page_title: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
section_title: Rebranding to Discovery Kingdom
hierarchical_section_title: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom / History / Rebranding to Discovery Kingdom
caption_attribution_description: English: Parking lot of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
context_page_description: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is a 135-acre animal theme park located in Vallejo, California, off of Interstate 80 between San Francisco and Sacramento. The park includes a variety of roller coasters and other amusement rides. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has been part of the Six Flags chain of amusement parks since 1999.
context_section_description: On January 17, 2007, the park announced its new name: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. The new name reflects the image of an animal park, a thrill-ride park, and a marine park. The park was separated into different themed areas: Land (exotic land animals), Sea (marine mammals) and Sky (roller coasters). US$16 million was spent on modifications including new heavy duty titanium bars in the animal cages, new shows, and converting the 3D theater into a "4D" theater. The park also added a Thomas the Tank Engine-themed children's area called Thomas Town, which opened June 20, 2007.
  On June 5, 2007, Six Flags Parks confirmed media reports that Six Flags would exercise their option to buy the park.
  In 2008, the park closed the IWerks 3D Turbo Theater due to escalating repair costs on the out-of-date operating system and hardware. The park received its eighth roller coaster named Tony Hawk's Big Spin, which was located on the former Zonga concrete pad. The ride featured a unique layout compared to the three other coasters which share the name, including a base frame instead of permanent concrete footers and a higher top speed. Tony Hawk's Big Spin opened on May 23, 2008. That same year, the park completed its longest operating season offering "Holiday in the Park" through the first week of January.
  In 2009, Discovery Kingdom introduced the all-new Odin's Temple of the Tiger. The new tiger show features a diving white tiger named Odin. Discovery Kingdom also initially acquired two new Bengal tiger cubs, Nalin and Akasha.
  In late 2010, Six Flags Parks began the process of removing licensed themes from attractions. They terminated several licenses including those with Thomas the Tank Engine and Tony Hawk. Tony Hawk's Big Spin was renamed and re-themed to Big Spin, then Pandemonium. Big Spin was later removed and replaced with Superman: Ultimate Flight opening in 2012. Thomas Town was renamed and re-themed as Seaside Junction in time for the 2011 season. For the 2011 season, the park introduced the SkyScreamer. The swing ride is 150 feet (46 m) high and soars in a 98-foot (30 m) circle at speeds over 43 miles per hour (69 km/h). The ride opened on May 27, 2011.
  In 2012, the park added a steel Premier Rides roller coaster called Superman: Ultimate Flight. It is the tallest roller coaster inversion west of the Mississippi River, measuring 150 feet (46 m) in height. It includes "two upside down twists and two vertical rolls over a track length of 863 feet (263 m)". In some places, riders traverse speeds of 62 miles per hour (100 km/h).
  The park added Cirque Dreams for the 2013 season; the show was held seasonally in the Dolphin Theater area. This show combined acrobats and aerialists performing alongside or above dolphins.
  In 2014, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom held a press event for the new Tsunami Soaker water ride, during which the park announced a May 31, 2014 opening to the general public. On August 28, 2014, Discovery Kingdom announced the new Dare Devil Chaos Coaster flat ride for the 2015 season. It is a standard 22M Larson Superloop pendulum flat ride that rocks riders back and forth inside a 360 degree loop. It opened to the public on May 23, 2015. On July 16, 2015, the park announced that Roar would close on August 16, 2015.
  On September 3, 2015, the park announced their tenth major thrill coaster, The Joker, which is a hybrid transformation of Roar. The conversion was performed by Rocky Mountain Construction. The coaster features a 100-foot height, a 78-degree drop, and three inversions including the world's first step-up under flip inverted roll.
  In February 2016, the park opened Pacific Rim 5-D, an in-theater, special effects 3D movie, on a limited and trial-run basis. The experience is based on the Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' sci-fi movie Pacific Rim.  Guests watch part of the movie wearing 3D glasses while sitting in seats that move, shake and bounce in response to the action on the movie screen.
  In April 2017, Six Flags entered into an agreement with the owner of Waterworld California in nearby Concord, to
caption: Discovery Kingdom, seen from the parking lot
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