Six Flags Great Adventure: 6/9/08

I was all determined to go on Kingda Ka during my whole hour and a half drive, but I took one look at that tower and said, "oh HELL no!" Maybe later this summer after I've done Cedar Point's Millenium Force and live to tell the tale.

Anyway, so I got to Six Flags and paid the extra money to get premium parking. I'm SO glad I did that because while I felt I was being cornholed by the prices, the heat at 10:30 was already at a steaming 92 degrees. I knew I'd be miserable later, so the spot practically right next to the entrance was a great idea.

Six Flags states that anyone who runs to rides will be ejected from the park without a refund. Then they gather everyone in a tight space at the front of the park and let em all sprint to their favorite rides. This was done kind of poorly. Why don't they just let everyone gather at the entrance and pay for their tickets and enter one at a time like normal parks do? *sigh* I didn't like that, but it's probably one of only two complaints about the park, so I'll deal with it.

I decided to only get on rides I had never been on to start with, so I headed straight for Superman. Glad I did. I waited for nearly an hour with two trains running for the front car. The loading times for this ride were ridiculously slow. By the time I got into my seat, I was thinking, "Dude, I weigh almost 200 pounds. If this harness goes, I'm screwed." Not a fun thought. I thought about this the entire time I was on that ride, so I was pretty scared. Still, this ride was...well, underwhelming would be kind. The pretzel roll was awesome, but the drop sucked for speed. I was super impressed (no pun intended) by the smoothness of the ride, but I wouldn't ever do it again unless it was a walkon. A waste of an hour, said I. Plus, I discovered that you had to pay a dollar everytime you rode a coaster because they won't let you bring bags or anything to the platform. It is nice to speed up the loading times, but what a ripoff....this is my other complaint because I feel like Six Flags gouges you enough with the admission prices and parking prices. Do they really need to continue to take your money a dollar at a time throughout the day?

Anyway, my next stop was El Toro. I took one look at that drop, and I thought ooohhhhmmmmiiiiiiggggggoooooodddddd, I'm gonna die on this ride. I don't like wooden coasters, but everyone and their mother told me this ride was not a typical woodie and that it was smooth and amazing. I didn't believe the hype. I should have. I walked on to El Toro and didn't even wait at the station, and before I knew it, we were on our way to our collective demise. We crested the hill, rounded the corner, and we were OFF!!! I couldn't even scream because I was so shocked by the force of the plummet. It made Fahrenheit's 97 degrees look like a kiddie coaster. I cannot say enough about the intensity or the smoothness of this coaster. There are not enough words to praise it. I. LOVE. THIS. RIDE. I rode it again immediately with a one-train wait for the back seat, and my opinion of the coaster shot up another 1000 notches. Airtime galore, out-of-control speed, no lulls, no braking, no mercy.

I decided to head over to Medusa next, but first I went on the mine coaster. That thing hurt so bad and sucked so much that I will never, EVER do it again. Absolutely pointlessly brutal junior coaster that should be immediately scrapped and melted. Grrrr mine coaster. I guess that's what I get for being a credit whore.

Medusa was boring after El Toro. I was not impressed, although it made Hydra's flaws apparent. I didn't understand what everyone was talking about when they dissed Hydra. Hydra sucks. Medusa, while a great big yawn, had a wonderful, sweeping layout, and the back half of the coaster is a twisted mess of track that I just loved. I wish I would have ridden it before El Toro. Maybe I could have appreciated it more then. Since Medusa only opened at twelve though, I was able to get on twice as a walk on, which was nice.

Next up was Skull Mountain. I waited for one train for the front car. Again, glad I didn't wait longer, or I would have been pissed. However, this was one of the few coasters that had cubby holes at the station, so I saved a buck. I felt kind of sorry for Skull Mountain. It had a great outside, fantastic theming throughout the cue, but the actual ride was a very poor, very short Space Mountain wannabe. It has so much potential, but it just doesn't deliver. Still, it was a nice, relaxing break from the biggies I had hit in quick succession.

Speaking of big coasters, next was Nitro. The ride attendant said the wait was 45 minutes to an hour, but he was full of crap. Had there not been a girl nearly passed out by the exit of the station, I would have only waited about 15 minutes for a second seat ride. I DID have an adrenaline rush before I ever got on the ride because another girl waiting to ride actually DID pass out, and as a nurse, I exited my place in line to try and help her. She was out cold though and there was nothing I could do except make sure she still was breathing and had a pulse and that they were dabbing water on her pulse points. They let me back in line to my spot (I had cleared it with everyone around me that it was okay to leave my spot to help the girl), and then a front row seat was empty, and I was allowed to skip to the front. Nitro was a thing of beauty. The landscaping was not very pretty, per se, but I...I don't even know how to word it. Nitro was open and daring and much more like flying than Superman could ever hope to be. I can't believe I was ever scared of this ride. I love it now though. Then, out of curiosity, I went on Batman the Ride. I liked it when it was first introduced to the park, but I didn't think it was any better than Talon or Great Bear, and pretty much thought it was overhyped. I wanted a second opinion to see how B&M did this ride compared to the other two I've ridden, and I've gotta say, Batman is my favorite of the three (although Talon still sports the best drop).

I tried to head back to El Toro, but people were stuck on the lift hill. I went to Scream Machine and it was closed because it got stuck earlier in the day. Superman was an hour plus. I was told El Toro would probably be down all night, but I decided to hover. Hovering once again paid off, as I was once again a walkon to the first train re-opened.

And then it happened. In blistering, 100+ degree heat, I got stuck on El Toro's lift hill. Previously I had joked with the guys behind me that people had gotten stuck earlier and that I hoped we weren't going to have a repeat. As the lift slowed to a sudden halt, the group of guys I had spoken to all screamed, "AW, YA JINXED US!!!!" One was afraid of sitting there that high up, and he was practically crying. It was NOT one of my finer moments either, and when the chain jerked back in to action, I screamed like a baby. I thought we were going to roll backwards from that high up, and I didn't like it one bit (even though I knew there were anti-rollbacks obviously in place, that's not something I wish to repeat any time soon). I enjoyed my ride on Toro as greatly as before, but I decided to go back to Nitro and see what was going on. Was told an hour wait. Waited 10 minutes tops for front car. Went back around, walked ON to the front car. Went back around again, walked on to the second to last car (a group of four guys did a sneaky double ride on the back car, so I was forced to move up a seat).

I opted out of The Dark Knight due to the crap reviews and the RIDICULOUS line throughout the day. Maybe next time.

Then, to end my day, I went back to El Toro yet AGAIN, and I rode it two more times. All in all, the trip was great except for the heat, but I think the heat may have kept the crowds at bay.

Rides:

Superman 1
El Toro 5
Nitro 4
Batman the Ride 1
Medusa 2
Stupid Mine Coaster 1
Skull Mountain 1 *** Edited 6/10/2008 1:16:57 AM UTC by bunky666*** *** Edited 6/10/2008 11:24:37 PM UTC by bunky666***

The lockers are completely not neccessary. They really don't speed up loading at all. Medusa has them and they were double stacking yesterday with 3 trains. And you saw how slow Superman loads with the lockers. Plus with them not allowing even shoes or flip flops to be left on the side, people who leave them have to get out of their seats to put them back on which slows down loading more.

Sounds like the person saying Nitro was an hour was just as inaccurate as the wait time signs. It's a 10 minute wait from the 30 minute sign with 3 trains running.

Next time you go to the park, ride Skull Mountain in the last row. You can incredible air time on the first drop in the last row.

Were they making people walk around at Nitro? Usually if the station isn't full, with empty rows they'll let you re-ride as long as you move to an empty row.

Yeah, they were making everyone walk around. In that heat. Mean, Six Flags, just mean! :) You know, I debated getting on the last car of Skull Mountain, but that was the one with the wait (at least five trains). I'm going again in late June or early July, so I'll try it again. If I ever get off of El Toro. Hehehehehe...