Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread

I went to the park yesterday, perfect day to go with beautiful weather.

I was overall please with my visit with a few exceptions.

Bizarro was surprisingly moving very quick and had about a 20 minute which wasn't so bad

Even Toro running 1 train they still hustle up there always

I wish the Golden Kingdom would look as good as it used to its my favorite area. The park is trying to turn into a more family oriented park but I hope they dont look pass things that need work or need to be kept up with

My friend is trying to talk me into going to Fright Fest because it would be her first time at Six Flags and she wants to ride all of the rides and experience Fright Fest. I haven't been to Fright Fest before but I figure it will be very crowded almost like a summer day?

Im trying to convince her of going on one of the Sundays during Fright Fest and telling her that we should arrive right when the gates open. This way we can get to do all of the rides and hopefully get reruns before it starts to get more crowded in the afternoon. This way we will have all of the rides done by the time Fright Fest starts and just walk around not worrying about waiting.

Would that be better off then just arriving to the park in the early afternoon hoping to get all the rides in?

^It'll be a LONG day, but it'll be worth it. Turning up early is the way to go. You might not get rerides but you stand a much better change of getting on everything.

El Toro - 1 train operation.

I was at Great Adventure the last 2 days. I was at my only ACE event (don't boo me) "Riding of the Bull Cuatro" yesterday. The event was amazing, but not as fun as the TPR events! The A train is off the track and they're only running 1 train. This was true even during out event. The entire top of car 2 is off, so all you see is the chassis. Always the staff hustles on that ride, but 1 train operation is unbearable! I know they're only open now Saturdays and Sundays until Fright Fest begins, so this was maintenance problem was puzzling.

 

I hope it's back to normal for next weekend's operation.

 

El Toro my #1 Woodie

 

Ha I probably saw you Saturday, I saw at least 40 people with ACE shirts throughout the day. Great day at the park, the first 2 hours were amazing since the early morning rain scared everyone away. I was on like the 3rd train of the day, front row on KK, and was able to stay on a few rides (Toro, Nitro and B:TR) without getting off.

 

I'm no longer a member of ACE and I don't wear ACE shirts anymore. I was at Nitro for 14 rides for ERT on Saturday. Yes, the rain possibility kept people away on Sunday. Great Adventure is my #2 favorite park - 6 Flags Magic Mountain is my #1.

 

FINALLY got my Green Lantern credit too, though I rode it as Chang back in 2006. Delivered more forces than I remember, but still found it a bit uneventful. Just never liked the stand-up gimmick.

 

Oh, and Nitro was running FANTASTIC. Rode it in borderline-pouring rain and it was a helluva lot of fun. Toro was amazing as usual (though I hate how they slow it down at the top of the lift now...it takes a lot out of the first drop, and a little bit out of the 1st camelback), and since it's been a year, riding KK was awesome in the front row. I wish they'd just replace those trains, though, and go with the slicker trains on TTD. The restraints don't bother me, but I think the bulkiness of the trains just don't do well at those speeds, and it makes for an earthquake-like ride in every other car besides the 1st.

^^I agree Bizarro's operations, on Friday night the line was barely out of the station but I still skipped it because I thought it would still be a 20 minute wait (I don't mind a 20 minute wait if the line keeps moving). I wonder if it was the same 2 girls checking restraints that I saw last week. They also stopped to talk about non park stuff in the middle of checking restraints while the trains were double stacking. They might as well save the costs and run 2 trains instead of 3 since they always double stack.

 

I also agree about Kingda Ka's queue and the Golden Kingdom being dark. With the misting fans at night I couldn't even see how long the line was until I got to the end of the line.

 

 

I don't ride Bizarro anymore, but I'm sad to hear of its inefficient operations. I remember by mid-summer of 1999, Medusa's first season, the crews were top notch and really worked with a sense of urgency. The line would often fill all three switchbacks and maybe another 50 people were beyond the entrance, yet the line rarely exceeded 35 minutes.

 

Jim

I ride Bizarro for the ride. The crew is the worst at Great Adventure. They could get a full time job at any Cedar Fair park and fit right in.

My friend is trying to talk me into going to Fright Fest because it would be her first time at Six Flags and she wants to ride all of the rides and experience Fright Fest. I haven't been to Fright Fest before but I figure it will be very crowded almost like a summer day?

 

Im trying to convince her of going on one of the Sundays during Fright Fest and telling her that we should arrive right when the gates open. This way we can get to do all of the rides and hopefully get reruns before it starts to get more crowded in the afternoon. This way we will have all of the rides done by the time Fright Fest starts and just walk around not worrying about waiting.

 

Would that be better off then just arriving to the park in the early afternoon hoping to get all the rides in?

You definitely can't ride everything, sorry to say. Even Sunday's during fright fest are insane. Last year I got there at opening and there was already hour long lines. By three, El Toro's was almost to Bizarro, and Kingda Ka's was all the way to the Twister.

I also learned from experience never leave anything in your car during fright fest. Mine, along with many others were broken into that night.

Six Flags Great Adventure has sent us two new press releases, the first regarding Fright Fest...

Six Flags Great Adventure’s Fright Fest Presented by SNICKERS® promises family-friendly “thrills by day,” while an amped-up “fright by night” will deliver more Zombie Zones, Terror Trails, Halloween-themed shows and more screams than ever before. Now six weeks long, Fright Fest begins Sept. 22 and runs weekends through Oct. 28.

 

Thirty Halloween-themed shows and attractions await guests during Fright Fest’s twenty-first season. By day, families can enjoy favorites like the Trick-or-Treat Trail, Monster Mash Bash musical, Professor Slithers’ Creepy Critters animal show, Haunted Wagon Tales ride, Spooky, Kooky Magic Show and more. Guests can also enjoy the park’s famous line-up of thrill rides, including Adventure Alley featuring four new rides for 2012—SkyScreamer extreme swing ride, Fender Benders bumper cars, Air Jumbo flying elephants and Deja Vu scrambler.

 

After 6 pm, the park transitions to “fright by night” and is not recommended for children under 12 and those who scare easily. Scream-seekers can expect new shows including The Awakening, Dead Man’s Party—The Guest List, Circus of Thrills, Doc Swan’s Sideshow of Oddities and after a multi-year hiatus, the return of popular shows like Bad Bob the Bone Butcher and Professor Zombini’s Freak Show starring Coney Island sideshow icon Todd Robbins.

 

Zombie Zones including The Bloody Fountain, Circus Psycho, Bone Butcher Terror-Tory and the all-new Shipwreck Cove feature midway-roaming zombies hunting for their next meal. By popular demand, ghoul-repellent whistles will not be offered this season which makes all guests equally delectable to resident zombies.

 

Four outdoor Terror Trails provide the most intense Fright Fest scares. Voodoo Island, Fright Fest’s new Terror Trail, takes guests on a tour of a reality show set cursed by cannibals. Two Terror Trails feature new themes – the steampunk-inspired Insanity: Gears of the Mind and the toxic Wasteland. The Manor and its zombie-infested halls return for a second season. All four areas remove guests from familiar park surroundings and transport them into a gauntlet of terror in terrifyingly remote areas of the property.

 

Guests can also enjoy the return of show favorites like the multimedia spectacular Ghoulmaster’s Ghosts featuring new music and surprises, and the Dead and Local music showcase.

 

Spooktacular Charitable Events

 

Six Flags hosts the tenth-annual American Red Cross Blood Drive Sept. 29. Guests can donate a pint of blood to earn a free ticket to Fright Fest. Reservations must be made by calling 732/928-2000, ext. 2834. Up to 200 donors are needed and will be taken on a first call, first serve basis. Must be 16 or older, at least 110 lbs. and in good health to donate.

 

Six Flags Great Adventure hosts the 6th annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Sept. 30 – New Jersey’s largest 5k run/walk. The day honors breast cancer survivors, those lost, and unites a community in the fight against breast cancer. In 2011, more than 15,000 participants and spectators turned out to support the Race for the Cure. For more information, log onto sixflags.com/greatadventure and go to the events tab.

 

2013 Season Passes – Great Family Value at Cost of One-Day Ticket

 

The best way to enjoy the thrills of the 2013 season is with a Season Pass. 2013 Season Passes are currently on sale for the price of a one-day ticket when purchasing four or more – $62.99 per person. When purchasing and processing by Oct. 28, 2012 guests will receive a free upgrade to “premium” status, which includes the theme park and new Safari Off Road Adventure, unlimited admission to Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, bring-a-friend free days, early park access and more. Plus, guests receive one free parking pass when purchasing four or more passes during this limited time offer. 2012 Season Pass and Summer Thrill Pass holders receive a special renewal discount. For more information, visit http://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure.

The second press release is about a new species of otters who have joined the park...

This weekend, Six Flags Great Adventure introduces a new species to its theme park, Asian small-clawed otters. The litter of six otter pups, just two months old, consists of two males—Jackson and Baxter— and four females – Cali, Roxi, Pearl and Sushi. Currently weighing less than a pound each, Asian small-clawed otters rank as the smallest otter species in the world, and will reach approximately ten pounds when fully grown.

 

In the wild, these otters can be found in fresh water rivers, estuaries, swamps and lakes in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries. However, due to hunting, pollution and destruction of their natural habitat, this species is considered vulnerable and is protected by the Species Survival Plan.

 

Currently, the pups receive bottle feedings every four-to-six hours. “Raising otter pups is just like raising children,” said Dave Peranteau, supervisor of animal training at Six Flags. “They love to sleep in our arms. They’re such cuddlebugs.” The otters reside in the theme park’s Safari Discoveries section, an interactive animal area. As the pups grow, guests can watch them learn to swim this fall in the Seafari Theater’s underwater viewing pool.

 

“Otters are highly social animals and extremely intelligent,” Peranteau said. “We hope that their interaction with our guests will help raise awareness for the plight of their species.”

TL;DR version:

Six Flags is going to terrify you with a terrifyingly terrifying gauntlet of terror with new terrifying terror trails with terror lurking around every terrifying corner. PS: WE HAVE ADORABLE BABY OTTERS!!!!!!

Dear Lord Baby Otter Jesus, as I plan another trip to Great Adventure for 40 college kids this Fright Fest, please give me an empty night, as you did last year, in your infinite wisdom. May you provide a forecast of rain for the entire day, then clear the skies just as we arrive, driving away all from the park and allowing us to ride El Toro seven times in a row. Amen, Baby Otter Jesus.

that may be the cutest thing ever.

I've seen the ones at the Georgia Aquarium and they were very active and fun to watch.

^Those are exactly the otters that ensured I would open this thread upon reading (the redundant) "Adorable" and "otters." I just could not believe how, well, adorable they are. So cuddly and energetic!

I saw those otters swimming in the pool learning how to swim last Saturday and they act as cute as they look! If anyone goes to Great Adventure before the regular season ends, I would go check out theses little guys as they are entertaining and very cute to watch.

Went to the park last night for Six Flags Out at the Park event and it was a great night. The park was open until midnight and had some pretty awesome night rides on El Toro and Nitro. I have to say I was pretty shocked all the rides were open for the most part. The only coaster that was closed was the left side of Rolling Thunder. The Twister was very boring and even the ride operator admitted it, this is only my second one with the first being at Canada's Wonderland.

Also Sky Screamer scared the crap out of me, after riding Windseeker at Wonderland I would pick Sky Screamer!

Getting to this park is a pain in the arse if you don't have a car. Visited for the first time the other week on a holiday to new york and NJ transit is awful - the staff are just plain crap, the terms 'information' and 'customer service' have no meaning whatsoever. Millions of tourists go to new york every year and there's no advertising to tourists and just one bus service...

However, the rides are fantastic, lucked out on getting a day when there was hardly anybody there, so a lot of the rides were literally just walk on. El Toro is terrific, especially that first drop, and the helix. Nitro is awesome (that's got to have one of the best ride entrances for any coaster ever) and Kingda Ka is just something else... I've been on Stealth at Thorpe Park, but Kingda Ka is just incredible. The river rapids ride is rubbish though, and the log flume looked crap.

They needn't have bothered with the themeing in most places mind. I thought the theming in alton towers was a bit ropey in parts, compared to the florida parks, but they're taking the piss their. At least money is spent properly on the rides.

El Toro is back to two trains.

Operations around the park were awesome yesterday with no stacking on El Toro, Nitro, or Runaway Mine Train. Even Green Lantern, Kingda Ka, and Bizarro's were much faster then normal.

Oh, and I finally got my Road Runner Railway credit....Definitely felt sad and pathetic.

I find North American otters much more cute! These Asian otters look pissed at such a young age...

I am going for the first time ever on Sunday. Flying over for the Bruce Springsteen-shows at MetLife and have Sunday off before flying back to Sweden on Monday.

I hadn't planned on getting à Flash Pass, but with Fright Fest starting this weekend, it is perhaps necessary?

We wont stay that long, we have a dinner reservation in NYC at 9.30, but we do of course want to get all major credits.

Any advice?

Definitely go for the Flash Pass, because the crowds for FF will be there, and they will be heavy. The past weekend, there were heavy crowds due to the fact that they thought FF started this past weekend (Stupid GP). As for a plan, usually the lines in the morning are for Green Lantern and Kingda Ka. On occasion, if you head to El Toro first, you can ride it around four times before the crowds show up. El Toro's line has been moving relatively quickly nowadays, so if you are stuck waiting, it shouldn't be too bad (trust me, it's worth the wait! ). Nitro always has a fast moving line. If three trains are running and the line is to the entrance sign, the wait is just spilled into the switchbacks, the line is about 30 minutes (Disregard the signs saying how long the line is). Superman, Green Lantern, and SkyScreamer are killer though, because both rack up quite the line, and load really slow. That's where your flash pass comes in! As for rides, I would definitely check out the Log Flume because it is one of the better ones out there. Houdini's Great Escape is a fun little ride as well, and it's one of two in the US. Also, a little trivia, our carousel is the only one in the US that rotates clockwise! Hopefully you enjoy your day!

Thanks Pitstains.

What kind of Flash Pass do I need? Gold or Platinum?

A gold would be more than fine. Heck, even a regular flash pass will do the job!

Went to the park Sunday and had a really good time. The crowds were light compared to my other visits this summer. All of the coasters were running great. I was a little irritated they were running only one train on Superman all morning. The lines were never longer than 30 minutes because operations were really good on all coasters! I finally rode Sky Screamer and I will admit it scared the crap out of me. But then again I hate heights and I have a very vivid imagination so my mind wonders off when I see only a chain is holding that swing together. LOVE the Coke Freestyle machine a lot because I can get the coke with lemon or lime that I miss a lot! The Halloween decoration are coming a long great and I can not wait to visit for Fright Fest.

There were A LOT of managers out and about - I have never seen so many. Many were operating rides, food stands and just talking to guest. I actually loved seeing that.

Also I was talking to a manager that was out taking photos at the front of the park. I wanted to ask him about the key fob and if they were going have the special next year where you buy a $30.00 key fob and get all the pictures you want all year for free. He said they stopped that mid season because of the crowds it drew at the exits of rides with EVERYONE getting their picture. Instead of every picture being free they will be about $1.00 each next season.

Fright Fest Preview for Season Passholders was awesome last night. Basically no lines at all the entire night. It's too bad it probably won't be like that the rest of the season except for the first few Friday nights if you get there at opening. The only bad thing was the park closed at 10, when it was supposed to be 11.

I was at the park in June of this year (wow, that was a long time ago) and remember getting a ride on Nitro, Green Lantern, and Bizzaro all in under 30 minutes. I had done everything else but had to do these 3 credits to get before my bus left. So I sprinted from my backseat of Nitro to GL and then to Bizzaro. I got everything done and met my group at the park entrance seconds before we left. Just thought this was something worth mentioning. Anyone ever done something similar?

I had a great time at SFGAdv today! I got in 3 rides on Batman and 2 each on Green Lantern, Superman, and Bizarro, and 1 on Kingda Ka. (I don't fit in the restraints for El Toro or Nitro or I would have done those.) I know lots of folks aren't big fans of Batman but I love how much stuff it crams into a relatively small amount of time. We also went on Skull Mountain and the Mine Train, because why not.

It didn't start to get crowded until around 2pm, but not horribly so. I don't think we waited longer than 20 minutes for anything. The people I came with got a Flash Pass but we really didn't need it, although it was helpful for getting onto Kingda Ka. It was a nifty gadget, though. Someone in a line we were passing by asked if it was a Giga Pet.

I finally got around to buying a 2013 season pass with a season pass parking online, and when I redeemed it I asked if the parking was good at other parks, since I actually live a bit closer to SFAmerica and will visit there on occasion as well. The guy hemmed and hawed over it for a minute before checking with someone else and telling me it was. This is in conflict with some, but not all, of what I've read online, but the voucher for the parking pass said it would be "valid at all Six Flags theme parks". Why does this have to be so confusing? I guess I'll find out next weekend.

Overall, a good day. We didn't eat in the park because none of us are fans of traditional amusement park fare, but we made good use of the Wawa down the road. I did accidentally leave my refillable drink bottle on a bench near Kingda Ka, but when I came back, it was still there. I was pretty surprised.