Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread

[I Like Theme Parks.]

I was planning to take my first visit of the season tomorrow. It's supposed to rain during the morning, there is a smaller chance of rain around noon, and the rain is supposed to stop completely around 2 or 3. So I can confidently say that Kingda Ka and Zumanjaro will most likely be closed at least 60% of the day. But I'll probably go anyway, since the other coasters should be running extra well, especially Toro and Batman. Plus, the park should be empty, since it is March AND it will rain. I'll update with a report about my visit, and I might try to meet up with Coaster Studios. If the rain ends up being too insane, I'll just go on Tuesday instead.

[ejot]

Visited the park for "Allegra Opening Weekend" (LMAO) and had a great visit. 10min wait for Kingda Ka front row in the morning and station waits for everything all day. I don't know what they did to Batman but the hype is real, it is hauling @$$!!

 

They were letting people leave bags in Toro's station - even making an announcement that loose articles should be left on the platform. Not sure if maybe the locke.rs were down or something, but it would be really great if this were a new policy.

 

Oh, and I *finally* got a perfect score on the 3-across skee ball in the arcade by Batman.

[YoshiFan]

I think they aren't enforcing the loose article policy because they don't have enough employees right now to staff the ride entrances and with no one stopping people from taking bags and other items in line, they are allowing items to be left in the stations.

[TyRush]

^I also could see it being more of a hassle to "kick people out" of the station and cause a scene instead of just saying "throw it over there"

[coasterbill]

I think they aren't enforcing the loose article policy because they don't have enough employees right now to staff the ride entrances and with no one stopping people from taking bags and other items in line, they are allowing items to be left in the stations.

 

Agreed, most rides didn't have greeters the other day. I know Superman, Bizarro and El Toro didn't. I actually don't think Kingda Ka and Nitro did either. Batman, Dark Knight and Skull Mountain were the only rides where I remember seeing greeters.

[Satans Hockey]

Went for my first trip with season passes this year with my gf yesterday. I haven't been to the park since 07 or 08 but we decided to get gold passes and gold dining passes plus a picture pass. I was really impressed with how easy everything was, the passes, dining pass and picture pass were all easy to use and worked just like they were suppose to.

 

I thought the park looked great and looked pretty clean.

 

Park wasn't very crowded today so it was a great day.

 

My ride list for the day was

Kingda ka front row and back row

Nitro front row and then a reride in the back row

Zimanjaro

Superman front row

Skull mountain front row

El Toro front row

Dark Knight

Batman front row

Bizzaro front row

Runaway mine train

 

I felt bad for the people running El Toro. They were having issues when I was waiting because too many people didn't fit in the seats properly.

 

Runaway mine train we sat in the second row and got banged around way more then I ever expected lol

 

The food lines were run pretty well today and we both did 1 lunch and 2 snacks each. The funnel cakes were fantastic.

 

Something that both my gf and I noticed, why are there no mirrors in any of the bathrooms? We went in a few on different sides of the parks. Is there any reason for this? Just seems odd to not have them.

 

All in all a great first trip and looking forward to going back down on Wednesday.

 

One main issue we had were being on some coasters with people who wouldn't put their cell phones

away. On nitro we were in the back row next two two girls and one of them had their phone out for the entire ride. Nobody said anything to them until we went to the photo booth and the girl running the booth wouldn't show them the picture cause their phone was clearly out. She warned them that they could be kicked out but didn't get security or anything.

 

Then on skull mountain someone took out a phone and it ruined the entire ride cause they wouldn't put it away and instead of hearing the music and effects all you heard was the operator over the speaker. They should have kicked the person out and let us re-ride.

[El Toro_Ryan]

El Toro was hauling by the third ride and Ryan and his team were doing wonderful (as per usual).

 

Appreciate it! And yeah the ride was actually running very well after it warmed up. The first few test runs were a little scary tho.

 

1) El Toro Crew (and Ryan)... OUTSTANDING JOB!!!! They let both trains ride again last night at the end of the night (and Ryan appeared to be the one telling the guy at the panel to do it, though he may have been telling him the train wasn't parked in the right place, couldn't tell. lol )The ride was running flawlessly, still warming up but honestly the difference between a slow ride and a fast ride on El Toro is minimal. It delivered ungodly airtime everywhere.

 

Thanks to you too man! That was me telling my team member at the Op panel they could ride again. There was a specific reason for it which I can't really disclose here. haha

 

And look for my crew and I to improve. Almost everyone is new to working in rides or new to Toro so everyone is just getting into the groove of things. Hopefully by May, we'll be rolling trains left and right!

[boldikus]

El Toro front row

Skull mountain front row

[coasterbill]

^^ I thought it was funny how after one ride with an empty station one op basically ran down the train to tell everyone they could re-ride. They might as well have been begging "Please make this train as heavy as possible so we don't valley it". lol

 

I know you can't really answer this but by any chance is one train slightly faster than the other? At the end of the night you obviously have no choice but to throw caution to the wind and send an empty one to get the other riders off and that could have been an interesting scenario the other day. (Or could you park it at the base of the lift and bring water dummies out in the morning?)

[El Toro_Ryan]

^^ I thought it was funny how after one ride with an empty station one op basically ran down the train to tell everyone they could re-ride. They might as well have been begging "Please make this train as heavy as possible so we don't valley it". lol

 

I know you can't really answer this but by any chance is one train slightly faster than the other? At the end of the night you obviously have no choice but to throw caution to the wind and send an empty one to get the other riders off and that could have been an interesting scenario the other day.

 

Haha one train is actually faster (The A train) The B train is taking a little longer to break in this season. And we don't actually have to send an empty train to take everyone off the ride thanks to maintenance magic.

[coasterbill]

Awesome. I think I'm picking up what you're putting down. Lol

[coasterbill]

Went for my first trip with season passes this year with my gf yesterday. I haven't been to the park since 07 or 08 but we decided to get gold passes and gold dining passes plus a picture pass. I was really impressed with how easy everything was, the passes, dining pass and picture pass were all easy to use and worked just like they were suppose to.

 

I thought the park looked great and looked pretty clean.

 

Park wasn't very crowded today so it was a great day.

 

My ride list for the day was

Kingda ka front row and back row

Nitro front row and then a reride in the back row

Zimanjaro

Superman front row

Skull mountain front row

El Toro front row

Dark Knight

Batman front row

Bizzaro front row

Runaway mine train

 

I felt bad for the people running El Toro. They were having issues when I was waiting because too many people didn't fit in the seats properly.

 

Runaway mine train we sat in the second row and got banged around way more then I ever expected lol

 

The food lines were run pretty well today and we both did 1 lunch and 2 snacks each. The funnel cakes were fantastic.

 

Something that both my gf and I noticed, why are there no mirrors in any of the bathrooms? We went in a few on different sides of the parks. Is there any reason for this? Just seems odd to not have them.

 

All in all a great first trip and looking forward to going back down on Wednesday.

 

One main issue we had were being on some coasters with people who wouldn't put their cell phones

away. On nitro we were in the back row next two two girls and one of them had their phone out for the entire ride. Nobody said anything to them until we went to the photo booth and the girl running the booth wouldn't show them the picture cause their phone was clearly out. She warned them that they could be kicked out but didn't get security or anything.

 

Then on skull mountain someone took out a phone and it ruined the entire ride cause they wouldn't put it away and instead of hearing the music and effects all you heard was the operator over the speaker. They should have kicked the person out and let us re-ride.

 

Regarding the mirrors there is a reason for it and I believe Disney pioneered it. It's about guest flow. People wasting time looking in the mirror increases congestion and wait times for restrooms so many parks have taken it down to one mirror or eliminated them altogether.

 

Edit: sorry, just realized I double posted.

[DJeXeL]

^That, and graffiti.

[Iby coaster]

Harley Quinn's new sign! It is supposed to debut in late April (Via SFGADV's Twitter)

The new sign is pretty impressive (via Six Flags Great Adventure)

[I Like Theme Parks.]

I decided to take my first visit of the season today, and it might be my best trip to the park yet! The park was empty and it was raining in the morning. There were no lines at all that I waited on. The operations weren't great, but they were better than usual. The operations obviously didn't matter today. Some of the rides were occasionally closed during the morning, but all the important ones were running eventually. So I must give credit to the park for not giving up! The park was very nice and clean. I got to the park at about 10:45, and started riding things around 11:00. Later in the day, I met up with Coaster Studios and some of his other fans, we rode some coasters together, and we helped him film a few videos. I did have food in the park at Johnny Rockets, and it was one of the only places that was open, but it was decent enough. I also saw the lion and tiger cubs, otters, and baby goats. DO NOT MISS THEM!!!!! I finished riding things around 5:00, and left at 5:30 Here is the final ride list:

 

Sky Screamer

Swashbuckler - Slightly different cycle this year. It used to always finish with half a rotation, but now it ends with a full rotation.

Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom

Twister - Has a new cycle which includes 6 flips instead of 4.

Houdini - I was completely by myself, which was kind of weird

Bouldikus Skull Skank Poinsettia Peak Takis Mountain x 3 back row. I was VERY skeptical of how strong the drop would be in the back, but it really delivered. I now see the true love that the Skull Mountain cult is preaching about!

Nitro x 1 back row. Ran very well!

Batman: The Ride x 2 front and middle rows. This thing is FORCEFUL this year, especially with the wet track from the rain!

Dark Knight x 1

Kingda Ka x 1 front row. A little rough, but very fun. It had some technical difficulties, but it eventually opened.

Bizarro x 1 front row. It was pretty rough today, strange, it was a LOT smoother last season. Oh well, still a great ride, and I still "got twisted" I guess. That's what really matters.

Runaway Mine Train x 1 front row. I had a great ride on it. Classic Arrow mine train coaster. The ejector hill on it may take the crown for the best airtime on a kid's/family coaster away from Skull Mountain for me!

Superman: Ultimate Flight x 2 back and middle rows. More fun than I remembered!

EL TORO X 3 BACK, FRONT, AND MIDDLE ROWS. THE WORLD'S GREATEST COASTER WAS RUNNING FANTASTICALLY TODAY WITH ITS WET TRACK. TONS OF POSITIVE G'S, LATERALS, AND !!!!!

 

So this was a fantastic visit, and the perfect way to kick off the season!

[El Toro_Ryan]

EL TORO X 3 BACK, FRONT, AND MIDDLE ROWS. THE WORLD'S GREATEST COASTER WAS RUNNING FANTASTICALLY TODAY WITH ITS WET TRACK. TONS OF POSITIVE G'S, LATERALS, AND !!!!!

 

The homies and I had a Torotastic ride the other day as well.

The homies were really sweaty for some reason.

[TyRush]

^Very funny! Gotta get out to the park this summer again, especially with the new addition coming

[boldikus]

^^ One of the best on ride photos posted on this board, period. I love that Toro's dummies aren't naked.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

^^Each time I rode El Toro today, when we were on the brake run, there were always people confused by the dummies!

[coasterbill]

The homies and I had a Torotastic ride the other day as well.

 

[coneyislandchris]

This is the literal best.

[Satans Hockey]

Hey for you guys that work at the park can anyone tell me if guys are allowed to have a well kept short beard and longer hair to work at the park? Or do you have to be completely clean shaven? I tried searching for the correct answer but there is nothing that is really recent. I'm thinking about applying. Thanks in advance!

[Genx24]

Probably taking a solo trip down to the park tomorrow so they can take my fingerprint. Only chance to get there before they go to weekend only hours and I don't want any problems re: bio-metrics when I visit SFOT next month. If anyone plans on being there and wants to meet up, feel free to message me.

[shadox17]

So I just saw a video from yesterday that shows Ka and Zumanjaro running at the same time. Can anyone confirm this!?

[boldikus]

^ So what you're saying you saw actual video proof of something, yet you are asking for confirmation? LOL

 

But yeah Ka can run with passengers if Zum is running empty. Its not entirely uncommon and I've heard of it happening a bunch and seen it once or twice myself.