Great Adventure, 11/25/18

I visited Great Adventure on Sunday for my 4th visit of the year. Holiday in the Park is one of my favorite times of the year to visit. Crowds usually are less than during the rest of the year, with the kiddie rides and family ride lines sometimes having full queues while the coasters aren't as crowded.

I got to the park around 2:00 and processed my 2019 season pass and went to Justice League first. This ride still amazes me with well done it is and almost feels like a ride that is good enough to be in the Orlando parks. There are new targets to discover and always ways to try to improve your high score. I got around 150,000 and noticed the screen stated it was a top 2% or 3% score. I think the scores might have reset since in May I got over 200,000 and that was a top 5% score.

Nitro was the first coaster of the day and was only a 1 train wait. There isn't much better than being able to ride a coaster as great as Nitro late in the year when a few years ago when it would have been just few weeks into the off season.The B and C train were running with the C train slightly smoother.

I tried to ride Justice League again. The line was just out of the building and I was expecting around 15 minutes to get to the single rider line entrance based on past trips. After the line moving was normally, it almost stopped about 5 minutes in line. With so many people going from the show that had just ended to the ride, the Flash Pass line was past the statues and almost outside which caused the regular line to barely move. Flash Pass is not sold during Holiday in the Park but anyone who has the season Flash Pass can get a wristband to go up the exit or Flash Pass entrance. I guess because anyone with Flash Pass not needing to reserve a ride time with the wrist bands (like Cedar Fair parks), so many people went to ride at the same time.

I went back to Nitro for another ride and Skull Mountain. After those rides and Batman, I noticed during my 3rd time in line for Nitro the park was starting to get more crowded. The line went from being on the stairs at Nitro to past where the 30 minute sign was in just a few minutes. Batman is fun but has become a once a trip ride for me because of how forceful it is. Skull Mountain no longer has the red string lights all over the structure like in past years and just has red spotlights on it.

Sky Screamer was closed and was cycling empty when I got near the entrance, it opened a few minutes later. I was going to try to ride again at night to see the park lit up but it broke down again later in the day and never reopened.

I stopped at Skull Mountain and The Dark Knight and then went to the Skyway. During Holiday In The Park, it is a round trip only ride since Frontier Adventures is closed. It is strange going from the open part of the park to the closed section since the lights are still on but extremely quiet. The views of the park are incredible with all the different sections you travel above covered in lights.

After riding the Skyway, I went to walk around the rest of the park. The Boardwalk looks great with all the light up decorations such as giant light up ornaments you can walk through and stacks of light up presents. Green Lantern had no wait for a middle row. I know the ride isn't popular with a lot of enthusiasts but I still ride the coaster most visits to the park. I do miss Scream Machine though.

Justice League had a more reasonable wait later in the day this time as less people were going to rides and mostly walking around the park. The Dark Knight was loading the cars differently than normal. Instead of the cars moving and 1 car loading at time, 4 cars were stopped in the station and all 4 were loaded at once. I finished the trip with another ride at Nitro and Skull Mountain.

Holiday In The Park was excellent as always. Even without the entire park open, there is a lot to see and plenty of rides and coasters to choose from.