Every summer, my friend from San Diego and I trade off visiting each other and try to create a memorable week with our combined five kids. This year it was my turn to host and in planning our outings, I decided our biggest one should be Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. They had never been and since it is one of our all-time favorite places, my kids and I were confident our buddies would love it as well! We found out that Six Flags has added three exciting new experiences to their park: a high dive show, the Dare Devil Chaos Coaster, and a Wildlife Discovery backstage tour. Here is a peek at the brand new attractions plus a couple highlights of our fabulous day!
Dive!
As we were standing in line for White Water Safari, the kids spotted divers performing not too far away. They could hear the music and saw just enough to get them anxious to see the brand new show. We made sure to catch Dive! in the Adventure Theater right after we exited the ride (we now recommend doing these two things in the same order so you can watch the show all cooled off).
The entertainment began with dives that represented several decades from past to present. The talent of the divers had our attention from the start but then we were pleasantly surprised as some humor entered the show. I don’t want to give away too much, so I’ve left out photos of things you’ll get a big kick out of. The format of this show successfully built up to a finale of daring dives, including a man on fire!
Dare Devil
Attention thrill seekers, you will want to check out the Dare Devil Chaos Coaster! This is a unique circular track coaster that combines anticipation and suspense.
Our kids were not quite ready for this kind of excitement, although I imagine next summer will be a different story! If you have little dare devils that are at least 48″ tall, teens, or someone to watch your little ones while YOU ride, this coaster appears to promise an adrenaline rush like no other!
As the park’s 9th thrill attraction, Dare Devil Chaos Coaster features a 70-foot tall looped track that takes 24 riders ‒ most sitting face-to-face ‒ propelling pendulum-style backwards and forwards until momentum takes them into one of the longest suspended hang-times around, as they then rocket through six to seven cycles of full inversions.
“The suspense of anticipating the upside down hang time takes the thrill factor up several notches,” said Don McCoy, park president. “The single loop is very deceptive; this is probably the most intense ride we’ve built and we’re excited to introduce this new coaster to all of our daredevil guests.”
Wildlife Discovery
Wildlife Discovery is replacing Six Flags’ Backstage Safari program with even more animal fun! This behind-the-scenes tour would be a major summer memory or the perfect surprise for a family member’s birthday. My kids and I cannot wait to take the tour and meet the animals!
Wildlife Discovery gets you closer than ever before to our land animals. Get up close with our big cats. Feed a giraffe and see where they live. Meet and touch some of our exotic creatures like snakes, birds, and small mammals. This program gives you the opportunity to meet, as well as learn how we care for and train our animals.
Wildlife Discovery starts at 3pm at the Reptile Discovery and lasts approximately 90 minutes. It begins with an educational presentation before touring with our animal friends. A Kodak photographer will join you on the tour to capture special moments of your adventure and one complimentary Kodak photo included.
A couple highlights of our day…
One of our favorite things to do at Six Flags is walk through Shark Experience, so we had to introduce our friends to it! You are literally surrounded by sharks in this walk-through underwater tunnel. It is a one-of-a-kind aquarium that holds a variety of shark species, including nurse shark, sandbar shark, Australian zebra shark and spotted wobbegongs, along with some other fish and stingrays. This is my kind of alternative to scuba diving for such a close-up view of these amazing creatures!
Two of my three kids can now ride this classic wooden roller coaster with me now. Woohoo! Roar now tops our must-ride list. We managed to get on this coaster three times right before the park closed. We agreed that the adrenaline rush was the perfect way to end our day!
What a truly fun summer day with our friends. We laughed, played, and made wonderful new memories!
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Address: 1001 Fairgrounds Drive, Vallejo, CA;
Cost: Adults – $64.99
Kids under 48″ $44.99
Kids 2 and under FREE
Discount online tickets available, visit Tickets page
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[Disclaimer: Our family received tickets to Six Flags to facilitate this review of new summer attractions in the park but as always, all opinions are 100% my own.]
Written by Keilah Woodard
My love for exploring and creating experiences with my three kids led to the founding of SacramentoSidetracks.com in 2009. I realized that Sacramento has so much to offer and I was excited to share my findings with other parents. Besides simply having fun, these are the other positive side effects of taking my kids on outings that I’ve discovered: we have quality time together away from the distractions at home, we cultivate our curiosity, learn new things, conversations are triggered by what we see and do, we connect and bond as a family, and we create new memories. Ready to get sidetracked, too? Let me be your guide!
