Six Flags NJ Really Zero Flags

[YouNeedToKnowI Guess Donkeys Are Okay]

I just returned from six flags in NJ. (07/2009) I will never go there again. I am requesting a refund. My family had the worst experience at this park. People were cutting lines with no way to stop them. This happened on almost every ride. A lot of rides were closed. There is no visible management overseeing the running of the park. One of the gates to a ride nearly crushed my son’s hand as it slammed shut. They promote that you can bring your own food and eat it in a picnic area, however there are only 6 tables in this area to accommodate thousands of guests. We had to eat on the rock covered ground making a sandwich in our hands. The park is so poorly run and has a bad element running through the park with no visible security we the patrons can go to if needed. The people ( teens ) running the rides seemed to want to keep it going fast that safety was sacrificed. We did not feel safe at all. We had a horrible time and left so mad. My son is 12 years old and he wanted to leave the park early. There is nothing like waiting an hour and a half on line to be cut again and again. Also, they are checking for weapons coming into the park, but when you get a stamp and re-enter they do not check. Makes no sense to us. Water was almost 4 dollars a bottle. Food prices were so high as well. They charge almost the same price for fast pass as a regular ticket. Fast pass is nothing like Disney ( free at Disney ). You have to pay extra for some rides. They are having money issues and we the patrons are paying for it. Shame on you six flags it was really a no flags day for us.

[The DisneylanderDon't let this donkey melt you with its laser eyes!]

I just returned from six flags in NJ. (07/2009) I will never go there again. I am requesting a refund. My family had the worst experience at this park. People were cutting lines with no way to stop them. This happened on almost every ride. A lot of rides were closed. There is no visible management overseeing the running of the park. One of the gates to a ride nearly crushed my son’s hand as it slammed shut. They promote that you can bring your own food and eat it in a picnic area, however there are only 6 tables in this area to accommodate thousands of guests. We had to eat on the rock covered ground making a sandwich in our hands. The park is so poorly run and has a bad element running through the park with no visible security we the patrons can go to if needed. The people ( teens ) running the rides seemed to want to keep it going fast that safety was sacrificed. We did not feel safe at all. We had a horrible time and left so mad. My son is 12 years old and he wanted to leave the park early. There is nothing like waiting an hour and a half on line to be cut again and again. Also, they are checking for weapons coming into the park, but when you get a stamp and re-enter they do not check. Makes no sense to us. Water was almost 4 dollars a bottle. Food prices were so high as well. They charge almost the same price for fast pass as a regular ticket. Fast pass is nothing like Disney ( free at Disney ). You have to pay extra for some rides. They are having money issues and we the patrons are paying for it. Shame on you six flags it was really a no flags day for us.

I'm sorry you had a bad day, but I don't really understnad some of your concerns.

-if your son wasn't paying attention to the gates, that's his problem. The staff always announces that the gates are closing; besides, the gates are not like they're lightning fast. Your son has plenty of time to avoid his hand getting chopped off, which I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have. There's always a leeway of a few inches between the gates and the bars.

-Flash Pass costs extra, deal with it. It costs extra at pretty much anywhere BUT Disney.

-Yes, you have to pay extra for some rides...even before the 'money issues'. They're called 'upcharge' attractions. Nearly every park has them.

-Food items are, indeed, overpriced at the parks. However, again, I don't see why this ruined your day for you. If you go to a theme park, you should expect higher-than-normal prices.

[redfoot12When I grow up, I want to breed donkeys!]

I couldn't decide whether the OP was parody posting, really bored, or what.

[CTU AgentThai Hedrick]

Have you contacted guest services yet? Let them know. I feel that Six Flags wants to know this stuff so they can know which problems need to be addressed. I don't think asking for a refund is a good idea as there really is no reason for one. But I'd definitely let the park know and hopefully it will improve.

[Wild 1I know quite a lot about Donkeys!]

Some of the things you are saying are really bad, but some of the other things you are saying are normal for a park of this size.

Line Cutting- My only question was that was anyone watching the line? If not it is the parks fault.

Rides Closed- Which rides were closed? Just curious. (Kingda Ka has been down for a while so I know that one was)

Management- Now that is really inexusable, management should be around the park watching how it is running, not having any is bad management!

Safety and rides- Now the ride ops are supposed to run the rides as fast as possible and on a day like you went it would be a good thing to get people on as fast as possible. Not sure what to make about the hand crushing incident but which ride was this on? Ride ops should NOT put line speed over safety.

Food Prices- This is normal at any amusment park, food prices will always be high, also with the picnic areas.... I would not use them as you learned, I suggest getting a hand stamp and going out to your car to eat. Sorry to hear about the picnic area being so crowded.

Fast Passes- They are not like disney in this way, fast passes are for you being able to ride other rides while you wait in a virtual Q for the major ride you want to go on.

I am really sorry to hear that you have a bad day at the park, normally the park is very fun and runs smoothly... You must have went on a bad day, sorry this one visit ruined your time at Six Flags Great Adventure.

[RedSpecialI know quite a lot about Donkeys!]

I just returned from six flags in NJ. (07/2009) I will never go there again. I am requesting a refund. My family had the worst experience at this park. People were cutting lines with no way to stop them. This happened on almost every ride. A lot of rides were closed. There is no visible management overseeing the running of the park. One of the gates to a ride nearly crushed my son’s hand as it slammed shut. They promote that you can bring your own food and eat it in a picnic area, however there are only 6 tables in this area to accommodate thousands of guests. We had to eat on the rock covered ground making a sandwich in our hands. The park is so poorly run and has a bad element running through the park with no visible security we the patrons can go to if needed. The people ( teens ) running the rides seemed to want to keep it going fast that safety was sacrificed. We did not feel safe at all. We had a horrible time and left so mad. My son is 12 years old and he wanted to leave the park early. There is nothing like waiting an hour and a half on line to be cut again and again. Also, they are checking for weapons coming into the park, but when you get a stamp and re-enter they do not check. Makes no sense to us. Water was almost 4 dollars a bottle. Food prices were so high as well. They charge almost the same price for fast pass as a regular ticket. Fast pass is nothing like Disney ( free at Disney ). You have to pay extra for some rides. They are having money issues and we the patrons are paying for it. Shame on you six flags it was really a no flags day for us.

I'm sorry you had a bad day, but I don't really understand some of your concerns.

-if your son wasn't paying attention to the gates, that's his problem. The staff always announces that the gates are closing; besides, the gates are not like they're lightning fast. Your son has plenty of time to avoid his hand getting chopped off, which I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have. There's always a leeway of a few inches between the gates and the bars.

-Flash Pass costs extra, deal with it. It costs extra at pretty much anywhere BUT Disney.

-Yes, you have to pay extra for some rides...even before the 'money issues'. They're called 'upcharge' attractions. Nearly every park has them.

-Food items are, indeed, overpriced at the parks. However, again, I don't see why this ruined your day for you. If you go to a theme park, you should expect higher-than-normal prices.

I think some of your comments are a little harsh. I personally don't see why theme park guests should put up with higher than normal food prices - good service shouldn't cost extra and most theme park food isn't often what I'd describe as good service.

As for saying that nearly every park has upcharge attractions I find hard to accept - not the one's I clearly go to. I think this kind of practice should be clearly discouraged. We already pay high prices for park entries so why should you have to pay yet again unless it's well publicized?

As for gates closing - surely the staff have a health and safety responsibility to maintain ALL guests are safely looked after. Bottom line is that a theme park visit should be a fun and safe day out. Sounds like a very unhappy customer. I'd have wanted my money back as well; all it takes is one or two negative things to start off - poor staff support and queue jumping going unchallenged to make a whole day a disaster - after that no ones having any fun and all you start concentrating on is the negatives.

Better park staff and customer care sounds like most of these issues could have been averted.

[jbarner14Full Fledged Donkey Enthusiast!]

You're right water is expensive in the park. Did you ever think about bringing in your own water bottle? Or maybe drinking out of the water fountains.

As others have said, if you don't want to pay the food prices you can eat at your car or even go to one of the many fast food places outside of the park.

Finally, this park is a horrendously popular park during the summer. If you don't want to pay for a flash pass then you are better off going towards the beginning of the season when the crowds are later. I would never go out way to go to this park at this time of year.

[coolcalicoasterI wrote the book about donkeys!]

I have had similar issues with SFGADV and SFMM. The line cutting is enough to make you throw up. I am basing this purely on opinion, but I think both parks are close to major cities and they know they will always have a crowd no matter how good or bad the park is ran so they put less effort into stopping these occurrences. I have had the same problems with rides being down as well. X and Deja Vu were never opened when I visited SFMM and I have been there many times. Same with the now defunct Chiller.

As far as the flash pass thing, I HATE IT! It really isn't fair for people that struggle just to bring their families to an amusement park. Why should people that are well off get to wait a shorter time just because they have the money to pay for a pass? I have the money to buy them but never do because I am so against them. We should all have to wait the same amount of time. IMO

[SharkTumsSite Admin]

Next time, come to our site first and we could have helped you have a much better visit.

(let you know what rides were currently down, let you know about crowds to expect, let you know about food/drink prices, etc.)

Coming to complain after the fact won't really do much.

[redfoot12When I grow up, I want to breed donkeys!]

As far as the flash pass thing, I HATE IT! It really isn't fair for people that struggle just to bring their families to an amusement park. Why should people that are well off get to wait a shorter time just because they have the money to pay for a pass? I have the money to buy them but never do because I am so against them. We should all have to wait the same amount of time. IMO

I'm far from well-off but my priorities are just enough out of whack that when I go to a big park like Great Adventure or Over Georgia I will spring for the Flash Pass. In my opinion, it's not a question of how much money you have, it's about how you want to spend what money you do have.