Holiday World vs. Great Adventure

I think that the answer needs to be addressed pronto so we can get a juicy comeback.

I've been to, and had a nice time at both parks. I think you could have a blast with whichever you chose. That said, I would encourage you to go to Holiday World. It really is a unique experience and one that any coaster enthusiast would treasure, except perhaps people who are stuck really hard on wanting to maximize coaster count. The Voyage has to be ridden to be believed. Raven is pure fun. But the biggest plus of Holiday World, for me, is simply how charming it is. You just don't find enough parks like this anymore -- ones with their own unique atmosphere and quirkiness.

Great Adventure has some good, arguably great, roller coasters. (I'm a wood enthusiast so it's a bit hard for me to judge the steels objectively... but by anyone's standards Kingda Ka is a heck of an experience and Nitro is tons of fun. El Toro is among the most intense rides I've been on.) It can also be just a nice park and surprisingly pretty in spots. On crowded days it can be a little wearying, but can't everywhere? On a rainy day it seems to clear out like you wouldn't believe! I once walked on to a front row seat on Kingda Ka!

The down side of Holiday World is that it tends to close fairly early and there is nothing, but nothing, to do around that area once it's closed. (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong -- it's been a few years since I was there last.) Even movie theaters seem to close really early (by my city's standards) in that neck of the woods. This is also the up side to Great Adventure. There is a lot of stuff you could visit in the vicinity quite easily, and good restaurants too. (I'll recommend the Silverball Museum in Asbury Park if you have even a passing interest in pinball.)

Still, as others have noted, there are other parks in the broad vicinity of Holiday World that you could visit -- Kentucky Kingdom is the most obvious, or head a bit further along the road and get Kings Island and Coney Island and, calendar willing, Strickers Grove. In fact that's one of my planned summer trips.

Have fun!

Edited to add: I just noticed you said you are considering a Holiwood Nights trip. That is a great idea and solves the "HW closes early" problem. It's a very nice event. I don't usually do coaster events but I've done that one and had no regrets.

New York City is a little over an hour drive from Jackson, NJ. That's what my wife and I did when we went and we had a great time at both the park and the Big Apple. I will say that NYC is NOT a one-day stop.

If you are doing Holiday World, fly into Louisville. Kentucky Kingdom is across the street from the airport. Holiday World is a short drive from there. Kings Island is an excellent add on.

kpjb said:

Raven Maven said:

If I may ask ... how soon do you have to decide?

So... is everyone ignoring this comment?

Guy says he's going in 2015, Paula asks how long he has to decide.

I infer a big announcement coming for a 2015 attraction that she believes will make him choose Holiday World.

My radar picked up on that IMMEDIATELY, but I got distracted and didn't get to make a comment. Curiosity officially tweaked.

Giraffica's station house is supposed to remain standing....jus' sayin'.

Hippopotamica?

"You were not hired for your brains, you hippopotamic land mass!"

Carousel Rabbit, I voted up your post because of the Silverball plug. Love that place!

kpjb said:

Raven Maven said:

If I may ask ... how soon do you have to decide?

So... is everyone ignoring this comment?

Guy says he's going in 2015, Paula asks how long he has to decide.

I infer a big announcement coming for a 2015 attraction that she believes will make him choose Holiday World.

My thoughts exactly. Anyone think this may drop during the May 15 "event"? She said "One More Thing: You won’t want to miss this walk in the woods. So don’t."

I have been to both in the last 3 years and I would say Holiday World hands down! Six Flags is a great park and every coastie should go there at least once, but HW is special.

The place is very clean, the staff is very nice and helpful, they have free pop, free sunscreen, great food reasonably priced (the Thanksgiving dinner is fantastic), you can ride in a Turkey Tilt-a-Whirl, go on turkey shoot dark ride, walk around Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Forth of July themed areas, see shows, and go to the best water park in the world!

Oh and did I forget three of the best wooden coasters you will ever ride. The Voyage is incredible, it is a big beastly wooden coaster that deserves all the accolades it gets. When other coasters are slowing down in the second half the Voyage gets faster and meaner, and comes in the station hot. Just the experience of a triple down in the dark (on a sunny day) is incredible yet the Voyage has so much more. The Raven is an old fashioned FUN coaster with many great elements and the Legend with its Sleepy Hollow vibe is a great too!

The area around the park is a hoot too. Christmas themeing in stores all year long. A great campground. A cemetery named Santa Claus and if its really hot out seeing the cows standing in a pond is very funny.

Coaster events at HW are very cool, they treat us very well. This year you could go to check out new Kentucky Kingdom (about an hour away) and Kings Island is not that far away either. It is a great area with an amazing fun park in Holiday World.

Sorry this is so long... I guess I am a true HW Fanboy.