. Definitely was worth the drive. We had a GREAT TIME! Road all coasters at least twice. Jokers Jinx was a blast! The classic woodies were great! Superman exciting! Road Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman too. Park was busy but lines were short. Went to Hurricane Harbor and cooled off. It’s nice that the waterpark is so easily accessible, rather than disconnected from the main park. Ride operators were so friendly and engaging with guests, instead of just going through the motions and sounding like robots. Yes, it’s not one of the biggest Six Flags but it was still great. I will definitely return.
I went here last year and felt very unsafe. First in line for the Wild One these kids kept bumping into my girlfriend and I kindly asked them if they can please back up and stop knocking into her. I was then promptly threatened and cussed at by these kids for my simple request. Later that day, we saw a police car drive up next to Superman and a few people getting arrested, put in the back of the police car, and then the car was driven off into the woods (or at least in that direction). I got a very sketch vibe from the place.
The road next to Superman are access roads since cars can’t drive on paths with guest on them. They all lead back to the front of the park
Yeah it can be bad during the summer and Fright Fest seasons. But I go by myself from time to time and have no problems during the slow seasons. I like to go when the weather looks nasty to some people because they turn away and leave the park early. I remember i had 3 rides on Wild One and 2 rides on Superman.
It’s ghetto.
This park is a favorite destination of the "urban DC" crowd. A lot of Marylanders I know either head north to Hershey Park or south to BG Williamsburg if they can afford it. The second time we went there was apparently a mugging in the parking lot.
welcome to pg county lol tourists have no business being down there around pg and dc lol just drive farther to kd of hershey park
When I visited, I had one of the weirdest experiences I've ever had at a theme park. Around noon, all the white people left the water park and moved to the main area as soon as large groups of black families moved in. Granted, this was probably about 15 years ago so I don't know if its changed but I'll never forget it. It was as if someone signaled for one racial group to leave and the other to come in.
This is pretty much it. The only reason for the bad "reputation" is racism. Some park guests don't like seeing too many black faces.
I’m not racist,but many times they take our chairs without saying anything like “can I sitting here with you ?”. White peoples always ask my permission if they want sit with us because they didn’t get chairs or they feel they tired and need to sit down. I like Hershey Park better then Six Flags🙏
Glad you’re reviewing SFA! Been my home park for years and I really love it. We should get better investments, but every year since I started visiting in 2015, the park’s infrastructure has been improving. Operations are now some of the best for any park I go to! And I find some of their rides very underrated - I’ll always stick up for Roar lol, Firebird is really fun especially in the back, and Voodoo Drop is one of the most forceful drop towers I’ve been on.
From my observations, Six Flags America is the same caliber of park as Michigan's Adventure. Tons of land for expansion, evidence of investment at one point in history, and the short end of the stick from corporate no matter the monetary highs they see.
It kinda seems like it, but the place is still better than some of the others. Six Flags "Michigan's Adventure" is La Ronde, the place they literally don't even try. They didn't relocate an easy enough to move coaster there, and allowed it to decay "Cobra" knowing it was too close to the bridge and got messed up from it, nor did research prior. Also, an SLC and a B&M invert...just why. Not to mention, Monstre is basically rotting away, might just end up another hole at some point while MAYBE they'll give them a relocated coaster...Le Vipere aka Green Lantern from freaking SFMM.
I think an RMC raptor would be a perfect addition for right now. Also with a new name and new trains for Mind Eraser (does anyone even ride it outside of maybe a station wait). Also this was the first Six Flags Park I went too and Ik I got lucky with Batwing working perfectly every day but still. Firebird made "Apocalypse/Iron Wolf" actually rideable and fun, and a preserved piece of history. Having it AND Wild One (even though it could use some retracking mainly in one area) from that is pretty cool, especially since relocating a wooden coaster basically doesn't happen anymore.
I personally would NOT want to see them RMC Roar. I think it is heavily underrated, and the park takes good care of it. I do however, think it'd be a good candidate for a titan track GCI job-and I mean putting in an inversion somewhere, as well as some steel track in areas not visible from the outside where it takes more hits, so the park could save that money for future rides/coaster/improvements. Of course new trains. Joker's Jinx is also pretty solid, very enjoyable, just needs some R&R. I think even with my "complaints" at the time, or thoughts now, I was given almost TOO HIGH expectations when going to others Six Flags Park's especially the ones people rave about lol.
Also blame 2020 for the place's improved reputation leading to it...not being seen as better. Not saying anymore on that.
I definitely had a very interesting experience when I revisited the park for a couple of hours this past summer, in an attempt to get the rest of the credits that I was missing.
It was a Tuesday in June, and Firebird had a line that took around an hour to get through. Then I went to Batwing, which was miraculously operating. Even though the line was only perhaps 7ish trains long, there were 2 different breakdowns while I was waiting. Finally, they got the coaster running again for the last train of us at around 6:50, just 10 minutes before the park closed. The ride operator closest to me actually *nudged*/gently pushed me toward the train as I walked through the loading gates. I found this amusing, and I assume she just wanted to get the shift over with and get us sent out before another maintenance issue popped up.
I got off the train at the end of the ride and went as fast as I could toward Rajun Cajun - another credit at the park I still needed. Even though it was 6:57pm when I showed up at the entrance, the line was already "closed". I say "closed" because there was no sign or chain or anything blocking the entrance, just a ride operator on the mic repeatedly saying that the line was closed as I walked up, and telling me/others not to get in line.
Also the one bathroom I went in there was pretty dirty, and certainly very out of date
Sketchy-ness could be referring to night events, particular Halloween where there has been police involved incidents.
There are police involved incidents at EVERY park.
This park needs at least 3 NEW coasters.
I don’t think they should RMC roar however. It’s one of 2 wooden coasters they have. They should leave it alone and make a ground up RMC.
Actually RMC needs to build 2 coasters here. A hybrid coaster and a single rail coaster.
It should be renamed to
Six Flags Mid-Atlantic because there's already a Six Flags park that has America in the title and an across America theme, that is Six Flags Great America near Chicago.
Another review of a park I’m headed to soon. Thanks for the helpful review!
Man Taylor's still having a hard time pronouncing Upper Marlboro 😂. I used to mess it up a lot too
Nice fair review. I have been here a few times (mainly in the early 2000s) and it was definitely hit or miss. I remember our first trip I was stoked to have S:ROS 90 minutes away from where I lived (30 mins north of Baltimore). I've also been here when the operations were extremely extremely bad.. like.. the ride ops were making a point to be slower than what was humanly possible. I worked at Universal (Dragons/Unicorn) and Disney (Everest) and we were always motivated to get the most number of riders per hour.. especially with 6 train ops at Dragons. SFA was the polar opposite of that for at least 75% of my visits in operations, F&B and season ticket sales.
I'm glad to see they are making strides in the right direction. I really feel like anything they add in the future are going to be easily relocated or removed to the scrap yard once this park ends up being sold to developers. Although if that hasn't happened yet with real estate prices the way they are maybe they have bigger plans for this park.
my parents brought me to six flags america for my birthday 3 years ago and i enjoyed it a lot. most of the coasters are the type i prefer to ride and ended up going on multiple times. the halloween event was also going on and it was pretty fun being chased by scary creatures 😅 i was surprised to see the backlash this park got, it’s really not that bad. I agree some theming needs work but entertainment wise it was very fun. my parents didn’t really enjoy it but i would love to go again haha
At fright fest several years ago SFA security lost control and several fights broke out. I was there that night and left right when the crowed was turning ugly. Memories like that stick with people, a park’s reputation is changed and takes a long time to recover. My best to the new management but with so many great parks nearby there is little reason to go back to SFA.
That happened this past September too
Haven't been here since like 2003. Grew up in the DC area and everyone would just go to kings Dominion, Busch gardens, or Hershey park even though they were further away cause this place was always considered run down. I remember Jokers Jinx breaking down and people getting stranded on the ride in the middle of August for hours in the blazing sun
I grew up in the DC area. This park was fine in 90's, early 2000's. I went every summer in those times. When I started going back in the late 2000's, early 2010's, thats when things started to decline. There hasn't been a new ride in years and the ones that exist are not well maintained and shut down a lot. I won't say the park is 'ghetto' since this park is located in an area with a huge African American population and yeah, I agree there are still a lot of white people today that want nothing to do with black people but I will say this park attracts a lot of trashy people. Last time I was there in 2014, a fight broke out near one of the rides and it's not the first time this happened! A better experience is going to Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion in Virginia or even freaking Hershey Park in Pennsylvania.
I'm from Japan and a big coaster nut. I visited this park because of Mind Eraser's reputation. Yes it lived up to it but I really loved Wild one and Roar. Joker's Jinx I found to be a bit boring and Cajun was possibly the best Wild Mouse I ever been on. I think if more money went into the park it could be something special. Frustrating to see a park have so much of it waisted.
Use to visit there when it was a just a water park called “Wild World” back in the 80’s and early 90’s before it became “Adventure World”.
Wild One was the parks only coaster for a long time. And I remember when Mind Eraser opened because it had commercials on TV starring Cal Ripken Jr. from the Baltimore Orioles.
I honestly gotta disagree on this one. The wife and I went last summer and SFA is absolutely at the bottom of any amusement park list we've ever been to. Probably the worst day we've had at a park. It started out good with a ride on Batwing but then superman was closed and when we asked if there was a status update we were told by the employee at the entrance "no, go away." Roar is borderline unbearably rough as well as Mind Eraser. Jokers jinx was sporadic operations at best. Dispatches were almost the same time you recorded. The food selection is bare minimal and what is there is terrible tasting. Employees as well as management just didn't seem to care no matter where I looked. The whole place smelled and there was trash all over. As for safety, did the rides feel unsafe? No. But the environment of the park sure did. It felt almost hostile. Like you had to watch what you did or said to anyone or a fight would start. I was wary going into the park for my first visit but it was just bad. Like bad bad. For me there's zero redeeming qualities about this park.
sad to hear that :( from my experience, it can be hit or miss. sounds like this is one of those 'miss' days.
I went here for the first time last summer and it was absolutely horrible. Wild One and Ragin Cajun were surprisingly fun, and Superman Ride of Steel was actually really painful because I kept getting stapled sadly.
Last time I went to this park was a few months after I moved to the DMV waaaaay back when in 2002! And have had no desire to ever go back, it was a complete let down. So yeah I'd rather drive to Kings Dominion or Busch Gardens.
This park really does deserve more… like Washington DC is a huge market… if they made this park better it could be one of their biggest money makers
Part of the problem is the demographic that attends this park. Ive been a few times and every time I've gone there have been fights, loud verbal brawls and other run-ins and this extends beyond just Fright-Fest.
As a person that went there a lot through my later childhood and teenage years (I'm soon to be 25 now)... The reputation you spoke about was absolutely valid even up into my last visit there, 5 or 6 years ago. All I'm gonna say is when I was sitting in guest relations let me tell you how this lady was going all the way off bc a group of 16 ppl line jumped her, she reported them and then SHE got put out of the line 🤣😭! And that's just ONE story! But I'm glad to hear it's getting better now and another awesome video park analysis in the books man!
Roar, Superman, and The Joker save the park from being a crummy experience. It's still a Six Flags, so crew is inefficient, so even on less busy days, lines still move slowly. I often picked Kings Dominion over Six Flags despite Six Flags being closer and traffic on 95 between DC and Richmond is abysmal.
I'm glad you were able to rereview this park as so many things have changed about SFA since the og.
I remember Taylor was on the verge of getting cancelled because of a certain quote in the original review.
NOW PLEASE REVIEW BEHEMOTH AT CW
Was it that one or the La Ronde one? TBH, the La Ronde one deserved it, Six Flags NEEDS to let that park go, and maybe try to actually 100% own/buy Darien Lake instead.
@@oneandonlysound3453 This was the quote ua-cam.com/video/dEmwgQYLA6c/v-deo.html
@@coasternerd6978 lol honesty just isn't the best policy these days unfortunately, what a joke, feelings over facts. Same is true for SFOG and it also needs operations improvements. La Ronde is just a disaster-didn't relocate Cobra within the park when it was being damaged being too close to the bridge, Super Manage was already falling apart, Monstre will be basically unfixeable if it sits to rot for who knows how many years, why is there an SLC when there's a batman the ride clone, oh and they might eventually get not even a S&S free spin but "Le Vipere" aka crappy Green Lantern from Magic Mountain (probably the worst coaster the park ever had, people might say Z-Force/Flashback but it was not considered rough/hated until it kept getting relocated).
He wasn't getting cancelled but it was a good meme
He said "I notice a lot of workers here are African American, there aren't many white workers. I'm not saying that is a good thing."
Can you start doing coaster parodies again. It’s why I started watching your channel and I’m sure a lot of people would want to you do it too
Edit:that aged very well
This is just an observation but this park is pretty underrated. Have you been here at night? Because the dark coasters really change your opinion on this place.
Bro 💀
hahaha
I used to go here since it was called Wild World. You pretty much nailed it. Most of the people I know won't even go here anymore. It's a trashy place with garbage people and half the rides are always shut down.
its so sad that they just rethemed their slc because a new b&m invert would have been perfect here
The park is adding a new water slide, does that count as improvement?
This park is my new home park and I went this summer. I feel like it just gets shade for no reason nowadays, it was really fun when I went this summer for the first time.
This used to be my home park funny enough, and I truly do not understand the insane hatred this park receives. Whenever my family went, there were never any lines or insane wait times, the front entrance awesome, and the theming in the south west area will never get old. They truly should add more though, this park is insanely empty and a major investment would bring the rest of the millions of the people in the DC metro area to the park
Great review! I've been to SFA many times, and have never had a bad time. Hoping for a RMC one day soon...
1st time at this park was Halloween 2005ish. I watched the Super Man ride break down in front of me. One car was waiting to go over the drop and the 2nd did blew past the stop and was on its way up the drop!!! They pulled the emergency break or somethin. I've been back sine and had a great time
Could you do a operation video at my Olympus, bc when I went hades had horrible operation
I grew up with this as my home park, and we rarely traveled for other parks. And I'll say when it's all you have/are used to, it's not that bad! I had a season pass for a few years and we always had a great time going. I think it's easier for people privileged enough to visit multiple parks in their life to judge SFA, but SFA provides a lot of enjoyment for those that have it as their only option.
Never had an issue there with anything. Dispatches a little slow, but the employees are so freakin nice! And a new coaster would be nice. 7.5 / 10
Carowinds used to have an entrance like this before they completely re-did the entrance when Fury 325 opened!
Roar was closed, the SLC was closed, Wild One was one of the toughest coasters I've ever been on, and the line was too long for Rajun Cajun
may I just say Kings Domion has great ops. it was so good that the train would leave just as the other one would come in. 10/10
I worked there in the early 2000s and management had a special walkie talkie code for “gang fight”.
I heard it called once the summer I was there but my manager said it resolved itself before the cops came.
I've been watching you channel for a while now.great stuff, I'm also local more closer six flags America. All your points are valid and I agree with everything you said. As a local and theme park fan it really comes down to the demographic that comes to that park. In no way am I trying to offend. But thats what I think is the real reason why the park gets a bad rap and I've been going to that park even before six flags took it over and it was called Adventure world( when the Mind eraser first came out it ran very differently..also still my favorite coaster lol) even then the argument was still the same. Maybe since your operations video they are starting to listen And just focus on what the park needs for a bigger audience. Who knows, we can hope for the best..
Anyway.. you gonna be at Busch gardens for pantheon's opening day?
YOU ARE TELLING THE TRUTH! Local to SFA as well. I was 9 when Premier Parks bought Adventure World. In the early 2000’s Six Flags made up in their minds they weren’t going to continue to invest because a good majority of the faces coming through the park didn’t equate “return of investment/profits” 🤣 it’s not funny but after Batwing, they were like “Ya get what ya get”
I’ve been to Six Flags America when it was owned by Time Warner! My ex husband worked for AOL and became a company under the umbrella of Time Warner. We received season passes and quite frankly I preferred Bush Gardens Williamsburg! It was more immersive for our kids!
I was very pleasantly surprised by this park. It has a great coaster lineup, some great theming and is run decently well. I actually like this park more than Great Adventure and Over Georgia.
We were on a road trip and stopped into this park. It was a hot day, no shade to be found lines for drinks not moving, had to wait 1/2 hr for a water. Ended up spending 6 bucks on a bottle of lemonade from a vending machine because we were dealing with dehydration and couldn't wait.
Superman was good, but half the rides were down, and every other ride we got on besides supes was a jackhammering mess. Now I've been to 5 six flags parks, New England, NJ, America, Great Escape, and Magic Mountain, and this was by far the worst.
To top it all off, I leave the parking lot following the exit signs, and get yelled at to go the other way.... It made no sense.
It could be a decent mid tier park, but it's like no one cares and there's enough traffic to keep it going that it justifies just existing.
I recently had a semi-bad experience at Kings Dominion - sketchy park guests, slow ride operations, and even a few sketchy ride operators! The guy running Reptilian was literally badgering park guests using the microphone, very uncomfortable and ridiculous. So anyway, I'm going to be in Maryland next month but will probably skip this one for that reason.
My favorite rides there are the Harley Quinn pendulum ride, fire bird coaster, and the joker roller coaster
It def needs work. Something about Six Flags America is not inviting . The buildings all need a fresh coat of paint. I went bc it was free. The thrill rides were fun. The park is probably more for teens and adults. Not for kids
Yes someone understands
I use to go to this six flags a couple of times around my birthday and when they did their Halloween events and yes if they could invest in it more as well
I agree with you on this video. I live 20 min away and have been going all summer which has been fun. I normally go to Busch Gardens Williamsburg which is a WAY better park but considering that they have season passes for $55 and that I'd spend way too much money driving all the way to Williamsburg, this park made for a great solution.
I know I’m late but I just went to Six Flags America first time on my second attempt to get there. In Sept I went down from Delaware and they just didn’t open; I don’t know why I checked the schedule and it said it would be open but the schedule changed while I was driving down.
Now my second attempt was successful at least at getting in. But half the rides were closed and the lines for every major attraction were about an hour long since it’s was a busy Saturday night. Scare actors weren’t good either. And Ragin Cajun hurt my knee (granted it was probably done in by the Baltimore Marathon and the ride just pushed it over the edge).
I do agree it’s not the worse park in the chain. I give that honor to Great Escape, but I’ve still only been to four parks (five if you count Elitch Gardens cause the one time I visited it was a Six Flags park). And it definitely had the worst operations.
Six Flags America has a decent coaster lineup. Superman, Joker, and Batwing are a solid top 3. Wild One is a great wooden coaster. I didn't find Mind Eraser to be rough at all. Firebird and Roar on the other hand are two of the roughest coasters I have ridden. And I'm sure kids enjoy Rajin Cajun.
Like you mentioned, the biggest thing they need is some updating and filling in the empty areas of the park. The park has an unfinished feel to it.
Interesting. I found Mind Eraser to be hell and Firebird to be tolerable. I agree though Roar is awful it has to be one of the worst coasters I have ever ridden
The only thing worst than the Mind Eraser is the out of control line jumping. It is a safe park so no worries about that!
Need More Coasters!
Dining Plan is dead in 2022 BTW. Not relevant for new passholders.
I remember years ago when I myself was a young adult right after high school this park was trash. Unruly patrons and rude staff. It was always fights breaking out but now since they changed area codes and probably got new management. It seems like people have a better experience here and I have not heard of any major incidents happening here as of late so maybe they have changed for the better which is good.
6:21 this is exactly why I wanna go back to Kentucky Kingdom on a weekend.
knew multiple security guards who had constant horrible stabbings happen through the early 00s not sure about since
How on earth do people question its safety? What's "dangerous" at this park? It may nothave the best rides but what does safety hav to do with anything?
Sometimes it has nothing to do with the park itself, it can be the guests. Last October there were a bunch of rowdy individuals who went off into the parking lot and smashed windshields.
Right! Nothing unsafe here. I bring my kids all of the time. FF events at every park brings the wrong folks, at EVERY park.
This was my home park for 2020. One time no joke I was driving into the car park and saw a cop with a shotgun running after an individual who went into the woods. He then took a a handgun out of his pants and threw it down the bank. It's not the park but that area has seen a massive increase in crime recently and seeing that stuff really can get you anxious if you are taking a family there.
Yay another new review! The park itself seems cool but could be better. Jokers Jinx and Superman look very awesome!
@@craft7185 Ok
They’re fun from my last visit
@@crouse_2248 Cool!
Thank u for review! I was gonna buy a season pass, now I don’t want it! )))
Six Flags got rid of memberships and the Dining Plan for Magic Mountain. They introduced 3 tier season passes.
Oh my god that's my home town . And also the rides look awesome 👍
I really like six flags america,I used to live in maryland, I actually worked their as a electrician for 2 years ,the park I will agree need some upgrades and there is a lot of unused property, I think more roller coasters would be nice ,overall as a season pass holder and prior employee ,I really enjoyed the park and enjoyed working their as well
I want the to rmc roar so bad. And I want them to put an rmc ground up, original single rail coaster in too.
Also want a intamin LSM coaster.
Hoping. It'll never happen tho :(
This being my hometown park I actually kinda agree, I used to go there so much in the mid 2000’s and slowly but surely me and my friends started driving to visit other parks because sfa became so bland after awhile as a kid back in like 06 to me I thought this park was the best thing out until now lol. It just needs more love and attention
Always enjoyed this park. The water park is a highlight however I do wish they had a raft elevator for the slides that require the big clover leaf rafts.
Wild one runs great for such an old coaster. This is a solid ride. 7/10
Roar is a good time but is rough. You'll not want to marathon it. 5/10
Batwing is a neat experience, but kinda uncomfortable. 6/10
Superman is a fantastic ride with good airtime, and that straight track is kinda cool. The complaint I have is a very hard brake right on a bunny hill that if you're in the wrong seat will bust your shins. 8.5/10
Jokers Jinx is a ton of fun. Ride operators like to play games with timing the launch. They'll fake you out. It's fun. Very good head choppers 9.5/10
Mind Eraser runs better than some other SLC's but still isn't great. 5/10
Firebird is an abomination. Please just tear this ride down and put something better in it's place. Uncomfortable. The worst headbanger I've ever ridden. I've given it three tries on three different visits a few months apart. Even used a skip the line pass on it. Word to the wise? Skip this ride completely. 1/10
Rajun Cajun is a fun spinning wild mouse. Good ride for a good laugh. Good to come back too multiple times through the day. They also run a bunch of cars so the line moves fast. Only gripe is there is little to no shade in the ride queue. There are misters in the queue however. 7/10
In the case of Six Flags America, I’ve gone in busier days and believe it or not the second train operations helped each time noticeably 🥃
Im sorry, i love six flags america and i live a couple min away but why they gotta use the 2nd best themed area for a bad roller coaster, would like to see a single railed coaster with maybe a horse model and maybe like the wonder women single railed coaster but scaled down to replace mind eraser and if they give it a wild west themed area it goes through it would be a huge improvement overall for the park
Maybe people are scared that its location makes it unsafe.
But see, if you look around at what surrounds it you’ve got really nice housing and a mega church right across the street.
I love this place. Can't understand why everyone in DC is not here every weekend in the summer. They have great deals for locals for season passes, food passes, and season drink passes.
I grew in the DC area. Being honest here, many of the rides have poor maintenance and there are more exciting theme parks like Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens in Virginia and even freaking Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. Last time I was there, a huge fight broke out. It tends to attract trashy people.
7:00 there was a shooting like 2 years ago
Six Flags America was my first job in 2009. It definitely looks much better than before but I will say it’s still ghetto as hell being in PG county
I’m planning on going in two weeks. Because of its reputation I plan to be there for a short while but I have an extreme pass at SFDK and I’ll be in DC, might as well check it out right?
This is so cool bcoz I just went to six flags and I went like 39 mins ago I just came back it was so cool
In my strong opinion six flags needs at Least three new Major rides to bring a lot more people there. They need two Major roller coasters. One of those coasters should be another fast, Long, crazy design Like Steal Vengeance? Only Higher, longer and more crazy. The other coaster should be I think Is a Stand up coaster also which will be Higher and faster, Longer. And Last they need a high, fast, and Long in Length WATER Coaster that I think people will Love. You have to Invest money In order to make money.
I haven’t been here so I can’t say. But I saw something recently with the new management for six flags the company food is something they are changing up for this season
I had 4 hours here and got 5 rides
1 on Superman, 1 on Wild One, 1 on Joker's Jinx, and 2 on Firebird
Hey Taylor. Liked the review. Growing up an hour away from this park, I have gotten to see it transition from its Wild World days to Adventure World, then finally, Six Flags. Six Flags did sink a lot of money and rides into the park all at once. Sadly, this park has never had a coaster that wasn't either a relocation, a clone, or was later cloned. The closest thing to original would be Roar, I guess, since it's clone is now gone? That being said, I've always had fun here - even when it was Wild World and Wild One was the back of the park. And as for that Frontier theming in the Mind Eraser area, you can thank Adventure World for that.
Speaking of Mind Eraser, do you ride it every visit? Over the last 3-4 years, it hasn't run as bad, in my opinion. I have even ridden it 4 times in a row on several visits in 2020 and 2021. My head bangs around a lot less on it than Firebird, that's for sure. I think Firebird and Roar are a less enjoyable experience compared to Mind Eraser.
Over the years I was one of the people who began to dislike the park. We grew up going to Hersheypark since Wild World wasn't there when I was a kid. If I remember correctly, it used to be a safari? Anyhow, things are getting better. Ride operations have improved. Cleanliness has improved. And customer service has gotten better. Sadly, the people who tend to ruin experiences here tend to be those visiting (see the big fight that happened last year for Halloween).
Wait. this is my home park even though I drive from Delaware. SFA i havent been since their Harley Quinn edition. But i have seen it at its worst when I used the coke can coupon back in 2004 and remember freshly of TWOFACE the ride and Iron Eagle. The best flat ride edition was Wonder Woman because they were the only park I know of. That reverse that ride during Fright Fest, some people turn away, but I love it at night.
My biggest complaint with this park was operations. Riding Roar, the ride operator knew my dad couldn't get the belt buckled when she came to check the lapbar. Instead of letting him get that buckled she rudley told him to move his hands, pushed the bar down, and let the train leave without the belt being done. I know the lapbar was secure, but it just didn't sit right with me as it's part of the safety procedure to have that belt buckled in case something were to happen.
park needs an RMC. They have a hyper, a floorless looper, a launched coaster, flying, they just aren't the best in their categories unfortunately. They can't all be replaced, and adding more of the same would be redundant. However, I feel like they really should replace the SLC with a B+M even though nobody is really ordering b+m inverts anymore. an RMC conversion and a large b+m invert would be great. Maybe one of the $10m justice league dark rides? Otherwise Kinda stumped. Keep the existing GCI and build a ground-up rmc if you wanna grow the roster. Strange little place but it's getting there. They also get things that I wish my home park, six flags great america, would get. The star flyer, the zamperla swing ride (cant remember the model name), and that gorgeous colonial main gate. The urban planner in me wants to take that large plot of land between superman and batwing and do a little placemaking project. build a lake/pool/water feature like kennywood's, have seating, dining, fountains, an elegant flat ride or ferris wheel, and a coaster (maybe a goliath clone from SFGAm running north and south from batwing to superman's helix, boxing the entire area in, and then reconnecting to the park by firebird to create a full loop. there would be a lot of kinetic energy in that space.
I went here for the first time back in March, only Six Flags ive ever been to. Maybe my expectations being so low helped but i had a great time. It really scratched my coaster itch being the only driving distance park open at the time and tickets were dirt cheap. The park was dead so ops weren't an issue but Batwing was closed the whole day :( they really should have put Harley Quinn back there with it to liven it up more
This was my home park for all my life. It used to be fun and lively, now it’s just sad and…sketchy.
Last time I parked here. There was a car burnt to the ground
The real reason SFA has a reputation of being "sketchy" is because of all the black people that frequent there. That's it. I used to work/frequent there as a teen in the late 90s/early 2000s (and went as a child from the early 90s when it was Adventure World) and it has generally always been talked about that way because it is nestled in a predominately black county in MD, the blackest place next to Baltimore City, and even though PG County is heavily middle-to-upper middle class, black faces was always more than enough to make some white folks (especially those from outside of the area) want to avoid the park. I will never forget talking to a white classmate in high school who lived in Bowie (15 minutes away from SFA) but had NEVER been his entire life, and when I asked why, he laughed and said because it was "ghetto." Had to have gotten that info from his parents of course. But fine by me, he was missing out. And I take my children there today and its actually nicer than it was when I was a kid (more upgrades, better rides--I mean, the Superman and Harley Quinn are CONTENDERS for sure!) but still a laid back vibe. There was never any crime or anything in the early 2000s or late 90s, so don't believe that. Just the same old occasional groups of teen boys clowning around too loudly or teen girls being told to cover their bikinis--like any other theme park in the summer--except with black faces.
thats not true lol the dmv area has gotten worse haha u cant go anywhere in dc or md without sum bs happening istg ppl are just losing their minds fr tourists shouldnt go there lol