Great Adventure - Holiday In The Park - December 8, 2018 - OH NO...I Shot Superman!

Good Evening Everyone!

Going to Great Adventure during Holiday in the Park was something that I had always wanted to do, but never got around to it...it could be time-related, weather-related...whatever...it just never happened until Saturday. Here is my tale...

Weather...it would be nice...but cold. Sunny, no precipitation...but temps in the 30s. Do I really want to do this? The truth is "Yes" it's something I had always wanted to try...and if I scan my pass that I bought on black Friday (Insane Deal by the way), I would get gold status too.

Traveling down wasn't bad, but be wary friends. Some of the travel plazas on the turnpike and Garden State Parkway are being renovated...so plan your breaks accordingly.

The lot wasn't too crowded at all. and I was back in my usual spot by the Superman "S" as if it was July. It felt weird not to need suntan lotion and wearing a winter coat. My pass and my voucher both scanned and I was past the security block. It was surreal to hear Andy Williams singing "It's the Most Wonderful Time of The Year" and Johnny Mathis singing "Sleigh Ride." I would hear these tunes and a few others at least four times during my day. Main Street was decked out for the holidays with nice lights and tinsel trim. It looked very nice although there were some areas of nothing until a few more areas of unique decorations.

Nitro was first...we needed to wait to fill the first three rows before taking off. That took about seven minutes. One train. That's all that was needed.

Holy smoke did it hurt. It wasn't too shakey...it was the 80 mph wind hitting me in the face and hands. Lashing me. Beating me to the sense of questioning "Why am I doing this?" No trims after the helix. When we got back the operator offered re-rides. Nobody accepted.

I was disappointed that Sky Screamer Swing was down...but the bumper cars, deja vu (Scrambler), Dark Knight and skull mountain were walk ons and fun. The sky ride was doing round trips. Anything east of the tea cups and the arcade was closed.

I saw some of the ancillary characters...snow queen...ice princess...whatever...they weren't too much in demand although Porky, Bugs and Daffy were always busy...and the only long line of the day was for Santa.

Oh and I finally tried the Justice League interactive ride. It was fun, but it was hard to score. I didn't do so well. I accidently shot Superman. It didn't matter. We won and were all made honorary members of the Justice League. This was an interesting ride...in some areas there weren't targets and in others...there were too many too fast. I had the lowest score in our vehicle...this was also a walk on.

There were some other things that were interesting...smores pits that people were using to keep warm. some retail shacks by the lake...propane heaters along the way and on the decks of some of the restaurants. Panda Express was serving turkey legs and sides...no Panda. I asked if there was anything from the regular menu and they said that they weren't coming back and would have a different restaurant there next year.

Bottom line...the people who were in the park were HAPPY. No line cutting at all...everyone well-behaved. Very different...slower vibe...VERY family oriented. Were they making money on this? Who knows. They must be or else they wouldn't do it. It must be a bear to set it all up.

Would I go again?...I'm not sure. I was getting cold, so I left by 4:30 to play pinball in Asbury Park. (INDOORS)

I'm glad though that I can cross this off my bucket list.

Thanx for reading this.

I will be doing Great Adventure, Sesame Place and Hersheypark from the 22nd to the 24th...I'm sure it will be much warmer...lol

I had a similar experience on Nitro at HITP a couple of years ago. Whereas I usually sit in the middle or back, this time I decided to sit in the front. Mistake. The guy I was with and I got absolutely blasted by the wind and cold. It was painful. As to Justice League, practice is a huge help. The 1st couple of times I rode it I scored zero! Man, am I a lousy shot. I then managed to score 500, lol, and while I'm still a lousy shot - my all-time high score thus far is only a little over 34,000 compared to 150,000 scored by someone with whom I rode - at least this is going in the right direction. I don't do a lot of flat rides but find this one truly exceptional. Until recently I'd ridden only the one at Great Adventure but a couple of weeks ago i got to ride the original installation at Six Flags Over Texas. And it seems to me after just one ride on the latter that while the 2 installations are certainly very similar, they are not exactly identical.

Living in Cleveland, I've ridden the coasters at CP in some pretty chilly weather. Including MF in the sleet. That was not fun.

While cold spring and fall weather can keep the crowds down, and I prefer visiting parks in hoodie weather, I'm not sure I'd have much interest in straight up Winter Coastering. We've been to the Holiday In The Park at SFOT a few years in a row, but that's in Dallas, we're talking 50's at the worst.

Oh, who am I kidding? If I found myself near a park that was doing this, I'd go in a heartbeat.

I'm strongly considering going to SFMM on Xmas day because I'm working that day, I'll be in LA, and what the heck, they're open and Knotts isn't.

I'm not sure which was worse, Hersheypark in late December in single digit temperatures, or riding water slides in the 40s in Splashin' Safari at SRM 2003.

I was just at Hersheypark last Saturday, and nothing was running, coaster-wise, except for Laff Track. (The rides slated to be open were SDL, Wild Mouse, and Wildcat) Even the S&S towers were closed - it was 36 degrees during the day, and it was weird to see it so quiet, though I don't think riding coasters in that weather could have been particularly enjoyable, I'd have loved to try it once.