Six Flags New England (SFNE) Discussion Thread

[Sluggo77]

SFNE tweeted pics of Joker track that is now onsite.

[Sportsdude360]

^That track looks exactly like the SFOT version. It's a great color scheme!!

[boldikus]

^That track looks exactly like the SFOT version.

 

And Great Adventure & Great America?

[Physical]

Any idea how crowded SFNE gets during the summer on the weekends? I'm starting a new job and it's going to conflict with my favorite hobby (See: It's a real 9-5 mon-fri instead of some craptastic random hour kitchen job)

 

I've already bought my season passes for the 2017 season so it looks like we're going to have to brave some crowds this summer.

[coasterbill]

I mean, it gets crowded but it's nothing awful. We always go on weekends and never consider the crowds to be overwhelming. A lot of people flock to the water park in the summer. Then again, I don't really freak out about lines the way most enthusiasts do.

[boldikus]

Some locals buds and I just started planning a day/weekend trip up to SFNE in early spring. Will be my first visit (finally!) and first RMC. Also looking forward to experiencing another highly regarded Intamin. Can't wait! I'll keep my expectations of the park low and hopefully will enjoy it. Already budgeting for a FP lol.

[coasterbill]

Woah woah woah, you guys are doing a SFNE trip??? Keep us posted on this one. Their alcohol policy is the same as BGW so you'll probably love this park. lol

[boldikus]

Woah woah woah, you guys are doing a SFNE trip??? Keep us posted on this one. Their alcohol policy is the same as BGW so you'll probably love this park. lol

 

Yep! Imri and I have been texting about it, we're gonna try to hit it in April/May, I'm thinking maybe getting a room up there? And yeah I already like this park if thats how they roll boozewise. I'm really stoked to do WC and Bizuperman: The Ride of Ultimate Steel or whateverthef*ckitscalledthisweek.

[coasterbill]

You'll drive right by Lake Compounce and Quassy and both parks are 10 minutes off the exit at most. If I were you I'd go in May when they'll be open.

 

If you go to SFNE on a Saturday, you can swing by both parks on the way home on Sunday. You could probably make due with 2-3 hours at Compounce and 15 minutes at Quassy since you can buy tickets at Quassy and only need to ride one ride.

[boldikus]

That'll definitely be something to consider. We'd likely hit SFNE on the Saturday and just crash there so we don't have to drive back at night. Looks like its about a little more than 4 hours each way. But now you are giving me ideas. Maybe just Compounce on the way home? I definitely want to ride BD. Hmmmmm

[coasterbill]

You should at least stop at Compounce on the way home. Driving by a big "Lake Compounce" sign knowing that Boulder Dash is 10 minutes away and not stopping would be physically painful to anyone who hasn't ridden it.

 

Quassy isn't a "must do", but at the same time you'll be ten minutes away from it.

[Sportsdude360]

^That track looks exactly like the SFOT version.

 

And Great Adventure & Great America?

 

The SFGA version has the same color track but the supports are black. The SFOT, SFGAm and SFNE versions all have purple and green supports.

[BigBad]

You should at least stop at Compounce on the way home. Driving by a big "Lake Compounce" sign knowing that Boulder Dash is 10 minutes away and not stopping would be physically painful to anyone who hasn't ridden it.

 

Quassy isn't a "must do", but at the same time you'll be ten minutes away from it.

Does either park offer single-ride tickets like Knoebels does? I feel like I've looked this up and determined that the answer is no, though it would be nice not to have to pay the full admission price just to ride Boulder Dash or Wooden Warrior a time or two.

[coasterbill]

Yes. Quassy does. Rides are either 1 or 2 tickets and tickets are $2.50 each. Wooden Warrior is 2 tickets ($5). They charge 7 bucks to park though so basically to pop in and ride Wooden Warrior would be like $8.50 each (aka completely worth it).

[boldikus]

^That track looks exactly like the SFOT version.

 

And Great Adventure & Great America?

 

The SFGA version has the same color track but the supports are black. The SFOT, SFGAm and SFNE versions all have purple and green supports.

 

Brah. Your original post said nothing about the supports. I was merely pointing out that all four Joker installations have purple and green tracks. I'm aware the newer 3 have purple/green supports as well.

 

^ Wooden Warrior looks like a ton of fun, and if there is no gate price I'd totally stop to ride it for that price. We'll see how this shakes out.

[michaellynn4]

Rikki and I stopped by Quassy on our way home from our LC/SFNE vacation back in 2014. It was completely last minute and improvised. We managed to park, get four rides on Wooden Warrior, and leave, all within about thirty minutes. I didn't know anything about the coaster going into it and was totally surprised. It wasn't until I researched it later that I learned of its reputation among the coaster community. Cost us $27 total and was totally worth it.

 

Moral of the story:

 

[coasterbill]

You really experience an incredible shift in emotions with that park. First you pull up and look at the stupid looking ride and go, "WTF, that's it?". Then you pay to park and feel stupid for even being there but you might as well pay because now you've driven 10 minutes out of the way anyway so you're committed at that point. Then you wait in line for the VERY BACK ROW (take notes, accept no compromises) and still feel stupid until you start going down the drop and all of a sudden start wondering why the hell that stupid looking ride just ejected you out of your seat with a pop of ejector airtime that would make El Toro go... "damn".

[Genx24]

Popping in to echo the praise for Wooden Warrior. We went on a NE trip last summer and tacked on Quassy at the last minute. WW ended up being one of the best coasters on the trip. Definitely stop by.

[boldikus]

So since I don't know much about the park other than the coaster line-up, any worthwhile flats? They have an S&S tower right? Also size-wise is it small in comparison to GreatAdv or more like SFA? And definitely a one day park right? If we go with FP is it set up just like GreatAdv with merge points in the queues, etc? Doublerides for Platinum? Any restrictions? Other than their awesome alcohol policy what else do I need to know? Decent dining pass places? Give me the run down, fellas. Tips, tricks, pimps and hoes. Give me everything you got.

[coasterbill]

We'll probably invite ourselves and tag along anyway (lol), but incase we don't or you get sick of our sh*t, aside from the coasters the must rides are the New England Sky Screamer (which is 400 feet tall and the tallest in the world), Buzzsaw which is awesomeness, the S&S tower and the Frisbee (Tomohawk). Their Houdini is terrible.

 

It's at minimum an 11 day park.

[boldikus]

You totally should meet up with us. I can't imagine coming up there and not hanging with youse guys. But as I talk to travel companion today about it he's asking all sorts of questions. He also pretty much vetoed Quassy when I showed him the TPR POV but I'm gonna work on changing that especially if there is no gate price and its that close by.

[RaceBoarder]

So since I don't know much about the park other than the coaster line-up, any worthwhile flats? They have an S&S tower right? Also size-wise is it small in comparison to GreatAdv or more like SFA? And definitely a one day park right? If we go with FP is it set up just like GreatAdv with merge points in the queues, etc? Doublerides for Platinum? Any restrictions? Other than their awesome alcohol policy what else do I need to know? Decent dining pass places? Give me the run down, fellas. Tips, tricks, pimps and hoes. Give me everything you got.

No rerides on Wicked Cyclone... Also, FP had the distinct advantage of walking right up to the station and having the grouper pull the FP people in first, so guaranteed front row rides! Downside: they pull FP people first so that means zero chance at a back row ride

[Canobie Coaster]

You really experience an incredible shift in emotions with that park. First you pull up and look at the stupid looking ride and go, "WTF, that's it?". Then you pay to park and feel stupid for even being there but you might as well pay because now you've driven 10 minutes out of the way anyway so you're committed at that point. Then you wait in line for the VERY BACK ROW (take notes, accept no compromises) and still feel stupid until you start going down the drop and all of a sudden start wondering why the hell that stupid looking ride just ejected you out of your seat with a pop of ejector airtime that would make El Toro go... "damn".

 

Wooden Warrior isn't too shabby in the front seat either, but I agree the back is the best seat on that ride. Gravity Group has really excelled making these small woodies. Your sentiments as you rolled up describes how I felt the first time. Now they also have Frantic so there's two really good rides worth hitting.

 

So since I don't know much about the park other than the coaster line-up, any worthwhile flats? They have an S&S tower right? Also size-wise is it small in comparison to GreatAdv or more like SFA? And definitely a one day park right? If we go with FP is it set up just like GreatAdv with merge points in the queues, etc? Doublerides for Platinum? Any restrictions? Other than their awesome alcohol policy what else do I need to know? Decent dining pass places? Give me the run down, fellas. Tips, tricks, pimps and hoes. Give me everything you got.

 

I usually go to the park 4-5 times per year, so I can give you the rundown on the park.

 

Coasters- Sounds like you're familiar, but I'll reiterate that they have two of the world's best coasters in Wicked Cyclone and Superman. You can't always pick your seat, but if you can I recommend back on Wicked Cyclone and front on Superman. Batman, Pandemonium, and Thunderbolt are good too. Goliath is great in the front but is much maligned in every other seat; it also breaks down frequently and doesn't run in the rain. Unfortunately at this park, the only coaster where you get free choice of seating is Mind Eraser...

 

Flats- Scream is a combo tower, so if you've never been on one of those, it's worth checking out. Ride on the side facing Superman if possible since you feel higher up looking at the river. The New England Sky Screamer is huge and gives amazing views of the park; it's twice as tall as Great Adventure's. Houdini is a lot of fun, but it's probably identical to the Great Adventure one.

 

Water Rides- Blizzard River is a pretty average rapids ride. How wet you get depends if the waterfalls are turned on. You can tell if they're on if you sneak a peak when you're at the Sky Screamer.

 

Water Park- SFNE has one of the better water parks I've been to, but the lines can get extremely long if you don't get there at opening. Typhoon (water coaster) is a lot of fun, but lines can reach an hour. The Bonzai Pipeline drop pod slides are a rush, but you can really feel where the slide pieces come together. The Swiss Family Toboggan tube slide is excellent and the raft really slides far up the wall.

 

Lines- Not sure when you plan to go, but on a busy day in the afternoon you're looking at 60-90 min for Superman, 45-60 min for Wicked Cyclone and Goliath (expect a break down), 30 min max for Batman and Thunderbolt, 15 min for Flashback and Gotham City Gauntlet, 5-10 min for Catwoman. I rarely ever ride Mind Eraser because of how bad it is so I can't comment on that line since it's kind of hidden. Use the single rider line for Pandemonium (it's not well marked, but go up the Flash Pass return line and just say you're a single rider) since the normal line is 60-90 min. Scream's line can be up to 60 min but also as small as 15 min. The SkyScreamer is a slow loader and can take 30-45 min to get on.

 

Flash Pass- If you go in the spring before Memorial Day, you likely won't need a Flash Pass. If you go on a weekday, it's also possible to get on things without a Flash Pass. However, if you don't plan to visit often I'd recommend a Flash Pass if you go on a weekend. You'll want to reride Superman and Wicked Cyclone a lot. The Platinum Flash pass allows double rides on everything except Superman (may be changed back if VR is done) and Wicked Cyclone. Because SFNE doesn't allow you to pick your seat on rides, most of the merge points allow you to get on the next train. So that's one positive for Flash Pass people.

 

Food- The food in the park is basically the same as Great Adventure. I highly recommend Nicky's Pizza, which is just down the road. They have massive pizza slices and are really cheap too. The food there is excellent and I always stop there after leaving the park.

 

So since I don't know much about the park other than the coaster line-up, any worthwhile flats? They have an S&S tower right? Also size-wise is it small in comparison to GreatAdv or more like SFA? And definitely a one day park right? If we go with FP is it set up just like GreatAdv with merge points in the queues, etc? Doublerides for Platinum? Any restrictions? Other than their awesome alcohol policy what else do I need to know? Decent dining pass places? Give me the run down, fellas. Tips, tricks, pimps and hoes. Give me everything you got.

No rerides on Wicked Cyclone... Also, FP had the distinct advantage of walking right up to the station and having the grouper pull the FP people in first, so guaranteed front row rides! Downside: they pull FP people first so that means zero chance at a back row ride

 

At the end of the year, they stopped enforcing assigned seating and let you fill in any row and even wait for a row as long as the line wasn't more than 2 or so trains. Fingers crossed they keep that policy in 2017.

[njcoasterguy34]

So since I don't know much about the park other than the coaster line-up, any worthwhile flats? They have an S&S tower right? Also size-wise is it small in comparison to GreatAdv or more like SFA? And definitely a one day park right? If we go with FP is it set up just like GreatAdv with merge points in the queues, etc? Doublerides for Platinum? Any restrictions? Other than their awesome alcohol policy what else do I need to know? Decent dining pass places? Give me the run down, fellas. Tips, tricks, pimps and hoes. Give me everything you got.

No rerides on Wicked Cyclone... Also, FP had the distinct advantage of walking right up to the station and having the grouper pull the FP people in first, so guaranteed front row rides! Downside: they pull FP people first so that means zero chance at a back row ride

 

If you politely mention to the grouper that you'd like to ride in the back, I'm pretty sure he or she will let you.

[boldikus]

I really hate groupers. Though I have found (at other parks) if you ask nicely 99% of the time they will let you sit where you want.