Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread

[Physical]

Why would they not run it at full speed? Maybe that's what happened last year when I went there and thought the air was not quite what it used to be. (I had also ridden Skyrush a few weeks earlier.)

 

There's some mechanical reasons why the lift was slowed down and why a boost function was later installed. But the ride honestly doesn't run much faster with the boost then it does without it. A fully loaded train averages 44.32 feet per second into the brake run with or without a boost. (Im not making that number up haha the computer says 44.32 almost everytime.) The only difference I've ever notice is really just the first drop. But I think the train spends more time on the unstop wheels during the first drop with a boost which detracts from the extra kick into the first drop. Those unstop wheels do not like to spin freely! I've played with them before.

 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, does the lift sometimes run slow? We were at the park about a month ago, and El Toro broke down roughly 30 minutes before close. It re-opened, and we were on the last 4 or 5 trains of the night, some of them were cresting the lift so slowly that you could hear the anti-rollbacks come out. That stereotypical coaster "clank clank" noise. Was there an issue on that specific night where the lift was slowing down too much? Or is that a common thing.

[BigBad]

I was joking around. The calculation I ran gives me a 1.4mph difference between starting the drop at 5mph versus 15mph, and I've not even accounted for friction or air resistance.

[El Toro_Ryan]

Why would they not run it at full speed? Maybe that's what happened last year when I went there and thought the air was not quite what it used to be. (I had also ridden Skyrush a few weeks earlier.)

 

There's some mechanical reasons why the lift was slowed down and why a boost function was later installed. But the ride honestly doesn't run much faster with the boost then it does without it. A fully loaded train averages 44.32 feet per second into the brake run with or without a boost. (Im not making that number up haha the computer says 44.32 almost everytime.) The only difference I've ever notice is really just the first drop. But I think the train spends more time on the unstop wheels during the first drop with a boost which detracts from the extra kick into the first drop. Those unstop wheels do not like to spin freely! I've played with them before.

 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, does the lift sometimes run slow? We were at the park about a month ago, and El Toro broke down roughly 30 minutes before close. It re-opened, and we were on the last 4 or 5 trains of the night, some of them were cresting the lift so slowly that you could hear the anti-rollbacks come out. That stereotypical coaster "clank clank" noise. Was there an issue on that specific night where the lift was slowing down too much? Or is that a common thing.

 

That's pretty common. Sometimes the anti-rollbacks go off the entire lift and the whole park can hear. Fun fact, each Toro train has two rollback dogs.

[TBpony414]

I love learning things about rides and coasters from people in the know such as Ryan. Thanks for sharing!

[JRice92]

That's pretty common. Sometimes the anti-rollbacks go off the entire lift and the whole park can hear. Fun fact, each Toro train has two rollback dogs.

 

I love little facts like these. Thanks! On Toro's anti-rollbacks is there tires that spin to retract them up to make the lift silent?

[coasterbill]

That's pretty common. Sometimes the anti-rollbacks go off the entire lift and the whole park can hear. Fun fact, each Toro train has two rollback dogs.

 

I love little facts like these. Thanks! On Toro's anti-rollbacks is there tires that spin to retract them up to make the lift silent?

 

Is that how it works on Millennium Force? When those things drop it sounds like the entire train is breaking apart. You can hear it from anywhere in the park.

[Physical]

That's pretty common. Sometimes the anti-rollbacks go off the entire lift and the whole park can hear. Fun fact, each Toro train has two rollback dogs.

 

I love little facts like these. Thanks! On Toro's anti-rollbacks is there tires that spin to retract them up to make the lift silent?

 

Is that how it works on Millennium Force? When those things drop it sounds like the entire train is breaking apart. You can hear it from anywhere in the park.

 

If I'm not mistaken the rollbacks on MF work on a magnet strip running along side the rollbacks. If the train is traveling over a certain speed, the magnets keep the rollback dogs up, but if it drops below a certain speed, they engage. It's the same on I305 as well.

[Samuel]

This might already be common knowledge, but I came across this pair of images that purports to show Philly and NYC from Kingda Ka. It's visually distant, but I thought it was a pretty cool fun fact if it's true.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

That is cool, and not too surprising. From Great America's Sky Trek tower, you can see downtown Chicago over 40 miles away.

[JRice92]

That's pretty common. Sometimes the anti-rollbacks go off the entire lift and the whole park can hear. Fun fact, each Toro train has two rollback dogs.

 

I love little facts like these. Thanks! On Toro's anti-rollbacks is there tires that spin to retract them up to make the lift silent?

 

Is that how it works on Millennium Force? When those things drop it sounds like the entire train is breaking apart. You can hear it from anywhere in the park.

 

Yes, there are 6 anti-rollback dogs on a Millennium train in pairs of 2 underneath car 1, car 4, & car 9. There's a separate tire for each rollback that spins a magnetic wheel causing the rollbacks to lift up. So when the train stops, a tire goes bald, or a tire goes flat the rollbacks drop and I agree it sounds like the train is falling apart lol. Or if the track is wet or it's raining the tires can slip causing the anti-rollbacks to drop at random spots going up the lift.

[Genx24]

This might already be common knowledge, but I came across this pair of images that purports to show Philly and NYC from Kingda Ka. It's visually distant, but I thought it was a pretty cool fun fact if it's true.

You can see Philly from Zumanjaro and Nitro on a clear day. I've never seen NYC from the park before, but I suppose the only way you could is if you were on Ka's tower.

[ImNotOneOfYou]

Maybe the park could capitalize on this fact and build a rather large observation tower.

 

From the SkyScreamer at SFNE, you can see Hartford and what I think is Springfield, Massachusetts.

[Genx24]

Yes, it is indeed Springfield you can see from SFNE. And I think the days of Six Flags building observation decks are long gone.

[UrbanLegend]

Perhaps this has been stated already somewhere, but when will Six Flags be announcing 2017 things for all their parks?

[SteelForceless]

Perhaps this has been stated already somewhere, but when will Six Flags be announcing 2017 things for all their parks?

September 1st, 2016

[robbalvey]

Six Flags Announcement day is this Thursday, September 1st.

 

NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT POST ANY ANNOUNCEMENT NEWS YOURSELF!!!

The admins of this site will create the announcement page for when the information is released. If you create an announcement post yourself, your post will be deleted and you will be given a 30 day ban from the forums.

 

When other members make the posts, it creates additional work for the admins as they have to come in and clean up those posts and re-do them ourselves. So please, I know a lot of you think it will make you look "cooler" to be the "first" to break the news, but to us admins, you'll just be creating an annoyance for us.

 

We will get all the news posted as soon as we possibly can.

 

Thank you for your understanding.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

I had a good visit to the park today. My dad's friends from work were going to the park, and they haven't rode a coaster in 10 years. So they had us show them around. They only wanted to get on the Joker, Kingda Ka, El Toro and Nitro, but they didn't get to Nitro since they had to leave early. I think they may have been pushed to the limit from the front row of Kingda Ka and back row of El Toro right in a row. But they had fun, and I was surprised at what they were able to ride. The park a bit crowded, but not too bad. The operations were kind of bad like normal, except El Toro was running both trains with around one-minute dispatches. Even when a fat guy would get on, it would be less than two minutes! Runaway Mine Train was testing for what seemed like an hour or so, but it never opened and Skull Mountain seemed to be shut down for good the whole day. So there's some maintenance problems, but at least it's not what's going on at SF St. Louis or Elitch Gardens. I stayed from opening to about 3:30. The lines were 20 minutes, except El Toro, Bizarro, Swashbuckler and Batman were 5 minute waits or less. Now onto the ride list:

 

The Joker - This ride delivered once again! At the top I got some violent flips, then in the middle it was hanging upside down most of the time, even on the little bumps which had extreme hang-time, probably approaching -2 gs! Then the final drop is such a perfect way to end the ride. This is an amazing addition, and it's certainly in my top 5 rides at the park!

 

Superman Ultimate Flight - back row - There were butterflies in the station landing on people. That's the only notable thing that happened.

 

Kingda Ka - front row - Fast and awesome!

 

El Toro x 3 - back row - It was running amazing today! It yet again really solidified itself as the best coaster ever.

 

Bizarro - front row - This is probably the best ride I had on it! In the Spring it had a bit of a rattle, but today it was butter smooth! Even the jerky part right before the mid-course brakes wasn't that bad. There were both mist sprayers and fire today.

 

Sawmill Log Flume - This is one of the weaker log flumes I've been on. The scenery is a lot better than I expected, but still nothing outstanding. It's a bit too short, there's nothing that interesting and it's too wet. It's alright. It's hard to believe it's an Arrow flume, since they made some of the best.

 

Swashbuckler - Round-Ups are always fun, but it felt like nothing since a few days ago I rode the most insane Round-Up ever at a tiny carnival.

 

Nitro - back row - It was running really well today. It was wonderful, and the airtime on the last few hills is great.

 

Batman: The Ride x 2 - back, front rows - Forceful as always.

[Superbatboy]

The Joker - This ride delivered once again! At the top I got some violent flips, then in the middle it was hanging upside down most of the time, even on the little bumps which had extreme hang-time, probably approaching -2 gs! Then the final drop is such a perfect way to end the ride. This is an amazing addition, and it's certainly in my top 5 rides at the park!

Yeah, I'm not sure why people complain and call these flats rides etc; They're legit fun, and can be really intense depending on how your seat flips.

[Genx24]

According to Harry over at Great Adventure History (a reputable source who works with the park), John Fitzgerald has resigned as Park President. No reason has been given, nor has an official announcement been made yet.

 

In my opinion this is a shame. The park was well on its way to becoming more well-rounded under Fitzgerald's leadership.

[larrygator]

According to Harry over at Great Adventure History (a reputable source who works with the park), John Fitzgerald has resigned as Park President. No reason has been given, nor has an official announcement been made yet.

 

In my opinion this is a shame. The park was well on its way to becoming more well-rounded under Fitzgerald's leadership.

 

That would be a shame. He is a Jersey native and really into the park. John is a great guy and fun to interact with during media events. If he is leaving I hope it is on his own accord and wish him the best.

[El Toro_Ryan]

That's pretty common. Sometimes the anti-rollbacks go off the entire lift and the whole park can hear. Fun fact, each Toro train has two rollback dogs.

 

I love little facts like these. Thanks! On Toro's anti-rollbacks is there tires that spin to retract them up to make the lift silent?

 

Is that how it works on Millennium Force? When those things drop it sounds like the entire train is breaking apart. You can hear it from anywhere in the park.

 

Yes, there are 6 anti-rollback dogs on a Millennium train in pairs of 2 underneath car 1, car 4, & car 9. There's a separate tire for each rollback that spins a magnetic wheel causing the rollbacks to lift up. So when the train stops, a tire goes bald, or a tire goes flat the rollbacks drop and I agree it sounds like the train is falling apart lol. Or if the track is wet or it's raining the tires can slip causing the anti-rollbacks to drop at random spots going up the lift.

 

That's awesome! And yeah Toro's rollbacks work the same way. There are just less of them on a Toro train for whatever reason.

 

According to Harry over at Great Adventure History (a reputable source who works with the park), John Fitzgerald has resigned as Park President. No reason has been given, nor has an official announcement been made yet.

 

In my opinion this is a shame. The park was well on its way to becoming more well-rounded under Fitzgerald's leadership.

 

Yeah for whatever reason, John felt it was his time to move on and let someone else step in. He's been the president of the park for 6 years I believe. But he was also the guy who closed the path between Ka and Toro

[coasterfreak101]

But he was also the guy who closed the path between Ka and Toro

Hey now, everybody has their flaws.

[Jcoaster]

Such a shame, the last 6 years have brought so many general improvements to Great Adventure. Lets hope whoever steps in can continue that trend.

[Sluggo77]

Harry said that he thought the park would be in good hands moving forward.

[michaellynn4]

I didn't realize that Fitzgerald was so instrumental in converting the Safari into what it is today. Harry seemed to indicate there was a good chance of the park losing the Safari if it didn't go through that transformation.

 

News came out that a new park president was announced for SFFT, so the current rumor is Neal Thurman (SFFT's former president) will be coming to New Jersey. I wouldn't mind that, SFFT has received great praise over the last couple of years.