Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread

[YoshiFan]

The rest of my summer trips (with the exception of my Orlando trip for a week leading up to ECB in August) are going to be either Dorney or Hershey. They are a farther drive than GADV for me but I find those parks much more enjoyable & most of the time they are less crowded even on weekends. I think Sunday's trip was just a lucky one especially for a Sunday in July.

 

I might also just go to Dorney, I haven't been to Great Adventure that much recently (only twice each in May and June) but if crowds are going to be an issue even on the weekdays, I'll have to just wait until September. Last year I only went to the park once in July and didn't go at all in August because of crowds, waiting 30+ minutes at a park I go to so often doesn't seem worth it to me. At least with Dorney, a wait of 10 minutes is considered long. Even Sunday night at Dorney in 50 minutes I got 3 rides on Talon and 2 on Demon Drop.

[tatertot3710]

Great Adventure's Facebook shows demolition pictures of GASM:

[davisal771]

^ I wish I had the chance to ride this great coaster. I wish Arrow wouldn't have died I was hoping they would have relocated the coaster, but at least the trains will have a new life.

[jedimaster1227]

^I'm really surprised that they wouldn't at least try to salvage the coaster, rebuild it at another needy park (Six Flags Mexico comes to mind) or even sell it. Such a waste of viable steel.

[davisal771]

^ Maybe they don't want another Shockwave, with the coaster just sitting in pieces for years. But they really could have relocated it, and I can't think of a reason why they didn't

[gforce532]

At least the 3rd and last giant Arrow multi looper Viper is still running. And I don't think there is any plans for getting rid of it (for now). Of course if you were to tell me that GASM was going to close a few months ago I wouldn't believe it. And I still don't believe it.

[larrygator]

The photos of this coaster being destroyed make me almost as happy as the similar pictures for Viper did years ago.

[SharkTums]

^LOL!

 

I didn't like those pictures at the time, but with the Viper replacement I was QUITE happy.

 

If GASM can be replaced by something half as good as El Toro I will be a happy girl!

[ginzo]

^I'm really surprised that they wouldn't at least try to salvage the coaster, rebuild it at another needy park (Six Flags Mexico comes to mind) or even sell it. Such a waste of viable steel.

 

Transporting and putting the coaster back up elsewhere isn't cheap. Especially for a relatively large coaster like this. I remember Shane posting in his thread that roughly half the cost of a B&M is in the construction. Maybe it's even worse for a coaster like this considering how many footers they'd have to pour due to the inefficient old structure.

 

It might be a different story if this were a more desirable coaster like a B&M. But it's a crappy old Arrow ride that's basically at the end of its service life.

[alpengeist04]

^Not to mention the money they'll make selling the steel. ...Which should help with the cost of its replacement.

[CHILLERLC1]

They're getting money for the scrap sooner than letting it just sit there in pieces with an unknown destination. They could use that change for the new installation.

[BXSteele]

1st off hello TPR readers and coaster fans. The name is Bobby Steele and I have been following Robb & Elisa for years... (dont worry Robb no stalker vibes), I have several of their videos, plus I visit this site regularly but the removal of GASM has made me join the site and post this....... WTF?????

 

I am 36 yrs old and lost my coaster virginity at 15 on Rolling Thunder at SFGADV. Being from New York I have visited the park every year since sometimes more than once a season. I have seen coaster after coaster come to the park and leave. Some was warrented like Lightning Loops and Shockwave but others like Ultra Twister, B&R: The Chiller & even Viper could have been tweaked and saved... now they are getting rid of a solid coaster like GASM...WHY???

 

I always thought the 4 major parks in the SF chain was Magic Mountain (West Coast), Great Adventure (East Coast) Great America (midwest) and Over Texas or Over Georgia (the Dirty South), but now I have my doubts..... sure we have Bizarro, Superman, Batman, Nitro, Kingda Ka and El Toro but that is only 6 major coasters for what i thought was a major park ( i dont consider Black Beard, Skull Mountain,or the Runaway Mine Train as major coasters and as much as I love Rolling Thunder it is on its last legs and is being upstaged badly by El Toro...i expect this to be the next coaster removed).. The park gets major traffic and with the 6 coasters mentioned they are not enuff to break up the long lines

 

Hey SF Over Georgia has 9-10, SF Over Texas has 7, SF Great America has 8-9, and lets not mention SF Magic Mountain which has over 12

plus there is a serious lack of solid flat rides.... c'mon Six Flags... revive SF GREAT Adventure

[larrygator]

I am 36 yrs old and lost my coaster virginity at 15 on Rolling Thunder at SFGADV. Being from New York I have visited the park every year since sometimes more than once a season. I have seen coaster after coaster come to the park and leave. Some was warrented like Lightning Loops and Shockwave but others like Ultra Twister, B&R: The Chiller & even Viper could have been tweaked and saved... now they are getting rid of a solid coaster like GASM...WHY???

 

 

As someone who grew up with the park your passion is warranted, but you have to look at reality, also.

 

I remember waiting 3 hours to ride GASM the year it opened, the longest I ever waited for a coaster, so I have a connection with GASM. However, if the coaster is going to be replaced with a superior installation I have no problem with it's removal.

 

Yes, I'm still upset about the removal of Chiller, but how many years did we stare at only one side working, and even that one side which was extremely low capacity had a lot of down time. The cost to run that beast can not have been cheap.

 

Viper - I don't know how you proposed saving it, it was garbage. During it's last years there was a reason that the ride never had a line. In the end El Toro is infinitely better even if it was not an immediate replacement.

 

Remember while coaster may look fine from an outward appearance, just like bridges, buildings and people they have a life expectancy and they get to a stage where there may be many behind the scenes maintenance costs we don't see.

[Capitalize]

...c'mon Six Flags... revive SF GREAT Adventure

A SFGAdv fan person complaining that their park doesn't get enough love/attractions? Wow, now I've heard it all.

[redfoot12]

but now I have my doubts..... sure we have Bizarro, Superman, Batman, Nitro, Kingda Ka and El Toro but that is only 6 major coasters for what i thought was a major park ( i dont consider Black Beard, Skull Mountain,or the Runaway Mine Train as major coasters and as much as I love Rolling Thunder it is on its last legs and is being upstaged badly by El Toro...i expect this to be the next coaster removed).. The park gets major traffic and with the 6 coasters mentioned they are not enuff to break up the long lines

 

Hey SF Over Georgia has 9-10, SF Over Texas has 7, SF Great America has 8-9, and lets not mention SF Magic Mountain which has over 12

plus there is a serious lack of solid flat rides.... c'mon Six Flags... revive SF GREAT Adventure

 

I don't know that a line-up of Chang, El Toro, Nitro, Bizarro, Batman, Kingda Ka, and Superman is surpassed in the Six Flags chain. Magic Mountain wins in terms of number and diversity of coasters but I'd take Nitro and El Toro over anything at Magic Mountain.

I'd say your park is doing pretty well!

[davisal771]

I really hope that this doesn't turn into the SFA discussion with people arguing that their park isn't getting spoiled

[larrygator]

I really hope that this doesn't turn into the SFA discussion with people arguing that their park isn't getting spoiled

 

If it does those people will be served a temporary ban. Discussions of SFA are to remain in the SFA Discussion thread.

[Hercules]

The photos of this coaster being destroyed make me almost as happy as the similar pictures for Viper did years ago.

 

I totally agree.

 

1st off hello TPR readers and coaster fans. The name is Bobby Steele and I have been following Robb & Elisa for years... (dont worry Robb no stalker vibes), I have several of their videos, plus I visit this site regularly but the removal of GASM has made me join the site and post this....... WTF?????

 

I am 36 yrs old and lost my coaster virginity at 15 on Rolling Thunder at SFGADV. Being from New York I have visited the park every year since sometimes more than once a season. I have seen coaster after coaster come to the park and leave. Some was warrented like Lightning Loops and Shockwave but others like Ultra Twister, B&R: The Chiller & even Viper could have been tweaked and saved... now they are getting rid of a solid coaster like GASM...WHY???

 

I always thought the 4 major parks in the SF chain was Magic Mountain (West Coast), Great Adventure (East Coast) Great America (midwest) and Over Texas or Over Georgia (the Dirty South), but now I have my doubts..... sure we have Bizarro, Superman, Batman, Nitro, Kingda Ka and El Toro but that is only 6 major coasters for what i thought was a major park ( i dont consider Black Beard, Skull Mountain,or the Runaway Mine Train as major coasters and as much as I love Rolling Thunder it is on its last legs and is being upstaged badly by El Toro...i expect this to be the next coaster removed).. The park gets major traffic and with the 6 coasters mentioned they are not enuff to break up the long lines

 

Hey SF Over Georgia has 9-10, SF Over Texas has 7, SF Great America has 8-9, and lets not mention SF Magic Mountain which has over 12

plus there is a serious lack of solid flat rides.... c'mon Six Flags... revive SF GREAT Adventure

 

If there is really anything to complain about in regard to Great Adventure it still have to be the staffing, cleanliness, and the lack of flats. Though, I do have to say the staff and cleanliness of of the park have improved greatly over the last 5 years. I find it completely unwarrented to talk down about the coaster selection of the park as I don't think there are many that would say it is not one of the top in the country. I realize that Scream Machine may have a sentimental value to many, but it is a business decision that had to be made.

[Pingu1651]

Guys, he's just saying that because he lives near GADV and probably goes there a lot. It just makes all the other parks seem that much better. Trust me, I could probably talk down about CP and all you guys could probably talk down about your home parks. Let's just let him have his opinion and get it over with.

[Hercules]

Larry and I don't live close to Great Adventure?

[Hayzle]

I've been goin once or twice a year for the last four years and i must say the one thing I think every year I go is how the park is improving yet it is missing the middle "filler" rides such as thrilling flats and mid sized coasters. When I went to Hersheypark last year I thought that it was really all solid filler rides except Storm Runner. That I thought was on par in terms of thrills with El Toro or Nitro. But rides like Farenheit, Wild Cat and Lightning Racers are what the park needs right now with thrilling flats. We have the big rides and the kiddy rides but kids who are in the middle have very little to do.

[chadster]

^^ I agree, but its not just great adventure that needs more flats, all SF parks do. I really enjoyed great adventure when I was there, however, as I recall, the only "thrilling" flat they have is a huss top spin, they don't even have an S&S anything, slap some towers or a swing in there and combine that with a frisbee or other quality huss rides and you have something. The basics are in place, but add about three more attractions (outside of Chang) and then you would, IMO, have a well rounded park. They have plenty of room to add things around the park, and god forbid they have to remove a game or two.

[BXSteele]

Yes I am complaining about my home park despite the "great coasters" we have......

All i am saying is that my perception was that we was 2nd in the chain to Magic Mountain and instead of taking down coasters to put in new ones I never understood why they just don't expand the park.... get more flat rides, tweak and save existing coasters, put up some damn theming and stop taking down popular coasters....

 

I no longer live in New York but still go yearly... I live in Washington DC and lets not even get into how SF treats SFA when it is in competiton with Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens.... there is a reason people that they were suffering from a financial crisis, it was because us "fans" stop going as regularly as we do.

[Goliath513]

^Try living in Colorado where the most popular coaster is a Vekoma SLC. I hate it when people who live near huge parks complain like this that theirs isn't good enough. Just because the park has removed many coasters, doesn't mean it is bad. Lightning Loops had that accident that most likely drew terrible publicity for it, not to mention half of it was closed for 5 years before they replaced it with a world class B&M invert Batman. Shockwave was part of a ride rotation that ended up at Astroworld until that park closed. Viper, I heard, was a really painful coaster and despite being a coaster rarity, it wasn't worth keeping open when nobody rode it. Look how popular El Toro is since they replaced Viper with that. As for GASM, I understand there is history behind it, but for all we know, there could be problems deeper down with the ride that we don't know about. Perhaps structural problems that were improved just enough from SFGAm's Shockwave design to help GASM last the 8 years longer before finally wearing out. It probably could have lasted longer, but this is almost like Viper all over again. History won't save a ride when ridership reaches low enough. I'm sure whatever the replacement is, will be easier on maintenance since unlike Arrow, B&M is still around for parts replacement, and ridership will be higher because a flashy new coaster appeals to guests more than an older painful one.

 

Also, it's not so easy to just put up a bunch of flats, and maintain older coasters and add theming. They tried adding all those flats in the late 90's, and most of them are now gone for one reason or another. Rides are expensive to maintain, and the cost to repair older coasters to keep them around when the general public won't know about the repairs and still chose not to ride it is not economical. GADV isn't the only park taking down coasters...Magic Mountain, as you said was #1, has taken down two coasters in the past few years. As for theming, its Six Flags - don't expect Disney or Busch quality anytime soon.

 

And no, the financial crisis was not caused by fans who are not getting what they want not going. Fans make up a very small portion of the market for parks, season pass sales are far from the main source of park revenue, so even if you did go, they wouldn't make money unless you buy food, souvenirs, and play games in the park too. It's a much deeper problem, I can assure you that.

[davisal771]

^ Yes. I agree. The only major theme park we have here is Elitch Gardens, and pretty much every coaster that is here is a cookie cutter/clone. We have Mind Eraser, an SLC, Boomerang which is, err, a Vekoma Boomerang, Halfpipe, which is an Intamin Halfpipe, Sidewinder, an Arrow shuttle, and we had The Flying Coaster, a Zamperla Volare

 

I wouldn't be so fast to complain about long lines/lack of flat rides when your park is one the best in the country. Believe me, I'd rather wait in a 2 hour line for El Toro or Nitro or Kingda Ka or S:UF or Bizzaro or Batman: The Ride than wait in an hour line for The Boomerang or Mind Eraser because my friends don't realize how crappy those coasters actually are. This probably isn't making much sense but the gist of it is don't complain about the minor details of your park when your park is one of the top parks in the country.