Sunday 4/6: The Good and Shapiro and Snyder's Contributions

[darkridedan]

Sunday morning rain. I scored major karma points! I love riding RT and El Toro in the rain. 

      Matt came over around 11:30. I only had 2 hours of sleep, so I told Matt to hold up. I took another 5 hours to get an hour of sleep.

     It was still raining but not as hard as it did over night. We stopped at the Vincentown Diner for some good food. Matt thought our waitress wasn?t too personal but I only had thoughts about Great Adventure running away if we didn?t get there soon.

     We got to the park around 1. We drove past Nitro, Batman and the water park. They always bring back great Great Adventure memories. Seeing El Toro, Rolling Thunder and The Scream Machine up ahead put a smile on my face. When pulling up by the Preferred Parking, it kind of went down hill as I got a case of the heebie-jeebies. It?s cute to see the whole area empty!

     Walking down the outer mall, I noticed that the walkways had a scrubbing for the first time in a few years. It looks AWESOME.  It?s so clean an inviting. Matt was handed a code of conduct card because he was dressed like the unibomber. He quickly threw it away?in a trashcan. It?s good to follow the rules Matt! I processed my pass at Guest Relations. After much soul searching (or greed wallowing,) I remembered that it had been three years since I had been to SFA, two years since my last Superman ride at SFNE and five years since my last trip to the Great Escape. I couldn?t renew my pass at SFA or SFNE like a toolbag. I tried to renew it on line but the website sucked... for yet another reason. It was a short wait thanks in part to the small crowd. I went with the two-park pass this year. I tried to sell Matt on a tour of the Safari, but I lost him on the $22 admission price.

     Smiles back on for a walk down Main Street. Two photogs tried to capture us but I had to tell the second one, "We aren't getting any prettier." I noticeable that part of Carnegie Deli had been painted and some landscaping was added to Fantasy Forest, since my last visit to the park. Houdini?s sign had been removed. I think I'll rename this one "$ix Flag$ Great Mistake." The row of horses and cockarel was still missing on the Carousel and the ride was in a desperate need of a paint job. Otherwise, it could be the most beautiful carousel in an amusement park.

    Where to go first? Rolling Thunder! The Plaza looks so nice. It?s nice to be home. There was about a three-train wait. Yellow had been pulled off for rain. It had already stopped raining which could be a good thing. I?m not allowed to bring the umbrella that I bought at the park into the station. It?s a golf umbrella and it wouldn?t fit in the lockers. I thought about asking an employee how I could get around this dilemma but I know what it?s like to be put on the spot because of your employer.

     I haven?t ridden in the back of an RT train for quite sometime and I wanted to do something different. Matt also likes the back of coasters and I let him know that this could be slow and painful. RT has a great layout for a coaster of its era. I love how the hills have so many different sizes and angels. Most out-and-backs use a pretty formulaic design, which makes the coaster seem boring when you return to the station.

     The quality of the ride wasn?t TOO bad. I couldn?t tell if work had been done on the coaster or if it was just the benefit of the early rain. Most of the iffy transitions were a little better, especially the low turn. If I rode in the front, I could have made a better comparison to last year. While we were there, some people used Flash Pass.

     El Toro was a walk on. The back half of the train was going for a reride. As I reported earlier, rerides are allowed? until Snyder and Shapiro travel northward. Then it will cost 4 bucks.

     Vinny and Shane were working in the station and Paul (from last year?s Log Flume crew) was working the line. I didn?t ask Paul whether he was at El Toro this year, but it would be a good thing since he was considered for a Rolling Thunder lead position last year. Good things come from Rolling Thunder, always.

     We rode in the back row. I took off my glasses because now I felt like following a rule. I ole?d up the lift hill with excitement. The lift felt faster than it did for most of last year. The first drop was great. It would have been my favorite drop so far, had I not ridden Griffon. The rest of the hills had powerful air. Somewhere around the crossover, I squeezed my glasses so hard that a lense popped out. Drat! While the coaster was petering out on the curves, I could hear the lense bouncing around the floor. When we got back to the station, the lense was nowhere to be found. We would be back to ride El Toro again to get a better second half ride.

     We had been eyeing Runaway Train when I decided to make a pit stop at Medusa for my obligatory ride. It was kind of scary to see Tim at the entrance of the ride almost get knocked out by a guest who was angry about having to put their umbrella in the locker. Oh well, it?s going to happen. The operator kept yelling at people to upgrade their one-day ticket to a season pass. That was kind of annoying.

     There was a one-train wait and we took the back row. I usually hate floorless coasters, but Medusa rode more powerfully than El Toro. The zero G inversion wasn't the only good part. The ride didn?t even fall apart at the end. Perhaps it?s one of those mind games played on by low expectations. Either way, I would give it a second ride, which is something I haven?t done in 7 or 8 years.

      I mourned Super Teepee. No sign of future enjoyment but smoking area #27 it is not!

     Walking over to the Runaway Train brought back great memories. It was my first big coaster at the park and the over-sized fort still adds something to the park... Much more than lockers and empty flat ride pads take away.

     We all know that the front is where it?s at on the ride, but Matt had to learn this one on his own. We rode in the back row and it was slow and forceless, but we would be back to ride in the front!
   
     I thought a ride on The Sky Ride would be cool but it was closed, probably due to high winds. So, we took in the beauty of The Golden Kingdom. We went over to the Boardwalk and the closure of the Parachutes solidified the high winds theory. Kingda Ka too, I guess.

     We went to Fly Me to the Moon (yum, sheet metal) to meet up with Rob and Melissa. Because we haven?t seen each other in a while, we talked through three viewings of the pre-show. I?ll have to keep quiet next time because the main show seemed to start in the middle of something. The show was very Pixar and Disneyesque and the ride was less stomach churning than Sponge Bob. The motion of the seats were allot more fitting to the movie, especially in the landing. I?ll miss Sponge Bob and Dino and I look forward to riding this one again.

     Scream Machine time. Yum. Who doesn?t like this thing? The girlfriend doesn?t want to ride and wants to ride Medusa. Where is this in the handbook? We sat in the back for a powerful ride. The first drop was awesome. The loops, one more powerful than the other. The boomerang and the corkscrews were smooth. I could have stayed on it all day. A park that keeps its classics makes many more people happy. I never rode Alcatraz at all or Space shuttle all too much. Not all old rides make classics I guess.

     Everybody is walking away from Superman. I guess we wouldn?t be riding it. No Twister either. Tee hee. Top SPIN.

     Golden Kingdom; more beauty; tigers! It put me in such a good mood that I rode Tango! And wow, does this ride suck. I wonder if they?ll ever add a multilooper to Wiggles World.

     Rolling Thunder. Time to ride the front? in the same row as the before?second from the back. Hmmm. It gives me a reason to come back to try the front. It was a good ride. Recorded spiel?blah!

     El Toro in the front. It?s still a walk on. The hills were weak but the curves were powerful. El Toro is two coasters in one!

     Medusa in the front row? now I remember why I don?t care for this ride. It?s so, ?Yeah, what-what? in the front. All drama without being good. Head smacked around like an SLC.

     Runaway Train- 2nd car: Much better than the back. The double helix was more powerful and there?s airtime on the camel?hill. There were young kids and adults riding it with us. It was like a family affair. It?s so weird that people call this a kiddie ride and consider rides in Looney Tunes Seaport family rides. Weird is the new normal.

     I noticed a sign that said Log Flume wouldn?t open until Memorial Day. I looked hard for improvements to the park since Shapiro and Snyder took over. I could only come up with The Dark Knight and making Security do their job.

     We passed on the good flat for this side of the park. I was feeling teacups, but we saved the goods for another visit. Rob and Melissa stopped at Johnny Rockets. The money trees are in bloom at the Jersey Shore.

     Big Wheel is still the scariest ride in the park. The west side of the park looked great from the bottom and top. The ride looked like it had more color-coordinated bulbs than in years past. The paint job makes Deno?s Wonder Wheel look new. On the East side, it?s the only time of year to view the mansion in the woods. I spent the first part of the ride admiring Wiggles Port. It looks nice with all the rides in place. Then I looked over to Old Country and Movie Town. Shapiro and Snyder have added cabanas to the Spin Meister spot. There will be individuals who will use these. They are the new normal.

     Ok, I think we drug out our time away from Nitro long enough. It was a one to two train wait for most rows. We rode in the front row. Rob played tour guide for us, pointing out a Chiller car and Riptide boats. I thought the ride was powerful. There was tons of floater air up there. It?s been so long since I rode in the back, I don?t even remember the difference from the front. I liked it better than Matt did, which is very weird for a newbie.

     Next was Skull Mountain. Matt pounced on the best part there.

     Batman: Best invert ever. We rode in the front row for a great view and to get the right amount of Gs. The ride has a wonderful layout with small elements and plenty of run track inbetween. I love that first drop, the loop and all of those rolls. Alpengeist fans, you are normal. Cody and Ryan were working the ride and doing a great job at getting the single train out of the station.
 
     Our last coaster of the day was Blackbeards. I always liked this coaster. I used to think it would  be more at home in a kiddie section. Nowadays, I'm happy to be able to walk right up to it off a main midway. The operator sent us around twice and she wouldn?t let us put our hands down throughout both rides. As a bonus, I got a nice foot massage at the end.

     We were just in time for the Dolphin Discovery educational experience. This is always a great time for ALL AGES. Dancing seals and flipping dolphins; Who wouldn?t like this? Hannah was in the show. She didn?t jump in for a swim but she got fish guts all over her jacket. Too bad for Bubba.

    We decided to leave the two good flats on this side of the park for a later visit. Buccaneer and Fantasy Fling were pulling there weight by constantly running. I would hate to see the lines for them later in the year. I better ride these classics this year before they go away.
 
     If I didn?t leave the park with such a weird taste in my mouth, I would have filled out a few guest compliments. All of the crews could have used them. The direction of the park this season is just not for me. It feels like 1988 all over again. Hopefully a dark ride will be the park's new saving grace next season. Perhaps in another year when these top-secret plans become reality, better times can be had. I just don?t understand the logic behind removing HALF of the adult rides and shows in eight years in a park so close to the NY and Philly market. Other $ix Flag$ like Six Flags Great America and Six Flags Over Texas never loose a ride without having it replaced. Call me simple, but at least bring down the price of admission. The parade will not help things get any better.

[GADVwow]

You are so correct in so much that you say.  Excellent trip report...but Twisted Twins AND Mile High Falls will not be running at Kentucky Kingdom this year....a far greater loss to that small park than what's not open at Great Adventure is to the Jersey place....

[Bubba Z]

Dan , Nice summary, Thanks for taking the time to write this !

[ChuckR]

Scream Machine time. Yum. Who doesn?t like this thing? The girlfriend doesn?t want to ride and wants to ride Medusa. Where is this in the handbook?



Hahahaha! Great report Dan!

[CycloneMan]

I wasn't even mentioned. Nice Dan

But yea, Rolling Thunder was the highlight of Sunday. It was the three best rides I've ever had on the right side in my life! And it was keeping great speed!

-Dainan "I like how Matt didn't recognize me at first " Rafferty

[Bubba Z]

And it was keeping great spead!

So that's what I was feeling Friday night! 

[AV Matt]

Me a newbie? Ha!

Runaway Train and Nitro are way better in the back!

I thought it was you right away, Dainan, but wasn't sure until you said hi.

Dan, what about our singing at the "marine life education experience"? That was hilarious!

[darkridedan]

Chuck!

And it was keeping great spead!

So that's what I was feeling Friday night! 

Oh Bubba!

Dainan walked past me in front of our favorite ride and said hi to Matt. He asked, "What are you doing here?"
I said, "Riding rides." I text him to make light conversation about where he was going next.
He replied, "We're doing our own thing."
I replied about how my day was going and added that I went to Hershey yesterday, to rub it in.

There, happy? 

[Robert T Ackerman]

Nice report Dan.
As Matt said... where's the mention of us "Sailing Away" at the show?? Fun times were certainly had. You'll have to kick me and drag me to the Round Up next visit so I don't miss out on it. I'd hate to miss another ride that I haven't been on because I'm "lazy"

Spead...

[Ogolo]

Wow what a detailed trip report from someone who said he wasn't going opening weekend!
It's great when a report needs no pictures.  Good job!

I'd have to say that the park is now nice around the edges, but soft in the middle.
The major disappointment I saw for families was the missing Flying Wave (aka The Swings).
So many frowns when they saw it was gone!

Time to head over to the Great Adventure History site to visit 1988.

[CycloneMan]

Chuck!

And it was keeping great spead!

So that's what I was feeling Friday night! 

Oh Bubba!

Dainan walked past me in front of our favorite ride and said hi to Matt. He asked, "What are you doing here?"
I said, "Riding rides." I text him to make light conversation about where he was going next.
He replied, "We're doing our own thing."
I replied about how my day was going and added that I went to Hershey yesterday, to rub it in.

There, happy? 

Not quite. You seemed to miss the part when I said we were meeting Walter and Jackie at Batman at 3:30...unless that text didn't go through 

[darkridedan]

Nice report Dan.
As Matt said... where's the mention of us "Sailing Away" at the show?? Fun times were certainly had. You'll have to kick me and drag me to the Round Up next visit so I don't miss out on it. I'd hate to miss another ride that I haven't been on because I'm "lazy"

Spead...

Thank you. I didn't know the words.  I remember you dancing to The Venga Boys? I think?  No kicking and dragging, unless you try to get me on Jolly Roger. 

Thanks Ken. I thought about writing this without the details, but that's no fun. Some of my edits gave me a worse taste in my mouth. The coaster enthusiast and friend in me had a fun time but the park enthusiast and season pass holder wasn't too amused. I broke even. I could have stayed home and did nothing...for free. But getting sick again wouldn't have been worth it.

I said we were meeting Walter and Jackie at Batman at 3:30...unless that text didn't go through

There's somebody in Camden County who is very confused.

[AV Matt]

At least you go to spend time with me! 

And Skull Mountain with the lights on. I mean, come on!

[CycloneMan]

^Skull Mountain with the lights on is NOTHING like Space Mountain with the ligts on

^^What do you mean? Go ceck your messages again!

[rjholla2003]

Space Mountain with the lights on is the most boring thing on earth...unless they turn on in the middle of the ride since you just broke down.  That, I will admit, was lots of fun.  If Skull Mountain can't even live up to that, I wouldn't want to do it except to finally see the layout.  Boo.

rj "I rode the first Space Mountain breakdown of 2008 while working!" holla2003

[CycloneMan]

^Last year on opening day, I got stuck on Skull's lift, half way through the ride (once restarted) they turned off the lights, but we then stopped on the first brake run, and he lights came back on!

[Robert T Ackerman]

So does anyone know why Skull Mountain doesn't play the metal music anymore, or have strobes, or have any type of "action" going on during the ride anymore??? The music always made for good laughs... should we start a petition?

[PcMan]

I'll bet the strobes are off due to possible epileptic seizures for people that get them from such  ?
always a law suit possibility  ? 

[CycloneMan]

^^Did you ride it last weekend? The music is back!

[darkridedan]

It could have been off for us. Were the queue and station effects on as well?

[GADVwow]

Just the music.  No strobes.  No station effects that I remember.  No pumpkin.  And the music could be louder....

[Robert T Ackerman]

^^Did you ride it last weekend? The music is back!

We rode it on Sunday... no effects at all. The queue had no sound effects... the lights were on in the walkways... I'm sure they were on for some of the day during the weekend, but for our 2 consecutive rides, nothing happened except a lights on ride for 1 ride.

The pumpkins were still there, 2 of them.

[PcMan]

Looks like the park is Coasters and Kiddie rides only

no flats
No shows anymore besides the dolphin show and Tiger show.
I liked when they had shows indoor at the showcase theater or whatever its called.
my wife doesn't like coasters to much so when i take her we did alot of shows like these. (I didn't get her a pass this year and last since she only went one time each year.)
it amazes me when i go to other parks and they have many shows.
these keep you in the park and give you a place to relax for a while.
Even Kings Island when i went a few years back kept people in the park till 10pm with the lure of Fireworks.(oops Six Flags close at 8pm now)
I'm not saying have fireworks over night but something . In that time I'm sure they sold alot of drinks,food and souvenirs.
They do have the safari so that breaks up the time but it closes early what 5-6pm  when the sun goes down in the summer 8-9pm.
I few times i drove over to it and it was closed.

Dan how many did they remove in the last few years ?

[darkridedan]

"More variety; More Fun."

     The parade is going to be the park's answer to the fireworks show. Sometimes we forget that shows come with the price of admission. They are to those who prefer a gentle park experience what coasters are for thrillseekers. Shows are the coasters for people who don't like coasters. They and the flat rides for people who don't like flat rides. They are a way to beat the heat and avoid the crowds and they are an extra reason to come to the park or additional reason to come back.

19 rides have been removed* and 3 are sitting SBNO. 24 rides remain
     
*since 2000. If I count the rides that were added in '99, I would have to subtract the slides and rides that were removed for them.