My Observations from Opening Day

[joiclarrissa]

I just want to know one thing....WHERE ARE THE FOOTSIE WOOTSIES???!!!

I depend on those things!

Did everyone ignore my question because they thought I was kidding or because they don't know?

I'm dead serious.

[Aaron084]

It take's a lot of more work to get a theme park running than a lot of you guys think. It's a lot of hardwork to get ready for the first few days of the season. So stop the complaining.

I think most of us understand this, but the posted general admisson price for opening day of $54.99 is the same as any other day of the summer. Most people expect a fully operational and damn near perfect park for $54.99 + $15 for parking. We all know there are coupons out there, and we all have season passes, but I'm sure a ton of people just pay gate price not knowing any better.

[Sedir]

I just want to know one thing....WHERE ARE THE FOOTSIE WOOTSIES???!!!

I depend on those things!

Did everyone ignore my question because they thought I was kidding or because they don't know?

I'm dead serious.

Whoa I didn't even realize they were gone. I loved using those things after a long day at the park and I loved that they were only a quarter.

[Cs6153]

Those things were popular

[Cs6153]

It take's a lot of more work to get a theme park running than a lot of you guys think. It's a lot of hardwork to get ready for the first few days of the season. So stop the complaining.

I think most of us understand this, but the posted general admisson price for opening day of $54.99 is the same as any other day of the summer. Most people expect a fully operational and damn near perfect park for $54.99 + $15 for parking. We all know there are coupons out there, and we all have season passes, but I'm sure a ton of people just pay gate price not knowing any better.

Its true! The park should be fully operational by opening day.

I also want to mention that the price should be less in May and September than normal for park guests
Hurricane Harbor is not open
1 parade
few shows are showing
no streetmosphere

I assure you that most people do not think that it is financially worth it to come to the park unless the waterpark is open too and all shows are showing. And I am saying taht this is the truth even if every single ride was operating and every sign was up and the park looked immaculate. People take into account the full value of their experience at the park


I am upset that the park was sub par from my expectations for opening day alone. Sky Trek Tower not in operation and a crummy parade and buildings in disrepair and seeing hardly any security. I expect to pay $10 to enter a park like that I am sorry.

[rct2wizard360]

The GP dosen't care about all this stuff like we do.

Get over it.

[Dmrbug]

I just want to know one thing....WHERE ARE THE FOOTSIE WOOTSIES???!!!

I depend on those things!

Did everyone ignore my question because they thought I was kidding or because they don't know?

I'm dead serious.

I kept saying that all weekend too. Where are the footies? I hope they are just in storage and will be out soon.

Did any notice how many kids are wearing those Heelys shoes at the park. Are they allowed? It looks so much fun to use in the park. I am thinking of getting a pair.

[Danhockey04]

Wow, none of you realize anything. Every ride was open except for Vu and Loggers, so quit saying that everything wasn't ready, it seemed that everything was ready to me. Vu would have been ready except for some bad luck. Next the plants did not get a chance to get planted since the weather was bad prior to opening. Also, the planting was not bad at all, it looked rather nice in the front of the park. The second parade can't run since it isn't even dark out when the park closes since there are fireworks before the parade. And it has always been that way, the parade wasn't till later. In previous years, there wasn't even an afternoon parade and few shows were open. It seemed that all the people there had no clue that there was no streetmosphere so what difference did that make, at least its coming back, it doesn't have to. If you have so many damn problems with the park and hate everything they do, then why do you keep returning?

[rct2wizard360]

Heely's should be banned from the park.

They are the most annoying thing in the world.
I hate getting run over by a bunch of 10 year olds, and just wait till they fall on the trolley rails. I smell a lawsuit.

[Bob O]

If you are going to charge full admission price then your guests should be provided with a park that is fully staffed with proper security on hand to handle people who dont follow the rules.

If the park needs more time to properly train employees's then they should open the park at a reduced admission fee and not charge full admission till it is fully staffed and ready to go to match what the guests expect when they enter the park.

Wasnt Sky Tower also closed???
As for Vu, maybe it was just bad luck that it wasnt ready, but what will the excuse be for all the other times the ride will be down the rest of the season??

Im sure all the employee's who do work in the off season do the best job they can to have eveything ready and I dont fault them, if there arent enough of them working in the off season then that is managements fault for not having the proper amount of people working to make sure the park is up and running on opening day, they have more than enough time to plan things as the off season is VERY long.

[rct2wizard360]

Its true! The park should be fully operational by opening day.

I also want to mention that the price should be less in May and September than normal for park guests
Hurricane Harbor is not open
1 parade
few shows are showing
no streetmosphere

I assure you that most people do not think that it is financially worth it to come to the park unless the waterpark is open too and all shows are showing. And I am saying taht this is the truth even if every single ride was operating and every sign was up and the park looked immaculate. People take into account the full value of their experience at the park


I am upset that the park was sub par from my expectations for opening day alone. Sky Trek Tower not in operation and a crummy parade and buildings in disrepair and seeing hardly any security. I expect to pay $10 to enter a park like that I am sorry.

If thats how you feel about the prices, than HH should just be a seperate charge on top of the $54.99 the GP are already paying to get in. Sounds like a great idea.

I've never heard one person say, "This price is only worth it if everything is open." The waterpark can't run yet, it's still early May, and a few weeks ago it was 40 degrees. I'm sure everyone would want to soak up some rays in that weather. People, unlike some of you, know that not everything can be open everyday the park is. A lot of the reason that some shows aren't running yet, is because theres not a big enough crowd to keep them there at the moment. We're not at the big time summer crowds yet. It's a waste of money to the park to run some of the shows this early, and same with the waterpark. It's just not worth it until the big summer crowds roll in.

There were buildings in despair?
Are you kidding?

Dan already gave a really good point about the parade.

If you are going to complain about TWO rides not being open for the day, you shouldn't even go to the park.

If you don't appreciate what they have done, then don't come. One less person in line.

[BP317]

There are hundreds of people working in the park all offseason, 8-12 hours a day, 6 days a week to make sure its ready for opening day. Remember they have to take all the coaster trains and flat ride units apart and inspect them, swap out and extensively clean parts, and put them back together. Its not like everyone just comes back the day before the park opens, picks up the tarps, and starts running the park. Seasonal employee trainings start in February and lead up every week into the season with 8 hour shifts, the rides themselves (not maintenence wise) has a work crew that comes in every day of the week when the parks not open and power-cleans all day and cycles rides to make sure they have enough cycles to be running capacity. Its pretty much impossible to train people any more than GAm does during the winter/pre-season, everyone working in the park now has gone through tons of training and A LOT more time and money has been spent compared to previous years on it. Also, remember in terms of getting everything running, they did a good job with that to. Eagle with 4 trains, Bull with 3, everything else with at least 2. They couldve been like most parks and said "We're going overbudget, go to 1 train." DejaVu being closed shouldnt be dissapointing to anyone anymore, it was supposed to be open but had a boo boo a few days before (not anything new). Sky Trek tower has been worked on all offseason by electricians and their still working on it, and why would anyone care about Loggers Run being open opening weekend, its better that they get their other rides running capacity and have Loggers running when people will actually ride it (even though all the other water rides in the park were open).

SFGAm is still by far the best operated seasonal park i've been too (along with CP). Seeing this list of complaints people have now, id like to see you guys go to any other seasonal park...

[UWW-10]

If you are going to charge full admission price then your guests should be provided with a park that is fully staffed with proper security on hand to handle people who dont follow the rules.

well...the park could just not open in May anymore if it wasn't "staffed" enough to your liking...

Nothing is ever perfect the first time. I bet you the park could open in June if they wanted, and some of you would still complain about things being closed and shows/parades not running.

As far as staffing, most of the seasonal employees are high school and college students. Most college students won't start until school is done (especially if out of state), and lots of high school students work limited hours because of school commitment. That's nothing new; it's has always been that way.

Someone stated before...six flags is always hiring. Instead of complaining, take a job and help out. Maybe then some of you will see that it takes LOTS of work and dedication to get the park running.

[ThatsAllFolks]

Wow... It just baffles me as to how many of you complain about the park time and time again, yet you still continue to visit as a guest and complain about it again! I couldn't agree more with who said it, but if you don't like what happens there, don't go! Plain as that.. You can't expect things to be picture perfect like Disney at a park that is only open so many months out of the year. You have no idea how much preparation goes into the park to make sure that it opens on it's scheduled day. And mind you most of that preparation is done when there is snow on the ground and the temperature is 20 degrees. Have some appreciation for the mechanics and the rest of the team and the efforts they give.

Some of you complain about why a certain ride wasn't in operation on opening day.. Did you ever think that there could be circumstances beyond what the park mechanics can do. Take Sky Trek tower for example.. The reason why it still hasn't opened is due to the counterweight motor I believe.. Something happened to the motor, and because the manufacturer of the ride went out of business, the park was forced to fabricate the part themselves.. Unfortunately, the new part they made kept over heating, and the ride is still not in operation. Would you rather them open the ride and risk you getting killed on it? Some rides are closed for an important reason, and not soley for the purpose of pissing some of you off.

In reference to the individual that commented about charging less money to get into GA when the waterpark is not open: Six Flags has yet to charge admission to the waterpark.. When it was built, they very easily could have slapped on an extra 20 bucks to the general admission fee, but they haven't. Would you rather pay 40 bucks to get into the park now and then 80 dollars for a single admission once the water park opens??

And finally, on a happier note.. My friend works at the park and just to clarify on the daytime parade.. She said that the dancers are not coming from Show Stoppin', but rather Looney Tunes Tonight and the 80's/ Country Show. The cast of Show Stoppin' are the dancers in the Nightime Spectacular... And the parade should be in "full" swing by this weekend or next I believe.. But from what I've been told, it will be more dedicated than what it has been already..

[coasterfreak04]

Take Sky Trek tower for example.. The reason why it still hasn't opened is due to the counterweight motor I believe.. Something happened to the motor, and because the manufacturer of the ride went out of business, the park was forced to fabricate the part themselves.. Unfortunately, the new part they made kept over heating, and the ride is still not in operation.

Last time I checked, Intamin was still in business.

[sixflagsgirl2006]

This is to DejaVuGurl1203 about the linejumpers. We also had linejumpers on bull and we all made a point to annoy them about it by first reading the linejumpers sign to them and then by singing and making annoying noises. Then when they were sitting in their seats we told the guy and he took them off the ride right before they were about to ride it was great. They had to listen to us for 40 minutes and then never got to ride bull. Also on the preffered parking for season passes, do you just go to the left parking person because when we went through we couldn't get to the preffered parking in the row we were in. Otherwise, first day was pretty good except for all the puking on eagle and the eagle line. Wiggles World was amazing I went on every ride it was great.

[Danhockey04]

Take Sky Trek tower for example.. The reason why it still hasn't opened is due to the counterweight motor I believe.. Something happened to the motor, and because the manufacturer of the ride went out of business, the park was forced to fabricate the part themselves.. Unfortunately, the new part they made kept over heating, and the ride is still not in operation.

Last time I checked, Intamin was still in business.

I think what he meant was that Intamin does not manufacture that specific model of motor since STT is really old and Intamin has made newer models. They haven't made that model in years and don't make it anymore, so the park had to make the part themselves, probably using reverse engineering.

[Clonebiscuit]

Someone stated before...six flags is always hiring. Instead of complaining, take a job and help out.

What an asinine statement. This isn't Habitat For Humanity, it's a multi-million dollar corporation. For 54.99, I shouldn't be expected to "pitch in and lend a hand" just because they can't get their act together by Opening Day.

[Viper 06]

^Then why would you expect other people to go work at six flags if you won't? You can't complain about staffing levels if you're not going to do anything about it, that's like not voting and then complaining about the president, if you're not doing anything about it, what gives you the right to complain?

[Clonebiscuit]

Are you seriously comparing the responsibility of voting to a highly-priced theme park's ability to make their product acceptable by Opening Day? Don't hurt yourself stretching so far.

This isn't an isolated incident. How's that Roaring Rapids storage water looking? Yup, still pretty foul. Those wobbly seats in the Theatre Royale aren't broken; they're retro! How many Mardi Gras foil streamers will be stuck in the trees come Fright Fest? Come to think of it, how many are in the trees right now?

Do you suggest that if I don't like the potholes on Grand Avenue, I should carry a shovel and some pitch in my truck?

[UWW-10]

As far as the money issue...I do believe the park states in several areas that "certain rides/attractions (including new rides) may not be open to the general public and may temporarily close and open without notice." The park map is one place this is stated for a fact as well as outside the gates.

And the front gate posts rides/attractions that may not be operational for the day, so it wasn't like they were forcing anyone to pay $54.99 and not know what was open or not...any person that walked up to the gate and read the posting, or read the general information on the park map.

[Danhockey04]

Are you seriously comparing the responsibility of voting to a highly-priced theme park's ability to make their product acceptable by Opening Day? Don't hurt yourself stretching so far.

This isn't an isolated incident. How's that Roaring Rapids storage water looking? Yup, still pretty foul. Those wobbly seats in the Theatre Royale aren't broken; they're retro! How many Mardi Gras foil streamers will be stuck in the trees come Fright Fest? Come to think of it, how many are in the trees right now?

Do you suggest that if I don't like the potholes on Grand Avenue, I should carry a shovel and some pitch in my truck?

You sir are officially an idiot. Want to know why? First, the park was not understaffed at all whatsoever. They had Bull running three trains with probably two extra employees on platform, they had full staffing at basically every ride open. They had everything running to maximum capacity to their ability since some trains on the coasters aren't certified to run with people on them. They minimized the downtimes, there were many people walking around cleaning the park, there were plenty of staff in characters walking the park. How in the world could you say that is low staffing, especially for opening day, that is very good staffing.

Next, I personally do not believe you know what the park goes through each offseason in planning and what needs to take priority and what can wait for a few weeks after to be ready. Obviously, getting all the rides ready is the number one priority since most people that go to Six Flags on opening weekend is there mostly for the rides. They need to take apart every ride and inspect the parts, and put them back together and have them certified by the state for people ride them. Second, they need to rehab buildings and exterior, paint stuff and build new stages. Finally, when they get around to it, the smaller things that only people looking to bash them about since its not even a big deal at all, gets taken care of. You really do not know what these employees put in to get the park running like that on opening day with basically every ride open and running at maximum capacity.

[Cs6153]

I still believe that May and September people should pay less to get in.

Yes, Hurricane Harbor is not open because its too cold, and ther is only 1 parade and1 or 2 shows because of shortage of staff. I know the park cannot help it , but they should either lessen park admission during that time or offer deeper discounts to get more people in.

As for rides. I know that rides break down life happens. But when a ride like Sky Trek Tower breaks down and is not fixed yet and its almost a whole year its broken down something is wrong.

[rct2wizard360]

That's like saying...
Lunch should be cheaper during breakfast hour.
...I guess.

I don't think anyone who can't spell "harbor" has the right to make bold statements about how a theme park should be operated.

How is it almost a year that STT hasn't operated? It HAS to close during Fright Fest. Go read a calendar.

You should visit some of the other Six Flags parks. You will easily see how lucky we have it here at Great America.

[Cs6153]

1st of all I spelled Harbor correct.
2nd of all STT has broken down and not operated long before FF

I think there is nothing wrong in shaving off $5 during May and September. Its not like saying Lunch should be cheaper during Breakfast its like saying Lunch should be cheaper if they run out of the food you want for lunch and you have to order something else instead.

I love Great America its one of the best parks in the chain! I think that the park will become even better as the season goes on. I am not saying its a bad park. I will understand when some rides cannot operate opening day and during the season stuff happens, but usually it gets fixed right away and is open again. Its just awlful when a ride has been sitting there broken for months and months and its not like it broke down right before FF.

I see a bad trend starting Revy has not operated practically all season last year. Giant Drop broke down and also did not get fixed for a long time. STT broke end of August I believe and is still broken.