Discover the Thrills and Spills of Six Flags New England...

Six Flags New England is a must-visit thrills and spills amusement park. And in this article you’ll get all the information you need to have a memorable day at New England’s largest theme park.

And here are some of the activities waiting for you at the park…

Ride the high ranking Steel Coaster by Amusement Today magazine – Bizarro!

Also back is the Goliath Ride!

If you enjoy hanging upside down and vertical drops and making noise for most of a ride then wait – because you’ll get to do it all twice in this ride.

New for 2013 is Bonzai Pipelines in Hurricane Harbor. Freefall through a 257-foot enclosed water slide and splash into six inches of water! Featuring six fast and intense drop hatch looping body slides.

Six Flags New England is located near Springfield, in western Massachusetts.

Whether you’re seeking gentle rides for young children, or scare-your-pants-off rushes like Batman – The Dark Night – or Mind Eraser…

Six Flags has it all.

The park is really two parks in one – Six Flags Amusement Park, and Hurricane Harbor Water Park.

The park is seasonal and has limited hours of operation for weekends during early spring starting April school vacation week and fall.

In summer Six Flags New England is in full swing and open every day from 10:30am until 9:00pm during the week and open until 10:00pm at weekends. Hurricane Harbor Water Park opens at 11:00am and closes at 6:30pm during the week and open until 7:00pm at weekends.

I’ll concentrate on the summer months for information as most people visit during those months and their vacation.

The complex has an enormous parking facility a short walk across the road from the main park – you’ll pay $20 to park – $25.00 for preferred. Ticket rates for season are: $61.99 per adult, and $51.99 for kids under 54”. Rates are lower if you purchase in advance online at their website.

Consider a season ticket for $61.99 if you’re likely to visit for more than two days in a season. Prices are online only.

Many of the rides have height restrictions. Some are minimum of 48”, and others require 54”. Be sure to check out height restrictions before you head over and get your child excited about a ride only to find out they can’t ride it.

Let’s talk about lines a bit, as with theme parks this is a real issue on getting value for money.

Obviously, lines tend to be longer on most rides at weekends. Six Flags New England has an optional Flash Pass feature for which you pay an additional fee on your entrance ticket for the first pass and then an additional charge for extra tickets. These can be purchased online or at the entrance gate.

You’ll be given a device and sent an alert when it’s your turn for the rides you chose, and then you just go to the ride and away you go with no waiting.

If you can avoid the weekend then you’ll get to do most rides in a reasonable amount of time – except for the most popular – without paying the extra ticket fee for Flash Pass…

Now a word about the weather so you don’t get a nasty surprise…

New England during the summer, and like most of the east coast, has very humid weather. This results in storms that can force the closure of the water park and many rides for safety reasons.

Tickets are not refundable for inclement weather. Yeah, you can complain and moan but there’s huge signs before you buy the tickets about it – although if you’ve traveled many miles what you gonna do?

And one final gotcha…

You can’t take food or coolers into the park. So when you price the day out include the purchase of food and drink, which like most of these parks is expensive – well, the fact is you’re a captured audience!
Now here’s some more details about the two parks. Let’s start with the main amusement park…

The amusement park has a main street thoroughfare layout with many attractions, food, shops, and areas to relax and catch your breath.

The north end of the park includes one of my favorites, and the always popular Blizzard River White-Water Rapids Run – you will get wet!

At this end of Six Flags you’ll also find rides for the younger kids at Looney Tunes Movie Town.

In the north end is Catapult, Cyclone, and Flashback. This is adrenaline-filled rides with the Catapult being height minimum of 50” and Cyclone 54″ and Flashback 48″.

After these beasts you’ll be ready to get your legs back, so stroll back along Main Street Plaza and towards the south end, where there’s a mixture of fast adult and kiddies rides. Be sure to stop at the gazebo to meet and greet the stars of Six Flags New England and maybe get an autograph or two.

Check out the popular Splash Water Falls, where you’ll get splashy thrills with drops, twists and turns. The height minimum on this ride is 48″.

Throughout the day shows are put on at the MovieTown Stage.

At the south end of the park you’ll find the entrance to Hurricane Harbor.

Prepare to get wet! Hey, that’s why you came anyway, right?

Hurricane Harbor opens Memorial Day weekend, and then each weekend until school vacation starts – around mid-June when it’s open daily, until Labor Day when it goes back to weekends only.

Hurricane Harbor lies at the south end of the park. It’s my favorite water park in all of New England.

Six Flags New England has invested a lot of money in the water park and it tells. Well maintained and clean it’s a pleasure to spend a day in it. And you could easily spend the whole day in this park.

The water park has a distinct Caribbean feel, with real tropical trees and plants surrounding the pools to add to the illusion you’re staying in the tropics.

The trees and plants wouldn’t survive a normal New England winter, and so they are dug up each year and kept in a climate controlled location, and then replanted… impressive!

My favorites in the water park are the wave pool – Commotion Ocean, and the fast body slide Cannonball falls. And if you want a great family ride with tubes, then try out Geronimo Falls and Zooma Falls. And of course the new thrill as mentioned earlier is Bonzai Pipelines.

But there’s so much more waiting for you to keep you wet and slippery all day long.

Six Flags of New England is in western Massachusetts in Agawam, just outside Springfield, Massachusetts.

From Boston take the Mass Pike toll road – Route 90 – take exit 6 in Springfield. Take I-291 West 4.2 mi., merging right onto I-91 South to Exit 3 (Agawam). Cross bridge and take first exit. Follow rotary to Rte. 57 West then to Rte. 159 South (Main St.) Continue south 2.9 mi. to Six Flags New England.

From West take Mass Pike-East to Exit 4. Take Rte. 5 South 5.8 mi. to Rte. 57 West (Agawam/Southwick) onto Rte. 159 South (Main St.). continue south 2.9 mi.

Springfield is the closest large city to Six Flags and also home to the Basketball Hall of Fame. There is plenty of lodging to suit all budgets in the area.

To discover where to stay deals, and compare rates and amenities with a trusted and professional travel organization then check out Springfield lodging and accommodations.