Six Flags New England
Who: All Ages
Time: All Day
Occasion: Any Given Sunday with a Season Pass, Special Occasion without it
Growing up in Houston…
Growing up in Houston, summer was not complete without a trip to Astroworld (R.I.P). It was a perfect theme park and the benchmark by which I measure all others. Astroworld had theming, great rides, and a well laid out design that made it easy to navigate and get to the other lands. It was a lovely and easy way to spend your day. Six Flags New England has all those things plus the atmosphere to match. You will not regret making the drive and, if you are brave enough, having the opportunity to ride on a five time Golden Ticket winning roller coaster.
Packing List
• Water Bottle
• Sunscreen
• Hat/Sunglasses
• Backpack
• Snacks
• Back-up Battery for Phone
• Cell Phone to download and access Six Flags App https://www.sixflags.com/mobile-app
• Debit/Credit Card (the park is cashless)
• Neck fan/cooling towel in the warmer months
Tickets
NEVER pay full price for theme park tickets. Even Disney puts tickets on sale, so check out the specials before purchasing. Either go to the Six Flags website or download the app to see which specials work for you. As of the typing of this report, there is a special for 2-day tickets for $50.
Prices will vary by day. If you have to go on a weekend, try to go on a Sunday as the crowds are lower and sometimes the prices of the add-ons are too. Either way, get them ahead of time because buying them at the gate will cost you time and money.
Better yet, see if you have a friend with a season pass who knows they will not use their extra bring a friend ticket. Hit them up! You never know and they may not even have to go with you to redeem it.
Another option to consider is a season pass. If you are going to go to a park at least twice, the pass pays for itself and usually has other incentives that make it worth the purchase. The are usually multiple plans available so you can find one that fits your budget.
Chaperone Policy
If you are hoping for the golden years of being able to drop off your teens at the park and let them have fun for the day, please know those days have passed. Thanks, bad apples and social media. Six Flags has implemented a chaperone policy that is universal for all their parks.
This explanation from Brenden Don via the Facebook group Great Adventure Connoisseurs, nails all you need to know. It is the same policy for all the parks so while this explanation says Great Adventure, it applies to SFNE too:
“The park is implementing a chaperone policy beginning Friday, September 12, 2025. Under this policy, all guests ages 17 years old or younger must be accompanied by a chaperone who is at least 21 years old to be admitted to or remain in the park. The policy will be in effect daily by 4:00 p.m. local time – Six Flags Great Adventure Resort reserves the right to begin enforcing the Chaperone Policy earlier on any given day. The chaperone must present a valid government-issued photo identification with date of birth at the Security Entrance. One (1) chaperone may accompany no more than ten (10) guests ages 17 or younger per day. In addition, the chaperone must remain with their party during their visit, and be available by phone throughout their stay. Guests 18 years of age or older may be asked to present a valid government issued photo identification (Driver’s license, State Issued ID Card, Passport) with date of birth at entry to verify their age. If unable to verify proof of age, guests may be denied entry into the park. Chaperones must present a valid government-issued photo ID with date of birth. Digital / Pictures of IDs are not accepted. Guests aged 17 years old or younger who are found inside the park unaccompanied by a chaperone when the Chaperone Policy is in effect will be subject to ejection. This chaperone requirement applies to all Six Flags ticket and season passholders.”
https://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/code-of-conduct
Getting There
We drove but that is not your only option. There are buses and trains available. By car from our part of NYC, it was only about 2 ½ hours and the drive was very easy. The only note about it is that there were not a lot of restaurants until we got to New Haven. Dunkin and Subway were it until then.
If you don’t want to drive, there is a bus/train combo that does not look bad. It is about the same amount of time as driving. While it is less expensive than renting a car, you are of course limited by their schedules. You can always pool your resources if traveling with a group and that may make the cost of a car rental less than the bus and train. The link below will help you figure out which path is best for you.
https://www.rome2rio.com/map/New-York/Six-Flags-New-England?route=Bus&accom_comparison=true
Parking
SFNE is in the middle of nowhere. You are driving down a back country road and all of a sudden, BAM, there is a theme park. From the path that we took, the first parking lot we encountered was the preferred parking lot for Hurricane Harbor. It had a huge sign, but It was not well marked as being for the waterpark. So, skip that lot and look for the entrance on the opposite side of the road closer to the bridge. The signage is not the typical large entrance signs that you find at other Six Flags and you might miss it if you are looking at the wrong side of the road. Spoiler alert, we did this exact thing.
Once you enter the lot, the process is easy to get into the park. Of course, there are trams that take you from the lot to the entrance, but the trolley stop is actually so close to the park that you can easily walk. The only gripe I have about the parking, and our whole experience at SFNE for that matter, is that there were not parking lot attendants. They probably aren’t needed, but because the first sign we saw said the preferred lot was full, and because there were no signs directing people to the preferred lot in the main lot, we didn’t see it until we were at the tram stop. Even with that, the walk to the tram was not bad and the trams ran so frequently that we only waited about 5 minutes to get on one.
The one thing I saw that is very note worthy for parking is that the local businesses across the street from the park will use their lots for SFNE parking. So, if you do not have a pass and do not want to pay $25 to park in the lot you can, for about $8-$10 dollars, save some money and park in those places. Thank you, local businesses!!
The Experience
If Disney World is the GOAT and HersheyPark is our winner outside of that, SFNE is definitely in the top three. From the moment we walked in, the park felt different from other Six Flags we have visited. It felt cozy like it was giving us a warm hug. We saw people of all ages, and it was not dominated by teenagers running amuck and wreaking havoc. The park is more family friendly so if you are a thrill seeker, you may be best at Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGA), but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have thrill rides. It simply is a more balanced park.
The ride selection is really good. If you are a roller coaster enthusiast, Superman: the Ride alone makes SFNE worth a visit. The is a reason it won the Golden Ticket five times. It has beautiful airtime and is a hands-up ride for sure. Their newest coaster, Quantum Accelerator, would be a great coaster for people who are looking to step up their coaster experience from moderate coasters. While I normally love the inverted roller coasters, Riddler’s Revenge was a little rough and I will pass on it next time. Sadly, time constraints kept us from getting on their RMC, Wicked Cyclone, and their B&M coaster, Batman the Dark Knight, which looked really solid.
Other standouts include Houdini’s Great Escape, like the one at SFGA, which is an optical illusion ride that Jose liked so much we went on it twice. Sadly, it is tucked away in a corner so I do not think it gets the love it deserves. Also, identical to Harley Quinn’s Wild Train at SFGA, there is Catwoman’s Whip which is a great step-up coaster from the starter ones. Jose’s favorite ride was Supergirl Sky Flyer which is an Enterprise style ride that spins and takes you up in the air. They have a good selection of rides for the littles. While we didn’t go on any of them, I really did want to check out the Dinosaur Safari as it looks really cute.
Getting Around the Park
The park is laid out in a linear fashion which I think helps make everything easier to find. I feel like this design also keeps one from having to zigzag back and forth across the park to find the rides. The signage is clear and kept us from having to guess which way to go. They even have a blue line for you to follow to access Hurricane Harbor from inside the park. The only time I needed the map was to find the Houdini ride, because like I said, it is tucked off in a corner making it look more like a First Aid or Child Care Center.
Food
SFNE offers a few places that do not serve the typical theme park food, such as Macho Nacho which has a Chipotle style setup and Yamas which offers Greek food. We only had time for one meal, which was at Nacho Macho, and it was good. When we go back, and we will definitely be going back, we will try Yamas and update the review. One thing I did appreciate with our meal is that with the current Cyclospora outbreak they did not even let us have a choice of lettuce which would normally be an option.
I did feel the food was a touch pricey but that may have been because neither of us realized that the jalapenos were an add on charge and we were incorrectly charged for a drink. Even taking away those items from our bill though, the food was close to $18/meal with the discount. I am sure there are other options for less. Also, they didn’t seem to be bothered by people bringing in snacks so that could help offset the food cost as well. Use the link below to see the full line up of restaurants.
https://www.sixflags.com/newengland/dining?page=4
Alcohol is available at the parks if interested.
ADA Information and Ride Safety
Like all Six Flags parks, you can apply for an ADA pass to reduce line times. I encourage you to do this because the park can also then provide you with information regarding which rides are safe for you to ride. Please do not risk your safety for a few minutes of adrenaline; not worth your health. Ride safety is designed with averages in mind so if you do not fall into those categories you run the risk of being injured or worse. Even we will opt out of rides to err on the side of caution due to our heights. Jose is too tall for some, like Superman, and I am uncomfortably close to the minimum height for Barrels of Fun at SFGA
https://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/accessibility
Smoking
Smoking is not allowed inside the parks, but there are designated smoking areas right outside the gates. Since the park is so easy to navigate it is not much of a lift to get to the front of the park. However, I would encourage smokers to bring nicotine patches, gum or mints. If you are not a fan of those, there are also nicotine pouches.
Souvenirs
For the most part, since Six Flags theme parks are everywhere, I do not feel the need to buy souvenirs gasp. However, this park had a couple of stores that made me question whether or not I should get something. They have a dedicated DC/Looney Tunes store that had a nice variety of items including capes which I love. The other store is a dedicated year round Fright Fest store that had some really cool items. I spoke to the cashier about Fright Fest and she says there is a good turn out and we should come back for it. I have never felt the need to go to Fright Fest but for this park, I will.
