Nitro#1

I went that day as well, first trip of the season for me. Entry line for passholders at 10:30 was ridiculous and they had a bunch of lanes closed. As usual some people didn't know what they were doing, stopping the entire line and annoying everyone. There was no line for day tickets or for unprocessed pass vouchers. When I finally got in at 10:45, I decided to start on the right side of the park. Nitro was closed with a big line of people outside the queue and a maintenance worker on the lift hill. Decided to try Batman and it was closed too. Terrible management to not open all the entry lanes and then fail to open two major coasters on time. With nothing good open on that side of the park, I tried to take the Skyride to El Toro, but of course, it was also closed, so I walked. While on the way to El Toro, I noticed that Zumanjaro was open, but I didn't see any Kingda Ka trains launch. El Toro was actually open and had no line. I rode it once in the first row of the 2nd car. Great ride as always. Was going to reride, but decided to try Kingda Ka instead. While leaving El Toro's station, I noticed that Zumanjaro was stuck, so KK wasn't going to be open either. Went to Bizarro and walked right onto the front row. After this I took the Skyride over to Nitro. As soon as I got in line, it broke and they sent out an empty train, which got stuck on the lift hill. Went to Batman and waited 1 train for a middle row. When leaving the station, it got a lot more crowded since Nitro was broken. Decided to have lunch after this. Nitro was finally working then, so I rode it in the 3rd row, waiting 10 minutes. After this, I went back to the other side of the park and rode Mine Train and then rode Bizarro again calling it a day after that. Overall, a good start to the season, but I wish Six Flags would get their act together and make sure all the rides open on time.

Blackbeards doesn't run well in cold weather, so it would be closed.

TDK has a theme license with DC comics, so the part cannot alter its theme in any way. Of the rides currently open, only Nitro and Skull Mountain could get Christmas themes.

My top 5 is as follows. 5. Kingda Ka 4. Batman 3. Bizarro 2. El Toro 1. Nitro I'd have KK as #3 if it didn't break down so damn much. I've been to the park 3 times this year and two of the times it opened late and had a giant line by the time it actually opened. Not a fan of Zumanjaro. The ride itself is fine, but it cut KK's capacity by 1/3rd and rendered it out of commission for almost half a season. It also replaced a ride that was better than it is (Rolling Thunder). Here's what would have been the ideal thing to do. Have GCI completely retrack Rolling Thunder, replace the brakes with fin brakes (like Mine Train has) and shorten the brake run and final turnaround into the station. Also get brand new trains with individual lab bars and no seat belts. This would have smoothed the ride out and allowed for faster dispatches. After the previous thing is done, start building Zumanjaro. Run a path back there which would be easier with Rolling Thunder's brake run shortened. Do this during the season and build the queue near the back of the KK tower before the park closes for the year. As soon as the season is over, go vertical on construction of Zumanjaro. Plan to allow them to run together and ask the state what would need to be done beforehand. Plan on finishing construction by opening day so KK can be open. If this were done, Zumanjaro would have been a great addition, but the way it was done, not so much.

So the outdoor coasters open will be Nitro, Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern. Of these, there are two good ones: Nitro and Batman; one okay one: Green Lantern; and one sucky one: Superman. It's a given that Skull Mountain and TDK will be open since they're indoors. I wonder what would happen in the event of snow. How does this affect the coasters ability to safely operate? I imagine cold weather isn't an issue, but ice/snow could easily cause one to valley.

The 4th train is currently sitting on the storage tracks near the launch area. They were doing a great job of getting the trains out and launched on Sunday. They really need to find out a way to get Zumanjaro and KK to run independently of each other. It would bring KK back to it's original capacity.

The last thing GA needs in an RMC wood coaster, it would be just like El Toro and still not a traditional wooden coaster. If they get another wood coaster, it will be from GCI and be more on par with the thrill level of Mine Train rather than the thrill level of El Toro. What I think would be cool is to see something like Chiller built by Intamin in Chiller's old spot. After having Chiller be down more than it was running, Premier should not be building it. We do have 5 B&M coasters, but if B&M develops it, wouldn't it be great to have an X2 style 4D that is the length of Cedar Point's Gatekeeper and the height of Nitro. Great Adventure with the crowds they get really should be going for the highest possible capacity rides they can get.

Why open Old Country? Open PDC so El Toro can be open.

I was there yesterday and never had more than a station wait for anything. Even Kingda Ka was a station wait when I rode it although it might've lined up into the first switchback later. Got there at open and left at 2 not because of crowds, but because I had gone on enough rides for my liking. Traffic was fine leaving as well. I rode Kingda Ka, Bizarro, Green Lantern, and the Sky Ride once and Nitro and El Toro twice.

I'm hoping that they decide to run all the major coasters during this. I did see the map though and I don't think there are any special themed areas out as far as El Toro, Kingda Ka, Mine Train, and Bizarro. Superman, Green Lantern, Nitro, and Batman are all within the special HITP themed areas. Skull Mountain and Dark Knight will probably see quite a bit of ridership because they're indoors.

Which rides will be running during holiday in the park?

I think that all amusement parks/waterparks need to do whatever is possible to make the lines move fast. Also, HH should do away with Flash Pass for good. All it does is create a class distinction and even longer lines for guests who don't buy it, and it doesn't really speed up the lines for those who do. The fact that they continue to sell them shows that Flash Pass at Hurricane Harbor is nothing but a wallet cleaning device. It speeds up the rate at which your wallet is cleaned, but doesn't improve the Ride to Wait ratio or RW ratio which at HH is already tipped way more toward the W than to the R.

Pathetic, simply pathetic. Shouldn't the purpose of a waterpark be to create an enjoyable experience for guests and not to clean out their wallets in any way, shape, or form possible? I mean offer flash pass if you must, but at least have enough tubes and staff so the rides can operate at a decent capacity. The whole tube rental thing is nothing but a way to clean people's wallets. There's no excuse for not buying enough inner tubes. One can buy a single inner tube for about 10 dollars. Waterparks buy in bulk, so the unit cost is probably a lot less. Clearly the lack of tubes at SFHHNJ is simply a way to try and force flashpass and tube rental sales.

If having the trains sit on the brake run is bad, then run one train when it gets cold so there is no stacking. What coasters are supposed to be open during holiday in the park?

The heated water is great early season. I don't know if it would be a good thing on a 90 degree day when you're trying to cool off though. Action Park's water isn't heated at all and can be brutally cold since most of the park is shaded. Early season and on colder days, it can be almost unbearable for many, but on a hot day, it is super refreshing. I like it the way it is now.

My home waterpark, Action Park isn't open yet, it opens on June, 13. I really wanted to visit a waterpark before Action Park opened, so I decided to try Camelbeach which is located in the Poconos at Camelback Ski Resort. It is similar in that it is a waterpark at a ski resort just like Action Park is the summer business to Mountain Creek Ski Resort. Now for the report. I arrived at about 11:45, which was 45 minutes later than opening. I quickly found the ticket window and to my delight there was no line at all. Since it was about 55 degrees at the time of arrival, the park was dead and remained so all the time I was there. Ticket price was 40 dollars and a locker cost 8 dollars. Seemed reasonably priced to me. They do have a pay to cut the line system known as speed pass. It costs 15 dollars for regular (reservation time equal to current wait time), and 20 dollars for premium (halves the wait time). This was not necessary and not even being sold today. I was glad they weren't trying to market it on a day when it would be unnecessary because I'm sure Six Flags would still try and sell them, even if not necessary. After going into the park and placing my stuff in the locker, I proceeded to my first rides. I saw Triple Venom, which looked like a relatively simple 3 body slide complex. Little did I know, that these things packed a huge punch, literally. I went down the straight open slide first that was in the middle. I caught air on all of the bumps. Then I went on the blue enclosed slide. This was twisty and flipped me over toward the bottom. I did the red enclosed slide next which was intense enough to put water up my nose. After going on these, I realized their water is heated, which makes it much better early season, especially on a colder day. I'm not sure how I'd feel about it on a hot mid summer day though. The next thing I went to were the tube slides that were located to looker's left of Triple Venom. These were all basic tube slides that went down a twisty enclosed or open track. They all rode very similar, but were fun to ride and it was nice to do something a bit easier than Triple Venom. They have a full size lazy river here. It was cool to be on it with no one else there. They don't make you rent tubes like Hurricane Harbor. After these, I found the wave pool and checked that out. Was like basically any other wave pool out there, except the waves expanded all the way across the pool when they went and didn't alternate like many others do. The max depth was 8 feet, but the deep end wasn't open because the park was so dead. I found Spin Cycle and Vortex after that. These are bowl slides. Spin cycle is a tube slide and Vortex is a body slide. Both were really fun, although Vortex scraped my back a little. I had never ridden anything like them before and it was cool to do so. I dried off after these and took the Sullivan Sky Ride (Sullivan Express Ski Lift in the winter) to the top of the mountain. The views are great up there. They had this huge storage pile of blue plastic barrels (I mean thousands of them) that are used to fill up the pools in the winter so they can be covered in snow for ski season. They have a flow rider here so I tried to bogie board on that. I am not too good at it, but it was still fun to try out. My final rides were on Checkered Flag Challenge which is Camelbeach's mat racer slide. It was pretty fast and fun enough to ride three times. There was no one to race though. I did not get to go on Titan, Dune Runner, or Sand Storm because they don't allow single riders. I didn't go on the kiddie rides either. Here's my side by side comparison to Action Park (my home waterpark). Titan vs Colorado River: Didn't get to go on Titan, but it is just a pipe that you slide down vs Colorado River which has real rapids and is built into the mountain. Edge: Colorado River. Viper (part of Triple Venom( vs H2ohno. Viper made me catch air and I crashed down on the slide, H2ohno doesn't do this and is faster and taller. Edge: H2ohno. Cobra and Serpent vs Rouge River: Rouge River isn't even open due to the nanny state of NJ. Cobra and Serpent were open. Edge: Cobra and Serpent, 2 points for Camelbeach. Tube Slides vs Thunder Run, the Gauley, and Thunder Falls: There are 4 slides at Camelbeach and 3 at Action Park. This gives Camelbeach an extra point. Thunder Run, The Gauley and Thunder Falls are faster, more interesting, and a lot more intense. Edge: Thunder Run, The Gauley, and Thunder Falls. 3 points for Action Park, one for Camelbeach. Sandstorm vs High Anxiety: High Anxiety is a lot more intense and a lot faster, but is a one trick pony that's over before you know it even started. Sandstorm looks like a slide that actually keeps going for a while, so it would be a better more interesting ride. Also has some similar funnel elements,(although smaller), to what High Anxiety has. Edge: Sandstorm. Dune Runner vs Alpine Pipeline: Didn't get to go on Dune Runner, but it looks like nothing but a pipe with a couple hills in it. Alpine Pipeline is one of Action Parks most boring rides IMO, but it does look better that Dune Runner. Edge: Alpine Pipeline. Vortex vs Cannonball Falls: Vortex has a better slide leading up to the drop into the water, Cannonball Falls has a better drop and doesn't give me back rashes. Edge: Draw Spin Cycle vs Vortex (Action Park): This isn't even a contest, Spin Cycle wins no question. Vortex is really short and boring and barely gets you wet. Edge: Spin Cycle. Checkered Flag Challenge vs Surf Hill. Checkered Flag Challenge is fun, but can't compare to Surf Hill at Action Park, one of the best rides out there. Surf Hill allows you to get a running start and it is possible to overshoot the pool and make it different distances while Checkered Flag Challenge makes you go the same distance each time. Edge: Surf Hill Sullivan Sky Ride vs The Cabriolet: They are both ski lifts in the winter and sightseeing rides in the summer. Both do exactly the same thing with different scenery. Edge: Draw Totals are 5 points for Camelbeach and 7 for Action Park now, but Action Park also has Vertigo, Zero G, Tarzan Swing, Cliff Jumps, and Bombs Away. Camelbeach also has Flow Rider and a Lazy River. Give Action Park 4 points because riding Vertigo, Zero G, Tarzan Swing, and the Cliffs are better than nothing. Give Camelbeach 3 because riding Flow Rider and Lazy River are better than riding nothing and because riding nothing is better than riding Bombs Away. Totals now are 8 for Camelbeach and 11 for Action Park, so Action Park wins. However, Camelbeach is still a great park and I would definitely return if I had the chance. Has anyone else ever visited it?

I'm going Easter Sunday. Will it be crowded that day?

I know where that area is at El Toro. You can walk up a path which goes near the stairs into the station. The Flash Pass merge point is set really far away from this area so it could be possible to jump a barrier and skip the line without the Flash Pass employee noticing. I think there's an area on Kingda Ka where this can be done as well.

In 2012, the Skyscreamer and the rest of the Adventure Alley didn't open till at least Memorial day, even though all of the rides except Skyscreamer were just simple flat rides.

DANofNJ will have to wait a little longer then because SF never opens rides till Memorial Day or later even if it is a carnival ride which is routinely assembled in under 2 days.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO They won't be open my ENTIRE spring break so I can't go at all. THIS SUCKS.

Hershey is definitely more expensive and I am sure that it prices out some of the trash that GA gets. However, that is also location and the fact that they are more of a destination resort. If there are teenagers on a family vacation in the park, they will probably be well behaved as their parents are around. If the parents are nowhere to be seen, then the bad behavior starts. Like has been mentioned, GA is sort of the teen hangout spot for the area. That is not necessarily a bad thing as Action Park is similar to the town I live in. However, for some reason it seems to cause rough crowds at GA while that doesn't happen at Action Park. If the pass price was raised to like 90-100 dollars at GA which is still less than a Cedar Fair pass, it would probably have a positive effect on the crowds in the park.

I say to wait for better with coasters and flat rides because people don't really care if you were the first. They want the best rides and don't care about their age. Also, with Chiller, Viper, and now Zumanjaro, they weren't proven designs and had many issues. I predict the Zumanjaro will go the way of Chiller and Viper because it breaks a lot and had so many problems the put KK, the flagship attraction out of commission. Eventually, they will just get rid of the darn thing if it continues to have a reputation as a dog. It got stuck halfway up the tower in the morning putting KK out of commission until almost 1pm. KK would have been open if it weren't for Zumanjaro's issues. I refer to Zumanjaro as the "mother of all mistakes". All this precious money spent on a crappy ride that breaks a lot and puts the flagship out of commission when it does amidst budget issues and walkways that crumble beneath our feet. I would much rather ride something like Dorney's Dominator, Great Escape's Sasquatch, or Cedar Point's Power Tower that was reliable and did not put another ride out of action when it broke. However, with water rides, I say be the first. Action Park was the first modern waterpark and sort of an experimental place. It had many rides just thrown together with little consideration for safety, physics, or anything else really. Some of the older rides leave you thinking "Who the hell designed these rides?" when you get off. The older rides are 100 times better than the newer ones which are forceless, boring, and don't give the rider any control whatsoever. On some of Action Park's rides, you can control how fast you go, how far you go, and if you go forwards or backwards. Some of the rides are designed to allow the tubes to spin giving you a different ride each time. Surf Hill which is my personal favorite, is the best racing slide out there, and I have never ridden any others. They actually encourage getting a running start while most other parks prohibit it. The pool is pretty short at the bottom and they don't care if you overshoot it, which I do every time. The splash pools at most other parks are too long and make the ride the same exact thing every time. On Surf Hill, you can try and overshoot the pool and actually do it which means a different ride each time. Their older rapids rides from 1984 are so much better than their newer double tube slides. The only new rides that are thrilling are High Anxiety, H2OhNo, and Zero G. The rest of the newer rides (Alpine Pipeline, Vertigo, Vortex) are just plain boring and not much fun. Vertigo and Vortex barely even get you wet and Alpine Pipeline only gets you wet due to an overhead sprayer. In my opinion, a waterslide should not need any sprayers of any kind at all to soak you. Action Park has a lot of old rides, but they are far better than the newer ones and that is why the park is the best waterpark in the world.

I was there today with my dad. I did not get pictures or have enough information for a full trip report, so I just put it here. We got there early and went straight to KK. It was closed, so we went to El Toro and rode in the last row. Then we processed our passes for next year. We got on El Toro with a wait on the stairs and the season pass center had almost no wait at all. We then went across the park to Nitro and rode that with a wait on the stairs and rode in the last row. Rode Batman with a 15 minute wait in the front row after that. Then we decided to go back to Nitro for another ride since the line was short. We rode in the 4th or 5th row this time which was cool because you would float on every drop while in the last row you get slammed up into the harness. We had lunch after that and then rode Mine Train. We tried to ride Bizarro, but the line was to the entrance with no switchbacks used which with Bizarro's terrible operations had to be at least half an our. We just decided to leave and beat the traffic. The traffic to get in was backed up to the overpass over 537 when we left.

Even though I pretty much exclusively ride the coasters, if the park has unused show venues, they need to put them to use, or demolish them. The old Action Park had a ton of shows and you can still see some of the old venues rotting away that haven't been used since 1996. They didn't have any shows at all in the Mountain Creek Waterpark years. They added 2 shows back when they changed to the new Action Park this past season. However, only one uses a special venue. They have a break dancing show that is on the path between the Cliff Jumps and Colorado River, and they also added a wildlife show up near Surf Hill. However, both shows only happen on weekends which means that I never see them since I go almost exclusively during the week. I wonder if they are adding any more back next year.