I can’t say that I’ve ever experienced riding a coaster with the ground below covered in snow. Not until Monday, that is. On our most recent visit to Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv), Sam and I went up to experience Holiday in the Park and enable her all-new Six Flags membership. She’s been thinking about getting herself one for weeks and she finally did. That gives her two now, with the other being to Hersheypark.
Superman Ultimate Flight
1 Ride
We weren’t sure if Superman Ultimate Flight was open when we made our way back to the ride. During the walk to the ride, we never saw a single train depart – with or without riders. Maybe it was closed? Maybe no one had walked back to it? The park had just opened, so we were going to find out.
The ride was open. One couple managed to beat us to the ride since we stopped at the bathrooms. They had a front row ride all alone while I spent a few minutes taking photos. I loved how the coasters looked with the white snow-covered ground. You can see some of these photos on the site’s Instagram account (@WeWereInverted_IG).
Since we lagged behind a bit, we got the second ride of the day, also in the front row. It’s been a while since I had a front row ride on Superman Ultimate Flight, so that was pretty cool. I will tell you what, though. Riding this with all the ground below covered in snow made the ride slightly more disorienting. There was nothing for your eyes to fixate upon other than white.
Batman the Ride
3 Rides
We ended up going to Batman the Ride as our second ride of the day. Sam and I didn’t really care if we did Green Lantern or not. We had some special plans for the day, which you will read about in the Nitro section below. First, however, a ride on Batman the Ride was requested by Sam.
While some of you might find this layout “boring and mediocre” since it’s been around since the 1990’s, I have always appreciated the Batman the Ride layout. This clone at SFGAdv was my first experience with one, so it also holds a special place in my heart. I always make sure this gets at least one ride on it during my visits. With how slow it was Monday, however, we gave it three.
Once again, the snow covered ground looked amazing underneath this compact invert. I didn’t get the same disorienting feeling as I did with Superman. That’s probably because I wasn’t face down to the ground. Honestly, I found myself looking at the track above me since we had front row seats on two of the three rides.
Nitro
10 Rides in a Row
While our day at SFGAdv kicked off with front row rides on Superman and Batman, when we walked up the staircase to ride Nitro for the first time, we were assigned row four. It would be our home on Nitro for four consecutive rides. And no, we weren’t done at four rides, but thankfully, after those four rides, we were able to move around the train a bit.
During the ride to the park on Monday, Sam and I came up with the idea to see if we could ride Nitro 10 times in a row before moving onto another ride. When I ran the idea by Sam, her response was, “Hell yeah.”
Thankfully, the ride team on Nitro was kind enough to allow re-rides. This let us and a few other groups nab back-to-back rides easily without having to walk down, around, and back up to the station again. The only time we actually left the station during our first 10 rides was so Sam and I could take a photo of her on the exit ramp. Then again, when they asked everyone to exit so they can clean the trains. All the rest of our rides were us just us re-riding over and over since all nine rows never filled up.
After our row four rides, we were able to sit in the back row to finish up our 10 consecutive rides. The difference in the airtime was massive. During all our rides we left our hands lay on the clamshell restraints. They floated up and down with the airtime. In the fourth row, they floated up in front of us and then fell back to the restraint. In the back row, our arms went vertical, with our hands high above of our heads, and then slammed back down. It is truly amazing riding Nitro in the ninth row.
2 More to End the Night
Once we did our 10 rides in a row, we moved on to ride some other coasters. We did two more rounds before leaving the park to end up with the 12 count. One of those last two rides came in the front row, which was so much colder than any of the other rides we had. Wow! There was nothing to deflect the wind from us on that ride. The view was amazing though. Nothing but unobstructed darkness, bare trees, lake, and snow down below.
All night long the operating staff on Nitro was so friendly to riders and guests. We had a chance to talk with them here and there throughout the night while boarding and re-boarding. They did a wonderful job, especially letting all of us enjoy this coaster to the fullest. I know other guests seemed just as happy as we did to be able to get re-ride. Thanks to Monday night’s Nitro staff. I hope you all have a great holiday. Thanks for making one of our final amusement park trips of 2020 so enjoyable.
Dark Knight
1 Ride
When I visited SFGAdv for the first day of Holiday in the Park, Dark Knight was not running. I just figured they had closed it for the season. Well, it was up Monday, so Sam and I decided to give it a ride.
Naturally, this is one of our least favorite coasters at the park. I guess you could say it’s well themed for a Wild Mouse coaster, but it has never done much of anything for me. Even though Batman & Robin: The Chiller was highly problematic for the park, when Dark Knight replaced it, I felt rather let down. As for Sam, who never rode The Chiller, she just isn’t a fan of it either.
This year the ride has run with garage doors open with large fans blowing through the openings. I’m fairly certain this is for air flow during the pandemic, but it does cheapen the ride during the day time. This visit, however, was our first of the season where it got truly dark outside. Monday was Sam’s first time getting to ride Dark Knight in the dark. While it didn’t rocket up the list of her favorite coasters or anything, she did say it is better when it runs how it’s intended. Now if they could get the timing of the horn at the end of the ride to match up with the headlight again, that would be great. It’s been way off all season, going off well after the light goes out.
Harley Quinn Crazy Train
1 Ride
After taking a break to eat and getting some food, Sam and I decided to head back toward Batman and Nitro. We knew that along the way we could make some stops at two of the park’s tamer coasters in Harley Quinn Crazy train and Skull Mountain. We decided not to jump on Joker, having just ate. Plus, S&S 4D Freespins are take it or leave it for the both of us.
Sam and I both crammed into one car for Harley Quinn. As I looked around from the station, waiting to depart, I knew I wanted to get a photo of this coaster from its exit. The background lighting was so amazing, with the blue going up and down the trees. Add in the red track and snow on the ground, I thought it would make for a great night shot. After our two laps, I shot the photo above and was impressed.
Skull Mountain
1 Ride
Another night shot I managed to get was of the illuminated Skull Mountain. Sam and I enjoy this ride. Not because it’s the greatest or anything. We just do, for some odd reason. True, it could use a lot more theming on the inside to match the outside, but we always jump on it nonetheless.
Other than a bunch of Taki’s ads that I never noticed in prior visits (bringing the total count to 3 million Taki’s ads in the loading station), I told Sam that I feel like Skull Mountain used to have a soundtrack that used to play during the ride. Am I wrong here? Mandela effect, perhaps? If someone else remembers this, please let me know. I just feel like I recall some metal sounding music with a monster groan playing over it from time to time.
Justice League Battle for Metropolis
1 Ride
Both Sam and I really enjoy the Justice League Battle for Metropolis ride at SFGAdv. The first time I experienced one of these was at Six Flags Over Texas (SFOT) prior to SFGAdv installing theirs. I enjoyed that one, so I was glad that one was installed at a Six Flags park much closer to me here on the East Coast.
Maybe one day, after a few more rides on Battle for Metropolis Sam will be able to beat my score on the ride. It hasn’t happened yet. Yup Sam, I’m talking trash!
Cyborg
1 Ride (Patrick)
When we arrived at the park, Sam saw Cyborg do a test cycle. I was stunned. I have never seen this ride open in the two seasons that it’s been at the park. As a matter of fact, a ride operator on Nitro said the park had just opened it and he was hoping to grab a ride on it before he got off for the night. I’m guessing I might be one of the few people who has ridden this ride so far? Does anyone know if it has it run in the past? Let me know if you have any information about this ride.
As for the ride, it wasn’t all too fun or pleasant. I much prefer Twister located halfway across the park. The restraints were awfully tight and the ride operator could barely fasten my seat belt. I’m not even a big guy. I have a feeling there was more slack that could have been pulled on the seat belt clip underneath, but she seemed to signal otherwise. It just doesn’t sound right that someone 5′ 6″ and 175 lbs., would be borderline too big for the ride. If that is truly the case, talk about some poor ride design.
Once I was secure, I got in a zen ride on Cyborg that was over before I knew it. It took almost as long to put the ride into position to lower back down than it did to experience its twisting and flipping. Speaking of twisting and flipping, videos you see of this ride look so much more intense than it actually is. I’ll give this another chance in the future to see if my experience differs.
Last Visit of the Season?
Next week Sam and I may be making one last visit to SFGAdv with Greg. She has a perk that allows a friend into the park for $9.99, so why not make use of it? Right now, that’s the plan, but Mother Nature might say otherwise. At this point in time, a week out, the forecast is calling for some snow showers. I’m sure all the area parks will close if the weather kicks up any kind of snow or sleet. Hopefully that doesn’t happen though. We’d really like to return one last time, especially with Greg. Should that not be the case, however, Monday’s visit was a phenomenal way to call it a season with SFGAdv.
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
Sam
Captain
New Credit(s): n/a
2 thoughts on “Six Flags Great Adventure – Coasting Over the Snow”
Thank you for the amazing review for nitro, it was nice to talk to you and sam about the rides you enjoyed that night.
Zack, it was great meeting you and the rest of your coworkers. We hope to be back this coming Tuesday evening with another crew member. Hope to see you guys working again (unless you have off – if so, enjoy the holidays).
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