Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread

[skyrocket010]

Thanks for the info! Guess I’ll take my chances.

 

They won't close for rain, they'll close for low crowds.

 

It could be a category 5 hurricane and as long as more than a few hundred people are in the park spending money they'll stay open. Their weather policy with the coasters is generally good except for Ka, they usually close it in any type of precipitation. Toro and Nitro and whatnot? They'll run them in a monsoon if you're willing to ride them.

[Jason Maier]

They won't close for rain, they'll close for low crowds.

 

It could be a category 5 hurricane and as long as more than a few hundred people are in the park spending money they'll stay open. Their weather policy with the coasters is generally good except for Ka, they usually close it in any type of precipitation. Toro and Nitro and whatnot? They'll run them in a monsoon if you're willing to ride them.

 

Toro and Nitro in a massive rainstorm? Hell yeah I'd do that!

[B&MIntaminGCI]

Well they've definitely relaxed their camera policy a ton. I had no issues getting my big ass camera or lens in. They didn't even mention it. I actually asked them about it too and they were like "We don't care about lenses and cameras, just no tripods or selfie sticks"

 

Yesterday was probably one of THE BEST if not THE BEST Fright Fest experiences I've ever had. The whole day the midways were crowded but the rides were walk ons. The only rides that garnered lines the whole day were Wonder Woman and Justice League. Toro, Ka, Nitro were walk on.

 

We redeemed our free one maze pass and I want a refund because we did Cell Block 6 and there were about 3 scare actors in the whole maze. It's still early for Fright Fest and not peak season but I'm very glad I didn't pay for it because I got scared exactly one time and that's because I turned the corner and the actor was RIGHT there.

 

Anyways, here's some photos

 

[gardyloo!]

Awesome photos!

[Coastard69]

^^Those are excellent pics! Sounds like you might have gone into the maze during a breaking period, or maybe their staffing sucks for FF. Thanks for the TR.

[tndank]

Nice pics! I'm jealous of the walk-on day you had. Well done.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Great photos! Glad you had such a good visit.

[DILinator]

Wow! I'm not sure I've seen such vibrant, or "as if you are there" photos before! Excellent! Thanks for sharing!

[coneyislandchris]

Goddamn those are some great shots!

 

I'll be sure to pass the news about the relaxed camera policy along to my wife. She's one of the ones that got turned away with her DSLR during a previous Holiday In The Park due to overenthusiastic security.

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

I love those photos! Thanks for sharing!

[michaellynn4]

The cliche thing may be to poke fun at Six Flags operations, but here's an instance where Security's actions, coupled with law enforcement at the scene, may have prevented something really awful:

 

HOLMDEL, NJ -- When Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGA) in Jackson tells you they are one of the safest parks in the USA, they now have a great example to back that claim up.

 

A real life Fright Fest was averted when quick thinking security at SFGA and their partners at Jackson Police Department coordinated to secure an irrational subject who had enough weaponry for a mass murder.

 

This Goosebumps story was virtually ripped off the screen this week as a potential killer was taken off the streets. According to a news release from the Jackson Police Department, at approximately the incident began at approximately 11:00 a.m. on Thursday when, while working a security detail assignment at SFGA, Sgt. Michael Kelly and Officer Andy Falzarano were alerted by SFGA security to their concerns about Jonathan Fruchter, 38. Fruchter, the report said, was at the employee training center after reportedly coming to the park seeking a job. The suspect, officials allege, was acting irrationally and asking questions about the park’s security protocols.

 

The officers responded to the location and were advised that the man had been previously escorted out of the park due to his behavior but had returned and began to allegedly harass employees because he had not been hired.

 

The officers spoke with the subject and, through their investigation, learned that he possessed a handgun in his vehicle parked in the SFGA parking lot. As the investigation progressed, the officers searched the vehicle and recovered:

 

- a Glock 9mm handgun in a holster,

- three loaded 15 round magazines for the gun,

- several knives, a SOG machete, and

- a SOG tactical tomahawk, several knives, handcuffs and a hat with the NYPD logo on it.

 

The subject was then placed under arrest and transported to police headquarters. Members of the department’s Detective Bureau then assisted with the investigation and later searched the subject’s residence in Allentown. The search resulted in the seizure of:

 

- an AR-15 rifle,

- several 30 round magazines for the rifle, and

- a Sig Sauer 40 caliber handgun and ammunition.

 

Fruchter was charged with unlawful possession of weapons, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, certain persons not to possess weapons, possession of magazines capable of holding in excess of 10 rounds and possession of handcuffs.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Yeah, that's a few too many weapons to be accidental. Especially coupled with the behaviour, lots of red flags there. The charge of certain persons not to possess indicates he may have some things in his background too. Good on Six Flags and the police to be watching out for the Six Flags guests and employees' safety.

[Genx24]

Wow. Thankfully the park and the police were proactive and prevented a potential tragedy. Considering the alternative is horrifying.

[Jason Maier]

So I'm thinking about traveling up for Fright Fest and staying overnight (I have a lot of time off accumulated and if I feel like it; plan on staying/doing Fright Fest October 31-November 2 or 3).

 

Best hotels to stay nearby? And is it worth it for me to get Flash Pass and/or Express line passes for the mazes?

[Genx24]

Can't speak on hotels, besides mentioning that the closest ones to the park are roughly 20 minutes away. The park is pretty isolated.

 

If you plan on coming for Fright Fest on Halloween weekend, you'll absolutely need the platinum flash pass for both rides and mazes. It's the busiest time of year; you'd be looking at 3+ hour waits across the board without them.

[Code94]

Yesterday was my first visit to the park in 5 years and I’m impressed with how much has changed. I fully anticipated needing Flash Pass but surprisingly it wasn’t that crowded for a Sunday during Fright Fest.

 

My longest wait was Wonder Woman at 30 mins and that was well worth it. I read somewhere that #29 was the magic seat and somehow ended up in it despite the free for all seating arrangement. Such an amazing ride. WW, Cyborg, and JL did a great job at balancing out the right side of the park. I spent more time in MovieTown than I ever have in the past. (Special thanks to Dead Mans Party)

 

Another highlight of the day was Zumanjaro. That view is incredible and although the drop wasn’t as forceful as I thought it would be, the speed and length of the drop made up for it.

 

Operations weren’t bad. All of the coasters were basically station waits. The only ride I didn’t get to do was Justice League because it was down by the time I got around to it. Batman was down for a short period too but opened back up after my ride on Nitro. SN, Anybody know why Batman has 3 trains?? I only remember two in the past.

 

Overall, it’s good to see Great Adventure filled in their gaps with the new non coaster additions. I’m excited to see how Jersey Devil complements their already stellar coaster line up.

[SbSteveZ]

So I'm thinking about traveling up for Fright Fest and staying overnight (I have a lot of time off accumulated and if I feel like it; plan on staying/doing Fright Fest October 31-November 2 or 3).

 

Best hotels to stay nearby? And is it worth it for me to get Flash Pass and/or Express line passes for the mazes?

 

The first time we went this year we went to the Comfort Suites not too far away and was way less than impressed, however the second time we went, we stayed at the Courtyard by Mariott in Cranbury/South Brunswick. Its about 30 minutes away but its really nice and fairly reasonable price wise (we got it for about $100 for 4 people, not too shabby). It was also just recently remodeled which is nice.

 

We did fine without the flash pass, got on Kingda Ka, El Toro, Zumanjaro, Nitro, Joker, Skull Mountain, etc. with no crazy long waits (at most 30 minutes). However, we didn't do the houses which definitely had long lines. I have heard they aren't necessarily worth the cost but I'm sure someone else can elaborate further on that.

 

Being open until midnight surely helps for ride lines, however keep in mind some days they don't allow re-entry after 8pm.

[heatherrrrz]

Most hotels close to the park are sold out for fright fest days. I was looking after returning from my trip in August. The ones in Cranbury involve paying a toll every time you drive to and from the park if you get on 95 to 195. There's obviously ways around the toll, just don't know how long those will take. I stayed in Hamilton Township last visit and it was great, all we had to do was stay on 195 to the park and it was 15 minutes.

[Bamwa]

Cheers to your park and state New Jersey. First time visit the Sunday before last and I had a great time. I love the scenic views from the lift hill especially Nitro. I took some heat for thinking your park is cleaner and prettier than either Six Flags in Texas but I stand by my observations. Didn't see any trash, operations were super ( especially Bizarro at night, 30 sec dispatches it seemed ), and everyone was very friendly. Lines were nothing either. Cheers to a great park and prob my best day riding other than Cedar Point. Keep up the good work! Had 3 rides each on all the major coasters and Bizarro at night was just awesome. Jersey Devil is gonna be a treat. Hopefully you get the moving station for faster ops.

[B&MIntaminGCI]

I was also there on Sunday with my friend. We did a bunch of photo laps and those will be coming soon. It was one of my favorite days I've ever had at the park. Midways were pretty busy but there were no lines at all. We used our diamond skip-a-line pass for Wonder Woman and did the magic seats.

 

We also managed 10 rides on Toro without leaving the station (well we left once by choice just to get 5 rides on the other train) and then went back before closing and got 3 more rides. Also got Front row on the first train of the day on Ka, that was cool. Nitro's ops still amaze me, they were dispatching trains as soon as the other train left the lift.

[xVicesAndVirtues]

I visited the park on Friday night and I was very impressed by how operationally excellent everything was. I was worried about the 5pm-midnight hours and Fright Fest, combined with bring-a-friend weekend being crowded...the 5-6 hour almost made me think we'd lucked out, as we got about 8 El Toro rides in without ever leaving the station and a walk-on for Kingda Ka. Well...by 7pm the park was absolutely mobbed but the park handled it extremely well. Every single coaster we went to was at maximum capacity. El Toro running both trains, Nitro running 3 and rarely stacking, etc. Gold Flash Pass was definitely our friend, but needless to say, this park has the best operations I've seen this year in the entire chain.

 

As for El Toro, some work definitely got done between my spring visit and now. In the spring, the turnaround was brutal and the pothole pulling out of the Rolling Thunder hill was killer. It was running super smooth this time around on all the rides we had, and while the turnaround was still slightly jarring, the rest of the coaster was extremely smooth and the pothole, which had been developing for a few years, was completely gone. Bravo to Six Flags Great Adventure for keeping this excellent coaster running in tip-top shape.

[JG-77]

I've been tossing around the idea of visiting this park the weekend between FF and HITP. While I'm would never go to thips park with the assumption of it being dead due to its unpredictability, is it reasonable to expect marginally smaller crowds during this weekend than on a typical FF weekend? Also, anyone know if the Safari be open?

 

600th post!

[B&MIntaminGCI]

This years bonus weekend is BAFF but I'm still going on the Saturday because of that Nitro pin they're giving out.

[YoshiFan]

The Safari's last day is October 27th (and November 2nd and 3rd as an upcharge for the wine festival).

 

I have gone to the park almost every year in between FF and HITP. It used to be mostly walk ons all day, last year was more crowded but still low crowds overall and nothing compared to a Fright Fest operating day.

[coasterbill]

... so the park ran a Bring a Friend Free promotion during Fright Fest yesterday

 

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Source: Great Adventure Connoisseurs