Going to Six Flags GAdv for the first time

[JayB18]

I will be going to Great Adventure for the first time on Wednesday July 8th and I have a few questions.

 

How are the crowds and lines generally around this time of year.

What coasters are rough? (Im going with friends who dislike rough rides)

Do they give out free ice water?

Is it possible to ride the 15-20 rides I want to try, some more than once (El Toro and Nitro mainly) without a Gold Flash Pass? (most likely getting one since my friends don't like to wait even 30-45 minutes)

What are the best places to eat, regardless of price?

Any other tips or recommendations?

 

Thanks for any help.

[The Bebes]

I don't know what it will be like in July, but we were just there on a weekday in June and the only rides that were NOT walkons were Bizarro (45min), Kingda Ka (1 hour), and El Toro (10-15min) and the log flume (didn't bother).

 

Nitro was running three trains and really pumped people through. We got three rides in (one walk-on in the middle, one 3 train wait for the front, and a one train wait for the back).

 

El Toro was running two trains and the line moved pretty well. Well worth waiting 20-30 minutes for, but the front seat line was 15-20 trains extra. We didn't ride the front.

 

Kingda Ka in the back seat was the roughest ride in the park. We only rode it the one time, but I hear the front isn't as rough.

 

Great American Scream Machine banged us around a bit. I wouldn't call it "rough" so much as "aggressive".

 

Six Flags doesn't give ANYTHING out, so I wouldn't count on ice water. Also, don't bring anything with you that doesn't fit securely in your pockets unless you want to spend $1 at EVERY ride for a short-term locker. This includes "souvenir cups" . And the line monitor will send you out of line to discard items before you get to the station.

[nay]

GAdv will definitely be crowded on a weekday, even in July. I would recommend getting the Flash Pass if you want to ride everything. El Toro and Nitro lines move pretty quickly, even if they appear to be long.

 

Roughest coasters would be Scream Machine and Rolling Thunder. I agree about Kingda Ka being rough in back seats. Go for the front for sure.

 

I generally don't care for the food there, but they have places like Johnny Rocket's, Nathan's, Panda Express, Papa John's, and Cold Stone. And they do let you get a free cup of ice water if you ask.

 

Have fun!

[CreditCrazy]

I know SFMM gives out free ice water, and so does Knott's, Disneyland, etc. I wouldn't think SFGAdv would be any different.

[B-RadG]

They can't really refuse you a cup of water. For one it'd be like saying "No, go die of thirst and don't waste my time."

[AmyUD06]

Actually, they can and then direct you to the water fountains.

[Android]

I hope your first trip goes better than mine!

 

I just went to Six Flags Great Adventure today for the first time, and i was very disappointed that Kinda Ka was working all morning, and not working when i was just about to step into the train!

 

I know that they are waiting for a new part, but they should really just close the ride down rather than run 1 train every 3 hours, and have people waiting around with false hopes.

 

Other than Kinda Ka being down. Everything else was pretty good. All of the reviews that i have read about El Toro are true! I rode both in the front seat, and back, and it took my breath away both times!

 

Bizzaro was a little bit of a let down. The new effects were only mediocre. The S-shield tunnel was a little short, and kinda thrown in there. The fire cannons seemed to be going off a little to soon, not to mention that both almost never worked at the same time today. It was always one or the other. The Music was also a tad quiet to hear over the roar of the coaster. If there was any story to be told through the speakers, i did not hear it. Still a good ride though.

 

Overall it was a pretty good day! Hope Kinda Ka stops being so touchy for your trip, and for my next trip!!

[Solid Gold]

I visited this park for the first time back in early May while Ka and Bizarro were both closed, and it was still awesome, my third favorite park overall (above Hershey and Dorney on the same trip).

 

Firstly, get there on time. You are going to need to use all of your time that you have to accomplish this park. My suggestion is to ride Ka if it is open first thing in the morning, and either Batman or Superman if it isn't (because waiting in line an hour for a cloned ride is pretty lame).

 

El Toro, Nitro, and probably Bizarro are all people movers. The Mine Train, Scream Machine and Rolling thunder will be bearable waits at any time, Dark Knight and Skull mountain shouldn't be much wait time, and they're indoors so that's welcome anyway.

 

Good luck getting on everything. Flash pass might not be a bad idea.

[Jinx]

I will be going to Great Adventure for the first time on Wednesday July 8th and I have a few questions.

 

How are the crowds and lines generally around this time of year.

What coasters are rough? (Im going with friends who dislike rough rides)

Do they give out free ice water?

Is it possible to ride the 15-20 rides I want to try, some more than once (El Toro and Nitro mainly) without a Gold Flash Pass? (most likely getting one since my friends don't like to wait even 30-45 minutes)

What are the best places to eat, regardless of price?

Any other tips or recommendations?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

If it's a nice day, it will probably be crowded. Not atrocious like 3 hour lines, but maybe an hour+.

 

Scream Machine and Rolling Thunder are pretty brutal. KK can also get a pretty good rattle, especially in the back of the train. Some people don't seem to notice this though.

 

Probably not, though El Toro and Nitro's lines move really fast (unless ET is running one train). If the weather is crappy though, the crowds will be much lighter. Everything usually runs in the rain except KK, as long as there's no thunder/lightning. If it wasn't terribly crowded and you were theree all day you could probably do it, it depends.

 

Personally I'm not a fan of any of it, but a lot of people like Best of the West which is over the bridge behind the log flume. It's all expensive.

 

Get there early enough to be at the "rope drop". Superman gets a really long line pretty quickly. Bizarro/Medusa will also get a long line now. Lines also get very short towards closing as people start leaving.

[scooterdoug]

I was there on Sunday, May 31. While the only other time I was there was 16 years ago, I can give you some advice. First off, get there early and head straight for El Toro. Gate crashing pays, and you can get a couple of good rides in before the line becomes unreasonable. Everything you've heard about the ride is true. It is absolutely amazing. I rode it in the front and back...definitely preferred the front. Once you've had fun on El Toro, keep an eye on Kingda Ka. If you see it running, then head over. Like my cousin said when we were there, Kingda Ka is all records. Nothing terribly spectacular. Get the credit for sure, but I wouldn't run straight to that ride.

As for the Gold Flash Pass...I can't recommend it enough. Turned a day of hour waits into a walk-on day. Also, the unit vibrates when there is news, such as KK being open. That is helpful.

As for rough rides, I avoided GASM, as I've been on it before. KK was smooth enough, I rode it in the very front. Bizarro beat me up quite a bit, more than Scream at SFMM. Nitro was delightful, and the lines move quickly. Superman was smooth and fun, but a let down after Tatsu. Finally, The Dark Knight should be ridden only for the credit, and only if there is no wait. It's just an indoor wild mouse with theming.

Well, that's all the advice I can give you. Mainly, get a Gold Flash Pass and ride the spectacular El Toro as many times as possible. Have fun!

-Doug

[Android]

If the weather is crappy though, the crowds will be much lighter. Everything usually runs in the rain except KK, as long as there's no thunder/lightning.

 

This is not exactly true. Yesterday, there was rain for about a half hour, no thunder or lightning, and they had almost the entire park on stand still. I was in El Toro's Station during the rain, and the Manager said that the only ride that was not on stand still was Bizzaro. El Toro was shut down as soon as they saw the drops start to fall slowly.

[coasterfan21]

I would have to say that I hope you have a great time. It is deffinatly a very nice park. For rough rides, of course you have to put Scream Machine in there, but a big surprise for me was how rough Kingda Ka is in the back. For me at least it was almost unbearable, but the front is very smooth, and is a very fun experience, so try and get as close to the front as possible. Ooh ya and one more thing, El Toro is a must ride. Other than that I don't know about crowds because it isn't a park I visit allot because I don't live near it but I hope there arn't long lines for your trip.

[Jinx]

If the weather is crappy though, the crowds will be much lighter. Everything usually runs in the rain except KK, as long as there's no thunder/lightning.

 

This is not exactly true. Yesterday, there was rain for about a half hour, no thunder or lightning, and they had almost the entire park on stand still. I was in El Toro's Station during the rain, and the Manager said that the only ride that was not on stand still was Bizzaro. El Toro was shut down as soon as they saw the drops start to fall slowly.

 

That's weird, maybe because thunderstorms were in the forecast? Anyway, that's why I said "usually", because you never know.

[YoshiFan]

If there is lightning a certain distance from the park, the rides can't run. Last year I was there in April, Nitro shut down because of lightning and it was sunny out. Apparently there was lightning a certain distance away from the other end of the park so most if not all rides were shut down for a little while.

[MagicMountainMan]

I know everybody recommends the Gold Flash Pass when going to the park, but is it really worth $211 for a family of 4? My family is going there this July and we don't want to drop that much... How does the regular Flash Pass compare?