Six Flags Great Adventure: 5/19/08

After spending the night down by the park, me and two friends got to the park right at opening and headed in. When we first arrived, the first thing we noticed was the lack of people. It was somewhat busy, but definitely not an unmanageable crowd.

First up was El Toro. Wow, this crew was fast. They were not stacking trains at all. We walked right into the station with only a two train wait ahead of us (something that would be a common theme throughout the day). Still an incredible ride and the best wooden I've been on.

Next up we decided to check out Medusa, only to be told it wouldn't open until noon, so we headed over to Kingda Ka. They were running three trains (orange, green, and teal with blue on the transfer). After a 10 minute wait, we were on the orange train. Still a great ride and the first time I actually got some good air time on the second hill. We sat in car 3.

After Ka, we checked out Superman, which had a 90 minute wait, so we decided to come back and headed over to Scream Machine. Very smooth, and didn't get bashed in the head at all. Two trains, not stacking.

Next up we headed over to Nitro. They were running three trains and not stacking either. We walked right onto the second car. While this ride isn't an ejector air Intamin like El Toro, it still provides a fun, smooth ride.

Next was Batman: The Ride. This was the first ride we had to wait for. 15 minute line. Great ride as always.

The next ride was the new for 2008 Dark Knight Coaster. 30 minute wait. Something interesting was when we were waiting outside the preshow room, you got to see people leaving the ride. And the looks on their faces was not good. Everyone was angry. Not just some people, but EVERYONE. Group after group left, not even looking at their pictures. We get into the preshow, which was done really well, then into the second wait for the cars. After 5 minutes, we're on the ride. The ride itself is a fun mouse. However, you are traveling so fast that you can't really get a good look at the theming, and the curves are taken a little too fast, as we left with our shoulders hurting after the ride. Because you travel so fast past the scenery, you are left just confused as to what happened and what the story line was supposed to be. Fun ride? Yes. Worth more than a 15 minute wait? Not unless you have kids with you.

After the Dark Knight, we headed over to Papa John's and got pizza, fries and drinks. The food was some of the better park food that I have had, not just at SFGA, but outside of the Orlando Parks. The service was quick and friendly, and the amount of food you got I felt justified the price as we all were full before finishing.

After lunch, we headed to Medusa, with a 5 minute wait and 2 trains. Medusa was a fun ride as always.

After Medusa, it was off to Superman. When we got there, the line had dwindled down to what looked like a 5 minute wait. While in line, we noticed that they were having trouble with one of the trains. It seemed like they were having trouble with getting it to raise and lower into/from flying position, and when it got into flying position, it looked like there was trouble dispatching. After 20 minutes, we finally got on the ride, and had a great time.

We headed back to El Toro and got in two more rides. The first had a 10 minute wait, the second was a walk on. Then we headed over to Kingda Ka and got in two rides, both walk ons. When we got ready for our third, they had to close for rain, so we headed over to El Toro for another quick ride, then back to Kingda Ka for the last ride of the day. After a 30 minute wait, we were on.

It was an incredible day and we had a blast. Employees were extremely friendly, probably more friendly than SFNE which we were at last Sunday, and ride operations were great. Security was present in every ride line to make sure no one was cutting. The only line jumping problem was on El Toro, when the exit is right next to the line, and people just jump over and go up the stairs. The flash pass person was on top of kicking out people who did this, and later a security guard was there making sure that no one tried it. Overall, this was probably the best I've seen everything from ride operations to employee friendliness at any Six Flags park and I'm definitely looking forward to the summer and will be visiting plenty more times.

See...it can be done. Seems like they (SF) are able to operate efficiently when there are < 15 people in the park. Thanks for sharing Goliathkills, glad you had a great time.