Are SF Great Adveture and/or SF Over GA Worth a Long Drive

[1way7]

For those that have been to Six Flags Great Adventure, do you think it is worth about a13 hour drive? We have thought about going before, but it is a long drive for us. It would be my wife, two children (ages 7 and 10) and me. From pictures I have seen online, it appears to be one of the better themed Six Flags parks. Would you say that is the case? Six Flags Great America is the closest park to us and has decent theming. How does it compare to that park?

 

We also have thought about taking a trip to Six Flags over Georgia, which would be about a 10.5 hour drive. My wife and I went there about 11 years ago (we were only about a 6 hour drive away then). I like dark rides and what was then The Monster Plantation is a dark ride that I think is close to the same quality as some Disney dark rides. Although I do not think that ride by itself is worth the drive there. For those that have been there 10 or so years ago and have also been relatively recently, has the park changed much? If so, would you say it has improved?

[SFOG1991]

It really depends on how much you want to go honestly. Also, take into consideration how much your wife and children want to go and if they care for long drives. Personally I have driven over 12 hours to go to many parks, but when I drive from Atlanta to Cedar Point for example, I usually make sure I hit all the parks along the drive to justify the distance and make the most of it.

 

For Six Flags Great Adventure I would say it could be worth it, and if you have the time, stopping at Hershey Park would be a good option too if you haven't been. There is a lot to do for everyone in the family. Other great parks along that drive would be Cedar Point (which I assume you've been to if Six Flags Great America is your home park). Also, Kennywood is a great classic park. As for Great Adventure itself, the park is pretty big with a good selection of coasters. El Toro alone is worth the visit in my opinion. If you do decide to go to Great Adventure, I suggest checking out the new safari too. I checked it out a month ago and was really impressed! It is huge and the tour takes an hour, with a stop along the way that can easily turn it into a 2 hour experience. Basically halfway through they give you the option to get out and experience the animals up close. You can stay as long as you want. It was one of the longest and most realistic safari experiences I've been on at any park. Overall it is a big park with a lot to do and you could easily stay for 2 days or even 3 if you do the water park as well, but it isn't a resort park like Hershey so the experience is similar to driving 12 hours to go to Great America, just with different rides and the safari. I have made the 12 hour drive from Atlanta to Great Adventure 3 times, so for me it is worth it, but I don't know if my family would feel the same way!

 

Six Flags Over Georgia is closer for you, and that's my home park (I go between 12 and 24 times every year) so I can hopefully give you good insight on it. Once again, for me it would be worth the drive, and the park has an excellent line up of coasters. It doesn't have the biggest coasters, but they have a lot of quality coasters. I would say Goliath is the best B&M hyper in the country, just my opinion. Mindbender is also fantastic. Scorcher is a small B&M stand up, but I think it provides a great ride compared to the rest of the stand up family. The only weak coasters in their line up are Ninja and GA Cyclone. Ninja gets a lot of hate but I think it is one of the best Arrow coasters. GA Cyclone will beat you up a bit in the 2nd half but it's still a great ride with amazing ejector airtime in the back. If you do water rides, Thunder River is a great rapids ride and it is very realistic! It looks like an actual river from many angles. Monster Plantation is now Monster Mansion and it is basically the exact same ride, they just renovated the entire course and all of the animatronics and renamed it to market it to the public. Hurricane Harbor is fun but without lines there is no reason to be there for more than an hour or 2. Without crowds SFOG is definitely a 1 day park. The crowd is decent but not the most appealing crowd. It has gotten better than it was 10 years ago. It's a good park for coasters and it is one of the nicer, more classic and authentic feeling Six Flags parks, but besides the solid coaster line up there isn't a lot to do in terms of flat rides, shows, etc.

 

Like I said, whether or not you go on the trip really depends on your own willingness, and that of your family. Hopefully this helps though! They are definitely 2 of the best Six Flags parks. If you have any particular questions I can probably help as well.

[tororific]

I think SFGAdv is worth it. El Toro is a truly GREAT ride that should be experienced by any coaster enthusiast. Nitro is probably B&M's best hyper (in my humble view). Kingda Ka is great fun. The park is pretty (comparatively speaking) and has many other solid rides.

[jynx242]

If your family enjoys a good road trip - then both are worth it.

 

As said before, at SFGAdv - El Toro is worth it alone It is a big Six Flags park and there is plenty to do to keep you occupied.

 

SFoG - in my opinion, is one of the nicest Six Flags Parks. It is an old Six Flags park (the 2nd in the chain after SFoT.) Very hilly and shaded. Goliath is pretty phenominal, MindBender is classic Schwartzkopf at its best, DareDevil Dive is a great Eurofighter, Batman and Superman are clones (Superman was the 1st flyer and uses the terrain very well.) Scorcher is one of the best Standups in my opinion as well.

[coasterkid124]

I have been to both parks, and they are two of the better parks of the chain. Great scenery, unique rides, and large enough for a whole day of fun.

 

Go to Great Adventure if you want the better overall park. There are more coasters, the safari, and more flats. If it were me, it would be worth the extra three hours.

 

SFOG isn't far off. It has a larger water park, a couple of unique coasters, and a great hyper. It depends on your family. If an extra three hours is a huge hassle, SFOG isn't a bad choice. Both parks have similar coasters, but Great Adventure is a lot fuller of a park. You cannot go wrong with either choice.

[SharkTums]

I would ask a couple of questions.

 

First, how tall are your kids and do they like roller coasters?

 

Do your kids (and you guys) like water parks or animal parks better?

 

If your kids are 48" and like roller coasters and animals then SFGAd is the clear choice. If they're more timid, under 48", or really like water slides then I would go with SFoG.

[Hriscay]

Are you willing to take a week long road trip and break the drive up into manageable segments? I drove from Houston to Great Adventure and it took about 24 hours total, stopped in North Carolina for the night but it's a long drive. If your kids can handle it, I'd say go, but you may want to have it broken up into shorter drives.

[BugEyed]

I've made the 9 hour (one way) drive from Toronto to SFGadv on three separate occasions (along with several much longer drives to Texas, California, etc)

 

The experiences along the way coupled with the slow building anticipation of catching that first glimpse of the coaster skyline never gets old for me. Yes, it's worth it.

[SFOG1991]

I would say if you can pull off both, they are both worth it (both are 2 of the very best Six Flags parks), but only if everyone in your family is excited about it as well and can handle long drives. Like I said before, making it a trip to a few parks would make the drive easier and you would get more bang for your buck. I know that takes more time but it would make the drives more worth it. If you live near Chicago, I'd say add Hershey Park, Dorney Park, and/or Kennywood (there are even more parks within reasonable distance on that drive but those came to mind) if you can on a Great Adventure trip. If you go to Six Flags Over Georgia, I'd suggest Kentucky Kingdom and Dollywood. If you like small classic parks, Lake Winnie is right along that drive and it's a great park with a John Allen woodie, a homemade 1927(?) boat chute right into the lake, and a rare Fly-o-Plane. Beech Bend is along that drive too and they have a great GCI woodie. Even Holiday World is only like an hour off course.

 

Now I want to go on a road trip to SFGAm and hit all these parks