Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread

[boldikus]

So does this park stay open year round? I saw there were hours posted into January.

 

No, they close for the season after January 2nd. Starting on November 19th they do their Holiday in the Park event celebrating the most holy time of year. This is a New Jersey tradition where we celebrate the birth of the savior by entering a whimsical mountain adorned with a skull bleeding out of it's eyes covered in glittering lights to ride a coaster while listening to the timeless holiday death metal inside (as Jesus would have wanted). Then we power ride an 80 MPH hypercoaster on 29 degree nights for hours upon hours as a sign of respect for the forgiveness of sins or something.

 

Then we eat waffles. Amen.

[michaellynn4]

Finally, a religious tradition I can get behind!!

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^ HITP runs through the first weekend of January. See yall there! #closingdayNitromarathoncruwhereyouat?

 

edit: I just noticed closing day is Monday. WTH? For real though that Sunday (New Years Day) is gonna be the move. Went last year on New Years Day and it was 30 degree and EMPTY. Because everyone is hungover as a mutherf**ker after NYE they ain't gonna have time for no coasters.

There probably will be quite a lot of people off work that Monday. My office is closed that day since New Year's Day falls on a Sunday this (next?) year.

[Sluggo77]

Couple questions. What's the deal again for season pass holders getting in a little early and where do you go at the gate to get let in? Also is there a short cut to get over towards El Toro instead of having to go up into the midway and around? Lastly which coasters have single rider lines and are the different entrances then the main? Thanks.

[YoshiFan]

There is no separate for entrance for early entry, sometimes they don't even offer it and you only can enter 10 minutes early with no rides open early.

 

If the arcade by the tea cups is open, you can cut through there to avoid going through the boardwalk.

 

Green Lantern and Joker have single rider lines but both aren't great since they don't start until towards the end of the queue and if the line is long, won't save much time. Zumanjaro's single rider line is better as it starts at the entrance. Green Lantern's single rider line is closed often later in the year too, I don't think it was open at all during November and December last year.

[Sluggo77]

What an awesome day at the park today. If anyone is thinking about going tomorrow definitely do it. Everything was pretty much a walk on all day. I arrived at 10:50 and left at 7. Here's what a got in.

 

El Toro 5x

Kingda Ka 3x

Zumanjaro 1x

Green Lantern 1x

Superman 1x

Houdini 1x

Joker 4x

Harley Quinn 1x

Skull Mountain 2x

Dark Knight 2x

Batman 1x

Nitro 12x

 

I didn't really take photos today but here are two.

 

No JL progress

HITP decorating in full swing

[I Like Theme Parks.]

Today I went from around 11:20 - 2:50. It was an amazing day to go. The park wasn't abandoned or anything and there were more people than I expected, but there were no lines for anything. Also, the operations were actually great! Even though the lines were short and some coasters weren't running all of their trains, the ride operators on all of the rides were moving really quickly. El Toro had the fastest operations, since Ryan was there, and there were Knoebels-speed dispatches! And the other crews greatly improved by telling everyone that there was one minute to get into their seats. Apparently this is going on at other Six Flags parks, and here it definitely works. I go to Great Adventure all the time, but it would be even more frequent if they keep this up. The decorations being put up are making me even more hyped for another year of Holiday in the Park. Here's the rides today:

 

Kingda Ka x 3

Zumanjaro

El Toro x 5 - Front, back, middle rows. It was definitely running a bit slowly in the cold morning, but even in that condition it's the best coaster in the world.

El Diablo

The Joker x 3 - Green twice, purple once. Finally, for once this coaster has no lines! I rode the purple side for the first time, and it's true that it doesn't have as many flips, but I thought it was just as fun. Instead of getting about 4 full flips and lots of hanging upside down like you get on the green side, I got 2 flips on the purple side. But because of the lack of flipping, on some of the bumps there was some decent airtime, which is a nice contrast to the hang-time in the rest of the coaster. I'm very glad that these are being cloned.

Skull Mountain x 3 - Back row.

Nitro x 3 - Back row. The view was incredible with the fall leaves!

Batman: The Ride x 3 - Back row. I love this coaster more every time I ride it. Seriously, the forces are awesome. I think this is now my third favorite coaster in the park behind El Toro and Nitro.

[Jason Maier]

the Justice League: Battle for Metropolis 4D ride . . . . that's (partially) where Batman & Robin: The Chiller & Movietown Water Effect were?

 

And I did end up making the 166 mile trek from Maryland yesterday

[El Toro_Ryan]

Even though the lines were short and some coasters weren't running all of their trains, the ride operators on all of the rides were moving really quickly. El Toro had the fastest operations, since Ryan was there, and there were Knoebels-speed dispatches!

 

You probably came while we we're trying to hit the theoretical max number of cycles for an hour, which is 36 trains. We got to 32 trains with 5 minutes left in the hour and then we basically broke the ride. Then we just stuck with one train for the rest due to the lack of guests in the park.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Even though the lines were short and some coasters weren't running all of their trains, the ride operators on all of the rides were moving really quickly. El Toro had the fastest operations, since Ryan was there, and there were Knoebels-speed dispatches!

 

You probably came while we we're trying to hit the theoretical max number of cycles for an hour, which is 36 trains. We got to 32 trains with 5 minutes left in the hour and then we basically broke the ride. Then we just stuck with one train for the rest due to the lack of guests in the park.

 

32 dispatches in 55 minutes. Holy crap that's amazing. Congratulations to you and your crew!

[coasterbill]

We were down in Delaware for the weekend and we decided to swing by the park last night for about an hour on the way home. I'm so glad we did.

 

We got there about an hour before park closed and were greeted by empty parking booths, so we immediately zipped into preferred parking and parked right near the gate. We planned to ride Kingda Ka and then marathon Toro but Kingda Ka was down when we arrived (we assumed for the night) so we made a bee line to Toro.

 

I was looking for Ryan but didn't see him, (greeting maybe? I couldn't see sh*t over there it was so dark, lol). Anyway we immediately walked on to the magic seat and got 2 rides without getting up. They were obviously running 1 train due to low temps and low crowds but it was a full train (mostly because of people re-riding) and it hauled a**.

 

We assumed that given the lack of crowds and the temperature right at 40 degrees even, Kingda Ka was done for the night but I guess I forgot what park I was in because after our second Toro ride we looked over to our right and saw a Ka train rocketing towards the stratosphere full of screaming riders.

 

There was nobody waiting for our row, and re-riding El Toro was tempting, but we made the tough decision to pry our selves away from the bull and try to get a front seat Kingda Ka ride (life is full of hard decisions but this is the cross I bear). When we got over to Kingda Ka we saw something we had never seen before, one train operation and a totally empty station!

 

There was a train in the station but they couldn't send it until it was full. We got in line for the front but they were trying to get us in the back so they could fill and launch the train. I wanted to be a team player even though the ride sucked in the back so I said okay as long as we could jump in the front on the next launch but they told us if we wanted the front we needed to wait for it and that wasn't possible. I felt kind of bad, but we wanted the front and the ride sucks big time in the back so we waited a few minutes for more people to show up and thankfully 2 of them jumped in the back row.

 

When that train pulled in we jumped in and after waiting about 5 more minutes to get a full train, we finally got our last ride of the season on Kingda Ka. There's nothing like riding this thing in the front when it's insanely cold out. It really let's you experience the unbelievable power of the thing and as always the ride left us speechless.

 

There was time for one more launch, but someone was waiting for our row when we pulled in so we decided to call it a night and end on a high note.

 

So in a little less than an hour we got 2 rides on Toro in the magic seat and a front seat Kingda Ka ride. I'd say that's a pretty awesome pit stop. Bring on Holiday in the Park!

I could get used to this.

But this is mind blowing. I've never seen anything like this...

PS: I'm kind of a big deal...

[El Toro_Ryan]

Even though the lines were short and some coasters weren't running all of their trains, the ride operators on all of the rides were moving really quickly. El Toro had the fastest operations, since Ryan was there, and there were Knoebels-speed dispatches!

 

You probably came while we we're trying to hit the theoretical max number of cycles for an hour, which is 36 trains. We got to 32 trains with 5 minutes left in the hour and then we basically broke the ride. Then we just stuck with one train for the rest due to the lack of guests in the park.

 

32 dispatches in 55 minutes. Holy crap that's amazing. Congratulations to you and your crew!

 

Thanks my dude! The record is 38 trains which blows our minds because theoretically it's impossible. I think that was done back in 2010 when sprinting on the platform was allowed.

 

I was looking for Ryan but didn't see him, (greeting maybe? I couldn't see sh*t over there it was so dark, lol). Anyway we immediately walked on to the magic seat and got 2 rides without getting up. They were obviously running 1 train due to low temps and low crowds but it was a full train (mostly because of people re-riding) and it hauled a**.

 

It would have been nice to meet you. I think I was the entrance greeter at the time. It's so dark at Toro at night, it was probably impossible to see anything.

[coasterbill]

^ I had a feeling when I didn't see you in the station. Sorry about that, I couldn't see sh*t back there. Are you working HITP?

 

Since every restaurant and shop was closed between the arcade / boardwalk area and Plaza De Carnival and everything in Plaza De Carnival except the rides were closed it was even darker than normal back there. I felt like I had snuck into a part of the park I wasn't supposed to be in... it was actually really creepy. We felt a lot better when we finally heard a Toro train come by.

 

Anyway... we have more information on Holiday in the Park! This confirms a few things we had been speculating about for awhile and gives us some new information too.

 

Northeast’s Largest Halloween Party Transforms into Winter Wonderland for Holiday in the Park®

 

The Northeast’s largest Halloween party, Six Flags Great Adventure’s Fright Fest, magically transforms into a winter wonderland for Holiday in the Park® weekends and select days November 19 through January 2, 2017. More than a million glittering lights, dazzling holiday entertainment, delicious seasonal treats, Santa’s village and many popular rides provide a way for guests to create memorable holiday moments at Six Flags Great Adventure this winter.

 

Opening for its second season in 2016, Holiday in the Park features two newly-themed sections, new shows, shops, additional rides and a variety of new dining options. The event is included with all Season Passes and active Memberships.

 

“Guests are awestruck by the beauty of Holiday in the Park,” said Six Flags Great Adventure President Neal Thurman. “This festival combines holiday traditions with thrills that are uniquely Six Flags, landing it on every family’s must-do list this winter.”

 

A multi-sensory feast awaits just inside the gates throughout 11 specially-themed areas of the park. The sights, sounds, scents and experiences are carefully coordinated to provide an incredibly immersive and magical holiday experience.

 

Signature Holiday in the Park attractions include:

 

Holiday Magic: A Celebration of the Season ─ Spectacular light show on a 52-foot-tall tree in the heart of the park that dazzles nightly every 30 minutes through eye-popping effects, stirring music and gently falling snow.

 

Gingerbread Junction ─ A giant, inflatable gingerbread man welcomes guests to this whimsical section featuring peppermint swirl-wrapped trees, dancing lights around the carousel pavilion and Dot & Drop’s Holiday Dance Party.

 

North Pole ─ Guests are invited into the warmth of Santa’s home for a meet-and-greet and holiday photos, plus kids can write letters to Santa and even meet a talking reindeer.

 

Poinsettia Peak ─ Skull Mountain roller coaster has been transformed into a mountain of dazzling red lights with a crimson beauty, the Poinsettia Princess, greeting guests nearby.

 

Joy to the World ─ Tranquil pathway of warmly lit trees, luminaries and stained glass showcasing religious holidays from around the world.

 

Polar Point ─ Stunning, ice-blue trees twinkle with the illusion of falling snow up above, while the regal Snow Queen meets guests below.

 

Holiday Fire Pits – Three sections of the park feature wood-burning fire pits that warm the soul and are popular spots for toasting s’mores.

 

Holiday Eats – The sweet and savory tastes of the holiday season can be found throughout the park, like spiked egg nog, holiday-flavored coffee and hot chocolate, peppermint and mocha fudge, holiday beers, festive funnel cakes with peppermint eggnog and caramel pecan bacon toppings, specialty holiday platters of sliced turkey, smoked turkey leg and chicken platters with cranberry sauce, chili bowls, harvest salads and flatbreads and hot soups.

 

Festive Photo Spots – An antique sleigh, twinkling mistletoe, larger-than-life characters, Santa’s elaborate home, giant greeting card and a new kiddie train are just a few of the fun photo spots guests can preserve their holiday memories.

 

New in 2016:

 

Trouble in Toyland ─ When things go amiss in Santa’s North Pole workshop, Mrs. Claus arrives in the nick of time to make it right with a sprinkle of holiday magic. This live stage production features acrobatics, comedy and surprise special guests in the Showcase Theater.

 

Merry Market Place – This newly-themed area offers shops, treats and warm fire pits. Guests can find great stocking stuffers, holiday candies and even build their own swords, Teddy bears and baskets. They can also enjoy delectable Belgian waffles and creamy, hot chocolate.

 

Holly Jolly Christmas – This newly-themed area features THE JOKER 4D, free-fly coaster, HARLEY QUINN Crazy Train and Villains Café.

 

Holiday Harmonies with Hotsy Totsy – Guests can enjoy the lively harmonies of this New Jersey-based, 1950’s-style vocal trio, celebrating the recent release of their album “Fresh Pineapple.” Saturdays through December 17 in the North Pole, weather permitting.

 

Expanded ride package – In addition to nearly 30 favorites like Nitro, BATMAN the Ride and SUPERMAN: Ultimate Flight, guests can now take a spin on THE JOKER, HARLEY QUINN Crazy Train, and soar high above the twinkling lights on the breathtaking Sky Way. All rides are weather permitting. Frontier Adventures including Safari Off Road Adventure, Bugs Bunny National Park and Plaza del Carnaval do not operate during the festival.

 

Additional dining options – Guests can enjoy additional eateries like the Snowman City Food Court featuring Ichiban Tea House, Chicken Express and Totally Kickin’ Chicken; Whimsical Wonderland’s Go Fresh Café and the new Macho Nacho in Holiday Memories.

 

Holiday in the Park’s opening weekend features two special events Sunday, Nov. 20. The morning begins with the Santa Run 5K race at 11 a.m., and an Elf Run 1K for kids that includes a meet-and-greet with Santa at noon. Tickets and registration are available online. The Holiday Express band will perform from 5 to 7 p.m. free with park admission. Holiday Express is comprised of 1,700 volunteers including more than 100 professional musicians and delivers music, food, gifts, financial support and friendship to those in need during the holiday season.

 

Sixflags.com

 

TL;DR Version: Joker, HARLEY QUINN Crazy Train and Skyway will all be open for Holiday in the Park. The area near Harley Quinn and Joker will be called "Holly Jolly Christmas", a new show called "Trouble in Toyland" will replace Jack Frost, Merry Market Place is most likely the area in the back of Gotham city which isn't really new but now you can make swords because nothing says Christmas like making swords. They'll have some new food offerings in the boardwalk and the terrible Jingle Jammers have probably been replaced by "Holiday Harmonies with Hotsy Totsy" which will probably be just as cringe-worthy.

[El Toro_Ryan]

^ I had a feeling when I didn't see you in the station. Sorry about that, I couldn't see sh*t back there. Are you working HITP?

 

No worries! And yes, I'll be at the Joker every Sunday!

[coasterbill]

Awesome! See you at Joker then! We'll be there a ton during HITP (most likely hanging out with Boldikus and crew on occasion if he's not entirely sick of our sh*t by now ).

[boldikus]

^

 

 

TL;DR Version: Joker, HARLEY QUINN Crazy Train and Skyway will all be open for Holiday in the Park. The area near Harley Quinn and Joker will be called "Holly Jolly Christmas", a new show called "Trouble in Toyland" will replace Jack Frost, Merry Market Place is most likely the area in the back of Gotham city which isn't really new but now you can make swords because nothing says Christmas like making swords. They'll have some new food offerings in the boardwalk and the terrible Jingle Jammers have probably been replaced by "Holiday Harmonies with Hotsy Totsy" which will probably be just as cringe-worthy.

 

 

@Ryan - is it true Toro is done for the season? A buddy was up yesterday and said some employees told him that. I'm trying to go up this weekend if its still gonna be open. If not I'll probably just wait til HITP.

[El Toro_Ryan]

Awesome! See you at Joker then! We'll be there a ton during HITP (most likely hanging out with Boldikus and crew on occasion if he's not entirely sick of our sh*t by now ).

 

Sounds good! haha

 

^

 

 

TL;DR Version: Joker, HARLEY QUINN Crazy Train and Skyway will all be open for Holiday in the Park. The area near Harley Quinn and Joker will be called "Holly Jolly Christmas", a new show called "Trouble in Toyland" will replace Jack Frost, Merry Market Place is most likely the area in the back of Gotham city which isn't really new but now you can make swords because nothing says Christmas like making swords. They'll have some new food offerings in the boardwalk and the terrible Jingle Jammers have probably been replaced by "Holiday Harmonies with Hotsy Totsy" which will probably be just as cringe-worthy.

 

 

@Ryan - is it true Toro is done for the season? A buddy was up yesterday and said some employees told him that. I'm trying to go up this weekend if its still gonna be open. If not I'll probably just wait til HITP.

 

No Toro is open until November 13th. Along with El Diablo, Ka, and Zumi. Also Im sure you guys know already but we are open this Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday as well.

[Physical]

No Toro is open until November 13th. Along with El Diablo, Ka, and Zumi. Also Im sure you guys know already but we are open this Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday as well.

 

Awesome, I'm coming out with my old manager from my last job tomorrow (The one I was with when we saw you at Power Surge at Knoebels during PPP) She's never ridden Toro or Ka, only been to the park for last years HitP.

 

If we see you, we'll say hi, as always.

[El Toro_Ryan]

No Toro is open until November 13th. Along with El Diablo, Ka, and Zumi. Also Im sure you guys know already but we are open this Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday as well.

 

Awesome, I'm coming out with my old manager from my last job tomorrow (The one I was with when we saw you at Power Surge at Knoebels during PPP) She's never ridden Toro or Ka, only been to the park for last years HitP.

 

If we see you, we'll say hi, as always.

 

Word man! I won't be working unfortunately but hopefully soon man.

[JRice92]

You probably came while we we're trying to hit the theoretical max number of cycles for an hour, which is 36 trains.

 

1. That's awesome that you get the crew hustling like that, congratulations!

2. Interesring note about Intamin's capacity. Even though Millennium runs 3, adding an block (and train) between the final break run and the loading station doesn't increase capacity at all. Millennium Force's max number of cycles per hour is also 36.

[El Toro_Ryan]

You probably came while we we're trying to hit the theoretical max number of cycles for an hour, which is 36 trains.

 

1. That's awesome that you get the crew hustling like that, congratulations!

2. Interesring note about Intamin's capacity. Even though Millennium runs 3, adding an block (and train) between the final break run and the loading station doesn't increase capacity at all. Millennium Force's max number of cycles per hour is also 36.

 

Thanks! and wow that's interesting. I guess that makes sense with the way the blocks are set up for Millennium Force. But i would assume having that unload station probably makes it easier to hit the 36 cycles. Sometimes we will miss an interval due to people taking forever to exit the station. Plus with the unload station, I would assume it makes loading the trains much faster because there is no delay while loading guests wait for the exiting guests to get off the train. I've always wanted to work Millennium Force, I love the way it is set up.

 

And a quick question, does the computer make you wait to send the next train until the train on the course is at a certain point near the end of the ride? El Toro will not give you a dispatch light until this hill right here.

[Garet]

I'm curious what T Express's theoretical is, I was at the park when it was running 3 trains and the crew were hustling so much, having a train leave the very second the 2nd train hit the block and 3rd on the course somewhere. They were letting 3 trains worth of people on the station to make it as fast as they could so I got stuck in the single-rider line by myself for almost 40 mins (i'll cover it in the TR) they were hustling so much and had no time to get people through station and reopen gates.

[livai]

park map HIP 2016

https://holiday.sixflags.com/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/HIP-2016PMG-Mapside.pdf

[coasterbill]

park map HIP 2016

https://holiday.sixflags.com/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/HIP-2016PMG-Mapside.pdf

 

[Physical]

You probably came while we we're trying to hit the theoretical max number of cycles for an hour, which is 36 trains.

 

1. That's awesome that you get the crew hustling like that, congratulations!

2. Interesring note about Intamin's capacity. Even though Millennium runs 3, adding an block (and train) between the final break run and the loading station doesn't increase capacity at all. Millennium Force's max number of cycles per hour is also 36.

 

Thanks! and wow that's interesting. I guess that makes sense with the way the blocks are set up for Millennium Force. But i would assume having that unload station probably makes it easier to hit the 36 cycles. Sometimes we will miss an interval due to people taking forever to exit the station. Plus with the unload station, I would assume it makes loading the trains much faster because there is no delay while loading guests wait for the exiting guests to get off the train. I've always wanted to work Millennium Force, I love the way it is set up.

 

And a quick question, does the computer make you wait to send the next train until the train on the course is at a certain point near the end of the ride? El Toro will not give you a dispatch light until this hill right here. [attachment=0]AF1QipOLTrel6ctuZHRQXhTDESicZh3vGf5eSgJR-4CX=I-U.jpg[/attachment]

 

Can you actually send it as soon as you get the light? Hydra gives the light when the train is in the 2nd half of the cobra, but it won't let you dispatch until it hits the corkscrew.

 

Possessed would also give you the light as soon as the restraints were locked, but you couldn't dispatch until it was blinking quickly, as the LIM's have a (If I remember correctly) 1 minute cool down timer between launches.