coasterbill Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 The only "can't miss" non coaster rides (aside from Houdini) are Safari Off Road Adventure, Zumanjaro and in my biased opinion, Skyway. The flume is worth a ride if it's open but beware of the crappy grouping policy. Our rapids ride is the worst rapids ride ever built. As far as the best day to visit, either one would be fine but I'd suggest Wednesday I guess if I had to pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Like Theme Parks. Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 ZUMANJARO!!! I also like the Top Spin and Round-Up, even though they have tame cycles. But those are obviously low-priority rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 ... oh, and while it's not really that great of a ride, we do have the only parachute drop in North America and it's worth riding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highridin Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 ... oh, and while it's not really that great of a ride, we do have the only parachute drop in North America and it's worth riding. Ha ha, yeah the parachutes were definitely on my list of must rides. Yup, will be sticking to a couple of plans that I heard last year. Go to Ka and Zu right away, mainly because of breakage I was told. Then to Toro. Then to Safari. After those, start hitting the others (Nitro, Batman, etc). Reride what I can after that. Wednesday is what I figured too. People do 3 day weekends, which may make Monday a little more crowded than Wednesday. I can't wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Sounds good, and sit in row 1 on Ka. When the front row queue is full it's still only like 20 minutes (since they always draw from the same load platform since they never use more than 1) and it makes the difference between an unforgettable, insane ride and a rattly piece of crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defrocker Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 ... oh, and while it's not really that great of a ride, we do have the only parachute drop in North America and it's worth riding. I didn't realize it was the only one left... Wow, that's a shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Maier Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Sounds good, and sit in row 1 on Ka. When the front row queue is full it's still only like 20 minutes (since they always draw from the same load platform since they never use more than 1) and it makes the difference between an unforgettable, insane ride and a rattly piece of crap. Do they ever make use of the second load platform for Ka? You'd think logically on peak days, they would . . . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcoaster Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Sounds good, and sit in row 1 on Ka. When the front row queue is full it's still only like 20 minutes (since they always draw from the same load platform since they never use more than 1) and it makes the difference between an unforgettable, insane ride and a rattly piece of crap. Do they ever make use of the second load platform for Ka? You'd think logically on peak days, they would . . . . . Six Flags doesn't think with logic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 No. And there's no reason to anyway since it's capacity has been severely reduced by Zumanjaro. They couldn't dispatch trains any faster anyway since they already end up with 2 trains in the staging area by the time Zumanjaro drops, and once those 2 launch Zumanjaro is generally ready to dispatch again. It does make the line move faster once you reach the station though which is nice if you're waiting for the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highridin Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Sounds good, and sit in row 1 on Ka. When the front row queue is full it's still only like 20 minutes (since they always draw from the same load platform since they never use more than 1) and it makes the difference between an unforgettable, insane ride and a rattly piece of crap. Will do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchang11 Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Thinking of visiting Great Adventure sometime in early April. How are the crowds on a Saturday? Will all the coasters be open? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoshiFan Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 All rides should be open except Justice League and the water rides. I would avoid the 15th if the weather is good since the day before Easter is usually crowded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Thinking of visiting Great Adventure sometime in early April. How are the crowds on a Saturday? Will all the coasters be open? We talked about this a few pages ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canobie Coaster Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 No. And there's no reason to anyway since it's capacity has been severely reduced by Zumanjaro. They couldn't dispatch trains any faster anyway since they already end up with 2 trains in the staging area by the time Zumanjaro drops, and once those 2 launch Zumanjaro is generally ready to dispatch again. It does make the line move faster once you reach the station though which is nice if you're waiting for the front. Since I use Flash Pass when I visit the park, I can jump right to the station and I agree while the ride's capacity has been neutered the wait for the front is about half what it used to be. The second row is still smooth, but it can't beat the rush of wind you get in the front row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Aside from being smooth, the second row is the best row if you just want to get on the ride, there's a weird bottleneck which causes it to never have a line while all other rows are multi train waits. As you said though, the front row is insane. It's been years since I've wasted my time sitting anywhere else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirloindude Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Out of curiosity, does anyone have any information on what it is that makes Kingda Ka such a rattly mess whereas Top Thrill Dragster is butter-smooth? I could never understand how one rides so nicely everywhere and the other feels like launching off an aircraft carrier with potholes in the deck in every car but the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 I've found (in everything but row 1) that with Ka its less of a rattle and more of a shuffle. The back row of Ka has a seriously intense fishtailing. Also Dragster felt like a smoother, consistent pull, while Ka always feels like its 5-6 individual yanks down the launch track. As to why the difference in ride experience? Six Flags owns one installation, Cedar Fair the other. That should answer your question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirloindude Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 LOL at the last part, although I found Great Adventure to be a little less Six Flags-ish than some of its counterparts in the chain. And you're right about the launch feeling like multiple separate tugs. I'd completely forgotten about that, but I remember noting that from the very first lap I took on the thing. I still enjoyed it, but in my laps on it, it has just never felt "right" the way TTD does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keetz Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Out of curiosity, does anyone have any information on what it is that makes Kingda Ka such a rattly mess whereas Top Thrill Dragster is butter-smooth? I could never understand how one rides so nicely everywhere and the other feels like launching off an aircraft carrier with potholes in the deck in every car but the front. This is just speculation, but I think it has to do with the difference in trains. Dragster's trains probably have a lower center of gravity cause they have lap bar restraints. Kingda Ka however has OTSR which raises the trains center of gravity. Launch these two different trains to 120+ mph and small vibrations become much more pronounced. Then you factor in Cedar Fair vs Six Flags and you probably have your answer. Switching the OTSRs to the soft vest ones used on i305 and Maverick would probably help matters a lot... but this is Six Flags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaellynn4 Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 A good portion of it is the differences in train design between the two coasters. Kingda Ka's trains are bulkier than TTD's primarily because of the OTS restraints. I'm sure the added weight is a contributing factor. EDIT: ^ Beat me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Can we stop for a minute to awwww over these baby giraffes? http://6abc.com/news/baby-giraffes-make-six-flags-great-adventure-debut/1787554/ (awwwww inducing video at the link) JACKSON, N.J. (WPVI) --You can soon meet Xena, Eddie, and Charlie. The baby giraffes were recently born at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. "Everybody's been talking about this giraffe April out in New York and we said 'well gosh, we've got three right here at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey and we want to share the news," Kristin Siebeneicher of Great Adventure said. The graceful, long-legged, long-necked, sad-eyed giraffes enter the world with a plop; their moms remain standing while giving birth. "Six-foot drop, and as they fall, that's how the umbilical snaps and then mom will immediately clean her up," safari supervisor Jason Holloway said. Giraffes stretch the usual concept we have of babies. When they're born, they already weigh anywhere from 150 to 200 pounds and can be six-feet tall. And no one's getting much rest. "The babies may sleep three to four hours, but moms are an hour, two hours," Holloway said. That's in an entire day. I guess there's no time to rest because at least in the wild, giraffes spend 18 hours a day eating. The mom giraffes put away about 75 pounds of grain and hay a day - and they are champion chewers! "Their tongues are 18 inches long and they use the tongues to get through briars, sticky things, to get to the leaves that they like," Holloway said. The 2-month-old babies were too shy to come close, but Georgia, Xena's mom, was all about the treats. She couldn't stay away when we had some carrots to share. "Georgia loves food. She'll talk to anybody," Holloway said. The three calves will go to any of the moms to nurse, sometimes all at once. And they follow their mothers around. These gals will grow up to be around 16-feet tall and weigh 1500 pounds. You can see them in person at Great Adventure's Safari when the park opens April 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genx24 Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 I love giraffes, and once had a great encounter with one on the safari about two years ago. It came so close to the truck, everyone on board was just in awe of how majestic it looked. Definitely gonna try and carve some time out to ride it again on opening day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 I'd actually highly recommend the giraffe feeding. It's pretty awesome and definitely worth the minimal upcharge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 I really really have to do the safari this year. I haven't done it since I was a kid and monkeys tried to eat my Dads stationwagon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBpony414 Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 +1 on the giraffe feeding. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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