Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread

[UrbanLegend]

Also, I know it's kind of the norm, but the fish-eye lens on this POV is a really odd choice. It makes Kingda Ka look like some weird Tim Burtonesque architecture.

[rcjp]

Is it just me or does "camera facing forward" drop ride POV just not seem to have the same effect as watching a rider cam of it or if the camera was facing up towards the tower or down towards the ground?

Probably because, as there is no close visual reference (like the the rails and structure when it is facing up and also the ground when it is pointing down) or no way to realize how fast the wind is (for the case of a rider cam) it doesn't look that exiting. I also thought that.

[El Toro_Ryan]

To any members of The Coaster Club of Great Britain that posts or reads on TPR, I hope you guys all enjoyed your ERT session at Toro this morning! I was operating for part of it. I was happy to hear that most of you thought El Toro was your favorite coaster!

[cmullin]

I'm going to Great Adventure tomorrow and there is rain in the forecast and I'm wondering if anyone knows which rides will shut down in the rain.

[Swede]

I'm going to Great Adventure tomorrow and there is rain in the forecast and I'm wondering if anyone knows which rides will shut down in the rain.

 

Kingda-Ka is the only one that would shut down in the rain but until Zumanjaro is ready it is closed anyway. However, if there is electrical activity in the clouds all tall rides will shut down. As long as the forecast is rain but no risk of thunderstorms you should be good.

[cmullin]

I'm going to Great Adventure tomorrow and there is rain in the forecast and I'm wondering if anyone knows which rides will shut down in the rain.

 

Kingda-Ka is the only one that would shut down in the rain but until Zumanjaro is ready it is closed anyway. However, if there is electrical activity in the clouds all tall rides will shut down. As long as the forecast is rain but no risk of thunderstorms you should be good.

That's what I figured. Thanks!

[JaYmoNeY12 12]

Some pictures of the queue....they are almost there!!!

[JaYmoNeY12 12]

The rest of them.

[CPSFMMCW]

Man...that's gonna provide some GOOD up close shots of Ka. Someone will have to take a walkthrough video of the queue once this opens.

[Brassinthegrass]

Oh boy... I hope there is a HUGE shipment if plants coming......

[El Toro_Ryan]

Oh boy... I hope there is a HUGE shipment if plants coming......

 

Those pictures are a few weeks old. The q line is basically finished and there are plenty of plants. The entrance sign is almost finished as well.

[glouthan]

That is actually looking pretty good for six flags. I like the assortment of colors in the plants - it looks very nice!

I am also very excited to get some close-up shots of Kingda Ka from there.

[chargersmichael]

That fence will last one month. Then it will probably be covered in people writing junk all over it.....

[glouthan]

^You're probably right. However, people seem not to damage things as long as other people have not damaged that item as well. If an item looks new, chances are it will stay looking new (people will respect that), but if an item looks old and damaged, it will probably get written on by people (they are not the only ones damaging the item). As long as Six Flags can keep the sign looking new, it could stay looking good. Six Flags probably won't keep the fence looking new, though.

[coastercoaster5]

This is really going to provide some views of Ka that even CP cant provide of Dragster!

[El Toro_Ryan]

Hey guys, just a little update. I heard employees were being trained at Zumanjaro this week so it should be opening soon. An official opening day has not been announced but I've heard it could possibly open this weekend from several people. Someone over at Greatadventurehistory.com said that a season pass preview day would occur the day after media day. Hopefully that's true. haha

 

And for the people who complain about stacking at Bizarro, after working there a lot, I've noticed some interesting things about it. In order for the third train to not stack on the brake run, you have to dispatch the train in the station as the train on the circuit is dropping out of the mcbr or it stacks. Most B&M's are not like that. I've seen Raptor dispatch a train as the train on the circuit was in the final helix and not double stack. Bizarro is different because the floors take forever to drop. The floors on newer floorless coasters are much quicker. Most of the time, we dispatch trains as one is in the corkscrews which is around a 1:45 dispatch interval which still results in over 1,000 pph. However, when we do that, the third train will stack for a few seconds because it takes longer than the average B&M for the trains in the station and waiting to advance forward. (By the time the next train is parked in the station with the floors up, the train ahead is already more than half way up the lift hill) And my area supervisor is really cracking down on capacity this year and she made it a big deal to us yesterday not to double stack. She even had us practice checking the restraints where we had to lower each harness and buckle each seatbelt in under 45 seconds. That's with only 2 people on the train too. After that, we had trains dispatching while the the train on the circuit was in the cobra roll. So if you were concerned about Bizarro's operations, they're not as bad as you thought and look for them to improve. haha

[DLex]

Thanks for the update Ryan! I'm going to have to make regular trips over there (MILK the Gold Pass!). I've been waiting for a decent droptower at GAdv for a long time.

[FaithPlus1]

I'm much more excited for Zumanjaro than I am for Goliath. Probably last longer and I cannot imagine to view from the top!

[CoasterPrince]

And my area supervisor is really cracking down on capacity this year and she made it a big deal to us yesterday not to double stack. She even had us practice checking the restraints where we had to lower each harness and buckle each seatbelt in under 45 seconds. That's with only 2 people on the train too. After that, we had trains dispatching while the the train on the circuit was in the cobra roll. So if you were concerned about Bizarro's operations, they're not as bad as you thought and look for them to improve. haha

That's amazing news! I've been waiting for Gadv to improve operations to this degree. I've had the pleasure of working at both Cedar Point and Gadv and the difference in operations is noticeable to say the least. It's exciting to hear Gadv now times their dispatches like Cedar Point does.

[El Toro_Ryan]

And my area supervisor is really cracking down on capacity this year and she made it a big deal to us yesterday not to double stack. She even had us practice checking the restraints where we had to lower each harness and buckle each seatbelt in under 45 seconds. That's with only 2 people on the train too. After that, we had trains dispatching while the the train on the circuit was in the cobra roll. So if you were concerned about Bizarro's operations, they're not as bad as you thought and look for them to improve. haha

That's amazing news! I've been waiting for Gadv to improve operations to this degree. I've had the pleasure of working at both Cedar Point and Gadv and the difference in operations is noticeable to say the least. It's exciting to hear Gadv now times their dispatches like Cedar Point does.

 

What rides did you work at Cedar Point? And as good as we can improve our operations, I don't think our operations will ever be as good as Cedar Point's until GADV staffs more than 2 people to check restraints at all major coasters. Only Ka and Green Lantern have 4 people on the train at all times. Having 2 people works most of the time but you really have to hustle. The downside is that if a guest has an issue that you have to address, you have to hold off from the loading procedure until the issue is addressed. Was there a rule that attendants had to check restraints together at Cedar Point? When I was there, it didn't seem like it.

[jetsplumber]

And my area supervisor is really cracking down on capacity this year and she made it a big deal to us yesterday not to double stack. She even had us practice checking the restraints where we had to lower each harness and buckle each seatbelt in under 45 seconds. That's with only 2 people on the train too. After that, we had trains dispatching while the the train on the circuit was in the cobra roll. So if you were concerned about Bizarro's operations, they're not as bad as you thought and look for them to improve. haha

That's amazing news! I've been waiting for Gadv to improve operations to this degree. I've had the pleasure of working at both Cedar Point and Gadv and the difference in operations is noticeable to say the least. It's exciting to hear Gadv now times their dispatches like Cedar Point does.

 

SFGadv operations are not even close to cedar points on the major roller coasters. SF better hire a ton more people if they want to be close to comparable.

[rcjp]

She even had us practice checking the restraints where we had to lower each harness and buckle each seatbelt in under 45 seconds. That's with only 2 people on the train too.

Sounds pretty impressive!

[DJeXeL]

Is it just me or does "camera facing forward" drop ride POV just not seem to have the same effect as watching a rider cam of it or if the camera was facing up towards the tower or down towards the ground?

 

 

I agree. Looking outward doesn't seem very impressive at all. Looking up at the tower or down at the ground would have been the better option.

[El Toro_Ryan]

And my area supervisor is really cracking down on capacity this year and she made it a big deal to us yesterday not to double stack. She even had us practice checking the restraints where we had to lower each harness and buckle each seatbelt in under 45 seconds. That's with only 2 people on the train too. After that, we had trains dispatching while the the train on the circuit was in the cobra roll. So if you were concerned about Bizarro's operations, they're not as bad as you thought and look for them to improve. haha

That's amazing news! I've been waiting for Gadv to improve operations to this degree. I've had the pleasure of working at both Cedar Point and Gadv and the difference in operations is noticeable to say the least. It's exciting to hear Gadv now times their dispatches like Cedar Point does.

 

SFGadv operations are not even close to cedar points on the major roller coasters. SF better hire a ton more people if they want to be close to comparable.

 

We try our best though! haha We're on track for one million rides by the first week of August at Toro. I know Nitro usually hits one million in July. Skull Mountain, Batman, the Sky Ride, and Bizarro should hit one million as well. Ka probably won't since it's been closed so much for Zumanjaro.

[CoasterPrince]

What rides did you work at Cedar Point? And as good as we can improve our operations, I don't think our operations will ever be as good as Cedar Point's until GADV staffs more than 2 people to check restraints at all major coasters. Only Ka and Green Lantern have 4 people on the train at all times. Having 2 people works most of the time but you really have to hustle. The downside is that if a guest has an issue that you have to address, you have to hold off from the loading procedure until the issue is addressed. Was there a rule that attendants had to check restraints together at Cedar Point? When I was there, it didn't seem like it.

I worked Dragster at CP and Dark Knight at Gadv. Dark Knight basically ran itself so there wasn't really anything you could do to improve dispatch times because the cars moved continuously in the station. Dragster was a lot more hands on and I loved it. Our Team Lead made sure all team members knew that after safety, speed was the top priority. There was a pretty big crew over there too. 4 on load, 2 on unload, 1 for unload spieling, 1 for control panel, and 1 for launch control panel. That's 9 people on platform alone not including entrance, Fastpass, merge, and crowd. I don't think Gadv has enough employees to staff the coasters like Cedar Point does. Also it's a lot harder to get cross trained at Gadv than Cedar Point. At Cedar Point I was trained on Matterhorn, Dragster, Scrambler, and Dodgem within my first month. At Gadv I was at Dark Knight the entire year.