Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread

[jray21]

Next we rode El Toro 3x. It was running two trains with a wait only for front row.

 

Soooooo jealous. That is such an incredible ride. I really need to get back there soon.

[Parallax]

I got so lucky when I went last summer. El Toro was literally a walk on all day. And about half of the rows were empty. Rode 8x.

[RideofSteel]

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

 

I found this really cool video!

[coasterfreak101]

We went to Great Adventure last 4th of July and had a great day. The park was dead and it was a beautiful day. There was a threat of rain that never showed up which might have something to do with the light crowds but the 4th might be a dead day in general.

 

I'm actually really surprised by this - is this really the case? If that's so, I might have to make my first trek up to Jersey this week.

 

Has anybody else has good, crowdless experiences on the 4th? I always assumed parks would be packed.

[dougstanton]

We went to Great Adventure last 4th of July and had a great day. The park was dead and it was a beautiful day. There was a threat of rain that never showed up which might have something to do with the light crowds but the 4th might be a dead day in general.

 

I'm actually really surprised by this - is this really the case? If that's so, I might have to make my first trek up to Jersey this week.

 

Has anybody else has good, crowdless experiences on the 4th? I always assumed parks would be packed.

 

I went on the 4th in 2007 and got back-to-back rides in the front row on Kingda Ka. I was expecting terrible waits and it turned out to be the slowest day I have had at that park.

[yankeeman311]

Thought I'd give a little trip report for my visit today at the park.

 

The weather did not look promising. It was pouring when I left my house and my friends really doubted me about going to the park today. I told them it's the best time to go in the summer because the weather report would scare everybody away. Turns out I was 100% right!

 

We got to the park at 11:30 and rode El Toro 3x to start the day. It rained on the first ride and it was 1 of the best runs I ever had on Toro. Also my first time riding it in the rain. We then went on Bizarro 2x and took the Skyride to Nitro. We tried to ride Nitro in pouring rain but it always let up when we were on it. We wanted it in pouring rain too so it was like Mother Nature was messing with us because it always poured right after or right before we got on.

 

We then went on Batman before we ate lunch. After lunch we walked around and rode El Toro 1 more time because Superman was closed. We then went back on Skyride and rode Sky Screamer and Skull Mountain twice before leaving for the day. We left just before 4.

 

Overall very solid day at the park. It was very empty and we enjoyed having that luxury on a summer day. I was also happy to have bragging rights about my gamble to still go despite the weather paying off. Kind of showed them my knowledge as an enthusiast a little bit. Well more of great advice from other enthusiasts but it was still nice.

 

Operations were not at their best as Superman and Rolling Thunder were closed the whole day, Kingda Ka and Nitro had downtime and Nitro and Bizarro only ran 2 trains. But I'll give them a pass on this because the park was very empty today and they kept most of their coasters open with dark clouds and pouring rain.

 

Here's my run count for the day. I think it's pretty solid for 4 hours.

 

Nitro 5x

El Toro 4x

Bizarro 2x

Skull Mountain 2x

Skyride 2x

Batman 1x

SkyScreamer 1x

[jamesinclair]

Do they typically only close rides if theres lightening?

 

What rides remain open if thats the case?

 

 

Also....

This 4th of July, join us for a special celebration for the family. July 4th Fest, presented by Coca-Cola, will be the biggest Independence Day celebration in Jackson.

 

July 4 will kick off with an exclusive ride time on some of our biggest rides. Anyone who presents a can of Coca-Cola, along with park admission or Season Pass, will be able to ride Nitro, Deja Vu, Fender Benders, and BATMAN: The Ride one hour before the park opens, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

 

 

I dont get this part:

 

" Join us July 4 through 7 for a patriotic celebration, July 4th Fest presented by Coca-Cola, featuring exclusive ride time, live music, games, fireworks, prizes, and refreshing activities. "

 

http://www.sixflags.com/greatAdventure/events/July4thfireworks.aspx

 

But the description is 100% about the 4th.

[michaellynn4]

I thought I’d piggyback off of the above trip report and discuss my visit towards the end of day yesterday. I got home from work around 7:30PM, figured there wouldn’t be many people at the park, so I changed quickly and drove over. I ended up getting there around 7:45PM and found that none of the entrance turnstiles were open! I was confused for a second but then realized that the re-entry station by the exit was doubling as a regular entrance. I’ve never seen that before, but it made sense given the amount of people at the park. It seemed there were just enough people in the park to encourage management to keep the park open until 10:00PM. A good portion of the shops on side paths were closed, and all coasters were only running one train (except for Kingda Ka, it ran two). Despite only one-train operations, I still managed to pack a LOT of riding into two hours! I followed this path, mostly jogging between rides:

 

• Green Lantern

• Superman: UF

• Kingda Ka x2

• El Toro x2

• Bizarro

• Sky Ride

• Nitro

• Batman x2

• SkyScreamer

• Green Lantern (I needed to get my stuff out of the locker by Green Lantern, so I managed to be the last person on the ride before shutting it down)

 

For only two hours, I’d say that was a success! On a personal note, last night was extra special as it was the first time in close to a year I was able to close each coaster’s restraints on my own with no ride-op assistance!! (I’m down about 12lbs in four weeks) Bizarro was the last one I couldn’t do on my own, and once I heard the seat belt click, I let out a loud “YES!” that startled the other people around me. Once I explained what happened, they smiled and laughed with me. Overall a good way to spend two hours!

 

 

Do they typically only close rides if theres lightening?

 

What rides remain open if thats the case?

 

If the rain or wind is strong enough and creates a hazardous environment, I'm sure they'd close many, if not all of the outdoor coasters / rides. Lightning pretty much is a guarantee to only have indoor rides / attractions open. However, I did have an experience last week where I similarly went to the park after work. A storm was approaching the park, to the point where you could clearly see lightining out in the distance. I'm assuming that the storm was far enough away from the park that it didn't pose a threat, coupled with the fact that the park was about to close (9PM). It was a very unique experience, however, climbing up Bizarro's lift hill and seeing lightning flash in the distance. It definitely made me nervous, to the point where I legitimately thought for a split second that the flash from the on-ride photo was a lightning strike. I felt foolish, lol.

[larrygator]

I spent an interesting two days at the park this weekend, July 6th and 7th.

 

Was at the park from 10:30 - 1:00 on Saturday. It was about 93 degrees and oppressively humid. The waterpark was absolutely slammed and while the line to get through security and into the park was long at park opening the crowds dispersed well throughout the park. I only rode El Toro (7 times), Nitro, SkyWay and Medusa (Twice). Operations on Nitro were horrendous, constantly stacking 3 trains. It seems they are no longer opening the air gates to let new riders in until the platform is completely clear of exiting riders. If they are going to do this there is no reason to run three trains. El Toro operations were stellar, Medusa operations were slow but with no one waiting, got a re-ride without getting out of my seat. And I unexpectedly ran into my roommate (Jim) from TPR's China and Mexico trips.

 

Sunday, again I arrived before opening and the waterpark was already getting packed. I was meeting a friend who had purchased the Premium FlashPass for his party of 4. I decided to splurge and make it a 5th person. Again, it was sweltering and this time I was at the park from 10:30 - 6PM. In the end the FlashPass would not have been necessary if I stuck to just my favorite coasters, but I was a friend and three junior enthusiasts (his son and two friends) so I wanted to traverse the park in their way. The only wait longer than 20 minutes when we arrived at a ride was Superman. KK was a walk into the station, Nitro was only halfway down the stairs (even stacking trains), B:TR practically a walk into the station, El Toro 15 minutes, Green Lantern 10 minutes.

 

What I found most amusing was my friend's 13 year old son saying he wanted to break his record of 26 total rides in a day and he asked me what my record was. I honestly have no idea but I do know even without the Premium Flash Pass I could easily break 26 total circuits in a day. I mean I know I typically get 15 rides in on El Toro on an April Sunday morning before a line appears for the ride. I tried to explain to him how I navigate the park to beat the crowd so he could be more efficient, but as a typical 13 year old, he knew better.

[Aceattack52]

I'll be in the park today if anyone else is around.

[RideofSteel]

Rolling Thunder is temporarily closed according to Six Flag's website. When I was at the park on the 4th there was workers climbing the track. Hopefully nothing major happened.

 

I rode it on June 28th and it wasn't nearly as rough as it sometimes is.

[ViperLover]

^It could be the track getting tightened. A mechanic told me once that sometimes the bolts come loose.

[Aceattack52]

Ok so the lines weren't too bad today, and that's what I expected on a Tuesday. I saw 3 guys working on Rolling Thunder, but I couldn't see if they were working on track or railing or what. I also saw another Club TPR member there with his black TPR shirt on coming out of the Golden Kingdom area, but I didn't say hi. I should have.

[larrygator]

Rolling Thunder is temporarily closed according to Six Flag's website. When I was at the park on the 4th there was workers climbing the track. Hopefully nothing major happened.

 

I rode it on June 28th and it wasn't nearly as rough as it sometimes is.

 

On July 7th, I also noticed workers on the track from El Toro.

[RideofSteel]

2014 New Attraction Announcement – August 29

Six Flags Great Adventure and its sister parks throughout North America will announce exciting plans for the 2014 season. Great Adventure will release details about a record-breaking addition that will surely top “must-do” lists next year. Information, photos and video will be available at http://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure

[biker7766]

Where did you find the quote that talked about this announcement?

[RideofSteel]

It is listed in the August list of special events.

 

Edit: Source

Edited July 15, 2013 by RideofSteel

[TyRush]

So they took it down?

[RideofSteel]

^Sorry, my wording wasn't clear. I added the source.

[donkeyman18]

I think we could be looking at the Drop Tower on KK. Hope not, but that does seem like what they are leading up.

[necoastergp]

I think we could be looking at the Drop Tower on KK. Hope not, but that does seem like what they are leading up.

 

I hope not that wouldn't look right to me, I feel LL blends in on S:EFK due to the boxier structure.

[michaellynn4]

Rolling Tnunder (at least the left side) has reopened to the public. I rode it last night and it rode AWESOME.

[zachclarke2]

Apparently several people have been told that Rolling Thunder is getting removed after this season. I wouldn't mind so much if it did, as I have both credits and found it to be a less than stellar ride. But didn't the park get new trains for it this year? It seems odd that they would do that if they were going to take it out only a year later.

 

This also would open up land for a pathway to the supposed drop tower on KK, or maybe even possibly a coaster of some sort. Thoughts on this?

[cmullin]

A drop tower on KK might not be the best, but I have to say it would be pretty intense and awesome! I personally loved LL, so I get the feeling I would like this one too.

[RideofSteel]

^^Rolling Thunder did not get new trains.