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Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread


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Move Over, Winter…Here Comes the Bloom

 

Six Flags Great Adventure’s Landscaping Department Prepares for Spectacular Spring and Summer Displays

 

JACKSON, NJ – March 14, 2014 – Despite the gloomy, grey skies and frigid temperatures, spring has already sprung in the greenhouses at Six Flags Great Adventure. The landscaping department is hard at work preparing for a vibrant display to celebrate the park’s April 12 opening and have already planted the seeds for a spectacular summer.

 

Cool spring temperatures are a challenge for delicate flowers, so the landscaping department will plant 14,000 colorful and winter-resistant pansies throughout the park for its spring opening. Despite this massive undertaking, the team of 22 workers plus manager Bill Hettman already have their sights set on summer.

 

For the park’s summer display, the landscape team will plant 33,000 flowers including begonia, salvia, dusty miller, coleus, vinca, pentas and 3,000 multi-colored New Guinea impatiens. They will hang 550 massive begonia, petunia and geranium baskets (250 of which are created and grown in-house), and place 40 giant, ornamental pots they have arranged using elephant ears, canna lilies and hibiscus throughout the park. Floral wreaths meticulously created by hand will adorn buildings along Main Street and the fences in Fantasy Forest. The landscaping department will complete their designs with 14 signature topiaries they have grown, ranging from notable cartoon characters to oversized animals, like elephants, swans, rhinos and flamingoes. Much of this work is underway or already completed in the park’s three greenhouses.

 

At Hurricane Harbor, the landscaping department will bring the park’s tropical theme to life with the addition of 70 palm trees, 300 tropical flora, plus an array of ti plants and Chinese fan palms. Everything will be planted by the water park’s opening day, May 24.

 

“All winter, we have been hard at work plowing snow and spreading sand and salt to manage the ice. We have miles and miles of roadway and sidewalks that our employees use to get to their workplaces and our animals even when the parks are closed,” Hettman said. “But that is behind us now, and we are focused on delivering our most incredible summer display in history.”

 

During the peak season, the landscape team swells to 40 members who manage everything from spring cleanup to overnight watering, aquatic maintenance of the park’s water fountains and pools, and beautifying the park’s iconic attractions, such as Safari Off Road Adventure, which opened last year, and Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom, debuting this spring.

 

“We have exciting plans for Safari Off Road Adventure’s loading station this year, and we will be one of the finishing touches to the new Zumanjaro area before it opens to the public later this spring,” Hettman said.

 

Working in the landscaping department is physically strenuous work, but rewarding, he noted. “The experience on our team ranges from newcomers to 40 years,” said Hettman, who has 33 years of Six Flags landscape experience under his belt. “We have a very high rehire rate and loyalty among our team. They are a great group of people who love what they do, and it shows.”

 

“Every year, Bill and his team create spectacular landscaping displays that have become attractions in themselves,” said Park President John Fitzgerald. “The landscaping team works very hard to enhance the natural beauty of our parks.”

 

Six Flags Great Adventure and Safari opens for the 2014 season April 12. For more information, visit http://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure.

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I definitely wish these strata-towers (LL:DoD and now Zumanjaro) were more forceful - Lex Luthor had almost no kick to it at all - but I can't say that picture of just the base of the rails going up doesn't have me super excited. It already looks huge, and it's not even a quarter of the way there!

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Basically they're not in that core 4 group

 

I think a lot of people, myself included would argue that Raptor is absolutely in the core 4 group but to each his (or her) own.

 

That is a beautiful park!

Great Adventure is a interesting park because parts of it like the Lakefront and Golden Kingdom are beautiful and then this happens...

 

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I definitely wish these strata-towers (LL:DoD and now Zumanjaro) were more forceful - Lex Luthor had almost no kick to it at all - but I can't say that picture of just the base of the rails going up doesn't have me super excited. It already looks huge, and it's not even a quarter of the way there!

 

 

I'll be very curious if this applies to Zumanjaro as well. Someday I'm going to find out why two rides that both rely on the same principle, hoisting you up, then freefall, could provide two different experiences, one a terrifying dead-weight drop (ARM drop rides) and the other a more fast-elevator kind if sensation (Intamin drop rides).

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^The 2nd-Generation Intamin towers have a good kick to them, followed pretty closely by the Gyros (which up the ante with their height). For some reason, Lex Luthor was very tame. Horrifying because it's huge and takes a full minute to reach the top, so it's definitely thrilling, but tame. I'll take the tradeoff for the absurd height, but it would be nice if the compromise wasn't necessary!

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Just to comment on Bizarro, I happen to fall in the camp of it being an ok coaster. Nothing to write home about but nothing really to complain about either. It's a ride you can ride once or twice and know what you're getting. I agree with the previous statement about it going a little slow. I rode Kraken and seemed to like it a lot better as I have it in my top 15 vs. barely top 30 for Bizarro. I feel like with a little more force this could be a much better ride.

 

I look at Bizarro as the stereotypical B & M. The safe and reliable forceless coaster that won't turn heads. It fills the role of the middle coaster. Every big park needs 1 or 2 of these. CP has Gatekeeper and Raptor, Hershey has Great Bear, SFOG has Mind Bender, etc.

 

^^^^^ Umm... You kinda did. Also, when Raptor was built, I think the intention was to turn heads. Not for a new design, but for height, speed, and forces on an invert. Just my opinion.

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I look at Bizarro as the stereotypical B & M. The safe and reliable forceless coaster that won't turn heads. It fills the role of the middle coaster. Every big park needs 1 or 2 of these. CP has Gatekeeper and Raptor, Hershey has Great Bear, SFOG has Mind Bender, etc.

 

John, come ride Silver Bullet here in California to learn the real definition of forceless coasters.

 

I LOVE Silver Bullet. I thought it was a lot of fun. Sometimes I like when a coaster just moves along the track so smoothly.

 

I also like Bizzaro a lot. I always ride it multiple times when I at the park. My favorite part is the end.

 

I am someone who does not need forces to enjoy a coaster. I do not always want to be thrown around or bolted to my seat. I try to take each coaster for what they are. Also riding a none forceless coaster in between forceful ones helps, at least I like the break up.

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^The 2nd-Generation Intamin towers have a good kick to them, followed pretty closely by the Gyros (which up the ante with their height). For some reason, Lex Luthor was very tame. Horrifying because it's huge and takes a full minute to reach the top, so it's definitely thrilling, but tame. I'll take the tradeoff for the absurd height, but it would be nice if the compromise wasn't necessary!

I've never tried Lex Luthor but I have ridden the 2nd generation ones and they are pretty good. However, the one that gave me the most "freefall sensation" was a 1st gen one (demon drop at dorney) and still don't really know why.

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I was watching TPR's Kingda Ka offride shots and noticed how, right next to the base of the tower, there seemed to be this constant noise (probably due to the pumps for the launch mechanism). Now, is this going to be like that once Zumanjaro opens? Will they do something about it? Or is it normally quiet and was noisy when the video was shot for some reason?

Look at 1:44

 

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I find it strange that Six flags hasn't been marketing this ride more, or at least providing more information in the ride, queue, etc. For a world record breaking attraction at a park know to do so, you'd think they would want to release as much info about it as they can.

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Is it that often that the cables snap? I know it has happened to xcelerator but what about the other hydraulic launched rides?

But yeah, if there is a minimal risk I would assume they will have some protection from the 128 mph flying cables

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I don't think we will see an inclosed queue... I mean, they are going to want you to look up at the tower and see how massive it is while waiting online.

 

What I could see is a safety wall being built, and then themed to look like an old ruin or something, covered in vines and plants... that way it has a safety purpose, but still allows for views of the tower and theming!

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This offseason is killing me so I came up with a wing rider design for the Chiller footprint. The layout is very poorly drawn so Ill explain it as best as I can. The ride would start in Chillers old station since it's just sitting there not being used with a turn to the right and a steep lift (Wild Eagle steep) so a lot of track can fit in a little bit of space. The height would top off around 120-150ft. as it looks like thats all that can fit behind TDK. The coaster will then maneuver into a wing over drop which saves a lot of room. After the wing over comes a very slight turn to the left and then a dive loop narrowly missing the station and exiting toward the Observatory. Up next is a zero g roll followed by giant flat spin as seen on Gatekeeper with the second half going through the observatory. Then a wide fan turn similar to Sheikra's final turn before the splash down will soar above guests walking underneath on the path. Finishing strong with an inline twist through the observatory once again and into the brake run, back into the station. Although this is a fairly short ride, the space provided is used well and because of the spacing the diameter of the inversions will need to be smaller than that of Gatekeepers or Wild Eagles making for a much more intense ride. Just an idea.

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