Editor’s note: I have split Laura’s report on her theme park visits into two parts. Today, her introduction and her impressions of Sea World and Six Flags are the feature. Tomorrow, we publish her views about Disneyland and her final verdict.
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I recently returned from a trip in which I got to sample three theme parks within several days: Disneyland, Sea World (San Antonio, TX), and Six Flags (Fiesta, TX). In addition, coming from a risk-perverse family, I’ve gone to Disney World numerous times and Universal, Busch Gardens (both parks), Hershey Park, another Six Flags and plus quite a few regional parks, (Coney Island & Kings Dominion, for example).
When I was younger (and someone else was paying) I was mostly concerned with which had the coolest, newest steepest coaster.
As a parent who’s taken small children, I’ve been more concerned with making sure they had a good time, didn’t get lost, got on the one ride they absolutely had to experience, and negotiating tantrums.
This last trip with both my 22 year old son and my kindergartner, I had the chance to really reflect on the overall experience, especially in terms of the relative value/cost.
THE PRICE OF ADMISSION:
Disney — $522 for a 5-day ParkHopper ticket purchased online in advance. (Disneyland promotion selling 5 day pass for the price of the 3 day). At $522 for two adults and one child, that worked out to about $35 a person, per day. Check their site for specials, they change frequently. Daily parking is $15, but you can get 3 hours free at Downtown Disney.
Sea World — My older son and I got in free thanks to their “Here’s to the Heros” program (my older son is an Airman in the Air Force), but the usual daily rate is $59 per adult (child 3-9, $49). The “Heros” program is valid through the end of 2010 (although it may run longer). Active duty military with ID (all branches & National Guard) and up to three family members are free at any Anheuser Busch-owned park (Sea World,
Busch Gardens, Sesame Place, Adventure Island & Water Country USA). The offer applies to one park and one visit only. (Details are on their site). Parking $15.
Six Flags Fiesta — Runs a little more than $50 per adult a day. Six Flags offered a military discount, too — we paid $25 each – but this was less impressive when I realized that current discounts available to the public can bring their price to nearly that. (All theme parks seem to have discounts available if you look for them). Parking $15.
THE TERMS:
To dispense with some housekeeping items and frame my reviews, we visited both Sea World and Six Flags on a weekend day. Temps both days were in the mid-90s, humid and sunny. We spent 3 full days and two partial days in Disney, and one of those was a weekend day. Weather in California was a bit more forgiving, on our Sunday visit temps hovered in the 85-90, but it cooled off to the low 80s the rest of the week (70 in the evenings), humidity was present but not overbearing. Sea World and Six Flags were each given a slight handicap as we spent only one day (or part of the day) in each of those parks.
THE VERDICT:
Disney won hands down, although I’d give Sea World credit for a close second. Six Flags was atrocious. (Neither Sea World ,nor especially Six Flags, could overtake Disney, even with the handicap). And as far as age groups, Disney is great for small children, although Sea World’s marine attractions are also kid magnets, but Six Flags never seemed to break away from the teen scene, carnival atmosphere.
Sea World (TX) gave us a clean park experience with lots of pretty, well-maintained landscaping and one of the best coasters I have been on in a long time (Steel Eel). We could only stay for part of a day, so it’s possible we might have been even more impressed had we truly experienced the shows and all the rides. But the basics were there, and I truly think it’s fabulous that they honor our men and women in uniform with their Heros admission program. For me, a company that celebrates our road to freedom this way, and the sacrifice of these Americans, is tops.
My son, my Hero
Inside the park they offered various meal and drink plans. We planned to eat on the way back to the base, so we passed that up. They appeared to be, shall we say, within the theme park tolerance level for price. They offer a “Dinner with Shamu” (adults $42, 3-9 $22) we didn’t spring for that, but it could be interesting. (Many web commenters raved about it), and also an “all day dining deal” for $29.95 (per adult, children 3-9, $13.95) at six restaurants that allows you to eat as much as you’d like all day.
You can buy drinks in special cups for $9.99 that come with free refills (well worth it in July’s heat). They also offered a legal way to cut the lines – a program called “Quick Queue.” Starting at $15 a person ($25 p.p. for the unlimited version) this allows one to bypass the line on popular rides. We declined the offer and surprisingly got on a lot of rides without much wait. Not only were lines reasonably paced, but on a 95 degree day, many had misting machines covering them, or at a minimum, shade. (We pondered whether the heat was keeping folks away from the rides and in the water park more, but if so, that didn’t occur at Six Flags).
Since the park has a sizable water park component, they have lockers – at the gate area, and again near the water attractions. That was $9, but you get a $5 merchandise coupon back when you turn in the key. We used ours to get ice cream on the way out. They provide changing areas that are surprisingly spacious and clean & free). (Note, they had two types of lockers – larger ones at the gate and water areas, and ‘bus station’ types for loose articles at the rides, more on that later).
Another thing in Sea World’s favor is that they offer some amenities other parks charge for, for free. Kennels* (only service animals are allowed in the park) are free if you happen to have Fido along (Disney’s kennels are $20 per animal, per day, Six Flag’s run $10). If weather is ‘severe’ and wipes out your day, you can ask for a free one-day admission pass to come back (some other parks have a ‘no-refund’ policy – nada at Six Flags, Disney’s disclaimer says its not responsible for unused tickets due to weather, but I’ve heard this can be negotiated at Guest Services for a really bad weather event)). But even with all the clean fun and steep drops, Sea World still had more of a day trip feel to it, whereas Disney (review coming up) perennially feels like a long term destination. (Note, if you use kennels at any of the facilities, call for details – many require vet records or proof of shots).
Six Flags
At Six Flags I kept visualizing the white flag of truce. “Alright, I’ve had enough, I’m giving in!” I know my wallet did. There was hardly an occasion to profit that they missed. Drinks and food were expensive, souvenirs even more. But the last straw was the “Flash Pass.” Basically, in order for you to help them with their long attraction lines (as opposed to them addressing them through engineering, multiple ride options or other means), they sell a device that, depending on how much you pay, can reduce or eliminate the wait time. They started at $34 PER RIDER, and go as high as $79 per rider (platinum level), which is telling because you begin to realize that you might need a platinum credit card to get through the day.
Unlike the more modest line cutting program at Sea World, this irked me for several reasons, firstly the outrageous upfront cost (double Sea World). Also, whereas at Sea World we did without and still managed to ride a number of rides with a tolerable wait, at Six Flags we spent 6+ hours at the park and got on only 2 rides TOTAL (and we didn’t waste time anywhere else). So, for a total of 6 hours (and about $100 including discounted admission, parking, drinks and lockers) we spent 5 hours and 45 minutes in line, 10 minutes getting change and/or drinks, and (less than) 5 minutes experiencing two rides). The lines were long, hot tedious affairs, often snaking out into territory with no air or shade, and no mist. The highest levels of the Flash Pass program also allow you to ride twice consecutively, so if you splurged for it and had the chutzpah to walk past the frustrated hundreds sweating out in the sun or under the sweltering canopies, you might risk personal harm.
If you’re interested, but I doubt you would be, the food at Six Flags is no better than what you would get from some fast food joint (and maybe worse). The barbeque smells from Crackaxle Canyon tempted us briefly, but we passed (didn’t have time to sit down if we wanted to get on any rides). They also sell meal vouchers for the equivalent of an extra value meal, but they start at $13. Really, save your money.
In addition, compared to other parks I’ve been to, the landscaping at Six Flags was so-so, and the throngs that day quickly overwhelmed efforts to keep the park clean – in numerous places I spied trash on the ground and overflowing rubbish cans. There seemed to be more concrete sidewalks and impervious surfaces (less plants and nature) which reflected the heat back in waves. Some rides and attractions looked a little worse for the wear, needing a coat of paint or other corrective action. The park’s layout was confusing and we often found ourselves crisscrossing back to get to another location. Other people must have been just as confused, navigating around the park can best be described as chaotic.
For all these reasons (and one more) I left the park that day feeling gouged, like Six Flags was trying to shake enough money out of me to singlehandedly keep them solvent (They emerged from bankruptcy in May and just swung to a profit with their second quarter results). In fact their financials give some telling insight into my expensive expereince, “Revenue jumped 8.2% to $321.3 million, and increased 7% excluding revenue from one new park… per-capita guest spending decreased 1% on lower season-pass pricings, partially offset by higher single-day tickets margins.” (Source, Wall Street Journal) To me, this says that Six Flags knows they don’t offer an attractive enough experince to get you to return throughout the season, so they have to zap your wallet the first time you go.
Lastly, both parks in Texas cite Texas law prohibiting ‘loose’ articles on amusement rides as a reason to charge for lockers. At every roller coaster we encountered banks of self-service lockers into which we were directed to place drink cups, hats, purses and other potentially fly-away items. Problem was, I didn’t know this beforehand. At Six Flags I was forced to use an ATM with a ridiculously high surcharge to get the cash to turn into the $1 in coin needed.
By the time we went to Sea World the next day I was more hip to this and left my purse and other extraneous items in the car. I thought I had outsmarted the system until they made us put our souvenir drink cups away ($1). At least I avoided the ATM charge by ensuring I came with cash. Six Flags, again unfortunately, provided the more irritating experience because their policy was not consistently enforced. On rides where I was forced to stow my purse even though I argued I could control it, I saw others get on the same ride with larger back packs. At one point we were forced as we went in to pay to store our plastic cups, while others were allowed to proceed up to the ride itself and leave them with ride employees or on the exit side to retrieve after. The inequitable and unfair application of the ‘rule’ was so annoying that, while not a huge expense,I was prompted to declare I would never go to another Six Flags again. (We have one near home (Largo, MD), and I have declined one offer since I’ve returned to go there!)
Tomorrow, Laura reveals her adventures at Disneyland.
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