A few weeks ago Sam, Kayla, and myself were planning to visit Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) with our friends, Amber and Jason. Those plans fell through, but luckily for us, the park still had some operating days left for us to visit. The only problem we faced with re-planning was that not everyone had the same days off, so I did the only thing any coaster enthusiast would do. I elected to go twice to make sure everyone’s tickets would not go to waste. I’m the only one among the group who has a season pass/membership.
This solution, however, still didn’t work out entirely. Kayla was ultimately unable to go, but this allowed for her to pass her ticket onto her best friend, Renee. Renee was more than happy to visit in her place and get in some of her missing credits. It had been many years since her last visit to SFGAdv. As for Amber and Jason, they love going to amusement parks, but hadn’t been to one in some time. Needless to say, they were glad that we were able to reschedule and make new plans. Here is how our day unfolded.
Skull Mountain - Semi-Dark Ride
After entering the park, our plan was to head straight to Nitro. On the way, however, we walked up to Skull Mountain and I asked the group if they wanted to just go ahead and jump on real quick. They said sure. A few Takis banner ads later and we were on our way.
Just like with other rides this year on Dark Knight and Skull Mountain, the ride wasn’t completely dark as it usually is. A few garage doors were half-way open with large fans blowing air into the show building. This allowed you to see where you were going, taking away some of the ride’s signature appeal. I’m pretty sure the reason for this is to keep air circulating throughout the building during to the Covid-19 pandemic. We could have easily re-rode the ride later on at night had we wanted to experience it the way it is intended. It wasn’t that big of a deal to us, however.
Nitro: Daytime
It was then time to board the ride we intended to begin the day with, Nitro. The ride was a walk-on as the park wasn’t crowded at all. There were more people in the park than Wednesday’s visit with Sam, but that was on a rainy Wednesday that didn’t feature any holiday festivities. Still, it was great being able to walk on one of the park’s premier coasters. Well, not premier as in Premier, the coaster manufacturer… Never mind.
After taking our assigned mid-train row (don’t remember which row number), we were on our way. The highlight of this ride, other than all the floater airtime, was listening to Amber scream the entire ride. It’s nuts how much noise came from the smallest member of our group. I couldn’t help but laugh the entire time. Sorry Amber!
Batman the Ride - The Ladies Loved It
Following Nitro, we moved to the ride’s Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) neighbor, Batman the Ride. Renee and Amber, both huge fans of Great Bear at Hersheypark, really loved this ride. With this site’s name being We Were Inverted, you know I enjoyed it too, as did Jason. For being one of B&M’s earliest rides, and a clone found at many other Six Flags parks, I still have to get at least one ride on Batman the Ride each visit to SFGAdv. It’s good fun and even dare I say it, a bit more intense than some of B&M’s newer rides.
Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth
One thing I was really looking forward to trying during this visit to SFGAdv was the Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth pendulum ride. I do enjoy these rides, but know that Sam is not up for riding them. Instead of making her sit there and watch me ride during our two visits to the park in 2020, I elected to go find another coaster to ride instead so we could both have fun. I always knew I’d eventually get around to riding this ride anyhow and this visit just so happened to be that day.
I must say, of all the rides in the park, including the coasters, this one might be the most terrifying. More terrifying than Kingda Ka or Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom, in my opinion. Well, unless you’re counting Kingda Ka’s bad vibrations during the launch. Sorry, I won’t continue to criticize the ride in this blog too.
Justice League: Battle for Metropolis
Amber and Renee needed a bit of a break before hitting any coasters after Wonder Woman. I though Justice League: Battle for Metropolis would be a nice break for them, but I was wrong. The ride ended up giving the girls a bit of motion sickness, although they really liked the theming and the shooting aspect of the ride. Jason and I, however, loved it.
Skyway Photography, Eating, & Shopping
The group, at this point, wanted to get something to eat and relax. I asked them if they’d mind riding the Skyway over to the other side of the park and then eating. I wanted to get in some aerial photography and with the clear skies, it was perfect. We hopped on and were on our way.
Once we were done the ride, we sat down, ate, and hit a few stores. Before going back to the rides though, we made a quick run out to the car since we all had goodies. I picked up a sweatshirt Sam wanted from Wednesday’s visit, but we were unable to get because the park closed early. I also found a Kingda Ka pin I had never seen in the park and a general Six Flags pin that matches the style of ones I have from Six Flags America (SFA) and Great Escape (SFGE). I also found a few coaster buttons that were really cheap up at the register.
Superman Ultimate Flight - The Ultimate Wait
When we returned to the park, it was time to try to tackle the park’s remaining coasters. First up was Superman Ultimate Flight. While the ride itself was great, it took us a little over and hour to board. The park was running this already slow-loading coaster with one train. The line backed all the way up to the bend alongside Green Lantern too. Thankfully the two bullpen areas of the queue line were not being used. Still, it went from day, to dusk, to total darkness by time we entered the station. I was able to capture a few awesome shots with the ever-changing sky during the wait, however.
Thankfully, Superman ended up being a hit for the group. Renee got to experience her first flying coaster. She never got to ride this the last time we visited the park and she has yet to experience SFA’s Batwing.
Green Lantern - Lectured for Following the Rules
Now this is where things got a little weird during our visit. SFGAdv clearly states on its site that nothing is allowed to be in your pockets on three of their rides. Those rides are Kingda Ka, El Toro, and Joker. I know this very well and although I think the rule is rather bullshit, I still abide by it. Sadly, Six Flags likes to make a buck off each guest with this rule too. If it was truly about safety, this would be on every ride (like the ones that go upside down over and over), not just the newest and most popular rides. The lockers would also be free to use – you know, like Hersheypark’s Candymonium and Skyrush. I digress.
Stubborn, Uninformed Security
When we entered the queue, the security officer at the entrance asked me what’s in my pocket. I said my phone. He said it has to go in a locker. I said that’s not true as that’s only the case for three coasters, and Green Lantern isn’t one of them. He said it is true and it does have to go in the locker. I said it’s not, unless you changed your rules since Wednesday.
He “whatevered” me, but we went to the lockers anyhow. While Renee was getting the locker, I pulled up the park’s rules on my phone, walked back over to him and said,” I’m going to put the phone in the locker, but I just want you to know that I am right with this.”
He told me it’s what he’s been told. I said okay and showed him this is why I wear clothing with zippered pockets on them so I could follow the rules stated on the site. He then tells me just go ahead with a bit of an attitude. I told him we already got the locker now, but I just wanted to show him. When I walked back over to the lockers, the officer went to look at the rules posted at the entrance. I’m guessing he was trying to prove me wrong for when we’d go to enter the ride.
Waiting & Riding
The wait for Green Lantern ended up being a long one as well since they were only using one train too. It ended up being about a 30-40 minute wait ultimately. Thankfully, it allowed us to get quite cold and numb, which helped our lower regions during the standard stand-up train abuse. Is there anyone who is actually a massive fan of stand-up coasters? I’d love to know.
Twister - Or is it Twixler?
Leaving Green Lantern, we hit the lockers, grabbed our stuff, and were able to walk right onto Twister. Amber really wanted to get in a ride before we made our way to any of the remaining coasters. I’ve always loved these rides too, so I was more than willing to jump on and give it a go.
My first experience with one of these rides was at Kings Dominion. Their Tomb Raider version was well-themed, which especially liked being a massive Tomb Raider fan. Although it was renamed to The Crypt later on, I still loved jumping on it each and every visit. I’m bummed that Kings Dominion removed the ride as did Dorney Park, who also had one over by Talon for a number of years.
And speaking of renaming these types of rides, I’m wondering why SFGAdv just doesn’t rename Twister to Twixler since this thing is one giant advertisement. I know it makes the park more money and keeps costs lower, but geeze… Between this, the Takis banners in Skull Mountain, and all the Snickers ad placement on Nitro, I feel like I see less ads watching YouTube all day.
Joker - Still Following the Rules
It’s kind of ironic that we left Twister and went to Joker next. Why? Well, as I mentioned, I always loved Tomb Raider/The Crypt at Kings Dominion. With its removal, Kings Dominion announced it would be replaced by an S&S 4D Freespin. Joker is one of these rides, so I guess we kind of went from one to the other like King Dominion is doing. Okay, maybe that’s a reach, but it makes sense to me!
Following park rules, we went to the lockers and passed the “pull out the pockets” inspection given us to by the ride’s security. For the first time ever, I was motioned to load on the ride’s backside. All my previous rides on Joker have been on the front side. I still didn’t expect much. As I explained in the blog on Wednesday’s visit, these rides just don’t do it for me. Oddly enough, I think I had my most pleasurable ride on a 4D Freespin coaster on this night. It is still not something I’d run to if it wasn’t for my friends wanting to ride.
Harley Quinn Crazy Train - Almost the Last Ride of the Night
We found ourselves in a dilemma here. It was almost closing time. We hadn’t ridden Harley Quinn’s Crazy Train yet, but we really wanted a night ride on Nitro. There didn’t appear to be time to do both, but we decided to chance it anyhow and it paid off.
We had to wait for one train to go through the course before we could board Harley, which further scared me with timing. I thought we might make a walk on, but we just missed out on that. Nevertheless, we got in our two lap ride and were off and power walking to Nitro.
Nitro: Nighttime, Last Train of the Night
There was no one in line for Nitro when we walked up, but I did hear the announcement that people returning could stay on and ride again if no one was in their line. I wish we had a few more minutes left before closing because we would have taken advantage of that. Well, at least I would have. Night rides on Nitro are amazing, going out into the trees and up against the lake. Sadly, we walked up onto the platform at 8:58 p.m.
We were assigned the second row and were the last train of the night. It was certainly chilly, but there are some rides that are just worth it no matter the conditions. On Wednesday, it was the rain. On this visit, the cold. Nitro is certainly worth both those conditions. The entire group also agreed as we loved that chilly last ride of the night.
When we were walked down the exit ramp, I was able to get a nice night shot of Nitro before we left. It’s the photo featured above. Believe me, it wasn’t that bright looking at the ride in person. I’m shocked it didn’t come out entirely blurry too. Using the pro mode of the camera, its aperture stayed open for a couple seconds. That usually means you better be holding the camera really still. I guess I did because it turned out wonderful. With that out of the way, we went ahead and made our way out of the park and made our 2.5 hour drive back home.
A Fun Day with a Different "Crew"
This trip was the first time I was able to visit a park with my friends Amber and Jason. It’s also the first trip since Camelback Mountain Adventures and Dorney Park where I was able to get in some rides with Renee. The company was great and I can’t wait to do it again.
This was also my first visit to a Six Flags winter holiday event and thought that the park did a great job with some of the lighting and decorations. With it being 2020, I’m sure things weren’t as easy for the park, and all the parks out there, for that matter. Still, I’ll most certainly be back for another Holiday in the Park visit. Maybe not this year, but in the future, without a doubt!
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
Sam
Lieutenant
New Credit(s): Batman the Ride, Superman Ultimate Flight, Joker, Harley Quinn Crazy Train
