6/13 Trip Report with El Toro Ride Review

[KingdaKaRuler05]

Here it is, my trip report from yesterday. This report will cover mostly everything, but before you read, let me just say that El Toro is one AMAZING coaster, and for those that haven't ridden it, you MUST go ride it! So, on with the TR!

Tuesday, June 13th, 2006. Why is this date of significance you ask? Well, today was the day that I would ride the coaster I've been waiting to ride for more than a year. The coaster that I've been following construction for over the entire off-season. The coaster I've been drooling over since the day it was announced. What coaster am I talking about? The one, the only, El Toro, at Six Flags Great Adventure.

Today wasn't like any ordinary day. Today was definitely different. I woke up around 7:15, which is much earlier than I needed to be up, but I was too excited to fall asleep again. I decided to take at today's Home News Tribune, which just so happened to have an El Toro article on the front page. I read the article and looked at the pictures. The article just made me more pumped to finally get on this amazing coaster. After reading, I looked at some of the pictures, and I immediately recognized Flyin' Phil, in the front seat in one of the pictures! He mentioned his yellow and blue shirt, so I knew it was him, and he seemed to be hanging on for dear life to the handle bars! I continued to sit there, thinking about this ride for the next half hour or so. I thought to myself, I've waited for than a year for this, and it's finally time for me to ride. After getting caught up in my dreams about this amazing coaster, I realized it was 8:00, and time to get ready for the huge trip ahead. I quickly did my daily routine, as I do every day. I was ready with my orange Ka shirt and zipper pocket shorts. Next, I set out to obtain everything I needed for the day ahead. Glasses, check. Hat, check. Wallet, check. Phone, check. Coupon book, check. All I needed was my big Tiger Topper Souvenir Cup. I searched the kitchen rigorously for the cup, finally finding in a random drawer.  I shoved everything into my blue Nike hand-bag, except my phone and wallet, which I safely stored in my zipper pockets. I ate a quick breakfast, did a quick check to make sure I had everything, and finally headed out to the car. By the time we pulled out of the driveway, it was 9:00. I figured we probably miss the opening running of the bulls, but as long as I got on the Bull today, I would be very, very happy. We quickly picked up my friend who lives across town, and zipped him over so he could quickly drop off his working papers. My friend and I would be hitting the park alone today, since everyone else is still in school. We made a quick stop at Sunoco for gas (expensive as always) and a quick stop at the Bank. The time was now 9:15, as we set out on Route 130. I was ready for the long drive ahead, knowing it would probably be the longest car ride of my life.

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On the way to the park, I talked about my friend about finally getting on Toro. We both were amazingly excited to finally get a ride on the Bull! The only thing I feared on the way to the park was that Toro would be closed and I wouldn't be able to ride. Unfortunately Ka has put this impression on me, as it has been closed on all 3 of my other trips this season. So, on the way there, I had mixed emotions. One side of me was EXTREMELY excited to finally ride the Bull. One side of me was scared that I would come all of this way for nothing. I sat in my seat, constantly shaking and sometimes banging my head against the headrest. I was bound to go crazy by the end of this ride. I just had to hang in there and calm myself down, which was unfortunately impossible at the time. As we finally turned onto the I-95, Beautiful Day by U2 came on the radio. I think it foreshadowed good things in the future at GAdv for my friend and I. It was definitely a great sign as we quickly headed up the ramp and started towards the park.

As we got closer to the park, I got more antsy. More antsy to get on this beast of a ride. Finally, we reached the "Six Flags-1 mile away" sign. Then, I lost it. My brain filled with thoughts of finally riding the Bull, and how amazing this ride was going to be. I've waited just so long to ride this coaster, and finally the waiting would end, and I would ride. The thoughts rushing through my brain made me lose track of where we really were. However, as soon as I saw the "Six Flags-1 mile away" sign, I came back into reality. This was it. 1 more mile into we would turn on to 537 and enter the park. That one mile may have been the longest of my entire life. It seemed like we just kept going and going and going, reaching no exit. After finally surviving the longest minute of my life, we exited I-95 and headed on to 537. Once on 537, I ALWAYS look around to see how many cars are in the right-hand lanes. Why you ask? Because these people are usually heading to the park as well, so I can receive a general ideal of how many people would be heading into the park today. From what I saw, there weren't many cars on the road at all, which is always a plus knowing when heading into the park.

We charged like a "raging bull" up 537 and towards GAdv. When on 537 and heading toward the park, I usually try to look up at Ka through the trees and see if any trains are going over. However, as I said, today was different. I didn't look up at Ka, nor tried to. Today, in my eyes, was all about riding the Bull, and receiving as many rides possible on it. We roared up 537, getting closer, closer, CLOSER to the park. Finally, I saw the huge Six Flags sign, with the huge "45" seal stuck on top, dead ahead. This was it. We were finally there. We charged up the entrance ramp and over the bridge. Once on the bridge. I received a clear view of Kingda Ka's tower and Hurricane Harbor. I saw Ka go over the top hat once, and i just reminded me that I had not ridden it yet this season, and how I have been longing for a ride on it. Although today was all about Toro, I hoped to receive a ride on my (ex)-favorite coaster at Great Adventure. As we headed down the ramp and over a few speed bumps, I stared at Hurricane Harbor to my left. The park was not open today, but I remembered my amazing trip there last year. This year we will be heading up there during the first week of full operation everyday (end of June), just as we did last year. As we headed closer and closer towards the park, I tried to sneak a look at Toro, with no luck. It wasn't until we finally arrived at the Guest Drop-Off section that I saw the monstrously beast of El Toro. Once we parked in the Guest Drop Off area, my mom let us out to wait for a tram as she went to the Outlets for a few hours. As she pulled away, we saw a Six Flags tram pull up behind us. I just noticed what a great view of not only Ka, but RT and Toro as well from the Guest Drop Off area. It really gives you a sense of how big both Ka and Toro really are (Ka especially). As the tram pulled up, I stared at both coasters, both of which I hoped to get on that day.

The light blue Six Flags tram pulled up in the lot, and we hopped right on. We ended up being the only ones being picked up at the lot. As we boarded, the driver greeted us and went over the "rules" for the tram ride, as usual. We finally set out towards the park entrance as the tram's only customers. On the way there, I noticed that a new route was taken today than it was the last time I was at the park. Last time I was at the park, the tram went through the last row in the parking booths area. Today we went through the old, empty parking lot, which used to hold El Toro parts in it, and Kingda Ka parts before that. I'd say that 1/4 of the lot is now open space, and is now being used as a tram route! As we went through the lot, I continued to look up at Toro, but I didn't see ANY trains going by, which wasn't a good sign. I continued to watch the ride's structure and track as the tram followed all the cars to the lane in the middle of the lot, where all cars must now go to park. We blended in right with the cars as we went single-file up the middle lane. Once all of the cars in front of us went and parked, we went straight through and continued going down the middle lane and under the "Priority Parking" sign. We made a short stop to pick up some guests who were making their way toward the park already. While they boarded, I looked back up at Toro. It showed no action at all, which immediately put a frown on my face. It had to open today, it just had to!

As the other guests sat down for the ride to the front gate, the driver gave me the best news of the day. After greeting them in a friendly manner, he repeated the best 6 words of the entire day twice. "El Toro will be open today!" That turned my frown into a smile. I now knew that I would finally receive my first ride EVER on the Bull today!! We then pulled up to the park's front gate and the tram came to a complete stop. The driver said "Have a nice day" to everyone on board, and we hopped off and started to charge towards the entrance. On the way there, we noticed the "Park closing at 3" signs out on the midway. This would not bother us today, because we would have to leave around 2 anyway. Also on the way to the turnstiles, an employee said "good morning" to us both, and we repeated the greeting back to him. Overall, I was surprised at how nice and friendly the employees were today, and you will see even more of that through this trip report. Anyway, we went straight the the purchasing booths and toward the turnstiles. I whipped out my season pass and the employee quickly flashed it to allow my entry into the park. Then, I got a little surprise from the employee who checked my SP. She handed me a FREE ticket to the park on any weekday until September 4! This came to me as a total surprise. Well, I can think of a reason for doing this. To get another person in the park to spend more money! Anyway, it was still a nice gift and a nice surprise, which I definitely plan on using. I then handed the security guard my Blue Nike bag through the metal detector, just in case something in there went off and they knew it wasn't something I had with me. However, the bag went through with no beeping, as did I. He quickly checked my bag and handed it back to me with a friendly "Have a nice day". Now I just had to wait for my friend who was getting his Print-N-Go papers scanned as I waited. He had not received his season pass yet, so later in the day we had to go over to the processing place so he could get his picture taken and receive his pass and coupon book. He then walked through the metal detector with no problems, and soon we were ready to set out on our trek towards the Bull. The time was now around 10:20, so we missed the first official "Running of the Bulls". No worries though, as we walked towards the Bull, we noticed that the park really wasn't crowded at all. Rarely any people were on the Main Street, which is always a good sign. We kept walking until we encountered those pesky photographers. Every time we come to the park, we try to avoid these annoying photographers, and every time we have failed. This time is no different. All of a sudden I hear "Hey guys, can get get together for a quick photo?". Yes, it was one of them, trying to block our path. I loudly said "NO!" and continue to walk past them towards Dream Street. 

We continued on our way towards the Bull down Dream Street. There weren't many people on this usually crowded area of the park, which was another sign to us that the park really wasn't crowded today. We passed the Carousel and headed towards the Teacups and the game arcade. We quickly entered the game arcade and went right through the building with the sounds and lights of the games just bribing to play. However, today was not a day for the games. It was the day for the Bull. We exited the arcade and headed into the Golden Kingdom. Once we walked under the wooden arches, I looked in awe at the one, the only, El Toro. The huge turnaround dominates that whole area of the Golden Kingdom, with its impressive, HUGE wooden structure. We were almost there. I picked up my walk into a power-walk as we saw a couple of people in front of us. We quickly walked through the Golden Kingdom and into Plaza del Carnaval, passing people right and left. Once we entered the park's newest section, you are hit with vibrant colors, beautiful landscaping, and El Toro's massive structure. This happened to be my first time in this new area of the park. As I passed through the section quickly on my way to Toro, it looked very impressive. The new family ride Tango looks to be a hit with the little ones. Also, the recently revamped La Cocina is sure to offer some great new treats. Basically everything in the new area received a fresh coat of paint, and some nice touch-ups here and there. I really liked the new section as I walked through it on my way to Toro.

Finally, we arrived at the entrance to El Toro, located in the back of Plaza del Carnaval. We were greeted with the huge "El Toro" sign in flames over-head. We quickly walked under it and into the "bull-ring", complete with the huge bull statue, greeting us to his ride. We soon met with an employee who was giving out tickets, just to make sure no one cut the line. I find this method pretty pointless because they don't check the numbers, but whatever. It's still good to know someone didn't just hop from the exit path right back into the queue line I guess. Anyway, we took a ticket and walked through the queue line. As I did so, I looked up at this HUGE ride and its structure. It seems like no trains were going, but I soon figured out why. We came to a stop in the second area of switchbacks, in the second to last row. It didn't seem like a bad wait at all. As we waited to finally ride the Bull, I watched RT and realized that it was testing the red train. I heard that RT would be down for a while, so it was a nice surprise to see it testing. However, there seemed to be no action going on with El Toro. After about 5 minutes, RT stopped testing, and Toro let its first train of riders that I saw go out shortly after. So, I came to the conclusion that they can't run RT and ET at the same time, which seems interesting. After the train returned to the station, the security guard, who was standing where the Flash Pass and the regular queues meet, let some people out of the switchback and allowed them to go up the stairs and into the station. I liked this system because it allows only a certain amount of people in the station at a time, and doesn't make the station extremely crowded. We continued to move through the switchback, and we were able to get through 1 and a half rows of it. We came to a halt under the huge yellow sunshade, which definitely helped today, since it was starting to get very, VERY hot out! Now while waiting, I noticed two things. One thing being how long dispatches were taking. Basically in 5 minutes, ONE train would go through the course. At first, I didn't understand this, but once I would enter the station later on, I would. The other thing I noticed was some work with a huge truck going on over by RT. It seemed to be doing some kind of work with red rocks on the other between RT's lift and the fence near ET's exit ramp. Once we got into the station, we could see this more clearly. After another 10 minutes waiting under the nice sunshade, the security guard let some more people going into the the station. He seemed to let more people go in when two trains when through the course. We continued to move through the queue until we came to a halt in the second to last row of the switchback. We were almost there. Unfortunately, it was getting very, very hot out, and we weren't under the sun shade. Luckily, however, we had an amazing spot to see Toro in action coming over the hills. While we waited for the guard to let more people into the station. I watched Toro in action with one of the best seats in the house. We were so close to the structure, it was crazy. While waiting, I heard a pretty good GP comment as the Toro train roared over the first hill. Only a little way away from me, I heard a voice saying "That noise is the train coming off the track and the wheels spinning".   Just a reminder on how clueless the GP can be about coasters  Anyway, I continued to watch Toro closely, as it continued with about 5 minute dispatches. I honestly wouldn't care if the dispatches twice as long. I just wanted to get on this ride, no matter what. Since I was so close to the ride, I could clearly see how fast to roars through the course. This ride NEVER lets up, until you finally hit the brake run. I continued to watch the ride and the structure in awe, until, all of the sudden, we started to move toward in line. I noticed that the guard was letting people into the station. We continued to move forward, not knowing if we would make the cut-off. Closer, closer, closer...would we make it? Yes! As soon as we reached the guard, we handed him our tickets, and continued down the path to the stairs. On the way up into the station, we decided to head RIGHT to the back seat. Many people have advised me to go to the back seat first, and I decided to agree with them, and head with to the back seat queue line. We only had to wait 2 trains to get on, which wasn't bad at all. Once we got on line for the back seat (Yes, the WAY back) I realized how small the station really is. The boarding side of the station basically has NO room except for the queue line for each row. Oh, and about the other side, there is basically no room at all. There is just enough room for people to get off the ride and exit. When realizing how small the station was, especially in comparison to the other stations at the park, I was very happy with the system they were using to keep the station uncluttered with people. As we waited to get our first ride EVER on the Bull, I looked out the window to see what was going on with the truck and the red rocks. By the time we where in the station, he had almost been poured EVERYWHERE between RT's lift and the fence to the right of Toro's exit path. The only reason I can see the reason in putting the rocks down is to cover the dirt that was in that area. Anyway, the train that was in the station when we came up was finally dispatched. I watched the train go up the lift from the station, and made an observation. The train goes slow up the lift until the ENTIRE train is on the lift. Once every car is on the lift, the train charges up the lift EXTREMELY fast, in fact, the fastest I have EVER seen a train go up a lift. The cable lift is definitely an amazing invention for the coaster world. It is just AMAZING how fast you go up that lift. Anyway, you receive a GREAT view of the coaster from the station, especially the drop and the banked turn before the "xtreme ejector hill". At least you have some entertainment to get you psyched for the AMAZING ride ahead.


Posted on: June 14, 2006, 07:52:42 pmCouldn't fit it all in one post...
After about 10 minutes of waiting, our train re-entered the station. This was it. After more than one year of waiting, my train on the "world's greatest wooden coaster" came to a halt before me. All of the guests in the train seemed to all have smiles on their faces and cheered as they entered the station. This was a very good sign as we got ready to ride this beast of a coaster. All of the other guests finally exited, meaning it was time for us to get thrown around by the Bull. Finally, the air gates opened in front of us, and we entered the train. My friend took my bag and put it across the station while I sat down in the right seat. This was it. I quickly adjusted and buckled my seat belt, and remembered NOT to pull down the orange restraint, as the main operator repeated many times. We were the last two to get checked, because the ops start at the front. I sat there in my seat, thinking that I'm finally here. I made it through the official announcement, I made it through the off season, I made it through construction, I made it through testing, and now, I ride the ride I've been waiting for for more than a year. It was time to finally ride the Bull.

Finally, after a few minutes, the operators came to us. The operator made sure my seat belt was TIGHT, and pushed down my orange restraint as hard as he could. I probably had about a half of an inch of room. However, fortunately, as I have read, stapling is a MUST on this ride. So, I knew going on about the sick ejector air I was about to receive. As the operators made sure our restraints were tight, they told us, "Have a great ride guys, the back is better than the front".  I knew I was ready for one crazy and insane ride. The operators went to the sides, and the main op said "Verify Toro". We then heard a clicking noise, and then that famous Kingda Ka recording came on (Head Back, arms down, hold on!). Almost suddenly after that, the main op came over the Mic, and said his usual spiel....

3...2...1...Enjoy your ride on El Toro! Toro! Toro! Ole!!!!

This was it. It was to to tame the bull!

We started to roll right out of the station and into the first 180 degree turn. We passed everyone in the queue line, and saw that the line still wasn't that long, which meant a re-ride for me! Anyway, we quickly went around the turn and headed up the lift. We started off slow, but once our entire car was on the lift, meaning the entire train was on the lift, we charged like a raging bull up the lift. We barely had anytime to enjoy the view! I'd say the lift takes about 10 seconds to get up the lift, which is EXTREMELY short! As we climbed the lift, it felt like the ride had already begun we were going so fast! There is no time for anticipation. This ride is ALWAYS moving, and ALWAYS moving at an amazing pace. As we reached the top of the lift, I looked all around at the surroundings. To the right Medusa was JUST cresting its lift hill, and to my left was the monstrous Kingda Ka and the dwarfed Rolling Thunder. And you know, I would have liked to enjoy that view a little bit more, but we FLEW around that 180 degree turn faster than ever, and soon we encountered one of the most thrilling and amazing experiences I've ever had on a roller coaster, the 76 degree drop.

It all happened so sudden. I was at the top of a 188 ft lift hill, about to be pulled down a 76 degree drop, the steepest ever on a wooden coaster. And then it happened. The front of the train quickly roared down the first drop, then the 2nd car, then the 3rd car, then the 4th car, then the 5th car, and then...us. I put my hands up and was ready for the ultimate ride of my life. We dropped like a bunch of flies, coming down to earth. It really seemed like we went STRAIGHT DOWN as we roared down to earth. About half-way down the drop, I got my first sense of what the sensation of "ejector airtime" feels like. However, this wasn't regular ejector airtime, this was XTREME ejector airtime! I thought I was going to fly out of my seat and plummet to my death, but I guess it was a good thing the ride ops know how to staple you! On the way out of the drop, you get hit with a HUGE head chopper. Holy crap, it feels like you area going to die too many times on this ride. We narrowly avoided getting our heads chopped off and went straight into the 1st major hill. About half way up, I was greeted by Mr. Ejector Air once again. I seriously never thought there would be a ride with this much airtime. As we crested the hill, I thought I was going to fly out of my seat and into Lahaway Creek. However, as I have said, we were LUCKY to be COMPLETELY stapled by the ride ops. This ejector airtime is MUCH different than floater air, and MUCH better than floater air. With ejector air, you FLY into your restraint HARD, and think you are going to be thrown out of your train. With floater air, you gently float out of your seat, giving a mild sensation. I now understand the difference between, say Nitro's airtime and Toro's airtime. Anyway, I continued to hit my restraint with plentiful ejector air until we finally came out of the 1st major airtime hill. And what's up next? ANOTHER huge hill, full of xtreme ejector air! We are greeted with some more air as we come up and over the 2nd major hill. The air on this ride is just ridiculous. It has to be the most amazing and out of control airtime I've ever encountered in my life. We we crested and came down from the 2nd hill, we came into one of the best turnarounds, ever. As we came up into the turnaround, we were greeted with yet another short pop of airtime, until we got SLAMMED into our seats, and through the incredibly intense turnaround. We came down, down, down, turning to the right as we did. I was stapled to my seat as we curved down the amazing turn, finally to come out of this sick element and up into a banked hill. As we crested the top of the outcome of the amazing turnaround, we were yet again greeted with Mr. Ejector as we crested the banked hill, and also as we made our descent down the hill. The next little element is what I call the "speed hill" This little hill is very unexpected and as make our way back towards the station. As we crested this small, but long hill, we received a quick pop of airtime before getting thrown back into our seats. It was now time for our first banked turn! As soon as we came down, we were up a small hill again and were greeted with a small pop of ejector before going into our first highly banked turn, with one of the best, but most unnecessary headchopper EVER. It seemed like the park decided to have some fun by putting some extra wood on the banked turn, creating an AMAZING head chopper effect. As we came into the turn, we were cemented into our seats. Soon we encountered the most unnecessary head chopper EVER, in which I almost put my hands down. I really thought we hands were going to be chopped away. However, my hands survived it, and we went on into the best element EVER on a coaster, the hill over RT. This hill has to be the most insane element EVER on a coaster. We roared up the hill, and once we came close to cresting it, we were HIT with AMAZING airtime. I seriously thought I was going to fly like a bird out of my seat. However, I continued stay in the train, but not by much. For a couple of seconds I was slammed into my restraint the hardest I have ever had before. The airtime on this hill is simply AMAZING, and my favorite part of the ride. Now it was time to head into the twister section! You were first hit HARD with a turn to the right, a turn to the left, and a turn to the helix going into one STRONG helix. This part of the twister section has some amazing forces, all leading up to two more small hills with a few last pops of ejector air. Finally, after all of that, we slammed into the brakes. What a freaking AMAZING ride the Bull is. I'm telling you, this coaster is DEFINITELY one of the best I've ever been on, if not the best. It has everything a coaster should have, all in one package. For those that have not ridden it, GO RIDE IT NOW! It will be the ride of your lives, trust me.

El Toro is indeed amazing.

Thanks for reading! Front row review coming soon!

-KKR05

[ChuckR]

Awesome review man!

[overlord]

You write some long @$$ reviews man. Thats because I told you to make it one post. You are very fortunate to have a short line and be able to get a re-ride. I was lucky I only waited 1.5 hours on Media Day for El Toro's queue alone.

[KingdaKaRuler05]

Thanks guys  I'll have the front row review up most likely tomorrow, as well as a trip report wrap-up.

-KKR05

[KingdaKaRuler05]

Here is the end of the trip report/ride review!

We quickly glided down the curved slope and back toward the station. Once we rolled slowly into the station, we were greeted with the singing of the main ride operator. "Ole, Ole Ole Ole" he sang, and asked us how our ride was. Everyone in our train cheered and clapped. It was obvious that this ride is a hit with everyone in our train. We finally came to a halt in the station after our long journey. We quickly unbuckled our seat belts and pushed up our restraints. I grabbed my blue bag and quickly exited down the exit stairs. Wow, what a ride that was. It was definitely worth the wait. I continued to look up at the colossal structure as we followed the exit path down the side of the station and under the entrance stairs. We continued our way down the exit path by RT and went up to the photo booth. I was excited to see my photo on this ride more than ever. Once we came up to the booth, I looked towards the end of the photo screens since we were in the back row. I quickly spotted us, and saw that I looked the same way I do on every ride. Hands up, smile on face. We decided to pass on getting the picture. and headed back into PDC. We both decided that we wanted to ride again. The line still wasn't that long, and about as long as it was when we first waited. So, we went back to the entrance and grabbed a ticket. We were ready for another ride on the Bull.

We quickly hurried through the half-empty queue line and ended up basically in the same exact spot we had been before. We were in the first row of the 2nd switchback. As soon as we stopped, they started allow more people into the station, so we soon moved even more through the queue, coming into the 2nd row of the switchback. Luckily we ended up under the sun shade. That sun shade was definitely a life saver as the day went on and got hotter. Anyway, as we waited, the came into the booth and began to introduce himself. After he did all that, he put on a random song and told us he was going to play around with the system. He sped the music up, and he slowed the music down. He made the music louder, and made the music softer. Then he went on to make those squeaky noises that DJ's do...which got pretty annoying after a while. After he played around with the music, he put a different song on and let it play. Unfortunately the DJ's at GAdv don't play the music I like, but that was expected. I just continued to ignore it and looked up at Toro. We continued to move through the line very slowly as the DJ continued to play music. What I found funny is that he tried to get people to dance. I don't know who would dance in a queue line with 80 degree weather outside We continued to wait about 30 minutes until we arrived at then 2nd to last row in the switchback. It was that time again to let people into the station, and I really thought we would get into the station. We were very close. We continued to move forward, going, and going, and going, until we came to an abrupt halt. We didn't make it. We were about 5 people short, which was terrible. First off, we were so close, and second, we weren't under the sun shade. It was REALLY starting to heat up as the afternoon sun roared over head. At least we now had an AMAZING view of Toro up-close, which really kept you occupied as a train roared through the course. Unfortunately, it didn't stay that way for long. After about 10 minutes of waiting under the scorching sun, we saw no signs of action at Toro. Then, out of no where, a small medic cart pulled up right up the ride's entrance stairs. This definitely wasn't a good sign. The DJ then came over the Mic and told us that when he knew something, we would all know, which was great of him to do. I guess there is some purpose in the DJ's besides playing bad music . Anyway, after about 10 more waiting of doing absolutely nothing, the DJ came back over the Mic. Hopefully he would some news for us. Fortunately, he did. He told us that someone was "dizzy/passed out". Definitely not what we wanted to hear. This automatically reminded me of my Hershey trip 2 years ago. My family and I were waiting to get tickets into the park early in the morning when we heard a big "thump". A man passed out and fell to the sidewalk below. Immediately a small medic cart came in, just like the one GAdv had. They quickly took him away with a few of his family members. Anyway, back at GAdv, we continued for them to clean up the situation. As we did, I just stood there in the hot sun, hoping it wouldn't be long before the whole situation was cleaned up. After about 15 more minutes of doing nothing, many people began to leave the queue line and even the station. This definitely wasn't a good sign of the ride opening back up again. However, only a few minutes later, a family came out of the station and down to the cart with the medics. Luckily they seemed to be fine and the medics soon drove away from the exit. I figured it would be only a matter of time now before the ride re-opened, which was great. After around 45 minutes of extra waiting, I was ready for my 2nd ride on the Bull.

After about 5 more minutes, a train was dispatched with 4 workers. This seemed to be just a test run. There was obviously nothing wrong with the ride during this short delay, it was only the person. The ride ran flawlessly through the course and returned back into the station. As it did so, we finally saw the security guard move toward opening the chain and letting us into the station. YES! Finally we would get away from the scorching heat and move that much closer to getting on the ride. We moved down the path and up the ride's entry stairs. We were greeted with a near empty station as we reached the top of the stairway. Once I saw the line for the front, and how short it was, I asked my friend "Front?". He quickly said "OK". As we boarded the little separate queue line for the front, I counted how many people were in front of us. There were 6. That means it was only a 3 train wait for the front, which wasn't bad at all. We continued to wait, and wait, and wait for our second ride of the day on the Bull. Trains left the station left the station with cheers, and re-entered the station with cheers. It was obvious that this ride is a hit with EVERYONE. As we waited for our ride, we watched the ride go through its course in the station. The ride comes basically RIGT by the station, making a pretty good view from the gates on the opposite side of the station. Watching the ride go through its course makes you even more ready to tame this beast, especially seeing groups of people coming into the station cheering for what an awesome ride it was. After about 10 minutes, we were next to ride. Our train quickly entered the station and came to a halt in front of us. This was it, my first ride EVER on front row of the Bull. I wanted to see how the front compared to the back, and this was the only way to find out. Our air gate opened, and I set my bag down across the station. I came back and sat down in the left-hand seat in the train. I quickly buckled my seat belt and got ready for one amazing ride.

The ride operators quickly came over to us to pull down our restraints and check our seat belts. To me, you get stapled in more than one way on this ride. The operators tighten your seat belt so it is the tightest it can be, and push your restraint as hard as they possibly can. Double whammy. Thankfully, stapling is necessary from the extreme airtime on this ride. So the operators checked us and went on to do the rest of the train was we waited. I stared dead ahead at the 180 degree turn out of the station. I quickly realized that in the front seat you really receive the full effect and get a GREAT view. I couldn't wait to get rolling on those tracks. The operators finally completed their checks after a good couple of minutes, and we were ready to roll. The main operator "Verified Toro" and made sure all operators were out of the way. The main operator came over the Mic and did his usual spiel....3,2,1...enjoy your ride on El Toro Toro Toro! Ole! And we were on our way.

As we left the station we waved to everyone still waiting in line, and some people even waved back We went right through the ride's structure and encountered the lift hill. We slowly began to make our climb up the lift. Once our entire train was on the lift hill, we began to speed up, FAST! After the entire train is on the lift hill, you really charge up that thing extremely fast. Even though we had little time to enjoy the view from the front, it was still nice to see the surrounding area and how much it was changed over the last two years. You have the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster to the left of you, and now a monstrous new wooden coaster overshadowing Rolling Thunder and even going through its infield. The lift gave us a nice view of the park's two wooden coasters and Ka's huge tower. We continued to charge up the lift and quickly crested it. When I say this thing is fast, I mean it is FAST! We quickly went around the 180 degree turn and braces ourselves for the best drop I have EVER experienced on a roller coaster. As we quickly approached our first descent, I put my hands up in the air and yelled "Here we go!". Then, we were gone, down the 76 degree slope to the bottom. In the front you can see it all, which was AMAZING. Unfortunately, I didn't get any airtime in the front on the way down, which was pretty odd to me. Anyway, the drop seems so much steeper than it really is in the front seat, and really seems like you're going STRAIGHT down! So, the back seat for the drop is better for the airtime, and the front seat on the drop is better for the AMAZING view. You decide. You go down that drop so fast it is crazy. And, at the bottom, you encounter of the ride's first head choppers, which happens to be the wood of the banked turn before crossing over into RT. I really thought they were going to be chopped away, but luckily we roared into the 1st major hill with my arms still in tact! Once you crest that hill, you literally FLY out of your seat. The ejector air on these two hills is INSANE. Wherever you sit on the train, you are going to get amazing ejector air on these two hills, and I have no doubt about that. As you crest each of the amazing "ejector hills" as I call them, you receive a few seconds of amazing air, only to be thrown back down into your seat as you fall back to Earth. In between these two amazing hills, you find the photo camera, which happened to take a HILARIOUS photo of my friend, but I'll have more on that later After the amazing ejector hills, you move on to the smoothest turnaround on ANY coaster, ANYWHERE! You fly up a small hill, receiving a small pop of air time before being thrown into your seat and down this amazing turnaround. Down, down, down you go to the ground, only to come right back up again into a curved, sloped hill. Overall, I love the turnaround because it is INCREDIBLY smooth and pretty intense as you get closer to the ground. You go through it so fast, and before long, you are gliding up the next, sloped hill and ready to make your next plummet. As you crest the sloped hill, we received one little pop of air before we came quickly back to the ground. You actually receive some nice, unexpected airtime as you pull out of the amazing turnaround and into what I call the "speed hill". You really glide over this small hill, with a small pop of air as you crest it. However, a small pop of air time is all you have time for, as you are up and over this thing in only a matter of seconds. From there, you head into our first banked turn, right before the crossover into RT. As you glide into the turn, you may receive a pop of air before you get slammed into this forceful turn, with the most unnecessary head chopper EVER. It is obvious that the park did it just for the "head chopper enthusiasts" As soon as you get thrown into the curve, you get thrown at a head-chopper. Now on this one, I REALLY thought that I was going into lose my hands. It seems to be so low, especially when you are in the front seat. Fortunately, I didn't lose my hands, and we stayed put in our seats until we flew (literally) up into the most amazing hill on a roller coaster, EVER. This is what I call the "XTREME Hill". (Yep, I have a term for every part of the ride ) This part of the ride seriously is probably one of the most amazing moments on any coaster anywhere. As soon as you even come close to cresting this thing, you get HIT with the ejector air into your lap bar. And it STAYS that way for a good couple of seconds as you crest the hill and fly down into RT's in-field. It is just insane how much air time you get on this hill, it really is. After this AMAZING part of the ride, you go into what I call the "insane twister area". In the front seat, compared to ANY other seat, the twister area is extremely different. In the front, you really see EXACTLY how these turns whip you around, and the full extent of the forces they produce. As you come into the first banked turn, you get slammed into your seat, and you aren't moving until you crest the small bunny hill after the amazing helix. One reason why this section is so extreme is because of the amazing speed you have going into the portion of the ride. You quickly you straight into the first turn, getting whipped to the right, and soon again encountering the second extreme turn, throwing you to the left. After you extremely forceful banked turn, you go into the INSANE helix. The forces don't let up in this area. Around and around you go, the forces so extreme it's almost painful, until you finally glide out into a small bunny hill, producing a nice pop of air. How the twister section changed so quickly is insane. The Bull finishes you off with one more little little pop of airtime on another small hill before slamming you into the brakes. This ride is seriously insane. If you haven't ridden El Toro yet, you SERIOUSLY have to get out to Great Adventure and tame it. Trust me, it's even worth the extremely high price of 60 bucks if you don't have a season pass.

We glided down the small curving hill and back into the station. The main ride operator greeted us again with his usual spiel, "Ole, Ole Ole Ole, how was you ride?" Everyone again cheered and clapped. I just shouted "That was freaking amazing". I just needed to let it out of my system We came to an abrupt halt in the station. I quickly unbuckled my seat belt and lifted up my restraint. I grabbed my blue bag and headed to the exit. My friend said it me "that was awesome". I definitely agreed. We went down the exit path and under the entry stairs. As we walked down the exit path, the DJ asked us how it was. I gave him a thumbs up and said it was amazing, which it certainly was. We walked over to the photo booth to check out of picture. Since I couldn't see our picture, we told them to put it in the small screen. And as soon as it did, I burst in laughter. My friend's face was PRICELESS! I looked the same as I usually do, but his picture in the photo had to be worth any price. I decided to pass on the picture though, and headed out back into PDC. As we walked through the colorful section we both we laughing loudly. It was just that hilarious. We headed back out of PDC and decided to see if we could get on Kingda Ka today. However, it was around 1:10, and we had to meet my mom out at the drop-off area at 1:45. It was going to be close. We decided to go and check out the wait anyway. As we did, I stopped at the snack stand at the entrance to PDC and whipped out my souvenir cup. The guy quickly gave me a refill of Diet Coke (Diet Coke > Regular Coke IMO!) and started to ask me something. Since he was talking so softly, I didn't know what he was saying. I ended up saying "what" about 5 times until I finally understood what he was saying. He was asking me if I wanted another tiger head for my souvenir cup since mine wouldn't fit on the cup anymore. I said "sure" and he gave me another one, which was great. I was actually surprised to see it given to me for FREE! I quickly paid my $1.05 and headed out on our way to KK. We walked down through the Golden Kingdom and took a quick look at the tigers. Since we didn't have that much time, and still had to get my friend's pass processed, we quickly walked through the GK and to Ka's entrance. When we got to the entrance, we got a twice and walked down the path on the side of the GK. The ride didn't seem to be crowded, which was a good sign. We quickly walked through the queue and under the ride's entry sign. That's where we were hit with people. The queue was filled up at least to the part before the lockers, as we observed with our eyes as we continued to walk down the queue. We soon came to the switchback, which wasn't full at all. Only about 2 complete rows were full. However, I knew we would be cutting it close if we got on. We decided to stay as see how fast the line went. It didn't go very fast. Even though trains were constantly launching, we only moved through those 2 rows of switchbacks before it was 1:25. We had to bail. Unfortunately, I didn't get my first Ka ride of the season that day (and STILL haven't gotten it ) Anyway, we had to go and walk back through the queue line. We walked back through the Golden Kingdom and towards the Boardwalk, so my friend could get his pass processed. Thankfully there was absolutely no line, so my friend got his picture taken, pass processed, and received his coupon book in no time. After that, it was time to head towards the exit. As we came to Main Street, it was around 1:30, and I decided to go to the bathroom before we left. So, we headed back over to Movietown to use the bathroom there. Once we were done, we headed back to Main Street and quickly got some Dippin' Dots! Cookies and Cream flavor is AMAZING! We both got some and ate it on the way out. Even though we only did 2 rides, it was one amazing ride, and we did what we accomplished to do, ride the bull.

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We both ate our Dippin' Dots as we waited for the tram. In only a matter of minutes, the tram pulled up, and we took it all the way back to the drop-off area where we would meet our ride. After we boarded, the guy running the tram came over the Mic and said "Hey guys, there's no eating on the tram, but if you don't make a mess, I'll give you a deal. Deal or no deal?" "Deal!" we said. We sat eating our Dippin Dots as we took the tram back to the lot. As we did, I looked up at Ka, and hoped to said to myself, "I have to get on this soon". Then I looked up at Toro, and said to myself the same. GAdv is definitely the ultimate coaster park.

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We finally arrived back at the lot and met our ride, ending a short, but amazing day at the park. On the way home from the park, we talked about how amazing the ride was, and stopped at Wendy's on Rt. 130 for a small lunch. I got their Spicy Chicken sandwich, which is always great. We continued our ride home after one AMAZING day at the park!

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Day Recap

-Toro is AMAZING
-Park not too crowded
-Toro is AMAZING
-Very friendly employees
-Toro is AMAZING
-Great service at the park today
-Toro is AMAZING
-PDC looks great!
-Ka running well
-No lines for the season pass processing
-Oh yeah, and did I mention Toro is AMAZING!?!?

Thanks for reading guys, I hoped you enjoyed it!!

-KKR05