Great Adventure 10/11/10

I was originally going to go to the park this past Friday for Frightfest's opening night but at the last minute couldn't make it and knowing how busy the park is on October weekends today seemed like a better day to go. I was a little worried with crowds since it was also Fall Physics Day which was either already over by the time I got to the park at 4:30 (thanks to some traffic on the NJ Turnpike) or never happened with so few buses in the lot.

First ride of the day was going to be Nitro. The line was a little past the stairs with 3 trains running. When I was 2 trains away from riding the ride broke down and the ops put on orange vests and walked out onto the brake run to talk to the people on the trains and when they started to unload the train that had not gone yet and had those people go back into the station, I knew it might be a while and left.

The Skyway had a very long line with 1 side open so I went to Skull Mountain. About a 5 minute wait, I walked around for another ride. Nitro had about 30 people waiting outside the entrance and I saw it was testing and got in line. They opened a few minutes later but only 2 trains were running now. It was a 1 train wait for row 8 but the line quickly got longer. By the time I went back for a 2nd ride the line was almost to the 30 minute sign which took around 20 minutes because someone threw up and they had to clean the train off and cycle it empty. After that the line was right near the 60 minute sign which meant around a 30 minute wait with 2 trains running.

I went to The Dark Knight which had the pre-show door open and the room was about 1/3 full. The 2nd hologram projection still isn't working but the bat signal at the end is working right now (on Family Fall Fun Night it wasn't showing a bat with the light). I got a re-ride and went to Batman which was a 1 train wait.

I stopped at Blackbeard's and walked past the Flashpass center and saw they raised the prices for Frightfest as in past years, a regular flashpass for 1 person is up to $45 which I think is an $8 or $10 increase over the regular season, I forget the prices for multiple people but it looks like they raised those as well.

The Log Flume was closed, so I went to Runaway Mine Train with a 1 train wait and walked over Bizarro which was a 2 train wait. All 3 trains were running but they were stacking and double stacking. Near the area with the cardboard cutout buildings there is at least 1 Chang train is taken apart with pieces all over the area.

Rolling Thunder had just the left side open but had 2 trains running. 1 train wait.

Kingda Ka had all 4 trains running and was a 1 - 2 train wait unless you wanted the front. While waiting for my 3rd ride, they closed the left side of the station and said everyone had to move over to the right side. I had a feeling that was going to happen and that's why I didn't get in line for the front even though it was only a 4 train wait. What I think they should do is instead of closing the other side without notice, they should close the front row lines on that side before shutting down that side completely (while keeping the other rows open) and after everyone in line has ridden, then close that side down. Someone could have been waiting for close to 20 minutes only to be told they had to leave and go back to the other side.

The parachutes were a walk on so I stopped there for 2 rides and finished the night with Superman. The station was completely empty so I walked onto the front row and moved to row 7 for the final train of the night.

I was surprised to see some of the Frightfest scare zones opening at 6:30 with an 8:00 closing as I would have figured they wouldn't bother opening for only 90 minutes. Bone Butcher Territory opened a little earlier and with it not being dark out, the scare actors couldn't sneak up on people.

Crowds were much lower than I was expecting especially with the nice weather (sunny and 80 degrees) and I was expecting to get 12 rides at the most so getting 18 rides was a nice surprise.

Yoshi we only had around 8k in the park yesterday. Sounds like you had a good time though!

Crashmando said:
Yoshi we only had around 8k in the park yesterday. Sounds like you had a good time though!

Doug, do you work at the park? What do you do?

I was there yesterday too. Great day. Played Blackjack on Toro (21 rides :)) Closed down Nitro with six glorious night rides. Bought my SP for 2011. Wasn't able to spring for parking. I'll get that on my next visit, either later this month or first visit in '11...when I go to ride that "NEW" coaster!!!

Mike,
Security and just for Fright Fest and just for fun!

I would have thought it was a little more than 8,000 but maybe I thought that because of where cars were parked with that area with Green Lantern track pieces closed off so I thought there were more people there than there actually were. I just saw pictures from Saturday on another site and it showed Bizarro and El Toro with overflowing queues with Bizarro's line past the lockers. I can't imagine going on a day like that and waiting in 2 1/2 hour lines if not more for 1 ride.

I had never ridden El Toro, so I waited for it. I rode it twice on Sunday, and I'm still so amazed with it, that I'd probably wait in a full queue again at least a couple of times.

Raven-Phile said:
I had never ridden El Toro, so I waited for it. I rode it twice on Sunday, and I'm still so amazed with it, that I'd probably wait in a full queue again at least a couple of times.

I don't keep track of my individual rides, except on a visit-by-visit basis. But I've probably been on Toro 600-700 times. I have only waited in a full queue (all switchbacks full, out to the bull) three times. Even those waits were less than 1.5 hours. And one of those was on single-train ops!

Glad you enjoyed the ride so much. I heard it was bitchin' crowded Sunday, especially late.

Yeah, it was mobbed, but the 4 hours I had there, I had a blast. I hadn't been there in about 6 years, and a lot has changed. I've always been a fan of that place, and Golden Kingdom really solidified that for me.

I need to get there and spend an entire day next season, and really spend some time doing other things, but the mass of people didn't allow for much exploring.

Regardless, we waited around an hour for Ka, which I liked a lot. We waited less than 30 minutes for Nitro at the end of the night, and we got on Toro twice. I only paid $14.99 to get in, so that was a steal.

I have to say that I, like Gonch, no longer dislike Nitro. In fact, I really loved that ride, too.

Regardless, we waited around an hour for Ka, which I liked a lot. We waited less than 30 minutes for Nitro at the end of the night, and we got on Toro twice. I only paid $14.99 to get in, so that was a steal.

I have to say that I, like Gonch, no longer dislike Nitro. In fact, I really loved that ride, too.

KK has moved up to #5 on my depth chart at GA, trailing Toro, Nitro, Bizarro and Batman (invert, not mouse) I like KK better at night, when all you can see of the tower are the red lights. Night rides really enhanced my enjoyment of Bizarro and Nitro on my last two visits. I'd never wait an an hour for KK, unless I was with a date or companion who insisted.

I have Dragster about an hour and a half from me, so maybe it's just the familiarity of it, but Ka stood out as the better ride. I absolutely dug the 3-pulse launch. The last one is an ass-kicker. I didn't realize an 8-10 MPH (give or take) difference was doing to be so noticeable. Add in the bunny hill, and it just seems to make it for me.

Then again, it felt like the first time I rode TTD, and I barely remember anything past the launch. :)

Huh, I felt the exact opposite about Ka v. TTD. :) I couldn't tell that we were 8 mph faster or 36 feet higher, and the hill at the end seemed to be more about slowing the train than providing any sort of G. While the launch felt rougher than Dragster, I was pleased that the Maverick-style restraints didn't bother me. I'm still debating whether I prefer the silent launch over the rumbling racecar sound effect with the light tree.

I really dug the silent launch, too. I also wasn't bothered by the restraints. The other part could have been that Ka is in complete darkness, whereas Dragster is out in the middle of the park.

Ka's restraints were a deal breaker for me. I'd love to ride it in the dark, though.

Tekwardo said:
I'd love to ride it in the dark, though.

That's what she said.

With a bird head on.

Ca-caw! Ca-caw!

Anyone else notice that Ka's brake is kicking in MUCH later in the ride. For the first time, I actually got air over the camelback - previously the brakes grabbed the train before any airtime could have taken hold. I still prefer Dragster's straight ahead launch though...

...as for Nitro.... well, maybe next time. Still not sure where ALL the love comes from - although one ride without the MCBR virtually stopping the train would go a LONG way toward convincing me. ;)

They stuck me on the back right of the train, and in the dark, it was a vulnerable place to be. I was always a firm believer in the "NyQuil" namesake, but I'll be damned. That ride kicks some serious ass. I'll take it over Dimetapp, err, Diamondback any day.

You're the third person I've heard give props to the back of Nitro, but I wasn't that impressed, even though it was still good. The middle and front were incredible for me. It also helped that my first experience on Nitro was in the front at night; that area of the park was fairly dark, and the moon was just a sliver so most of what I saw was stars on a dark blue sky.

I really enjoy that style of ride, though. I thought Diamondback was great the first time I rode it, but now that I've added Apollo's Chariot and Nitro it seems pretty tame. The latter two have elements that catch me by surprise each time, and hell, I'm a sucker for a smooth flight (see also my new-found love for Sky Rocket).

I'll be the fourth. The back of Nitro, on Labor Day, was freaking incredible. As for Ka, I didn't get the shifting gears type launch, I didn't think it did that anymore? It was a powerful, straight launch.

I did get air on the hill, though. Too bad the restraints hurt so bad.