Amusement park trips on rainy days seem to just work out for Sam and I. On our second visit to Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) here in 2020, it was our goal to try to complete the park’s coaster credits for Sam. In order to do that, she needed to ride Superman: Ultimate Flight, Green Lantern, Joker, and Kingda Ka. Those were the coasters we weren’t able to squeeze in on our August visit.
With the forecast calling for rain around 2-3 p.m. and the park opening at 11 a.m. yesterday, I told Sam we should try to do all of her missing credits first. I also suggested riding Kingda Ka earlier because if it began to rain, the park would probably close it for the day. When we arrived, however, Kingda Ka wasn’t even running. A ride op on Green Lantern told us it was slated to open around 2 p.m. You know, just when the rain percentages in the forecast would begin to spike? That was a weird choice on the park’s part, in my opinion. I had a bad feeling we might not get to ride Ka on this day.
Superman: Ultimate Flight - RIP Cellphone
A few weeks ago, during another rainy day trip to Six Flags America (SFA), Sam rode her first-ever flying coaster – the Vekoma Flying Dutchman, Batwing. On this day she rode her second, the B&M flyer, Superman: Ultimate Flight. I was curious to see what she’d think, especially with the two being made different companies. Although, she really enjoyed Batwing, Sam is a B&M fangirl through and through. I figured she’d like Superman better.
During our ride, after the pretzel loop, we saw a cellphone fall to the ground. That phone belonged to someone in a group of guys, in their late teens to early 20’s, two rows in front of us. All of them were a little obnoxious, running around people in a line on the way to the ride. There was at most, 12 people in line. They were also told to secure all their loose articles by ride ops because someone had a phone out when they were getting into the train. So, yeah, I guess it was karma.
As for Sam, she enjoyed the ride, but said she did prefer laying on her back and then flipping over to start like on Batwing. I can’t say I agree with that as that’s my least favorite part of the Flying Dutchman models, especially on a bright/sunny day. Sam did add, however, that with how intense the pretzel loop was on Superman, she can’t imagine what it will be like on Tatsu, if/when we finally make our way out to Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM).
Green Lantern - From Flying to Standing
Next up was Green Lantern, Sam’s first true test of the day. Although she has ridden some larger, more intense coasters such as El Toro and Hersheypark’s Skyrush, she had yet to tackle a stand up coaster. Honestly, she didn’t seem to be really looking forward to it either. I mean, is anyone though?
This ride was a walk on and we took the front row. Sam was feeling the nerves and not liking the restraint system. She didn’t chicken out though, which made me proud. What made this worse, however, was that they took a bit of time to get the train on its way. I’m not sure if they had more people coming up through the queue or something, but it took a good few minutes. Eventually, we were on our way up and in normal fashion, I could tell by Sam’s response that she wasn’t hating the ride.
When the train finally returned to the station, I asked Sam, “Better or worse than you expected?”
Sam replied to me that it was better than she though and I laughed. I told her that’s always the case when her nerves almost get the best of her. Speaking of nerves…
Joker - From Standing to Rotation
Okay, I’m not the biggest fan of stand up coasters, although I find Green Lantern and Georgia Scorcher at Six Flags Over Georgia (SFOG) to be the two best that I’ve experienced. Coasters that I’m not a massive fan of, however, are the S&S Free Spins. These clones are a one-and-done ride for me at most parks. If I go to a park and those I’m with don’t want to ride them, as long as I have the credit, I’m not upset. I’ve had mixed experiences from banging my head against the headrest to overall, uneventful rides. Now it would be Sam’s turn to experience one for the first time. I was curious to find out what she thought.
We walked right up to the gates for our ride and Sam was feeling even more nervous than she was on Green Lantern. I was honestly scared that she might back off this one. The last time she backed off a ride just so happened to be named after the Joker as well – SFA’s Joker’s Jinx. Sam’s been unable to claim that credit ever since and said that played into her not skipping any of these coasters on this visit.
Sam pushed herself to ride this one and although it wasn’t as bad as she expected, she’s not really a fan of them either. Like me, she said she’ll ride them for credits. That’s when I reminded her of the new one coming to Kings Dominion soon. She rolled her eyes and said, “Oh god!”
Nitro (x2) - The Cinderella Story
It wasn’t 2 p.m. yet, but we kept looking over to see if Kingda Ka had opened anyhow. Since it hadn’t, we made our way to Nitro. After doing two coasters that made Sam’s anxiety peak, a ride on one of her favorite coasters helped calm those nerves. We rode the front row first and decided to go right back up since there was no line.
We were assigned row three on our second ride and during the restraint check, something was happening up front. The ride op, while standing next to the front row, said something to the booth operator that I couldn’t make out. All I heard was the reply saying, “How did you do that?”
Since the ride op was still checking restraints in that row, but not moving on, we figured something malfunctioned. That’s when an announcement was made that the ride would resume in a couple of minutes, and to just hang tight.
A couple of minutes later, a female employee comes walking up the exit ramp with a shoe. That shoe belonged to the ride op. Somehow it fell off and went down into the pit below. I had to laugh at that. It’s totally a first for me. It rivals the SFA trip last month when Sam and I had to miss out on Wild One because of a raccoon being down in its pit.
Batman: The Ride - Front Row
As we walked down the long exit ramp of Nitro for the second time, I asked Sam if she wanted to go again. She said she wants to get another ride on Batman, if we could. During the August visit, she got in just one ride on it and banged her head pretty hard. She wanted to see if she could get a better ride this time around. We did.
We were able to secure the front row, which is always fun on an invert. I love the unobstructed views, plus, being able to see the track in front of us would allow Sam to know what was coming. Maybe she wouldn’t bang her head this time around. That’s exactly what happened too. She liked the ride a whole lot more after this visit than her first, claiming the intensity on it is surprising.
Dark Knight - Why Not?
Without going into much detail here, Sam and I joke about this coaster all the time. It’s always been one I have not been a fan of since it debuted. We didn’t enjoy it our last visit, but we were right in front of leaving Batman: The Ride, so we said why not?
Justice League: Battle for Metropolis - Top 1%
On our last visit, Justice League: Battle for Metropolis was not open. This time it was. We were going to save it for when the rain would inevitably come. Since we were in the area after getting off Dark Knight, we decided to give it a ride.
These rides are pretty well themed for a Six Flags. I enjoy them quite a bit. After her first ride, Sam did too. It’s a much cooler version of Reese’s Cup Fusion at Hersheypark, which we’ve also ridden a couple of times this year. I kicked Sam’s ass on this just like on Cup Fusion, with the score telling me I scored within the Top 1-percent. Go me!
While on the Way to Bizarro...
After getting off Battle for Metropolis, we sat down along the lake for a few minutes to take a break. It was about 1:30 p.m. and Sam had an online class she was supposed to have at 2:15 p.m. She considered skipping it, but with us making such good time, we figured that maybe we could take a lunch break while she logged in. With some time still left to go, however, we decided to see if we could squeeze in Bizarro first.
As we walked by the pond between El Toro and Runaway Mine Train, Sam saw a train on Kingda Ka get launched up onto the top hat. She pointed it out and I asked her if she wanted to go do it? She paused for a second. I told her that if we don’t do it now, we might not get to ride it today. The rain was still set to come within the next hour. She said okay, and we made our way over.
Kingda Ka... Last Train of the Season
We Almost Didn't Make it
When we approached the entrance to Ka, an employee said the ride was temporarily down. We saw a few people on the station when we walked past, but didn’t see any other trains go. I had a bad feeling. Then, two minutes later, they sent another test train and re-opened the queue. We put our stuff in the locker and got in line.
This ride totally wrecked Sam prior to boarding. It was circa-June levels of anxiety for her. I mean, I get it. You can’t get any taller and you don’t get any faster in the United States. I tried to assure her the best I could that she’d be fine. Still, I had my doubts about her riding. I would not have been shocked if she had walked through the exit and skipped it. Thankfully, she did not!
Alas, We Barely Made it
We got on our train and they sent us out onto the launch. As we sat there waiting for Zumanjaro to finish its fall, it began to drizzle. The rain had come. They sent us on our way and thankfully it was only a light drizzle. It stung a little, but wasn’t too bad. What was bad, however, was the severe rattle/vibration on this ride. It’s bad and makes the ride borderline unenjoyable to me anymore. Top Thrill Dragster doesn’t shake me all to hell like Ka does.
As for Sam, she had a good time riding it. When we returned to the station, we also realized just how lucky we were. Just before the ride ops popped our restraints, they made an announcement that Kingda Ka would be closed due to inclement weather. With the chance of rain being in the 90 percent range every hour for the rest of the day, I knew this ride wasn’t going to re-open. What we didn’t realize, however, that it was Kingda Ka’s last day of the season too. That meant we rode the last ride of 2020, and just one of maybe three or four trains they ran with riders all day. Why they just didn’t open this at 11 a.m. when there was no rain is beyond me. Nevertheless, we made it happen and now Sam has completed SFGAdv’s credits until Jersey Devil opens next year.
A Potato for Lunch While Sam Attends Class
Just as we departed Kingda Ka, it was time for Sam to login for her online class. She fired up the browser on her phone as we made our way to go get something to eat. First, however, I made her pose for this blog’s cover image. Why not capture a monumental moment like riding Kingda Ka?
While eating lunch and Sam listening to her online lecture, we met a guy who said his name was Potato. He had struck up a conversation with us, telling us that’s he’s been on Kingda Ka a few hundred times. I told him that I saw him over by the coaster when we got off the ride earlier. He denied being over there, but I’m 99 percent sure he’s the guy in the red shirt and camo shorts under Sam’s elbow in the cover picture. Who knows?
Mac & Cheese & Lacking Customer Service
As for lunch, it sucked. We got the Macaroni & Cheese and it was ho hum. For two orders and two drinks, it was $37. What was even worse, however, was the staff working the stand. A manager was talking about closing early and everyone literally turned their back to me while I’m trying to order to discuss who’s leaving. It wasn’t like the didn’t see me either. They kept looking my way and then just ignored me. Once I did get some kind of attention from the cashier, every item I ordered took about a minute or two to enter because she kept looking away and talking with people. I almost walked away. I should have.
Seriously, Six Flags, teach the staff AND that manager, some better customer service practices. As a former manager at a self-service restaurant myself, if my staff ignored the customer to listen to me, I would have told them to finish up the order. They could wait for whatever instructions I had once the customer was taken care of. I guess not at Six Flags.
Bizarro - That Stinging Sensation
Once Sam’s class finished, we decided to go see what other rides we could get in. Sam really wanted to give Bizarro a ride since we only got one on our last visit. We also hadn’t ridden it this visit either, so that’s where we went.
The rain was coming down pretty intensely at this point. It made for a not-so-enjoyable ride for me. My hood kept blowing over my eyes too, so I got in some headbanging on top of it.
Harley Quinn Crazy Train - 1 Round, Though
The plan after getting off Bizarro was to head to Skull Mountain for a nice indoor ride to get out of the rain. I wanted to ride the Sky Carts, but Sam’s not into those rides. I thought it might give me some good photo opportunities, but since it was cloudy and rainy, that might not have been the case. I joked as we walked past the Runaway Mine Train about giving it a ride, but Sam said no. That was quite the janky ride last time, so she didn’t want to both with it and go to Skull Mountain as planned.
As we passed Joker I asked Sam if she wanted to ride it again, laughing because I knew the answer. I might have been more likely to talk her into the Mine Train, in all honesty. That’s when I said, “We can ride Harley Quinn.”
Sam liked that idea, so we stopped along the way to Skull Mountain. For some reason, however, they only sent us around the course one time. They send you around twice. Strange!
Skull Mountain - Takis!
It was then time to ride the better indoor/dark, roller coaster at SFGAdv – Skull Mountain, brought to you by Takis. Seriously, do they let you forget that Takis sponsors this ride? There’s an ad like every 10 feet in the loading station. I’m surprised they don’t give you snack bags of them when you get off the train!
Jersey Devil Sighting & Re-rides on Nitro (x2) & Battle for Metropolis
When we walked out of Skull Mountain, I decided to go take a look to see what kind of progress was made to Jersey Devil since our last visit. Honestly, I couldn’t tell if progress had been made or not. I just know, it’s still not close to being done. I snapped a few photos and we decided to get a two more re-rides on Nitro, both in the back row, and another round on Battle for Metropolis.
Closing Early & More Merch!
When we left Nitro earlier, we heard a park employee saying the park would be closing at 5 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. I figured this would happen as the rain was supposed to get even worse later in the evening. We made sure we had enough time to hit up the gift shop before leaving, making Battle for Metropolis our final ride.
Sam wanted to get herself a Kingda Ka shirt, but ended up getting both a t-shirt and a hoodie. I wanted to see if they had any new pins. They had three – a Kingda Ka and a Nitro/El Toro set. I got them all while Sam grabbed the combo set. What we both weren’t expecting, however, was to see Jersey Devil merchandise. We both bought one of the t-shirts.
Once we had our goodies, we made our way back to the car. I pulled off my soaked jacket and Sam, just like our last visit to Hersheypark, changed into dry shoes. I swear she steps in all the puddles! Still, those wet shoes are probably worth it. Our rain trips have worked out well for us this year. Lots of great rides and numerous re-rides too. Even better than that is all the memories we made along the way.
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
Sam
Commander
New Credit(s): Superman: Ultimate Flight, Green Lantern, Joker, Kingda Ka
