SixFlags Great Adventure
I think this officially counts as my first Six Flags park but I have been to a few of their former European parks. So it was interesting to compare that SFGA bore similar approaches to theming. Some rides being heavily themed and having impressive stations, where as others are quite bland with a standard station and a few vinyl cutouts in the queueline. It isn't a criticism but I think the ride hardware is more important to the SF business model, its just that type of park. The park does boast some impressive hardware and the 2020 Jersery Devil coaster is an exciting yet superfluous addition to their coaster line up.
Transport
As always driving to the park is often king, especially when it the park is over an hour away. On public transport, the park was easy enough to get to from downtown Manhattan using the NJ Transit from Port Authority bus station. For $80 you get your return travel and entrance to the park. However the information and communication from NJ Transit is poor so I can imagine when it's busy this is a nightmare. The information provided from NJ Transit is sparse and it will fall on you get all the details, if you plan to do it yourself here are some helpful tips.
- NJ Transit Link
- You can't pre-book tickets
- You can't buy tickets from the machine
- You can only buy from the ticket office which is on the first floor
- The buses are on the top floor (3rd?) and the bus doesn't necessarily go from gate 308 (even though the ticket says 308).
- There is a NJ transit desk on the 3rd floor, ask there for advice if stuck.
- The timetable only refers to the last bus, there may be earlier buses on each leg of the journey - Call NJ Transit to confirm.
- Finally we were able to get dropped off in NJ (Newark( by request on the way back, this worked out better for us rather than hitting NY at rush hour.
The park was only open on Wednesday that week and unfortunately that coincided with the worst weather of the whole trip, it's hard to comment on the park atmosphere when crowds were easily low thousands, if not hundreds. The rain was relentless and got worse as the day wore on, as such Six Flags took the decision to close at 17:00 instead of 19:00. To be honest it was one of those days where it was actually a relief and given the low turnout we got on everything that was open before the early closure.
It was cool to see the park dressed up in its Halloween decor but also a relief that it wasn't a fright nights event. My girlfriend is a bit of wimp when it comes to scary things and it meant we could get around without having to avoid scare zones. Our later trips would indicate that Cedar Fair certainly invests a bit more effort into their Haunt nights than Six Flags, if you were looking between the two.
Anyway onto the rides...
Superman:Ultimate Flight - Painted in Supe's traditional blue and red, a huge lift hill and a giant pretzel loop this B&M cloned flyer looks the part. We were straight on and into front row due to the low turn out, annoyingly though we had to wait around for the ride to fill up a little. After 5-10 minutes of waiting we were finally tilted forward and dispatched. Superman seems reaaally slow off the ride but the first drop into that pretzel loop is insane, especially when you flip onto your back. I think I was close to greying out at this point. However the rest didn't match the intensity and was similar AIR's experience. Solid start to the day 7/10
Green Lantern - Unlike Superman this ride had an amazingly themed station complete with a jet prop. This was my first stand up coaster and hopefully my last! I jested to my girlfriend in the queue that if anyone could make a comfortable stand up ride then surely B&M could. Turns out I was incredibly wrong and spent the next 2 minutes feeling like I was in a paint mixing machine. First I had to step into the restraints which awkwardly moved up and down, so I ended having to adopt a weird standing foetal stance to get in. If you have an out of proportion body type I assume these are an even bigger nightmare.
I'd try to describe the ride experience but I genuinely can't remember anything beyond the oddly painted yellow loop on an otherwise green painted track. I was rattled, buffered by the freezing wind and rain and every time I came out of an inversion my quads felt like they were on fire. The ride was offensively longer than it needs to be and was now competing with Thunderbolt for worst ride of the trip. The only consolation I could take from the ride was that we got on the train just before it got stuck on the lift hill for most of the day. 2/10
Twister (Twixsaw) - I wasn't going to make Rameses Revenge before it closed so I couldn't resist the Top Spin. The ride was on a short cycle but still as good as Ripsaw used to be. Even that classic whinging and groaning as the gondola slowed down was present. Shame there was no water effects but I guess due to the weather we were wet enough at this point.
Zumanjaro - We headed over to Kingda Ka with a glimpse of it testing, so my better half convinced me should do the drop tower and we'll hit KK on the exit. I have previously made my thoughts known on drop towers and I'll be honest I am not a fan they just freak me out. So going on one attached to the tallest coaster in the world just seems insane to me. Nevertheless we got straight on and I am strapped in next to what can only be described as Zumanjaro's biggest fan. This guy was chanting "Zumanjaro, Drop of Doooooooommmmmm" repeatedly and we hadn't even started going vertical. After a brief chat he declared it's his favorite ride but he hates it, and it never gets any better. Which totally didn't help with my nerves.
We start going up with more hollering from my new acquaintance, as we are getting higher Emma starts insisting "it's not that high" repeatedly. About half way up she stops and I realize that she is now freaking out and this girl loves a drop tower! We get to the top and all the rides like El Torro and Nitro seem like tiny specks in the distance. It's only when I rode these later on did I actually appreciate just how high Zumanjaro is and even that is ~10-15 feet off the top of KK. The drop to bottom is over in seconds but just a little over half way the gondola seemed to shift and sway to the right a little. I cacked it a bit at that point. In hindsight I actually really enjoyed this one more than I thought and would have happily gone on it again had the weather been a little better.
El Toro - Wow what can I say about "The Bull"... Well a lot!. Firstly we had to engage with an over zealous queueline attendant, who wanted to make sure that we had no pesky items in out pockets. The station is a nice old town Spanish building vibe, with an Instagram friendly Bull statue at the entrance. We got straight on and quickly bagged the back row. Then came whole heap of issues, the restraints didn't lock for most of the train and the ride ops played whack-a-mole in finding out which seats had locked and which didn't. This went on for about 20 minutes before they were happy, seatbelts were finally checked and we finally departed onto the Intamin prefab track.
What followed was 2 minutes of the ride trying to eject me from (hopefully working) restraints. I have never felt so vulnerable on a ride before. The first drop felt like we were fired out of a cannon and yanked down instantly by gravity into terminal velocity before hurtling us at a series of bumps and banked curves, each one felt like bucking bronco in seizure trying to launch me out of my seat. Now I can see why there was concern over the lap bars, these things were working overtime to keep me relatively safe. There's no room to breath as the coaster hits the final section floor hugging banked turns, flipping furiously from right to left back to the station. Think Wodan but on crack.
I wasn't exactly sure of what happened other than I needed to get straight back on it. Emma was less keen and was actually a little put off by the force and lack of assurance from the lapbar. However she braved it and we went straight back on. Curiously the ops were now only boarding the front half of the train (First 9 rows). This helped with getting the trains out faster but there were still issues getting the restraints secured. We got front row and the first drop really sneaks up on you, no POV video will ever prepare you for that heart in mouth feeling as hurtle down. We got another go on El toro before leaving but this was marred with the rain picking up again.
The whole faff with lockers did mean we didn't bother coming back, shame as this was an absolute banger. I think Emma was in the slightly too intense camp, but for me it really was the Toro's Cojones. 10/10
Bizarro - This a 7 looper sit down B&M. I found it had most of the elements of Dragon Kahn and seem to be in better condition than DK. The lift hill gives you nice enough view over the trees and farmland, of which you can see a wonderful piece of coaster track has been recycled for farm use (See pic from YouTube POV). There's a mix mash in theming quality and effects on the ride as you go round. The vinyl stuff detracts and cheapens from the better quality theming such as the fire effects, phantom zone structure and the (Asteroid?) head chopper. The ride is pretty smooth and packs a bit of pace throughout. 8/10
Runaway Mine Train - A very rough Arrow mine train. To be fair leaving this until pretty late in the day was a mistake. We were soaked through and miserable before we got on it. I don't think I've seen a rustier looking coaster and I'm including Knightmare in it's current state. The near misses with the track and surrounding foliage adds to the excitement and the trains hits the drops a lot faster than I expected, especially the one over the lake back into the station. The roughness of the coaster however made the very short ride a plus and when we didn't get a second lap I was quite relieved 5/10
Joker - Joker is the youngest coaster in the park and is a lakeside S&S Freespin. We were really looking forward to this as we missed out on the S&S screaming squirrel on our visit to Gardaland. Looking like a giant Buzz Wire game, it's an eye catching piece of kit in its purple and green livery. From what I've read elsewhere they're not universally loved as most hate the short ride, long queues, ride experience, etc... I must say we both loved it.
Walking on would have been great if the over zealous bouncer on the queue wasn't there. I'm fairly sure I was one flippant remark away from being hung upside and shaken to prove how empty my pockets were. The OTSRs despite having vests are surprisingly comfy but despite only needing an additional seatbelt check the process was slow. This would be nightmare on a busy summers day.
Once you hit the top of the apex of the lift hill the magnets disengage and you spin towards the first drop. It was apparent on re-rides this was controlled heavily by the magnets leading to a similar ride experience on each trip. Unlike the more heavily criticized free rotating ZacSpins.
To be honest the first ride was blur, but given the lack of queue the ride op suggested we swap to the back facing seats and the second trip around was easier to track our progress as we descended down the vertical chicanes. We got an immediate 3rd ride but this may have been pushing it a bit physically and the vests were getting noticeably present. It does offer some great airtime in places but you can get better on El Toro without rattling your brain. I think it's a great ride if not a little gimmicky and repetitive. 8/10
Skull Mountain - Given that this and Justice league were the only indoor rides not closed I could quite easily give this 10/10 just for keeping us dry. Looking like a poundland Valhala from the outside, this enclosed Intamin coaster was a god send. I have to say we encountered the weirdest yet funniest ride op ever, the guy described the ride in Barry White/Chef-esque dulcet tones as he cheered off and greeted riders at the station. Totally bonkers but hilarious. The coaster isn't all that exciting but offers a breather after Joker. As with most indoors it does feel faster than it is and one or two corners are a little jerky but overall it's a cool family coaster. 6/10
Batman the ride - I was really excited for but ultimately I can't help but feel slightly disappointed. To be honest the times we went on it the rain was awful and I struggled to keep my eyes open without feeling like Ebony Maw was torturing me. It was quite the headbanger for most of the way around but not being able to see and brace accordingly was responsible for that. I've had rough rides on Nemesis and Black Mamba but this was just way worse than any suspended B&M. 4/10
Justice League: Battle for Metropolis - An indoor blaster ride that really helped escape the rain. I went in with expectations of this being a terrible blaster ride but in truth it was actually really good. Probably up there with Toy Story/Monsters inc rides for quality. Soo many set scenes and moving parts that all worked. Ok some of the screens were just frantic button mashing as you chased the Joker across Metropolis but on the whole it was decent.
Cyborg Cyber spin - The aesthetically pleasing ABC Tourbillon has piqued my interest for some time. This ride often gets labelled as ripsaw replacement so I was really looking forward to this gyroscope that spins on 3 axis to create an "anti-gravity experience". The ride is themed on the lesser known DC character Victor Cyborg, I say "themed", there's a few vinyls in the queueline and the ride itself is painted in Cyborg's colours. The ride itself is a weird experience the slow rotations as you get started offer some weird forces that you are not used to but once the ride gets into its stride it gets a bit repetitive and lot more tame than you would expect.
Nitro - This is the parks B&M hypercoaster. If this coaster had a theme beyond blasting the Mortal Kombat theme at the station, I missed it. Not a bad thing just an odd choice. It's also plonked at the edge of the park in what is a mix of a very tired looking Looney Tunes area and a building site.
The ride for me is more Shambala than Silver Star in terms of ride experience and then the reverse in terms of operations. It was the only ride that day hitting anything close good operations and this was running on a single train. To be fair it was also the only ride that didn't need additional checks beyond the restraint check. We hit this 4 times in the last 20 minutes of the park being open, with the ride op telling us which rows were clear for rerides as we got back to the station.
The ride carries some fantastic speed throughout and feels great on the inside of one the banked curves, there's some fantastic air time to be had after the MCBR as you bunny hop back to the stations. Whilst the layout is certainly more inspired than Silver Star's out and back, it doesn't really offer anything surprising. 8/10
You may have noticed 2 big omissions from the ride line up.
Kingda Ka and
Wonder Woman:Lasso of Truth, the worlds largest rollercoaster and pendulum ride respectively.
Kingda Ka, tested intermittently but just couldn't open in the weather and to be honest I'm less gutted than I thought I would be. Sure part of the allure was the tallest cred but once you've done Stealth/Red Force it's appeal is purely the height aspect, which we got a taste for on the terrifying Zumanjaro. Wonder Woman again is another familiar ride but just a bigger version. This was working but the twice we queued up for it, the staff just wondered off. No announcements or any idea of what was going on they just disappeared. Of course I would have loved to have gone on both rides but I would have been more devastated had El Toro shut.
Final points
The food was crazy expensive and the quality wasn't great. I think it was $40 for the two of us for lunch (pizza and Premio hotdog) and 2 very much needed tea's.
I'm not a fan of the militant everything must be in the locker for Joker and El Toro. Wallets, keys and phones in the locker sure I get it, not being able to have park map in a zipped pocket felt a bit extreme.
I don't understand why the park has animals in a tiny enclosures that essentially serve as adverts for their Safari experience. The lions looked incredibly agitated and uncomfortable, the cheery and friendly handler ensured us they were fine but just not enjoying the rain (neither were we to be honest).
This is definitely a personal preference but I'm not a huge fan of the constant station MC'ing in ride stations that seemed prevalent at US parks. Especially when the ride hosts sounds like the muffled Ray Von (Shabba!). Telling us to check out other rides at the park such as Kingda Ka, which never opened felt a bit painful and clearly the op was just repeating his script, which rendered the whole experience a bit forced and cold.
Apart from the above I really enjoyed out time at Six flags. I assume most travelers head there for Kingda Ka but the real star of the show is El Toro.
Next up Canada Wonderland!