Reader Aaron says that his trip to Six Flags was ruined by their new policy of making riders check even very small bags before each ride — at the cost of $1 a ride.

We got into the park (after the security guy searched our bag and made us throw away our dangerous bottle of water) and made a bee-line for the Dark Knight coaster.
The line was short, about 25 minutes, but there was a catch – a security person at the entrance was turning people away if they had any kind of bag, be it a small purse or a big backpack.
There were lockers right at the entrance for a $1 each. You had to stow your bag to ride the ride.

We saw this a while ago when Kingda Ka opened, though it was $2 then, but that was the only coaster with this requirement.
Not knowing what to expect from Dark Knight, we ponied up the buck and got in line.

The ride was a major disappointment. More like a carny ride at Coney Park than what we’ve come to expect from Great Adventure. Without exaggeration, this is the worst ride in the park. The tea-cups are more fun than the Dark Knight.

And the real kicker, the seats on the ride were big and open, and we could have easily and safely taken my GF’s purse with us. We were a little annoyed that they got us for another buck, but kind of just went with it.
We retrieved our bag and went on our way. (The lockers have a 2 hour time limit, btw, after which the contents will be “discarded.”)

We went to get on Batman: The Ride across the way, and were blocked because they had the same lockers.
That’s when we realized that all the major coasters in the park now require you to stow your bag, and charge you a buck a ride for the privilege.
We opted instead to walk back to the car and just ditch the bag in the trunk. Leaving behind the Dramamine, our hats, extra sunblock and her eyeglasses. Stuff we’d like to have with us, but weren’t critical.

We thought it was pretty lousy that rides we’ve been going on for years and taking the bag on, or stowing it in a cubby-hole on the platform, now suddenly charged a buck each. As if the park isn’t already nickel and diming you to death, this was the last straw.

We decided next year to go to Hershey Park instead.

What do you think of this policy?

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