SFGadv123

It's to prevent line cutters. The passes are in numerical order. If you got a guy who gives you pass #19 and the last pass you checked was #11, you know he just cut 7 people. People have been complaining for years about line cutting so I am glad they are doing things to deter it.

When do you give the pass back? Some rows are obviously longer than others so the numbers would be scattered all over the place. I assume they would collect them before you get back in the station?

i'm really happy they are making the loose article policy stricter to prevent injury and people trying to film their own reactions when there are thousands on YouTube, But they need to do a better job. There were people vaping right next to me in line for kingda ka and it was obnoxious and there was also a kid who put his phone under his belt and got on KK's trains and his reaction was priceless when he figured out that his phone was getting crushed.

If they are going to be really strict on the loose article policy they need to make it easier to store the items somewhere. I don't bring my phone in the park because I'm always afraid it will break or i'll lose, it but i obviously need my keys. I am not going to buy a locker for the ridiculous prices. They either need to add bins to the rides to place loose items like most parks have or lower the prices of lockers.

Isn't it common sense to have security cameras in the lot? I don't see the logic, it isn't like they don't have the money

I'm just waiting for Hurricane Harbor to finally get one of those drop box type slides. I feel like all of the water parks around here have one of those now. I remember when HH was suppose to get them on The Falls but opted to go with the joke of a slide King Cobra

Nitro, Bizarro, and Superman should all be painted before KK. You don't see KK's track close up unless you ride it, but for the ones I mentioned, you don't even have to ride it to notice how badly they need to be painted. As for your other points, it's too costly to change the launch system. KK is still a popular ride and attracts many people all over the world. As long as it's current state still makes them money...

 

I don think the article explains anything. It is what it says it is. Its an opinion. The opinion piece refers to things but doesn't give any evidence that the removal of the trees is bad. It does refer to material that I haven't read though.

 

The woman who wrote the opinion piece may not be wrong but she has strong opinion and it fits her agenda.

 

Again. I haven't seen al of the material so I don't know how to make an educated decision so I have to trust the people that should be educated and can make the proper decision. Yes, I said I should trust the decision makers LOL

Oh I understand that it is an opinion. But people have said they don't understand why people object to this project, and this article is from the view of someone who is against it and makes some good points. This part of the article catches by attention:

"What’s most disconcerting is how any company or individual could stick to a deforestation plan after listening to experts testify about the devastating environmental impacts, and possible harm to the area’s drinking water supply. That, coupled with the township’s lack of any environmental impact studies to weigh the effects on the public and surrounding environment, is reprehensible."

http://www.app.com/story/opinion/columnists/2017/07/08/six-flags-solar-farm-court/103507306/

This is a good article explaining why the current plan to cut down all of the trees is the wrong way to go about this

Seems weird to think that some schools are just getting out now when I've been out for 2 weeks

Still disappointed that they couldn't find a way to do this without cutting down so many trees. It's counter productive to do one thing that helps the environment while doing another thing that damages it. I know that they use the parking lot for events and stuff, but I'm sure they could at least used some of the lot for the panels and left some parts open that way they would cut down less trees.

When I went to the park this year they were just asking people as they walked through if they had phones or keys and were not patting anyone down, maybe they have other days I don't know. But either way, I understand why they don't allow them on the ride but if they are going to do it they need to make the lockers free. It's ridiculous that someone is going to be punished and forced to either pay for a locker or not be able to ride. I never bring my phone into the park anyway because I don't want to lose it, but obviously you are going to bring in keys. When I went my friend bought a locker so I just used theirs to put my stuff in, but I would never buy a locker myself. It's a waste of money.

Went to the park yesterday for the first time of the season and it was very successful. I figured it wouldn't be overly crowded since it was Mother's day but it was a nice day overall and with the rain on Saturday I figured there would be a decent crowd but I was wrong. We arrived at around 11:30 and the lot was pretty empty.

We started the day on Skull Mountain where we walked right on. Then we headed over to Nitro which was about a 3 train wait for front row. Then we went over to Batman and walked right on. We went to TDK and we got there when they were about halfway through the pre-show.

Next we decided to go over to The Joker, which I had never been on yet. But right as we got in line the ride broke down. One of the workers told us it was because someone held down the button to turn the ride on instead of the dispatch button by accident. S we got out of line and went to Skyscreamer which was about a 5 minute wait.

We got back in line for the Joker with about a 5 minute wait. This was my first time on the ride and I thought it was very good. I wish it were longer and we only flipped I think once. But we decided to get back in line and this time flipped 3 times so it was much more enjoyable than the first time. Definitely glad they added this to the park.

We took the Skyway and headed over to the other side of the park. We walked right onto Bizarro. I was glad to see the mist on the first drop was working, but it still wasn't working for the corkscrews. We headed to El Toro where it was a station wait. It's definitely starting to show it's age at some parts where it is noticeably bumpy. It seemed worse than usual yesterday.

We walked through Safari Discoveries (or whatever they are calling it now) and went over to Kingda Ka, which was a station wait. Next we went on Green Lantern which we walked right on. it's been a while since I have been on it since I always go with people who hate it. I always enjoyed it but this time it really banged my head around.

It was about 3:15 and I had to work at 5 so our last ride was Superman which we walked right on. When we got back they announced that the ride was closed due to the weather as some dark clouds were coming in. It started to rain as we got off and we still had to walk all the way back to Bizarro because my friend had got a locker over there to put their stuff in. It was pouring all the way back from Bizarro to the parking lot so we were soaked by the time we got to the car. We were there for about 4 hours and got on everything we wanted to. Couldn't have asked for a better day to go.

The park is really crowded today. Nitro is 80 minutes, Sky Screamer is 85 minutes and Joker 70 minutes according to CoasterQueue. I have been to the park during Spring Break week every year since 2008 except this year and I never saw wait times that bad in the beginning of the week.

 

edit, now 100 minutes for Nitro and Joker

And they just announced they are staying open an hour later tonight (til 9pm). I was going to say I wonder why it's so crowded today, but I forgot most schools, unlike mine, are on spring break.

They really need to make lockers free for people to use. It's ridiculous that if you have something like a phone or keys (which almost everyone going probably has one or the other) they would force you to spend money to buy a locker.

http://news.rutgers.edu/news-releases/2011/04/rutgers-board-of-gov-20110405#.WNweV28rLIU

I found this article from 2011 about when Rutgers approved building 32 acres of panels over the parking lot and produce 8 mW of power. They said that the cost of the project was about $40 million. Obviously, Six Flags would need more than that (I believe they need about 22mW), so in the end it probably would cost over $100 million. Yeah, that's a lot of money. However, Rutgers in the end actually only ended up paying less than $4 million for the project because of tax credits and SRECs. Here's the process they used as per the article

 

 

The $40.8 million project will utilize a combination of federal tax incentives, as well as New Jersey’s Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs). SRECs are tradable certificates that represent the clean energy benefits of electricity generated from a photovoltaic system. The SRECs can be sold to electric suppliers to provide a source of revenue to the university.

Through a competitive procurement process, the university will select a third-party project lessor to underwrite the cost of the construction. That party would be responsible for the upfront costs of the project, own the solar canopies and be able to take advantage of federal tax incentives. The university would make lease payments to the owner and be responsible for maintenance of the facility, but Rutgers will have rights to all the electricity generated by the project and the SRECs produced by the system. At the end of a 15-year lease term, Rutgers would purchase the facility at a fair market value – an estimated $3.6 million.

So if Six Flags were to do something similar to that they could certainly end up paying a lot less than the $100 million+ it would seemingly cost to build the solar panels over the lot. Also, the article mentions how because of the electricity savings and SRECs, it would net $28 million dollars over a 20 year period. They are already in the process of repaving the lot now anyway so this would correlate well with that.

A parking garage would certainly be an interesting idea, I doubt they would do it though. Any word on what's going on with this? Last I heard the trial date was moved to 2017, but here we are in March and still no date set.

It says JL is opening summer 2017. Does that mean it won't be ready for Memorial day weekend? They seem to be moving along with construction pretty quickly

Weather is just so hard to predict you really can't blame them. I've been watching the models over the past few days change drastically. Some had the storm to the south giving us nothing while some have consistently been showing the more northern track. There are so many variables that could change make huge changes to the outcome that no one can predict. Regardless, I love snow so this storm is awesome for me. Definitely have over 6 inches and it should still be coming down for another hour or 2

The Joker was closed again today, so I still have yet to ride it. Batman also did something weird. It went got stuck on it's way up the lift hill (not even 1/4 of the way up), and then when it started up again it was moving really slow where it took at least 2 minutes to get the the top. Each train after that was fine. Anyone have an idea of why it did that?

The park had some great concerts between 2010-2012,but ever since then every year there is never anything good

Six Flags solar farm: Trial delayed until 2017

Mike Davis , @byMikeDavis4:51 p.m. EST December 23, 2016

 

Environmental activists gather along the border of a 90-acre forest to denounce Six Flags Great Adventure's plans to clear cut 18,000 trees and build a solar farm. STAFF VIDEO BY THOMAS P. COSTELLO

(Photo: Getty Images/Stocktrek Images)

JACKSON — Should Six Flags Great Adventure cut down a forest to make room for solar panels?

An Ocean County judge is expected to hear the case early next year after a last-minute postponement, the latest hiccup in a nearly two-year-long legal battle over a proposed solar farm on an undeveloped piece of land.

Jackson Township attorney Jean Cipriani said the date hasn't been finalized but is penciled in for the first week in January. It's anticipated to be wrapped up within two days, Cipriani said. There was not enough time to complete the trial this week, causing the postponement, she said.

FLASHBACK: Jackson OKs Six Flags solar farm

While Six Flags and developer KDC Solar argue that it would provide more than 98 percent of the park's power, environmentalists have argued it takes one step forward and two steps back: In order to build the solar farm, developers would cut down nearly 15,000 trees, many of which are linked to the Pinelands National Reserve but not under the same protections.

Buy Photo

(Photo: THOMAS P. COSTELLO)

“Any delay is good. Time is on our side with these kinds of projects,” said Jeff Tittel, executive director of the Sierra Club of New Jersey, one of six groups suing to stop the solar farm. “The longer it takes to go to court and get approvals, the more likely that public opinion and the market conditions change and projects like this will fall under their own weight.”

MORE: Six Flags won't unplug solar plan

The six environmental groups formally opposing the project had long argued for the installation of solar canopies over the 100-acre parking lot, as it would provide comparable solar energy without removing trees. Six Flags has dismissed that concept, as it would require the removal of cherished parking spaces.

The project was the subject of a nine-month-long planning board hearing, focusing mostly on neighboring residents' fears of flooding and loss of property value. But the lawsuit itself centers around a 2015 zoning change that allowed solar farms to be constructed in conservation areas.

The plaintiffs argue that zoning change was cherry-picked as a favor to Six Flags and KDC Solar, with the solar farm project in mind.

Six Flags Great Adventure president John Fitzgerald comments on theme park's plan to build a solar farm on their property. STAFF VIDEO BY THOMAS P. COSTELLO STAFF VIDEO BY THOMAS P. COSTELLO

MORE: 9 residents' complaints on Six Flags solar farm

The January trial won't likely be the end of the solar farm fight. Dave Pringle, campaign director for plaintiff Clean Water Action, said Tuesday that the organization plans on appealing any decision not in the environmentalists' favor. If the ordinance change is proved valid, they will contest the planning board decision.

“We have one and possibly two court cases to pursue here. Great Adventure could fix it by doing the right thing in the first place and save everybody time and money," Pringle said.

A Six Flags Great Adventure spokeswoman declined comment on the legal case. However, Six Flags has agreed to refrain from any construction until the case is heard in court.

Agree'd. I wonder if they put solar panels in the parking lot, in the employee lot, and on top of every building (only ones where the solar panels would be hidden, like Skull Mountain, Grannies, TDK, etc), would they then only have to cut down a small amount of trees?

Matt Kaiser made a post a while back about that and based on his calculations if they out the solar panels were placed in the lots, as well as on top of buildings, it would come out to about 70 acres. So if they did that, there would clearly be a much less amount of trees that would have to be cut to finish the project. Of course they have been strongly opposed to placing them in any lot other than the employee. It seems feasible to me and other places that do it. I even contacted them about it and they told me the parking lot was not suitable for safety concerns, as well as special events and future plans.

 

 

Solar Panel Issue Before Superior Court

By Jennifer Peacock

Six Flags Great Adventure and KDC Solar agreed to postpone its clearing of 70 acres of woods it owns, as it awaits a decision by a Superior Court judge. Environmental and citizen groups are suing to stop the project. (Photo by Jennifer Peacock)

JACKSON – A Superior Court judge will decide if Jackson Township’s solar array ordinances are lawful.

 

That trial is set for December 19 in Ocean County’s Superior Court by Judge Marlene Lynch Ford.

 

Six Flags Great Adventure and KDC Solar agreed to postpone its clearing of 70 acres of woods it owns by Reed Road to let a Superior Court judge decide if the Jackson Township ordinance allowing the project is legal. Environmental and citizen groups are suing to stop the project.

 

Attorney Michele Donato, who has represented numerous environmental groups throughout this battle, said if the judge upholds the validity of the Jackson Township ordinance, she will then proceed to challenge the township planning board’s approval of the project.

 

“The placement of solar facilities on open space is an issue on the national level and there are scholarly studies regarding the negative effects of consuming valuable open space with solar panels,” Donato said.

 

As The Jackson Times previously reported, the original plan, which faced opposition from environmental groups, called for razing 90 acres of forest owned by Great Adventure located by the Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area and constructing a solar panel field which would provide energy for the park’s use. Nearly 26,000 trees would have been planted throughout the park. The solar arrays would be close to residential homes on and near Reed Road.

 

The revamped plan, approved by the planning board back in March and which incorporates the environmental groups’ demands to put solar arrays in the parking lots, would still raze 67 acres of trees which Great Adventure has deemed in poor health. Great Adventure promised to plant 19,000 trees. Some of the solar arrays would be placed over the employee parking lot, but not the main parking lots.

Any plans to start the work were put on hold. Great Adventure and KDC Solar agreed with environmental groups to wait until the court resolves the issue.

 

“We strongly support solar power, but there are better alternatives Six Flags and KDC can take other than this clear-cut plan. If Six Flags would have put solar panels on their parking lot, they would be operating already. This proves that this is a bad project because after all this time and all this money spent, there’s still no solar,” Jeff Tittel, director of New Jersey Sierra Club, said in October. “We are going to Court because this is a good project in the wrong place. Instead of clear-cutting 16,000 trees, there are other alternatives Six Flags could take that do not impact habitat, water quality and flooding. We need them to stop the clear-cut because it will undermine all the benefits of clean energy.”

 

Great Adventure’s legal representation has said solar arrays in the visitor parking lots would cause a security hazard while also causing a loss of parking spaces.

 

The Jackson Times reached out to Great Adventure for comment on the upcoming trial. A representative from Great Adventure president John Fitzgerald’s office said Great Adventure had no comment on the upcoming court date, but did provide a fact sheet detailing the project.

 

“Six Flags has been, and will remain, a good custodian of the environment. We are also good corporate citizens, and along with KDC Solar, are committed to mitigating any impact to the environment,” Great Adventure public relations supervisor Kaitlyn Pitts wrote. “We are excited about the fact that this project will reduce carbon emissions by 31 times more than the trees and shrubs that will be removed, and that we will become the world’s first solar-powered theme park. This project is a positive for the environment and will not harm the habitats of threatened or endangered species, nor impair protected wetlands or watersheds. Clean energy is right for the environment and our future, and this project is a giant step toward becoming a net-zero carbon theme park.”

http://micromediapubs.com/solar-panel-issue-superior-court/

Interested to see the outcome of this. I just really wish that they could find some other way so that they don't have to removed so many trees.

Was Batman still closed?

Didn't walk over that way but now that I think about it I didn't see it running at all while in line for Nitro, so it likely was closed.

Went to the park today for my firs time this year (since I never got a 2016 season pass, but got one for 2017). I was expecting to to be busy since yesterday was rainy and it was a holiday, but it wasn't too bad.

I got to the park at about 11:15 and headed over to KK. It was testing at the time so we figured it was going to open soon, but after waiting about 25 minutes, they opened Zumanjaro so we went on that instead and got to go on it twice. KK still was not opened when we got off and I don't believe it ever did open.

We then went to El Toro which had a line past the 30 minute sign, but the line moved fast and only took about 20 minutes. We wanted to go on The Joker as I have never been on it before, but it was closed and didn't look like it was going to open anytime soon, so we went to Nitro to end the day.

We left a little before 2pm. While we didn't get on a whole lot of rides, we didn't stay too long and the main reason we went was just to validate our passes, so not a bad trip. Superman was also closed, to add onto the list of rides not open.

I've gotten stuck a few different times.

I got stuck on the brake run on Superman for about 20 minutes, not fun being stuck in the laying down position for so long.They had to come out and unlock the train manually and then gave us a skip the line pass.

Another time I got stuck on the brake run of Nitro for about 25-30 minutes until eventually they came and unlocked each car for us to get out.

And the third and final time was when I got stuck on the lift of El Toro, only for about a minute or two.

I use both, honestly I don't even know which I use more, I feel like I just use whichever comes to mind first lol