The "D" in SFDK is for Disappointing

Very short operating hours, terrible ride availability, and long lines made for a pretty bad first visit to SFDK. Fun fact: this park has a $15,000,000 lawn ornament called Medusa!

Overview

This report is part 2 of 3 about my June 2023 solo coaster trip. Check out part 1 at Lagoon and part 3 at California's Great America! Here's a summary of the two days I spent at SFDK: On Thursday, I arrived before park opening and headed to DC Universe at rope drop. No coasters were running. I hopped in line for Joker, which was testing. After a whopping two hours, I abandoned it (sorry RMC) and waited 80 minutes for Superman. So, with half of my park day over, I had accomplished one ride. Since Joker, Flash, and Medusa were all closed, my strategy was to ride the remaining coasters, which were clones. I managed one ride on each clone before park closing at the early hour of 5PM and was pretty distraught about how my first day went. Day 2 (Friday) was better, as I rode Flash and Joker multiple times. However, Medusa remained closed all day and I am really bummed. As someone who loves big B&Ms like Superman Krypton Coaster, Kumba, Scream!, Kraken, and Hulk, I had anticipated Medusa being one of my favorite rides of the trip. So, as sad as it is, SFDK is still on my park bucket list. Ugh. My coaster ride totals were 5 on Joker, 3 on Flash, 2 on Superman, 1 on Batman the Ride, 1 on Boomerang, 1 on Kong, 1 on Sidewinder Safari, 1 on Cobra, and 1 on Road Runnner Express. Dispatch times were incredibly slow, especially on Boomerang and Kong. Line cutting was a big problem at this park too. On the bright side, the weather was beautiful both days, and it was somewhat satisfying to ride 2/3 of SFDK's unique coasters on the second day. I rank this park as the second-worst in the Six Flags chain, only a smidge higher than La Ronde. I emailed Six Flags about my experience at Disappointing Kingdom, and got a generic, nothingburger reply with a link to ride availability at SFGAm. The bottom line is, this park (in stark contrast to Lagoon) is not cared for. It's hard for guests to have a good time when this is the case. Thank goodness I didn't spend a fortune on admission.

Coasters

Joker surprised me. I think it's a mid-tier RMC. I love that it has several quality inversions to balance out the airtime. The twisted drop was fun. This coaster is similar in size to Twisted Cyclone, but has a layout that I appreciate more. Namely, it's longer and has better hangtime. I waited 40 minutes on average to ride Joker, not counting the two hours I wasted on Thursday. Of the rows I tried (3, 6, 8, and 10), I liked 8 the best. For the time being, this is my favorite coaster at SFDK, with the big caveat obviously being that I haven't ridden Medusa. Joker and Flash made the stop at this park worthwhile.

I love the history behind Flash: Vertical Velocity's modification (needing to have the rear spike shortened and front twist rotated 45 degrees so that the coaster's height is not taller than 150 ft). I rode in the front, middle, and back. From the back, the vertical spike provided the best and most sustained feeling of weightlessness. However, the first and third forward passes didn't do much. On the contrary, riding in the middle and front seats gave awesome hangtime on the rollbacks, so I preferred those rows. Flash's second pass was equally enjoyable in all seats. This coaster seems to have reliability issues. I like Flash much better than the other Intamin Impulse coasters I've tried. It's unique and provides very nice hangtime, but there's not much to the ride experience.

Superman Ultimate Flight was more enjoyable than Tigris. Without the discomfort collars, the Sky Rocket II's airtime and abrupt transitions are more bearable. The slow roll at the top reminded me of half of the Lagoon Roll. The train is still a pain to get in and out of. I rode in rows 5 and 6, with an average wait of an hour. Surprisingly, Superman was pretty reliable once opening for the day after noon. Normally I have worse luck with Premier Rides.

I rode Kong in the back row. It's one of the worst coasters I've ever ridden. There was uncontrollable shaking on every transition and inversion. It beat me up. T2 is the only other SLC that caused me pain.

No comment on Batman, Boomerang, Cobra, Sidewinder Safari, or Roadrunner Express.

Other Rides

Since I was pressed for time and trying to do my best with the very limited availability of roller coasters, I did not ride anything else. A lot of guests liked Wonder Woman, a swinging pendulum. I took a few minutes to walk through the Shark Experience. The aquariums were a welcomed chage from coasters and sunshine, but the moving walkway was short and not very impressive compared to SeaWorld and stand alone aquariums.

Food & Merchandise

I ate meals at Johnny Rockets and Primo's Pizza. Service was slow at both locations, but the food tasted alright. I also refilled my souvenir cup several times at various locations. Before leaving SFDK, I bought a basic t-shirt with the park's name and one small coaster (maybe Joker?) on it at Land Fitters & Sea Riggin'.

Cost

I used my Diamond Pass, which was purchased earlier this year. Each Six Flags park day admission has cost me $22 so far in 2023. My meals were $14 each (discounted 20%). My shirt also cost $14 (discounted 30%). I spent $2418 on the whole trip (airfare, admission to 3 parks, 7 nights at hotels, rideshare, dining, souvenirs, etc).

Photos

These photos were taken by me. Please credit this website if used.