Six Flags Great Adventure: May 29th, 2006

[chiatrain]

I just returned from a weekend trip to New York City & New Jersey. The trip included a stop at Six Flags Great Adventure, my first visit.

The weather was great, although a bit hot at about 90 degrees.

We, my family and a friend, left our hotel and arrived at the park at about 9:15 am. The park opened at 10 am, but guests were being let in before 9:30 am. SF GAdv had several Express Lanes, quick and easy for guests who did not have large purses or backpacks.

We were in the park by 9:40 am, but the park did not officially open until the Opening Celebration. Sylvester the Cat was holding the American flag for the National Anthem. Then, the Looney Tunes characters came out and opened the park.

We made our way to the Golden Kingdom, towards Kingda Ka. We walked at a brisk pace, and managed to find our way to the entrance area. The line for Kingda Ka opened up at around 10:15 am. The wait, surprisingly, wasn't too long. It was a 15-minute wait for front-row, and Kingda Ka was running three trains. I had high expectations for the ride, and it mostly lived up to it. Kinga Ka receives a 10/10.

While I was waiting for the rest of my family to finish Superman: Ultimate Flight (which I skipped), I got in a few flat rides. First off was Space Shuttle, which is similar to SFGAm's old Power Dive. Next was The Twister, which runs a similar program to King Chaos. Space Shuttle was a walk-on, while The Twister had a 2-cycle wait.

The next coaster was Great American Scream Machine. It was a walk-on. It wasn't too rough, and I managed to avoid my head being banged around the ride alot. GASM gets a 8/10.

Next up was Spongebob Squarepants: 3-D. I made a comment to my family that I have waiting longer in line for Spongebob (25 minutes) than Kingda Ka. It turns out, once inside, there was a single ride-op checking every seatbelt of every rider (which was about 80-100 guests). Then, to make things worse, the film stops mid-way through. It's about another 5-minute delay, then a ride-op announces no photography is allowed.

We made our way to the new Plaza del Carnival area of the park, to check out the yet unopened El Toro. The coaster is expected to open soon, and it did test once during the afternoon.

After a long wait to get on the Sky Ride, we made our way to Skull Mountain. It's an enclosed coaster, and the ride takes place mostly in complete darkness. We waited for the rear car. Skull Mountain is themed great on the exterior, but the interior, and the ride itself, has no theming. The ride is just okay, but the wait wasn't too long (about 20 minutes). Skull Mountain gets a 7/10.

Then comes one of the only negative aspects of our visit: Line Jumping. While in line for Congo Rapids, a white-water rapids ride, scores of Line Jumpers had schemed their way to the middle-to-front of the line. The wait itself was slated as being nearly 2 hours long. At the time, I believe Congo Rapids was the only water ride in operation. I put my arms across the length of the line to stop the Line Jumpers, but they thought they could go underneath my arms. I did everything but knock one of these Line Jumpers' lights out. The stupid thing: one girl claims she lost something, and "pretends" to search for her "lost" item in front of me. Then, she stops and signals her friends to join her in line. As if I noticed she wasn't wet from not riding the ride, she stops in line in front of us.

To cool down (which I didn't get from Congo Rapids because I left the line), I opted to get on Nitro instead. The rest of my family waited for Congo Rapids, which they eventually passed the Line Jumpers due to the smaller group number.

The wait for Nitro was about 45 minutes, but was a little excrutiating with no or minimal shading. It was only a 2-train op, but it is capable of running 3-trains, like Raging Bull. I chose to get on Row 9 of Nitro. The beginning of the ride was awesome, but the end with several hills weren't too special. Overall, Nitro is still a great ride, but I'll take Raging Bull for now. Nitro gets an 8.5/10.

At this point, the Justice League were out and about in their own mini-parade near Batman: The Ride.

Next on the list was Batman & Robin: The Chiller. Both Batman & Robin were in operation, but we opted for Robin. The crew was a bit slow, added with guest who cannot follow directions. Furthermore, it seemed that Robin had let on at least 2 trains full of QBot/VIP riders. The total wait was just under an hour, although the line itself seemed fairly short. The ride itself was approved by my sister, who is normally not a thrill seeker. She even question the lack of OTSRs and gasped at the thought of having a simple lapbar. Robin receives an 8/10.

There was time for a few flatrides, including Stuntman's Freefall (1st generation freefall ride), Fantasy Fling (RoundUp), and Houdini's Great Escape. I had no idea of what Houdini's Great Escape until I was on the ride itself. All I can say is that Houdini is still the master of illusions.

With only about an 80 left minutes until park closing, it was time to head towards Medusa, the floorless coaster. It was closed when we arrived, due to the ongoing concert at the nearby stadium. It was a free Jo Dee Messina concert. We waited about 20 minutes for Medusa to open, and got on the second train out. Medusa itself was running three trains. The only other floorless coaster I have been on was Kraken. Overall, the inversions on Medusa were great and it gave an overall smooth ride. Medusa gets an 8/10.

With only 40 minutes left, it was time to head back towards Kingda Ka. I don't know where everybody went, because this time around, the wait for Kingda Ka was just under 15 minutes again. Again, another incredible ride, but more wind-in-the-face this time around. We managed to get off the ride, with just under 3 minutes left until park closing. I quickly made it back to the entrance, to get in line again under the wire. The wait this time was about 20 minutes, as the final riders were directed to the station running the single train. This time, I opted for the back of the train. Again, nothing bad to say about Kingda Ka. The added surprise: we were allowed another ride, as the few rows near the rear of the train had not riders in line. The only downside, if any, was that it was not truly dark outside, even though it was about 8:30 pm.

Overall, my first visit to Great Adventure was great. I never expected to get on Kingda Ka four times throughout the day. The Line Jumpers did get me down for a bit in the afternoon. But, I'll be making a return trip soon to catch a ride on El Toro and the rest of the coasters. Great Adventure is easily a 2-day trip. It is a massive park, and there is plenty to see and do. I'll try and add some photos later on this week.

[zjohn1988]

awesome trip report. Id love to go to that park! glad you enjoyed it (except for the line jumpers).

[Ilovthevu']

Can you explain the Houdini ride more? Also, what is the main difference between Nitro and Raging Bull? If you have ridden Mr. Freeze, which ride do you like better (Batman and Robin: The Chiller or Mr. Freeze), and why? Great Trip Report!!