pkdcoaster Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 Summer is almost gone so I figured I needed a good day trip to take. My buddy had a free ticket to SFA so we were just gonna go there for the day but after some research, we noticed that Clementon and J2 were only about 2.5 hours farther so we figured “what the hell” we will have to try J2 out. Part 1- SFA Now I have heard many things have changed here this year, but honestly it seemed exactly the same as it did my last visit in April 2003. We got there right at opening (10:15) and one major improvement since the last time I was here at opening was they actually admit you and hold you at the end of the shops rather than not let anybody through the park gates/detectors till 10:30. This was a good sign and all the rides pretty much opened by 10:45 with the exception of Batwing (11:45a). All the rides ran at Max. trains with the exception of Jokers Jinx (Yellow train nowhere to be found) and Batwing. The employees have not changed a bit, I have heard that they were much friendlier this year but no dice. The Superman Board operator talked on her Cell Phone for about 8 cycles and most of the others acted like we were bothering them by riding the rides. They were a little more efficient in dispatching though. Superman was still good but the trains had about 3 different types of wheels which made the trains feel really weird while riding, It just vibrated much more than usual but still a great ride. Batwing had about 10 seats on its “working” train out of order. Roar seems to have lost some of its airtime and the trains were just vibrating like mad. I wouldn’t call it rough though. Wild one was still good as was Jinx In 2.5 Hours we got on Superman-3 times Batwing Jokers Jinx Roar- 3 times Wild One Try to find a spot with no coaster Everybody loses their "Balls of Steel" when they get to this part. Green water is full of life yeah, we're High Jinx Batwing Everybody smiles after an Intamin S Roar still Kicking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkdcoaster Posted August 26, 2006 Author Share Posted August 26, 2006 Part 2-Clementon lake Amusement park We got to the park around 4:30 and headed for J2. The park is really small and the main draw is the water park. They have what pretty much every park has, Ferris Wheel, swings etc. They do have a decent Log Flume, Inverter and a Chaos and of course J2. Sadly the SBNO Jack Rabbit is in Really bad shape and every employee we talked to said it would never re-open but they could not take it down due to it being a historical landmark. Quite a shame =( First off, J2 is one of the most intense things I have ever ridden and I am very surprised Clementon built it (cause it is a small family park) It is full of airtime and the turns are Extremely tight, fast and aggressive. I would not want to ride this thing in 4 years though! I was talking to the manager at the ride and asked him why it opened so late in 2004 (9-18-04 their closing weekend) He said it was finished in June but the state of NJ failed it cause of its roughness not once but TWICE, so re-profiling had to be done. You can tell that the first U-turn just doesn’t look right and if I had to guess I would think that this was the biggest problem spot but there are a lot of funky quirks in the track here and there that actually give it a lot of airtime in some spots but re-allign your spine in others. It is a great coaster but it does not track well in a lot of spots (especially the bottom of the 1st drop) It is a Great coaster though and was well worth the trip up there. Line was never more than a 3 train wait (1 train op) and we got 9 rides on it. Night time rides were just insane! Look for a J2 POV video and off-board Video soon. Robb-Feel free to use these pics for the park photo pages (I noticed you do not have any) Enjoy, JEFF Log Flume has a small leak RIP Jack Rabbit excluding J2 that is about 90% of the park check out the girl in the 2nd row J2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hercules Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 Great report. I absolutely love J2. It is a great coaster, IMO. I am happy to say that I am now just about 25 minutes from it and plan on heading back there before the end of the season as long as my back lets me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkdcoaster Posted August 26, 2006 Author Share Posted August 26, 2006 Great report. I absolutely love J2. It is a great coaster, IMO. I am happy to say that I am now just about 25 minutes from it and plan on heading back there before the end of the season as long as my back lets me. Thanks. Hey Jay do you or anybody else know why they just stopped operating Jack Rabbit in the first place?. I just checked out Robbs video and it looked like it had just got a Brand new PTC train before it closed. Its depressing seeing an old Classic just sitting there rotting away. JEFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 Great stuff Jeff! Looking forward to the videos and I'll certainly use these photos when I get around to doing the index pages! --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfoot12 Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 Nice TR. It just reaffirms my impression of SFA--some great coasters, crappy park. At least you got to ride Joker's Jinx (closed when I was there in June). Never been on J2. Maybe I'll do that next year. I usually go to the Jersey Shore Memorial Day weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shavethewhales Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 Thanks. Hey Jay do you or anybody else know why they just stopped operating Jack Rabbit in the first place?. I just checked out Robbs video and it looked like it had just got a Brand new PTC train before it closed. Its depressing seeing an old Classic just sitting there rotting away. JEFF That's exactly what I've been wondering for a long time now, kinda makes me mad at clemeton. I'm assuming it has something to do with maitenance and it costing to much or some such matter, but who knows. btw, nice report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niiicolaaah Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 Wow. SFA looks like a big crappy lawn that they just plunked down some rides and called it a park. Am I missing something? Nice photos.. J2 looks like fun and pain at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkdcoaster Posted August 27, 2006 Author Share Posted August 27, 2006 Wow. SFA looks like a big crappy lawn that they just plunked down some rides and called it a park. Am I missing something? Nice photos.. J2 looks like fun and pain at the same time. Yea SFA is easily one of the dumbest layouts out there. It wasn't too bad till they built Superman (lets walk a mile to get to this coaster) then Batwing let them walk another mile. You Know they used a satelite pic and darts to layout the park in 2000 & 2001 JEFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkdcoaster Posted August 27, 2006 Author Share Posted August 27, 2006 J2 POV AND Music Video up in the video forum J2 POV link J2 Music video link Enjoy, JEFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmoofy Posted August 27, 2006 Share Posted August 27, 2006 Jinx looks like one big, awesome, mess of track Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobafett Posted August 28, 2006 Share Posted August 28, 2006 About 5 years ago,(I think that might be the right time frame)there was an accident on the Jack Rabbit rollercoaster.After the train was coming into the station after a ride, the brakes gave out and the cars continued rolling out of the station and crashed into a building that was attached to the coaster. A number of people were hurt and due to lawsuits and the fact that it was in poor condition,it was closed indefinitely after that.Also J2 was orginally named Tsunami when it opened in 2004, but after the devasting tsunami over in Indonesia in December of 2004(the 26th I believe) officials at Clementon decided to change the name as not to appear insensitive to the victims of the disaster.I hope that explains everything for you. I live about 20 minutes away from Clementon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECZenith Posted August 28, 2006 Share Posted August 28, 2006 SFA reminds me why I drink... I cannot believe I practically drove right by J2 this year after reading so many good things about it. Shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobafett Posted August 28, 2006 Share Posted August 28, 2006 Clementon park is not a bad little place to visit. Sometimes you will run into some undesirable people there as you will in other parks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterFanatic Posted August 28, 2006 Share Posted August 28, 2006 I think the ladies hair on Wild One says it all. What a fun ride! Also, nice shots of Tsunami. It is amazing how tight that Helix is, but the far turnaround is SO much more f'd up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knottslover77 Posted August 28, 2006 Share Posted August 28, 2006 Nice pics and videos great Tr! --Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkdcoaster Posted August 28, 2006 Author Share Posted August 28, 2006 About 5 years ago,(I think that might be the right time frame)there was an accident on the Jack Rabbit rollercoaster.After the train was coming into the station after a ride, the brakes gave out and the cars continued rolling out of the station and crashed into a building that was attached to the coaster. A number of people were hurt and due to lawsuits and the fact that it was in poor condition,it was closed indefinitely after that.Also J2 was orginally named Tsunami when it opened in 2004, but after the devasting tsunami over in Indonesia in December of 2004(the 26th I believe) officials at Clementon decided to change the name as not to appear insensitive to the victims of the disaster.I hope that explains everything for you. I live about 20 minutes away from Clementon. Wow Thanks alot, I had not heard about that accident on Jack rabbit. do you know if it was painted brown so it would not stand out? Every pic of it in operation it was all white. I also wonder if the state of NJ had something to do with JR not opening. IMO they probably said that it needed upstop wheels to operate again and clementon did not want to put all that money in an old ride. I looks like JR did not have upstop wheels. Can somebody confirm this? http://www.rcdb.com/ig221.htm?picture=3 JEFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dailey Enterprizes Posted August 28, 2006 Share Posted August 28, 2006 ^ Good videos pkdcoster, J2 looks awesome, but sounds like in Robb's words "a garbage can rolling down the track" I don't know if that means it's rough, yet I still need to ride it . Btw, I think the Jackrabbit was always painted brown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkdcoaster Posted August 28, 2006 Author Share Posted August 28, 2006 Btw, I think the Jackrabbit was always painted brown. Really? Photo: Eric Sakowski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dailey Enterprizes Posted August 28, 2006 Share Posted August 28, 2006 ^ That's funny, in Robb's small 3 parks video, the Jackrabbit was brown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkdcoaster Posted August 28, 2006 Author Share Posted August 28, 2006 ^That's funny, in Robb's small 3 parks video, the Jackrabbit was brown. Yea, good catch, so it was half brown its last few years, thats weird to me. it was amazing how you would never know it was there unless you were looking for it. an all white coaster stands out against the trees and says ride me! I Wonder why they painted the structure brown. JEFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted August 28, 2006 Share Posted August 28, 2006 I remember the coaster being white when I rode it! Screen shot from afore mentioned Jack Rabbit video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkdcoaster Posted August 28, 2006 Author Share Posted August 28, 2006 I remember the coaster being white when I rode it! Track and handrails were white but the structure is Brown. you need to watch your video again Robb JEFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobafett Posted August 29, 2006 Share Posted August 29, 2006 Sorry guys. The accident on the Jack Rabbit occured in August 1998, not 2001. I knew it happened but I just couldn't remember the year.Hope this helps out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkdcoaster Posted August 29, 2006 Author Share Posted August 29, 2006 Sorry guys. The accident on the Jack Rabbit occured in August 1998, not 2001. I knew it happened but I just couldn't remember the year.Hope this helps out. According to RCDB.com its last operating season was 2002, so that accident was not the direct cause of it. Seems like they just closed it for the hell of it JEFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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