Six Flags Discovery Kingdom: Is it Worth It?

When my husband suggested we take advantage of free passes to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, I thought it might be a bit wasted on our kids who were then barely three and not yet six years old.  Also? I had a broken foot and was wearing a walking boot, which is not the best footwear for an amusement park. Regardless, I was pleasantly surprised by our great experience there.

2025 Six Flags Pricing
Ticket prices are dynamic, which means they are wildly different throughout the week based on popularity. Mid-week tickets are about $30, while weekend tickets are $50. Season passes are almost the same price, so your results will vary.

Part zoo, part theme park, Discovery Kingdom offers plenty of attractions that suit my young kids. A number of rides were just their speed, as were some other physical amusements like a splash pad for hot days and an enclosed multi-level climbing structure with balls that move around. (This terrified my daughter, but my son enjoyed it.)

The characters, which also — surprise — terrified my daughter,  are all from the Warner Brothers family, which my kids weren’t really familiar with. If you are planning to go, you might want to watch a few Looney Tunes on YouTube in order to reap the benefit of seeing the larger-than-life versions at Six Flags.

Season Passes
A season pass currently goes for $85 per person, which is good for unlimited admission to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. You will still pay parking fees at each visit. The next level up, at $100 earns you admission to both Discovery Kingdom and the Concord waterpark, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, and includes free parking.

Penguins entertained my kids for quite a while from their tanks, and at one point, the staff member allowed my son to help her scrub the tank. Every 20 or 30 minutes, an aquatic show begins with dolphins or killer whales.  If you have to pick just one, I vote for the dolphins. The shows are a nice opportunity to take a break from the heat with a snack.

About those snacks: the food at Six Flags gets an abysmal rating from my family. You cannot bring food into the park, so one option is to suck it up with the crap they serve, and the other is to eat a lot in the car on the way there and enjoy pretzels and ice cream once in the park. I read a tip online that mentioned great corn on the cob, but I didn’t find it. In the parking lot, I observed that some in-the-know families were prepared with a tailgate-style lunch. I imagine they hit the park when it opened, returned to the parking lot for lunch, and then re-entered the park afterward.

Land animals abound as well. We liked all the big cats, impressive mama tigers, and playful babies.

Are my kids too young for Six Flags?
There are thrill rides, for sure, but for children 36″ and up, you’ll find age-appropriate family rides, things to climb on, places to splash, and plenty to look at.

Six Flags Season
As of June, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is features a fuller schedule of weekday access. After August 8, the schedule returns to weekend-only hours. Park hours vary from 11 am to 6, 7, 8, or 9 pm. Tickets from the Six Flags website are cheaper than tickets at the gate.