Six Flags Great Adventure PTR

[KI Kevin]

After leaving our hotel early in the morning, we arrived to the parking lot around 10 AM.

The entrance sign to the Great Adventure Complex. It's more than just a theme park. They've also got a separate gate water park and a safari attraction.

My first close-up glimpse of Kingda Ka from the parking lot. This coaster completely TOWERS over any other coaster at the park. The height is incredible.

Why is this picture so blurry? Anyway, that's Superman Ultimate Flight, a B&M flying coaster. Unfortunately, it was down all day so I didn't get to ride it. BUT, I had ridden its previous clone at Over Georgia, so the only thing I was really missing out on was the credit.

To you SFKK Season Passholders? The Season Passholder Letter stated that if you chose to keep your pass you would recieve 4 free tickets for friends. Well I did, but I never got the tickets by email or mail. So before my SFMM visit we worked it out with their Guest Relations and got four free tickets there, but they were only valid at SFMM. So we had to go to Guest Relations at Great Adventure and get the two remaining tickets exchanged.

I entered the park with my SFKK Season Pass. The entrance is very deep into the park. Before 10:30 while my friend and dad were waiting for Guest Relations, I walked around the entry plaza to the park.

I LOVED the entry plaza. It's bright and colorful filled with several shops.

Anyway, when they finally entered the park, we went over to the Character Cafe (thinking back now, I really shoulda taken a picture of it: it's a giant building that looks like huge ice cream scoops) to wait for Security to walk us over to the rides. We were headed to one place: El Toro.

I loved the Boardwalk area. It's sort of like Coney Mall as far as the games go, but it's much more bright, colorful, and upbeat, some things that Coney Mall is missing.

Some queuey goodness.

On my first ride, I sat in the back. Let me tell you, this ride is all AIRTIME AIRTIME AIRTIME, beginning to end. It's got the most airtime ever. Yeah, I know Voyage technically has the record, but it has the most (quantity) airtime. Toro has the best (quality) airtime. Man, that 76 degree drop is really incredible. Probably my favorite drop on any coaster, because it seems a lot steeper than it really is. 76 degrees is just incredible for a wooden coaster. Unfortunately the ops staple you, but that didn't bother me one bit. The banked spaghetti bowl areas were really awesome too. I still liked Voyage more though. It was longer and had much more to it. But wow, El Toro is incredible.

Can you say, "HOLY AIRTIME!" ?

Hold on to the grab bar at all times? Are you kidding me?! They obviously didn't enforce that rule or I woulda been kicked out of the park after my first ride!

Sigh....this makes me sad....at least one of the trains is still the original brown.

Later on in the day I rode Toro again. Twice. Front seat. After that, everything I knew about coasters was SHATTERED. You think Maverick has intense airtime? Um, every single hill on Toro has more than Maverick's. And that one hill that goes over Rolling Dum....errr Rolling Thunder has the most insane airtime probably ever on a coaster. Period. In fact it's my favorite element/ moment on any coaster. It's THAT amazing. After my first ride up front, I decided that Voyage is a fantastic coaster, but it can't deliver the crazy intense airtime Toro can. El Toro is now my favorite wooden coaster, and my favorite overall coaster. If I had to choose, I would move to Jackson, NJ now. You really have no idea how amazing the airtime is til you try it. El Toro FTW!

After that we just went on and got all the credits.

That's a huge sign, huh?

Cool theming.

Bizarro was a great floorless coaster. It's a mirrored clone of Scream! at SFMM, so I'd already basically ridden it. However, this actually had great theming and was smoother. Like I said in the Dorney PTR, the Zero-G roll is probably my favorite inversion. Also, the mist felt great on the hot day it was. Unfortunately the on-board audio wasn't working like it was on X2 or Terminator, but the ride was just great without it. Bizarro is my favorite floorless coaster.

The fortress building which holds the Sky Ride station as well as the Mine Ride station.

We also rode the Houdini's Great Escape ride which was pretty awesome....can't really say anything about it as it's hard to describe so you gotta get out there and ride it!

Runaway Mine Train was a basic Arrow mine train and IMO probably the worst I've been on besides the one at Over Georgia (God that one was awful...). Not horribly painful, just very boring.

Skull Mountain was a very fun indoor family coaster. It's well themed (as you can probably see) and for a family coaster, it's pretty intense. Inside the ride room, there's a giant Jack-O-Lantern...pretty random.

Blackbeard's Lost Treasure Train, a fairly large steel kiddie coaster.

Have you ever seen a train that long? 20 cars? Giant! Anyway, it was good for a kiddie coaster however like all kiddie coasters these days it had rough transitions.

The Dark Knight Coaster, our second (and my favorite) wild mouse coaster of our trip. It's extremely well themed. Not quite as much as Terminator, but still very good. We couldn't really hear the preshow due to people talking, but it was pretty interesting from what I heard. The on ride effects were great too. There's a surprise at the end of the ride. I shouldn't tell you though, you'll have to find out yourself.

Why would you put a bench in front of the ride sign? Anyway, the ride was just a basic Batman clone. It was my third and IMO the Batmans are my least favorite invert. Fun but too short.

I really like the sign but I hated all of the Snickers ads on the sign and in the queue. The line was the longest we waited for the whole trip, and hour.

Station sign.

Well everyone will now be wanting a Diamondback comparison, so I'll give it to you:

Drop: Same

Smoothness: Diamondback

Layout: Diamondback

Airtime: Diamondback's first few were better, but Nitro's last few were better. Overall, Diamondback for airtime

Positive-Gs: Nitro! The helix is epic!

Overall I like Diamondback more. Nitro's crew was very slow that day. They were running 3 trains and stacking like crazy. If we had the same line with Diamondback's average capacity I swear it would've been about 30 minutes. The train 2 trains after me was the millionth train ever, I think. Some sort of million landmark.

Kingda Ka! The tallest and fastest coaster on Earth!

We are HIGHHHH up!

There's no drag racing Christmas tree on Ka, so all you have to anticipate your launch is moving back a bit and the air compression noise.

Kingda Ka has a quadruple station, like Dragster and Firehawk combined. The station is pretty detailed and neat looking.

Kingda Ka was a great ride. I'll compare it to Dragster. The launch is more intense than Dragster's. However, the ride is quite rough and shaky. In fact, it gave my dad a headache. However, that hill pictured above actually does give some really good airtime. But my dad said it perfectly. There's something about the buildup of Dragster that makes it better: the train design, the engine revving before the launch, the Christmas tree, the grandstand, the facts in the queue, the station blasting "Ready to Go" by Republica (though Ka does play techno throughout the queue, however "Ready to Go" is a much better fit), the fact that it's visible from anywhere in the park, the fact that it's in the middle of the park. All there is on Ka is the ride. I gotta give credit to CP on this one, riding Ka really made me appreciate Dragster's theming and buildup more. I liked Dragster more.

A tiny kiddie coaster. It doesn't hurt too bad until the turnaround right before the station....OUCH!

The only coaster I didn't take any pictures of was Rolling Thunder....guess I forgot. Well this coaster wasn't really fun...at all. I'd take Colossus at SFMM and Great American Scream Machine at SFOG way before Rolling Dumpster. The first turnaround is just plain painful. Other than that it's just boring. IMO the best part of Rolling Dumpster is looking at El Toro.

I doubt anyone could walk past that view without taking a picture.

Overall park stuff:

The park had a very nice atmosphere and was bright and colorful.

Employees were nice.

I hate Six Flags having so many ads.

The park has several fun family coasters.

Not my favorite Six Flags park but definitely #2!

The park's layout is AWFUL so be prepared to walk far distances.

Well that's all folks (in true Six Flags fashion)!

Hope you enjoyed! Hershey may be up tonight or tomorrow at the lastest.

[Guest Millennium]

Great PTR! I found Nitro to much smoother than DB going up the hills, but I think DB has a better first drop. The helix on that is crazy though.

The most airtime I've gotten on a coaster is Phoenix, even more than Toro. Obviously ET is a better coaster, but Phoenix is crazy.

Voyage>ET for me though, I still think I got more airtime on Voyage, and the layout and trip back on Voyage beats El Toro's layout.

[coaster_junky]

did they add another train to kingda ka?

for some reason i think i remember it opening with only three trains; a green, an orange, and a blue.

[KI Kevin]

did they add another train to kingda ka?

for some reason i think i remember it opening with only three trains; a green, an orange, and a blue.

There were only 3 trains running when I was there, but at least one was on the storage track. BTW, they've also painted Ka trains with Karate Kid decals....sigh.

[DropZone99]

Great PTR, I was supposed to go to SFGAdv this summer but since I only have 2 weeks until school starts back up, were probably going to go in September! I've seen countless POVs of El Toro, and on everyone there is a little bit of screams throughout the ride but than once the hill over Rolling Thunder comes, you hear the most loud screams and cuss words ever! It must be amazing!

[catzdrummer09]

Six Flags and their advertising... It kills me.

Anyway, the park looks great! I've been talking about going out there for a while now... Maybe I'll actually pony up the money and make the trip!

Edit: And I LOVE the "Kingda Freakin' Ka" Shirt in the window... I kinda want it and I've never even been there.

[KI Kevin]

Six Flags and their advertising... It kills me.

Anyway, the park looks great! I've been talking about going out there for a while now... Maybe I'll actually pony up the money and make the trip!

Edit: And I LOVE the "Kingda Freakin' Ka" Shirt in the window... I kinda want it and I've never even been there.

Do it! I guarantee you'll love it!

PS I got a shirt that says El Freakin' Toro

[KI Kevin]

Great PTR, I was supposed to go to SFGAdv this summer but since I only have 2 weeks until school starts back up, were probably going to go in September! I've seen countless POVs of El Toro, and on everyone there is a little bit of screams throughout the ride but than once the hill over Rolling Thunder comes, you hear the most loud screams and cuss words ever! It must be amazing!

I swear that hill must be at least -1 G.

[TylerRider]

Top Thrill Dragster is wayy more popular here than Kingda Ka. Nobody I talk to has ever heard of KK. They always say TTD is the tallest and Fastest.

But I love the Kingda Freakin Ka shirts!

[The Interpreter]

(And not a word about your experience(s) on [as opposed to above] Rolling Thunder!)

(Terp, one of Rolling Thunder's three biggest living fans!)

[pkiboy]

One thing about CF and Six Flags is they dont have a Good selcetion of Shirts. I will Admit I am Very Picky when it comes to Shoping for Coaster shirts. But there is one park that has the Best Selction of Shirts and that is Knoebles.

[KI Kevin]

(And not a word about your experience(s) on [as opposed to above] Rolling Thunder!)

(Terp, one of Rolling Thunder's three biggest living fans!)

Oops! I completely forgot about Rolling Thunder! I'll edit it in there!

[KI Kevin]

One thing about CF and Six Flags is they dont have a Good selcetion of Shirts. I will Admit I am Very Picky when it comes to Shoping for Coaster shirts. But there is one park that has the Best Selction of Shirts and that is Knoebles.

"CF doesn't have good shirts"?! Have you looked in the DB Trading Post? That place must have about 25 different shirts for Diamondback alone! Also SFGAdv had some very good coaster shirts and a large variety. However SFMM, SFOG, and SFKK did not.

[The Interpreter]

Ah yes, I guess the official membership in the Rolling Thunder Fan Club and Appreciation Society remains at three...

Rich, Sue and Me!

Terp...who loves that thang...

[KI Kevin]

Like I said, the best thing about it is looking at El Toro's beauty....lol

[The Interpreter]

You must admit it is truly odd to hear Maverick's theme music in Rolling Thunder's station!

[KI Kevin]

That's Maverick's theme song?

[The Interpreter]

It's one of several Western songs that play in Maverick's queue line...

Rolling Thunder never played it, until Maverick opened. It was then quickly added...

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

Keep them doggies rolling....

Waiting at the end of my ride....

Ride em in, Rawhide!

[KI Kevin]

I've never heard that in Maverick's queue! I'll have to listen closely next time I ride it.

[DaveStroem]

Glad you had fun at Great Adventure. Nick, if your going on your great adventure in September, you might consider going for Riding of the Bulls on Sept 18th. I am considering it this year.

[KI Kevin]

^Dave, so I heard you think Bizarro at SFNE is 5 times better than El Toro eh? I'll have to ride that soon haha.

[DaveStroem]

I wouldn't say 5 times better. Bizarro at SFNE is by far my #1 coaster. Voyage and El Toro are #1 & #2 woodies and #2 & #3 overall. I still have to give the edge to Voyage though. My front row night ride on the Ravage train sealed the deal. I also think I give the edge because of my size and the tight restraints on El Toro. While I fit (barely) the intense airtime throws my body up and then back down with my belly slamming on the top of the lap bar. I guess that I have Dunloplapbar Disease (Where your belly dun lops over the lap bar)

[KI Kevin]

Haha okay...let's just say that a certain J. Thurnquist told me that today.

[BavarianBeatle]

Nice PTR! A few observations:

1. You were better off not riding Superman: Waste of Steel (as my kids called it)

2. The ride ops on El Toro with the stapleing do nothing but ruin the ride.

3. Nitro is a wonderful ride.

4. I liked runaway mine train.

5. That view of El Toro is great.

6. If you liked The Dark Knight, you will like this: http://www.hornblasters.com/video.php

7. If you found the kiddie rides at Great Adventure to be rough, stay away from the Lady Bug ride at Hershey, that one will kill you. (Just kidding, Have a good time!)

[The Interpreter]

The ride ops at El Toro follow manufacturer's recommendations, as instructed by the park. They do so in New Jersey, where it is nothing short of a minor miracle that El Toro and Kingda Ka operate...

Terp, just sayin'

[KI Kevin]

Nice PTR! A few observations:

1. You were better off not riding Superman: Waste of Steel (as my kids called it)

2. The ride ops on El Toro with the stapleing do nothing but ruin the ride.

3. Nitro is a wonderful ride.

4. I liked runaway mine train.

5. That view of El Toro is great.

6. If you liked The Dark Knight, you will like this: http://www.hornblasters.com/video.php

7. If you found the kiddie rides at Great Adventure to be rough, stay away from the Lady Bug ride at Hershey, that one will kill you. (Just kidding, Have a good time!)

1. I kinda liked the one at SFoG, but it didn't ruin my day or anything

2. I would actually feel unsafe if they DIDN'T staple me

3. Agreed

4. What did you like about it? I love hearing different opinions

5. Sure is!

6. LOL! I really jumped in my seat on the coaster when that happened!

7. I saw that ride at Hershey...were you kidding about it hurting?

[BavarianBeatle]

Nice PTR! A few observations:

1. You were better off not riding Superman: Waste of Steel (as my kids called it)

2. The ride ops on El Toro with the stapleing do nothing but ruin the ride.

3. Nitro is a wonderful ride.

4. I liked runaway mine train.

5. That view of El Toro is great.

6. If you liked The Dark Knight, you will like this: http://www.hornblasters.com/video.php

7. If you found the kiddie rides at Great Adventure to be rough, stay away from the Lady Bug ride at Hershey, that one will kill you. (Just kidding, Have a good time!)

1. I kinda liked the one at SFoG, but it didn't ruin my day or anything

2. I would actually feel unsafe if they DIDN'T staple me

3. Agreed

4. What did you like about it? I love hearing different opinions

5. Sure is!

6. LOL! I really jumped in my seat on the coaster when that happened!

7. I saw that ride at Hershey...were you kidding about it hurting?

1. Superman is short and boring with very few, if any, exciting elements.

2. It is actually safer and more comfortable if you are not stapled. When you are stapled, all of the energy that would otherwise be absorbed by your lower body gets transfered to the parts of your body that are not stapled, i.e. your head, neck and spinal column. Laws of physics stuff...

3. 'nuff said

4. The mine train was much better than most of the mine trains I've ridden. It wasn't as good as AE, but it was at least somewhat fast and offered nice views of the water and El Toro.

5. I wondered if you used my facebook pic (LOL! I know you didn't)

6. I jumped too... but I didn't Jump 2, if you know what I mean

7. I was completely kidding you. I was too tall to even ride it. Just my sense of humor. Have a good time at Hershey, and make sure to ride both sides of Lightning Racer!

[The Interpreter]

Laws of physics not withstanding (or other types of laws, for that matter), the more distance between you and the lapbar, the faster you will be going when you encounter the lapbar and the more abruptly you will stop when you do meet it. On El Toro, in particular, you want that lapbar down further than you think you do. And in New Jersey, the park is under strict regulation that requires that coaster be operated as it is, restraint wise and in many other ways as well...