TOPGUN1993 Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 My Dad and I drove to Jacksonville, New Jersey from Atlantic City on July 15. First after Hersheypark we headed straight east stopping nearby Six Flags Great Adventure to have lunch. We spoke to a friendly security officer in the SFGA'd parking lot and she suggested we go to this little off-the-road location that over-looks the pond to have lunch. After relaxing for a while along the shore we headed south to Atlantic City. We arrived at our hotel, "Caesars Palace", soon after. Our hotel was REALLY nice and absolutely huge, it felt like it's (and I'm sure it is) just like the ones in Vegas. We headed to the boardwalk directly next to the hotel and strolled it. We went out on the Caesars mall pier. I really like this photo of this seagull for some reason. Looking across you could see "Steel Pier", another pier along the shore. We would walk over there in a couple of days. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe, always a fun place to eat. Although its tough to eat a meal with a huge elephant right next to you. Finally it's Wednesday and we're ready to travel from Atlantic City to Six Flags. But why go to Six Flags when next door is TOPGUN paintball? Six Flags Great Adventure is more off the beaten path than I imagined it would of been. And "You's All" thought Cedar Fair was bad! First thing we see as we walk up to the admission stations was this sign... Although it's quite a bummer I wasn't at all surprised from what I've read. The entire Hydrolic machine that powers Kingda Ka has to be replaced. At this park if you bring in "ANY" empty Coke can you can get "Buy one admission get one free" on any weekday. So that came down to $25 each for myself and my dad. Not a bad deal at all. While waiting maintenance was checking their skyflyer ride. We got inside the park at about 11:30 and we decided to head to Nitro first. In order to get there you must first pass by the huge Ferris Wheel which we sadly we didn't have enough time to ride. Time for Nitro, I was anxious to see how it compare to Diamondback. With only a staircase wait we quickly took a seat in row #2. The 4 across seating is weird after riding Diamondback 75 times. I'm glad KI went with the "V" shaped seating. As for the ride itself, I was rather let down. The 2nd hill you turn left suddenly and you don't get the airtime feel on that hill and my dad and I both blacked out on the helix before the MCBR. But I must say the bunny drops on Nitro are great compare to Diamondback. That being said, Diamondback is better IMO. Nitro 9.5/10 I went to the nearby Batman the Ride next, but people were leaving the entry plaza saying it was over a hour. So I went to the neighboring Dark Knight indoor coaster. I really liked the Wild Mouse at Hershey and that is exactly what Dark Knight is with themeing. So I also liked this coaster. I waited only about 15min. The finally brake run makes you jump more than the actual ride! (If you have rode it you will understand) Dark Knight 7.5/10 Skull Mountain was next. Skull Mountain was a weird ride I must say. The queue is very nice yet very long. However the ride seems smaller than a wild mouse and awfully twisty. Something I noticed on this was when you slow down on the brakes strobes flash and you get a chance to look at the ride structure. But why the heck is a Giant pumpkin doing in the middle of the ride? and scary faces to the right of brake run? (You have only like 3 sec to look at these if you know where to look) Skull Mountain 6/10 After my two laps on Skull Mountain we ate lunch at "Grannys" a indoor chicken eatery. Black Beard's Mine train was near so we took a lap on it. This ride was much better than the beaverland ride that was at Geauga Lake. Blackbeard 6/10 A quick hello to marvin martian before getting line for the Log Flume. We ended up waiting 45min to ride. One of my favorite photos from the trip. The Log flume was better than expected. It was very long and had 3 good drops. The double dip out on the island was surprise, indeed. Really?! 8 people in a boat. At Kings Island the max. is 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOPGUN1993 Posted July 25, 2009 Author Share Posted July 25, 2009 Runaway mine train was next. It had only a station wait. Another cool photo imo. Mine Ride was also a surprise during my visit. I understand why people call it "Mini Magnum" with the airtime it has. Runaway Mine Train 7.5/10 Time for Bizarro! We waited upward of 1hour to ride Bizarro, the entire que line was full and they only had two trains operating. MJ video played in the que along with Six Flags commercials. They were fixing the sound speakers while we waited inline so out of know ware the sound would go off and on. In line I bought a $4 lemonade, but it tasted more like water than lemonade. As for the ride, it was excellent! I realllllly liked it. The fire effects are actually really neat and the ride just is fun to watch. Although I was bummed the onride audio wasn't on. But I only noticed it was off when we returned to the station after our ride. Bizarro 10/10 El Toro was NEXT, I've been really looking forward to this ride from claims its just as good as Voyage. One hour line, with less shade than Firehawk was uncomfortable. Although it did proof to be a great spot to get photos. You come over the TOP of this hill and pretty much ever other one at at least 35 mph. This ride deserves many photos of it, in this PTR. Alright, as for the ride.......... It's INSANE!! you get yanked out of your seat over the top of each drop so forcefully than any ride I've rode. A very cool thing happened when we returned after our first ride in the last car (6-2) The row infront of us had no one waiting in the airgate so we rerode, with a 1 hour line! I must say this ride is slightly better than Voyage. I could go on and on how great El Toro is. El Toro 11/10 Rode Rolling Thunder both sides and it was just a average ride. Nothing wow, but you have to remember 15min ago I rode El Toro. I must say it wasn't as bad as people say it is. (Buzz bars make rides cooler) Rolling Thunder 6.5/10 Kinda cool image from Rolling Thunder's station I think. Heading over to Great American Scream Machine I passed this pressed penny machine... OLD Thanks for reminding me Six Flags..... El Toro def. made up for Ka being closed, but it would of been neat to compare it to Dragster. Rode the Parachute ride next to GASM, this ride is very lame from todays standards but back in the day it was big. As soon as we got off the Parachute ride GASM we spot stuck on the main lift. At this time the only coasters that I wanted to ride and haven't were Superman, GASM, and Batman-The Ride. So I figured If I rode Superman by the time I got off GASM would be open. Got some cool photos from superman, I wasn't expecting much from this ride from all the poor reviews I've heard. And it wasn't "wow" like the 2 previous coaster I recently rode. Superman Ultimate Flight 7/10 I waited 45min for Superman and by the the time I got off GASM was still closed. I shot this video of the the train stopped at the MCBR and being released while inline. By now my dad only wanted to say 45min longer so we could be on the road before night. So we left the boardwalk area near GASM and went to Batman The Ride. On the way these cool stature lady posed. The line for batman was about 45min so it would be the last ride of the trip. I really liked it, mostly because of the zero G roll and corkscrew. But the que stairs are very annoying to be in. I liked Great Bear just a tad more. While on batman I noticed the kiddie coaster in the loonytoon area of the park vallyed.Batman The Ride 9/10 We headed for the exit but first stopped in a few gift shop on mainstreet and some of you know I "do" like amusement park merch. But even I wouldn't buy the crap Six Flags was selling. They had no variety of anything and all the shirts were rather ugly. I was mainly searching for enamel pins and postcards but couldn't find either. So I decided I would ask the cashier for a plastic bag so I could put some maps in it to carry out of the car. But lone to behold you have to "Buy" something inorder to get a bag. The cashier was being very rude about it. So I just carried my maps and we headed for our hotel. But lookie hear as we were in the parking lot Great American Scream Machine was open..... Ah well maybe next time, I'm just very thankful I had the chance to visit this park. Thanks for Reading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Great trip report and wonderful photos, Paul! Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Nitro is very much a back seat ride... Terpy, just sayin' (and glad he stayed up this late...I kind of thought this might appear tonight!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goofywdw Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Aw that must have really been a bummer when you saw the sign saying Ka was closed. I just rode TTD for the first time yesterday and was glad I got to compare the two tallest coasters in the world. Maybe next time. And I agree, El Toro is absolutely amazing. I'm still tying to figure out if El Toro or Maverick takes the spot for number one over all on my list. Great PTR. Thanks for posting. Now I just have to get my Cedar Point pictures up before I forget the whole trip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 No wonder parks are throwing pricing integrity to the wind. It's so hard to realize you encountered that kind of crowds on a weekday at Great Adventure. Putting the gate at half price seems to be working wonders for attendance there. I am glad you had a good time anyway....and must admit your pictures are making me home park sick (did I just say that?) And, oh...Paul...it's Jackson, New Jersey. Jacksonville is in Florida! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveStroem Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Great PTR you are getting me stoked for our trip next month. Hopefully KK will be back up & running by then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rcfreak339 Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Great pictures! I comepletley agree with you about the Six Flags merchindise. When I go to SF St.Louis or SFKK I always walk into a giftshop and wonder if Im more at a flea market with the generic stuff they sell. I got a Evil Kenivel shirt in St.Louis and that was the only coaster item I could find and I think they only had it because it was a fairly new ride...Seriously if SF wants more merchandise sells, start selling real stuff then that rainbow spotted Mr.Six shirts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
standbyme Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 VERY good trip report...I would love to see Marvin The Martian running around in KI! As for the parachute ride...yeah, i'm old enough to remember when those rides were considered exciting. (Back in the day when I was in line to ride it Helen Reddy cut in front of me...now you can go look up who Helen Reddy is!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCryptRaider Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Okay, WOW! I have been waiting on this for a while! I never knew you posted it in here! Thanks Paul, great pictures as always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Millennium Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 Sorry to bump this up a year late, but I'm going to either SFGAd or Hershey this summer, do you recommend staying in Atlantic City? Or if there was only one park to go to, which one? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOPGUN1993 Posted June 26, 2010 Author Share Posted June 26, 2010 http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18775&st=0&p=316753&fromsearch=1entry316753 ^There is my Hersheypark PTR I though Hershey was the better more rounded park it has basically everything, where as great adventure has awesome coasters but still felt like something was lacking. Hershey is my 2nd favorite park next to Busch Gardens. SFGA'd is only like 1hr away from Atlantic City, so yeah I'd recommend staying there the boardwalk is cool to walk on and tons of stuff to do there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 Remember, TopGun1993 visited a Ka-less Great Adventure. Unless you get there by the end of this month, you would be visiting one without a Great American Scream Machine, it appears. Superman is open again, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Millennium Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 Thanks. I thought Hershey too, the only thing is El Toro lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Today is the last day of public operation for Great American Scream Machine at Six Flags Great Adventure. At least one member of this site won an auction of last seats on the last ride... Terpy, who expects to see a trip report about a great adventure soon.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rcfreak339 Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 ^Terpy, your not heading out for a Adventure today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Nope...life gave me other priorities. I will miss Great American Scream Machine at Great Adventure. I have ridden it many, many times...Although I have known for quite some time this day was coming, it still is a bit hard to believe. Especially given how much Six Flags is changing under Al Weber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnrealNightmare Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 That's a bummer I'll be going next month on my big trip. Great PTR by the way. El Toro looks insane! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback96 Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 Nope...life gave me other priorities. I will miss Great American Scream Machine at Great Adventure. I have ridden it many, many times...Although I have known for quite some time this day was coming, it still is a bit hard to believe. Especially given how much Six Flags is changing under Al Weber. Just a question: how did GASM compare to Vortex in 5-1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HTCO Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 Great photos and TR Paul. Very nice! I love the photos of El Toro! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 Nope...life gave me other priorities. I will miss Great American Scream Machine at Great Adventure. I have ridden it many, many times...Although I have known for quite some time this day was coming, it still is a bit hard to believe. Especially given how much Six Flags is changing under Al Weber. Just a question: how did GASM compare to Vortex in 5-1? It's interesting. Those who have ridden Vortex more often find GASM very rough in any seat. Those who grew up on GASM or have ridden it more often find Vortex very rough in any seat. Though I found the rides very comparable, I think Vortex is smoother, and that includes in 5-1. Setting contributes a lot, and Vortex is in a very beautiful area....while GASM was in...a parking lot, complete with stripes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveStroem Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 We rode GASM a little over a week ago and it was much smoother then I remember it from last year. KICoasterGirl staid at home to work on the PTR. I doubt that she will make it through SFGAdv today though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 (Terpy waits with anticipation and glee... Did he mention he loves that place even more than Maple Grove...even if the latter does have more coasters <and yucky pizza>)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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