nbadude44

Was Harry able to buy one of the new customizable bricks before he passed away? I'm heading to the park this weekend, so I wanna keep my eyes out for it if he did. RIP

I don't care if Flash doesn't open until December 31st, the fact that they FINALLY tore down the paintball building is the best possible thing to happen to the park this year! *insert Frodo saying "It's over. It's finally over"*

Hallelujah! They finally started construction! At this rate, it should be open by September! Let's GO!!!!!!!

I've been visiting this website since its inception in 2007, which is when I started visiting the park regularly. I'm heartbroken to hear about Harry's passing. I have both of his books and I wish I could have met him IRL to tell him how much his contributions have helped fuel my love of Great Adventure and roller coasters/theme parks in general. I wish he could have made it to July 4, 2024 for the parks big 5-0. He will be missed dearly. RIP Edit: Also, I don't have a Facebook account. Is there any other way to see the posts on the FB page?

Many Six Flags parks, including Great Adventure, have been adding 99 cent surcharges "due to increased labor & supply costs." It's even been making the rounds on websites like Reddit:

I thought April Fools Day passed months ago! But seriously, remember about 10-15 years ago when Six Flags was struggling badly? Eliminating tons of rides, opening other terrible ventures like those barber shops, and eventually filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy? After hearing the news, it's uncanny how they've been able to bounce back from that to get to this point. Also, I wonder how competing parks in the same area (e.g. Magic Mountain and Knott's Berry Farm) will eventually fare from this.

Good news everyone! El Toro was testing yesterday, It will probably be re-opening soon (maybe this weekend?) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuMKlhrvqks

^ I love how they used an older photo before Batman was repainted.

Great pictures as always. It's sad to see a big portion of the park closed off until Memorial Day or later. However, I'm glad to see there was little to no damage from that tornado warning. Also, the Coke Freestyle machines are back in the park after being gone since Covid. That's a win in my book!

Looks like the rumor of Nitro getting a new name & color scheme was bogus. Hopefully, there's a chance for a new paint job later on, but keeping the original colors

Aside from removing the Parachute Tower?

Sad to see the Parachutes going, especially because of how relatively close it was to the famous (but defunct) Parachute Tower in Coney Island. This was the closest thing you could get to that landmark, but not anymore. To be fair, when I rode it at the end of last October, the base of the tower was swarming with the rapidly-breeding firefly moths. Maybe that was a factor in removing it? I've ridden it dozens of times, but my fondest memory was watching some of the 2008 Glow In The Park parade from the skies. I don;t have any pictures of that, but I'll share my oldest photo of the Parachutes, from November 2, 2008:

I'm not sure if this has been addressed on the forums yet, but there's been some rumors a-brewing about our favorite B&M hypercoaster. This video that was uploaded 2 weeks ago is making claims from a source close to the park that Nitro is getting a new name, new theming, and a new color scheme in the next season. It's supposedly being re-named "Goliath" and will be using the same sign from Six Flags New England's now-demolished coaster of the same name. If that wasn't enough, it's reportedly getting re-painted w/ green track & deep blue supports, just like the SFNE coaster. Speaking of B&M, there was also a report of a delivery of various B&M parts that arrived just a few days ago at the park. Coincidence? Personally, I haven't heard any other legitimate sources and/or claims that address anything else, but I hope that these rumors aren't true. Yes, Nitro has been craving a re-paint for years now, but the coaster name "Goliath" is Six Flags' equivalent to "John Smith". Nitro is one of a kind, and it should stay that way.

Due to my busy work schedule, I haven't been to the park since May 1st. Also, this is the only day of Fright Fest I could make since I usually work on weekends. Turns out I went on the right day, because it was 10 outta 10 (pun intended). The good news: the weather was pleasant all day long (mid-60s), the lines were next-to-nothing since it's a school night, and I got to ride pretty much everything I intended to. The bad news: There wasn't any nighttime shows since the park closed at 7 today Also, in addition to Toro still being broken, multiple rides were closed for the entire day such as Joker, Houdini, Zumanjaro, and Kingda Ka. In fact, they completely walled off the entrances to both Ka/Zumanjaro and Plaza Del Carnival. Plus, the infamous spotted lanternflies have swarmed the park (AKA the bugs you might have heard on the news recently that you're supposed to kill on sight.) I saw dozens of them around the park, specifically around the base of Skyscreamer and the Parachute towers. If any of you plan on visiting the park in the next few weeks, please be mindful that these pests are multiplying exponentially and have been throwing the local ecosystem out of balance. If you see 'em, stomp 'em! Anyway, I got to ride Jersey Devil three times (thrice?) in a row, followed by quick rides on Nitro, Batman, Big Wheel, and Skyscreamer. The only ride with a relatively long wait time was Justice League (now in 2D), which was about 30 minutes. The Oktoberfest theming was a great addition to the normal Halloween stuff this year. They even had a few employees dressed in traditional German lederhosen (minus the shorts). The newer Fright Fest-themed props looked nice too, like the old Off-Road Safari trucks covered in cobwebs, and the mini-blood fountain next to Jolly Roger (even if it looks more like a Fanta fountain in my opinion). Other random observations: Green Lantern's sign is fading and cracking up (let's hope it gets some TLC this offseason). Justice League had a noticeable audio delay with the pre-show & Cyborg animatronic in the queue. It felt like when you watch the news on TV and there's an awkward silence between the host cutting to another reporter on the street, y'know? The propane tanks for Medusa's flamethrowers are gone. Hopefully not forever... Northern Star Arena's marquee is completely blank and there's a bunch of unmowed, untidy grass on the hill. I'd honestly be shocked if it ISN'T getting removed. If it does, I'm hoping it's replaced for a new coaster for the park's 50th anniversary in 2024. I personally wanna see a smaller, family-friendly wooden coaster that can fill the gap left behind by Rolling Thunder. After some quick rides on Green Lantern, Swashbuckler, and Medusa (twice), I decided to call it a day. Final Ridecount: Jersey Devil 3x Medusa 2x Nitro 1x Batman 1x Green Lantern 1x Big Wheel 1x SkyScreamer 1x Justice League 1x Parachutes 1x Swashbuckler 1x

OMFG YOU WERE HERE TODAY TOO?! I can't believe I didn't see you in the park today! I was only in the park from around 12-5 today, but I was literally just about to publish my own trip report & photos before I saw this! I'll put a few of them below and write my PTR in a moment Did you also notice all of the spotted lanternflies all over the park? The ones you're supposed to kill on sight? I saw dozens of them on the base of the Skyscreamer and the Parachutes. IF ANYONE ELSE GOES TO THE PARK SOON, KEEP YOUR EYES OUT FOR THESE BUGS!

^ As long as the weather is not too chilly this October. I gotta remind myself to bring some gloves to mittens if I do this.

You innocent little cherub. Each week gets progressively more and more crowded leading up to Halloween. By the last week or two of October, the crowds get so bad they usually have a bunch of K9 police units stationed at the park. The only possible way that the final weekend of October WON'T be crowded is if a hurricane passes through.

The specific inclusion of "as you know it" piques my curiosity. Are they gonna completely scrap the old one? Will they replace it with a bigger & better version? Will they keep the original structure and build something new with its old foundation (like a completely new spin on what a "hybrid" coaster can be)? The possibilities are endless. Or they can just give it to Dorney Park. That place is already used to getting hand-me-downs from Cedar Point.

Coney Island pics:

Great Adventure photos: A few observations: This might be the last time I see the 90's-eraSix Flags road sign since they're replacing it soon. There was some promo event in the back of the parking lot hosted by BMW. They had a bunch of tents and cars out for test drives. The Wiggles' stage is completely gone and the concrete foundation for the re-located Barnstormer looks like it will be set any day now. There's a boardwalk game booth set up behind the abandoned Paintball building now. As if we need more unnecessary things blocking that path... There are new electric car charging stations next to Green Lantern's queue, which is neat. The big Adventure Crossing pavilion down the road from the park has had a ton of progress. It looks like the vertical construction on the new Marriott hotel began recently. Also, a new Popeye's and Taco Bell in that pavilion are already open, plus a 7-11 with a gas station that's almost done. Everything else still has a long way to go.

Yesterday was the only free day I have in the foreseeable future before Memorial Day (when things start to get busy at the park), so I went to the park on a whim. Turns out it was the perfect day to go! The weather was really nice (sunny & no higher than 75 degrees) and the crowds were almost non-existent. The only ride that had a wait of more than 15 minutes was Superman, and that's only because only one train was running. On the other hand, some rides actually had more trains than necessary. For example, Kingda Ka was a walk-on because it had 3 trains running. Also, they apparently can't operate Ka without having a full train, so I was able to get three consecutive rides without changing seats (after my third ride, Ka had technical difficulties, so I lucked out there). Not to mention, the new single rider lines also helped a lot since I went by myself. Actually, I was able to to get tons of re-rides yesterday; specifically 4 on El Toro (which is running much smoother than 2 years ago, when I last rode it), 3 on Medusa, 2 on Jersey Devil, and 3 on Nitro. By 1 PM, I had also gotten rides on Runaway Train (where I literally had a train all to myself), the Sky Ride, and Skull Mountain. After lunch at Granny's, I made a personal goal to ride every single coaster at least once, and I got it done by 5 PM (plus a ride on the Parachutes) and left shortly afterwards. This is actually the 2nd time I've been able to ride every single coaster at least once in a day. The other time was in 2008 on the very last day of Fright Fest when in was 13. While sitting in traffic on the way home to Long Island, I remembered that Luna Park in Coney Island is getting a new roller coaster that intertwines with a new log flume. I had no idea if it was open yet or not, so I thought, "Well, there's only one way to find out!" The bad news is that it's not ready yet. The coaster (Tom's Express) is mostly finished and the log flume (Leti's Treasure) still needs plenty of work. They're gonna be conveniently located in between the Thunderbolt coaster and the Parachute Tower, and all of the remaining pieces of both rides are sitting behind it fenced off, right next to the baseball stadium. The GOOD news is that I got credits on the 2 coasters that opened last year at the Deno's Wonder Wheel Park: the Vekoma family/inverted Phoenix, and SkyFlyer, a kiddie coaster that makes Lil Devil/Road Runner Railway look like a B&M Gigacoaster. I left Coney Island after only an hour because it was getting chillier as the sun was setting. Final Ridecount: Great Adventure: El Toro 4x Medusa 4x (aka the coaster formerly known as 'the coaster formerly known as Medusa') Kingda Ka 3x Jersey Devil 2x Runaway Train 1x Sky Ride 1x Skull Mountain 1x Lil Devil 1x Harley Quinn 1x Joker 1x Dark Knight 1x Batman 1x Green Lantern 1x Superman 1x Deno's Wonder Wheel Park: Phoenix 1x Skyflyer 1x

Amazing photos, as always. The fresh paint on Batman and Medusa looks AMAZING! I just wonder what they'll do for the new Medusa entrance sign, though. Looks like they kept the foundation of the Bizarro sign & painted over it for now, but I'm not sure if they're going to keep it & slap a new design on it or just scrap it altogether, since it has such an oddly-shaped silhouette. Also, if you were able to ride on El Toro, did you notice if it was running any smoother since the re-inspection? The last time I rode it (in late 2020), it felt much rougher than it ever had before; in fact, I wasn't even too surprised when the de-railing actually happened last year.

The Great Adventure Youtube page just uploaded a video with a new backstory for Medusa. My theory is that these "chapters" are going to replace Bizarro's faded, comic book-inspired backstory in the queue.

Holy. Moley. You already had me at "single riders lines". This new management at Six Flags already knows wassup. I don't even mind that we're not getting any "major" new rides or anything. Introducing multiple minor changes that will hopefully improve the overall park experience this year is completely fine by me. As long as they save the BIG update(s) for the park's 50th anniversary in 2024, I'll be satisfied. Also, it looks like that Riddler-themed Instagram post from a few months ago turned out to be a whole lotta nothing. Welcome back, Medusa!

Several years ago, during my first semester of community college, I went to Fright Fest on a random Saturday without realizing I had a paper due at midnight. I legitimately tried to write my whole paper on one of these computers, but it didn't work. I think they must've been running on Windows XP or something, but the computers at the time were too outdated & primitive. I had no choice but to leave the park way earlier than expected to write that paper. I don't even remember what the paper was about or what class it was for. I just remember being bummed out that I had to leave Fright Fest only 2 or 3 hours after I got there.