Six Flags G.Adv (4/1/06)

Seeing as it was the opening weekend of Six Flags and I happened to be home, I couldn't resist heading out there for the afternoon. I got my sister and a couple of friends to go with me, all in all it was a great time. We arrived there at about 3:30PM... we were all previous season passholders, so after receiving unactivated season passes in the mail, we all activated them on line and didn't have to wait at the park gates for anything. This was a nice touch...crazy marketers. Another nice new perk for purchasing season passes this early is receiving a free boarding pass to skip the line on any one ride before June 30 of this season. Definitely plan on using that a little later in the year.

Anyway, after we got in, we headed to the Boardwalk area first, which is always our first stop. We picked up our season pass coupon books, and then headed over to Superman. Apparently something was going on so they stopped rides temporarily so we went to Scream Machine instead.

Great American Scream Machine (No Wait)

So yeah, there's not much to say about this ride, other than it's still here. Runs the same as it always has. Considering how old it is, that's definitely a compliment.

Superman (10 minutes)

After I got on line for Superman and saw how short the line was I realized the park must be empty. We walked almost all the way to the staircase leading up to the station before hitting the line. It also made me feel pretty stupid for going so often in the summer when the line for Superman is always over 5 times longer than it was here. Superman's never been one of my favorites, but one of the friends I was with insists that it's his favorite coaster, and it didn't seem to let him down.

After Superman, I begged the rest of my party to go on Kingda Ka, but they insisted that they would go on "later," so I let it slide for now, and we headed instead through the Golden Kingdom over to Frontier Adventures. Couldn't help but notice the impressive construction going on with El Toro. It looks like about half of the track elements had been constructed at this point. Seeing as the coaster isn't even finished yet, I wouldn't expect any opening until July at the earliest, assuming nothing goes wrong.

Runaway Train (5 minutes)

Got to this ride and was surprised that the track was actually repainted burnt orange and magenta. I kinda preferred it brown as it matched the setting and theme more, but I guess I can live with the orange as well. As usual this ride was slow...I wish they'd cut out the trim brakes, they really pull back the ride at all the wrong times.

Medusa (15 minutes)

When we first got on line something must have happened with the ride as no ride went out for about 5 minutes, and the first one out after the delay had no riders. When we did finally get on the ride it was as smooth as ever...but I noticed that this track definitely needs repainting (moreso than Runaway train did, or at least the rust on that ride matched the paint color).

After Medusa we decided that it was time for Kingda Ka.

Kingda Ka (70 minutes)

Didn't expect the line to be this long, but they were only operating one side of the station. Because of the way the ride loads (both trains from one side load at once, then both launch, rather than alternating loading/launch), this made the line a lot longer than it needed to be. The DJ on the line for this ride was actually pretty interesting, and they had a pretty cool trivia contest with the people on line where someone actually "won" and got pulled out of the line with her party to go right into front row seats on Kingda Ka. When we finally got onto the ride we were in the third row. The launch wasn't as wild as I remember it feeling last year, but it still is incredibly exhilirating and really is something that everyone should experience.

Nitro (15 minutes)

For the last ride of the day we headed over to Nitro where we waited about 15 minutes. I love going on Nitro in the dark because of how it goes way out into the less developed areas of forest. Since they have no lights back there, it's really dark to the point where you practically can't see...and that really makes the experience awesome. I highly recommend riding Nitro in the dark if you get a chance, but only after riding at least once during the day. Oh, and also ride the front row during the day some time...the extra 15-20 minute wait for front row is definitely worth it.

As we got off Nitro the fireworks were just beginning so we made our way over to the arena by the lake to check out the end of them. By the time we got there the show was about five minutes from over, but we got to see the best part of it. I didn't really understand why they chose any of the music they had... Ricky Martin's "Cup of Life" didn't really make any sense to me, and the fireworks didn't synchronize with the music at all. Still, fireworks are fireworks, so it was pretty nice.

Another thing, the ride ops and restaurant attendants need to cut back a bit on the "Happy 45th anniversary!" thing. I don't see why 45 is a special number, and it's even weirder when they are telling everyone after every single ride. However, I must say the ride ops were excellent, and some of them were really getting into it. I definitely do look forward to going back to Six Flags at least one more time before the summer madness begins, and I am greatly looking forward to the opening of El Toro.

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The DJ on the line for this ride was actually pretty interesting, and they had a pretty cool trivia contest with the people on line where someone actually "won" and got pulled out of the line with her party to go right into front row seats on Kingda Ka.

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That's a pretty cool idea. :)

If the park was busy and the rides had the same kinds of downtime you are telling us about, I bet it would not be a good time.

We'll see as soon as business picks up.