SIX FLAGS DISCOVERY KINGDOM

SIX FLAGS DISCOVERY KINGDOM

We couldn’t go on lavish vacations this summer, but we did what we could. Yosemite for a whole 2 days, and then a day trip to Six Flags on the last week day before school opened. 

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Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (formerly, Marine World Africa USA to us Gen X kids of the bay) offers the independent fun that teens and pre-teens crave. Our kids each brought a friend, and now that they are taller than me, they were able to get on all the open rides. Our last time here, they were a whole two heads shorter than me and I am a very short mom. Off they went on their own, and we the parents, did our own rides. I have lost much interest in thrill rides but I did them, got dizzy, and cursed them out (”why did I even go on that?!”). The kids very much enjoyed all of them, especially Wonder Woman. I enjoyed the river rafting ride. We the parents got to sit with another family, and we the parents, got drenched the most on that tube. 

Tip: It is absolutely worth taking the day off to go on a Friday. There were hardly any lines, although, many attractions were closed such as the log ride and the Penguin. Maybe it is for health reasons, or they were deemed non-essential on a slow day. 

Season Pass vs. Membership vs. One-Day
We deeply considered season passes, but after careful analysis, decided to make it a one-day trip. There was a great deal for season passes, but I wanted to see how this day went first and if it would be worth returning another 2 or 3 times until the year’s end. Well, the season pass would have been good through 2022 as well, so I think that in itself was worth it. I ran several spreadsheets to look at different scenarios between who gets a day ticket, a membership or season pass. Dad is not really into theme parks, so he automatically qualifies for the day ticket. But mom will take the kids :) To give you an idea, here’s the summary for a family of 4 (mom, dad, 2 kids) for one calendar year:

Option 1
1 day ticket for dad = $34.99 
Membership for mom = $6.49/mo  (includes parking, valued at $25)
Season passes for 2 kids = $49.99/yr each
TOTAL = $247.84

Option 2
1 day tickets for dad, 2 kids = $104.97
Membership for mom = $6.49/mo (includes parking)
TOTAL = $182.85 

Option 3
1 day tickets for dad, mom, 2 kids = $139.96)
Parking = $25
TOTAL = $164.96 

Option 4
4 memberships for dad, mom, 2 kids = $311
TOTAL = $311 (go as many times as we want through 2022)

Option 5
4 season passes for dad, mom, 2 kids = $199.96
TOTAL = $199.96 (go as many times as we want through 2022)

Yes I have a spreadsheet to get these numbers.

The difference between a season pass and membership is that you can get food and merchandise discounts at the park with a membership, which you are basically paying in installments. A season pass is much cheaper if you just want to do rides, and pay full price for the food. 

This might help you to do your own calculations, but the above represents an approximate summary of how to decide on getting season passes or not. Whatever works for your family!