Saturday, July 18 -- TR and reflections on my first visit in a few years

[pashacar]

Had an enjoyable enough time at the park this past Saturday. That said, having not visited in three years while I lived elsewhere in the country, I found the changes to be almost entirely negative, and I worry about the direction in which the park is heading.

 

We arrived around 11:30 to no line for parking, and a long line at the metal detectors. There was a lot of confusion about the signage for people with no bags or strollers, and we accidentally ended up in a line that was for everyone, along with many other confused (and bagless) parties. Of course, the guard stopped the one woman in line with a bag, and her companions began fighting with him when he said she couldn't bring something in. They went back and forth for 5-10 minutes while the rest of us baked in the sun, and even when the supervisor arrived, he didn't ask her to step aside while they resolved the issue, or even to bring her bag to the dedicated bag-check table, but kept going back and forth in front of the metal detector, keeping the line at a standstill. Unfortunately, it turned out to be an early sign of how much efficiency has fallen as a priority in management's eyes. (And once we got to the front, I should mention, most guests beeped in the detectors and were let through anyway -- one of the few things that hasn't changed from past years.)

 

Now, there were some bright spots -- Kingda Ka and El Toro had short lines early in the day, and KK was running better than I ever remember -- a single, smooth pull that felt a lot stronger than TTD's. But what a shame to see only two trains (and 1/4 of the station) used, even while Zumanjaro is closed. And even more of a shame to see them continually stack those two trains on a ride designed for twice as many. Also, they were routinely sending out trains with empty second and third rows due to the poor design of the new station setup and lack of a grouper or action by the crew.

 

Inexcusable stacking and other "how do they not have this figured out"-type problems turned out to be a theme of the day. On El Toro, rear rows of the train routinely ran empty. On Bizarro, there was no wait but the crew was moving at a pace so slow it seemed intentionally exaggerated for comic effect, with riders sitting on the brakes for longer than they waited in line or spent on the course of the ride. Every coaster had one operator and only two attendants checking trains; at Cedar Point a few weeks ago, the minimum I saw on one platform was seven.

 

I give them credit in that I only saw one breakdown all day, on Ka. But routine maintenance seems to have fallen off in other ways: El Toro, while still an airtime machine, has some very noticeable and very unpleasant bumps, as some other posters have noted -- coming out of the turnaround and in the first half of the twister section, especially. Runaway Train is running worse than I ever remember, with truly violent jerks at a few moments; the whole train walked off complaining about whiplash, which is something I've never seen in 20+ years of visiting the park. Even Nitro rattled more than I remember, although the floating airtime on its hills was as blissful as ever.

 

Houdini was running at less-than-half capacity, with one group in the show building at a time and the most lethargic, apathetic attendant I've ever seen on the ride. The visual effects mostly worked (crystal ball, keys) but the sound was woefully imbalanced, at 70% of where it should have been in the preshow, and alternating between full volume and about 40% volume during the ride segment. One minor but frustrating detail was that they didn't use the pen to hold riders for the next cycle; instead, after waiting an abnormally long amount of time for the doors to open, we had to wait additionally while each rider first walked through the turnstile and was counted. I know the park lost a tenured Director of Operations a few years ago, and it certainly shows in ridiculous SOPs like these.

 

Speaking of operations, Batman Backwards was the ride that came closest to not stacking, but they still did on every cycle we saw, even if just for 15 seconds. The ride itself is a great experience, and among the most intense I've ever ridden.

 

After Batman was when we started to notice that trash on midways and especially in queues has gotten worse. We happened to follow one supervisor for a while, and watched her consistently pick up single pieces of trash; when there were clusters, she'd grab one and "pass up" the rest, content to continue walking. We bought a photo at one point, and the Kodak employees were even more clueless and inefficient than I remembered. I didn't see any locker attendants all day, but did hear one woman begging a retail employee to call for help from one. Food service seemed more efficient than I remembered, and everyone we encountered on that team was friendly.

 

Skull Mountain and TDK were the two most efficient rides of the day, somehow. Audio volume issues persisted in TDK's preshow, and the projector was wildly off-center, but the effects in that room were working and the attendant banged the metal door at the right moment to scare quite a few people. It's funny to see how beaten up the metal "GCT" doors have gotten from that practice. It was nice to see the rest of the queue's effects working, and even a few Joker cards added, although only about half of the ride's effects were properly working (among those broken on my ride: Joker tunnel sound effect, flames in building, henchman billboards, Gotham City Sanitation sign). These two crews were the best two of the day, perhaps motivated by the A/C.

 

On that note, air conditioning throughout the park was a point of discussion all day. All facilities that are included in admission seem to have had their A/C budgets slashed, with light to no A/C in places that used to have plenty, like queues, bathrooms, and theaters. Skull Mountain's station and Houdini's preshow room were close to room temperature, but others were warm and occasionally unpleasantly hot. Most bathrooms and offices (e.g., Lost and Found, the Rides Information Center) were hot, with a fan blowing around stale air. The Showcase Theater, where we went for the Collins Key show, was absolutely disgusting, with hot, stale air throughout. Of course, revenue centers like restaurants and retail locations had fully functioning A/C.

 

Guest comfort, it felt, was at a low comparable to what we saw in the dog days of Premier's leadership. Budget cuts were rampant and very apparent, from the lack of A/C to the neutered ride crews to the lack of shows and landscaping throughout the park -- flowers were few, while puddles and dirt were plentiful. Even costumed characters were few and far between; we only ever saw Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam, who were on Main Street, in over eight hours at the park. The "Block Party" was truly embarrassing for a facility of this scale: those two characters and one sad MC leading the Macarena.

 

There were some more bright spots: there could have been more trash on the midways, employees were almost universally friendly (even while they were being almost universally inefficient), we saw multiple ride ops enforce the phone use policy, Guest Relations was well staffed, and lines were mercifully modest for a July weekend, despite the surprisingly subpar operations. We also had a nice little impromptu enthusiast convention in the back car of El Toro during a morning ride, chatting about Cedar Point and other favorite woodies. But there were far more pockmarks: contextless advertisements everywhere, including on ride trains and over speakers; a lack of music in the majority of the park, making for some eerie silences that were far from fun; deteriorating guest behavior, including line jumping, fighting about who was next to ride, and smoking on park midways. Security's presence was greatly curtailed from what I remember in 2012, and employees were even less empowered; when two people walked up El Toro's wheelchair ramp and into the station, an attendant told them to stop and then promptly gave up the issue when they didn't listen once. Bathrooms were not disgusting, but far from their heights during the Shapiro days. The loose article policy was still being enforced more strictly on rides' platforms than at their entrances, leading to hold ups that caused double stacking on Nitro roughly once every three trains that I saw. There were also at least six experiential marketing displays, including multiple displays of cars in the middle of midways. None of the funds gained from this shopping mall-style nonsense went toward beautifying the park, which looks more barren and indistinguishable than ever, and will only continue on that path with the coming removal of two additional original facilities. And as I witnessed at SFNE a few days ago, the platinum Flash Pass is far oversold, and the idiotic double-ride benefit interrupts far too many guests' days.

 

This visit made it clear that Six Flags is not just happy, but eager to occupy the "Bargain Basement" category within the theme park industry. They've cut every corner possible in guest experience, and have sold off as much of the immersion as possible. A day at the park can still be fun, but it's considerably less enjoyable than it was even just a few years ago, and is no longer anything more than the sum of its parts. With correspondingly cheap and uninteresting additions at Great Adventure and other parks in the chain, things are only bound to continue in this negative direction, it seems.

Edited July 22, 2015 by pashacar

[Daved Thomson]

Very, very sad to have read this report, but appreciative of your honesty and, what appears to be, true concern for both this (once great) park and it's parent. I definitely can not speak from recent experience in the park itself, but I personally can see in many of the pictures that have been posted regularly by others, much of what you found wrong with the park. And you are absolutely right on when you say that it is only going to get worse with the removal of the Aqua Spectacle and Great Lake Grandstand. In all seriousness, who in their right mind (both guests and employees) would want to go to a place that is intentionally making the experience as bad as they possibly can by not providing simple, standard, and expected comforts like air conditioning in ALL indoor facilities when it is hot and humid? (Bathrooms will NEVER be a profit center, but that doesn't mean that any halfway decent person would force you into a bathroom with no circulation... If not to provide a brief relief from the heat, then certainly circulation to relieve the stench often found in such places). I've said it so many times, the park's lack of maintenance on basic infrastructure is what WILL ultimately lead to its demise.

 

The Reid-Anderson guy in charge of the company is one pathetic joke. One read of his presentation to potential investors leaves anyone with an ounce of intelligence feeling as if they are dealing with the sleaziest car salesman ever to walk the earth. Mr. Reid-Anderson contradicts himself throughout and you really feel as if he's trying to get you to pay (both investors and park guests) for every single thing imaginable. He repeatedly mentions the company's strategy and how it is succeeding, without ever mentioning or defining the tactics comprising that strategy. He even has newscasters second guessing him with some of the garbage financials and data he puts out. Good for him if he's able to increase revenue while attendance declines. Each year he does so, he'll have fewer and fewer people the following season to take to the bank.

 

Reid-Anderson is clearly a finance guy with zero experience in the Theme Park industry. Fools in his prior industry (healthcare/medical) will pay what they have to in order to get what they need (or insurance will pick up a portion). If he really thinks that theme park guests can be forced to pay for basic amenities (A/C, grounds quality, landscaping, security, etc.), he will be the fool after a few seasons when the negative word-of-mouth he is so naively creating destroys most, if not all, of the company's parks. Unfortunately, at that point, I'm sure he will have long departed (perhaps back to his native Iraq) via a pre-approved exit strategy, including a hefty severance that will leave him very comfortable and blaming the company's demise on weather, previous management, and an unwillingness to swallow his Cool-Aid.

 

And, John Fitzgerald, is nothing more than Reid-Anderson's "yes" man. I'm sure he's got a fantastic exit strategy as well. Probably at least as good as what he got when when he left Freestyle... Oh, wait, that park also failed... But it was because of the economy. Not the failure of the developer to move forward with development despite the oncoming bleak economy... Or the projected decline in attendance after projected growth during only the first two seasons (in a good economy)!

 

I hope and pray that I am completely wrong about where Great Adventure will be in 5-years. Nothing I see right now is good if your visit is typical of what the average park-goer sees this season.

[Password121]

^If you genuinely believe John Fitzgerald/Jim Reid-Anderson care more about their paycheck than the future and success of Six Flags Inc. and Great Adventure, then you're in the wrong. To reach the top of the ladder you have to care more about your business than yourself and I hope you already knew that.

 

That said, I've given my thoughts on the park multiple times before, only to have other members try to shove down my throat that my opinion is wrong. So with that, I hope you can find something else in your life to enjoy because it seems Great Adventure isn't doing it for you nowadays.

[pashacar]

I don't know much about Fitzgerald, or the park's financials, or the budgetary restrictions under which he is working. That said, I do think it's fair to say that the guest experience has deteriorated during his leadership, whether due to his choices or forces outside of his control.

 

Similarly, I don't know much about Reid-Anderson, although I have to imagine that he does care about the financial success of the company, both intrinsically and because of personal financial incentives associated with it. But I'm dismayed at certain trends I've seen across SF parks under his leadership -- poor or no A/C in non-revenue guest areas, diminished and less effective security presence, diminished costumed character presence, removal of historic structures/rides, inefficient operations and poorly conceived SOPs, and overselling/poor management of Flash Pass (especially Platinum) to a point where it is truly disruptive to most guests' days. Again, I don't know that these come directly from him, but they're all things I've witnessed at multiple SF parks under his leadership, and I think they're all difficult points to argue with at this point in time.

[Password121]

^Those points I don't disagree with. I was referring primarily to the statement...

And, John Fitzgerald, is nothing more than Reid-Anderson's "yes" man. I'm sure he's got a fantastic exit strategy as well.

With this attitude I could not disagree more.

[Daved Thomson]

I'm not intending any disrespect here and we are all entitled to our opinions. Password121, you are very young, naive, and clearly drank the Cool Aid that has been served up. I have seen many instances of fallacy in life, but I'm not flawless. I'm a big believer in logic

, facts and know that when something doesn't make sense, it's very likely a lie. I deal with things head-on and don't pretend things are something that they are not. And I am of the belief that those at the top, ARE fully responsible for everything below them.

 

I have not been to GA since 2009, however, I don't hear or see anyone disputing anything that pashacar indicated in his trip report or even providing justification for any of it. GA's decline is apparent to anyone with nothing more than peripheral vision.

Edited July 23, 2015 by Daved Thomson

[Password121]

I've been optimistically critical of Six Flags from day 1. In no way am I saying the park is perfect, or anywhere near it. I've traveled around and I know what the best of the best are like, and Great Adventure is a far cry from that. With that in mind, in no way have I "drank the cool aid" of Six Flags corporate. I have, unlike you, experienced the park firsthand in recent days under current management, and yes, I have seen all the problems the park faces, but I know how they compare to other parks around the country.

I've seen current management completely overturn Six Flags America into an almost reputable family park. There is a positive side to what is happening behind the scenes, and unfortunately I don't think you've seen that. It's the constant negativity that has dissuaded me from posting nearly as often as I used to.

[29yrswithaGApass]

That said, I do think it's fair to say that the guest experience has deteriorated during his leadership, whether due to his choices or forces outside of his control.

 

 

I read your trip report and can truly see where the things you mentioned sometimes exist and can put a dent in a customer's experience. As Password121 noted, Great Adventure does have several areas in which they need to improve. No doubt.

 

But overall, I think when you look at the big picture, the customer experience today is much better than the previous management team. All you have to do is look back six years or so where rides were being demolished wholesale and not because they were being replaced with newer attractions but just to have concrete poured over the sites and become smoking sections. At the same time rides that weren't removed were shuttered - Houdini's sign was removed and the ride's gates padlocked, the Old Country was fenced off and the rides left to rot, trees were planted around Tango so guests couldn't see it was closed, kiddie rides were removed in bulk, two column lists of rides were posted at the ticket booths alerting guests to endless closures, park hours were reduced to as early as 6pm closings, etc. I could go on.

 

Compared to then, today's problems are easy fixes which I think should be fixed. But in my opinion, to say the customer experience has been reduced in recent years is kind of off the mark. We don't have half the problems we use to including most of the major issues.

[truepolak90]

I remember 2006 when El toro opened they were gonna close the tea cups, runaway train, 2nd log flume for the rest of the season in mid July. Money got really tight, followed by constant removal of rides following seasons.

[Daved Thomson]

Password121, I think you're rather sensitive to negativity, period. So I do apologize that my direct, pointed, and unsweetened response to any discussion I have is something you find offensive. But, to claim, or certainly imply, that I am the problem (relative to the number of posts you make) when you say "It's the constant negativity that has dissuaded me from posting nearly as often as I used to" is an affront to me.

[Password121]

When did I ever state that I took offense to negativity? Listen--you can call me "too young and naive" all you want, but that doesn't change the fact you have almost nothing positive ever to say about the park. It is just constant complaining and whining about how horrible the park is. If you think it's such a terrible place nowadays, then stop wasting your time posting about it. You're making up false implications about my attitude towards you, when in reality it is you that has a constant, complaint-filled outlook on the park and management. I'm tired of reading it and it's not worth my time to respond to it because it is just so exaggerated--almost like a whining teenager.

 

I apologize if this offends you, but I'm just *too naive* to know.

 

Moving on with this great site that Harry really cares about and should be appreciated more, just like the park.

[Daved Thomson]

 

I read your trip report and can truly see where the things you mentioned sometimes exist and can put a dent in a customer's experience. As Password121 noted, Great Adventure does have several areas in which they need to improve. No doubt.

 

But overall, I think when you look at the big picture, the customer experience today is much better than the previous management team. All you have to do is look back six years or so where rides were being demolished wholesale and not because they were being replaced with newer attractions but just to have concrete poured over the sites and become smoking sections. At the same time rides that weren't removed were shuttered - Houdini's sign was removed and the ride's gates padlocked, the Old Country was fenced off and the rides left to rot, trees were planted around Tango so guests couldn't see it was closed, kiddie rides were removed in bulk, two column lists of rides were posted at the ticket booths alerting guests to endless closures, park hours were reduced to as early as 6pm closings, etc. I could go on.

 

Compared to then, today's problems are easy fixes which I think should be fixed. But in my opinion, to say the customer experience has been reduced in recent years is kind of off the mark. We don't have half the problems we use to including most of the major issues.

I'm starting to think that our biggest differences in how we see things at GA come from the first and last sentence in the last paragraph above. If today's problems are such easy fixes, how can their not being fixed be justified in any way? That's my issue. What were "most of the major issues" back then that we don't have today? To me, it seems like the issues simply continue to mount, adding to more and more issues that management hopes will not be noticed by diverting attention to the next coaster.

[Daved Thomson]

When did I ever state that I took offense to negativity? Listen--you can call me "too young and naive" all you want, but that doesn't change the fact you have almost nothing positive ever to say about the park. It is just constant complaining and whining about how horrible the park is. If you think it's such a terrible place nowadays, then stop wasting your time posting about it. You're making up false implications about my attitude towards you, when in reality it is you that has a constant, complaint-filled outlook on the park and management. I'm tired of reading it and it's not worth my time to respond to it because it is just so exaggerated--almost like a whining teenager.

 

I apologize if this offends you, but I'm just *too naive* to know.

 

Moving on with this great site that Harry really cares about and should be appreciated more, just like the park.

Wow... Can't accept an apology? Perhaps you should read what you write before posting it. I'm not making any false implications about you. You wrote the words regarding your posting less as a result of my negativity. Not me. And, I was giving you the benefit of the doubt when I said "or at least implied." What does Harry or how great GreatAdventureHistory.com is have to do with any of this? I can assure you, my praises of Harry and this website have been communicated to him on more than a few occasions.

[pashacar]

 

I read your trip report and can truly see where the things you mentioned sometimes exist and can put a dent in a customer's experience. As Password121 noted, Great Adventure does have several areas in which they need to improve. No doubt.

 

But overall, I think when you look at the big picture, the customer experience today is much better than the previous management team. All you have to do is look back six years or so where rides were being demolished wholesale and not because they were being replaced with newer attractions but just to have concrete poured over the sites and become smoking sections. At the same time rides that weren't removed were shuttered - Houdini's sign was removed and the ride's gates padlocked, the Old Country was fenced off and the rides left to rot, trees were planted around Tango so guests couldn't see it was closed, kiddie rides were removed in bulk, two column lists of rides were posted at the ticket booths alerting guests to endless closures, park hours were reduced to as early as 6pm closings, etc. I could go on.

 

Compared to then, today's problems are easy fixes which I think should be fixed. But in my opinion, to say the customer experience has been reduced in recent years is kind of off the mark. We don't have half the problems we use to including most of the major issues.

 

I see your points, Harry. I think, as you suggest, everything is about trade-offs.

 

In Premier's days, we got huge new thrill rides, but employees were clueless and parks were woefully understaffed.

 

In Shapiro's days, we got wholesale closures, but improvement in lots of small details of the park experience (cleaner restrooms, music on midways, more costumed characters).

 

Today, we've seen something in between the two: smaller new additions, with more reliable operations, including nearly all rides open on a given visit. We've also seen the implementation of some clever ways to increase revenue -- season pass programs, a restructured sport bottle offer, and a huge expansion of corporate alliances, even over Shapiro's time (from experiential marketing displays to in-park billboards to radio ads). Although I don't like the ads, I would say that most of this is all well and good for me -- let the park bring in more guests, and more per guest.

 

My main gripes are about the clearly diminished budgets around (and in some cases, just attention to) "soft product" that affect the guest experience in small, but substantive ways -- turning off air conditioning, investing less in landscaping, not playing music in half of the park, spending less on employee training and development of SOPs, diminishing the security presence, spreading out bathroom-cleaning schedules, and the like. These aren't things that every guest is going to notice directly, but they are things that, when added together, seriously diminish the overall quality of a visit. And there's a long list of them.

 

Again, I don't know if changes like these come from park management, from corporate, or from elsewhere. I just think they're worth noting from a guest's perspective, whoever the leadership in charge, and whatever the financial situation of the company.

 

I will absolutely concede that it's easy to remember details fondly -- such as character presence, sparkling bathrooms, and the GITP parade -- and forget that we would have not seen a compelling new thrill ride for years under Shapiro's leadership (even if, really, we haven't seen a compelling new thrill ride since 2006 anyway). As I said, and you pointed out, Harry, it's all about trade offs. I think I'm just in favor of the particular set of small, experience-enhancing things that seem to have fallen as priorities at the park since my last visit.

Edited July 23, 2015 by pashacar

[29yrswithaGApass]

What were "most of the major issues" back then that we don't have today?

 

Re-read my post. I included a whole list (even though there were others).

[Railer]

The only thing i miss about the Mark Kane days is always seeing him walking the Park. I think that really says alot about a Park President. But John Is doing a better job than he did as President, but corporate was also different then. The team in there now really has a love for the Park, but they are "bound" by what Corporate gives them to work with. I think if they had all the money they wanted, thing's would be alot different now.

 

And i don't value the opinions of anyone that has not been to the park in year's, good or bad. It's like saying a movie i never saw was terriblle based on other's opinion's of it, my view would be irrelavent. But starting this year with the "Lakefront/Fantasy Forest" remodel, the next few year's are going to see alot of changes for the better.

[jdc12192]

Im sorry you had such a bad experience, but I'm sorry to say, it seems like you're focused on the bad side of things rather then the good. The park is no where near perfect,but it seems like you feel like its their mission to make it 'bad'.

 

I find it odd that you say bathrooms were not cool...they usually are the coolest place to cool off and every time I've been in one, i would've never considered it to be 'hot'. Im not sure why it would be off, nor do i think its to cut back and save money, but who knows.

 

Sometimes negatives get more focused on positives. Its proven that people are more quick to say something about a bad experience then good or great one.

 

All of this being said, yes the park has some issues, can they be fixed? Sure can. However change cannot happen over night and I feel like myself and others can say that the park has made changes within the past few years. Changes need time to happen. We also don't know how much say the park has with decisions, or if they just have to roll with the punches. Also keep in mind current management inherited the mess that was caused by previous management and is working to fix it all.

 

 

 

Side note- Daved, I don't think Password is taking offense to negativity when he says he doesn't want to post or discuss anything. He simply means he doesn't want to post because there are always certain people to shut the positives down and complain some more and be more negative. He is not the only one who feels this way and its a shame the site looses discussion because of it.

[Daved Thomson]

What's sad is that people are so afraid of hearing something they disagree with and if it is something they disagree with, that makes it negative. I see many in this group taking something that they know is not good for the park and somehow twisting it (spinning it) into something that's better then sliced bread. It's also very interesting and says a great deal about you as a person when you say it's a shame that what you consider negativity impacts the willingness of another person to post. It's becoming very clear that the discussion groups are really the politically correct discussion groups. "My feelings are hurt because he disagrees with me and made me feel bad and now I can't post because I know I can't defend my opinions." Sounds like a perfect group for curtailing freedom of speech.

Edited July 24, 2015 by Daved Thomson

[29yrswithaGApass]

And then there are those who don't see anything positive in anything and would rather dwell on the bad and focus exclusively on that and not even acknowledge anything on the plus side. That glass is always worse than half empty.

[RC98]

Side note- Daved, I don't think Password is taking offense to negativity when he says he doesn't want to post or discuss anything. He simply means he doesn't want to post because there are always certain people to shut the positives down and complain some more and be more negative. He is not the only one who feels this way and its a shame the site looses discussion because of it.

I have to agree with this assessment as it is why I had been posting less and less until now. To refer to Daved's terms, it has nothing to do with being "politically correct," it's just that arguing online until I'm blue in the face isn't enjoyable to me.

 

Since I should finally be heading out to the park for the first time of the season this Sunday I'm looking forward to seeing things for myself.

Edited July 24, 2015 by RC98

[Daved Thomson]

Sounds like everyone must have been members of the negotiations involving Iran's nuclear ambitions. I'll be sure to not express any dissention with anything so that all of you can carry that positive line of the great leader message. Good luck.

[RC98]

I think one of these is necessary right now:

 

We're discussing a theme park, lighten up a bit

Edited July 24, 2015 by RC98

[Nitro1118]

Reflecting on my first couple years as a annual SP members (from '99-'04, when I was 8-14ish), I have a ton of fond memories. Every year was exciting with the massive expansions and additions, the park felt "complete" with no blocked off sections, there were a lot more flat rides, little outside advertisements, and a host of other things.

 

However, as Harry mentioned there are tradeoffs...the rapid expansion and gigantic additions that blessed our park (and a bunch of SF parks) ultimately left the chain bankrupt. While there were no blocked off sections, some of the areas were decrepid. The Viper/RT area was a neglected, barren ghost town. BBL was horrible looking in its final years. The current Adventure Alley area wasn't much of anything. 3/4ths of those great looking flat rides were closed, and about half of them would seemingly run less than 10 days out of the season.

 

Current management has some major flaws, no doubt. Not having coasters ready to go at opening drives me NUTS. With the way they've structured pricing, the crowds have gotten rougher. The advertisements can be cringe-worthy, for sure. The jacked up in-park pricing can be tough to stomach, as well as the lack of attention to small details.

 

However, they've been consistently making additions to fill in gaps every single year. Slowly, they are revamping dead areas of the park that badly need attention. For someone working a retail job raising my step son, the "value" pricing is a life-saver, with things like the season-pass dining option offsetting the jacked-up pricing. Lastly, the park is way, WAY better staffed than in past seasons.

 

If you are comparing any incarnation of the park during the last 15-16 years to the park's original vision or early days, you will be severely disappointed and disgusted. That idealogy has been LONG dead, with the same being true for 90% of major-chain parks in this country. I compare the park to its true competitors, and while we have lits of room for improvement, I don't see us being anywhere near the bottom of the barrel.

[pashacar]

And i don't value the opinions of anyone that has not been to the park in year's, good or bad. It's like saying a movie i never saw was terriblle based on other's opinion's of it, my view would be irrelavent. But starting this year with the "Lakefront/Fantasy Forest" remodel, the next few year's are going to see alot of changes for the better.

 

Doesn't that feel a little backwards?

 

By leaving the park and coming back, I was able to see it with a pair of fresh eyes, and notice details and trends that someone visiting more frequently might overlook, because things change less between visits.

 

My opinions were informed by frequent visits to Great Adventure over the last 20+ years, and intimate knowledge of the park that three years living across the country did not take away from me. In fact, having another park (SFDK) as my home park for a while gave me perspective on new things, good and bad, that a park can do.

 

All of which is to say, it was not at all my intention to look at Great Adventure negatively on my visit. I was, in fact, very excited to return to my former home park. But over the course of the day, I ended up finding myself very disappointed at the state that the park is in, from operations to park services to security and beyond. As points of comparison, I've visited Cedar Point and SFNE in the last few weeks alone, and had a wonderful time at both, without the large majority of the issues I noticed at SFGAdv.

 

In other words, I have a laundry list of complaints not because I was seeking out every negative detail; I have a laundry list of complaints because there is a laundry list of things to complain about.

 

I don't deny that some things have improved at the park. Nitro1118, your point on slowly filling in gaps is valid, and it's nice to see bumper cars back. But plenty of other things, far more than I'd like to see as a longtime fan of the park, have gotten worse. That was my conclusion, after going in with an open mind.

Edited July 24, 2015 by pashacar

[robertleax]

Talking about the bumper cars... is it me or do they seem to be a lot slower then they used to be?