4/29 SF Great Adventure

[tjpavlik]

Work brought me to the NYC area for a 4/28-4/30 trip.   As I was going through my ACE renewal stuff I remembered I had a free admission to any Six Flags park.  I also had a rental car and a copilot who had other plans....Hmmmm.

 

I had seen that Great Adventure was open for Passover and that New York schools were off for the holiday.  Forecast, 50 and possible rain.  I consulted a KICer that knows a lot about the park and he gave me a few pointers so off I went!

 

Seacacus to I-195 on the NJ tollway is $8.05. One Way.  Cash only.  Figures.

 

At 9:45 there was no wait at the parking tolls.  As I had been warned, $25.00 to park.   (At least they take Credit!)

 

After security (everything out of pockets, belts off, actually looking through bags) I went to customer service to get my coupon processed.  Bobby, an older gentleman quickly processed my ticket and wished me a happy day, all within about 30 seconds. 

 

There was a minor back up at the turnstiles as some of the scanners worked and some did not.  I waited about 15 minutes and was in the park at 10:25. 

 

Being my first time in the park I grabbed a map and headed where the line would be the biggest. Kingda-Ka.  I arrived and they had not yet opened the line.  I guess I was about 50th in line.  I was waiting for the ride to cycle before we were let in but the rope dropped and we were in.  While they say no personal belongings most people had backpacks or something.  The station design allows for that and people were just putting their stuff on the other side.  I boarded the 4th train of the day in the back seat with no seatmate. There was a delay in the staging area for Zumanjaro to lift and drop. I had assumed they run simultaneously but not so.  NO real warning other than the train retreating slightly for the catchbar engagement.  Boom. 28 seconds later i'm back in the station.  IMO it was slightly rougher than TTD but still very tolerable. The line was now well into the queue. 

 

Time to ride other stuff.  I headed over to El Toro figuring on a wait.  They had 2 trains running with numerous open seats.  I sat in the back and off I went.  WHAT A RIDE.  Fabulous airtime and loved the overbanked turns.   Back in the station there was no one in line.... "If you'd like to ride again find an empty seat!"  I think I will.  I rode El Toro five times in a row, the last two with an enthusist who knew everything about El Toro there is to know. 

 

I then rode El Diablo, the ring of fire.  Great theming, so-so ride.  Could have riden multiple times.

 

I then went to Runaway Mine Train.  No wait for the front.  Rode it twice in the front.  An older Arrow Mine Ride .  Nice finish over the water. 

 

Bizzaro was next, same thing, no wait for the front.  Rode twice. I enjoyed the ride but I was realizing the park really puts effort into theming, especially the comic book characters.  It makes a difference.

 

I took in the Sky Ride next, mainly to get an overview of things.  Joker is coming along but has a few weeks before they look ready.  No concrete is poured for the queue area or walkways, yet.

 

Skull Mountain looked interesting, an indoor coaster with theming.  The theming was so -so but it was a fun ride. 

 

Lunch at a Chicken place.  Good, Prices a few bucks cheaper than KI. 

 

Nitro was next.  One train wait and I was in the back seat.  I prefer the stadium seating to the 4 abreast, but no big deal.  The line thinned out while I was riding so I managed three more re-rides. 

 

Batman was the second wait of the day.  I waited three trains.  Made me miss Banshee. 

 

The Dark Knight is an Indoor themed Wild Mouse.  The themeing was good again and it was fun.  The horn at the end was an unwelcome surprise. (Train a coming!)

 

I did Houdini's next.  The preshow was good, not Haunted Mansion good, but still decent.  The ride is hard to describe.  It rolls back in forth, or the room moves or both.  I couldn't figure it out.  It seemed a long ride for just one trick, but worthwhile. 

 

Superman was next.  5 train wait.  I'm not a fan of Flyers but what the hell.  Powerful G loads at the bottom of the pretzel.  Guessing more G load than Firehawk.

 

I saved the worst for last, Green Lantern, the relocated Chang.  A B & M standup.   I hate standups.  But whatever.  The best part of the ride is the F-104D in the queue line.  Wonder where they got that from?  It was a walk on and I could have rode it all afternoon but once was enough.  I'm done.

 

The only knock I had on the park was some of the rides need paint.  The staff was friendly, the park clean and nice (AND EMPTY!), the rides were a nice varied lineup.  I'd do it again, hopefully next time with the family.

 

I bought a few trinkets on the way out and noticed the parking lot was about 1/4 full .  52 degrees but it never rained.  Time to pay the tollway again.  Cash only, please. 

 

 

[Hoeter]

Thank you for sharing tjpavlik!

 

Six Flags Great Adventure is one of the most beautiful parks I've ever been to. I was there two years ago, didn't ride Kingda Ka, Superman, or Batman but enjoyed all of the other coasters- especially El Toro and Nitro. I need to get back there at some point.

 

The trip I went on in 2014 consisted of this park, Dorney Park, Kings Dominion, Carowinds, and the other Six Flags park in Maryland that needs no introduction. My Six Flags membership saved me a TON of money that weekend.

 

If you plan on hitting up multiple SIX parks in a season I recommend the Combo Gold Pass...https://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/store/season-passes

[IBEW_Sparky]

This is a great PTR, thank you for posting it.  I really want to get there next year sometime, and this has made me even more adamant.

[TombRaiderFTW]

Great PTR! I always enjoy Great Adventure (and BGW) PTRs more than any other for some reason, and yours is wonderful. Glad you had a good time.

[The Interpreter]

Great photos!

I'm thrilled you had a great adventure at New Jersey's Finest Theme Park!

[Hoeter]

This is a great PTR, thank you for posting it.  I really want to get there next year sometime, and this has made me even more adamant.

 

I recommend front row on El Toro. I have never had such insane ejector airtime in my life.

 

The NoChickens thought I was going to fly out of my seat!

[VekomaRulz]

Great report and pictures. Friday sounds like it was a great day to visit especially compared to Wednesday where Superman and Green Lantern were an hour for much of the day.

 

Skull Mountain has some more theming but for some reason this season they haven't been using all of it. There are some masks that should have lights on them but don't and the bottom of the first drop has some blacklight painted track that hasn't been used this season at all and was replaced with an orange light. There is also another pumpkin in the middle of the ride that doesn't have any lights on it either.

 

It would be nice to see Zumanjaro and Kingda Ka run at the same time but that seems unlikely. It has cut Kingda Ka's capacity in half and sometimes worse than that like when Zumanjaro has one of its many breakdowns and Kingda Ka can't run until the gondolas are in the station and covered with the retractable roof.