Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread

[coasterbill]

How were the crowds?

 

Solid! While the place cleared out ridiculously fast at the end of the night, for most of the day the park was pretty busy considering the winds and the fact that it was a Sunday and not a Saturday. As is generally the case during Holiday in the Park, coaster lines were pretty short but rides like Skyway and Justice league topped out around 30 minutes, food stands were busy and the midways were pretty packed from an hour or so before sundown to about 7:30.

[Password121]

Okay... the banana peeling description got me

 

Nice TR! Wish I could make it out there this time of year.

[boldikus]

Awesome update, Bill! Love that shot of the sunset behind Nitro you got from the Skyway.

[anonymouscactus]

Classic Six Flags. At least he knew to use a knife instead of a hammer!

 

[El Toro_Ryan]

Glad you enjoyed the event!! That Jersey woman sounded god awful

 

All of the B&Ms were running one train due to wind so they wouldn't have to send empties at the end of the night but Nitro, Batman and (maybe) Superman have multiple trains available for the event. I have no idea if Green Lantern does because we didn't ride it because it's terrible.

 

To clarify this, two trains are ran on Nitro, Skull Mountain, and kinda sorta Batman for HITP. All the other rides run 1 train while the other train undergoes rehab (besides Joker and Dark Knight cause they have hella cars.) Nitro gets away with running two since it has 3 trains to begin with and the park actually owns a 3rd train for Skull Mountain so one train is always in rehab for that ride, like how Magic Mountain does things. As for Batman, last year its maintenance cycle was thrown off because of Namtab. The trains ran for Namtab were the trains from Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags Over Georgia ran GADV's trains on their Batman forwards. Usually the backwards chassis is passed around and each park has to place their own seats and restraints on it but each park wanted to run Namtab for as long as possible. Idk what happened when the forward trains returned but it wasn't necessary to pull one train off for rehab last season.

[larrygator]

To add a little more to my trip yesterday.

 

I also tried the waffle and had a slightly netter experience than Bill. When I got to the register the waffle was prepared and took practically the same amount of time as it did from Waffle de Lys last year and the same amount of time as Waffle de Lys and Kennywood this summer. The only issue I encountered was confusion over the price of a topping. The sign I posted earlier says it is $3 extra for a signature creation and $1 for either nutella, hot fudge, sugar, other options. The cashier seems to be confused about the different costs of upcharges, but ultimately only charged $1. To me it appeared they used the same batter that is used in the funnel cakes with extra sugar added, but my major issue for me was the texture of the waffle, which was not crispy enough. However, I did really enjoy using the meal plan to option a good snack for $1.

 

Waffle de Lys was never meant to be a permanent vendor at the park. They were brought in the first year with other vendors, to due lack of staff in the food area for the first year of the event. Last year it was a last minute decision to bring them back to the event.

 

Spirit of the Season is a good time filler providing a place to sit down with your hot chocolate and get off your feet. It is a singing and dancing revue featuring 8 performers and a variety of holiday songs. I did not see the next Kelly Clarkson or Teri Garr in the cast but they gave a solid effort.

 

There seemed to be much more holiday merchandise around the park for sale this year.

 

As Bill mentioned, the addition of season long hot chocolate special souvenir cup is a great value if you plan a few visits.

 

I inquired about the success of Justice League and there if were concerns that it was at the end of a dead end path. Over the course of the season some newer guests had expressed surprise that a ride was after Batman. But the park was very happy about the lack of downtime for the ride and the benefit of having another indoor attraction during HITP. One last thing, although it was not stated outright it was implied that with the addition of Cyborg Cyber Spin, the park will continue with future rides along the old Old Country path leading to a potential re-opening of the path. Maybe not next year, but that's where I see this going.

[boldikus]

Interesting. If that IAAPA leak about the potential Skywarp purchase is true, I could definitely see it going next to the Cyber Spin across from JLBFM.

[coasterbill]

^^Thanks guys! And thanks for the clarification Ryan!

 

Also, speaking of Ryan this is REALLY random but I'm about to quote a ridiculously old post of yours and back you up on a 3 year old argument that nobody remembers or gives a sh*t about. I noticed something pretty cool last night and just got around to Googling it to see if I was crazy. Google led me back to this thread and one of your old posts...

 

I've heard look to the right of Nitro's second hill and you can kind of see the Philadelphia skyline.

 

Philadelphia is 80 miles away from Six Flags. No, you can't. Not even on the clearest day.

 

Yes, yes you can. I couldn't believe it either (though as the crow flies, it's much closer than 80 miles).

 

Obviously I've ridden Nitro a ton. I'm not dorky enough to keep track, but I'd bet good money that I've ridden Nitro far more than any other coaster. I've always loved the view from the lift, but last night it was even better than normal. Since it was winter and it was f*cking freezing, visibility was amazing last night and we got an insane view of the Philadelphia skyline from Nitro's lift hill (like you could pick out individual buildings). That was a first, but it was really cool. I've heard that you can see the Philadelphia and New York skyline from Kingda Ka (though I've never been able to) but I had no idea this was even a thing from Nitro's lift hill. That was definitively pretty awesome...

 

Anyway, carry on.

[boldikus]

You're sure you weren't looking at Trenton?

 

(And no Philly is not 80 miles from Jackson, its 50 miles).

[coasterbill]

You're sure you weren't looking at Trenton?

 

That was my first thought, but yeah. I assumed it was Trenton until we crested the lift and saw Trenton. You could clearly make out the buildings, mainly that weird triangle thing (which is apparently called "One Liberty Place" and not "that weird triangle thing", the more you know...).

Edited November 21, 2017 by coasterbill

[El Toro_Ryan]

^^Thanks guys! And thanks for the clarification Ryan!

 

Also, speaking of Ryan this is REALLY random but I'm about to quote a ridiculously old post of yours and back you up on a 3 year old argument that nobody remembers or gives a sh*t about. I noticed something pretty cool last night and just got around to Googling it to see if I was crazy. Google led me back to this thread and one of your old posts...

 

I've heard look to the right of Nitro's second hill and you can kind of see the Philadelphia skyline.

 

Philadelphia is 80 miles away from Six Flags. No, you can't. Not even on the clearest day.

 

Yes, yes you can. I couldn't believe it either (though as the crow flies, it's much closer than 80 miles).

 

Obviously I've ridden Nitro a ton. I'm not dorky enough to keep track, but I'd bet good money that I've ridden Nitro far more than any other coaster. I've always loved the view from the lift, but last night it was even better than normal. Since it was winter and it was f*cking freezing, visibility was amazing last night and we got an insane view of the Philadelphia skyline from Nitro's lift hill (like you could pick out individual buildings). That was a first, but it was really cool. I've heard that you can see the Philadelphia and New York skyline from Kingda Ka (though I've never been able to) but I had no idea this was even a thing from Nitro's lift hill. That was definitively pretty awesome...

 

Anyway, carry on.

 

Lmaooo! Man I don't even remember making that post but that's a nice throwback. For whatever reason, several users and I used to clash all the time in this thread. I think someone even told me off and called me a cheerleader for Great Adventure Good times.

 

But that's dope you got such a clear view of Philly! I've never gotten a view that good but I've seen it vaguely in the distance. And you can see NYC and Philadelphia from the top of Ka! (Just definitely not at the same time unless you have insane super powers or something.)

 

..... I've heard you can even see Los Angeles from the top of Ka.... (who will pick a fight with me over this one.)

[boldikus]

You're sure you weren't looking at Trenton?

 

That was my first thought, but yeah. I assumed it was Trenton until we crested the lift and saw Trenton. You could clearly make out the buildings, mainly that weird triangle thing (which is apparently called "One Liberty Place" and not "that weird triangle thing", the more you know...).

 

 

There are two - Liberty 1 and 2. They were the tallest buildings until Comcast opened theirs, and now is opening another.

 

I have never been able to see Philadelphia from GreatAdv's tall rides because I have the eyesight of a bat and don't wear my prescription glasses on the rides.

[coasterbill]

..... I've heard you can even see Los Angeles from the top of Ka.... (who will pick a fight with me over this one.)

 

You can usually see a sh*t ton of smog from Kingda Ka, so that checks out.

[BigBad]

I feel like I've seen Atlantic City (maybe it's Wilmington) from the top of Zumanjaro. I've definitely seen Philly, and then I saw one, perhaps two, city-looking building clusters south of where I saw Philly.

 

I'll pay attention from the top of Nitro the next time I ride during the day (so in April).

[B&MIntaminGCI]

Stopped in to the park with my best friend yesterday to grab my wallet that I lost a month ago. The second we got into the parking lot we said "F it" and wound up staying. Which was unfortunate for me because all I was wearing was a thin $10 hoody from Primark.

 

Got through security and went to Lost & Found, they had my wallet, I asked where I left it or where they found it and they said in the Kingda Ka lockers, (Which means it survived a week in the lockers, we went on a Saturday, it survived a Sunday, Friday, Saturday and they found it the following Sunday). Thank god it's flat and black and the locker it was lost in was the top row.

 

We got our food with our dining pass and then took a quick spin on Batman in the back row. It was good but I felt like it was running slower than usual. I didn't really get the forcefulness that I got in the summer and during Fright Fest (where it was running CRAZY fast) but maybe it's just me. It was also warmer than I thought given the wind and the cold and what I was wearing. I can say though when you're riding a roller coaster in hardly any clothing and it's freezing, it feels significantly warmer when the ride ends

 

After that we made our way over to Nitro and got a ride in the back row as well, this was wear I was nervous, because going 80mph in nothing but a light hoody, but low and behold it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought. My hands were the coldest part of me and it was riding pretty well, not as good as the summer but I would say it was riding better than Batman was.

 

By the end of Nitro it was completely dark and all the lights were on and the park is absolutely beautiful. I got a few pics but not too many.

 

 

 

 

[coasterbill]

Nice report!

 

In general, Batman was hauling so if they actually had it running faster than that during Fright Fest, god damn

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Thanks to everybody who posted recent reports. I agree, Bill, on the hot chocolate mug. $9 with free refills the day of and $2 refills any other day is actually a pretty good deal. SDC's mug is $13 with $1.75 each refill, including the day of, so Six Flags actually has the better deal.

 

And I can vouch for it being socially acceptable at work as it has become my new work mug. I like the blue and white colours on yours. Mine is so hilariously Six Flags though.

[B&MIntaminGCI]

Nice report!

 

In general, Batman was hauling so if they actually had it running faster than that during Fright Fest, god damn

 

I felt the opposite, I felt like my ride Sunday was significantly slower, like it was even visibly slower to me. The helix after the 2nd loop was nowhere near as intense as it was during the summer/Fright Fest and the wing overs didn't give me that crazy snap I was used to. But the last time I rode during Fright Fest was absolutely bat s**t insane, I've never had a ride on Batman like that and I've been going consistently since 2006. It felt like my legs were going to be ripped off and the wingover, turn over the exit of the Zero G Roll into the 2nd wing over was a straight up disorienting blur on the ride and I loved EVERY second of it. I was actually winded when we hit the brakes Even my friends who just come with me noted that that ride during Fright Fest was way faster than normal.

[gardyloo!]

Great report as always Bill! The transformation from one the worst to one of the best seasonal events from this park just amazes me! Wonder if they allow any scarfs or beanies on any of the the rides. Despite the fact that people be freezing their ass of, it woudn't surprise me if they don't. Taking into account their strict loose aricle policy and all.

[coasterbill]

Thanks! And yeah, they would totally allow it but it's been my experience that Nitro has little interest in hoods, scarves or anything else you came up with to try to stay warm and blows it all down anyway. I usually wear gloves, at least 2 hoodies, a jacket and just give up on everything else

[gardyloo!]

Thanks! And yeah, they would totally allow it but it's been my experience that Nitro has little interest in hoods, scarves or anything else you came up with to try to stay warm and blows it all down anyway. I usually wear gloves, at least 2 hoodies, a jacket and just give up on everything else

 

Yea gloves seem to be a must if you wanna prevent frostbite.

Nitro seems to be a trendsetter btw, as silver star over at europa park is also open during this winter season. Hopefully more parks will continue this trend!

[Canobie Coaster]

I dressed like I was going skiing and had no problems what so ever on a 15 degree day.

[Keetz]

Got my HITP fix this Sunday from 2:45p - 8:30p and had an absolute blast. The temperatures were ~15 degrees colder than Saturday, which resulted in practically no lines. The park was decently crowded from 3-5:30 but really emptied out quick. The operations were stellar and we got a ton of re-rides. As the sun set we consumed a few adult fun beverages and had a blast with multiple rerides on all the coasters in the dark. The best kind of Six Flags day.

 

Random Musings:

 

Turns out, if you bought a 2018 season pass, they process it upon entering the gate. All they did was scan the ticket, scan my finger, and give me a card. No picture, but hey who cares, it was $72 for all six flags parks.

 

Got a chance to ride the Joker 6x and found myself really enjoying the ride compared to when I first rode it. The first ride was the longest wait for a coaster of the day at maybe 3 minutes. Later in the day we got 2 rides on green without getting up, then 2 rides on purple. It's a really fun coaster when the line is short. We averaged 2-3 flips each ride. On one I got 4 flips which was awesome.

 

Batman was hauling and giving me grey outs which is always fun. During the night, I'm not a fan of the lights shining in your face for the new video system. It was incredibly disorienting. So beware.

 

Only issue the whole day was regarding Green Lantern. The ride went down around 6pm allegedly due to cold temperatures? They were only running one train but the ops said it had something to do with the brakes. Didn't get to ride, but not too mad about it.

 

Got my first and maybe only ride on Justice League, it had a 15 min wait, and the ride was just okay. It can't compare to other shooting rides like Midway Mania at Hollywood Studios, but a good addition for gadv.

 

By 8pm the skyride had a 1 minute wait, so we hopped on to get the full HITP experience. I really love the park during this time of year with all the lights. Almost makes up for no El Toro.

 

Finished the day on Nitro getting a front seat ride, and then 2 rides in row 4 because they were front loading the train. Now I have the soundtrack stuck in my head.

 

Overall:

Joker 6x (3 green 3 purple)

Superman 3x

Nitro 6

Batman 4

Skyride 1

Justice League 1

Skull Mtn 1

That indoor Mouse 1

 

Cedar Fair - please run your B&M hyper models, they can do it.

[boldikus]

Turns out, if you bought a 2018 season pass, they process it upon entering the gate. All they did was scan the ticket, scan my finger, and give me a card. No picture, but hey who cares, it was $72 for all six flags parks.

They've been doing this for at least the last four seasons.

 

Only issue the whole day was regarding Green Lantern. The ride went down around 6pm allegedly due to cold temperatures? They were only running one train but the ops said it had something to do with the brakes. Didn't get to ride, but not too mad about it.

Sounds like a win-win to me.

[coasterbill]

Only issue the whole day was regarding Green Lantern.

 

... you mean the fact that it exists? Yeah, that is an issue.

 

The ride went down around 6pm allegedly due to cold temperatures? They were only running one train but the ops said it had something to do with the brakes. Didn't get to ride, but not too mad about it.

 

Queue times says the ride was only down for a few minutes and then reopened (and then went down again, and reopened again soon after) so it wasn't closed due to cold. That was a close one, I was worried the park had regained their sanity for a second.

 

But yeah, in the end you came out ahead by not riding it. It's a piece of sh*t.