Philrad71 Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 Hi folks! Here is my continuation of our Memorial Day trek to Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. After leaving my sister's house in Allentown, we decided to head for Jackson and do SFGA the day after Memorial Day as I figured crowds would be light - they were! With the possibility of storms (we did have two) all day, this was another reason for light crowds. My biggest concern is that they would shut the park down early as I have read other reports of this happening occasionally. They did not shut the park down, but did shut most of the major coasters down around 6:00 (park was open till 7:00) because dark clouds were starting to roll in. By then, we had ridden everything we wanted to anyway so we headed back to the campground about ten miles away. The review Coasters: Kingda Ka: After three consecutive visits with this ride being down, we FINALLY got the chance to ride it! Exhilirating, fun and over in 24 seconds pretty much sums this one up. While not rough, it did seem to have some rattle to it, unlike TTD. I was nervous that the OTSR's might be a factor with neck chopping, but they weren't. Still prefer the lap bars, but who doesn't? This was actually a walk-on. 8-10 El Toro: Still kicking tons of ass and still the #1 coaster in my book. Did notice a little rattle on this one as well, but still smooth as a baby's behind! Why are there not more of these in the US...WHY, I ask??? Five minute wait, twenty for the front seat. 10-10 Nitro: Still my favorite B&M, but this one also had some noticeable rattle. Nothing to affect overall ride experience, but when my clamshell clicked open one notch on the first drop, I about pulled a "das poopen panz"! Normally, hands up all the way...but not on that specific ride. I was hanging on for dear life in case it decided to pop a notch again! A very terrifying moment already added to a great coaster. Walk-on all day. 9.5-10 Batman: The Ride: I am getting more and more fond of these Batman clones. Lot's of G's and negative G-forces on this one - very powerful and fun. It started to sprinkle going up the lift so I was glad that we chose the back seat! Walk-on. 8.5-10 Bizarro: Great floorless invert, but I wish they would turn off those loud, garbled speakers. That idea was even lamer than the Stride gum wrap on El Toro. All three of us agreed that it was annoying, although we liked the other special effects. I still prefer Medusa with her awesome snake hair over the super-heroes. Walk-on. 7.5-10 (one point drop for the "white noise") Superman - The Escape: A decent flying coaster, but ranks far below Manta and Tatsu. Other than the usual disorienting negative g-force loop from hell (or whatever it's called) that most of these coasters have, the rest of the circuit was fairly tame. 6.5-10 Rolling Thunder: We rode this a couple of years ago and our entire train was chanting "WD-40!" as we pulled back into the station - enough said. Looked like a walk-on, which would be understandable...even on a busy day. 2-10 Dark Knight: I still can't figure out how SF spent this much money on an indoor Wild Mouse? Might have been better if it was a spinning mouse and there were special effects other than HAHAHA written on the walls and some random lights with a truck horn at the end. SFNE fans are probably glad they didn't get this coaster at their park as I would take a water park expansion any day over this ride. 15 minute wait, plus ride intro. 2-10 even though it should be more like 1-10 just for overall lameness. Skull Mountain: Nothing great, but still better than Dark Knight. No wait. 4-10 Other rides & attractions: Houdini's Great Escape: Glad that they re-opened this! A very disorienting and unusual attraction. It will be interesting to see if they add the 5-D ride next year as SFGA needs more family attractions...and flats! 10 minute wait. 8.5-10 Log flume: Nine minutes for a log flume ride is reason enough to ride. As long as people aren't soaking you with water cannons, you won't get drenched. No huge drops, but a fun, classic ride. 15 minute wait. 8-10 Congo Rapids: DNR. Seems like I remember the last time I rode this, hardly any of the effects or waterfalls were on. Not sure if this has changed? Parachute Training Center/Sky Ride: These were both closed all day due to wind, I suppose. Good, classic rides - let's hope they keep them both! 8-10 Flat rides: They have flat rides? Oh yeah...we rode the Sky Wheel! I see they also had a carousel where you can ride a giant...ummmm, rooster. Yes, it's true folks, go and see for yourself! Still think a giant Huss frisbee over the lake with live alligators in it would rock. 2-10 (would be a 1-10 if it wasn't for the carousel and the chance to ride a giant...well, you know). Wiggles World/Kiddie rides: Looked nice, but seemed kinda small compared to other large theme parks. I remembered the kiddyland at Canada's Wonderland was about double the size. Location was nice as it was near three good coasters and one crap one (Nitro, Batman, Skull Mountain & Dark Knight) 6-10 Beer report: Heineken draft at Best of the West in Frontier Adventures, but it was closed today. Thank God for Granny's Country Kitchen in the Fantasy Forest! This is one of the original buildings from the early days and is large and air conditioned with a menu of traditional fare along with theme park oddities such as creamed spinach, mac & cheese and mashed potatoes. We were only here for the beer though (we had lunch in the motor home). Beer offerings included Miller Lite, Heinie, Amstel Light draft. I believe there was also one more, but can't remember what it was (Coors Light maybe?). Either way, it was the same price (about $7) so we opted for the Heineken. You can also purchase a tall (22 oz) plastic souvenier beer glass for about $9.50. I was a little disappointed that Granny wasn't serving the beer herself, but she was working the register that day instead. A nice place to just relax, have a cold beer and enjoy the A/C. Free water: It was about 83 and muggy that day and I wondered if SF has realized that people are catching on to the free ice water as opposed to buying the bottles for $3.50. Michael stopped at a vendor and asked for a cup of ice water and received a small 8 oz cup of water with no ice in it. Dorney gave us 10oz cups of water - with ice. Food: We didn't eat in the park, but opted to eat leftover philly cheesesteaks in the motor home instead. BTW...parking was $25 for the motor home - same as a bus. Customer service: Nothing spectacular but a little better than Dorney's. I will give a shout out to the kid working the controls at Nitro. He was beat-boxing and really getting the teens into it...very enthusiastic and fun! They were also allowing re-rides as long as no one was waiting for your seat, so we did two continuous cycles. El Toro's crew was also pretty good. 7-10 Overall experience: SFGA has a great selection of coasters, but as we all know...is severely lacking in the flat ride department. Sounds like there may be some changes to resolve that, but time will tell. The park and restrooms were clean, although customer service could use a bit of a bump. 8-10 Camping report: I have to assume that because they are close to SFGA and NYC that it is a reason for campgrounds to drive up rates, but $50 per night is a little steep. Yeah, it's still cheaper than a hotel (especially when you split the cost), but it should be considering you are bringing your own lodging! And WTF is up with the pay showers in campgrounds in Jersey? This is the third one we have stayed at in this state that charge you to shower in addition to the higher than normal rates. This is not Arizona, Las Vegas or the Gobi desert, people...you are not bereft of water!!! 3-10 On to the pics... A very captivating and charming sign, I would say! Is that? No, it can't be! Must be stuck? Kingda Ka is REALLY open???? Notice the empty parking lot...always a good sign as long as they don't close due to poor attendance! Michael loves the super-heroes...it's gotta be the tights! To our surprise, Houdini was open! To ride Skycoaster this year, you must climb the towers, hook yourself to the cable, then jump. I would assume this would be original theming from when it was just Great Adventure? This easily rivals Canobie Lake and their food stands! Note: this is right next to the carousel with the giant....rooster. Yum. I remember the year they opened El Toro, they sold Dos Equis draft at the place on the right. I can't remember the entire name, but maybe you can figure it out based on the first five letters?? Even though we've all seen this pic a million times...does it ever get old? Nine minutes for a log flume is impressive! Original Frontier theming=awesome. The flume's final drop. Important side note: the restaurant on right sells Heineken draft to adults over 21 (when open). I love the wagon, although I wished the pic would have come out a little brighter. Notice how crowded it is? After a brief rain delay near lunchtime, they started re-opening up the coasters. El Toro was stopped on the lift, but was running by the time we got over there. Hurry! Let's do Ka before they shut it down for storms...or before it breaks down due to some mechanical failure. Pretty much a walk-on. Here Dad prepares for his first ride on Ka (lowering the OTSR). Dad getting ready to launch (4th seat). He is outta here! This tiger also loves him some airtime! And also anything on a stick! Gator chomp! Even though I love animals, they would have to pay me an awful lot to get in a cage with tigers! I would much rather get in and teach these things tricks! C,mon Torty...stand up and wave to the folks! Show 'em how you gobble up that leaf and can walk .19 MPH! Do that weird head retracting thing and show 'em how you can outlive all of us suckers to 150 years old! Teardrop or tearjerker? Time for some Sky Wheel! 'Well, I'm track in track...yes, I'm track in traaaack! Out of the sack...owww!' A little AC/DC for you metal gods out there! Hmmmm...no trains? Perhaps it has something to do with the dark clouds rolling in? Okay, let me off this thing now! This is definitely starting to look ominous...get me off this ride pleeeease!!!! Whew...we made it just in time! Actually, the storm didn't hit till well after we left the park, but it was 6:00 and the park closed at 7:00. I doubt the coasters ever re-opened. Thanks for reading!
YoshiFan Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 I agree about the flat rides. I was at the park on Thursday and other than coasters, we really didn't ride much because there was hardly anything else to ride. When I take a solo trip to the park it isn't too big of a deal since I just want to power ride coasters but when going to the park with others who don't ride the big coasters, there isn't a whole lot to choose from. Did you ride on a non wheel seat on Rolling Thunder? The non wheel seats seem to be ok this season but a few weeks ago I made the mistake of riding in the last row of a car and it was a totally different ride.
tanthonyam Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 I really dont understand this park. Years ago in the 90's they added a ton of flats , and some good ones I might add. A Frisbee, a Jump, Evolution,Octopus, Inverter, and a few others I think. Why has this park removed every single one?? This has got to be the park that removes so many of its rides, even though they have so much space here. I can't figure it out.
RollingRunner Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 Why has this park removed every single one?? Well, not every single one. Back in 1999, Great Adventure had a major expansion of coasters and flats called the "War On Lines". Becuase of maintenance and staffing issues, the rides were slowly removed from the park. Out of all the new rides put in, Medusa and Houdini are still the only major attractions operating. and BTW, awesome PTR there Philrad71! Cool parking lot skyline shots.
larrygator Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 (edited) Regarding the picture of the Character Cafe, yes that is an original building. In the early years it was called the "Yum Yum Ice Cream Palace." Be grateful you only got a small glass of water, I can not tolerate the taste of Jersey water. SFGAdv is one of the few parks where I'll gladly pay for a bottled water. Edited June 13, 2010 by larrygator
Philrad71 Posted June 13, 2010 Author Posted June 13, 2010 ^Awww...I like the name of the Yum Yum Ice Cream Palace wayyyy better. Oh well, at least they still have Granny's! I wasn't bold enough to try the water Michael asked for..I was afraid it might have been drain water from the beverage coolers! and BTW, awesome Photo TR there Philrad71! Cool parking lot skyline shots. Thanks for the nice comment...I always appreciate them! Did you ride on a non wheel seat on Rolling Thunder? The non wheel seats seem to be ok this season but a few weeks ago I made the mistake of riding in the last row of a car and it was a totally different ride. Nope...we didn't ride this year, nor did I ride it last year. The last time I rode this, I thought that they should name it Rolling Rock and have it sponsored by the beer. Not only did it feel like you were riding a coaster on a dirt road, you would need at least ten Rolling Rocks to even think about enjoying it! As far as flats, it is strange there is such a lack of them especially after they installed a bunch about ten years ago. Even when I visited as a kid, I still remember the Looping Starship, Condor and other cool standard flats within the park. Now, other than the top spin, Buccaneer, parachute tower, Houdini, ferris wheel, sky ride & the water rides, I didn't even recall seeing anything other than the coasters on this visit. That is one thing I will say in defense of Dorney...they might not have anything close to what Great Adventure has for a coaster collection, but they do have a great selection of flats to compliment some decent coasters. Phil
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