Jason Maier

The wait time for SteVen on it's opening day . . . . dare we speculate? I say . . . . 3 hours?

Flash Pass

Shower

I'll add my 2 cents to Arrow legacy rides discussion . . . . . What if S&S could reproduce one of the old Arrow custom loopers. Would you rather have that or the old Arrow Suspended Coaster be re-incarnated?

So I made the time to take a trip to Six Flags Great Adventure on 11-4-17 (glad they have the bonus November days). Took me only 2 hours 35 minutes to drive up there (left home at 7:25 am, got into the parking lot at 10 am) . Not much traffic going up 95 and the Jersey Turnpike on a Saturday morning. The high temp was only 56 and there was a Wine & Safari special event. Soon as the gates opened, went straight to Movietown and ended up being the first person in line for Batman: The Ride. Can't beat front row on a B&M invert (and yes, I did go twice in a row to start). After that . . . walked right on over for a spin on the Dark Knight. Then I took a ride on JL:BFM, didn't get highest score on my car, but I had fun so that's what matters. Bit surreal to see how nice JL is and how fresh the Showcase Theater looks; then over the fence, the abandoned Old Country. Then I took a couple of rides on Nitro (front row & back row), and wow . . . . Nitro in cooler weather is sweet. Then I made my way towards Boardwalk, making single stops on The Joker (I got on the purple side), Skull Mountain and Houdini's Great Escape. Did a couple of turns on Superman: Ultimate Flight (front row once, back row once) and of course, got to love the Pretzel Loop. Between S:UF rides, popped on Green Lantern once, then once on Parachuter's Perch. After my second S:UF ride, I spotted a train running on Bizarro, so of course I was making my way over there. Of course, I had to get my requisite trips on Kingda Ka (three times; twice first car second row and once second row last car) and Zumanjaro once. Got two rides on Bizarro. But of course, the highlight for me . . . your Golden Ticket award winning EL TORO. Twice for me . . . . once in the front row (with about a 10 minute wait) and once in the back row. Then I made my way back to the front of the park, and finished off my day with another turn on Skull Mountain, Batman: The Ride (back row) and . . . two more turns on Nitro (both front row). Nitro at night is . . . so awesome. Then I decided to pack it in and head home about 7:25 (with some rain as I crossed over the Delaware/Maryland state line). Overall it was a very good trip. Decent crowds + colder weather + not too terrible lines (the biggest lines I saw were S:UF and KK). Operations were very good, getting trains dispatched quickly . . . and the food operations were good as well (Johnny Rockets chicken tenders & fries/onion rings for lunch, pretzel for snack and Cheese-steak for dinner, with plenty of water for me); didn't have wait too long for my eats. My overall ride count: Nitro - 4 Batman: The Ride & Kingda Ka - 3 Skull Mountain, The Dark Knight, Superman: Ultimate Flight, Bizarro, El Toro - 2 Green Lantern, Houdini's Great Escape, Parachuter's Perch, SkyScreamer, Twister, JL:BFM - 1 My overall toll cost: $37.20 ($4 for the Fort McHenry Tunnel each way, $8 for the Perryville toll plaza going out, $4 for the Maryland/Delaware state line each way, $4 for the Delaware Memorial Bridge coming back, and $4.60 for the New Jersey turnpike from the DMB to exit 7A). I might come back up again for HITP (I do know everything beyond Boardwalk is closed for that. But heck, it means marathon runs on Nitro and/or Batman: The Ride) . . . were HITP crowds last year at GAdv hectic? And now for the pictures: Obligatory parking lot shot . . . . Getting things prepped for 'Holiday in the Park' NITRO Purple Side for me . . . I got decent rotation and two complete flips (I know with these Free Spins, YMMV on how much you spin) Green Lantern is WAY smoother than Apocalypse El Toro and Kingda Ka . . . . what more can you ask for? Cobra roll time! Of course I wanted to get a coaster shirt!

Well . . . my work schedule is clear and I'll be able to make it up there tomorrow. Cooler weather + lighter crowds (weren't the crowds light last year for the bonus November days?) = more riding time

Nice video . . . How would you rate Mind Blower compared to whatever other Gravity Group coasters you've been on?

LInux . . . (for those who frequent Dorney Park) . . . Steel Force or Talon?

Long time ago . . . . the Hall family had their estate on what eventually became Six Flags America. The daughter, Eleanor died at the age of 5 and her ghost is said to haunt SFA to this day. And over the years, the Hall Manor has really fallen apart. As to why Hall Manor is protected by the State of Maryland, I do not know.

Even worse than Big Apple/Manhattan Express?

Yeah . . . but by the grace of the coaster gods, the long idled Batman: The Ride Intamin stand-up from Astroworld will be reconstructed! I wish stand up coasters (with better seats for improved junk protection) would make a comeback

I'm not really a pet person . . . . but I'd say dogs (as I'm allergic to cats) Lesser of two evils for rough coasters: Manhattan Express/Big Apple vs. Desperado

I'm sure in the Great Beyond . . . . Anton Schwarzkopf is smiling

Was the Fart Hole . . . a gassy experience

Bless the roller coaster gods for providing a perfect chance for a "lift hill" video

In the immortal words of Wayne & Garth . . . . . . Schwing!

I won't say "never", but the house is in REALLY bad shape... I'm PRETTY sure that the park has actually received permission to bulldoze/clear the property, but for whatever reason hasn't yet (possibly due to cost, possibly because they have no reason to [no plans to build in that area], possibly because the "ruins" make good backdrop for the Hall Manor trail. Can't bulldoze. It's protected state property. I was not aware of that . . . And so far, I've found not much knowledge about Hall Manor . . . . maybe Eleanor is the only one who knows it's secrets

Hmmm . . . . midnight tour around Hall Manor (with a story to boot) and WO. Heck yeah, I'd give it a go (would you?)

If credit is required: last car, front row, brace hard. (The airtime on the first drop is quite frightening there!) Is that generally the "magic seat" for any custom Arrow looper, or does this only apply to Vortex?

Thanks for the finds CoasterLover . . . . And I have yet to find more information about the history of Hall Manor . . . but yeah, the old joke is . . . when something goes wrong at SFA, it's Eleanor's fault

Duly noted . . . . While I'll definitely be making a trip up from Maryland for one of the bonus weekends in November, if I can MAKE the time . . . I'll also trek up again for HITP. Nitro in cold weather . . . what's not to miss about that

How were HITP crowds last year? I do know that everything beyond the Boardwalk Area (Kinga Ka, Zumanjaro, El Toro, RMT, Bizarro, SORA, Log Flume) was closed for HITP.

Superman: Ride of Steel at SFA . . . in the back row at night (can't beat a night time hypercoaster ride)

Aren't the trains on Goliath Premier built? And IF Goliath and/or Flashback go to the scrapyard, what goes in their places?

Even though the Hall Manor Trail isn't as great as it was last year, I still like the fact that you can sort of see the ruins of the house (I know the legend is the Hall family had their estate on the grounds of SFA and Eleanor died on her birthday . . . and she haunts the park. Yet, I've seen few pictures of the Hall manor ruins). FWIW, my favorite maze was Terror Toy shop . . . . And I'll admit . . . . management done right by putting the Awakening in the Arena this year (hopefully that bodes well for more shows in the arena next season). I like how Eleanor rises from her casket to begin the show. And I'll admit . . . . I thought CURSED! After Dark was funny . . . . never thought I'd see a theme park stage show with schlitz and fork bombs dropped! As for the food . . . . yeah, I missed the special food options from last year as well as the hot chocolate mugs