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The Great Escape (TGE) Discussion Thread

p. 34 - Bobcat wooden coaster announced for 2024!

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  • 1 month later...

Hit up the Great Escape today with my daughter for Memorial Day Weekend. Easily the most crowded I've seen the park in recent memory, but of course it was a holiday weekend. Nothing was too bad wait time wise, maybe a few cycles on flats and longer than usual on the coasters. Comet had the longest line of rides I rode today with a full station wait, as well as the one time skip the line riders who took up one car about every other train.

 

Bobsleds was not running all day, not sure if that was the case the rest of the weekend. Was able to ride Flashback which surprisingly wasn't too rough, Canyon Blaster on the other hand was mostly trash. They have really let this ride go, that is when they actually run it. One train ops which isn't surprising being Six Flags. One thing I noticed is the weird shin bars on it, made for a very uncomfortable ride and awkward at that.

 

Flats all were running well other than Supernova which was closed, which is too bad since it's one of my favorites there. Pandamonium is a joke as the cycle is super short even for Six Flags. On the other hand Greezed Lightning ran a great cycle including a long stall at the top.

 

Food service was mediocre with lots of long lines and slow service. Food was crap as usual and very over priced. At least at Disney you get a decent portion size for the money. The "new" Hurricane Harbor looks ok, nothing over the top but they added some new decor and paint jobs too the older slides including a makeover of the splash house into a tiki theme from the old Paul Bunyan theme. The old Wiggles World/Kidzopolis section is officially now Monsoon Lagoon and part of the water park. It features the old plane ride, two splash pads (one wasn't finished) and the new bucket blasters. The old tea cup ride is now in Timbertown but not up yet, the car ride appears to be gone.

 

All in all not a bad day, and my first visit as a member so I will be back at some point hopefully when crowds are more like I'm used too.IMG_20190526_172521.thumb.jpg.9d4076578dd45fc9776e63e62e4ba2e7.jpg

IMG_20190526_172512.thumb.jpg.9af648f08aae95e5e8b4ac507d57a294.jpg

New Bucket Blasters

IMG_20190526_172550.thumb.jpg.af29aeac83eb842c7ba8a820fcee338f.jpg

New "Map" of Hurricane Harbor

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I visited for the first time last Friday (5/24), park was slightly busy but not too bad. Bobsled was open all day from what I saw and I can't believe I got to ride it. Canyon Blaster was down all day though so I missed that credit for now. Food service was awful, and employees were slow. Overall it was a nice park, but wouldn't go back anytime soon unless we were close by. I thought the boomerang was super smooth and the Comet wasn't too bad. Finally got on a condor too and it was fun.

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Went to get on bucket blasters though and you have to be on with someone under 54’ idk why but that was dumb

 

I don't think that is the actual requirement, according to the park map I got memorial day weekend, if your between 36" and 48" you have to be with someone over 54"

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Went to get on bucket blasters though and you have to be on with someone under 54’ idk why but that was dumb

 

I don't think that is the actual requirement, according to the park map I got memorial day weekend, if your between 36" and 48" you have to be with someone over 54"

 

well then the hight stick they use at the ride is wrong.

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  • 4 weeks later...

^I was planning on visiting TGE pretty much just for the bobsled. If it's down next month, I may re-route my trip. Then again, that TGE stop puts SFNE and a lot of other parks sorta on my way back home. Hmmm...

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Comet is a fantastic wooden coaster so that alone makes it worth the trip. And Lake George has some amazing mini golf courses.

 

The Alpine Bobsled has avoided the grim reaper for the past decade, but I have to think this is its last year if they can't get it running consistently.

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Just a FYI, but the app didn't show any wait times. Instead it just listed Alpine Bobsled and Flying Trapeze as closed.

 

Both rides were open today.

 

Edit- Also make sure you ride the blue train on the Comet. It was running significantly faster.

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Just a FYI, but the app didn't show any wait times. Instead it just listed Alpine Bobsled and Flying Trapeze as closed.

How does the bobsled at this park compare to others? I rode the Six Flags Texas one a couple of years back and was kind of surprised by how bumpy it was given the supposedly-gliding design. The Texas one slammed you into the seat each time the sled traversed the lowest point of the trough.

 

I drove past this park a few years ago but never stopped. One of these days I'll make it as the Comet looks really cool.

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The Comet is a great classic woodie. I was disappointed by my first ride in the red train, but it was really running slow. The blue train was way faster. The difference was night and day. The red train had barely any air but the blue train had plenty of it.

 

As for the Bobsled, I didn't get there until it closed at 6 (noise rules) but saw them cycling the remaining guests in line. The biggest difference with Great Escape's bobsled over the one in Texas is the cars. I much prefer the 2 across design on Alpine Bobsled since you don't smack your legs against the side of the vehicle like La Vibora.

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I’m planning a trip to The Great Escape for this upcoming Thursday. I wouldn’t be there the full day as I’m going to a concert in Saratoga Springs later that night. What route should I take around the park to try and ride as many thrill rides and coasters as possible, and how long should wait times be? Also is this park known for any good food?

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You shouldn't have much of any wait on a Thursday, the best route is to head to the back of the park first. If Bobsled is operating hit that first as it has the slowest line for the coasters. Then hit up Comet and Supernova in the very back.

 

You can then work your way towards the front hitting up any flats you want and the rest of the coasters. The rest can be done in almost any order really. Nothing else stands out really, but the front has some good flat rides like Greezed Lightning and Sasquatch. You can easily do everything in about 2-3 hours

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I’m planning a trip to The Great Escape for this upcoming Thursday. I wouldn’t be there the full day as I’m going to a concert in Saratoga Springs later that night. What route should I take around the park to try and ride as many thrill rides and coasters as possible, and how long should wait times be? Also is this park known for any good food?

 

Even on a weekend, lines are not a big issue at the Great Escape. On a weekday, you shouldn't have an issue getting on most rides immediately. The only lines I can see you encountering are the Alpine Bobsled and Blizzard (great indoor scrambler). Make sure to knock out these two rides early if you want to ride them.

 

For the Comet, make sure you ride the blue train.

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If I spend a whole day at Great Escape, I actually spend more time in their water park. It's quite good. You have a strong collection of slides, but nothing super unique.

 

On the ride side, you have Desperado Plunge and Raging Rapids. Their rapids ride is just ok. It's long and shaded, but the water effects are laughably tacky (picture things like a punctured hose and PVC pipe). I think their flume is one of the weaker ones, but it does circle around Ghost Town.

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Out of curiosity, has anyone gone to the rebranded Magic Forest kids park down the road?

 

For 2019, it has reopened as the Lake George Expedition Park. Their website doesn't list any rides, but I can confirm they at least have the old Ferris Wheel and Tilt-a-Whirl operating from our drive-by. Plus I saw a new kids drop tower.

 

I'm curious if they still have the old Herschell kiddie coaster or if they maybe added a newer model like a SBF spinner.

IMG_20190629_165946.thumb.jpg.f0368b3faad9fc599a06567739579d75.jpg

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^RCDB lists the kiddie coaster as defunct, so I guess it is not part of the "new" park. Which IMO is unfortunate because it was the star of the

.

 

Jokes apart I've never been to Magic Forest, I always thought it looked a bit tacky from the outside, but perhaps the new branding will make me want to go have a look someday. If anyone has been or has seen reviews of the new version I would also be curious to know how that place is nowadays.

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