Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread

I've yet to purchase a beer at Great Adventure. How much do they cost on average there?

^ Probably similar to any other amusement park. Bud Light-level pisswater for $10. Enjoy!

In my experience at Liberty/Macho/BOTW beers are usually $8-9, not bad if you compare to a sporting event or concert (or you're used to city prices like myself). And believe it or not I don't think I've ever gotten Bud/Coors/Miller anything at the park, though I'm sure they have it, I usually find stuff like Summer Shandys, hard lemonade, Red's Apple Ale, hard ciders, etc. The park usually has at least one-two decent things on tap at each establishment, sometimes bottles of stuff not on tap if you ask. And the mixed drinks I've gotten at Macho have not been weak.

They had Not Your Father's Root Beer on tap during Holiday in the Park, at the stand near B:TR. Never thought I'd see that in an amusement park.

^ Probably similar to any other amusement park. Bud Light-level pisswater for $10. Enjoy!

Hooray for overpriced piss water!!!

Incredible how you can buy a 24oz of pisswater in NYC at a deli for 2.50

Summer Shandys

You beat me to it but yeah... they had Summer Shandy through Fright Fest and possibly even Holiday in the Park but I didn't check. This alone makes Six Flags amazing.

One Week Guys!!!!

Nine days for me, but hey, who's counting?

One Week Guys!!!!

 

 

I am this close to coming in super early to work next Wednesday just so I can finish everything I need to and bounce down the turnpike to get there in time for opening. I CAN'T HELP IT WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME.

(Those gifs aren't helping either. )

^ All next weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun) is going to be tough for me to get out there, but Ive been watching the weather for Wednesday like a hawk (pointless, I know, but I can't help it). Looks good right now. Sunny and 60, I know it can change.

My sis is at home with my 2.5 yr old nephew daytimes right now so asked if she wanted to head over with him opening day (so she can take him on the few kiddie rides open while I marathon The Bull all morning). ALso want to see if he's tall enough for Dark Knight and/or Skull yet. Only coaster he's done is RRR. I just about have my shift covered so if weather doesn't let me down I'll be there first thing in the morning, will have to leave by 2-3ish. Naptime for the kiddo. :/

So itching to ride right now tho. The recent decent weather is NOT helping.

My sis is at home with my 2.5 yr old nephew daytimes right now so asked if she wanted to head over with him opening day (so she can take him on the few kiddie rides open while I marathon The Bull all morning). ALso want to see if he's tall enough for Dark Knight and/or Skull yet. Only coaster he's done is RRR.

IIRC, The Dark Knight has the same height requirement as Road Runner (42"); if he's been on RRR he should be able to get on TDK without any problems, as long as he's okay with the darkness and potential jump-scares at 2 and a half. I'm just happy my big kid has finally crossed over the 44" threshold so he'll be able to get on Runaway Mine Train, Skull Mountain, and Skyscreamer without any potential problems or meltdowns this season.

Hopefully he'll hit that growth spurt soon so I can introduce him to the pure joy of El Toro, though!

He scares kind of easily so I'm not 100% sure how he'll do on Skull and TDK, especially with the pre-show. Wish Crazy Train was open as I think he'd be fine on that. We'll see how it shakes out. This time next week I plan on planting my ass in the magic seat for some long overdue extreme air.

Have I heard correctly that we can have him measured at Guest Relations so he gets a wristband to not have to deal with any hassle at the rides themselves? Thanks.

Oh crap I didn't even realize opening day is on a Wednesday. I thought I was going to have to wait until the summer since my new job is Thurs-Sun with 12 hour days. Nice surprise! I've been watching the video that El Toro gif is from all winter in preparation

Have I heard correctly that we can have him measured at Guest Relations so he gets a wristband to not have to deal with any hassle at the rides themselves? Thanks.

Yes. Just go to the rides information booth on the right hand side near the fountain, just past the character photo op.

In my experience at Liberty/Macho/BOTW beers are usually $8-9, not bad if you compare to a sporting event or concert (or you're used to city prices like myself). And believe it or not I don't think I've ever gotten Bud/Coors/Miller anything at the park, though I'm sure they have it, I usually find stuff like Summer Shandys, hard lemonade, Red's Apple Ale, hard ciders, etc. The park usually has at least one-two decent things on tap at each establishment, sometimes bottles of stuff not on tap if you ask. And the mixed drinks I've gotten at Macho have not been weak.

That's about typical theme park price - no problem paying that for it as long as it's decent beer...and cold. I think that the only place where I can recall getting beer at SFGAdv in the past was at the restaurant near the ferris wheel (Granny's, maybe?). Heineken draft was about $8 per cup...I was elated.

My partner will be happy to hear about the (strong) mixed drinks at Macho as he is not much a beer drinker.

God I can't wait for Thursday, now just need to wait on my brother to know if he's coming along or if I am flying Han Style.

Looks like the 2016 dining plan has been posted. No more upcharges. A few new items for entrée. A ton of new snacks.

http://static.sixflags.com/website/files/sfgad_dining-pass-brochure.pdf

I saw some new wood around El Toro today. From what I could tell, I did not see any in the turnaround but I saw some in between the second and third hill as well as on the pullout of the crossover hill entering the twister section. There may be more however as I wasn't looking around the entire ride for new track.

 

Also the A train's new paint absolutely looks fantastic. It hasn't been properly painted in years.

Somehow I totally missed this post Ryan and I just wanted to thank you for the update on my baby. I'm really stoked to hear its been testing and there is training going on. I know I am a geek but its so close to opening I think about riding it almost every day. Nah, probably multiple times a day.

OK I may have had a dream recently about waiting in the queue.

Please tell me some of you guys are as bad as I am.

Back to that new wood. Can we talk about wood? I don't mean to sound like an idiot here but I have some questions. Since the track is prefabricated wood stacks how to they replace/repair it? Are we talking removing entire sections where they connect and replacing them with new sections supplied by Intamin? The track sections essentially snap into place, correct?

Or could we be talking about just structural beams/bents being replaced? I'm sure the track sections between each of the first three big hills really needs some work with the train more or less smashing into it but that first turnaround REALLY needs the entire track ripped out and completely replaced, it's the only ride that you CANNOT say is still smooth.

Anyone have any real insight into maintaining pre-fab track/coasters as opposed to traditionally built woodies? SCHOOL A MOFO.

^ Yes, I have wondered this myself... WE NEED TO KNOW!

My totally uneducated guess is it is exactly the same as traditional wooden coasters. During the offseason they replace the warped wood under the steel running plate to smooth out potholes. Where they differ is that since everything is pre-fabricated and it seems to have a thicker steel plate, so there is far less retracking that is required over time.

I said it on GAH and I'll say it here...when the time comes, they really need to invest in I-Boxing it. Above all else, El Toro's quality should be the park's top priority, at least as far as coasters/rides go. Last year was the first year where I really had some painful moments on the ride (in wheel seats towards the back of the train). Right now it's not an issue, but 5-7 years from now I want the bull still riding strongly and smoothly.

I don't think they should ever i-box El Toro, topper track yes if the ride needs it but never i-box. It will take away the entire essence of the ride IMO

I don't think they should ever i-box El Toro, topper track yes if the ride needs it but never i-box. It will take away the entire essence of the ride IMO

I'm fine with topper, but my concern comes with Outlaw Run supposedly developing potholes in wheel seats. I hope that's an abberation caused by the steel wheels. I'd prefer the I-Box as long as the current layout is kept exactly intact. When Toro first opened it felt exactly like a steel coaster. It's developed a slight wooden feel, but even the potholes I mentioned don't feel like traditional wooden roughness...they feel like a rough spot on an older steel coaster. So, I'm all for the I-Box.

Why change it to a ibox or topper track. Intamins prefab sections are more then adequate. They are easy to replace and change to keep her smooth and amazing. Six flags just has to do that

It's my understanding that El Toro's prefabbed track is built to the same measurements as RMC's I-Beam track. Correct me if I'm wrong but I recall reading somewhere that Intamin worked with RMC To develop the prefab track. So I would assume retracking it with I-beam or topper tech wouldn't be too much of an issue.

It isn't the Ibox track, it's the topper track.