Firefighters help re-open Discovery Kingdom
April Fool’s Day coaster rides were ‘awesome’
Season pass and members pass holders may reserve tickets for Friday. The park opens Saturday and Sunday, is closed Monday, and re-opens for the rest of spring break and weekends until its seven-daysa-week summer schedule.
It was all the adrenaline of dousing a fire but a lot more fun and less chance of getting injured.
Four Vallejo firefighters — Brett Bullock, Kevin Reustle, Stephen Kay, and Brett Anderson — helped knock the rust off “The Joker” rollercoaster Thursday to help re-boot Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.
The firefighters, a nurse, and an Oakland police officer were honored guests, taking in the rides an hour before guests entered Vallejo’s No. 1 tourist attraction by reservation only.
“We wanted to recognize those first responders and front-line health care workers that helped get us to this day by doing the great work they do in the community. We wanted them to be the first riders,” said Marc Merino, the park’s communications manager.
The firefighters were grateful to get the invitation on Monday.
“I hadn’t been to an amusement park for a long time. It was awesome,” said Kay after he and his colleagues experienced the 2-minute, 15-second “Joker” ride twice.
Laughing that he’s “not as young as I used to be,” the 28-year-old Kay said he would have been good “for another 10” shots at the coaster.
“That’s probably as much as my stomach would handle,” Kay smiled.
Bullock, a life-long Vallejoan with family roots here since the early 1900s, said it’s been about 10 years since he set foot at Six Flags.
“I used to come here as a kid with a season pass. I definitely have some pretty good memories here,” he said. “It’s obviously changed in the last 20 years, especially the 10 since I’ve been here.”
Having Six Flags reopened “is huge; it’s exciting,” Bullock continued. “Driving by this for so long seeing it empty and desolate was kind of sad.”
Reustle grew up down the street from the park “and we would walk here when we were kids. It was awesome,” he said. “I remember going to see the animals. That was always fun. And the whale show.”
Bringing his toddler daughter and his wife to Wednesday’s opening, Reustle said he’s always loved the roller coasters, especially “Medusa.”
“Is it still called Medusa? I know they’re changing a bunch of stuff,” he said. “This was always a blast.”
Reustle said the firefighters “jumped at the opportunity” to help re-launch the park after the state set April 1 as the re-opening date during COVID-19.
“I think most firefighters are just kids at heart,” he said. “We’re adrenaline junkies. We can’t help it.”
Kay has one less-thanfond memory of Six Flags: He was called to fight an apparent electrical fire in a changing room.
“I turned the lights on … sometimes it’s hard to see from the smoke and I got real close and saw this big silhouette that scared the heck out of me,” he said. “It was Sylvester the Cat’s head hanging on the wall.”
Anderson said that once he heard the group was invited to the park’s re-opening, “I looked forward to it,” practically drooling at the chance to ride roller coasters.
“It’s exciting. The thrill of just putting your hands up and letting whatever happens happen,” Anderson said.
Lee “Capt. Lee” Munro, the park’s ambassador for nearly 27 years, said that offering the Marine World Experience with a focus on the animals during the pandemic was fine, but bringing the rides back since the first pandemic lockdown a year ago “is something we’re excited about.”
With “lots of protocols” in place, the park’s allowed 15 percent of its capacity, Munro said, with all visitors walking through the front entry’s “temperature tunnel.”
Getting the rides back in gear “is good for us, good for the city, and just exciting all-around,” Munro said. “And as far as the rides go, we need the same amount of employees” as pre-COVID-19.
“It’ll be like old times, just with less people,” Munro said. “On a positive not, less lines for rides, less lines for shows.”
Season pass and members pass holders may reserve tickets for Friday. The park opens Saturday and Sunday, is closed Monday, and re-opens for the rest of spring break and weekends until its seven-days-a-week summer schedule.
As part of COVID-19 protocols, the park’s become cashless, with “ready station: convert cash to cards” machines around the property.
For more, visit sixflags. com/discoverykingdom