SFGAdv. Fright Fest, Rain, and Ski Goggles
Associated parks:
Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, New Jersey, USA
So I knew I was going to have a rough week at school, so I planned all week to blow off some steam on Fri. night at GAdv. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating. It rained all day. Sometimes a little lighter and sometimes heavier. I decided to go anyway and just see if I could get a trip or two on any coaster. I wasn't going to let the rain get in the way of fun, so I decided to bring some ski goggles just in case the rain in the face got a little out of hand. The park was scheduled to be open until 11. So I arrived at the park just after six, to (of course) a totally deserted parking lot and a totally deserted park. No one was taking $ for parking (I don't know if they do on Fri. nights) which was nice, because it was going to be my only expense of the night.
Didn't look like too much was running, so I bought my '03 season pass. Heard the Chiller (in pretty rapid succession: more later) so I decided to head over there. It didn't look like there was any movement on Nitro, so I went into Chiller. Four people were in the train in car two, so I took 1-1. Ouch! Rain + speed = hurt. The ops were letting re-rides, but I wasn't about to do that again. Asked one of the folks if Nitro was running and apparently it was. Hooray.
Ran over there through pouring rain just as a train was dispatching (obviously single train op). Two people in line for front, rest of the station empty. I figured that if I took back, I'd be able to re-ride a bunch of times, so I took back right. About 10 people in the train. A totally incredible ride. I don't know what was different: maybe the darkness, maybe the rain, maybe the fact that I was trying to keep my hood on the whole time, but that drop felt like MF's and every pop of air felt like a 200' hill. I even felt a little queasy from all the air.
I stayed in back right for ride #2 and put my glasses away and my hood down. Bad move. I think being shot in the face repeatedly with a nail gun is a pretty good description of that ride. Not much fun at all.
Unfortunately, as we pulled in, the ops said the park was going to close at 7(!) due to the lack of guests. Oh well. So I finally decided to utilize the ski goggle. I plopped them over my face (everyone else was somewhat amused) and up we went. This was one of the best rides I've taken on Nitro. It was really fast, pitch black (most of the lights in the park were out at this point) and the rain wasn't hurting me. It actually added to the thrill considering it wasn't destroying my face this time around. The helix was powerful, the air was intense and the ride was all around great. I didn't feel like I was getting as much air as I did on my first trip of the night, but I felt a lot more free to look around and move around. If you're planning on spending a rainy day riding, and don't enjoy the stinging rain in your face, I definitely recommend a pair of ski goggles.
So all in all, a little disappointing, but considering it didn't cost me anything but gas it was worth it. Hopefully next week will be better.
-----------------
A rollercoaster? What's that?
*** This post was edited by ApolloAndy on 10/12/2002. ***
You must be logged in to post
