Jcoaster Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 A) US park chains are taking a break from Intamin due to controversy with the rides mechanical issues. That's such a misconception. The issue comes with many parks maintenance teams just not being experienced enough to work with Intamin's hardware. They really are more the Ferrari of the roller coaster world where a lot of the maintenance requires some specialized skill. I have always found it interesting how European Intamin installations don't have anywhere NEAR the trouble that US installations do. Hmmm.....
woolandmammoth Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 Actually, if a giga were to leave the grandstand area at the furthest end, it could have its lift hill travel over the tents and drop into area where Haunted Manor is currently set up. From there it could use Rolling Thunder's vacant space. Would be hands down the best looking addition I could think of. Also the least likely! There is no shortage of room for a giga. If not this spot, than there is at least 3 or 4 others that I can think of. With 300ft+ coasters popping up left and right, I think it is just a mater of time until GADV installs one. For 2016, my money is still on the freespin. This is a bummer because it simply doesn't have the capacity to meet the crowds drawn to the park.
neil009 Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 There is no shortage of room for a giga. If not this spot, than there is at least 3 or 4 others that I can think of. With 300ft+ coasters popping up left and right, I think it is just a mater of time until GADV installs one. Hahaha, that's funny. When was the last time Six Flags installed a ride on the scale of a giga? My money is on "It's only a matter of time before Six Flags is done installing small clones, RMC conversions and carnival rides and finally goes out of business."
Coaster Hero Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 ^ Remember when B&M hyper coasters first got popular, and at first it was Six Flags installing them left and right? After that starting with Behemoth Cedar Fair started installing them in their parks. Perhaps history may repeat itself and in the future Six Flags may start to install them. But for now it doesn't seem like a giga coaster is coming to any Six Flags park unfortunately
boldikus Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 I definitely do not see this park getting a giga and I'm not sure why everyone is so focused on that, other than the fact that Cedar Fair has been on a roll with them. With the amount of hope around these parts that any Six Flags park would get one, you would think that they are the only type of coaster that offers a pleasant and thrilling experience and/or we all know that's not the case. I'd love something like Fury/Skyrush/Millennium/I305 at my home park but I would also be perfectly happy if they put in a Maverick or Sky Rocket clone, an RMC, etc Bigger does not always mean better.
coasterkid124 Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 A) US park chains are taking a break from Intamin due to controversy with the rides mechanical issues. That's such a misconception. The issue comes with many parks maintenance teams just not being experienced enough to work with Intamin's hardware. They really are more the Ferrari of the roller coaster world where a lot of the maintenance requires some specialized skill. I have always found it interesting how European Intamin installations don't have anywhere NEAR the trouble that US installations do. Hmmm..... That's why I worded it with "controversy" in front of mechanical issues. I'm on the side that agrees that the mechanical issues are overblown. It's not Intamin's fault that Lewis, the Six Flags five and dime mechanic has absolutely no experience with the complicated technology. But if you want a coaster that pushes the envelope, Intamin is the only company that is willing to do that nowadays.
Coaster Hero Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 Bigger does not always mean better. Unless you do it right. Then height and speed become a huge plus to the ride. Though I'd be perfectly happy with something like the dueling Premier, the giga coaster is really my personal pipe dream for the park.
woolandmammoth Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 I was implying that with coasters at the 300ft level getting more and more common, it is likely that sometime in the future, the park will get a coaster that is in the giga range. When Magnum was built I doubt anyone would have thought that a small park in Utah would build a 200ft+ coaster complely in house with several inversions and an elevator lift. To assume the state of the industy will not change is short sighted. However, I was simply day dreaming more than actually speculating. As far as an actual guess, a freespin or premier launch.
josephcissell Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 Hey guys, I've been regularly reading in this thread for quite a while now, well at least since last year when Nitro's train C had all kinds of rattle. Anyway, I've never been to GAdv before and I am thrilled that next week I'll finally have the opportunity to visit. I'll be at the park next Friday (8/7), so feel free to drop me a line and say hi if you're in the park as well. I'm hoping to catch an off day in terms of crowds of course, but I plan to stay open to close anyway. I know the general wisdom here is to budget for a flash pass, and I can do that if need be, but where should I head first upon entry? Ka or Toro perhaps? Also, does any portion of the park frequently open prior to the official posted opening time? If so, what section/rides would be included in that? Looking to hit all the major stuff, except for Superman and Namtab, several times. Just looking to strategize as effectively as possible and I appreciate the feedback from you guys!
Coaster Hero Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 (edited) I'd say you have a choice at opening. Either head to El Toro as it doesn't have too long lines in the AM and you can get a few re-rides, or go to Nitro as the entire section of the park isn't crowded in the morning (though with Namtab this probably wouldn't be the case). By the way Kingda Ka tends to HAUL in the morning so that's my suggestion of course EDIT: My mistake, I meant to type in Ka but I was thinking of El Toro so I typed that instead by accident Edited July 30, 2015 by Coaster Hero
strz Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 Hey guys, I've been regularly reading in this thread for quite a while now, well at least since last year when Nitro's train C had all kinds of rattle. Anyway, I've never been to GAdv before and I am thrilled that next week I'll finally have the opportunity to visit. I'll be at the park next Friday (8/7), so feel free to drop me a line and say hi if you're in the park as well. I'm hoping to catch an off day in terms of crowds of course, but I plan to stay open to close anyway. I know the general wisdom here is to budget for a flash pass, and I can do that if need be, but where should I head first upon entry? Ka or Toro perhaps? Also, does any portion of the park frequently open prior to the official posted opening time? If so, what section/rides would be included in that? Looking to hit all the major stuff, except for Superman and Namtab, several times. Just looking to strategize as effectively as possible and I appreciate the feedback from you guys! IMO, go as follows: 1) Kingda Ka, 2) Zuma, 3) El Toro, 4) Bizarro.....then boogie over to 5) Batman, 6) Nitro, 7) Skull Mountain. At that point- you've got your money's worth....have at it as you see fit! Keeping in mind that bashing my head on a stand-up, along with the Superman ain't my cup of tea! Have fun!
Password121 Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 Hey guys, I've been regularly reading in this thread for quite a while now, well at least since last year when Nitro's train C had all kinds of rattle. Anyway, I've never been to GAdv before and I am thrilled that next week I'll finally have the opportunity to visit. I'll be at the park next Friday (8/7), so feel free to drop me a line and say hi if you're in the park as well. I'm hoping to catch an off day in terms of crowds of course, but I plan to stay open to close anyway. I know the general wisdom here is to budget for a flash pass, and I can do that if need be, but where should I head first upon entry? Ka or Toro perhaps? Also, does any portion of the park frequently open prior to the official posted opening time? If so, what section/rides would be included in that? Looking to hit all the major stuff, except for Superman and Namtab, several times. Just looking to strategize as effectively as possible and I appreciate the feedback from you guys! IMO, go as follows: 1) Kingda Ka, 2) Zuma, 3) El Toro, 4) Bizarro.....then boogie over to 5) Batman, 6) Nitro, 7) Skull Mountain. At that point- you've got your money's worth....have at it as you see fit! Keeping in mind that bashing my head on a stand-up, along with the Superman ain't my cup of tea! Have fun! To add to this, I'd go in the same order, but assuming you've reached El Toro by around 11-11:15, I'd recommend taking multiple back row rides on the bull while it's still a walk on. Bizarro often opens late (around noon) and El Toro holds a steady 30 minute wait most of the day. Don't leave the ride just because you've had one ride--El Toro gets better with more rides as you learn the ins and outs of the course and can fully appreciate the first drop and RT hill. It's incredible and there's nothing like it. From then on you can basically do whatever you want as the three B&Ms mentioned are people eaters.
El Toro_Ryan Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 I'd say you have a choice at opening. Either head to El Toro as it doesn't have too long lines in the AM and you can get a few re-rides, or go to Nitro as the entire section of the park isn't crowded in the morning (though with Namtab this probably wouldn't be the case). By the way El Toro tends to HAUL in the morning so that's my suggestion of course Im going to have to disagree with you there. I worked El Toro last year and it speeds up considerably during the day. Even in the middle of summer, morning test runs are still oddly slow and then it improves from there. The advantage of hitting Toro early in the day means you can ride it over and over but if you do this, definitely ride Toro later in the day as it does run much faster. Also I would personally start of at Kingda Ka and then Zumanjaro as these two rides have some of the most downtime in the park. I work both rides this year and they both go down frequently. Ka tends to run fine in the morning for the first few hours and then generally once it breaks down, it will continuously go down for the rest of the day. Plus the ride generally launches faster in the morning After this it doesn't really matter what order you go in but I would head towards El Toro if it's not busy yet so you can get a few rides in, or even hit up the safari! But keep in the mind the ride can take up to two hours to complete so just factor that into the rest of your day. After that, it doesn't matter too much how you tackle the rest of the park but I would save Green Lantern and Superman until later in the day because the crowds generally seem to go to those two rides first upon arriving. I would save Namtab until later as well. Also if the park isn't too busy, the lines generally turn into walk ons by like 9 so you'll be able to marathon some rides. I would pick El Toro if I were you haha The park is huge but it's easily doable in one day. Hope you enjoy it! Also come say hi to me at Kingda Ka if you get a chance, I'll be there the 7th from 12 to 8!
Chris27 Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 Depends but I usually go right, head to Batman then Nitro and Skull, jump over to other side of park, hit Bizzaro then Toro, then Ka/Zum and then finish up with Lantern and Superman but if they are too crowded I pass. Other times I head right for Ka/Zum and then Toro, get them out of the way first then hit Bizzaro then Nitro and Batman.
boldikus Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 Im going to have to disagree with you there. I worked El Toro last year and it speeds up considerably during the day. Even in the middle of summer, morning test runs are still oddly slow and then it improves from there. The advantage of hitting Toro early in the day means you can ride it over and over but if you do this, definitely ride Toro later in the day as it does run much faster. ! QFT! As Ive stated multiple times on here I always go right to Toro first thing in the morning and on some mornings, while its still one of the best coasters ever, will craaaawwwwwl through the last few bunnyhops after the twister section. Like "holy crap are we gonna valley?" business. I have on many occasions gone back to ride it later in the day and it always is running faster and wilder than those early morning rides, especially on hot days. Some of my most sluggish rides on Toro have been on cold mornings. Tonight I was at the park, it was hot as balls, and we got 2 rides on it. I could tell it was hauling just from standing in the queue next to it, and sure enough we had two of the craziest rides ever on it tonight. I'll post more tomorrow with pics and stuff. It just took me forever to get back to the city and I have to eat something and go to bed. But we had a great time! Nothing like ending a shitty work day just floating through the sky on some of the greatest coasters on earth. My love affair with Nitro has been rekindled.
Coaster Hero Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 ^I guess Nitro's wheels finally broke in At the beginning of the season it seemed to crawl over every airtime hill on my rides, but very recently it's hauling through the course. I was beginning to get bored of it a little at that kind of speed, but now it's awesome again. Once the MCBR was completely off and I got borderline ejector on those last few airtime hills By the way I meant Kingda Ka goes really fast early in that last post, but I was thinking of El Toro ( ) and I typed that by accident. Coasters tend to go faster in the heat from what I've heard... not sure why
Devins3 Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 ^ I would imagine the hotter it is the thinner the grease/lubrication is in the wheels. Thinner grease=easier spinning wheels=faster.
coasterbill Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 [iMO, go as follows: 1) Kingda Ka, 2) Zuma, 3) El Toro, 4) Bizarro.....then boogie over to 5) Batman, 6) Nitro, 7) Skull Mountain. And by Boogie he means Skyway. At least I hope he does. ... take a drink Boldikus lol
coasterkid124 Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 ^ I would imagine the hotter it is the thinner the grease/lubrication is in the wheels. Thinner grease=easier spinning wheels=faster. Totally right. Anything in science usually goes faster in the heat. The grease in the bearings is really loose/thin and there's a lot less friction.
boldikus Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 [iMO, go as follows: 1) Kingda Ka, 2) Zuma, 3) El Toro, 4) Bizarro.....then boogie over to 5) Batman, 6) Nitro, 7) Skull Mountain. And by Boogie he means Skyway. At least I hope he does. ... take a drink Boldikus lol It's a little early for that but if you insist.
boldikus Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 It's 5:00 somewhere. Words to live by. So like I said I stopped over at the park for a few hours last night w/ my broski Tom (TPR forum member Bubba Coaster Bates) and had a really good time. I feel like it was a redemption for a kind of disappointing and average visit last Wednesday. I had a really crappy day at work yesterday so I needed a release, and bad. It was sticky and hot as a mutherf*#@er (still almost 90 degrees at 7pm, and didn't get much cooler when the sun went down), we probably lost ten pounds each from all the sweating all night, but we didn't let that damper our fun one bit. We walked from our car to the gate at exactly 7pm and as we approached we were greeted by an endless stream of hundreds of kids w/ camp trips all leaving in unison. This made us so very happy. Our goal of this somewhat spontaneous trip was so that Tom could finally ride Namtab so he wanted to head there first but I needed a warm up. Since I had such a great ride on Nitro last Wednesday we agreed to go there first. Faster and taller, but no inversions and not backwards lol. We had a 15 minutes wait, got train A and it had a bit of rattle in the back row but it was still a fantastic ride. I hadn't ridden Nitro all season until last week and after my rides then and last night I am in full appreciative mode w/ this beast. So so so good. We are so lucky to have this coaster so close to home. A couple of line jumpers here which was especially lame considering how short the wait actually was. And no one says or does anything (including me). :/ From here we bee-lined for Namtab and were surprised to find it a complete and total walk on. Score! Too intense for everyone? Like last week, we sat in the last row (first row out of the station) and holy moses it is so intense. It makes my feet feel funny, all tingly, like all the blood in my body rushed to my feet. While its very enjoyable its not exactly re-rideable so we decided to head towards El Toro and stopped @ Liberty Pub (we like it here) and chug a beer before the Bull. We had a 10 minute wait for that, snagged the magic seat, and as usual it was fantastic. When we stood up Tom had an issue with his lapbar opening so it took us a few extra seconds to get out of our seats - in that time I noticed a couple single riders w/ empty seats up further ahead in the train so I said to him "let's go up and try to get in those", and neither person cared when we asked if we could sit with them. I know this is technically line-jumping but we are really just filling empty seats so we are not causing anyone to wait any longer and none of the crew batted an eye. We also justified in thinking that we gave everyone else on our train a better ride because we added 450 lbs of combined weight. Ole! We made the mistake of trying Zumanjaro next. After the looooooooong walk back the line looked to be about 20 minutes but just as we got there it broke down, stalling with riders onboard about 8-10 feet in the air. It was brought down, they were taken off, and it was run a few times empty, then with employees. At first this was great because half the line left, mumbling things like "I'm not riding something having problems like that!" so we now had about a 10 minute wait, but after another 5 minutes the same thing happened and they basically told us they were shutting down the ride. Some people waited, we gave up. It was almost 9pm, almost totally dark and we realized Tom has never done a Nitro night ride! So on top of riding some awesome rides last night we also burned a crapton of calories because we hustled all the way back across the park and got two rides on Nitro in the pitch darkness. Only a line on the stairs, but once we got to the back row to queue up, it went down for "technical difficulties" which was actually just them hosing someones projectile vomit off of half the train. It was EVERYWHERE. Of course we calculated the amount of people in front of us to make sure we wouldn't be on that train and luckily we were not. This time we got train B and it was much smoother than earlier. Once again we were sneaky snakes and jumped in empty seats for a second lap. It was just a station wait anyway, we just couldn't be bothered to walk around. We were going to head out to the car but it was 9:45 and we thought "maybe Namtab is still a ghost town" so we went there and walked right on to the front row (last row leaving the station) for our final ride of the night. My fourth ride on Namtab so far and probably the best. Sweet baby jaysus, so insane in the dark but also because of being able to see the ground being yanked out from underneath you. I'm surprised I've actually ridden it so much already, I definitely enjoy it. Foot tingles though. And with that we headed back towards Pennsylvania where he dropped me off at the train and it took me ten years to get into the city to get home and I feel like I'm hungover today (even tho I drank one beer last night) but it was worth it. After two recent average visits to the park I am loving Great Adventure again. We are so lucky to have these rides so close. Some photos. My camera is old and literally dying so Tom took some of these too. He is also the gifmaster. We're here. Hi Bill! Nitro @ sunset Stalking Namtab from Nitros queue Liar. 15 minutes from here. Up... up... My favorite part of the ride - forward or backwards. and away! All clear means you guys are outta here. I love cable lifts more than life itself but something about the eternal click clack on this one... anticipation at peak level LOVE THIS DROP IN THE BACK SEAT Weeeeeee Light crowds Batman: The Ride and Bench: The Ride. Take your pick! So sweet to walk into this. I can confirm A/C is still working in the tunnel/stairs. Too intense for everyone? Back it up, girl. High rides So hot I wanted to jump in the fountain. Movietown is everywhere We like Liberty Pub because no one else goes here. Hey Bill! Ride the bull. Another great visit.
coasterbill Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 Wow, 2 Skyway pics. You guys outdid yourselves this time. Great report. Did you happen to notice if they still closed the water rides early despite the ridiculous heat wave? Knowing them I'm sure they did, lol.
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