Great Adventure weekend trip

[Password121]

I don't normally post topics asking questions about parks I've been to before, but I'll be making a 1.5 day visit to the park with a first timer (non-enthusiast but definitely interested in coasters). I'll lay out the specifics first then pose all the questions I have. Thanks everyone!

 

Here's how the trip is looking at this point...

From northern VA, stopping at SFA to process a regular SFA season pass for his use at Gadv around 7 pm Friday, August 14, then heading to my extended family's house about 30 minutes from Gadv.

 

Saturday, August 15, arriving at the park around 10:15 and booking to Kingda Ka/Zumanjaro then El Toro. At this point if the crowds are heavy (which is possible with an Austin Mahone concert that day) we can budget in a regular flash pass.

 

Sunday, August 16, arriving 15 minutes before whenever the season pass ert is scheduled for, leaving at some point back home depending on crowds/what we feel like doing. I've been to the park once this year, as well as the past few years, but he is a first timer.

 

If you can answer any of these questions that would be awesome...

--How busy can I expect an August Saturday to be, and will this concert affect crowds?

--Is regular flash pass always $45, regardless of the day?

--Does regular flash pass ever run out on busier summer days like this one?

--Are wait times relatively accurate with the regular level? For example, do I always wait one hour if the wait is one hour, or do they underestimate like I've heard they do so often with gold (waiting 10 mins with an hour standby queue)?

--Is the regular FP worth it in general (gold isn't an option, unfortunately)? If we can ride 15 rides when we otherwise could've done 10, it's worth the price to me

 

As for the passholder ert Sunday...

--Is this for all passholders, regardless of home park/gold pass?

--When does this usually start in the morning?

--What coasters are generally included?

--Is this really "ERT", or more of just an early entry with some rides open kind of deal (in terms of wait times/efficiency)?

 

And for those wondering as I posed this question in the SFA thread, you can process a season pass for someone not listed as the owner or purchaser of the pass. The card just has the original owners name on it, which doesn't matter at all.

 

Any other tips are appreciated but Ive been to Gadv multiple times. Thanks!

[SFOG1991]

From my experience at Great Adventure, you will definitely want Flash Pass on a Saturday. That park is just ridiculously busy sometimes. Also, just as a warning, when I went I bought a platinum flash pass and the wait to buy it was horrendous. Not sure if they have fixed that, but basically the flash pass center was so slammed just after opening that they only allowed one person from each party in the building. I had to sit outside the building alone for over an hour. Once we had our Flash Pass it definitely paid off. I don't know how worth it the regular may be. If you can go gold I would, but even the regular will essentially double your number of rides on a busy day.

 

As for Passholder ERT, you can attend regardless of what park your pass was bought/processed at.