Asbury Park Press- Great Adventure opens today

[29yrswithaGApass]

From the Asbury Park Press:

 

Great Adventure opens today

 

By Fraidy Reiss • TOMS RIVER BUREAU • April 5, 2008

 

JACKSON — It will be more than a decade before 3-year-old Conner Ulozas obtains a driver's license or a credit card, but the little township resident already has one card in his wallet: an American Coaster Enthusiasts membership card.

 

So today is a big day for the little thrill-seeker. For months, Conner's parents have been telling him that, no, he could not go to Six Flags Great Adventure because the park was closed for the season. But not anymore.

 

"All winter long he waited for the park to open," his father, Bret Ulozas, 37, said with a laugh. "He can't get enough of the rides."

 

Conner and his family plan to be among the first people at Great Adventure at 10:30 a.m. today when the theme park opens for the season. Bret said he and his wife will take turns riding El Toro — with a 76-degree drop that makes it the steepest wooden coaster in the world — and after getting their coaster "fix," spend the rest of the morning tailing Connor and their other two children around the park.

 

If the weather changes their plans — occasional rain is forecast — they will try again Sunday.

 

"It doesn't feel like spring until you have a trip to Great Adventure," Ulozas explained.

 

Connor was not the only one looking forward to today, said Mark Kane, park president. The park's 224 full-time employees also are excited, he said.

 

"It's kind of like opening day for the Yankees," Kane said Friday.

 

He added that he has been preparing for the day as any park president should: by terrifying himself half to death on El Toro.

 

Sure, the economy is in a slowdown, but Kane said he's not worried. The downturn probably will work to the park's advantage, he said.

 

"We think people are going to stay close to home to find entertainment," Kane said.

 

People from New York to Pennsylvania will go to the theme park instead of traveling to other destinations, he predicted.

 

In keeping with Six Flags policy, he declined to say how many people have visited the park in the past or how many he expects this year.

 

A new, indoor coaster is set to debut this season, the first new coaster built at Six Flags since El Toro opened in 2006. The Dark Knight Coaster is based on the coming Warner Bros. movie "The Dark Knight," in which the DC Comics superhero Batman (played by Christian Bale) takes on the Joker (Heath Ledger, who died after the movie was filmed).

 

The Dark Knight Coaster will open next month in the Movietown section, spokeswoman Angel Aristone said.

 

Also new to Great Adventure this year is the Glow in the Park nighttime parade. It will include five floats adorned with colored lights and 65 performers ranging from puppeteers to stilt walkers, all gliding through the park to music by Cirque du Soleil composer Benoit Jutras.

 

Six Flags Wild Safari has some new residents this year. Five European brown bears were recently brought here to the largest drive-through safari outside of Africa, and almost 100 other kangaroo, zebra, ostrich, bison, kudu and black bear babies are expected to arrive this spring, Aristone said.

 

This season, Aristone said, Great Adventure will continue actively enforcing the park's code of conduct. Last year, park security ejected 3,600 visitors for violations.

 

The enhanced security presence that began last year will continue, Kane said. At least 100 security guards will be on duty every day, and Jackson police will be called for crowd control on busy days. Anyone who breaks the law will be turned over to the township police, Kane said.

 

But no way is Coastin' Steve O'Donnell of Horsham, Pa., going to get kicked out of the park. The coaster enthusiast said only trying out a new ride beats the thrill of a theme park's opening day.

 

"To see it again," an eager O'Donnell, 49, said Friday. "You've been away all winter."

[Great Adventurer]

Happy opening day Everyone! I hope to see you all there!