Northeast Trip Day 1 of 3 Six Flags Great Adventure

NORTHEAST TRIP DAY ONE

Six Flags Great Adventure

My cousin and I were in the mood for thrills so we decided to hit all the area parks near his house. We hit Six Flags on Wednesday, June 30th. I decided to do these T.R.’s by rides, with all ratings being out of five stars. This is part 1 of 3 and pics are soon to come. Hope you enjoy, it’s a novel!

Batman and Robin: The Chiller

Lucky for us, we decided to head to this right away when we entered the park; knowing that only Robin was running and that it was no capacity monster. When we got to the ride about 10:05, the line was closed off, but the train was testing. A nice lady came down and said it would be just a sec, and about five minutes later, we were in. The queue on this is very nice, it wouldn’t be too bad waiting in the cool parts and I like the worn-down look. We got to the final line branches and got in the next to last car, back row. We got in the ride and the first thing I noticed was that the train was a lot roomier than Flight of Fear at P.K.D. I had no problems with my feet this time and was not uncomfortable. The ops on this were great and the guy in the booth was going for employee of the year, saying things like “Every row is a great row” and “when your LIM vehicle comes to a stop…” After locking in, I got ready for the launch, and the op counted us down, twice. The train finally launched, a lot more powerfully than I thought. Wow this thing RIPS through the cobra, it must have been hell with the over-the-shoulder harnesses. After that, the barrel row comes up, and it is wild. The ascent and descent up the tower is really neat and flying backwards is insane, especially through the roll. Wow, this coaster is a unique experience. Too bad Batman wasn’t running, its train looked lonely, and the tophat looked fun. Is there a reason for it not running or is it just to save money? Two rides back to back on this, in the middle of the train.

Robin: The Chiller **** ¼

Batman: The Ride

We decided to hit the old bat next, although the board out front said it and Scream Machine weren’t open, which they were. I have only ridden B:TR at Six Flags Over Georgia, and liked that one better. After a short wait, we boarded second row for a good, but not exceptional ride. This one seems to be less intense, but more jerky than SFOG’s. I felt a little head banging in the corks, but nothing too bad. The public seems to love this one though, and the themeing is great in the line.

Batman: The Ride *** ¾

Nitro

After Batman, we decided it was time to hit the big Nitro, which I had heard mixed reviews about. The line was short and we only waited about fifteen minutes for a near-backseat ride. The ops on this were fast, but the dispatcher was annoying and saying all these stupid things. Three trains make this a capacity monster, which is nice. After leaving the station, I enjoyed the view of the park on the lift. At the top, I noticed there is no “B&M dip” before the plunge. Well, nothing against Nitro haters, but the ride rocks. The drop had me out of my seat the whole way, as did the airtime hills. The hammerhead was fun and the helix was intense. The brakes were on a good bit, so the final part wasn’t as good as it could be, but I still got some nice air. We rode Nitro later for our last ride and waited almost an hour. I would say that a paint job in the next few years would be nice, as its kind of faded. The station is also very rusty. I wish the DJ had been on Nitro in his little hut, because the DJ on Superman really helped. Nitro really has its location going for it, because rushing away from the park is a nice touch. Not Superman: Ride of Steel great, but close…

Nitro **** ½

Superman: Ultimate Flight

After Nitro, we decided to continue the B&M trend and brave Superman’s nearly hour line. Many people I know said this is just “OK,” but of course I wasn’t going to skip it. When I went to Six Flags Over Georgia in 2002, I missed the SUF opening by six days, which sucked. At GADV, the ride isn’t really themed, but looks great and I love how the line is under it, and the boards of Superman stuff are neat. The DJ was interesting and playing some ok stuff, overall it did make the line more bearable. Unfortunately, some little girl had to be rushed out to a car that had pulled in the gate, she looked like she had passed out. After about an hour, we got in the train, last row. The restraints weren’t all that bad, more comfortable than Vekoma flying, less comfortable sitting. The flip up was interesting and got everybody screaming before the cool flying lift hill. The drop was pretty short, but fun and then came the best part: the pretzel. I knew it was going to be intense, but WOW it is crazy. In the last row, I felt like I was going to black out. I LOVED IT. After that, the neat spiral and turns were a great flying experience and the final roll was fun. Overall, a short but GREAT ride. It is really fun and I felt it was worth the wait.

Superman **** ¼

Great American Scream Machine

Not closed, we decided to hit this after Superman. The line was very short, only ten minutes, but the ride was only running two out of three trains. The white one was in the shed. We got a second row seat and enjoyed the view on the lift. The drop was nice, except for a jerk half way through and the loops were intense. The jerk up to the break run sucks and the batwing is taken SLOW. The corks are pretty intense and rough and the ride does a little dip before the brakes. Overall, the GASM was an alright ride, but rougher than Anaconda, a better, IMO, Arrow looper. The ride didn’t bang my head, but made my shoulders hurt. Not bad, but needs some TLC and a PAINT JOB!

GASM *** ¼

Medusa

After lunch, it was time for Medusa. Unfortunately, they were running only two trains and the ops were slow, making a five minute wait nearly twenty. The landscape on this one is nice…and the ride is very attractive, but a bit rusty. We rode near the back and had a good ride, but I like Marine World’s Medusa better due to the straight and steeper drop. I do like the cobra on this though and the helix before the corkscrews is nice. Overall, a solid ride.

Medusa ****

After Medusa, we ran back and hit Nitro again, waiting nearly an hour in the blazing sun to ride. It was worth it though, hands up all the way, air time central. After that we decided to head out after a full day.

Comments:

Did S.F. replace the top of GASM’s loop? From the lift of Medusa, it is clear that a piece of an Arrow loop, with faded red paint, is sitting on the ground near a shed. The top of the first loop on GASM looks less faded and a bit different track wise, so maybe it was switched for ride quality?

Great Adventure is a beautiful park. All the pics made it look like concrete city, especially around the Nitro area. In reality it is a nice, shady, and very pretty park.

This Six Flags park was well run. The ticket booth peeps, ride ops, and employees were generally friendly, fast, and gave a **** about their jobs. Thumbs Up!

It is too bad both sides of Chiller don’t run, it’s a great ride.

I really wanted to ride Viper, just out of curiosity, but it was closed. It may have opened after six because employees were in the station, but who knows.

We skipped the one train, one side op on Rolling Thunder for obvious reasons.

What’s coming in 2005...I want to find out J

Overall:

We had a great day at GADV and it was better than I expected, even with lines. Good coasters, landscape, and employees made for a great day.

Six Flags Great Adventure ****

http://community.webshots.com/album/161632715fFyMwO *** Edited 7/10/2004 10:02:34 PM UTC by Willh51***

Nice TR. GASM is supposed to be getting painted for 05, so that'll be nice. BTC is closed due to maintenance; I believe they are waiting for parts.

The red piece of track you spotted was a part of their safari thing. It's kind of become like a Jungle Gym over there. It's been sitting there for a long time obviously, because when I went to the park for my first and only time in June of 2003 it was there, and visible from the Medusa Lift hill. It made me think about the loop too. =o)

Yes. It used to be the top of the loop. You can see the top of the loop has extra bracing between the cross ties that the original (which is now in the safari) does not.

It's been there for many years. *** Edited 7/4/2004 7:19:02 PM UTC by ApolloAndy***

Posted the pics at the top. Hope you like them, please ask if you want to use them though.