Photo TR: The Quest For Missing Credits.

[Erik Johnson]

The next morning we headed on up to King's Dominion. I still needed two more credits there. I missed out on Flight of Fear in 2006 because it was down for most of the season for its rumored re-theming. I also did not have Taxi Jam because, well, you need to have a kid in order to ride. When we went in June 2006 it was just announced that Cedar Fair was going to buy out all of the Paramount parks. So it was fun to return two years later to see what changes have taken place. Well, as always, onward to the photos:

Yes, it is true that they have kept all of last year's Halloween theming in the queue.

Just follow Jeff, he knows the way.

I was able to earn the one at King's Island during the Midwest Trip last year.

It was time to go earn my Flight of Fear credit.

Did you guys enjoy your ride?

Then the volcano spews coaster trains.

First there is a fire blast.

My very first ride on the front row. (Photo by WillMontu)

The first group of riders of the day.

Volcano was my very first Intamin coaster, so I was happy to enter it's lair again.

Tip #1. Since Hypersonic is now gone, head on over to Volcano first.

Everyone is ready for the rope drop. Though you are not allowed to run to the rides.

People waiting for the rope drop.

The tower through the trees.

Berzerker was running before park opening.

King's Dominion.....now with trashcans.

The familiar sight of KD's main gate.

The first thing you see is Dominator. I will have to earn the credit next time.

I really do like this park. I am happy to return.

The next morning, we headed on up to Doswell, Virginia.

[Erik Johnson]

Credit #241. Flight of Fear at King's Dominion. I do have a thing for indoor launched coasters. Rock 'n' Rollercoaster at Disney's Hollywood Studios can be credited for me getting into this whole coaster hobby. So it was cool to finally ride the very first launched indoor coaster. We had a special ride because it seems that they forgot to turn off all the work lights for the ride. So not only did I get the credit, I also got the credit with the lights on.

 

The park totally frowns on people taking flash photographs while in the launch area, so I decided to post a short 30 second video instead.

FOFinternet.wmv

Flight of Fear: Launch and Return.

Flight of Fear...and no flash was used. (Photo By WillMontu)

[WillMontu]

This trip caused me to overtake Erik in credits, leaving me at 249, not including water coasters and racing coasters. I do have the Dominator credit though

 

 

 

Also, with the interest in train porn:

Hot coupler action!

Euroburg's train ride

[Coasterlvr_nc]

^ giggidy giggidy!

 

Awesome report Eric! Can't wait to see your pics from Gadv!

[Pufferfish]

Great TR! I love BGE with a deep burning passion . Only one complaint, why did you have to bring up Drachen Fire? It is my one missed credit that I am very very very upset about...

[Erik Johnson]

Here are a few more pictures....

How is it going Chuck?

Dominator pretty much dwarfs Scooby now.

Let go ride Scooby.

Weeeee.....credit #242 (Photo by WillMontu)

Up we go! (Photo by WillMontu)

Does Big Mike have this credit? (Photo by WillMontu)

This happens to be my first Taxi Jam credit. (Photo by WillMontu)

"Are you ready to help me clear the park?" (Photo by WillMontu)

Oh very cool.

Hmmmmm.....I wonder if I can get this credit today.

They also forgot to shut off the work lights in the tunnel for this one as well. I guess it was "Lights On Day" at KD.

I am happy that I did get to ride it in its 2nd week of operation back in 2006. I think one of the fire effects worked this time...that was all.

Backlot Stunt Coaster. I am really surprised how much this ride has detoriated in two years.

[Erik Johnson]

More photos.

And our "Above KD Tour" ends with the newest member of the family. Dominator.

As well as water fountains.

Just like King's Island, KD has an Intamin Gyro Drop Tower.

Volcano, Avalanche, and Flight of Fear.

Shockwave.

Anaconda, Backlot Stunt Coaster, and Rebel Yell.

As well as Grizzly.

Say Hello to Hurler.

We spent some time on top of the tower to take some photographs.

This is much safer of an activity.

The rest of us decided not to join him on this experience.

Will had to earn his very first Togo Death Machine credit.

I think I also heard a few curse words and the name Toomer in this section as well.

I think Chuck and Will are in the last car.

Oh dear.....At least I already have this coaster credit.

Avalanche is the only Mack bobsled coaster in the United States. Yes, it is also fun.

France awaits our visit.

Oh there it is. Tip #2: Avalanche opens at noon. Make sure you get there early.

Where did the coaster train go?

Another one of the new ride names at the park.

We found a new friend.

At least this is a Coke park!

[Erik Johnson]

Lets finish up this update with some more coasters....shall we?

See you guys later. Until the next update.

Another group of riders head out of the station.

I guess nobody is on break.

The queue is pretty full.

We had a pretty long wait for Rebel Yell.  This is due to the other side isn't ready yet.

Its just you get slammed in this section....and most of the rest.

The first drop of the coaster isn't too bad.

They still have a little bit of Paramount in the park.

You guys are brave.

Oh God, its Hurler.

Poor Will visited KD a year too late.

Bits of the former location of Hypersonic.

There used to be a coaster at this location.

Poor Chuck, he chose a wheel seat.  So how was the shed/tunnel section Chuck?

Up the lift they go.

Much better.

Boy, this photo is boring.

Make sure you ride in a non-wheel seat on the ride, otherwise you will die.

Here is the former Hypersonic station.

Let us go ride Grizzly.

[Erik Johnson]

Since we got through King's Dominion early and that we will be driving right by it. We decided to stop on by Six Flags America on our way up to Six Flags Great Adventure. I still needed the Joker's Jinx credit and we hoped to help Will earn a few extra credits along the way. Saturday was opening day for the park and they unfortunately had quite a few problems. Though, I am sure these problems will be fixed in the next few weeks before the super busy summer season. I am not really sure why, but it seems that they are still having a lot of problems with Superman: Ride of Steel. It seems that the red train is still giving them fits, plus they really do need to train the ride's staff on how to properly utilize the flash pass system. When we arrived to Superman's flash pass queue, they loaded a full train of people that were in the flash pass line onto a train. After that train, they let another 3-4 trains full of regular line people onto trains. Then, they decided that from now on, they would only let 4 people, at a time, from the flash pass line ride on each train. It should be noted that we had already been waiting 50 minutes in the flash pass queue due to slow dispatches and that we still had around 20 people standing in front of us. We left without a ride since the park was getting close to closing, and we wanted to go ride the Wild One. As always, onto the pictures:

Well, we can now call that an evening.

Poor Will had to wait an hour in the Season Pass Processing line. All the self-service computers were shut down.

I am confused with the purpose of having a supension bridge right here.

At least Will was able to earn one credit in the park today.

And it is running well today.

The Wild One is my favorite coaster in the park.

We hope to least help Will earn one credit before leaving today.

Since time was running short, we decided to not ride Superman this visit. Hopefully they fix the other train as well as improve the ride crew before it gets really busy.

And after 50 minutes, we really were not much closer to riding Superman.

We counted 3 dispatches in 50 minutes. 2 of them with people.

Or is it now called B.T. Wing?

At least we can watch Batwing for our coaster entertainment.

The Flash pass line was backed up.

Plus they were slow to dispatch trains.

Uh oh, it looks like they are running only one train. The red train is not even on-site.

We might as well use it on this.

I have to give the Joker's Jinx ride ops credit. They were nice enough to give a three of us a VIP flash pass for another attraction. (Photo by WillMontu)

I am such a dork. (Photo by WillMontu)

I also earned evacuation credit #3. (Photo by WillMontu)

Uh oh, it looks like I am stuck in the brakes. (Photo by WillMontu)

I am all ready for credit #243. I found the coaster to be really good. It is better than either Flight of Fears. (Photo by WillMontu)

There is a launch tunnel before you hit all the craziness of the coaster.

Jocker's Jinx is an outdoor model of Flight of Fear.

Talk about good timing, it looks like they are reopening Joker's Jinx after being down for a while.

Three of the coasters in the park are located in this area.

That is Wild One in the background. I think its one of the most under rated coasters in the country.

The front area of the park is quite nice.

I really do think Six Flags America has a good coaster collection.

Ok, I might get lucky on this visit. Joker's Jinx is not on the list.

We are here, let us see what we can do in 3 hours.

We are now getting closer to the park.

It really is a nice drive using 301. Thanks for the tip Larry.

On our way up to Maryland.

[Erik Johnson]

Well we are now at what I consider to be the highlight of this trip. Six Flags Great Adventure is my favorite Six Flags Park, so I was really happy to return. I missed opening day for El Toro by three days in 2006. El Toro had no official opening day so we took our chances by going when we did. I was really blown away watching it while it was testing....now I finally get to ride the thing. Not including the new Dark Knight credit, I still needed two more credits to clear the park. El Toro, and the Runaway Train....so onward to the photos:

Again, I love El Toro.

I think it is my new number 1 coaster. (Photo by WillMontu)

I loved El Toro. (Photo by WillMontu)

See anyone you know? (Photo by WillMontu)

You guys ready to ride?

I am ready for credit #244.

Mmmmmmm.....El Toro.

Running to the Bulls?

We are ready to ride some coasters.

Geesh, I guess I will have to come back to pick up this credit later.

We had a mini-Midwest reunion. Say hello to ElToroExtreme.

Chuck loves Kingda Ka. Isn't that right Chuck?

And we made it to Six Flags Great Adventure.

Hooray, we made it to New Jersey.

[thecoasterkid]

Great Adventure definitely looks like a great park! I'm really anxious to try out El Toro and see if I like it or Voyage more. Hopefully I can sneak down for a weekend this summer, preferably while the East Coast trip is making it's visit so I can see everyone who can't make it through the Canada leg (Ally, Chris, that means you!).

[Erik Johnson]

The cold gloomy weather certainly kept the crowds away, so we did not have to get a Qbot. Also, as Larrygator says, April is the best month to visit the park. Anyways, onto more pictures:

Will has other credits to earn.

Well, I guess that should be enough.

My two newest credits, together at last.

Another station photo.

This sure isn't South of the Border.

Getting a train ready for dispatch.

Here is the station.

It goes really fast through this.

Yes, you must go ride this coaster. Sign up for the East Coast trip now.

Another blurry train through the trees photo.

Another group of happy riders heading on out to the lift.

And combine it with this picture.

If I had any photoshop skills, I would take this picture.

Simply, it is roller coaster bliss.

Tremendous amount of airtime on these hills.

The first drop is really insane.

Yeah yeah.....through the trees blah blah.

See how fast it got to the top while you blinked?

The cable lift is super fast.

Can I take El Toro home with me?

[Erik Johnson]

Great Adventure definitely looks like a great park! I'm really anxious to try out El Toro and see if I like it or Voyage more. Hopefully I can sneak down for a weekend this summer, preferably while the East Coast trip is making it's visit so I can see everyone who can't make it through the Canada leg (Ally, Chris, that means you!).

 

I am on the Canada leg myself, so I will get to say, "Hello!"

[mike541x]

Great TR Erik. I love the photos. Now I really can't wait this summer.

[jackskellington101]

Awesome TR Erik! Well, it looks like SFA operations are back to their normal standard. *shakes head*. I will say, with my experiences with what would technically be my home park, those operational problems won't be fixed by the summer and everything will stay pretty much the same. Every time I visit the park, I always hope that they'll do something to fix it up, similar to the changes going on at SFMM, but it never seems to happen. It's got a fine collection of coasters, but the way they're run is just so disappointing.

[Erik Johnson]

One thing that SFA really improved on is its enforcement of the line-jumping rule. Right when they dropped the line to reopen Joker's Jinx there were several kids who tried to run up to the front and skip everyone. The ride ops made sure that they had to go to the very end of the line. That is too bad that the park has these problems. I guess if that is the guess my advice to anyone who is planning on going to make sure you get there before opening and head right to Batwing....or is it B.T. Wing now?

[Erik Johnson]

Ok, onward to Kingda Ka and more.

The Skull Mountain entrance.

Make sure you ride this one in the last row.

Mmmmmm....Intamin in a box.

How is it going Will? He is the in last row on the left side covering his ears.

This is just before the pain starts.

Poor Will needs his Great American Scream Machine credit.

From 128mph into the brakes.

The part is pretty smooth, plus you really get a great view of the parking lot.

Even though we rode in row 2, it certainly is a lot more shakey than Top Thrill Dragster.

Ready for launch?

Within 15 minutes, they got the coaster operational again.

It just would not be a full SFGadv experience without Kingda Ka going down for a few minutes.

We get into the station to find the coaster down.

The world's tallest, fastest coaster appears to be open.

[Erik Johnson]

Onward to Nitro and more.

Credit #245: Runaway Mine Train.

It is a pretty typical Arrow mine train. Plus it is the original coaster of the park.

My two newest credits.

I still needed this credit, since it was down for an extensive referb in June 2006.

Another coaster running today. Another credit for Will.

Is this a new Panda Express?

It was a lot easier to get it today than during my last visit.

After riding the inverted Batman coaster we needed to get Will his kiddy coaster credit.

Nope, this is the new Dark Knight coaster that replaced Chiller. Though I am sure most of you already knew that.

Wow, they enclosed Chiller in a building?

It is difficult to get great photos of Nitro, since most of the track is outside the park area.

Even though the park was pretty empty, they still ran all three trains.

We basically had our own personal ERT session on the coaster the entire day.

I just need to learn how to ride it properly.

I love Nitro, its my second favorite coaster in the park.

[Erik Johnson]

Let us get the rest of Will's coaster credits, shall we?

Weeeee.....

They really know how to dispatch trains here. They were able to dispatch this train right when the 2nd train was entering its final brake run.

Just like El Toro and Kingda Ka, they only let groups of people into the station at a time.

Tatsu's is so much bigger.

Will's final credit of the day, Superman: Ultimate Flight.

Make sure you ride in a non-wheel row, otherwise you will regret it.

There was a longer wait for this than El Toro.....WHY???? I mean, El Toro is just on the other side of the walkway.

Let's all say...Zero-G!

Medusa is the world's frist floorless coaster. This is what the cobra roll looks like.

Will now has all three Superman: Ultimate Flight credits. He also has both Tatsu and Air as well.

Chuck was happy to learn that he did not have to sit out here for another 3 to 5 minutes.

Will and Chuck think they are Superman.

[Erik Johnson]

Ok, let us do a few of the other unique attractions that are found at this park.

I see you El Toro.

There still is a few left over things from Chiller.

Batman vs. Nitro.

You can get a few good shots of Nitro from here.

Much better than Kingda Ka, isn't it Chuck?

We did go ride the big wheel as well.

What is this used for? Fireworks?

Intamin parachute Drop Tower.

Runway Mine Train.

We decided to ride the skyride, where you can get a really good look of the entire park.

It was pretty cold up there.

Ready for your ride Will?

I was able to also ride the one at SFoG before it was removed for Goliath. (Photo by WillMontu)

Yes, it does look like a hidden Mickey. I should also point out they had 4 of them running that day.

You can find one of the few remaining Intamin parachute towers here.

[Erik Johnson]

We ended up finishing our day by riding El Toro, Nitro, and Skull Mountain a few times. I do want to end this trip report by thanking Chuck, Jeff, and Larry for showing us around this weekend. It sure was a great time. Onward to the final photos:

And heading back to Florida. Thanks for reading.

Saying our goodbyes.

Back in Virginia we say hello again to Angus.

Thank you Six Flags Great Adventure, you guys rock!

Sob....We had along drive ahead of us so we had to leave.

ToroTums.

I also love El Toro.

I love Nitro.

We found the sign for the currently closed raft ride.

[Erik Johnson]

Ok onto my review of my new credits:

 

#240 Griffon: I really do like B&M Dive Coasters so I did like this one quite a bit. The ride itself was great, especially in the backrow where you even have a few extra small pops of airtime right before the splash area section as well as the final brakes. While the station was fine, I wish that they put more money into the theming around the splash area. It really looks like they just added some blue paint and a fence around it. The bridge over the first drop is really nice though.

 

#241 Flight of Fear: I have ridden its twin at King's Island, so I knew what to expect. Its a fun ride though I think that the MCBR was on way too hard. We had an extra special ride as they forgot to turn off the work lights in the main coaster building.

 

#242 Taxi Jam: It was my very ride on any of the elusive Taxi Jam credits. It is a small kiddie coaster, so there isn't much to talk about.

 

#243 Joker's Jinx: It was cool to be able to earn this one as well as Flight of Fear on the same day since they are basically the exact same coaster. The only difference is that Joker's Jinx is not inside a building. I thought this was a great ride and was really surprised how many head choppers are on this thing. It kind of got scary as we zoomed around the track. Unlike Flight of Fear, this coaster did not use its MCBR.

 

#244 El Toro: This maybe my brand new #1 coaster. I really need to ride The Phoenix again at Knoebels before I can make a decision. This coaster exceeded my expectations. The first drop was amazing and you really do get some great airtime on the following hills. The final drop near Rolling Thunder was insane.

 

#245 Runaway Mine Train: It is a pretty typical Arrow Mine Train coaster. With a few surprising small drops that took me off guard.

[TheRapidsNerd]

Man that looked like a great trip all around and everybody had a good time. Enjoyed the Avalanche and Congo pics. Also good to see what's become of the old Drachen Fire station. Wasn't able to ride the train last year, so I missed out.

 

Are SFoG and SFGAdv trying to save cost by not running the rapids until later in the summer? Granted, the weather's been dodgy, but I thought those would be running by now.

 

More importantly, some great coaster shots at Great Adventure.

Cool to see this. Thanks!

[cfc]

I had a great time hitting the parks with you and Will, Erik. Angus sends his regards.

 

I hope that SFA gets its act together again. The park was running pretty well last year, and it does have a good set of coasters (I also prefer Jinx to FoF).

[SharkTums]

ToroTums is awesome!