The New Six Flags World of Adventure With Sea World
Written: Aug 21 '01 (Updated Aug 23 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Combines amusement park, water park and Sea World attractions in 1 park
Cons: Too many games, too loud music, boardwalk too long and hot
The Bottom Line: Good for whole family, with great coasters for teens and wonderful play areas for kiddies, but be prepared to be bombarded by games & noise.
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| susiee's Full Review: Six Flags Ohio |
Six Flags World of Adventure in Ohio has been heavily advertised this spring, announcing the combination of the Six Flags park with Sea World, with one admission price for both parks. My son was entranced by the commercials and chose to go to Six Flags instead of our usual Cedar Pointe trip this year. One thing he was excited about was the ads talked about Cartoon Network characters. He thought this meant characters like Dexter, Powerpuff Girls, etc. but we only saw Looney Tunes.
We made this our last stop on a vacation through New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, spending 2 days at the park, a Thursday and Friday in July.
We almost did not make it to this park. We set out from our hotel, which was advertised as only 10 minutes from the park. Over an hour later, we still could not find any sign of Six Flags. We stopped twice for directions, before we finally found a teeny tiny little sign on the road directing us to Six Flags. For somebody used to giant billboards pointing the way, this was surprising. Eventually, we made it to the parking lot, and paid our $9 parking fee. No shuttles were available to take you back and forth through the lot, so we first had quite a walk.
General admission tickets are $37.99, junior admission for kids under 48” is $18.99, children 2 and under are free. You can usually get discount tickets in advance, and we also found a coupon for $5 off admission in a tourist book of Ohio.
Some attractions are extra. If you want to try the rock wall climb, it costs $6.00 per climb. The Sky Coaster is $24.99, with discounts for two or three flyers. Thunder Alley Speedway cost $6.00 per ride.
You can rent single or double strollers, wheelchairs, and electronic wheelchairs. If you plan to spend a lot of time in Hurricane Harbor, you can rent double or single inner tubes. Life jackets are free with a $5 deposit.
The park is divided into two sections: The Wildlife Section (which is pretty much where Sea World was) and the Wild Rides section (the old Six Flags). We entered the park in the Wildlife section. Tip: The park has entrances by both sections, which we did not know the first day. The Wildlife section has smaller entrance lines, but it is a very long walk across the park to the rides.
Check the schedule of shows as soon as you enter the park. We missed a number of shows because we did not plan carefully to be able to see all of the shows. Often we were on the wrong side of the park at the show times. Choose the ones you want to see and make sure you are near the area at the right time.
The Wildlife Section
The Wildlife section seemed almost deserted when we entered (granted, it was at 2 p.m., but I still expected more people). At no time did I feel crowded in this part of the park. Although the shows were well-attended, there was not a sense of overcrowding in the arenas. We even got seats at a dolphin show that had already started.
Heading down the path, we first encountered the Sting Ray Bay and Batray Cove, which are basically just a large pool with these in them for you to watch (and touch). The kids wanted to head to the rides, so we asked a passing employee for directions. We had two choices to get from the Wildlife to the Wild Rides section: take the boat from the Platters Boat Dock across or walk along the boardwalk to the other side.
We decided to take the boat, since it would be shorter and easier. Unfortunately, on the day we were there, only one boat was running, and it was around a 45 minute wait, so we started walking. The path from one section to the other is along a wooden walkway along the lake. There is absolutely NO SHADE on this path, nor any drinking fountains, vendors or anything to amuse the kids as you walk. It took about 15 minutes to get across. On a very hot day, this can be tough, so make sure you have some water.
Before I get into the Wild Rides area, here’s some more about the Wildlife section.
The new Batman Water Thrill Spectacular is along the lake on this side of the park. My boys loved this show, although it was too loud for my 2 year old with fireworks and explosions. The story has Batman and Robin fighting the Riddler and Two-Face, saving the girl reporter, and Gotham City from pollution and explosions. Lots of action, sound and noise.
The Pengiun Expedition is your typical penguin display, similar to what I can see at my local zoo. You walk through a building where you can watch the penguins both on the ground and under the water.
Under the Sea Aquarium had 20 different aquariums showing fish and creatures from lakes, oceans and rivers. Again, this did not impress me, as I have seen similar displays at my zoo.
Wild Skies bird show was one we missed, as the timing of the shows always had us on the other end of the park.
The Dolphin show was wonderful, but then I have always been partial to dolphins. Having been to different Sea Worlds many times, I have often seen the dolphin shows, and this one was pretty much the same. You are introduced to several dolphins and their trainers, and watch each one do their own special tricks to show their personality. Dolphins jumping, dancing and more are always fun to watch.
The Sea Lion and Seal Community Pool is another giant pool area for the sea lions and seals. Again, this is very similar to the zoo. We got to watch a feeding session. One thing to note, unlike the zoo, the animals here are from the park’s rescue and rehabilitation program.
We skipped the Pirates 4-D Hit Tech adventure, since it warned that some scenes may be too intense for young children, and we have young children.
The Pearl Diving exhibition is kind of neat. You can watch divers retrieve oysters, then pick an oyster for your own pearl.
Other attractions we missed were the Garden of Discovery, Shark Experience, Mission: Bermuda Triangle and the Do It Yourself Sea Lion show.
The biggest hit on this side of the park for the kids was the Happy Harbor play area. This was near the walkway to the other side of the park, and the kids spent some time here. It had a pirate ship with water cannons, water slides, and all sorts of play things for younger kids. My 2 year old liked the tunnels and tubes, and of course the ball pit. A giant sand area with play houses and sand toys was popular with many kids too. My older son loved the giant net climb playscape. This is something I have been seeing at more and more places lately, but I really do not like them. These are nets that start one story up (you have to climb a flight of stairs to get to them) and go up several stories. I hate heights, and it is very hard for me to watch my son go up there, especially since there is almost no way I can get up there if I needed to help him.
I believe this is the first year that Six Flags has been merged with Sea World, and this is the old Sea World area. If so, it makes me very glad I haven’t been to Sea World in a while, since there really didn’t seem much to do for the cost. Most of my visits to Sea World seemed to have a lot more to see and do than this.
As you walk through this park, one thing you’ll notice is the loud music everywhere. Each time we got near a building, we seemed bombarded by music so loud we could not hear each other talk in a normal voice. My husband complained about this a lot.
Wild Rides Attractions
Here is where you can find the big rides and roller coasters. Because our kids were not big enough for these rides, we skipped them. However, here is a quick list of the main ones:
X-Flight was the newest, a flying coaster.
Grizzly Run is a white water rapids adventure
Batman Knight Flight is a floorless coaster, with one of the longest lines.
Superman Ultimate Escape is a vertical spiraling coaster
Serial Thriller was a suspended looping coaster
Texas Twister was a twisty coaster that went upside down a lot
Mind Eraser was a boomerang coaster
There were also several wooden roller coasters.
There was also a giant ferris wheel, dodge em cars, and other rides. One attraction we enjoyed watching was the Sky Coaster, where people in a giant bungee jump type of contraption go swinging and bouncing. My kids thought it was neat.
Games, games everywhere
One real big negative here is the games. You could not walk ten feet without running into a game or arcade. We spent a lot of money on games this trip, while at most parks we can usually avoid the game areas. Most games were around $2 per play, which did not help. Fortunately, there were some games designed for younger kids where you always win a prize (a very small prize, but at least the kids got something). You could trade up small prizes for mediums, and mediums for large, etc.
My son had his heart set on a prize from a fishing game. You catch a fish and it tells you what kind of prize you win. Naturally, he never got close to the big prize he wanted, but he kept asking to play again and again. We limited how many games the boys could play. However, as we were walking around, I spotted a game for 10 cents, where you throw a dime and it must land completely inside a red circle to win a prize. I had six dimes and gave them to the boys, and my son won a giant stuffed Pooh Bear. After that he was very happy.
The park obviously knows the games are money makers, because you could usually find ATM machines near the games.
Looney Tunes Boomtown
The biggest attraction for the kids in this area was Looney Tunes Boomtown. This area is designed for the younger kids, and was great. Comparing this section to Cedar Point’s Camp Snoopy, this wins hands down for creativity and fun.
With Looney Tunes characters as the theme, this area was full of fun for kids. There were seven rides, including a train, mini coaster, spinning cups, and more. There was an awesome giant water slide, which was a race between two lanes. To get to the top of the line, kids and parents could go through a cool playscape, with treasure chests, tunnels, and slides. At the top, while you wait, you can participate in the race by pressing buttons to slow down the other side, speed up your side, splash the racers, etc.
To keep your cool, this area had several squirting and misting attractions. You could walk through a cool misty tunnel and stand under a squirting statue. On a hot day, this was a very welcome feature. I kept running over to get wet while my kids were running around in the play areas.
But the best part of all to my kids was the Foam Factory. This was a giant two story structure, full of soft foam balls. Now, this was heaven to my 2 year old, who loves anything to do with balls. The front of the structure is netted, and rows of seats are available for parents to watch the kids. Inside, kids can collect the balls in bags, dump the balls into tubes that lead to a giant ball cannon, other tubes lead to ball shooters on the second floor, and some to buckets at the top of the structure. When the buckets are full, they dump on the floor all over the kids. I saw quite a few dads on the second floor having a good time shooting foam balls at their kids.
My son never wanted to leave this part, but the way it works is a group of people are let in at one time and can play until the timer is up. Then they must all leave. Fortunately, it was not crowded, so we would leave and walk back to the entrance and go right back in.
Hurricane Harbor
We did not spend a lot of time here, although this area had a lot for all ages. The giant wave pool was a bit too strong for our kids, although looked very popular with teens. Turtle beach was a water area just the right size for my younger kids. Stingray Wet Slides were 3 giant slides for racing (too big for my sons). We liked Calypso Creek, where you can float along on a raft, nice and lazy. Neptunes Falls was a curvy waterslide that was fun without being too fast and bumpy.
My brochure lists something called Hook’s Lagoon as a water playground for the whole family. I don’t think we ever saw this, because it does not sound at all familiar.
Wild Rides Shows
The Wild Rides section of Six Flags features several shows. Again, check the show times early so you can plan to see the shows you want. The two shows we caught at this part were What’s Up Doc? featuring Bugs Bunny, and Rockin’ at Rockville, a fifties musical tribute. My boys enjoyed both shows. After What’s Up Doc, you can meet the characters and take pictures, so this is a show to catch if you have little ones.
Other shows include:
Street Magic a magician performing on the midway
RainMaker, a show about Doc Snooker with his cure-all that everybody tries.
Science Guy featuring Dr. Fizix.
Denim and Diamonds a musical tribute to female country singers.
Food
As many other parks, Six Flags offers souvenir drink cups that you can refill at a discounted price. However, a regular drink is $2.99, and a refill is $2.00. So, this time the souvenir cup does not save much money. Also, if you are traveling with younger kids, note that the park does not allow straws, so your drinks have no lid or straws. Bring a cup of your own for small kids. In addition to soft drinks, you can get lemonade, beer, ICEES, and sno cones.
Snacks are available throughout the park. You can get ice cream, cotton candy, caramel apples, and pretzels.
Typical park foods such as hot dogs, hamburgers and fries were available. You could also get dinners such as club sandwiches, grilled chicken caesar salad, barbeque chicken and ribs, and deli sandwiches. Many restaurants offered desserts such as pudding, cheese cake, chocolate cake, and jello. Beware of restaurants advertising air conditioning. We checked them all out and all they have are ceiling fans. Often these were hotter than eating outside in the shade.
For those less adventurous, Six Flags also has stands from popular restaurants such as Pizza Hut, Subway, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Taco Bell.
Be prepared to spend a great deal of money on this food. It cost me $30 for personal pan pizzas for us at Pizza Hut.
Employees
Coming here after Sesame Place, I noticed a distinct difference in employee attitudes. At Sesame Place, all the water rides were very well monitored, with employees all over explaining the ride, checking things before moving, being at the end and just watching the lines and people in general. At Six Flags, I did not see as many lifeguards at the bottom of the slides, the people at the top were more there to push the tubes than anything else. It did not feel as safe and well-organized.
The employees were also not very friendly or helpful. At one line for drinks, I had two older women cut in front of me. When I spoke up, the girl behind the counter simply told me too bad she was already helping the others anyway, I could just wait. Another cashier overcharged somebody in the restaurant and took 15 minutes to correct it. During this time, no other lines were opened, and she did not wait on any customers. When she was done, she did not apologize for the delay or anything.
Conclusion
I have mixed feelings about this park. My kids absolutely loved it. The park did seem to have more things suited to children my sons’ ages. The play areas were much more fun than the one at Cedar Pointe.
However, the games ended up making this trip much more expensive than usual. The noise from the music was extremely annoying.
We like to stay at a hotel that is attached to the park. Six Flags did not have one. There was only one hotel within 5 miles of the park, and it books up fast.
And my husband swears he will never again try to drive to a place that has such crummy signs directing you to it.
Next year, we’ll try Kings Island instead.
Recommended:
Yes
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susiee
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