Yoshi

Some rides seem to have better single rider lines than others. Test Track is one of the best with the 3 seats in each row. Most of the time I wait 5 - 10 minutes, there have been a few times when is no one waiting in the single rider line. The longest I have waited not counting any breakdowns was 20 minutes once. I usually had good luck in the past with Expedition Everest's as well with it hidden away from the main entrance (I don't know if it's still low waits or not as I haven't ridden it since the single rider line reopened). I only would use Green Lantern's single rider line if the wait wasn't past the entrance otherwise it didn't seem to save much time.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/hollywood-studios/rock-and-roller-coaster-starring-aerosmith/ Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is closing in February for refurbishment and not reopening until summer. I know it’s unlikely to happen but I would like to see them reconfigure the single rider line where it bypasses the pre-show. There is no way to see how long the line is before waiting in line for the pre-show, watching it and then getting to the line near the loading area only to see it will take almost as long as the standby wait.

Great report. It look like Sesame Place does a really good job with decorating for the event. It's still strange for me to see pictures of all the rides and new ones that have been added. The Sesame Place I grew up visiting was half water park and half play areas, some of which would probably not be allowed today like the Crystal Climb. It's good they have so many rides now since when it was too cold for water park attractions, there wasn't much to do.

For the years when I lived 2 1/2 hours away from the park, I would have stayed at an on site hotel. That way I could have gone to the park 2 days in a row. I know there were hotels 20 minutes away but I didn't want to bother staying more than a few minutes from the park.

I agree that discounts will make people want to spend more. I bought a few things each year at Great Adventure with the exception of when they had extremely low markdowns when I bought more. When I go to SeaWorld or Busch Gardens, I would say I am buying something at one of those parks at least once a month, sometimes more often. A t-shirt for $27 at regular price is a lot more appealing when it’s around $7 after the annual pass discount and Busch/SeaWorld Bucks.

Even when I got the souvenir bottle free with the premium dining pass, I never used it except the day I got it because I didn’t want to leave it in the station or entrance to a ride and did not want to pay to leave it in a locker. Even with the drinks not included with the dining pass at Dorney, I paid the $30 for the season to get a disposable 16 oz cup plan. It was great walking up to a drink stand, get a cup and not have to deal with carrying anything all day.

I always thought it was impressive that Great Adventure offered Funnel Cakes for a snack on the dining pass. They were close to $10 last time I was at the park and that is almost as much as some of the lower cost meals.

PLEASE NOTE: The awarding of ribbons above and the official summary below represents the voting results as of the official close of voting at midnight on March 3, 2023. For categories where a voter selected "N/A - I don't have an opinion on this category," the results are based upon those votes actually cast for the given nominees. The 2022 Warner Awards Results Thank you to everyone who voted in our 2022 GreatAdventureHistory.com Warner Awards. This year’s awards had a new category, Most Like To See 50th Anniversary Addition. Here are the 2022 winners! Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth won the Best Ride (Non Roller Coaster) award for the fourth year in a row with 29% of the votes. Skyride replaced Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom for second place with 25% of the votes. Justice League Battle for Metropolis remained in third place this year with 21% of the votes. El Toro and Nitro tied for first place for a second consecutive year in the Best Roller Coaster category. Both coasters received 40% of the votes each. 5 coasters tied for third place. Jersey Devil Coaster, Kingda Ka, Medusa, Superman Ultimate Flight and Joker each received 5% of the votes. The results for Best Upcharge Ride or Attraction category were identical to last year with Dare Devil Dive (75%) winning. Sling Shot and Great American Road Race again tied for second (each with 12%). Great Adventure's Best Remaining Original Attraction had a new winner this year with the Log Flume (Saw Mill Log Flume) taking first place with 46% of the votes. Last year’s winner Skyride finished in second place with 33% of the votes and Runaway Train remained in third place with 16% of the votes. For the fifth awards in a row, Justice League: Battle for Metropolis took first place in Best Themed Attraction with 42% of the votes. The new second place winner this year was Houdini’s Great Escape with 38% of the votes. Last year’s winner Jersey Devil Coaster dropped to third place with 12% of the votes. After Bizarro won first place for twelve consecutive awards in the Best Attraction Sign category there was a new winner this year. Kingda Ka took first place with 32% of the votes. Jersey Devil Coaster remained in second place 20% of the votes. El Toro took third place with 12% of the votes. Best Children's Ride had a repeat winner this year year, Lil' Devil Coaster won the award (63%). Bugaboo and Daffy Duck Hot Air Balloons tied for second place (16% each). The winner of the Best Themed Section was Plaza Del Carnaval receiving 35% of the votes . Frontier Adventures moved from third place to second place with 22% of the votes. Golden Kingdom dropped from tying Plaza Del Carnaval in first place last year to third place this year with 17% of the votes. Nitro won Best Attraction to Ride at Night yet again with 46% of the votes. Sky Ride took second place with 25% of the votes. Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth dropped from second place last year to third place this year getting 12% of the votes. Saw Mill Log Flume is a great way to cool off on a hot day and voters agreed with it receiving 83% of the votes in the Best Water Attraction category. Congo Rapids was the only other attraction to receive votes with 17% for second place. Holiday in the Park won Best Event again with 46% of the votes. Fright Fest remained in second place receiving 33% of the votes. Six Flags Coaster Power Hours and Summer Vibes tied for third place each receiving 8% of the votes. In the Best Fright Fest Attraction category, Dead Man's Party Grave Stories took first place with 50% of the votes. Aftermath and Big Top Terror: Forgotten Carnival 3D tied for second place each getting 13% of the votes. For the second year in a row Frost took first place in the Best Holiday in the Park Attraction with 63%. A Celebration of the Season (Christmas Tree Show) moved up from third place last year to second place this year with 26%. Deck the Halls took third place with 11%. In the Best Restaurant Food (with indoor seating) category Best of the West Barbeque won with 55% of the votes. Three restaurants tied for second place each with 10% of the votes. They are Granny’s Country Kitchen, Chop Six and Boardwalk Steak & Fries. Central Brewhaus (21%) overtook last year’s winner Jersey Devil BBQ for Best Food/Snack Stand. Jersey Devil BBQ dropped to second place tying Ale House and Johnny Rockets (16% each). New for 2022 Fat Burger won Best Name Brand Food with 33% of the votes. Rita's Ice Custard remained in second place for the third year in a row with 29% of the votes. Last year’s winner Johnny Rockets took third place with 24% of the votes. Best Games Facility had a tie for first place. Studio 28 Arcade and Boardwalk Games tied for first place last year. This year Studio 28 Arcade (42%) narrowly finished ahead of Boardwalk Games (37%). Dream Street Arcade (21%) remained in third place. Last year’s winner in the Best Game of Skill category, Three Point Challenge tied with High Striker for first place each receiving 38% of the votes. Ladder Climb remained in third place receiving 23% of the votes. Last Drop won the Best Shop category for the second year in a row with 56% of the votes. Main Street Market remained in second place this year with 22% of the votes. Six Flags Universe finished in third place with 11% of the votes. Last year, Tornado tied with The Falls for first place in the Best Hurricane Harbor Attraction category. This year The Falls took sole possession of first place with 31% of the votes. Big Wave Racer took second place with 25% of the votes. Taak It Ez Creek and Tornado tied for third place each receiving 19% of the votes. The winner from last year’s Best Wild Safari Drive-Thru Adventure award, Wild Plains, tied with Terra Ursus each with 24%. Kingsland and Tigris Asiana tied for third place each with 14% Return of Medusa (33%) is the winner of Best New Feature or Improvement for 2022. New Security Entrance (21%) finished in second place. Dining Pavilion and Repainted Batman (13% each) finished in third place. Voters are hoping to see Park-wide maintenance and upgrades as that is the winner in the Most Like To See in 2023 for the second year in a row with 20% of the votes. A Coaster – Dive Style and A Coaster – Launch Style tied for second place with each receiving 16% of the votes. The Most Like To See 50th Anniversary Addition category had some very close voting. 50th Anniversary Historic Display/Museum and Bring Back A Classic Such As Retro Flat Rides tied for first place each with 24% of the votes. Restore Dream Street End to End took third place with 20% of the votes. That takes care of the results for our 2022 Warner Awards for the best of Great Adventure's 2022 season as voted by our members at GreatAdventureHistory.com. Congratulations to all the winners!

I always would pick up a pamphlet map or park guide from each park I visit each year. I keep them in a box and it’s fun to occasionally look to see how the parks have changed over the years.

BGW is also removing Mach Tower, it is closing on January 8th https://buschgardens.com/williamsburg/rides/mach-tower/

When I first bought my pass in 2008, they had some customization. It was $59.99 for the pass then another $59.99 for the parking pass, Hurricane Harbor was another $10 to add on. My favorite pass option was when they had the gold or premium pass with free parking, Hurricane Harbor and admission to all SF ride parks.

I have to wonder if they may not be as aggressive with new additions more recently because one of their main competitors, Dorney is much worse about adding things. After Bumper Cars and a Troika were added in 2017, the only attraction added to either the rides area or water park has been a new water play area last year that replaced one that had been there since 1998. Plus a minimum of 16 years since they last added a coaster at the park that is still operating. Back in the 2000's when Great Adventure was adding what seemed like a new coaster almost every year, Dorney was adding more back then too with Talon in 2001, Hydra in 2005 and Voodoo/Possessed in 2008 as well as 10 water slides in 2003, Aqua Racer in 2007 and updating Camp Snoopy to Planet Snoopy with more rides in 2010.

If I ever get back to CA, this would convince me to want to go to USH (and I need to get to Magic Mountain). I probably don't need to say it considering my username and avatar but I have been a fan of Nintendo since I was a kid and got the NES and am really interested to see how the land looks once it opens.

Package pickup is a great idea. There were times I saw something I wanted to buy in a store towards the back of the park but didn't want to get it because I was still going on rides and either forgot to get it later or tried to see if it was sold at one of the stores near the entrance and it wasn't. The park looks so nice with all the decorations and light displays. It's always impressive to see it with everything setup.

Some of the removed kids rides over the years like Barnstormer and Daffy Diver were good for kids over 54" that still wanted tamer rides but too tall for the 54" maximum height requirements. With some of those type of rides in BBNP like Wile E. Coyote Canyon Blaster and Daffy Duck Hot Air Balloons not open during the HITP, it seems like there are very few kids rides open at all this time year.

Space Mountain no longer allows unsecured loose articles while riding. I'm kind of surprised it took Disney this long to have policies like this considering they are one of the few (only?) park operators that allowed people to use cell phone cameras and non Go Pro type cameras on coasters. They have these signs out at the entrance that I saw yesterday

Dorney sometimes did that for Thunder Canyon early in the season. It made the ride much more enjoyable since most people don’t want to get completely soaked in 70 degree weather.

https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/canton/canton-waterpark-football-hall-of-fame-attraction-groundbreaking/95-b0edb0fc-f354-48dd-a1be-b521fb5566f2 This should be a good addition. I visited the Hall of Fame in 2015 adding it on to a visit to Cincinnati, Kings Island and Cedar Point. In the winter there probably isn't much else in the area and it's almost 2 hours to the indoor water parks in Sandusky.

I mostly remember Yum Yum Cafe as the Great Character Cafe but would have preferred they kept it as it was before removing the Looney Tunes characters and making it so plain looking inside.

That's disappointing to hear with members having a level of membership to get that benefit pay a lot more than the lower level memberships/passes.

When The Dark Knight opened, it was impressive with all the effects working like the hologram billboards towards the end of the hairpin turns. Skull Mountain was at it's best when the Tiki masks, pumpkins and skull figure were all lit up with the track at the bottom of the first drop glowing, music playing and little to no light in the building. When they added the new Flash Pass entrance to merge at the station, that seemed to let more light in.

The 3D added something different to the ride since it seems like not many dark rides outside of Disney and Universal use 3D glasses. It would be good to see it return.

Yeah, I was surprised how much track was added in the 6 weeks since my last visit to the park.

Update from my trip to SeaWorld yesterday:

People on Reddit are saying it is Skyline Attractions' P'Sghetti Bowl track. From watching an IAAPA video, the light up track looks like it is going to be really cool. https://skylineattractions.com/products/childrens-rides/psghetti-bowl-childrens-coaster/