July 10th. The VIP Experience

[Black Dynomite]

I finally got the VIP tour in yesterday. I can say, without a doubt, it was worth every penny. Those people that say they would never pay for that or that it's dumb when you can get a season pass, or my favorite "just get a flash pass" have no idea what they are talking about. I've been on cruises, I've been in resorts, I've been in high end hotels, and I have never experienced this level of service.

Arrival: We came in the Washington St. gate at 9:35 a.m. and showed the attendant our VIP tickets. She gave us a parking pass, told us to have a great day and we then proceeded to the front row behind the Handicapped parking. We walked the 20 yards to customer service and waited in the only line we saw for the rest of the day. When I got to the window I told the attendant we are on the VIP tour. She said, "Certainly Sir, I'll let you right in." She opened the door to customer service and led us into a small waiting room. She told us, "I'll get your guide" A minute later our new best friend for the rest of the day introduced themself. Note: Our guide knows I'm writing this, and knows about this site. I told them I would keep their name out of it and keep it gender neutral. You guys don't need to know who it was, all you need to know is that they are very good at their job.

Food: First thing we did was go get some breakfast at the Cyber Cafe. Whatever we wanted. My brother and I decided we wanted the berry crepes. We were told the crepe machine wasn't on because they don't make crepes until noon, but because we were VIP, she'd be happy to turn in on but it would be 15 minutes. I said, "We have all day, heat 'er up." So we sat around drinking coffee, planning our day. Our Guide, who from now on I'll call "Pat" brought us our crepes. They were HUGE! Stuffed with strawberries and blueberries and topped with whipped cream. The rest of the day it was the same way. Whatever we wanted. Dippin Dots, Churros, Popcorn, Pretzles, Soda, Lemonade..etc ..all we had to do was ask. We had lunch at Johnny Rockets and ribs at the Moosejaw for dinner. The ribs were suprisingly good. Here's part of the VIP perk...we didn't wait for any of it. Pat wrote down what we wanted and in minutes returned to our table with it. There were people waiting in line just to order and people waiting on food. Pat went in the back and had the cooks stop what they were doing and put our order together. There's a very good chance that someone elses' food ended up on our plates. Pat got our drinks, silverware, napkins, ketchup...whatever we wanted.

Shows: We had front row reserved seats for Show Stoppin'. Huge signs on the seats saying that they were reserved for VIP's. People stared at us as we sat down.The show wasn't my thing, I only recognized one song but everyone else seemed to like it. Talented singers and dancers. We also got seats on one of the trollys during the Glow in the Dark parade. Personally, I think I would have rather watched it instead of being in it, but it was still fun.

Rides: The best part. Go in the exit, get on the ride...all day. This is where Pat really shined. All we had to do is say, "We'd like to ride ___", instantly we were on our way. We went in the exit, through Employee Only access gates, and into the station. Pat would tell the ride operator, "I need the first two rows" or I need the last two rows", depending on what we wanted. We would then hear, "Attention in the station, Rows 1 and 2 will not be boarding this train." When the train pulled in, we were let in the station and sat in our seats. We couldn't help but to look at the seething glares of those still waiting. It got worse as the day went on. The most aggravated riders were on the Raging Bull. After a while, we were just getting on the Bull to irritate. The Bull was also where I achieved my goal of making a Platinum Flash Pass rider get up and move for thier re-ride. That was one I didn't think I was going to get, but it happend early. My other goal of cutting someone off twice during the day was also achieved on the Bull. The wait for the Bull was 2 hours at one point. I timed how long it took to get on after we said we wanted to ride it. 3 minutes. We also did the "Front/Back Combo" on alot of the coasters. We would ride in the front on the first ride, and then get right back on the back for the next ride. It didn't matter if we wanted to ride the Batman and then ride the Viper. We didn't have to walk around the park, we walked through it. We went through alot of shortcuts I never knew existed. A 10 minute walk was cut down to 3.

We also rode the Go-Karts 3 times. That was the most fun for all of us as a group. They went through the speil of how you can't bump or drive erratically or else you would be ejected from the track without a refund. I managed to hit every Kart, fishtail around the track, and spin into a wall...without a word said. I noticed others getting yelled at for bumping, but not us. Might have been because Pat was on the track with us.

Miscelleneous: It was "Deaf and Hard of Hearing Day" at the park. We were on the Demon in the front and I had signaled to Pat that we wanted the back for the next ride as we entered the station. I then noticed Pat speaking very slowly and over enuncicating his/her words to two little kids that were next for the back. I then realized they were deaf. I asked Pat if they were deaf and Pat said yes. I then told Pat to let them on next, we'd catch the next one. We weren't going to cut off little deaf kids.

I found out earlier in the day that Pat carried compensation coupons. It was exit line passes and free drink coupons. I had noticed there were some military guys from Great Lakes Naval Station walking around in dress uniforms. I asked Pat if they ever gave comps to military guys in uniform just to say thanks. Pat said they hadn't. I said, "Well maybe today we should." Pat said it was a good idea. We tracked down a guy and his family that just got off the Iron Wolf and Pat gave them 8 exit passes and 8 free drink coupons (2 for everyone in his party) and said it was on behalf of the VIP Tour Group that wanted to say, "Thank you for your service". They were so happy, you'd think they won the lottery. We all shook his hand and said thanks. It felt good and Pat thanked me for coming up with that.

We were heading toward the back row of the Viper when the ride attendant told us that we would be on the next train. I said, "Excuse me?" She said "You're going on the next ride, these people are next" and proceeded to load from the gate. We hadn't been on the next anything all day. I turned to find Pat and said to the attendant, "You need to talk to Pat, were supposed to be in those seats." The attendant asked me, "What color is your pass?" I noticed my VIP tag was filpped around. I flipped it over and said to her "VIP color". Her eyes got all big and she said, "Oh! I'm sorry!" She then turned to the people from the gate, "You'll be riding the next ride." and put them back at the gate. She apologized to us again. We got some icy stares from the people at the gate.

I can't say enough about Pat. Pat was great. He/She made sure we didn't want for anything and treated us all like rock stars. Pat made sure we were the top priority in the park that day. Even the little things made it nicer than it had to be. I had a backpack with our cell phones and wallets and some other crap we needed in it. We didn't need a locker. Pat held on to it while we rode or if Pat was on the ride with us, the bag stayed with the ride op. I had to remind Pat to give me back my bag or Pat would have carried it for me all day. Pat has a great sense of humor. We had big laughs discussing the conspiracy theories on this site and some of the nobodys that think they are insiders that don't know anything. Pat said the biggest laugh was the Revolution thread and all the speculation and theories that it was being torn down or removed. I was told the part was in that day and that if it wasn't back up that evening, it'd be working the next day. It was running by 6:00 p.m. I think I made Pat laugh the hardest when I would point to anything from a lampost to a pile of wood and say in a Nerdlinger voice, "Dude, do you see that? That proves that a new ride is going up. They are going to tear down the Buccaner Battle and put a new ride there." or "Dude, I was on the Viper and I counted 143 clicks on the way up the hill and usually there are 142 clicks. They put in an extra click,to slow it down. That's the reason why they didn't have fireworks on the 4th of July."

Pat had to write a company check for anything that had to be purchased (food, drinks, Dare Devil Dive, Go Karts). That was their way of keeping track. I kept track too. Our total for the day--$564.54

In closing, this was the most fun I've ever had. The entire experience lived up to the hype. I would gladly pay the full $300 and go again next weekend if I could. In lieu of that, we are already planning for next year.

Ride Tally:

V2-3
Superman UF-3
TDK-1
Ragin Cajin-1
Batman-8
Iron Wolf-1
American Eagle-1
Dare Devil Dive-1
Raging Bull- 8
Giant Drop-1
Viper-8
Demon-2
Whizzer-1
King Chaos-1
Raging Rapids-1
East River Crawler-1
Go Karts-3

45 rides. Not bad for a Saturday.

[onyxhotel08]

Damn so it is $300 for two?

[Black Dynomite]

No, $300 per person, minimum of 4. We had 4 in our group. We paid $239 pp because I paid for the tickets with my AMEX card before Memorial Day.

[onyxhotel08]

Convince someone to spend $300 for one day when most hate paying the general day admission. Not easy. So they made about $1,200 on you guys? Not bad.

[david]

$300 for each person.

You know what? I just might save up my monies and take my girlfriend on these tour things! What 'shortcuts' did you take?

And when I heard what happened at Demon, I was almost to tears. That was so nice of you.

Thanks for the info on the VIP tours! Sounds fantastic.

[Black Dynomite]

Convince someone to spend $300 for one day when most hate paying the general day admission. Not easy. So they made about $1,200 on you guys? Not bad.

I see what you're trying to do. I'll clean up your math for you.

We paid $961.00 for the tickets.
The total for the food and services we received while on the tour was $564.54

If you subtract the $564.54 in food and services we received from the $961.00 that we paid for the tickets, you get $396.46. That's what the park made.


If you divide the $396.46 by the number of people in our party, which was 4, (and round up) you get $99.12 per person.

That's what the park made on each of us.

Edited by Mod

[Black Dynomite]

David, the only downside to going on the VIP tour is that it will ruin you. I can't possibly see how I can go back to that park, stand in lines and pay for food.

As far as the deaf kids on the Demon go, we just couldn't do it. It didn't seem right.

[david]

I am no longer able to wait in a 45 minute Bull wait because I went opening day where lines were not existant.

[monsterfan99]

Six Flags: Pissing off customers for an extra 400 bucks.

[Black Dynomite]

Six Flags: Pissing off customers for an extra 400 bucks.

I don't see it that way. I see it as...

Six Flags: Making 4 customers extremely happy for an extra 400 bucks.

I'm sure anyone that got pissed off is probably over it by now. If they're not, they have bigger problems. You know, they sell 1st class tickets on airplanes. I've never gotten pissed off because I had to sit in coach while the people that paid more for their ticket got better seats, better food, better service, and didn't have to wait to get on or off the plane when it reached the gate. I just think "That's good living."

[Ilovthevu']

It seems like a lot of rides, but it doesn't. You have walkon for every ride, and if Batman has a 1 minute loading 2 minute ride, and another minute loading - I time = 4 minutes * 8 = 32 minutes, and thus you should get about 15 rides in a hour if you were just doing one ride. 45 rides for a 10 am - 10 pm - 12 hour day is kind of not a lot, and to you guys it's like the park is walk-on city.

[Jackluver18]

Black Dynomite, yeah that was really nice what you did at Demon. I think I saw a VIP tour throughout the day, don't remember where but I did. It might have been you guys. Seems like you had a fun day.

[Black Dynomite]

It seems like a lot of rides, but it doesn't. You have walkon for every ride, and if Batman has a 1 minute loading 2 minute ride, and another minute loading - I time = 4 minutes * 8 = 32 minutes, and thus you should get about 15 rides in a hour if you were just doing one ride. 45 rides for a 10 am - 10 pm - 12 hour day is kind of not a lot, and to you guys it's like the park is walk-on city.

If all we did was ride one ride without eating, using the bathroom, walking to other attractions, playing games, walking up the exit ramps, riding in the parade, changing seats, getting something to drink, stopping uniformed military members to thank them and give exit passes and drink coupons to, watching shows, and enjoying the entire park on a level that a general ticket holder never sees....I'd agree with you that 45 rides on a Saturday in July wouldn't seem like alot.

We weren't on a marathon ride expediton. We didn't sprint around the park at top speed. We walked at a normal pace and had what I would rank one of the top 3 best times I've ever had in my 38 years.

[onyxhotel08]

Where was Pat when u had that problem on Viper?

[Black Dynomite]

Pat was standing up by the ride op with our stuff during that. The attendant was lucky Pat didn't come back to take care of it. We watched Pat chew some asses and "straighten some employees out" that needed it throughout the day.

[w00dland]

Here's a thread that proves money can buy you whatever you want. I'd like to say I'm jealous, but I guess I'm just one of those hilarious "seething" members in line with the rest of society. We can't all be the top 2%

[coasterkid94]

^ People can decide to spend their money in different ways. Some people might save up for a really nice vacation. Others might get the VIP treatment at Six Flags.

[Cryptkeeper]

We also rode the Go-Karts 3 times. That was the most fun for all of us as a group. They went through the speil of how you can't bump or drive erratically or else you would be ejected from the track without a refund. I managed to hit every Kart, fishtail around the track, and spin into a wall...without a word said. I noticed others getting yelled at for bumping, but not us. Might have been because Pat was on the track with us.

So being a VIP gives you the right to ignore the rules you were instructed to follow? Interesting.

I wouldn't be surprised if whoever was running the go-karts at the time, and perhaps even "Pat," gets a reminder and/or a scolding at regarding making sure that all park guests, including VIP's, follow all safety instructions. The reason I say I wouldn't be surprised if this gets back to the ride attendant and/or "Pat" is because, at least in the past, I know the park would read this site and would often look into and/or take action against employees who weren't doing exactly what they should have been doing (at least, according to whoever was posting on this site).

[Black Dynomite]

So being a VIP gives you the right to ignore the rules you were instructed to follow? Interesting.

I wouldn't be surprised if whoever was running the go-karts at the time, and perhaps even "Pat," gets a reminder and/or a scolding at regarding making sure that all park guests, including VIP's, follow all safety instructions. The reason I say I wouldn't be surprised if this gets back to the ride attendant and/or "Pat" is because, at least in the past, I know the park would read this site and would often look into and/or take action against employees who weren't doing exactly what they should have been doing (at least, according to whoever was posting on this site).

Good Gosh! You think they'd really get sore on account of our shennaigans?

I'm starting to think some of you have a real problem with the VIP Tour.

[Black Dynomite]

Here's a thread that proves money can buy you whatever you want. I'd like to say I'm jealous, but I guess I'm just one of those hilarious "seething" members in line with the rest of society. We can't all be the top 2%

It has nothing to do with being the "top 2%". It's about deciding you are going to go, then throwing a few extra bucks in an envelope marked "Six Flags VIP Trip" for about 3 months and working a couple of weekend shifts to speed up the saving process.

[BP317]

We were heading toward the back row of the Viper when the ride attendant told us that we would be on the next train. I said, "Excuse me?" She said "You're going on the next ride, these people are next" and proceeded to load from the gate. We hadn't been on the next anything all day. I turned to find Pat and said to the attendant, "You need to talk to Pat, were supposed to be in those seats."

You can't wait ONE TRAIN so the ride operator could save the seats for you?

So what your saying is you can't wait about 1 minute so the ride operators could save seats for you to get on the ride and too important to follow the rules on the gokarts which could be potentially very dangerous? Ive broken my nose go-karting before because some idiots were messing around.

[Black Dynomite]

You can't wait ONE TRAIN so the ride operator could save the seats for you?

No. We didn't pay to wait ONE TRAIN. On the VIP Tour, you don't wait for anything unless you choose to wait (which we did on the Demon so some deaf kids could get on). On the VIP Tour, there are no lines and no one is ahead of you. It's not a general admission ticket, its not a season pass or a Flash Pass. You are the top of the chain as far as the park is concerened in priority and service. That's what you pay for, that's how the park operates the tour and that is exactly what the park deliveres.

So what your saying is you can't wait about 1 minute so the ride operators could save seats for you to get on the ride and too important to follow the rules on the gokarts which could be potentially very dangerous? Ive broken my nose go-karting before because some idiots were messing around.

If I wanted to wait, I'd have gotten a general admission ticket. Been there, done that, many times over many years. As far as the gokarts, we all had seatbelts on and I'm a bad driver. It all balanced out and no one broke anything.

[FParker185]

Sounds like you had fun.

For the go karts rules are rules, and employees have been disciplined over info posted here and elsewhere before. Not really your problem though.

This is capitalism in it's truest form, this VIP program is basically what this country is founded on, people should keep that in mind. Those with the money have the power. And personally i'd jump in front of the deaf kids, but that's just me

Just wondering, was there a limit to how much you could spend? I would have kept spending til I made all my money back and then some, I can think of at least one $300 item stocked in certain gift shops.

[Black Dynomite]

We all had a great time.

To answer your question, there wasn't any limit on food, drinks or extra charge rides. All you had to do was ask. But, it didn't cover merchandise or games. That came out of your own pocket.

[Cole]

After your great trip report, im considering doing this for Magic Mountain.