Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread

[Comeagain?]

Thanks! Working hard, ya know. Do you know anything about PTC trains or Verkoma(? boomerang coasters)

 

At least on PTC trains with two rows, the rear seats have slightly longer seat belts due to the way they are attached. I've heard of that small change being enough for some people.

[Barge84]

^B&M Hypers don't have a Big Boy seat. Just an FYI.

 

Based on acracks dimensions, I think El Toro might be an issue. The others should be ok, because B&M is usually 52" max for a normal seat, and around 54" for a big boy seat. Nice work on the weight loss!

 

 

Thanks! Working hard, ya know. Do you know anything about PTC trains or Verkoma(? boomerang coasters)

 

PTC trains can literally be a pain in the ass. The seat divider might cause you a little bit of issue with your hips, but I think you'll be ok. I have really big thighs, so they can be a tight fit (It doesn't help that I'm 6'6"). Vekomas are pretty forgiving. The only issues I've had are on the Boomerangs that have the new restraints. I still get on them, but they have to push on it a little bit each time. The SLC models are pretty roomy compared to B&M and Intamin inverts.

[alilstronger]

Wow. That is so Walmart like.

 

When I walk into a very clean park with several 25 million dollar plus rides and lots of fairly happy employees, I don't think walmart. When I am paying $8 for fries and $35 for a sweatshirt, I do not think Walmart. Have you ever worked for either Walmart or Six Flags? If so, I would love to hear some real reasons why Six Flags is anything like walmart in anyway shape or form. Honestly, how much more complex of a lighting package do you need on the ride? Top Thrill Dragster has essentially the same exact thing and I have never heard any complaints. There are homes within 10 feet of the park's borders and an airport a few miles away. I doubt either of those would really appreciate a thousand lights on a 456ft tall structure. There is a difference between practical and cheap. If a single spotlight is all you need to do the trick, than I wouldn't call having just that "cheaping out".

 

I don't understand all of the sudden Gadv hate. Yeah, the park is going through some growing pains rights now and has some weird dead ends, but in reality its got one the best collections of rides out there and a fairly nice atmosphere. Golden Kingdom and PDC are two of the nicest areas in any Six Flags or Cedar Fair parks out there. Both cost a fortune and nobody wants to bring them up when comparing the park to Walmart.

 

End rant.

 

 

I feel the park lacks details, such as theming on many of the rides, or had them, and let them go to crap like the following year. and out the 3 parks I have been to this season so far, its by far the dirtiest. that's why I consider them like walmart. and yes, I worked a handful of season at SFGadv in the 1990's in rides.

 

This thread is full of fighting and complaining, jeez. haha Let's settle this. Walmart and GADV are nothing alike. First off, the only thing dirty about Walmart is maybe some of the people that shop there, but that makes for some hilarious internet pictures. GADV isn't even a dirty park. Sure it's the cleanest place in the world but it's hard to keep a place spotless that serves nearly three million guests a year, and I think the park does a damn good job for what it can. I work at GADV currently and my supervisors are constantly picking up trash and as employees, we are taught to clean up any garbage we see lying around. Even our park president walks around the park everyday just picking up trash. We take cleanliness seriously. Walmart charges almost nothing for its products while GADV prices things at typical expensive amusement park prices. I see no similarities. Walmart is a store, GADV is an amusement park. Again, I see no similarities. And having a light placed on Kingda Ka is better than nothing at all. Like honestly, does it really matter how it was rigged. It works and serves its purpose. We can complain all we want but it won't change anything. I'm sure management has a multiyear plan for the park already worked out to smooth out the dead ends and round the park out more. Just give the park some time. haha Let's focus our energy on Zumanjaro. The ride opens this month!!!

 

 

I could not agree more with either of you. This park a long with any Six Flags park are not known for themeing. Six Flags is known for its rides - not beautiful gardens and things like that. The park could stay just the way it is look wise and I would still love it. I am someone who can appreciate a park for its coasters and/or its beauty/themeing. I hate when people pick it all apart. They start to take away from the fun of it.

[pitstains1]

Read the last few pages and was wondering when we became so pissy?? Seriously - A park that has El-Toro, Nitro, Ka, the Tallest Drop Tower in the world - and we are complaining that two weeks into a season -trains are stacking?? Really? Yeah - the fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo policy sucks - we beat the crap out of that dead horse years ago

 

As far as us deciding how to have Six Flags make the BRAND NEW teams more efficient - lets back up for a second.

 

All of us know - the area around the first Entrance to a ride is always a MESS. The person standing there cannot possibly measure every kid and check every person for bags while they are also answering 100's of questions about the ride. The people in the station have to be the 2nd set of eyes - period.

 

Unfortunately - some people find it necessary to bring the entire contents of their house with them to an amusement park - and decide that they can just take their luggage on any ride they want . Although we know better - the General Public isn't as queued-in as we are.

 

Just thought I'd mention these things - this thread has gotten a little "dark."

 

P.S. - does me bitching about us bitching qualify this post as META?? And thanks to Ryan for responding to everyones suggestions and questions. It is nice to hear the behind the scenes information. This post was meant to bring up a point in a sarcastic manner - so please take it as such.

 

Ta

 

D.

 

 

You sir deserve an award. Preach.

[FaithPlus1]

Wow. That is so Walmart like.

 

When I walk into a very clean park with several 25 million dollar plus rides and lots of fairly happy employees, I don't think walmart. When I am paying $8 for fries and $35 for a sweatshirt, I do not think Walmart. Have you ever worked for either Walmart or Six Flags? If so, I would love to hear some real reasons why Six Flags is anything like walmart in anyway shape or form. Honestly, how much more complex of a lighting package do you need on the ride? Top Thrill Dragster has essentially the same exact thing and I have never heard any complaints. There are homes within 10 feet of the park's borders and an airport a few miles away. I doubt either of those would really appreciate a thousand lights on a 456ft tall structure. There is a difference between practical and cheap. If a single spotlight is all you need to do the trick, than I wouldn't call having just that "cheaping out".

 

I don't understand all of the sudden Gadv hate. Yeah, the park is going through some growing pains rights now and has some weird dead ends, but in reality its got one the best collections of rides out there and a fairly nice atmosphere. Golden Kingdom and PDC are two of the nicest areas in any Six Flags or Cedar Fair parks out there. Both cost a fortune and nobody wants to bring them up when comparing the park to Walmart.

 

End rant.

 

GADV is a nice park and I'd take it any day over the punk filled dump in Valencia California. Six Flags needs to spend a little more on GADV rather than installing cheap roller coasters at Magic Mountain to keep a stupid record.

[Password121]

Wow. That is so Walmart like.

 

When I walk into a very clean park with several 25 million dollar plus rides and lots of fairly happy employees, I don't think walmart. When I am paying $8 for fries and $35 for a sweatshirt, I do not think Walmart. Have you ever worked for either Walmart or Six Flags? If so, I would love to hear some real reasons why Six Flags is anything like walmart in anyway shape or form. Honestly, how much more complex of a lighting package do you need on the ride? Top Thrill Dragster has essentially the same exact thing and I have never heard any complaints. There are homes within 10 feet of the park's borders and an airport a few miles away. I doubt either of those would really appreciate a thousand lights on a 456ft tall structure. There is a difference between practical and cheap. If a single spotlight is all you need to do the trick, than I wouldn't call having just that "cheaping out".

 

I don't understand all of the sudden Gadv hate. Yeah, the park is going through some growing pains rights now and has some weird dead ends, but in reality its got one the best collections of rides out there and a fairly nice atmosphere. Golden Kingdom and PDC are two of the nicest areas in any Six Flags or Cedar Fair parks out there. Both cost a fortune and nobody wants to bring them up when comparing the park to Walmart.

 

End rant.

 

GADV is a nice park and I'd take it any day over the punk filled dump in Valencia California. Six Flags needs to spend a little more on GADV rather than installing cheap roller coasters at Magic Mountain to keep a stupid record.

Now tell me how you really feel...

But in all seriousness, is Magic Mountain that bad? It gets a LOT of hate, but is that just because of Six Flags' compulsion to "beat" CP and occasionally ignore the smaller parks, or is it really that bad? Reason I ask is I'm potentially making a side trip to Magic Mountain if I'm in San Diego this summer. That is, if I can't make it back to CP again.

[coasterfreak101]

^It's actually a pretty damn miserable place to spend any amount of time. Few great rides (X2, Tatsu, Lex Luthor), few good ones (Apocalypse, Riddler's Revenge, Goliath) and then just nothing worth wasting your life away in such an unshaded teenage wasteland.

 

All this being said, I'll be there again in a month.

[richards.adam]

^It's actually a pretty damn miserable place to spend any amount of time. Few great rides (X2, Tatsu, Lex Luthor), few good ones (Apocalypse, Riddler's Revenge, Goliath) and then just nothing worth wasting your life away in such an unshaded teenage wasteland.

 

All this being said, I'll be there again in a month.

 

I think it depends on your mood! Some days little things ruin it and some days the little things make it special.

 

But enjoy the ride I guess!

[FaithPlus1]

Wow. That is so Walmart like.

 

When I walk into a very clean park with several 25 million dollar plus rides and lots of fairly happy employees, I don't think walmart. When I am paying $8 for fries and $35 for a sweatshirt, I do not think Walmart. Have you ever worked for either Walmart or Six Flags? If so, I would love to hear some real reasons why Six Flags is anything like walmart in anyway shape or form. Honestly, how much more complex of a lighting package do you need on the ride? Top Thrill Dragster has essentially the same exact thing and I have never heard any complaints. There are homes within 10 feet of the park's borders and an airport a few miles away. I doubt either of those would really appreciate a thousand lights on a 456ft tall structure. There is a difference between practical and cheap. If a single spotlight is all you need to do the trick, than I wouldn't call having just that "cheaping out".

 

I don't understand all of the sudden Gadv hate. Yeah, the park is going through some growing pains rights now and has some weird dead ends, but in reality its got one the best collections of rides out there and a fairly nice atmosphere. Golden Kingdom and PDC are two of the nicest areas in any Six Flags or Cedar Fair parks out there. Both cost a fortune and nobody wants to bring them up when comparing the park to Walmart.

 

End rant.

 

GADV is a nice park and I'd take it any day over the punk filled dump in Valencia California. Six Flags needs to spend a little more on GADV rather than installing cheap roller coasters at Magic Mountain to keep a stupid record.

Now tell me how you really feel...

But in all seriousness, is Magic Mountain that bad? It gets a LOT of hate, but is that just because of Six Flags' compulsion to "beat" CP and occasionally ignore the smaller parks, or is it really that bad? Reason I ask is I'm potentially making a side trip to Magic Mountain if I'm in San Diego this summer. That is, if I can't make it back to CP again.

 

Its a big park and definitely worth a visit. Lots of coasters even if they are one trick ponies. Tatsu, X2, and Lex Luthor are worth the trip. Then you have a lot of good(not great) coasters like batman, scream, Riddlers Revenge, and goliath. It seems many people like Batman although i can't stand it and you have probably ridden the same ride at 8 different parks. i just don't get why MM gets so much love from SF when there are other parks, like SFGADV, that could use the love.

[DevilsFlight]

SFMM is getting all the love because it's in California. It's the most populated state. I agree that the park is worse than SFGAdv. Most of the coasters aren't even good (Revolution, GL:FF, Ninja, all kiddie coasters). Plus, the employees there are really unfriendly so I've heard. I would pick SFGAdv any day over SFMM and I'm not alone.

[coasterbill]

While I know all of these posts weren't only directed at me (I never compared the park to Wal Mart, I love Great Adventure) but I do want to mention a few things. You're right about Great Adventure having awesome rides and being an awesome park, but there are some complaints that I feel are justified. I'm not implying that the cons outweigh the pros because they don't... but they're still things that I'd like to see addressed.

 

1) You're right about Great Adventure being a coaster park... but if that's the case then I wish they'd take better care of their coasters. A lot of people have been complaining about Nitro's C train running like complete crap and they're completely justified in doing so. It's been 2 years now and they still haven't fixed the problem, it's only getting worse and it's annoying that it's reached the point where when we're in the station we need to find people to ride ahead of us to make sure we don't end up on that train. Non-enthusiasts are complaining about the ride when they get off... it's not just typical enthusiast whining.

 

2) Bizarro's crew has been terrible for 3 years now, so I think it's reasonable to assume that this isn't just because it's early in the season. I think there's a difference between checking restraints slowly and stacking trains because you're all standing around laughing and having a conversation until the ride is already triple stacked and then finally starting to check the restraints. This happens on almost every cycle. If they're going to do this I'd prefer they just run 2 trains because all running 3 trains accomplishes is making sure people spend a really long time sitting on the brakes.

 

Like I said before most of the crews are really good, and some crews are awesome (El Toro, Batman and of course the Skyride... I have no idea how those people do it), overall it's a compliment... but the Nitro and Bizarro crews are pretty bad. I'll give the Nitro crew the benefit of the doubt but this is an every year thing with the Bizarro crew.

[Swede]

Hello TPR-forum.

 

In about two weeks I will make my way from Sweden over to the U.S. for the first time. During my stay I would like to visit SFGAdv but as I'm not native I was hoping you could answer a question. I searched the forums but could only get part of what I'm wondering.

 

As I understand the best time to visit is during weekdays and when the weather is a bit cloudy. However I have no reference to how long the lines for rides usually are. I understand that they opened for the season recently. Does that mean that it will be jam-packed no matter what and are the Flash-passes a good investment?

 

Best regards,

Swede

[Brassinthegrass]

You should be good to go as long as it is not Memorial Day weekend (May 23-26). In reguarss to lines, there not usually bad during the week in May and early June. Last year on a Friday (I believe it was this week last year) we rode everything on the east side of the park except KK (GL, S:UF, ET, RT (both sides), Biz, Mine Train) before lunch. I highly suggest I you go to the Best of the West for lunch. It's a great sit down restaurant with Old School Souther BBQ. It can be found right across from the entrance to the mine train (over the bridge). After than, you can take the sky ride over the park (while you digest) to Nitro and the Batmans... Then ride the sky ride back to do KK and any other rides you want to hit!

[Swede]

You should be good to go as long as it is not Memorial Day weekend (May 23-26). In reguarss to lines, there not usually bad during the week in May and early June. Last year on a Friday (I believe it was this week last year) we rode everything on the east side of the park except KK (GL, S:UF, ET, RT (both sides), Biz, Mine Train) before lunch. I highly suggest I you go to the Best of the West for lunch. It's a great sit down restaurant with Old School Souther BBQ. It can be found right across from the entrance to the mine train (over the bridge). After than, you can take the sky ride over the park (while you digest) to Nitro and the Batmans... Then ride the sky ride back to do KK and any other rides you want to hit!

 

Thank you for the super fast answer and the pointers.

 

I can't wait to get there.

[Brassinthegrass]

I would suggest taking a look at google earth as we'll... The map tends to slow you down, as paths that look to be he shortest aren't in the least!

 

Anytime, I'm on my lunch hour... Just I surfing the forums for some new info...

 

Enjoy the park!

[Swede]

I would suggest taking a look at google earth as we'll... The map tends to slow you down, as paths that look to be he shortest aren't in the least!

 

Anytime, I'm on my lunch hour... Just I surfing the forums for some new info...

 

Enjoy the park!

 

Thank you again. I never thought of that.

 

I'm sure I will (and my chicken GF who doesn't ride anything won't).

[El Toro_Ryan]

I'd just like to give my fellow El Toro crew members a shoutout. While I was working the entrance at the end of my shift today, I saw them dispatching trains so quickly that several trains had to stop on the lift hill cause the prior train still hadn't fully entered the station. I also saw that Nitro wasn't double stacking as I was walking out of work so hopefully everything there is worked out. Also, the park is adding a lot of landscaping to the Zumanjaro quene area and it looks gorgeous so far. I can't wait to see how it looks when it's finished.

[rcjp]

I'd just like to give my fellow El Toro crew members a shoutout. While I was working the entrance at the end of my shift today, I saw them dispatching trains so quickly that several trains had to stop on the lift hill cause the prior train still hadn't fully entered the station.

Well that's impressive. Does the train really have to enter the station for the other one to go or does it only need to clear the first brake section?

[Devins3]

I wonder why the Nitro crew is having so many issues this year. They have always dispatched trains as the one ahead of it is clearing the lift. Hopefully they return to that by the start of summer. So long as people fit the El Toro crew has always been amazing.

[El Toro_Ryan]

Well that's impressive. Does the train really have to enter the station for the other one to go or does it only need to clear the first brake section?

 

The train does have to enter the station in order for the next train to crest the lift hill. It's how the blocking of the ride works.

 

I wonder why the Nitro crew is having so many issues this year. They have always dispatched trains as the one ahead of it is clearing the lift. Hopefully they return to that by the start of summer. So long as people fit the El Toro crew has always been amazing.

 

It's probably just new employees getting into the groove of things. And yeah, when everyone on the train fits, we can have trains ready to dispatch before the train on the course even reaches the Rolling Thunder Hill.

[YoshiFan]

Just like last Friday the park was empty, from 3:30 when I got to the park to closing at 8:00 I didn't wait in a line longer than 5 minutes. The signs in the Boardwalk at the Golden Kingdom entrance now say Kingda Ka is closed until late spring. The signs used to say until Memorial Day. Twister has Twix ads on it and The Log Flume opened for the season.

[Swede]

Just like last Friday the park was empty, from 3:30 when I got to the park to closing at 8:00 I didn't wait in a line longer than 5 minutes. The signs in the Boardwalk at the Golden Kingdom entrance now say Kingda Ka is closed until late spring. The signs used to say until Memorial Day. Twister has Twix ads on it and The Log Flume opened for the season.

 

Never before has a forum-post made me so happy only to seconds later make me so disappointed. It started so good with an almost empty park and no waiting and then BAM!, Kingda Ka. Closed. To an indefinite date. After asking here I planned to go right after the Memorial Day weekend but I guess that won't help. Just my luck. I fly all the way to America and it's closed. I know they have other rides but that was one I was looking forward to in particular.

[larrygator]

Never before has a forum-post made me so happy only to seconds later make me so disappointed. It started so good with an almost empty park and no waiting and then BAM!, Kingda Ka. Closed. To an indefinite date. After asking here I planned to go right after the Memorial Day weekend but I guess that won't help. Just my luck. I fly all the way to America and it's closed. I know they have other rides but that was one I was looking forward to in particular.

 

Never plan a trip to the US to catch a ride right after the projected opening day, too many rides have unexpected delays.

[Swede]

Never before has a forum-post made me so happy only to seconds later make me so disappointed. It started so good with an almost empty park and no waiting and then BAM!, Kingda Ka. Closed. To an indefinite date. After asking here I planned to go right after the Memorial Day weekend but I guess that won't help. Just my luck. I fly all the way to America and it's closed. I know they have other rides but that was one I was looking forward to in particular.

 

Never plan a trip to the US to catch a ride right after the projected opening day, too many rides have unexpected delays.

 

Lesson learned. The real objective of the trip isn't to hit a bunch of theme parks though. I am visiting my fiancées father who is living there. That's what she thinks the trip is all about anyway. I talked her into taking two days aside for me to go on rides. I scoped out a few other parks in the vicinity but haven't settled on what other one to visit. I was thinking of starting a thread to ask of other members opinions.

[larrygator]

I scoped out a few other parks in the vicinity but haven't settled on what other one to visit. I was thinking of starting a thread to ask of other members opinions.

 

You should start a thread. There are a lot of parks and coasters in the vicinity. Some are good and some are bad. TPR members love giving their opinions in threads of this kind.