Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread

[DoinItForTheFame]

^ Yikes, that's not the one to be stuck on...nor Green Lantern with your balls in a sling.

 

I wonder if anyone got stuck on Zumanjaro... I'd cry if I did!

[boldikus]

Apparently the outage itself was rather brief, most rides were back up and running within the hour.

[UConnHusky]

Would someone be able to share a list of the upcoming “Bring a Friend” dates for SFGAdv? I’m looking to make a trip there at some point over the next month or two, and hoping to avoid any days that may have extra crowds from people bringing free friends if possible. I know the bring a friend schedule might vary a bit by type of season pass/membership, but if anyone could share some info on it that would be awesome. Thanks!

[boldikus]

Never been back stage in first aid until today. It's a scorcher here, folks. One ride on the Bull and my buddy is down for the count. Just some heat exhaustion, but be careful and stay hydrated.

[Philrad71]

^ This weather is crazy - they are saying that we could see near a 100 degree heat index here, which apparently hasn't happened in like 145 years.

 

I guess one positive would be that theme parks would likely not be crowded, but I would avoid water parks like the plague in the next week. Bet those are going to be a real cluster-f%ck.

 

Hope your buddy is doing much better. I always try to follow the 2-3 bottles of water rule in between beers so that I stay plenty hydrated when at parks in the heat.

[boldikus]

And we're on our way home. Not sure about HH but the dry park is dead. We literally got in at opening, went to Toro, rode once, buddy said he had to sit for a minute, the other two of us rode again (front row walk on) and came off to him pouring water on himself practically passed out. Called first aid, he had to be carted over. Put him in a bed in A/C, ice packs, water, pulse, bloodpressure check etc. Pretty scary for a minute but everyone, especially Frank, was great. Also witnessed a security guard come in also for heat exhaustion as well as a ride op having an asthma attack. Heat is no joke today. We decided to call it a day. Two bull rides, two hours in first aid, a very Six Flags day.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Oh man, that's rough. Heat is nothing to f*ck around with. We have 100 degree heat indeces for a couple months straight every July and August, so we know how to deal with it, but we still have a couple of fatalities every summer. Glad they got y'all to first aid. Assuming it's air conditioned, that's the best place for you to be.

[pfalcioni]

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are so weird, it's like altitude sickness, sometimes it's just a roll of the dice to see who will be affected. Everyone in a group can be equally healthy and hydrated and the next thing you know one person is red faced and feeling sick.

 

I've only experienced it one time, we were riding motorcycles in Moab. Got into a really tough sand section, fought like crazy to get through it (think Fred Flintstone-ing the bike in full riding gear). Got to the other side and decided to sit down, dropped the bike and sat next to it shivering. I thought I was cold and couldn't figure out why my buddies wanted to get me into the shade and pour water all over me. I was exceedingly annoyed at them for making me even colder! Had a hella headache too. Didn't actually realize how sick I was until we rode back to camp and I spent a few hours cooling off in the air-conditioned motorhome. Thank goodness for smart friends!

[boldikus]

Yeah it was crazy how it all happened so quickly. All three of us were hydrated, had breakfast, were not yet drinking, etc. The dude in question is not a coaster guy and we think that it was probably me really ripping the bandaid off with a back seat Bull ride first thing in the morning (he honestly looked like he saw a ghost when we hit the brakes) which just shot his adrenaline through the roof, and that combined with the intense heat brought up his body temp and sent his body into overdrive.

 

Few scary moments there tho - once again the Six Flags first aid/EMTs were great! As much sh*t as I talk about the park I have to say each and everyone we dealt with through the ordeal were the most excellent people. Especially Frank!!!

 

And I have to mention - both of my rides - one in the very back, one in the very front (both left side) were some of the best EVER. As we all know how well it runs in the heat, and it is just as smooth as ever. If we hadn't run into a snag I may have sat on that thing all afternoon. As we walked out I felt a tinge of sadness I couldn't take advantage of such an empty park. Hope some of yall did!

[CaptainUnknown]

When I worked on the security team for a music festival, I couldn't tell you how many festival goers and security members alike suffered from heat-related illnesses.

 

Last year, while operating Valleyfair's Mad Mouse, a girl collapsed in my queue from heat exhaustion. We were within a hundred yards of the first aid station and it still took EMTs 20 minutes to arrive.

 

You can never stress hydration enough when it gets that hot.

 

On a different note;

^ Yikes, that's not the one to be stuck on...nor Green Lantern with your balls in a sling.

I got stuck on SFGAm's Iron Wolf's Apocalypse's final break due to a power outage for over a half hour.

[boldikus]

^ I've been stuck on coasters twice - once on Nitro on the MCBR during HITP (which was hilarious and I recall fondly), the other was Superman:UF on the brake run in the flying position for 15-20 minutes because they couldn't dispatch the other train. Maintenance had shown up and brought out the little stool and we *almost* started evac'ing but then they got the other train out and we were able to advance. I laugh about it now but hanging there for almost 20 minutes was ridiculous.

[singemfrc]

I am planning on visiting this park on Monday, July 9th. Any idea of how crowded (or not crowded) the park will be on a Monday? My last visit was in 2012 so I look forward to seeing all the additions since then!

It's no guarantee, but your best indicator will be park hours - the longer they are open, the busier the park believes they will be.

[Chasehat]

I’ll be there as well and in my past visits Monday’s at Great Adventure are never crowded at all.

[boldikus]

Had a rad night at the park tonight. A few takeaways.

 

We arrived to potential thunderstorms and everything was shut down. We ate and hung out til it passed and we were surprised that at 8pm a mostly empty park came back to life and we took full advantage.

 

El Toro is running like a dream. I rode it again in the front, also the magic seat but seriously what is happening to me. I still love the back, but the front, guys. Amazing.

 

Fantastic sunset ride on Bizarro in the back with all effects working. I will punch you if you talk bad about this ride.

 

The girl running Nitro who was clearly over it and resorted to just saying "enjoyyournitrobye" at every dispatch was the greatest thing ever. We got a bunch of back seat night rides and it was absolutely hauling.

 

We got a ride just before park close on front row of Ka and as we pulled out on the launch track the fireworks started to our right. The ride itself was smooth as butter, first time ever Ka didn't hurt me. Best ride I've ever had on it, and the fireworks going off ad we twisted down the drop and flew over the airtime hill... incredible.

 

This f*cking foam party business after park close, oh my god.

[thrillrider]

Had a rad night at the park tonight. A few takeaways.

 

We arrived to potential thunderstorms and everything was shut down. We ate and hung out til it passed and we were surprised that at 8pm a mostly empty park came back to life and we took full advantage.

 

El Toro is running like a dream. I rode it again in the front, also the magic seat but seriously what is happening to me. I still love the back, but the front, guys. Amazing.

 

Fantastic sunset ride on Bizarro in the back with all effects working. I will punch you if you talk bad about this ride.

 

The girl running Nitro who was clearly over it and resorted to just saying "enjoyyournitrobye" at every dispatch was the greatest thing ever. We got a bunch of back seat night rides and it was absolutely hauling.

 

We got a ride just before park close on front row of Ka and as we pulled out on the launch track the fireworks started to our right. The ride itself was smooth as butter, first time ever Ka didn't hurt me. Best ride I've ever had on it, and the fireworks going off ad we twisted down the drop and flew over the airtime hill... incredible.

 

This f*cking foam party business after park close, oh my god.

 

I echo this!

We just spent 3 days at this park and had a blast! The coke foam party was a great end to a great day. Ill be posting a trip report soon.

[Highridin]

Yeah, the foam party at SFA was great, too. I give to whoever thought to do that.

[OmnipotentSeal]

I will visiting six flags great adventure for the first time ever on July 25th (a Wednesday) but unfortunately I only can visit for the last 2-4 hours of the park being open. I am getting a platinum flash pass so I can ride every coaster (hopefully multiple times). I was wondering if someone in this discussion thread knows when they start to close the lines for the rides and which ones typically have the longest lines. Also I would appreciate any tips about the park. Thanks!

[Genx24]

My only tip is don't buy a flash pass in advance.

[larrygator]

My only tip is don't buy a flash pass in advance.

But he wants multiple rides, even with station waits on most coasters, it would still take two hours, skipping the queues saves a lot of time. Without Fast pass he might bit get multiple rides.

[coasterbill]

Even with Platinum Flash Pass that’s a tall order. A few tips:

 

Ride Ka first if it’s open since it’s an unreliable POS. The front is the best by far, but since you’re pretty much whoring the park, ride in row 2. It’ll suck but it’ll have the shortest line.

 

Luckily the best row on Toro is one from the back and it won’t have a long wait. Everyone clogs up the front of the train because they’re stupid.

 

Save Dark Knight for last. It takes awhile since there’s a preshow and if you miss it, who cares?

[boldikus]

I will visiting six flags great adventure for the first time ever on July 25th (a Wednesday) but unfortunately I only can visit for the last 2-4 hours of the park being open. I am getting a platinum flash pass so I can ride every coaster (hopefully multiple times). I was wondering if someone in this discussion thread knows when they start to close the lines for the rides and which ones typically have the longest lines. Also I would appreciate any tips about the park. Thanks!

Just to put things in perspective, this past Tuesday night the park had no crowds, in just under two hours we managed

3 rides on Nitro

2 on El Toro and

1 ride each on Kingda Ka, Runaway Mine Train, Bizarro, and Sky Way. We were lucky due to the extreme heat the crowds stayed away. We didn't rush but we had absolutely no waits outside of a 5-7 minute wait for the front row @ Toro. Everything else was a walk-on or one train wait.

 

So realistically, unless you are sprinting from ride to ride with Platinum FP, you're either gonna be able to ride all of the coasters once or ride the 4-5 really good ones a few times. Consider that the park is huge and spread out. My report about our visit on Tuesday is here.

[jamesinclair]

Never been back stage in first aid until today. It's a scorcher here, folks. One ride on the Bull and my buddy is down for the count. Just some heat exhaustion, but be careful and stay hydrated.

 

I remember one year I went to Magic Mountain. We walked over 4 or 5 people who passed out in the lines.

[TBpony414]

Can someone tell me more about this foam party business??

[boldikus]

I remember one year I went to Magic Mountain. We walked over 4 or 5 people who passed out in the lines.

That seems helpful.

Can someone tell me more about this foam party business??

It's just a late night dance party at Six Flags with a DJ poorly mixing awful saccharine dance pop to some lights and foam being pumped at the crowd who I guess kinda were dancing in it? I found it to be less "this is fun!" and more "this is awkward...?" I dunno. Maybe it's cause I'm 40.

[jamesinclair]

I remember one year I went to Magic Mountain. We walked over 4 or 5 people who passed out in the lines.

That seems helpful.

 

No it wasnt, they were really inconveniencing us.

 

In all seriousness, they had their parties fanning them while someone looked for security. What else are you supposed to do besides step over them and keep moving up the line?

 

Blame Six Flags for the horrendous lack of shade.