Rides and attractions at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

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This article summarizes the rides and attractions at the theme/animal park Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

Contents

[edit] Roller Coasters

[edit] Boomerang

  • A Vekoma Boomerang clone. This was the first roller coaster to open at the park.

[edit] Kong

  • A Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster. This was the second roller coaster to open at the park. It was relocated from the defunct Opryland Themepark in Nashville, Tennessee (where it was called "The Hangman"), following the 1997 operating season.

[edit] ROAR!

  • A wooden coaster built by Great Coasters International Inc., it was the first coaster to ever feature the millennium flyer trains. The ride is a near clone of Six Flags America's ride of the same name, however, Marine World's version was designed with tighter turns to enhance the feeling of speed. ROAR! is the tallest, fastest, and longest wooden roller coaster in Northern California.

[edit] Medusa

  • Built by Bolliger & Mabillard of Switzerland, the ride stands 150ft tall and reaches speeds of 65mph. When the ride opened in 2000, it featured the tallest vertical loop in the world at 128ft tall. Medusa shares its name with its sister coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure but features a different layout. The ride was the first coaster to ever feature the "Sea Serpent" element, a variation of B&M's popular "Cobra Roll" element. At 3,972ft long, Medusa is the longest roller coaster in Northern California and shares the height record with V2: Vertical Velocity, also located at the park.

[edit] V2: Vertical Velocity

  • California's first and only Spiraling Impulse Coaster, Vertical Velocity was built by Intamin AG and opened in 2001 standing 186ft tall and traveling at speeds of 70mph. In 2002, the park was forced to modify the ride so that it no longer exceeded 150ft due to local height restrictions. The front tower was tilted to a 45degree angle and the reverse tower remained vertical, but was lowered to 150 feet. The ride still holds the record for Fastest Coaster in Northern California at 70mph and is tied with Medusa for Tallest Coaster in Northern California.

[edit] Cobra

  • A 26ft tall family coaster located in Medusa Plaza; opened in 2000.

[edit] Roadrunner Express

  • A kiddie coaster located in the park's Looney Tunes Seaport section; opened in 1999.

[edit] Thrill Rides

  • VooDoo - Located in the back of the park near Tava's Jungleland. VooDoo opened in 1998 and was the first HUSS Top Spin on the west coast.
  • Tazmanian Devil - A HUSS Frisbee ride. Opened in 1999, riders board a giant disk that spins and swings and high speeds for approx. 2 minutes.
  • Hammerhead Shark - Riders board one of 2 giant arms and experience 7 vertical loops before completing their 90 second ride. This was the first Zamperla Hawk48 Ride to ever be built; opened in 1998.
  • IWerks 4D Turbo Theater - The theater has been known as DinoSphere and Stargate although it has played 7 different films in its time. This was the original thrill ride to be built at the park; opened in 1997 as a 3D theater and will be updated to a 4D theater in 2007.

[edit] Family Rides

  • Wave Swinger - An average Zamperla swing ride; opened in 1998.
  • Boardwalk Bumper Buggies - Bumper Cars; opened in 1998.
  • The Ark - A swinging ship; opened in 1998.
  • Scat-A-Bout - Average "Scrambler" type attraction; opened in 1999.
  • Wave Jumper - A circular ride where riders board Orca shaped gondolas and rise into the air approx 15ft; opened in 1999.
  • Monkey Business - Tea Cup ride; opened in 1998.
  • Thrilla Gorilla - Riders board one of the 16 cars and spin around a giant gorilla at high speeds with sudden changes in elevation; opened in 1998.

[edit] Water Rides

  • White Water Safari (Intamin Rapids water ride) - opened in 1998
  • Moonsoon Falls (Intamin Spillwater water ride) - opened in 1998

[edit] Kiddie Rides

Looney Tunes Seaport (area was named Popeye's Seaport in 1997 and 1998)

  • Acme Foam Factory - A large indoor play structure where children and their parents can shoot foam balls at targets or each other; opened in 1997.
  • Acme Water Works - A large interactive water play structure; opened in 1997.
  • Pepe Le Pew's Rafts of Romance - Small tea cup ride; opened in 1997.
  • Elmer's Weather Balloons (Zamperla Samba Balloons)- A circular ride where kids can spin their cars while the ride changes elevation; opened in 1997.
  • Sylvester's Pounce and Bounce (Zamperla Jumpin' Star) - A children's drop ride; opened in 1999.
  • Bugs Buccaneer (Sartori kiddie swinging ship); opened in 1999.
  • Taz's Typhoon (Zamperla Lolly Swing) - A children's version of the swing ride; opened in 1997.
  • Daffy's Deep Sea Dive (Zamperla Crazy Sub) - A yellow submarine where kids and their parents experience quick accents and sudden drops; opened in 1997.
  • Foghorn's Seaport Railway (Zamperla Rio Grande) - Train ride; opened in 1997.
  • Yosemite Sam's Flight School - Pint sized planes where children control how high they go; opened in 1997.
  • Carousel - A small merry-go-round with exotic animals; opened in 1997.


Tava's Jungleland (all rides opened in 2006)

  • Tava's Elephant Parade - A circular ride where children board small elephants and control their height.
  • Congo Queen (Zamperla Rockin' Tug) - A large Tugboat that rocks and spins.
  • Safari Jeep Tours - Riders board small Jeeps and traverse a track through animal attractions.
  • Nairobi's Lookout Balloons (Zamperla Samba Tower) - Riders board 4person gondolas and are taken to heights of 35feet. Riders are able to spin themselves which allows this tame observation tower become a high speed thrill ride.
  • Frog Hopper - A circular ride with "hopping" cars.
  • Safari River Journey - A slow ride for small children that spins in a small water way.
  • Monkey Around (Zamperla Swing Ride) - A tame swing ride that offers no changes in elevation.
  • Zoe's Tree House (SCS Interactive “Treehouse”) - A large outdoor play structure with slides and look out towers.


Thomas Town (all rides opening on Memorial weekend 2007)

  • Bertie the Bus
  • Harold the Helicopter
  • Sir Topham Hatt

[edit] Upcharge Attractions

  • Skycoaster - Riders are harnessed to two long cables and hoisted 100ft above a flamingo pond. The riders must a pull a ripcord and drop within 6 feet of the ground befor swing back and forth for a few minutes. $25 for a Single Rider, $40 for a Double, and $45 for a Triple.
  • Go-Karts - A high speed go cart track near ROAR!. $7 per driver, $3 per passenger. Ride duration is 7 minutes.
  • Rockwall - Riders climb a 45ft rockwall. $7 per person. Ride Duration is 1 Climb.

[edit] Animal Attractions

  • Shark Experience - Guest gets to go "underwater" with sharks as the travel on a moving walkway with a glass dome above them showing and underwater shark habitat. Featured in the film 50 First Dates.
  • Walrus Experience - Guest can get face to face with 4 walruses. Featured in the film 50 First Dates.
  • Dolphin Discovery - Guest can pay $149.99 per person and receive a 1 on 1 training session with the park's dolphins.
  • Dolphin Encounter - Located in Ocean Discovery, guests can feed, play and touch dolphins.
  • Sting Ray Bay - Located in Ocean Discovery, guests can touch live sting rays.
  • Penguin Passage - Located in Ocean Discovery, guests can come face to face with South American Penguins.
  • Sea Lion Cove - Located in Ocean Discovery, guests can feed Pacific Sea Lions and Seals.
  • Alligator Isle - An animal exhibit featuring Alligators.
  • Butterfly Habitat - Guests enter a large, humid glass building filled with exotic butterflies.
  • Flamingo Pond - A large exhibit filled with exotic Pink Flamingos. Located behind VooDoo and under Skycoaster.
  • Tava's Elephant Trails - Guests can view African Elephants as well as ride them and face them in a tug-o-war (part of the Elephant Show).
  • Cougar Rocks - Guests can get up close to the park's 2 Cougars.
  • Cheetah Exhibit - Guests can view the park's cheetah. Also home to the park's Snow Leopard.
  • Odin's Tiger Island - Home of the park's Bengal Tigers. Guest are treated to daily training sessions.
  • Giraffe Dock - Guests can get up close and feed the park's Giraffes.
  • Lions Den - The park's African Lion exhibit.
  • Merlin's Dolphin Theater - Home to the park's Dolphin Show, guests can also get up close to the dolphins at the viewing window in the main plaza. Featured in the film 50 First Dates.
  • Shouka Stadium - Home of the park's Orca named Shouka. Guests can view Shouka at the viewing windows in the back of the stadium in between shows.
  • Sea Lion Stadium - Located in Ocean Discovery, home of the park's Sea Lion Show.
  • Bird Theater - Home of the Bird Show.
  • Animal Nursery - Home to new arrivals and animals with special needs.
  • Reptile Discovery - Located in Tava's Jungleland, guest can view various reptiles.
  • Lorikeet Aviary - Located in Tava's Jungleland, guests can interact with the beautiful birds as well as feed them nectar.

[edit] Past Rides

  • Starfish - A circular ride located near Toyota Stadium. The ride was removed after two accidents sent people to the hospital after being thrown from the ride. The ride area is now used to display Toyota Vehicles.
  • Shoreline Express - The park's train system that transported guests from Shark Experience to Animal Adventure near Jambo. The park removed it before the 2006 season to make room for Tava's Jungleland and the newly remodeled Lakeside Pavilion.
  • Zonga - Built in 2003, the ride operated for 2 years at the park. Zonga reguarly opened about two hours after the park and had frequent breakdowns. The ride wasn't very attractive because of it's location and appearance. There have been many malfunctions, which eventually led to closing down the ride. There have also been many complaints about the ride being "bumpy". The ride stood silent for the 2005 season and was removed at the beginning of the 2006 season, leaving a large empty concrete area at the front of the park. Zonga was moved to the Discovery Kingdom parking lot where it sat throughout the 2006 season. In early 2007 the ride was shipped off after being purchased.
  • Jambo - One of the first Zamperla "Joker" rides to be installed in the US, the ride opened in 1998 in the rear of the park near VooDoo. The ride operated for the beginning of the 2006 season, but shut down before summer operation. Shortly after, all rides of the same model in the Six Flags chain shut down, and none have reopened. Jambo was removed in the winter before the 2007 season as well as its sister ride, Trailblazer, at Six Flags Great America.
  • 'Round the World Ferris Wheel - A Ferris wheel with balloon gondolas; opened in 1998. In 2007 the ride was removed to make way for the new children's area.
  • Turbo Bungee - Riders are harnessed to bungees and jump on a trampoline reaching heights where they are capable of front and back flips. $7 per person. Ride Duration is 2 minutes.
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