Six Flags Great Adventure (4/18/04)

I also love Nitro. And I still go by the Batmobile-less spot and say to my friends "Hey! Someone stole the Batmobile!" Whenever we pass it. I do miss it. Hope the new stunt show is good.

As for the Superman theming, it was already falling apart when I went last July. All of the plastic tops were gone (They really should have known better than that!) and the fences looked like they were going to be going soon enough. They can spot ine jumpers pretty easily this way, though, so it's a give and take.

Glad to hear the foutnain is back. Can't wait to go again!

When we were in line, I couldn't understand why there were no caps on the tops of the posts. Then, when we exited the ride, I saw a few with caps on them, so I knew that the ones in line were all removed. I wonder how many are sitting in the grass?

Excellent descroptions of Nitro! You really brought out the feeling I get on the coaster - although, I will admit I get thrown around more than you seem to.

There's not one hill that doesn't produce a moderate to strong float on the entire ride, and there's little things I love about it, too...like sitting on the right side of the train in the back and getting that little "pop" of air going into the block brakes.

Or the very ending pop of air as you head into the final brakes and then thrown forward as the brakes apply (this moment was much stornger before they added the magnetic brakes at the end).

Not to mention, the setting is *gorgeous*. I can't think of another coaster setting I like so much, SRoS SFNE, MF, or Magnum included. I absolutely love how Nitro feels like it's going off into nothingness - it takes you completely away from the park proper and drags you close to a lake (river?) and then carries you back home. Can't get enough of that, and like you said, especially at night!

Thanks for the fun TR!

Joe, can't wait for Nitro in June!

So many people rave about Nitro but I must have caught it on a really, really bad day. I found it slow, boring, and over-engineered to the point of having mild, floaty airtime instead of the extreme, Intamin-esque airtime found on the Supermen trio that I love so much. I took one ride in front, one in back, and then moved on, unimpressed.

Apollo, on the other hand, was phenomenal even with the trims.

Oh, and Rob...nice TR but man was it long. That's 10 mins of my life I'll never have back ;)

Uh, dude it does have mild floaty airtime, that's what we're all raving about (I believe?). You didn't catch it on a bad day, just floaty airtime apparently isn't your "bag".

Ejector vs. Floating - the great airtime debate ... me? I'm a staunch floater (wow that just sounds bad on so many levels ... )

Damn, Moosh...I was just starting to like you too. ;)

Moosh-

Can you explain to me a better way to have spent those 10 minutes? ;)

Uh oh...I see an M:TR joke coming...

LOL Dave...no jokes coming from me.

Brett - when I say "mild, floaty airtime" I'm talking about VERY MILD, not-even-rising-out-of-the-seat, barely there negative-g's. The ride was totally boring, and I wasn't the only one in the group to comment about it. It was in October..it was a little chilly...I probably just hit it on a bad day.

Ahem, I believe you did. Try riding Superman in cool weather and you will be equally unimpressed. And Nitro does have ejector air on the hill before the S-curve. Maybe I hit it on a good day.....the 30 or so times I've been there since it's opening.

I have ridden SFA's Superman and SFNE's Superman in cold conditions and the airtime was still ejector-quality.

I got to agree with Moosh. I've ridden Nitro at least once on each of 4 trips to SFGAdv in 2002 and 2003. Not a ton of experience, but a nice cross selection of conditions.

I've never felt anything that even hinted at being "ejector" air on the ride and the floater air is (like Moosh said) very weak feeling - like going quickly over a dip in the road in your car. You get a little 'tickly' feeling in your stomach.

Unlike Moosh however - everyone I've ever ridden it with has raved about it. Go figure.

Like I've said before, there are no "holy sh**" moments on Nitro. The closest thing you'll get to any variation of ejector air is sitting in the very last row and getting yanked down the first drop. The rest of the ride is floaters... long, gentle floaters.

I don't believe that Nitro is as dependent on weather as some other coasters. In fact, I am willing to bet that cold weather makes Nitro go faster, because last Sunday (which happened to be the coldest day I've ever spent on Nitro), I could hear the two trims before and after the third hill grabbing. There was no visible change in speed, but they must have been doing something because I have always noticed the trims but never heard them before.

Its a case of different strokes for different folks... some people love what Nitro does, while others don't think that Nitro doesn't do much of anything at all. I respect that opinion, as its all about what makes you enjoy steel coasters.

Agreed, and I wouldn't fault anyone for loving Nitro or claiming it's their #1. I feel the same about that Shivering Timbers, which I was also underwhelmed by.

Maybe you just have a thing against pure out-and-backs? ;)

I can see where you'd get that idea, but I don't ;)

As I recall, Moosh rode Timber Terror many MANY times during CAC...not as many as I did, of course, but a LOT...;)

Back to the idea of "pure out-n-back pleasure", and its relationship to GAdv, I was kinda surprised at how much I was reminded of Rotting Timbers (Roiling Chunder?) when riding Lake Winnie's Cannonball...of course, there's a HUGE difference in terms of the level of CARE provided....someone at Lake Winnie *loves* their out-n-back. I'm willing to wager that NO ONE at GAdv feels "personally attached" to RT....or they'd've cut the cord a LONG time ago...;)

Rob, I think there are two holy SH** moments...and they're both on those amazing left handed turns (2nd hill and...6th "hill?"). Being 189ft up and dumped out is pretty holy SH** for me! ;)

Joe "Yes please keep talking about Nitro...I'm lovin' it. ;)" C.

I was on Nitro in this cold, stinging light rain...and at 80 mph, that rain doesn't feel quite light...it felt like hail hitting my body ;)

If I had on goggles, then I would have been able to keep my eyes open and completely enjoyed the ride...even with the rain though, I still enjoyed the ride immensely. I'm not sure if I've ever done Nitro at night, I might have once...I know Medusa is absolutely awesome at night, I can imagine Nitro is just as good or better :)

At night, Nitro just kinda wanders off into the darkness. No lights, no sounds (other than the coaster and the wind)... kinda Knoebels-ish.

I was just kidding, Moosh, I know you like them out-and-backs ;)

'gator: I dunno... when I was at Lake Winnie last year, I was FAR from thinking about Rotting Lumber! You're right though... it obvious that they care for that ride- what an awesome coaster. Heck, what an awesome park in general! *** Edited 4/23/2004 1:21:59 PM UTC by Rob Ascough***