Six Flags parks add pair of new rides
By Daily Republic staff
Concord - The Waterworld USA parks in Concord and Sacramento are adding new water rides and changing their names.
They will be known as Six Flags Waterworld Concord and Six Flags Waterworld Sacramento.
Concord is introducing the extreme water thrill ride Tornado, a funnel-shaped rainstorm painted in a blue and yellow checkerboard pattern.
The "Honolulu Halfpipe" extreme surf slide will be the new ride in Sacramento.
Both the Concord and Sacramento rides are scheduled to open on the waterparks' first day, May 21. Daily summer operation begins June 18.
A 2005 Six Flags season pass costs $54.99 and is good at both parks as well as at Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo. A new feature at Six Flags Marine World will be an animal interactive experience Ocean Discovery that will open this spring.
In the Concord Tornado ride, tubers begin their experience 75 feet in the air by blasting down a 132-foot long tunnel, leading to the open-ended 65-foot-wide funnel.
The ride's four-person cloverleaf shaped tubes hug the inside of the funnel, splashing back and forth on 5,000 gallons of swirling water. The experience culminates in a waterfall splash into a catch pool below.
The "Honolulu Halfpipe" begins with a U-shaped slide more than four stories high, providing a panoramic view of the surrounding Cal Expo grounds. A steep entry onto the nearly vertical surface provides riders with the thrill of "free falling," as they barrel down from the apex of the wave, then zoom back and forth on more than a thousand gallons of swirling water as they "surf" their way through the 80-foot valley into a catch pool below. People can ride Honolulu Halfpipe on single, double and triple person tubes.
To order a season pass or to obtain more information, visit www.sixflags.com. Or call 916-924-3747 for Sacramento and 925-609-1364 in Concord.
Ok, so maybe it's not QUITE what you thought it was going to be, but still....
