Photo TR: Coasting to the fourth

So, on July 3rd and 4th (maybe 2nd, don't know yet), I will be at Six Flags Great Adventure for my first time ever. Super psyched for El Toro, hearing all the raving about it. Also hoping to get in Kingda Ka, Nitro, and my first stand up credit on Green Lantern (goodbye, nuts).

 

Photos to come

I clicked because I saw "photos" and theres none. Nor a report. Fake thread.

^^Photos in the future...

Okay, let's get to work

 

So, for quick context here, July 1st, I tested for my black belt in karate. I succeeded, and therefore am a black belt, so that was fun. However, I had to run 2.5 miles, do about an hour of physical exercise, multiple karate techniques and reactions, and, to summarize it all, get kicked in the stomach at the conclusion of the test in a ritual called "the birth of pain". So, anywho...

 

I woke up the next day with my legs KILLING me from all the working out and beating up. Nevertheless, I struggled through the day and finally, when 4pm rolled around, my mother and I piled into a Honda CRV equipped with a cooler for dinner food, Coke, Cheez-its, two small suitcases, a handbag, a string backpack, and other various articles and belongings for the 4.5-hour drive to Jackson. We hit no traffic, had smooth sailing, and arrived at the park at about 8:45 that night. My mother isn't a coaster person, so while she went to the hotel to check in and unload, I took my bag and dining pass cup, and went into the park to snag a couple night rides and catch the firework show. Season passes really help, and the park was practically dead, so what I rode was a walk-on.

 

Since I had never ridden a stand-up coaster before, I decided to head to the back of the Carnival area for Green Lantern and Superman. I started out on Green Lantern for the stand up credit (walk-on to the front row!), and then hit up Superman Ultimate Flight. I figured the lines there would be pretty long the next day, so I got those credits now while the park was kinda dead.

 

Following my DC venture, I then decided to head to El Toro for the legendary credit. However, I took a wrong turn, and ended up in the Kingda Ka plaza. I didn't want the Ka credit yet, so I figured "Eh, what the hell? Zumanjaro." Longest queue EVER, but it was a walk-on, so yay! After dropping in the pitch-dark, I hightailed it over to El Toro as the 10pm fireworks began for the last train of the night. Made it, rode it, happy. After that, I hung around and watched the fireworks before being forced to start walking by a security guard. I took my time so I could still see the fireworks.

 

Photos!

You know... I thought I was fine. . . But after looking at those photos.... Everything is so blurry, I guess I really am still drunk from last night.

You know... I thought I was fine. . . But after looking at those photos.... Everything is so blurry, I guess I really am still drunk from last night.

 

Helpful hint: Don't run and take photos at the same time.

 

Seriously though - what leads you to believe that people are actually going to enjoy a photo trip report of a bunch of blurry photos? I've seen some pretty bad reports in my day, but this one might take the cake as the worst.

You got to Great Adventure an hour before close and booked it to Green Lantern?

 

^

 

Not to mention I have to say you mentioned more than once how excited you were to ride El Toro and then once you did, you simply said you rode it. No opinion? Thoughts? Likes/dislikes?

 

Reports are fun when you say more than "I rode this. Then I rode this. Then we did this. Then this." Tell us a story, give details and critiques. I'm not knocking you just trying to give some constructive criticism (though you should get familiar with the focus feature on your camera).

^^Sorry, mate. I give an outline of the day, pop in a few tales, and save all ride thoughts for the end.

 

Thanks for the criticism. I'm not experienced here, and

 

On that note, I'll try something different. All this will be is photos plus a few tales of what happened at the park that are actually interesting. After this, it'll be final ride counts, reviews, and overall thoughts.

 

So, July 3rd

 

El Toro: Okay, I don't know if it's just me, but when I rode this again, the same thing happened to me that occurred the night before: I grayed out on the airtime hills. There was SO much airtime, and I was stapled into my seat, my head went woozy and my vision blurred. I don't not like this ride, but it packs a much more serious punch than I thought. Holy Crap.

 

Bizarro: I just met a nice guy here. His name was Mike, and he got me on front row for our ride. They were running three trains, so while there was brake run stacking, I can't complain. Mike was fun. He was hooting and hollering and enjoying himself the whole ride. Also, the fire effects WORKED! Yay Six Flags!

 

Safari: I FED A GIRAFFE

 

Joker: I have to say, people are right. The green side is SO much better than the purple. I like the GrAdv version so much more because, here, the "tease fins" on the lift hill actually add something to the ride experience. I'm not joking, it actually does. As we were going up, passing the second set of tease fins, I actually yelled out "You tease!" and then we crested the lift hill. On the negative side, I did get my jewels smashed a bit with all the flipping. I got about 3-4 flips, I think.

 

Justice Leage BFM: I slaughtered my mother on this ride. We rode together, sort of kinda competing against each other. She got about 18,000 while I got over 100,000, placing in the top 60% of scores on the ride overall. I feel proud of myself. Can't complain, either. Great ride

 

Skull Mountain: Thanks to winning a bet, I forced my mother to ride this with me. While for me it was relatively tame, she was so shook up she had to rest for a while before being able to get over nausea.

 

Green Lantern: Okay, this is, just, interesting. So, the night before, I rode GL in the front row, and got a good ride. I liked the forces, the inversions, and had no nut issues with the seat, nor headbanging. So, I liked it, and didn't understand the hate people give it. Then, I rode it in the third row. Yeah, front is the magic seat here. There wasn't a lot of headbanging, but it was definitely there, and while I had no seat issues, the forces were just uncomfortable. Still a solid ride, but felt like I had learned a lesson

 

JULY 4:

 

Kingda Ka: I feel the hate of the hard plastic restraints. Those things are TERRIBLE. They dig into your shoulders and cause SO MUCH PAIN. I'm kind of exaggerating, but yeah, they ain't fun. I rode next to a guy who was so deathly scared and super panicky in the line. I persuaded him to ride through appearing knowledgeable and experienced through boring coaster talk, and his review? "This ride is trash." Don't know what that means, but yeah, that.

 

Photo time!

 

(FYI: if that first batch was blurry, it was me. I'm not a good photographer.)

Getting ready to start the day! Early Entry with a Coke can (#hack)

Obligatory photo shoot

Necessary to get this angle. I can see why..........................

Beauty

There will be a lot of safari photos coming, so heads up.

Bison

Aw, cute baby!

I forget who this is...

Oh deer, what can the matter be?

ELK

They be big

Emu

Um, why are they WHITE Rhinos....?

Yay, elephants!

I'm kinda a sucker for these guys and gals

Ostrich

Hi Marty!

More zebras

Ostriches were everywhere

This little guy was just standing there. He was a scavenger bird, I forget what kind...

Hello!

Water buffalo

Gazelles

Srsly, so many ostriches

Some very large, um..................................................I forget

A giraffe! Yay!

Cranes

Longhorn cattle (not steakhouse)

Big lizard

More lizards

He resting

Another snake

Gecko: 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on Great Adventure admission

A boa constrictor

My anaconda don't (want to mess with you)

Tours leaving

Front row

Zipline is fun, but costs $5

I fed giraffes!

Tour guide

Somebody call Cedar Fair, something's screwed up here

Lions

Kingda Ka in the distance

Aw, cute bears

More gazelle/antelope

Bigger bears

I want to pet them, but I know I'll get mauled if I do

Mom and 2 cubs bathing

I seriously need to work on my camera skills. Stupid phone

Geese, I think

More emu

That's it for now! Next post: ride reviews, ride count, more photos

FINAL THOUGHTS

 

Flat ride count:

Sky Screamer

Houdini

Ferris Wheel

Skyride x3 (pics for Bill coming)

Carousel (gotta do the classics)

Zumanjaro at night

Justice League BFM

Saw Mill Log Flume

Safari

Zipline

Fed giraffes

 

Coaster Reviews

 

Green Lantern (x2) 6/10: Okay, as I said, I had differing experiences in my different rides. Front row is definitely the magic seat by far. That mist before the Sinestro/Parallax loop is really refreshing and nice, like the train paint job, fun inversions. Only problem is headbanging everywhere other than front. That really dums it down on the rating scale

 

Superman Ultimate Flight 8/10: I am starting to become a real fan of flyers. This was just super graceful. You soared around the plot of land, made nice turns, felt very Superman-y. That pretzel loop, though. It pulls some serious forces. I love it.

 

El Toro 10/10: Let me explain myself here. I grayed out, both rides, on the airtime hills. It may have been me, but I'm not sure. I think it was, though. The bull packs a serious punch. WAY better than Boulder Dash. Definitely a highlight of the trip. Super psyched I rode it, no regrets. Airtime, gs on the turns, and smooth for a woodie. I love it.

 

Bizarro 9/10: Floorless coasters just have this element of fun that I really enjoy. The fire effects worked great on the dive loop, but the mist was off at the grinder near the interlocking corkscrews. No headbanging, front row is awesome, no complaints at all. Well, three train ops do stack the ride, but it speeds up operations as well.

 

Skull Mountain (x2) 5/10: This thing is rough. The theming is super kooky and strange, and all I can discern is a creepy, tribal, day-of-the-dead thing. Cool music, good for families, just warped. Restraints are okay.

 

Harley Quinn Crazy Train (x2) 5/10: It's a family ride, nothing overly impressive. Cramped for a tall guy like me. I like how they send you on two laps with this baby, though. Makes the experience that much better. Side note, I almost credit whored the Zamperla kiddie coaster, but my dignity got the better of me.

 

Joker (green side) 9/10: SO much better and more forceful than purple side. My restraint was a little tighter this time, so yes, as I said, my nuts did get a little more squashed this time. However, I got about 3 flips, some crazy hangtime, and a swell ride. Love the tease fins on the lift hill, and just overall much better than the SFNE version

 

Nitro (x2) 10/10: My first, and currently only, B&M hyper, and I am a fan by far. This is just SO freakin amazing. Seat and restraint are super chill and comfy, first drop is amazing, helix pulls so many gs (I grayed out the first time) and the airtime is AWESOME. Totally my favorite in the park. Sorry, El Toro fan people

 

The Dark Knight Coaster (x2) 7/10: The theming really helps, but it doesn't give a real story. It's basically just Joker causing chaos in Gotham. The preshow is cool, ride and station theming is cool (it's indoors, so, duh). Fun family ride.

 

Batman: The Ride 9/10: I've only ridden two of these clones, but I am falling in love. These are SO forceful. I didn't gray out, but wow, you are pinned to your seat from the first drop to the final brake run. I walked on, so I didn't have to suffer through the tunnel of death, but regardless, I approve wholeheartedly. Smooth, forceful, kicks ass.

 

Kingda Ka (the penultimate credit of the trip) 5/10: Ow. As I said, I totally get the issue with the Intamin hard plastic restraints. Give this an I305 makeover, GrAdv, PLEASE. That said, forceful launch, good airtime on the top hat, like the view, and a VERY photogenic ride. You'll see in this batch of photos. All in all, maybe ride once, but not entirely enjoyable. TTD is WAY better.

 

Okay, photos!

Tiger

There was a lion, a bear, and now a tiger. Wrong order, Dorothy.

Another lion(ess)

This is legit: a lion and a tiger are best friends and live in the same enclosure. It was a successful experiment by the staff at the Safari park.

Hidden tiger

Start of the skyride views

The El Toro turnaround

Looking over the log flume

Bizarro through the bars

More bull

DC B&M

Great lake view

Skyride for Bill

I seriously have to do a sky coaster AND slingshot one of these days. Oh, also, the water tower.

Why

So

Serious?

Sky Screamer

More Screamer

Ferris Wheel just because

My focus is Nitro

B&M duo

I like the dark knight

NITRO NITRO NITRO

Spooky

Batman in the distance

I hate needing to use lockers for money. Universal's system - free lockers - is so much better.

Sky Ride station

Rocky? Or bony?

All hail DC, and my terrible photo skills

It was a 40min wait

Lift hill duo

Kingda Ka is seriously photogenic

Some serious wood here......

Bizarre Bizarro

Green Lantern......meh

DC duo, again.

Like this Joker better

More Sky Ride

You mess with the bull, you get the horns

Just a view of the far side of the park

Taking this from the Ferris Wheel

Batman in action

Buildings

Ew, he's drooling

Water Tower again

Ferris Wheel porn

My best friends for the day: a drink cup and string backpack

Back on the sky ride

Regret not doing the parachute drop or top spin

Mom is happy to be home(ish): she graduated from East Brunswick High

Lake again

Log flume

End photo of the day

Start of July 4th

Hey, cool, it's Dorney Park!

Oh, oops....

Nvm Cedar Fair, Six Flags takes this one

Creepy

Jug handle

We almost there!

I'm home in Jackson! DD for the win

Last day, baby!

WTF kind of speed limit is this?

First coaster of the day

Hurricane Harbor

Wrong place

Not going there

NITRO

Superman

Green Lantern in action for early entry

Parking lot shots

Wood stuff

Ew

Sexy

Carousel

Oh baby

Last photo for now. Quick little sum up of photos tomorrow.

Final photos!

Kingda Ka: barred

No airtime

Sexy tower

I love me some B&M

Mom likes skyride

Houdini: great theming, fun relaxing flat

Teen Titans GO!

Lift hill

I like Zumanjaro much more

Leaving GrAdv for home. Fun trip, totally worth it!

I didn't know they still sold Kodak Disposable cameras

^^No, just an old Galaxy S3

It looks like you had fun, so I'm glad for that. A few comments / notes, though:

 

• It's 12MPH because it's sponsored by News 12, a NJ news station.
  
• I can't tell by your comments if you're serious or not, but that's Allentown, NJ (where I went to high school), not Allentown, PA. Dorney is actually about 90 minutes away from that point.
  
• Don't feel like you need to include every last photo. You have a bunch of duplicate photos in there and ones that are so blurry you can't even see what they're of. I always edit through my photos and keep only what I want to upload before I begin a report.
  
• Also, feel free to use one of these when taking photos as well:

 

It looks like you had fun, so I'm glad for that. A few comments / notes, though:

 

• It's 12MPH because it's sponsored by News 12, a NJ news station.
  
• I can't tell by your comments if you're serious or not, but that's Allentown, NJ (where I went to high school), not Allentown, PA. Dorney is actually about 90 minutes away from that point.
  
• Don't feel like you need to include every last photo. You have a bunch of duplicate photos in there and ones that are so blurry you can't even see what they're of. I always edit through my photos and keep only what I want to upload before I begin a report.
  
• Also, feel free to use one of these when taking photos as well:

 

 

Quick responses:

- Interesting, good sponsorship. That's pretty cool.

- No, I wasn't being serious. Joking

- Okay, thanks, I think that'll help a lot for the future

- I tilt my phone because I'm lazy. I can only include straight pics in the future.

 

Not trying to be negative at all, man. Don't take it that way. Thanks for the feedback

Don't sweat it, man. Thanks for being a good sport.

Looks like you had a nice trip with your mom! I fed the giraffes last year at the mid-station safari stop and it was a ton of fun. I work with horses including a few giant ones, but the heads on some of those giraffes are absolutely enormous in comparison! The safari is such a blast and every ride is different. I agree Ka is terrible and frankly I rarely ride it. Give ms TTD any day! Looking forward to future reports of yours with pics taken from a cleaned lens and somewhat level camera

^^Consider it done.

 

I'm actually hoping to hit up parks around Italy and Europe when I study abroad in a couple of years (~spring of 2020). Besides that, no trips planned for the future.

 

Yeah, I don't really have big plans.

 

Greying out over airtime hills? Never heard that one before.....

I'm actually hoping to hit up parks around Italy and Europe when I study abroad in a couple of years (~spring of 2020). Besides that, no trips planned for the future.

 

That'll be an awesome trip! Definitely keep those goals in sight and do whatever you can to make it happen. Once you become a real adult with a full time job and all that nonsense it becomes significantly harder (for most people) to get the time off/money saved to make abroad coaster trips a possibility.