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 Me (John) and Gary Getting ready for a day of excitement |
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WHERE: Six FLags Great Adventure,
Jackson, NJ WHEN: Wednesday, June 30, 1999 WHO: John (me) 41 YO web programmer, Gary (friend of 20+ years), 46 YO film producer WEATHER: Cloudy and warm - highs in the upper 70's/lower 80's - no rain (except a few drops just as we were leaving) CROWDS: Light to moderate |
The impetus of this trip came while planning for a trip to Walt Disney World that my family is taking over Thanksgiving this year. I had hoped to be able to take a day out of that trip and visit Universal's Islands of Adventure. During the course of planning I soon realized that the side trip to IOA wasn't realistic, so I abandoned the idea. But I couldn't let go of the idea of doing some really kick-butt coasters. As a consolation, I decided to take a day off from work for a trip to Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGA) - I just couldn't deal with the thought of the crowds at that park on a week-end. When I mentioned my plan to my wife Andie, she suggested I invite Gary, who normally lives outside of San Francisco but is in New York working on a film called "Clouds" that happens to be written & directed by my brother Don. As it was close to Gary's birthday, this seemed ideal. We originally planned to go Monday the 28th, but Gary's schedule and the weather didn't cooperate so we changed it to Wednesday the 30th. Gary had never been to SFGA, though he has been to Paramount's Great America near San Francisco. My last (and only) trip to SFGA was in the summer of 1992 when the Great American Scream Machine was the most recent coaster in the park. My experience with the newest technologies in coasting is very limited. The only coasters more modern than the Scream Machine that I've experienced are Wildcat, a really great woody at Hershey Park, PA, and the Nor'easter, a suspended coaster at Morey's Piers in Wildwood, NJ.
When we were planning on making the trip on Monday we were going to use my car, but it was unavailable for Wednesday so we arranged to borrow my brother's car. I spent Tuesday night at my brother's place in Manhattan, Gary was staying nearby and we arranged to meet in the garage of my brother's building at 7:30. The ride down was uneventful and the traffic was no problem, except we had a hard time finding the park once we got down there. Normally I would blame New Jersey's notoriously confusing hiways and lack of signage, but in this case it was all my fault. At any rate, we ended up getting there a little later than we had hoped but still managed to make it through the gates by about 10:30 - a half hour after park opening. The first thing I noticed as we pulled into the parking lot was that we were able to park right up close to the gate - a good sign. As a side note, Gary forgot to bring his handicap parking placard and I forgot to remind him, but no matter because we parked right by the handicap parking anyway.
The sign at the ticket booth did not list anything as being closed - another good sign. We agreed that the first thing on our agenda was Batman & Robin: The Chiller (B&RTC). We headed over to the Movietown section of the park, but only the Robin side was open. It also appeared that Batman The ride was closed. So much for nothing being closed.
The
themeing of this ride is easily the best of any ride at SFGA.
The ride building is styled at the Gotham Power Station. The story
has something to do with somebody (Mr. Freeze, I assume) chilling
the station - or something like that. At any rate, it makes for
a good excuse to keep the interior part of the queue area refreshingly
air-conditioned. The day we were there didn't get terribly hot,
but I have no doubt that it's quite welcome on those August afternoons.
Interestingly, I mused that themeing the building as a grafitti-laden
and broken down powerhouse made for minimal upkeep - any trashing
of the building just fits right in. For our first ride we had
a wait of about 10 minutes, a large portion of which was waiting
for some girl who left her earrings on and couldn't get them off.
Why do people do this? The ONLY thing they announce over and over
is that if you DO NOT remove earrings you WILL NOT be allowed
to ride. I don't get it. Take your damn earring out BEFORE you
get in the car. Sheesh. Eventually the person loading the train
told her to get off. Finally. Gary was trying to decide whether
to leave his glasses on. I suggested he take them off but he decided
to leave them on. We scoped out position out - first row of the
last car - and off we went.
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B&RTC uses an LIM propulsion system that launches a 5-car train (4 per car) to 70 MPH in less than 4 seconds. The coaster has 2 tracks (Batman is dark blue and Robin is bright red) that have slightly different paths. With Robin you are launched out of the building into a cobra roll and then through a corkscrew (heartline, I believe) and up an incline where it pauses, then goes back through the same sequence backwards. This description - while accurate - does little to evoke the feeling you get from this ride. The closest words I can use to describe at are OH - MY - GOD! This ride is kick-butt throw-your-eyeballs-to-the-back-of-your-head please-don't-let-me-puke awesome! It is 40 seconds of non-stop YIKES! To begin with, that cobra roll is - oh, I don't know - like WAY over 100 feet in the air. And the approach to the cobra both coming and going is STRAIGHT UP. It is, hands down, the biggest single adrenaline rush I've ever felt. I noticed 2 things at the top of the incline before our backward decent. First, Gary had obviously re-thought keeping his glasses on and was trying to hold on to them. Second, I was seeing funny little spots in front of my eyes. The one complaint I have of this ride is that the sheer speed makes your pass through the tight corkscrew rather harsh.
After the ride Gary explained that he was concerned about his glasses during the ride - and joked that he probably did more damage to them by messing with them than would have happened if he left them alone. As a result he felt he didn't really enjoy the ride and wanted to do it again. I was hesitant because, in all honesty, I felt pretty woozy after that first ride. But you know what they say about falling off a horse - so I went for it. I was glad to see that the line had grown a bit and was now about 20 minutes long, so I was able to re-group a bit after that first ride. When we were in the loading area waiting for our turn a girl next to us passed out. I found myself wondering what would have happened had she actually gotten on the ride. As for me, well, all I can say is that I was somewhat better prepared the second time around and really enjoyed the ride. In reality, my positive feeling about the ride is based more on the second ride than the first.
After our flight with Robin we were discussing our next move when I realized that Batman The Ride (BTR) was actually open (It was the entrance to a Batman Theater that I had seen earlier that was closed). Gary can't ride suspended coasters, but the line was short so I decided to do it alone while Gary used the opportunity to make a few phone calls. Very few, as it turned out. Not only was the line short but there was a large group that wanted to ride together so they let me ahead of them. The themeing in BTR is also pretty good, thought not as detailed nor as well executed at B&RTC. There were several pieces of ply board up as if there was work being done, but I'm not sure if this was part of the theme or not. The story appeared to have something to do with you stumbling into the Bat Cave and that have to get you out in a hurry - or something. You are seated in a suspended train with 8 cars that hold 4 across per car. The track has 2 loops, 2 helixes, an outside roll and some really awesome banking turns. This ride, although it doesn't provide the adrenaline rush of B&RTC, is just plain fun. A major blast. I am now officially a BIG fan of suspended coasters.
I met back up with Gary. We were standing right next to Skull Mountain so we decided to check it out. This is a tame little coaster with a track inside and in the dark. The outside, with waterfalls and a plaster skull make it look more interesting than it is. It is, in fact, pretty lame. I know it's not fair to compare a coaster like this to B&RTC or BTR, but even as a tame indoor coaster (using Disney's Space Mountain as the Gold Standard) this thing is pretty lame. One thing about it that was kind of cool; the lift uses rubber tires instead of chains making this an eerily quite ride. Another weird thing. I hadn't eaten anything since a bagel before leaving my brother's house and my stomach was beginning to rebel. I went on these radical knock-your-pants-off coasters with no problem.. I go on this wimpy little Skull Mountain thing and suddenly it's doing flip-flops. Go figure.
We started toward the other end of the park and the other killer coasters. On our way we passed a flat ride called Evolution that intrigued Gary. It's on of those spinning-lifting-flipping-puking sort of contraptions that hold absolutely no appeal to me. I had, however, decided that I wanted to return to the car to get my camera, so we agreed to meet back at the Evolution in 30 minutes.
On my way to the exit, I heard a voice call my name. It was the voice of Medusa. Although Medusa is not a suspended coaster, cars have no floor and it was, therefore, another ride Gary would have to pass on. Therefore, I thought it was prudent to at least see how long the line was. As this was the parks newest ride I knew that it, more than any other, was in danger of having a line. When I got there I could see that the line wasn't too long, but it depended on how quickly it loaded. The trains looked big, but how many trains were on the track? Not one I hope - nope, I saw 2. No, I take it back - there are 3 trains. Great it looked like a fast loader. I got in line, and I figured if I got to the top of the stairs in 5 minutes I would stay. I made it in 2 minutes.
With
it's lime green track and purple supports, Medusa is perhaps the
most beautiful steel coaster I've ever seen. The entrance, right
under the ride's cobra roll, looks particularly cool. My wait
was no more than 10 minutes, and I boarded the second row from
the front. The trains, with 8 rows of 4 seats, have no floor and
no sides. There is a moving floor contraption that comes into
place for loading then disappears for departure that is very cool
and fun to watch. After leaving the boarding platform you go up
the amazingly high lifthill to an equally amazingly steep banking
drop that I would was perhaps my single favorite individual element
of any coaster in the park. I love a good drop. From there you
go through a convoluted mess of green spaghetti that is beyond
comprehension. And since you are in a car with no floor or walls,
you can see it all. There was one particular point where you exit
a loop and see a complete tangled mess of track awaiting you that
had me thinking "Oh my GOD! I'm going through THAT? I'm gonna
DIE!" And then there's the sound this momma makes. This coaster
has a roar unlike anything I've ever heard before. This is one
big mean mother of a coaster, and great fun at that. My stomach,
BTW, gave me no grief.
I had enough time to make it back to meet Gary, but not if I went to get my camera. So I skipped it. We met back up as planned and I confessed my digression. Gary had high praise for Evolution, if you like that sort of thing. Gary now wanted to do another radical coaster, but as my stomach was acting up a bit I suggested something more mild, like Rolling Thunder (RT).
We rode with about a 10 minute wait. RT is a racing woody that looks like it hasn't been painted, and sounds like it hasn't been lubricated, since the day it opened. It is one big, loud, screeching, screaming, lurching, creaking bumpy ride that is really only worthwhile as a bit of nostalgia. It is one of the few coasters I've ever ridden where I sincerely questioned my safety. The cars bump around so much they feel like they're going to leave the track. I also discovered that it wasn't the twisting, turning and looping of the modern coasters that was bothering my empty stomach, but rather the up and down motions. Needless to say, RT was exactly the *wrong* coaster to ride. After we were done I suggested it was time to take a break for lunch.
The main things we wanted out of a place for lunch were air conditioning and a place to sit. I had noticed a BBQ place called "Best of the West" while I was making my way to Medusa that looked like it fit the bill. The line was pretty much nonexistent, but for some reason the server was just standing there. There was a lady in line in front of me obviously waiting for something. The server and I had the following exchange: ME: "What are we waiting for?" HIM: "There are no french fries left" ME: "What if we don't want french fries?" HIM: "You don't want french fries?" ME: "Well, why don't you ask us what we want, then you'll know." I love telling people how to do their job ;-)
Gary ordered a double rack of ribs with baked potato. It also came with corn, and Gary said if he'd known that he would've ordered the single rack. I had a single rack of ribs with - ahem - french fries. Well, by the time they made my order the fries were ready. With a soda and tax mine came to $14 and change. I think Gary's was about $2 more. We sat at a table by the window with a nice view of the park and the log flume ride. The air conditioning was pleasant and the food was actually quite good, so we took our time. Overall, we took about an hour break.
After we were done with lunch I told Gary that I really wanted to get my camera from the car and take some pictures. Gary expressed a desire to do Evolution again, so we decided to split up again. While I was taking some pictures I noticed that the Batman side of B&RTC was now open. Joy and bliss! After meeting up with Gary we would have to come back. I arriving at our designated meeting spot at the designated time. No Gary. I didn't see him in line or on the ride, so I assumed he went to do something else. I realized some of my pictures didn't come out (it's a digital camera) so I went back to re-shoot them. When I returned Gary was there. He told me he decided to do another ride, called the Time Warp, instead. He had high praise for the ride, even though his girth interfered with the automatic device that secures the rider in place (Gary is about 6'5" and, though not huge, a pretty big guy).
I told Gary that Batman was now open. Having just eaten lunch and gone on a spinning ride, he wasn't too keen on the idea. But after I told him there was a bit of a line so there would be plenty of time to digest, he warmed to the idea. The line turned out to be about 45 minutes long and was, by far, the longest line of the day. Instead of a cobra roll, the Batman side has a single twisting inversion. It's simpler than the Robin side, but it goes quite a bit higher. It seemed to Gary and me that the main resulting effect was that the Batman side is faster. This may have been our imagination, but that was the impression that we were both left with. As a result, the corkscrew seemed even moreviolent than on the Robin side, which goes too fast through such a tight corkscrew anyway, if you ask me. Still, a great ride, although if you only have time for one I would recommend the Robin side.
There were still 2 major coasters calling our names: Viper and The Great American Scream Machine. Gary also wanted to do the "Escape from Dino Island" 3D motion simulator ride, something I didn't care much about but was certainly willing to do. We went to that first, but it seemed to me that the line was pretty long and moving slowly, so I suggested we do the 2 coasters first (a higher priority for both of us) and then come back later. Gary agreed. The Great American Scream Machine (GASM) was a short walk away, so we did that.
The
line for GASM was almost non-existent. We were on our train in
less than 5 minutes. GASM is, above all, a looping coaster with
3 vertical loops, a pretzel loop, a corkscrew and a few other
elements. As I wrote earlier, GASM is one of the coasters that
was built the last time I went to SFGA. I remembered enjoying
it a lot, but I figured it might be a bit of a letdown after the
day of hard-core coasting. Boy, was I wrong. This ride was just
plain and simple fun. Loops and banking drops are really my favorite
elements, and the banking drop on this was second only to Medusa,
and it has lots of loops. I've read on the net where a lot of
folks complain of a rough head-banging ride. Well, I don't know
if something has been done to this ride, but it seemed pretty
smooth to me. And as for head banging, yes my head did get banged
around a bit, but not as much as on other rides. Overall, I thought
GASM was a great, fun, exciting ride. Gary and I both agreed enthusiastically
that the coaster was a real winner.
Next up was Viper. With Viper we would have done every major coaster in the park. The line for Viper was actually fairly long at about 15 minutes. With the exception of the Batman coasters, Viper had the nicest themeing, with and old west Mexican town kind of look. I had a feeling I wouldn't like Viper much. It's short, it has no loops and no really high banking drops. Just a lift to an inversion, a couple of banks and a heartline corkscrew. This time I was right. The first thing I noticed was how incredibly uncomfortable the seats were. It's as if they're designed for something other than a human being. In addition to being a short ride that was missing the elements I enjoy most, the ride was extremely violent. Folks accuse GASM of being a head banger, well Viper was much worse in my book. Just simply no fun at all. An endurance. The only saving grace was that it was so short.
After
being bit in the butt (and the neck - maybe that's what they mean
by "it strikes twice" ;-) Gary started making noises
about wanting to see the "Escape from Dino Island" movie
again. We got in line. Again, it wasn't moving too fast, but we
stuck it out for a little while. But then we entered the building
and realized there we were only about 1/5 through the line, so
we bailed again. We started feeling a few drops of rain as we
decided to, once again, go on GASM. That ride, the favorite of
both of us, would be our final ride of the day. We had arrived
at 10:30 and it was now 7:30, so we were there for 9 hours with
a 1 hour lunch break. During that time I managed to ride every
major coaster in the park, and Gary rode everything he was physically
able to ride. Overall, a highly successful day of coasting.
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Some thoughts on the park
As a Disney park enthusiast and veteran (3 trips [4, sort of] to Walt Disney World and 50+ to Disneyland) it's hard to go to any amusement park and not draw comparisons. When you consider the number of guests that visit any Disney park vs. any Six Flags park, and the budgets they would have to work with as a result, this seems hardly fair. It is, still, inevitable. With that in mind, I would say that SFGA is, more than anything, a park of many lost opportunities.
To
begin with, the natural beauty of the location, beside a lake
and among a plethora of trees, is considerable. There are places
in the park where, either by design or by accident, it really
utilizes these surroundings. The log flume (which we didn't go
on but could see well from our lunch table) as an example is elevated
among the trees and ventures out over the lake. The line for this
attraction prohibited us from trying it out, but I'm sure the
view is quite nice.
Many areas also look quite well themed. Movietown, the main entrance plaza and a new Looney Toons themes kids area in particular stood out. Yet everywhere you look there are signs of neglect. It looks very much like, once a new attraction or area is built, it never sees another coat of paint. Unlike Disney parks, where chipped or faded paint stands out as an oddity, at SFGA the new stuff stands out as particularly fresh looking. You can literally guess which attractions and areas are the oldest based on how faded the paint it. Rolling Thunder looked particularly worn out.
Another problem the park has is in it's hub and spoke layout. This layout, used in many Disney parks, is usually quite efficient. The problem with SFGA is that the designers put up a series of fences that prevent guests from venturing from one area of the park to another without leaving the area first. As an example, GASM and Viper are pretty close to each other, yet you have to walk all the way out of the section that has GASM and all the way through the section with Viper to get from one to another. This is exacerbated by the fact that the the headliner attractions tend to be at the ends of the spokes. This design could be a result of poor expansion planning, or it could be by design to force guests to walk through certain areas of the park. I suspect the former.
On
a positive note, SFGA has been heavily promoting "Over 25
new rides" in a "war on lines". It was easy to
tell that the bulk of these rides were in the new Looney Toons
kiddie area and various flat carnival rides scattered throughout
the park. I don't know how much impact these new attractions have
on lines, but I do know 2 things. First, we did not experience
long lines while we were there. Second, the new flat carnival
rides *always* appeared full. Now, we were there on a week-day
and I know for a fact that week-ends are vastely more crowded,
but I strongly suspect that the days of 3 hour lines for the most
popular attractions at SFGA are a thing of the past. On another
positive note, I had always heard that the food was expensive
and awful. Well, the only meal we had was at "Best of the
West". Expensive? Yes. Awful? Absolutely not. In fact, it
was quite good. I don't know if this was luck, a wise choice,
or an indication of changes at the park.
Finally, my thoughts on the coasters - my ranking.
Skull Mountain - I know, I know. It's unfair to rate what is, essentially, and indoor dark kiddie-coaster with all the other coasters we rode, but even by the standards of indoor, tame coasters this thing is lame. A waste of time. Don't do it unless you've got kids with you, and even then there are several tame coasters scattered throughout the park that looked more interesting.
Viper - This coaster needs to be endured, not enjoyed. Rough and violent with highly uncomfortable seats. It's extremely short length would be a detriment except you're so glad to get off the thing.
Rolling Thunder - The park's only woody disappoints. It may have the potential to be a great ride if they would bother to maintain it.
Batman & Robin: The Chiller , Batman side - OK, now we're talking. A truly great knock your socks off coaster. Pure adrenaline. The only complaint is that it goes through a the very tight corkscrew at an uncomfortably high speed.
Batman & Robin: The Chiller , Robin side - Beats out the Batman side because it's main element is more fun and it (appears to) take the corkscrew at a slightly lower speed. If you can only do one side, do Robin.
Medusa - A truly great coaster. It's unique seating arrangement along with an awesome banking drop off the lifthill make it all the more a winner. No complaints on this one.
Batman: The Ride (tie) - A really really fun coaster. I love suspended coasters and this one uses the suspended elements to great effect. Could be longer, but who's complaining?
Great American Scream Machine (tie) - Just a joy from beginning to end. Lots & lots of loops and a great banking drop off the lifthill. It's not the newest, but it's still the most fun for me.
