2004
Coaster Trips: 2004: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Formerly Six Flags Marine Worlld
Saturday July 3rd
Getting to Six Flags Marine World by Public Transport is even easier than Paramount's Great America. There is a ferry service that goes from Pier 41 across to Vallejo, and it is possible to purchase an all inclusive ticket covering the ferry, transfer bus, and park admission for $56.
Charles had wanted to see my OS X versions of his emulators, so I spent a few minutes demonstrating them to him before we left for the ferry. The crossing itself was pleasant enough; the ferry was moving very rapidly indeed and I imagine crossings in bad weather are not much fun.
The first ride of the day was on Kong (#287), a relocated Vekoma SLC. This was an unusually smooth ride as SLCs go, with just a small amount of shuddering mid way through the course, along with the usual sharp jolt after the brake run. The Boomerang (#288) was also surprisingly smooth.
With the Vekoma rides out of the way, it was time to hit the quality coasters. Medusa (#289) was, much to my delight, a walk on. In common with its cousin at Magic Mountain, the ride is built out over a parking lot. However, the station has been themed, at least in a rudimentary fashion. Medusa rides like every other B&M out there; it is fast, smooth, and above all, fun.
Cobra (#290) is my third encounter with a Zierer Large Tivoli coaster (the other two being at Geauga Lake and Oakwood). I am still impressed by how long the trains are on these coasters - they seat 40 people - but other than that the ride was unremarkable.
The story behind Vertical Velocity (#291) is an interesting one. Intamin Impulse coasters, of which this is one, are normally about 180 ft high. Six Flags Marine World, however, is subject to a 150 ft height limit. It seems the city noticed that this coaster was a little too tall, and ordered that it be modified. The park achieved this by chopping 30 feet of track off the rear spike on the ride, and by altering the front spike to ascend at a 45 degree angle instead of vertically. The result is a unique ride; the forward spike now rises directly over the entrance to the park, which is quite a sight. Unfortunately, the ride is not as much fun as the original vertical version, as the train stops at awkward angles on the twisted front spike which isn't particularly comfortable.
Our first ride on Roar (#292) was a painful experience. We were in the back row of the front car, and the train was shuddering so violently that neither of us enjoyed the coaster, which was a real shame given the layout seemed very good.
We finished up the morning with a single circuit on Zonga (#293). Formerly from the German fair circuit, Zonga is designed to run five trains. It doesn't any more, but with the wait today this isn't necessary anyway. Zonga does feature a crazy queue line which zig zags back and forth through an area no more than eight feet wide. I'm sure the idea made sense to some one. As for the ride itself, it has aged remarkably well given that it is now nearly twenty five years old. The train traverses the course with only the occasional bump.
Lunch was disgusting, but filling. When will amusement parks realise that there is a market for quality food?
After lunch, we started going back to the coasters we had enjoyed earlier in the day. We waited for a front seat in Medusa, which was running faster than earlier in the day. For some unknown reason, Charles wanted to ride Kong again, so I broke the habit of a life time and took a second ride on a SLC in one day. We were not as lucky as we had been earlier; Kong was now shuddering as much as any SLC out there, and I was relieved when the train came to a halt.
I decided it was worth giving Roar a second chance. We boarded the back row with quite a bit of trepidation; after all, if the third row had been painful, what would the back be like? To my relief, the back seat was a much more comfortable experience. I guess the third row may have had some other mechaniclal issue causing the jarring.
To finish the day, we hit (in rapid succession), Vertical Velocity, Zonga, Roar, Vertical Velocity, Medusa (three times), and Vertical Velocity, before making our way back to the shuttle bus to the ferry.