Wednesday: Six Flags Great Adventure
Wednesday: Six Flags Great Adventure
Wednesday began with three mysterious calls early in the morning. Who on earth would possibly call at 7:00? It couldn't be a school wanting to schedule an interview... they don't wake up at that hour. It certainly isn't somebody that I know, and if it were, they would certainly leave a message. Were it a wrong number, you'd think they'd have figured it out before the third try. I showered and continued to ponder they mystery call as we headed down the expressway to Great Adventure.
We arrived at the gate before park opening. Although this was far from my first trip to the park, it was the first since it had been ripped from the grips of the evil and incompetent management of Premier Parks. Still, it never been high on the list of the severely neglected parks of that era, but I was still somewhat uncertain what might lie ahead. Entering the park, we were greeted with a festive entry plaza filled with shops, friendly folks, lively music, and costume characters parading around, much to the delight of all. The park felt clean, impressive. It actually felt magical. At first glance, I was impressed, and it seemed that perhaps after years of neglect that Six Flags was finally on to something.
We passed through the plaza and past the myriad of people taking pictures with Buggs Bunny and Sylvester the Cat. Our destination was Kingda Ka, which stood in the distance, towering above everything in the park. We soon stumbled upon the jungle area, beautifully themed with live tigers, bamboo, jungle plants, benches, buildings, and Starburst advertisements. We quickly jumped in line for Ka, and after about a half hour, boarded the train. Although the launch was mind blowing and the view from 450 feet amazing, the ride itself was less impressive than Dragster at Cedar Point, mainly because it lacked the element of surprise. Still, while a cool and intense ride, I see the novelty of this one trick pony wearing off relatively quickly.
We meandered back through the jungle area, pausing briefly to glance at a white tiger as I silently pondered who might have called so early in the morning. We continued down the path when suddenly my thoughts were silenced by the roar and rumbles of a giant monster sitting before our eyes. El Toro, an allegedly amazing Intamin wood coaster, was what I had hoped would be one of the highlights of the day, but given that I tend to like the more classic designs like Phoenix and Yankee Cannonball, I wasn't quite sure how this would sit. We raced into line and soon boarded the back of the train. The lift was amazingly fast and silent, yet paled in comparison to what the rest of the ride would bring. Speed. Force. Airtime galore. Quick twists and turns. The train rips through the course, yet never seems to fight with the track. It's smooth, quite possibly one of the most enjoyable wood coasters I've ever ridden. We took the bull for a second ride, and on our way out, noticed something even more amazing: Rolling Thunder was not only operating both sides, but, the trains were actually racing. Yes, I kid you not. I didn't believe it either.
We ran over to Rotting Lumber and took a ride in the back seat on the left side. The ride is still mediocre. Both the track and bearings are under lubricated, indicated by the squealing cries for help from the trains, and the driest looking track I've ever seen. The train rattles around the course, and the ride itself is simply not that enjoyable. With some track work and proper maintenance, I am convinced it could be an amazing ride. But as it stands, it might as well be firewood. Later in the day we returned to ride the right-side in the front. Definitely an improvement, but again, it needs desperate help.
We entered the Western themed area of the park and decided to cool off with a trip on the Log Flume, which was an enjoyable ride. After a spin on the Mine Train and a round of Medusa (which I still remember riding at 6am when it was Arctic-cold the year it opened), we took the Sky Way to the other end of the park. We stopped for lunch at the Panda Express, which was relatively good and not as outrageously priced as one might expect at a Six Flags park.
Skull Mountain was still a fun ride for a dark coaster, although none of the on-ride theming seems to work these days and there seems to be little emphasis on making it happen. Still, it's a great ride, and for a small coaster, it appears to have a decent throughput. Much to my surprise, although we entered through an adventure-themed area, we exited in a brightly colored Wiggles World with very annoying music about fruit salad. Not quite what I expected, but it works.
By far, the longest wait of the day was for Nitro, which ran about 30 minutes (with 2 trains running). Later the park would add a third train, and the line would become close to non existent. Nitro is still one of my favorite rides and is one that you could ride over, and over, and over. Next up: Congo River. We rode this ride 4 consecutive times without getting off, and I suspect that in its early days it was a capacity monster, with 12-person rafts and dual stations. It's certainly not one of the best rapids rides out there, and the waterfalls were not working, but it was still enjoyable (enhanced by the girls we rode with who kept shouting to the ride attendants along the course.) Drenched, we moved on to hit Batman and the Shoot the Chutes.
Batman seems to have undergone a bit of a clean up, with the old police car and "junk yard" theme removed from within the queue. I found this disappointing, as it seemed to fit, but it seems that perhaps the new management doesn't feel that toilets are family friendly decor. I argue that fact, and encourage them to visit Western Massachusetts, where folks stick old toilets in their front yards and plant flowers in the bowl... but perhaps that's a theme best left for Riverside. The ride itself is still intense and amazing, and you can still feel your feet tingle as you fly through some of the inversions.
We headed toward Shoot the Chutes, and encountered what would be close to the only negative experience of the day (pretty darn good for a Six Flags park, if you ask me!) Plain and simple, it seems that the workers were less interested in working, and more into bickering and fighting over breaks and who go to go home when. Get a life. Consequently, the boats were backed up out of the station, which wouldn't be a big deal except for how the station has been setup. The ride is setup to run at least three boats (which they did), however, the loading dock has been moved to the very back of the station. As a result, when more than one boat are at the station, they pile up, and the back of the boats dip down into the water, allowing the boat to flood. Every boat had riders in the back seat trying to stand up to avoid the torrential flow of water, and one boat that came in must have had at least 8 inches of water in the bottom. This could easily be remedied by loading in the front position... or even by stopping the bickering and getting the boats out in a timely manner.
On our way through to the boardwalk area, we took a spin on Houdini's Great Escape. It would definitely benefit the park to realize that folks should be in the ride before the pre-show starts (if you want to be like Disney, pay attention to the details). It's still a great ride, none the less. We moved through the Boardwalk area (beautiful!) and took a spin on the Top Spin before tackling Superman and GASM.
We first rode Superman, the B&M Flying Coaster that was installed in 2003. I had ridden the Vekoma version of the flying coaster at SFA several years ago, and given that B&M's reputation, I figured this would be amazing. In fact, I had really looked forward to riding this, despite that DJ said it wasn't anything special. Oddly, despite the fact that B&M usually does a better job than Vekoma, I found the Flying Dutchman that Vekoma built to be far more fun than Superman was. It wasn't very good, it was actually a bit dull. It's a beautiful parking lot coaster, and makes a great impression as you enter the parking lot... but it ends there. We rode once and then moved on to GASM.
Now, let's talk about GASM. Arrow loopers are known for being rough and not aging very well. This is no exception. I don't know that it's any worse than it was several years ago when I first rode it, and I used to be a huge fan of Arrow loopers... but I think I've just learned to like the better coasters that have come out over the years. Funny enough, there was a banner that the GASM ride crew was the "Fastest of the month" in April. I couldn't help but think that it's pretty darn easy to be the fastest when nobody rides your ride anymore! =)
We attempted to ride Spongebob 3D but the line wasn't moving, so we left. The Parachute Drop was also closed when I wanted to ride it, although it had been open on and off throughout the day. We then decided to re-explore the park, hitting many of the flat rides and areas that we had previously neglected, including the Round-Up, Jolly Roger, and Ferris Wheel. We also took a spin on everyone's favorite coaster, Blackbeard's Lost Treasure Train, which mysteriously had half of the seats roped off. We ended the night with a few last rides on Nitro, Batman (with the weird ride operator woman from hell... I don't know why some of these people think they are humorous and exciting, when they're really just annoying dorks), and El Toro. Oh, and a funnel cake, as Great Adventure (much like Western New York) doesn't believe in Fried Dough with pizza sauce and cheese. Strange!
Still wondering who had called earlier, we headed back to Jersey City with a pit stop at a Burger King up the road from Great Adventure. The lady on the speaker wins the award for "Fast Food's Biggest Weinerette." She simply could not get the order straight, and despite the fact that she said "mmhmm" between every item, she got caught up on what came after the five whopper juniors, numerous times...four to be exact. No surprise, she didn't get the order right despite her numerous attempts.
Driving up the highway, the telephone rang once again. I flipped the phone open to see that I had missed the call, and it was none other than the mystery number. Weird! DJ attempted to call the number, and I kicked his ass in the process. Then again, the telephone rang just long enough so that it could not be answered. I called back, hoping that perhaps it was a hot rich man wanting me to move in to his mansion in Vegas. The telephone rang, and rang... and then disconnected. Weird! When it was all said and done, it turns out the hot man was not from vegas, and not wanting me to move in. It was Josh, in the front seat. The bloody goober! Mystery solved, we returned to Jersey City for a few hours of sleep before returning to Albany.
Wednesday began with three mysterious calls early in the morning. Who on earth would possibly call at 7:00? It couldn't be a school wanting to schedule an interview... they don't wake up at that hour. It certainly isn't somebody that I know, and if it were, they would certainly leave a message. Were it a wrong number, you'd think they'd have figured it out before the third try. I showered and continued to ponder they mystery call as we headed down the expressway to Great Adventure.
We arrived at the gate before park opening. Although this was far from my first trip to the park, it was the first since it had been ripped from the grips of the evil and incompetent management of Premier Parks. Still, it never been high on the list of the severely neglected parks of that era, but I was still somewhat uncertain what might lie ahead. Entering the park, we were greeted with a festive entry plaza filled with shops, friendly folks, lively music, and costume characters parading around, much to the delight of all. The park felt clean, impressive. It actually felt magical. At first glance, I was impressed, and it seemed that perhaps after years of neglect that Six Flags was finally on to something.
We passed through the plaza and past the myriad of people taking pictures with Buggs Bunny and Sylvester the Cat. Our destination was Kingda Ka, which stood in the distance, towering above everything in the park. We soon stumbled upon the jungle area, beautifully themed with live tigers, bamboo, jungle plants, benches, buildings, and Starburst advertisements. We quickly jumped in line for Ka, and after about a half hour, boarded the train. Although the launch was mind blowing and the view from 450 feet amazing, the ride itself was less impressive than Dragster at Cedar Point, mainly because it lacked the element of surprise. Still, while a cool and intense ride, I see the novelty of this one trick pony wearing off relatively quickly.
We meandered back through the jungle area, pausing briefly to glance at a white tiger as I silently pondered who might have called so early in the morning. We continued down the path when suddenly my thoughts were silenced by the roar and rumbles of a giant monster sitting before our eyes. El Toro, an allegedly amazing Intamin wood coaster, was what I had hoped would be one of the highlights of the day, but given that I tend to like the more classic designs like Phoenix and Yankee Cannonball, I wasn't quite sure how this would sit. We raced into line and soon boarded the back of the train. The lift was amazingly fast and silent, yet paled in comparison to what the rest of the ride would bring. Speed. Force. Airtime galore. Quick twists and turns. The train rips through the course, yet never seems to fight with the track. It's smooth, quite possibly one of the most enjoyable wood coasters I've ever ridden. We took the bull for a second ride, and on our way out, noticed something even more amazing: Rolling Thunder was not only operating both sides, but, the trains were actually racing. Yes, I kid you not. I didn't believe it either.
We ran over to Rotting Lumber and took a ride in the back seat on the left side. The ride is still mediocre. Both the track and bearings are under lubricated, indicated by the squealing cries for help from the trains, and the driest looking track I've ever seen. The train rattles around the course, and the ride itself is simply not that enjoyable. With some track work and proper maintenance, I am convinced it could be an amazing ride. But as it stands, it might as well be firewood. Later in the day we returned to ride the right-side in the front. Definitely an improvement, but again, it needs desperate help.
We entered the Western themed area of the park and decided to cool off with a trip on the Log Flume, which was an enjoyable ride. After a spin on the Mine Train and a round of Medusa (which I still remember riding at 6am when it was Arctic-cold the year it opened), we took the Sky Way to the other end of the park. We stopped for lunch at the Panda Express, which was relatively good and not as outrageously priced as one might expect at a Six Flags park.
Skull Mountain was still a fun ride for a dark coaster, although none of the on-ride theming seems to work these days and there seems to be little emphasis on making it happen. Still, it's a great ride, and for a small coaster, it appears to have a decent throughput. Much to my surprise, although we entered through an adventure-themed area, we exited in a brightly colored Wiggles World with very annoying music about fruit salad. Not quite what I expected, but it works.
By far, the longest wait of the day was for Nitro, which ran about 30 minutes (with 2 trains running). Later the park would add a third train, and the line would become close to non existent. Nitro is still one of my favorite rides and is one that you could ride over, and over, and over. Next up: Congo River. We rode this ride 4 consecutive times without getting off, and I suspect that in its early days it was a capacity monster, with 12-person rafts and dual stations. It's certainly not one of the best rapids rides out there, and the waterfalls were not working, but it was still enjoyable (enhanced by the girls we rode with who kept shouting to the ride attendants along the course.) Drenched, we moved on to hit Batman and the Shoot the Chutes.
Batman seems to have undergone a bit of a clean up, with the old police car and "junk yard" theme removed from within the queue. I found this disappointing, as it seemed to fit, but it seems that perhaps the new management doesn't feel that toilets are family friendly decor. I argue that fact, and encourage them to visit Western Massachusetts, where folks stick old toilets in their front yards and plant flowers in the bowl... but perhaps that's a theme best left for Riverside. The ride itself is still intense and amazing, and you can still feel your feet tingle as you fly through some of the inversions.
We headed toward Shoot the Chutes, and encountered what would be close to the only negative experience of the day (pretty darn good for a Six Flags park, if you ask me!) Plain and simple, it seems that the workers were less interested in working, and more into bickering and fighting over breaks and who go to go home when. Get a life. Consequently, the boats were backed up out of the station, which wouldn't be a big deal except for how the station has been setup. The ride is setup to run at least three boats (which they did), however, the loading dock has been moved to the very back of the station. As a result, when more than one boat are at the station, they pile up, and the back of the boats dip down into the water, allowing the boat to flood. Every boat had riders in the back seat trying to stand up to avoid the torrential flow of water, and one boat that came in must have had at least 8 inches of water in the bottom. This could easily be remedied by loading in the front position... or even by stopping the bickering and getting the boats out in a timely manner.
On our way through to the boardwalk area, we took a spin on Houdini's Great Escape. It would definitely benefit the park to realize that folks should be in the ride before the pre-show starts (if you want to be like Disney, pay attention to the details). It's still a great ride, none the less. We moved through the Boardwalk area (beautiful!) and took a spin on the Top Spin before tackling Superman and GASM.
We first rode Superman, the B&M Flying Coaster that was installed in 2003. I had ridden the Vekoma version of the flying coaster at SFA several years ago, and given that B&M's reputation, I figured this would be amazing. In fact, I had really looked forward to riding this, despite that DJ said it wasn't anything special. Oddly, despite the fact that B&M usually does a better job than Vekoma, I found the Flying Dutchman that Vekoma built to be far more fun than Superman was. It wasn't very good, it was actually a bit dull. It's a beautiful parking lot coaster, and makes a great impression as you enter the parking lot... but it ends there. We rode once and then moved on to GASM.
Now, let's talk about GASM. Arrow loopers are known for being rough and not aging very well. This is no exception. I don't know that it's any worse than it was several years ago when I first rode it, and I used to be a huge fan of Arrow loopers... but I think I've just learned to like the better coasters that have come out over the years. Funny enough, there was a banner that the GASM ride crew was the "Fastest of the month" in April. I couldn't help but think that it's pretty darn easy to be the fastest when nobody rides your ride anymore! =)
We attempted to ride Spongebob 3D but the line wasn't moving, so we left. The Parachute Drop was also closed when I wanted to ride it, although it had been open on and off throughout the day. We then decided to re-explore the park, hitting many of the flat rides and areas that we had previously neglected, including the Round-Up, Jolly Roger, and Ferris Wheel. We also took a spin on everyone's favorite coaster, Blackbeard's Lost Treasure Train, which mysteriously had half of the seats roped off. We ended the night with a few last rides on Nitro, Batman (with the weird ride operator woman from hell... I don't know why some of these people think they are humorous and exciting, when they're really just annoying dorks), and El Toro. Oh, and a funnel cake, as Great Adventure (much like Western New York) doesn't believe in Fried Dough with pizza sauce and cheese. Strange!
Still wondering who had called earlier, we headed back to Jersey City with a pit stop at a Burger King up the road from Great Adventure. The lady on the speaker wins the award for "Fast Food's Biggest Weinerette." She simply could not get the order straight, and despite the fact that she said "mmhmm" between every item, she got caught up on what came after the five whopper juniors, numerous times...four to be exact. No surprise, she didn't get the order right despite her numerous attempts.
Driving up the highway, the telephone rang once again. I flipped the phone open to see that I had missed the call, and it was none other than the mystery number. Weird! DJ attempted to call the number, and I kicked his ass in the process. Then again, the telephone rang just long enough so that it could not be answered. I called back, hoping that perhaps it was a hot rich man wanting me to move in to his mansion in Vegas. The telephone rang, and rang... and then disconnected. Weird! When it was all said and done, it turns out the hot man was not from vegas, and not wanting me to move in. It was Josh, in the front seat. The bloody goober! Mystery solved, we returned to Jersey City for a few hours of sleep before returning to Albany.