Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread

[Mike240SXA donkey is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family.]

Hello everyone,

I am going on a Bermuda cruise next May/June out of New York, and being a coaster enthusiast I thought I might tack on a day at Great Adventure. I’ve never been to a Six Flags Park, Canada’s Wonderland would be the closest thing to Six Flags I’ve been to. Obviously crowds can’t be predicted, but I was wondering what I should expect if I went on a Wednesday or Thursday in late May/early June? Are schools out by then? I would be going to the park solo, should I invest in a Flash Pass? I appreciate any insight you can provide me.

Most High Schools in Central Jersey go through mid-June, so you should be good on crowds in that regard. That said, you'll be good on crowds, meaning the park will be pretty dead, meaning if there's a slight drizzle they'll close early.

As for Flash Pass, I frequently go to parks by myself, and almost always splurge for the skip-the-line pass. Standing in any kind of line by yourself is still kinda weird to me, and there's only so much surfing the internet on your phone that you can do.

Boldikus will surely reply with more details.

[boldikusFounder of the Cult of Skank Mountain]

As usual, the Nitro crew is killing it.

Throughput nerds are gonna wanna check out this new video courtesy of ElToroRyan.

[coasterbillWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

I’ve seen a few people raving about the Nitro crew lately and after seeing that video I can see why. Having a train dropping off of the lift while the other one is just hitting the brakes is something that I’ve never seen on that ride with loaded trains (and while I don’t count because LOL I’ve probably ridden Nitro more than any other ride).

[DILinatorWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

I think they must be really trying to focus on pumping trains out rapidly on their B&M Hypers at SF parks. I was just at GAm, and every single train on Raging Bull they had a 30 second clock running, and were telling the oncoming riders that they were going to be leaving in 30 seconds, and people needed to rapidly load the trains, so they didn't get left behind, or hold the train up. They were doing a good job of hitting their goal a lot too, though they didn't make it every time. Still, it was impressive to see in action!

Now, Superman, on the other hand...

[Canobie CoasterWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

^ It's not just the B&M hypers. The crew at SFNE's Superman often has the train ready to go before the previous one hits the brakes.

[coasterbillWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

Six Flags operations across the board seem to be improving dramatically the last few seasons even though most rides still have one person checking seats per side.

[Canobie CoasterWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

Six Flags operations across the board seem to be improving dramatically the last few seasons even though most rides still have one person checking seats per side.

I agree. The only rides I consistently have slow dispatches on are flyers (makes sense) and RMCs with the RMC trains. But even Cedar Fair struggles with the latter.

[coasterbillWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

Oh yeah, Steel Vengeance and Twisted Timbers have atrocious operations. I know Cedar Point went through a lot of trouble to get 3 trains on Steel Vengeance but they might as well just take one off and use it as a spare because it's entirely unnecessary. As for Twisted Timbers, typical dispatch time last weekend was about 5 minutes (it's up on a giant screen so everyone can see how bad it is even without paying attention).

[Canobie CoasterWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

And it's not even the pouches either. They were atrocious beforehand as well.

[JG-77When I grow up, I want to breed donkeys!]

I'd agree with the improving operations. Even at SFA, Superman on busier days would be running two trains, with the 2nd train frequently sitting on the brake run for just 10-15 seconds before they dispatch. I've even caught a couple of times when the train was dispatched before the other train even reached the brakes. Not as nearly impressive as impressive as Nitro or S:TR @SFNE, but still impressive that SF was able to get SFA's operations into something tolerable.