Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread

[scbt]

Is Superman the best ride ever? Of course not.

 

Is it a fun ride? Absolutely Yes.

 

Superman isn't one of the type of rides that we enthusiasts go crazy over, but the general public certainly does. I have several friends whose favorite ride in the park is Superman. It doesn't pull too many forces or is too extreme (with the exception of the pretzel loop) and isn't super intimidating which means it's enjoyable and accessible for most people, not to mention that the whole flying sensation is rather unique for most people.

[thecoasterdude]

I like Superman, but what I like more than Superman is Batman. Even though they're both clones, which doesn't really matter, I feel Batman is one of the most intense B&M Inverts out there because it's so compact. And yes, the pretzel loop on Superman is fun, I would probably rank Batman 5th in the park, and Superman 6th. As for GL, I honestly hate all stand ups. However GL, is considered one of the best of its kind, it doesn't really compare to Superman. I feel GL is skippable, but if you want the credit do it.

[thecoasterdude]

Im also heading to the park today for Fright Fest. Last year I wasn't able to do any haunts, so are any recommended? I heard Asylum and Voodoo are the best.

[thecoasterdude]

Fort Independence is GONE

[boldikus]

Better advice about Green Lantern's single rider line is to not ride Green Lantern.

 

 

Green Lantern is totally a solid coaster in the broadest sense, but it just doesn't gel with me and therefore its my least favorite in the park w/ Dark Knight (and I guess RRR) the only exception(s). I'd rather ride Blackbeards. Really. I haven't really enjoyed any standups I've been on (GL, Apocalypse/IronWolf, Shockwave[sFGadv]).

 

GL is large, forceful, the first drop and loop are great but as soon as it turns the restraints smack me around relentlessly the rest of the ride and I can't enjoy it. I only had one decent ride in row 7 on the left side. Not sure if its due to my height, other people I've ridden with and the GP seem to like it and its decent waits a good chunk of the time reflect that.

 

Is Superman the best ride ever? Of course not.

Is it a fun ride? Absolutely Yes.

Superman isn't one of the type of rides that we enthusiasts go crazy over, but the general public certainly does. I have several friends whose favorite ride in the park is Superman. It doesn't pull too many forces or is too extreme (with the exception of the pretzel loop) and isn't super intimidating which means it's enjoyable and accessible for most people, not to mention that the whole flying sensation is rather unique for most people.

THIS. Superman to me is all about the pretzel loop. That's all it really is. Drop is mediocre, the whole section afte the loop is fun the first time but then meh. But the loop is one of the most unique and WTF elements in our entire park.

 

I actually enjoy Superman. The pretzel loop is amazing in the back row.

I just recently did it in the back row again and holy jesus. So intense. I haven't done any other B&M flyers, but because of S:UF, I badly want to ride Tatsu (and Manta), I can only imagine how much more awesome they both are. I love to take people on UF just because the loop.

[Genx24]

I badly want to ride Tatsu (and Manta), I can only imagine how much more awesome they both are. I love to take people on UF just because the loop.

The back row of Tatsu changed my life. I thought it was going to be a "meh" ride, because at the time my only flyer was S:UF, but my goodness was I wrong. The pretzel loop blew my mind, and I staggered down the exit ramp after because my knees were knocking together from being floored.

[Coaster Hero]

For me at least, the first drop of GL, the loop, and basically the entire first half is good and enjoyable. The second half is like being in a car accident though. Really compact and fast transitions, lots of headbanging, as well as a lot of stress and pain on your legs make it horrible. I don't know why someone thought it was a good idea to make a seating position that concentrates all of the g's on a coaster to your legs and still make the layout rather intense. I used to ride it every time I went, but I refuse to go on it anymore because it's not worth waiting for, and it gives me a headache for the rest of the day which isn't worth it. But that's fine by me, because that gives me an extra hour to go ride El Toro or something

[Coaster Hero]

Sorry for double posting, but THIS is what TM's colors should have been IMO

 

 

It's No Limits 2 by the way, nothing real

 

(by the way this was a little experiment by me on how white text would look. Now that I saw a quote and it's barely visible, I see why the default text is yellow!)

Edited September 20, 2015 by Coaster Hero

[WindexCyanide13]

Sorry for double posting, but THIS is what TM's colors should have been IMO

 

 

It's No Limits 2 by the way, nothing real

That would have looked amazing by the lake!

[Superbatboy]

That looks great, though the ketchup and mustard colors of TM have grown on me a bit

[neil009]

Went today

 

El Toro's crew was ridiculous. The entrance person said to expect an 80 minute wait with the line filling up the entire queue up to the station but we waited no more than 30 minutes. Incredible, I wish they always ran their coasters like this!

 

Kingda Ka was only running 2 trains today, but for whatever reason all 4 trains were there. Usually one of them is just not there, but it was sitting on the storage track today. Waited 2.5 hours but I was not about to leave without doing it. Today I had one of the best rides I've ever had on it, it was after a breakdown so the launch was ridiculous, more than usual.

 

Nitro was running a bit sluggish on 2 of 3 trains for some reason. The line was really short and the crew was dispatching really quickly, not even saying the usual spiel but just dispatching the trains without saying anything. There was some ERT event tonight, and you needed a yellow wristband to attend. I asked the employees how to get one but they had no idea. I asked the people who had them but they just said someone gave it to them. Strange, but I was a little ticked off because I could have gotten like 10+ rides instead of just 2.

 

So I finally got my phone repaired after not having one for a while, and I had lots of fun taking pictures and video of all the coasters there. It made the wait in line tolerable trying to get unique angles and closeups. I was a little paranoid of it slipping out of my pocket, especially on Nitro after Password121 told his story of losing his phone and the ride ops not being able to get it back.

 

Overall, it was an OK visit. I was half-expecting it to be dead because of the rain, but it was crowded to my dismay. I wish I got to attend that ERT though...

 

I got to do the ERT. We were waiting for row two of Batman (and by that I mean second from the back) when a woman with a camera came up and asked us if we wanted to stay in the park for an extra half hour. All we had to do was agree to get our picture taken. She gave us all wrist bands, took our picture after boarding Batman, and that was it. No more information was given. It was only for Batman and Nitro, and honestly it was only enough time for two laps, maybe more if we hadn't waited for the front, but definitely not 10+.

 

That was some real serendipity because Nitro was only ride #6 for us and we had been in the park since noon, and for one of the people in our group who had to sit out a couple rides it was only ride #3. I was already VERY disappointed in how crowded it was and if we'd missed Nitro I would have been so mad. It was the first time at the park for most of our group and I picked this weekend because I thought it would be relatively dead.

 

Two things of note. Got on Zumanjaro for the first time and honestly, I think it's underrated. I don't know if our car was abnormally heavy or what but that drop was intense. Everyone talks like the build up is great but the drop is disappointing, but I found the kick at the top to be quite strong and sudden and the way down felt VERY fast. It's no ARM tower but it's a close contender. Namtab was FREAKING AMAZING. Easily the best experience I've ever had on an invert. No headbanging, no nausea, just pure unadulterated insanity. I wish it could stay that way permanently.

 

But in general, although I had a good time with my friends, it was gloomy, rainy, chilly, and inexplicably crowded as hell. I just wanted to yell at everybody that it was September and they shouldn't be here. This is supposed to be a good time of year to go but I'll tell you what, I can already only stand going to this place every other year, and after last Sunday I'm ready to never go back again.

[TheMagician]

^^I shouldn't have read your post ... I'm considering going to SFGAdv on one of the weekends in October. But our visit around that time last year was horrible. Zumanjaro, Superman and El Toro were closed half of the day. So the (immensly large) crowds poured into the remaining rides ... there were no signs in the park showing what's open or not or what the wait times were so you had to wander through the huge park just to find out that something was closed.

The remaining coasters all only operated one or two cars (except for Bizarro which ran 3 but loading took so long that you had to wait for about 10 minutes before you could exit the ride after it was over). And I could've dealt with all of that if they had at least filled every seat but there were about 20% empty seats an no single rider lines available.

The two kids I had with me that day were very disappointed.

 

So I'm considering my options for this year. Should I go Fri, Sat or Sun?

[coneyislandchris]

Namtab was FREAKING AMAZING. Easily the best experience I've ever had on an invert. No headbanging, no nausea, just pure unadulterated insanity. I wish it could stay that way permanently.

Could not agree with you more on this. Even after my fifth re-ride, I still found it incredibly intense and unexpected. I'm glad they extended it through the end of the month, and hope they do decide to leave it like this indefinitely.

[YoshiFan]

 

So I'm considering my options for this year. Should I go Fri, Sat or Sun?

 

I would go on a Friday. Crowds are generally low then for the rides. For some reason the first Friday in October was crowded but the rest of them were good. This year I am expecting the final Friday to be crowded since it is the day before Halloween. I was there from opening to closing on the Friday nights last year and averaged around 15 rides a trip which I thought was a lot for 6 1/2 hours especially compared to how bad Saturday and Sundays are. Columbus Day is also a good day to go since it is a school night and with the park open until 10, the park clears out the last few hours.

[njcoasterguy34]

Could not agree with you more on this. Even after my fifth re-ride, I still found it incredibly intense and unexpected. I'm glad they extended it through the end of the month, and hope they do decide to leave it like this indefinitely.

 

I hope they bring back the forward facing trains so I can start riding it again. I do not like riding backwards on roller coasters.

[coneyislandchris]

I hope they bring back the forward facing trains so I can start riding it again. I do not like riding backwards on roller coasters.

How about a compromise then... Flip half the cars?

[njcoasterguy34]

As long as the back row is facing forward, I can deal with that.

[Genx24]

The word is that the normal trains will return at the end of September. Unless they plan on extending it throughout all of Fright Fest.

[Zack44]

The first day of Fright Fest has arrived, and here's my trip report!

 

Report: The first day of Fright Fest 2015 couldn't have been better. The weather was perfect, the crowds weren't too bad until around 6PM, and I was able to do exactly everything I wanted to do at the park. The first thing off my checklist was finally riding El Diablo, which was closed the last time I went to the park. Not only was I able to ride it twice in a row, I was the only person on the train both times! After that, I was able to ride El Toro 4 consecutive times in the back car, due to it only having a line in the main building with two trains operating. Then I met up with my mother and we were both able to ride The Dark Knight and Nitro twice in a row (including my 50th ride on that particular coaster!) At around 1PM, we briefly left the park to get some lunch and immediately went to Kingda Ka, which had 3 trains running but was a longer wait than usual because of technical difficulty.

 

After a quick ride on Twister, we went to the Bone Butcher Territory (AKA Frontier Adventures) only to find that Bizarro was broken down due to technical difficulty, but we were able to catch a cute 20-minute show in the area called "Bad Bob the Bone Butcher", so it was all good. By that point my mother was finished for the day and I decided to get a quick bite to eat. After that, I high-tailed it to the Dead Man's Party stage to catch the Awakening and the first live show of the year, which didn't disappoint. After that, I was able to catch Hypnosteria, was was entertaining and hilarious. By that point it had gotten dark outside so I decided to go on the terror walk "Asylum" in Chiller's old backlot, which was about a 20 minute wait. Then I just decided to end the day by riding my favorite flat ride, Swashbuckler, and a quickie on Bizarro (3 trains)

 

Overall, it was a very entertaining day in spite of some crowds. 5 out of 6 Flags

 

I'll post my pictures shortly...

 

Ridelist: El Toro 4x

El Diablo 2x

Nitro 2x

Kingda Ka 1x

Bizarro 1x

Dark Knight 1x

Twister 1x

Swashbuckler 1x

[Zack44]

Photos:

 

Loving the new centerpiece!

 

Also loving the updated clown balloon

 

 

 

Congrats! But I wish we claimed the #1 wooden coaster from Golden Ticket Awards this year...

 

 

Always love a new terror trail

 

Grandstand no more

 

 

 

No wonder it was more crowded than usual today.

 

New show

 

 

 

 

 

Bleachers and Blackbeard

 

The procession!

 

 

Dr Fright returns!

 

 

 

Hypnosteria returns!

 

Dance party!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading, everyone!

[DoinItForTheFame]

Because nothing says intimidating like a Kia.

 

 

Thanks for the photos!! You got some cool shots!

[Coaster Hero]

I always notice the rubber chunks under the train from the (really fast, by the way) friction wheels having to constantly stop the trains . You'd think they'd get rid of them or something, but it is Six Flags we're talking about here

[thrillrider]

Most rides that are driven/slowed by tires has tire debris under it. It's not just a six flags thing.

[DJeXeL]

Yea........Xcelerator has had this issue since day 1.

RCDB photo

[TheMagician]

 

So I'm considering my options for this year. Should I go Fri, Sat or Sun?

 

I would go on a Friday. Crowds are generally low then for the rides. For some reason the first Friday in October was crowded but the rest of them were good. This year I am expecting the final Friday to be crowded since it is the day before Halloween. I was there from opening to closing on the Friday nights last year and averaged around 15 rides a trip which I thought was a lot for 6 1/2 hours especially compared to how bad Saturday and Sundays are. Columbus Day is also a good day to go since it is a school night and with the park open until 10, the park clears out the last few hours.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!