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Six Flags Great Adventure
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- Good for Kids:
- Yes
47 reviews for Six Flags Great Adventure
First, let me start by saying that if you head here in the summer while the kiddies are on break, then a Flash Pass is a must. These nifty little gadgets are becoming more and more popular amongst the guests but you'll notice that there's still a 75% demographic that does not bother purchasing them. If you don't want to spend that much then just opt for the regular fast pass (no time reduction... just a place holder) rather than the gold.
There's two reasons I love this theme park: El Toro & Nitro. Nitro is a classic and at a 2 minutes 30 second ride-time, it's well worth the wait for the front seat. El Toro is best on the back because the crazy fast speed will pull you down the 76 degree drop then up and down the numerous hills.
The other rides are mediocre. Kingda Ka isn't worth all the hype and is rarely open. The only thing I get out of going on Kingda Ka is a pounding headache and mild whiplash. Bizarro is just Medusa in different clothes. Dark Knight has an annoyingly long intro and is more like a kiddie ride with the lights off. Batman and Superman... meh... old coasters with no fun factor. Scream Machine... another headache inducer. Rolling Thunder is old and rickety but I love wooden coasters so I'll go on it anytime.
The food isn't too great but you have a few options. I love Papa J's pizza. The theme park version isn't the same, but it's still doughy and gooey enough. They just added a Japanese style place on the Boardwalk in 2009 where you can find pre-rolled sushi... same quality as supermarket sushi. I tend to stick with the chicken fingers or pizza choices. You're there to have fun and act like a kid, so eat like a kid.
The one thing I dislike about Six Flags GA is that they don't put effort into ambiance. Themes are almost non-existent. Sure they have different "areas" of the park but you can tell they cut corners and take the cheap road with a lot of scenery.
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It is well worth your while to get yourself a flash pass. Looking at all of the lines for the rides which were on average a 1-2 1/2 hour wait for the better rides, there is no way no one can experience all of the roller coasters in one day without one. Most of your time at the park would be sweatin' your tail off in the beating sun rather than getting your fill of coasters! Besides, it's fun cutting all of the suckers in line, hah!
Kingda Ka is one of those coasters that I'm glad I didn't wait in line for. It was fun, super thrilling, but extremely fast and short. My two favorite coasters in the park were Nitro, and El Toro... probably the best wooden roller coaster I've EVER been on.
This is a pretty awesome Six Flags park if you love your coasters like I do! I just have to remember next time to bring nothing but myself to the park because the lockers get a little pricey after using a new one every 1-2 new rides you go on (there aren't any cubbies for personal belongings on rides).
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Tips for going to Six Flags, Great Adventure:
- Get a discounted ticket. Sometimes it's a Diet Coke can with a 2-for-1 deal. Sometimes it's from buying online or through Working Advantage. Either way, you shouldn't pay the $49.95 + tax if you can help it.
- Go on a weekday in August. (Or go on a Sunday in September.) I know, it sounds crazy. Taking off work to ride roller coasters? In mid-August? The reason, less people are there. Most people go on the weekends and when it's not so hot out. Your lines will be longer if you go on a Saturday in June.
- Take an awesome friend with you so you have someone whom you can stand being around for a 12 hour day. One who also enjoys repeated rides on roller coasters.
- Do NOT take NJ Transit bus. It's fine just to get down there, but the getting back is dicey. You never quite know when the bus will show up. Could be a 15 minute wait, could be an hour. You'd think they'd have this figured out, but they don't. I even asked a NJT employee and she had no clue.
- Do ride Kingda Ka if it's open. (It was closed when I went as it was hit by lightning. Being the tallest metal structure will do that to ya.) Heck, ride all of the roller coasters, more than once. Beware that Medusa is now Bizarro with new line distractions and fire and mist during the ride. El Toro can give you whiplash and a concussion.
- Do secure your wallet in a zippered pocket. A lost wallet is a sad thing. Or get a locker and share it with your friend.
- Do NOT eat the chicken fingers. It really isn't a good idea, no matter how good it sounds.
- Do eat the curly fries.
- Maybe you shouldn't go every summer... Okay, so I went last year and this year but the only things that changed was that Danny P. kept his wallet and I didn't get a concussion. (Oh and Medusa is now Bizarro, but you already knew that.) That's all that's different, so I'm thinking next year we go to a different park. Still an excellent time!
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Stopped back here for Kingda Da (super fast, but really too fast... no time to really enjoy it), the old favorite Nitro (really short lines on Labor Day!), the Skyway ride, and plenty of kids running around. Superman, as always, didn't disappoint. Come on a weekday, much smaller lines.
Medusa is revamped into "Bizzaro" but in my opinion it's not worth a 2 hour wait... the water mists are nice, but you pretty much miss the flame unless you really look forward forward as you ride. El Toro looks nice.
Aside from that, the regular elevated pricing scheme... fast-pass is still far too expensive (it's like buying a few more tickets for a family).
Food... skip it. There's a McDonald, Burger King, and KFC down the road towards 195.
Tickets are at least available at the local Wawa for $20 off ($39.99). Tickets at the front are $49.99. You are better off getting a coke can and getting buy one get one half off.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/8/2009
A place for the young and the old, this amusement park has some of the old wooden roller coasters,… Read more »
This park is FAR better than its Atlanta counterpart. The park is cleaner, bigger and has better rides.
As you enter, you are not greeted by fun music or friendly staff...you are greeted by an announcment of park rules and all the many ways that you can get thrown out without a refund. I mean...what better way to start off a day of family fun? Disney could take lessons...
The rides are pretty damn amazing. Superman, Nitro, Kingda Ka and Bizzaro are all quite amazing. Totally worth the wait. Batman is kind of a let down and the new Dark Knight ride sucks.
The food is way too expensive and pretty bad...$12 for a burger and fries from a fake Johnny Rockets? Really? It doesn't even come with a drink. That's ballsy. Minus one star.
The fact that they charge you for a "Flash Pass" is a crime. At Disney and Universal, it is free...your ticket almost doubles in price for this rip off and it screws up the wait time for everyone else. Minus one star.
The park is fun...but I am constantly reminded that it is NOT Disney World. They could really work on theming. You really are only going for the roller coasters...yet a little more effort could take it to the next level.
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Today I rode my first major roller coaster. And it was here. It was Batman, but the real love I have for Six Flags came from my second roller coaster experience: Nitro. To some it may be old school and weak now, but I don't care! I loved it. And I want to ride it over and over and over again. Okay, that didn't sound right, but I also don't care about that!
Anyway, this place introduced me to Nitro, and for that, it can do no wrong in my eyes. (Well, I could do without the overpriced food, but honestly, could an amusement park be worthy of its name if it didn't have overpriced food?)
We broiled in the ticket line for just under an HOUR before we bailed. The crowd. certainly looked as if line cutting for amusement and intimidation was a likelyhood. It looked like they had rolled up a fleet of busses at the projects.
I don't know why the lines just to even get in were so slow, it was a weekday at 11:30. The more we looked around as the sweat stung our eyes, the less likeky a good day looked for all the money involved, so even though we had driven all that way, we were off.
Awesome !! ... This place rocks man... The super exciting rides like El-Toro, Nitro, Batman, Superman, Kingda Ka rollercoaster rides were just superb. Holy fuck!! At the end of the day, I literally had a sore throat coz of screaming.
I took the season pass and am going back next month for sure...
They've got Kingda Ka. 'Nuff said!!
I LOVE this park! They've got TONS of amazing coasters and rides! Even though they are pretty far from NYC where I live, they have bus options (which are dirt cheap, something like $50 which includes your park ticket!!)
Conditions were ideal for our visit: not insanely crowded, not a cloud in the sky, but temperatures moderate, and all roller coasters open almost all day with the exception of Kingda Ka, which (I gather) has been closed all all summer.
The rides are, on balance, tremendous: Nitro, Bizarro, Superman, El Toro and Batman are all great, each in their own way. (Do NOT neglect El Toro because it's a wooden coaster -- it's an hugely exciting ride.) We also enjoyed the second tier of roller coasters quite a bit. The water rides leave something to be desired, I must say -- the flume ride and the raft-in-rapids concept are better executed many other places. Dark rides (including "Dark Knight") -- nothing special.
Now here's the key: you MUST do The Flash Pass Gold. There is simply no substitute -- imagine going to Le Bernardin and having your "choice" of the grand menu, and a bucket of Long John Silver's, maybe six hours old. Every major ride develops waits of an hour to two hours plus. With the flash pass you go from ride entrance to seated in 5 minutes or so, maybe 20 minutes if you want to do the extra queue-up to ride in the front car.
The Flash Pass Gold system is even better than it seems, because, unlike in Disneyland, you register remotely from your device, and so you can add yourself to the queue for the next ride the moment that you are scanned into the ride before. This means that the dramatically reduced, but still significant, waiting times that you are warned about by Six Flags are basically a non-issue. We had on-device waits of as long as 25 minutes from time to time, but we NEVER had to spend more than 5 minutes cooling heels after walking from one ride to the next.
Bottom line on this: if it is not worth it to you to buy Flash Pass Gold it is not worth it to you to go to Six Flags ... unless I guess what you really like to do is bake under the sun for 90 minutes at a time chatting with your traveling companions, rather than riding 2-dozen plus rides in a day...
I love a good roller coaster, and since Six Flags Great Adventure has the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, and since I have a season pass (good at just about any Six Flags park in the country) and since I happened to be visiting the area this past weekend, I had to drop by and try it out.
The Kingda Ka is fast. Like 128MPH in 3.5 seconds fast. And tall. As in 456 ft vertical incline and drop... it's good stuff. Not for the faint hearted. I saw some tough, hard ass guys getting off the ride literally shaking and looking a little green.
El Toro, is really scary though. It's a super fast and steep dropping wooden roller coaster. Awesome. But not for the big bellied. The lap restraints are really tight due to the steepness... when we went over the first bump, it pressed into my belly and made me feel like my intestines were being squeezed out like toothpaste.
And the Nitro was awesome good time fun. NO upside down ness, just fast and fun drops.
That being said, the Congo Rapids ride was weak... barely got damp. And on a hot day, that's not cool.
Also, we spent $174 on a Fast Pass for 3 people which is expensive, but totally worth it because it holds your place in long lines so you can go and find other things to do, and calls you when it's your turn. The only thing is that they take your ID from you when you get the little pager and only give it back when you turn it in at the end of the day. My friend was really pissed when he couldn't get a beer at lunch because the fast pass people had his ID and he couldn't use his debit card without his ID either. Doesn't really make much sense does it?
Also, the hubby and I got a slice of pizza each (bad pizza) and a medium soda to share for something like $20!!! Seriously? I could buy two whole good pizzas and a 2 liter of soda for that price. The moral of the story? Bring a cooler with a picnic lunch and head back to the car for lunch...
And don't bother buying one of those free refill drink bottles for $13 because you can't take them on the rides with you, and you can't leave it in the station. You either have to not ride the rides, or pay $1 to put it in a locker at each ride...
Also, they blast the most horrible pop music all over the park, all the time.
They do have some cool tigers... I didn't see the show, but I did watch them for awhile in their little habitat.
Honestly, I don't think it's worth the 5 and a half hour trip from Boston... stick to our own SF in Agawam where you also get into the water park with your regular ticket. (Hurricane Harbor and the Wild Safari are separate from the regular park.) And if you do drive down anyway, take my advice and go around NYC on the way home. Trust me!
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My family and I love Six Flags. We normally get the season pass but this year we got a 6 day pass for the price of a one day pass ($50). You could buy a refillable souvenir come and refill it all day for free which keeps the costs of sodas down. We just shared one bottle per family and kept refilling it.
My favorite rides are Nitro and El Toro. Kingda Ka just doesn't scare me. Maybe its because you're only on it for 8 or so seconds.
We ALWAYS get the flashpass. Its expensive but oh so worth it. Its $300 for 6 people for the gold pass which means you wait in almost no lines at all. Here is our secret: If you have more than 6 people in your party, split the $300 price and go in groups. Send the first 6 people up and once they are past the person that scans the device, have them reserve the ride again. By the time they are done, the second group of people can ride. We did this and were able to ride 3 times in a row when the normal line had not moved! Flash passes are limited so reserve yours online. Tickets are sometimes cheaper when you order online too.
We have a blast posing for each picture and printing the best ones. Its especially fun when we go with someone who's never been.
Six Flags is pretty big so be prepared to spend a full day there even with the flashpass. We can normally ride on everything we want before noon but stick around to do it all over again. The lines are ridiculously long with the wait being normally at least 1 hr. They sometimes have concerts so keep an eye on their events calendar to see if you're favorite artist/group is coming by.
They have a small kids section as well but if possible, leave the kids at home and enjoy the park yourself
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We went here today, the last day of the season. The longest we had to wait for any lines was 30 minutes (Medusa), and we went on all but El Toro, because it had a 45 minute wait (we were spoiled at that point, having waited an average of 5 minutes per ride).
Dark Night Coaster: this one truly sucks. The special effects in the waiting room were better than the actual ride. Rickety, indoors, not much to speak of.
Batman The Ride: Awesome. We rode this one twice.
Superman Ultimate Flight: Similar to Batman The Ride, but you're parallel to the ground and in a flying position. We were in the front car and it was so much fun (I had been on this ride at Chicago's Great America and went on it about 4-6 times one day; memory was good and the ride was still incredible)
Skull Mountain: I hope they don't tear this one down because of the Dark Night Coaster--it was far superiour. A bit rickety, and your head might hurt afterwards.
Nitro: I hated this, but my husband loved it. Tons of dips which reminded me of massive turbulance. (Huge great falls per husband) Make sure it's been awhile since you ate, as it might make you puke.
Skyway: No line, so we took this. Pretty view of park below and something moms would love.
Medusa: apparently they're changing this one, but it was incredible. Lots of dips, loops, corkscrews. A long ride and fun.
Runaway Train: great for kids or when you don't feel like waiting for Medusa to open in 20 minutes.
Rolling Thunder: Surprisingly fun and scary. Very rickety, head will likely hurt afterwards.
Kingda Ka: I told my husband I hated him repeatedly when we were in the seats. He said he hated himself too. Very fast, 15-20 seconds long. I'm glad I did it for the sake of having done it, but it was not fun. Bad for anyone who cares about their hair.
Great American Scream Machine: The people behind us referred to it as "The Great American Lame Machine". We thought it was okay.
Beer: $9
Wine: $5
Soda: $4+$1 for refills (keep inside a jacket to spare having to pay $1 to lock it up per ride)
Most hot food: $9 and up aside from hot dogs, which were $2.79
We spent a chilly 6 hours here but had a great time (12 rides in 6 hours is pretty damned good). I'm too old to have the patience to wait in line 30 minutes or longer, but going in the morning (opening time) late or early in the season or during the week is always great.
We got the 2009 season passes ($85 for one; $125 for one with parking) which included Fright Weekend 2008; one more visit in the spring and it'll have paid for itself. Or a visit to one of the other 15 Six Flags. Also, the season pass processing woman was the most ornery and sour b***h. She was yelling at the little kids, was mean and unhelpful, and just downright crabby. That our pictures make us look like we've doubled our weight was funny looking back, but that woman was horrible.
We just regret that there are no longer monkeys who will happily destroy your car in the Safari Park.
Update Labor Day 2009:
Bizzaro we didn't much care for. It really should be a great ride, and may be fantastic at night with the fire and water, but the amplified background noise next to my head made me uneasy. I don't mind people screaming or laughing, and this is exactly the type of roller coaster I usually like (corkscrews, dips, loops, no straight drops), but the soundtrack was really annoying.
El Toro: Fantastic, and the best ride this trip. It was fast and I didn't mind the drop; in a sense, it reminded me of a safe version of the Cyclone--fast, wooden, scary.
Beer at Grannie's was $7 this time. We didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes for any ride. Left the park at 1 to grab lunch at Los Pinos (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) then returned to Wild Safari.
Update 11/1/09: A lot more crowded than closing day last year (we had to wait at most 8 minutes to get on any ride!), and freezing. Fortunately, they sold gloves for $2.99.
I doubt I'll ever need a Flash Pass, as there's no way I'd go when it's super crowded. I hated that when I was a teenager, and 20 years later I still hate lines and refuse to wait in them. That said, we'll probably get a season pass next year which includes the water park. Unless I'm pregnant.
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Six Flags Great Adventure has an impressive array of rides. My favorites include the Stuntman's freefall (unrelated: don't forget to catch a stunt show), the teacups (spin fast enough, and you want to blow chunks), the Tazmanian Devil spinner (where you can lift up your legs and "float" in place), and their wide selection of roller coasters. Even after all the not-so-amusing accidents I've read about nationwide, I still indulge.
Their property is freaking massive. It has a water park that I've never gone into, and a safari that's pretty cool: you almost forget you're in New Jersey until you remember that you're behind a Volvo with NJ plates. Of course, all this doesn't come cheap. The park is expensive, from the tickets, to the somewhat crappy park food inside.
Still, it's a diversion if you need it. I've been here many times with friends and family, and it's a good time. (During Halloween, there's Fright Fest, which is indeed frightening, as everyone's in costume which always feels like a security risk to me.)
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This park is huge, much bigger that you would think. Its clean, and has a lot of food options, but that where the goodness ends.
The people who work there seem to be in slow motion. Or just taking as much time as they can to do everything. This happen throughout the whole park, every place i went too, there was a long line and one worker behind the counter moving at a snails pace.
If they weren't moving slowly, they were just filled with no information, anytime i asked a question, i got 3 different answers.
Also i wish they had more rides for those who don't wanna puke or aren't 5. There really wasn't an in between thrill ride, besides that Elvira ride, which i loved!
But i hate the tiny "Smoking Squares" they get smaller and further apart at you get deeper into the park, and there just silly.
Even tho im complaining alot, i did have a good time, i went for Fight Fest, which wasn't scary, and not cool that you have to pay for all the extra scary stuff, when you just paid almost $50 to get into the park. It was only $5, but still.
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Having been previously with my former love of ten solid years who is a coast enthusiast, I'm knowledgable about amusement parks. American Coaster Enthusiasts (http://www.aceonline.org)'s highly rates Great Adventure as a great amusement park. Kingda Ka, built in 2005, is the record holder for the tallest roller coaster in the world at 456 feet. The highest drop is 418 feet.
The food in the park is decent. They have limited number of shows for people who doesn't like going on rides. It's no Disney but certainly closer to the East Coast. Unlike Walt Disney World this park is rather filthy with rubbish exposed and speakers as well as wires visible. The staff does not maintain order when guests wait in line for their turn on rides as children especially teenagers always cut the line without waiting for their turn which they need hard core lesson from Emily Post's Etiquette and Kay West's "How to Raise a Gentleman" and "How to Raise a Lady."
During the summer months, Six Flags have numerous promotions or coupons via the Coke Cola cans.
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As a HUGE roller coaster fan, I was more than willing to get my husband Six Flags memberships for the two of us for his Father's Day present. His was more for the Hurricane Harbor membership, but I hadn't been on Kingda Ka in 2 1/2 years, and c'mon. The Dark Knight? Between loving Batman and loving rides, I was hooked at the first announcement.
+5 stars for Nitro alone. Still my favorite roller coaster ever, anywhere, even over Everest at Disney World.
- 1 star for the prices.
- 1/2 star for the fact that Dark Knight comes nowhere near the hype OR the wait.
+ 1 star for the fact that the Superman ride didn't break once this time, which has NEVER happened while I've been there. I actually felt safe enough to ride it for the first time, and it was awesome!
- 1/2 star for Batman being closed most of the day.
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This park has a few fantastic rides, but not many other fabulous qualities.
Medusa, Kingda Ka (holy thrill ride!), El Toro and Nitro (the view from the top is awesome) are some of my favorite rides anywhere. I like the mine ride well enough, but I'm partial to that sort of thing. The Superman ride is a little weird and disorienting - a good concept, but sort of disappointing - and the Scream Machine and Batman are intense but I don't love them. I haven't checked out the new Dark Knight Ride, but I haven't heard rave reviews, so I'm not in a rush.
The food is meh and the staff don't seem excited to have shown up for work. Getting out of the parking lot can be a total nightmare if you catch the rush - ack.
My first and only experience at Six Flags was pretty terrible, but I've had time to step back from the situation and give it a fair review. First of all, the quoted wait times for the lines are lies. All of them. We were told that Kingda Ka would be one hour. Five hours later (yes, literally), we got on the ride. It was awesome for the short burst of fun that it is...but totally not worth five hours. Then again, most things are not. Nitro, first row, is my favorite rollercoaster ever. El Toro is great, Superman, etc. All of their rollercoasters are worth the money. I gave it three stars, despite the long lines, terrible crowd, and overpriced sodas because it IS a fun time.
The only piece of advice I can give you is...GET A FLASH PASS. You will not have to wait in line and I'm pretty sure it's worth the money.
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Okay, Since there really isn't any need for a review on the park in itself, since when we enter, we're just little children again, I'll spare you. Although, I would like to note one thing. It pretty much pains my entire body when going to Six Flags and you have to share the park with snot nosed "middle school" graduates. Wow! You made it out of middle school! Lets have a big celebration for that! They're all disgusting, inconsiderate, homophobic and just FILLED with way too much testosterone. These 14 year olds look like body builders! On to the rollercoaster ratings:
Nitro - 3 stars - Longest fucking thing ever...
Medusa - 5 stars - Probably THE funnest, most packed & thrilling
Scream Machine - 5 stars - Fun as hell, high as shit, but super scary
Kingda Ka - 5 stars - I saw the New York skyline. End of story.
El Toro - 4 stars - reminds me of The Cyclone but less dangerous
The Dark Knight - 1 star - Biggest disappointment ever
Superman: Ultimate Flight - 3 stars - It hurt my ribs cause I'm not fat
Runaway Mine Train - 4 stars - Actually really fun and fast!
Saw Mill Log Flume - 4 stars - Super relaxing. Speedy. Wet factor!
Congo Rapids - 4 stars - I hate being with other people. Fun though! LOTS OF WETNESS
And thats pretty much all I rode. Its soooooooo much better getting the Gold Flash Pass. I got past every line in seconds. The only thing I had to wait for, was my turn to get into the car. Which is basically you behind anywhere between 1-3 people. I went ahead of numerous people waiting for about 45 minutes. Its worth the extra $100. Trust me.
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I have gone 2x to Great Adventure. Graduation gift at 11 and age 25 for fright fest. For an 11 yr old the park was huge and amazing. Then at 25, it was still big but the wow factor had fizzled a bit. The rides were exciting and wait time wasn't bad. Average wait time was 20 mins. The safari ride was pretty cool. The giraffe decided my car window was tasty and began licking it non stop or maybe he liked me. Who knows. The monkeys were scary. Scary because they all ran to the fence when our car stopped and the monkeys jumped the fence.
Everything in the park is expensive so it's best to get bring your own food, eat in the parking lot and return for the rides.
Overall the trip was pleasant and I would return for a third time.
Great place for some close fun.
Whether your from N.Y., Pa. or right there in N.J. then Great Adventure is a great place to spend your day, if not weekend.
Since my days of growing up in Long Branch, N.J. which was just a short ride to G.A. evrything around the Park has grown.
They always had the Rides, and Safari, but the Waterpark which was added is truly a bonus.
For a day everything runs about $100, but these days where can you go that things aren't that high.
P.S. Did you know that the Park had a bad tragedy in 1984??
They had a Haunted House that burnt to the ground due to Safety Issues.
No Sprinklers, No Alarms, No one showing the way out.
8 kids were killed.
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How can you NOT have fun at am amusement park. I have been coming to Six Flags since I was about 6 or 7. We used to visit the park and then hit the wild safari. Years later I still find myself venturing to Jersey to get on all the sick coasters, use the bungee jump ride and get butterflies in my stomach from the Free Fall ride.
The prices have lowered a tad in recent years since it was purchased by a new company. You can always get the 2 for 1 deals with a can of coke or sprite or any other coca cola product.
A few years ago I went back into the wild safari after not seeing it for about 15 years and it was still fun to have all these amazing creatures walking around your vehicle. Good times!
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The thing to be clear about when visiting Six Flags: Great Adventure is that it's not Disney-lite anymore, it's a roller coaster park. Gone are the bumper cars, the side attractions and the "neighorhoody" feel that you get in the different Disney areas.
This is a roller coaster park, first and foremost, and is pretty easily accessible from the City. NJ Transit runs a bus from Port Authority leaving weekday mornings at 9:30. It's route 308 and the destination (if you want to buy from those ticket machines instead of standing in line for hours) is Jackson Township. Cost is about $27 for a round trip ticket. Note that when you come back the first bus is at 6:30 and runs hourly until 9:30 most days (direct link to the schedule: http://www.njtransit.c...).
It's best, if you want to ride a lot of rides, to take a day off work and get there early. After arriving at 10:45 (15 minutes after the park opened) and we managed to get in rides on Superman and Great American Scream Machine before everyone really got to the park. Once things crowded up, the lines certainly got longer but we never waited more than 30 minutes or so to get on a ride.
Food choices are slim if you want something that's not super fried and terrible for you. There is a shop with some healthy-type food near the fountain and I remember there being a healthy place with grilled chicken sandwiches somewhere at the outer reaches. Other than that, I'd suggest just sucking it up for the day.
All-in-all, this is a good place for a summer day off from the city -- the coasters are fun and exciting and if you avoid the really new rides (Batman Experience) and the ones that suck (Skull Mountain) you can get through two or three loops through each ride before taking off for the day.
Also? The place is large so bring comfortable shoes. I have yet to figure out why people wear flip flops to these things but more power to 'em.
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I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie and love roller coasters. I've been privileged to have been to some of the best parks in the world and this is the one I always return to. There are some good parks in the UK but to ride big coasters, the USA is the place to come.
I've enjoyed my time at the other famous parks - Six Flags Magic Mountain, California currently the record holder with 17 coasters and Cedar Point, Ohio catching them up this year with the opening of Maverick - but I love SFGA for its ride complement and location. Having been here for the last few years, I now base myself near Princeton, about 30 minutes drive away and close to malls, restaurants (see my other review on Penang restaurant) and cinemas. There's also plenty of parking at Princeton Junction station which is about an hour's train ride into New York City. Philadelphia, Atlantic City and the Amish countryside are all within easy reach. For coaster buffs, Dorney Park and Hersheypark are within driving distance.
The main draw for coaster fanatics is Kingda Ka, currently the tallest coaster in the world. It's a hydraulic launch coaster and packs an amazing acceleration from 0 to 128mph in 4 seconds before launching you straight up 456 feet and then you come straight down. All over in about 17 seconds. I think you have to have it on your 'have ridden it' list if you're a coaster fanatic but I find it very rough and therefore not re-rideable like its cousin and previous record holder top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point. Also the theming is pretty non-existent and it again fails in comparison to TTD where the Dragster noises and lights really add to the launch excitement.
The newest coaster is the amazingly smooth wooden El Toro themed around a bull stampede and there are a pair of bull horns at the front of each car. The lift hill has a cable system which is much faster than the usual pulley and chain and before you know it, you're being launched over the 76 degree first drop. Wow what a ride. Packed with airtime especially at the back and great pacing right up to the end with the kinetic energy at the end of the ride being used to really whizz you round some nicely banked helices. A most worthy addition to the park and it's nice to see investment in a wooden roller coaster there days.
I have a soft spot for SFGA because my favourite coaster of all time is here - Nitro, a 230 foot tall steel hypercoaster. The restraints are perfect, just fitting around the lower waist and you have your hands and feet free to wave around and enjoy all the amazing airtime packed into this coaster - again, back's the best place to catch airtime. The hills are all perfectly designed to deliver airtime on the drops as well as going over the apices of the hills. Just when you think it's all over as you hit some trim brakes towards the end of the ride, the front car then quickly disappears over a few more bunny hills filled with more airtime. It rides as smoothly as a baby's bum and with no inversions, has maximum re-rideability.
For thrill ride seekers, there is the flying Superman with its amazing positive Gs pretzel loop, the floorless Medusa, invert Batman and LIM launched Batman and Robin (though Robin never seems to be open). For families/younger kids, there are the usual kiddy areas as well as smaller wooden coasters, log flume, dark ride, mine ride, splash ride and rapids ride.
For a theme park, SFGA has a reasonable variety of eating outlets though they're not cheap. I've enjoyed oriental food through to chicken dinners. Warner Brother characters wander round the park and there are shows though I've not been to see any.
In common with a few other Six Flags parks, Flash Pass (formerly Q Bot) is offered. For a fee, you can hire a pager sized device which enables you to queue for 2 rides at once by scanning the device at a ride terminal. When the pager goes off, you go to the ride that you scanned and join a much shorter queue.
A good way to spend the time between 9am and 10am (SFGA park gates open at 10am) is to go on the drive round safari which is included in the ticket price. Like all safari experiences, the experience may vary depending on how energetic the animals are feeling during your visit. The water park is also separate from the main theme park and requires a separate entrance fee. I've not been there but it looks to have decent variety of flumes etc.
Another tip is to buy your entrance ticket on-line - a substantial saving on the gate price.
Despite my award of 5 stars, there are a few grumbles. The parking charge of $15 is exorbitant but it's in keeping with the park's obvious intention to suck as much money out of you as possible but they could try to be more subtle! For example, the $3 'delivery charge' to print my ticket out at home! The slow opening of rides at the start of day. Sometimes overstretched security.
But overall fantastic!!
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Teeny bit expensive. There are two rides you absolutely MUST go on- Nitro and Kinga Ka. Nitro is incredible. Kingda Ka is insanely fast and insanely high, but it's not that scary because it's only a few seconds. However you have to ride just for the experience. Food is gross and overpriced. If you can, bring your own, or be prepared for oily fatty shit. Worst ones were El Toro and the Great American Scream Machine. The scream machine will give you a pulsing migraine and you may be a little bruised. El Toro is just way too long.
I have had the pleasure to visit here at least once a year for the last 12 years or so. It is always a good time! To be fair though, I have never paid to get in as I have either had Season Passes from another 6 Flags park, or I was with a group.
The park is just fun overall, very large, and has such a great combination of rides and shows that you can spend all day and never be bored. The coasters will satisfy your thrill seeking, the food is overpriced but plentiful, and the shows are always fun. My personal favorite ride is the Houdini one, can't leave without hitting that.
The other neat thing is the Safari that is nearby. For years we came to the park and never went in because its a little pricey, but boy that one time we did go in it was totally worth it. Definitely do it once if you have the money, and make sure someone has a camera. Regardless of what you see others doing and how close the cute giraffe is coming to your window, do not open them!! Keep the windows closed! Geez, people.
A while ago they used to let you drive through the monkeys and they could ride on your car, but I think last time I went they had stopped this. We lost our weather stripping to a curious monkey and I heard others lost side view mirrors. Perhaps that why they stopped.
If you're in the area and are looking for a fun time for the family, come to this park and spend the day.
Yeah babyyy, El Toro is amazing. me and my brother were actually crying at the end of the ride either because of the wind or the fact that there can be nothing greater than what we've just ridden. There's no loops - who needs them? Its just so fast, so comfortable, and so satisfying. That is the only ride we went on twice, and I'm so glad for it.
Nitro is pretty awesome. Seeing the sunset on the coaster like a mile away is really cool. "Is that this coaster?? Its so far away" yeah, nitro is big. check the picture section for a look.
Scream Machine is cool because you can go on as much as you like. I mean, you gotta go once. It kinda sucks though. Nostalgia. It reminds me of Big John Stud because its red and white and from the 80s and not that entirely good but was good in memory. I think that was BJS. Who was that hillbilly guy? he was cool... moving on..
Kingda Ka has a lot of bragging rights. It goes up 35 stories. That is amazing. Its a quick ride, but the system by which the lines work seems very intelligent - like the new generation of roller coasters.
Medusa is a lot of fun. Reminded me of an orgasm. pushes, pulls, the lulls, the rushes and the blurriness of it all. Surprisingly long, I had a smile on my face the whole time. Very satisfying. Probably my second favorite to El Toro.
Let me say this: the future looks bright for roller coasters. Its been a decade since I've been to anything like six flags, but I must say that I am back in the game!
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I just wanted to take a minute to give Great Adventure additional props, due to the fact that as of last year they started sponsoring the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in South Jersey as the site for the Race and activities. I've been running in this yearly since I lived in San Diego. They even offer half-off admission to the park and free parking to the participants for the day. I ran the Race today, didn't stay to enjoy the park (still having Kingda Ka flashbacks) but it is all very well organized. Thanks, 6FGA, my mother and grandmothers thank you as well...
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10/2/2008
So I went to Six Flags - Great Adventure a couple weekends ago with the famous JoJo (whom I "won" in… Read more »
Had a great time during my summer trips and sophomore of high school class trip. fast and great rides
El Toro is awesome. They situated it right next to Rolling Thunder so it seems even more massive. Kingda Ka is pretty fun too.
The older rides are ok. Superman and Medusa are slow. Skull Mountain is a waste of time.
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Oh man. I can review amusement parks? It's all over now.
Six Flags Great Adventure is the best amusement park in the Northeast. That's why it gets five stars. It's not as awesome as Cedar Point in Ohio, but, then again, no place on Earth is.
The thing that used to piss me off about SFGA is that, during the '90s, every time they'd build a new roller coaster, it would be short and crappy. Anyone remember the Viper? That thing was a turd on a track.
Thankfully, they've started doing things right. The last three coasters they built have all been winners, with El Toro, the new woodie from last year, being the best of them all.
Plus, you have Kingda Ka, which is really best if you're in the front (it honestly makes the whole experience), so definitely wait the extra time for that or else it's a pretty rough ride. I will say that although it's taller than Top Thrill Dragster @ Cedar Point, I don't think it's quite as good. But, hey, it's still a lot of fun.
Nitro is the other "can't miss" coaster at SFGA. It's smooth as silk, you get tons of airtime, and one hell of a first drop. Oh, and if you go on the right day, there's like no line at all. Huge bonus.
Other coasters here include Superman (kind of dull, but worth riding once for the really awesome loop), Medusa (usually a short line, so definitely worth going on once or twice), Skull Mountain (indoor coaster... totally lame), Great American Scream Machine (eh, if you have nothing else to do, I say go for it... you can probably ride it two or three times in a row without even getting off the ride, but it is a bit rough these days), Batman (way too short, but fun), Batman & Robin Chiller (if they're even open, and they're nothing special anyway), and Rolling Thunder (an oldie, but... um... well... it's not really a goodie anymore, but I ride it for the nostalgia).
Otherwise, the experience here is probably comparable to many amusement parks. The theming is nothing special, the other rides are there if you want to waste your time doing that (I don't), and there's the safari (yawn) and water park as well.
All in all, it's definitely worth a visit here for a day of roller coaster craziness. I can't wait to finally go this summer.
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Although i know that I'm getting too old to be riding roller-coasters. Especially after my wonderful surfing accident the beginning of this summer. Granted I've been an adrenaline junkie as far back as I can remember but the weird thing about this: is I've never gotten hurt until this summer. What a difference this has made on my mind and body. I mean after countless varieties of dare-devil stunts and antics. I was even considering being a stunt woman at one point. My body ain't what it used to be. Its definitely time to get back to 4-5x a week yoga and lifting. The roller-coasters are really amazing. Especially superman. Its comfortable and a great ride with loops and spins, excellent g-force. Kunda ka is a great ride but its painful, literally. It feels like whiplash all over again. I'm only 5'2" and i have a great stamina for g-force, much more than my taller friends. Probably why they gave up the roller-coaster thing years ago. I would highly recommend the Flash Ride card. We bought the gold which was tres expensive; $120! but i think the regular flash would've have sufficed since we were taking in shows and stopping to eat. Avoiding sinister staring and sweating in line was worth every penny!
I don't think there is really one decent restaurant in the whole place and $30 for 2 sandwiches and a soda.. Highway robbery. I still haven't done the free fall which reminds me of skydiving without the speed of the fall. But no one will do it with me and I'm not going alone.
Rides that will literally beat you up: Rolling Thunder and The Scream Machine. Head banging city not to mention your shoulders getting banged up pretty good too. Well, That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Lamest New Ride: The Dark Knight - waste of time. Its worse then then Haunted House ride in Wildwood.
*Just for the history buffs: Originally built by Warner Leroy as just Great Adventure. In the fall of 1977 Six Flags purchased the park. Warner Leroy sold his interest in the park to Time Warner in 1993.
I've been going since my Junior year in high school.
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I did not buy a seasons pass to Six Flags Great Adventure this year but I should have. I ended up taking my daughter on 3 different occasions. Not buying the pass during the spring break visit was a big mistake.
As one reviewer pointed out there are lots of Roller Coasters and lots of lines. Stay away on the weekends but expect a crowd even during the week. We got there early one time and we got two quick rides on El Toro. I have not rode King Da Ka yet but my daughter did (I got out of line just before the point of no return because I am a wimp) and she loved it.
I think that everyone who grew up in Central New Jersey worked at Six Flags at least one summer.
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We had fun but it was no thanks to the clueless and downright unhelpful staff. On numerous occasions the staff pointed us in the wrong direction or didn't even respond to questions that we asked.
We bought the Flash pass regular which was so worth it and with internet coupons it was only $50/ per person (30 regular admission and 20 for the pass) El Toro is the best coaster in the park -- hands down. Negative was park layout which makes you walk 1/4 mile to get to attractions that are really only 50 feet apart and again the TERRIBLE staff.
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oh my god!
does anyone remember when the elephant sat on the car in the safari? teehee!! stupid stupid stupid.
hey! i used to work here, ok, i worked here for 8 days in college when i went looking for an "internship" ha the jokes on me! thanks 6 flags. \
so i went there to work in their business office, turns out i was 4 months too late to apply, so i did the next best thing, i took a job in the parking lot. weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee you ever think you could work in a Plexiglas coffin for 9 hours a day in the middle of the summer? well heed my warning campers, you cant!
so after spending a week in this box of death, i did the next best thing, i worked in a full polyester jumpsuit at the gas station inside 6 flags!!!weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. hey, did you know in jersey you cant pump your own gas? well its true. so there i was "trying" to work 24 pumps of not very happy people who couldnt leave their cars to pump, or more importantly they would need to pay first, i would go to the cashier, pose payment, go back to the car and then start pumping, go back to the cashier, pick up the tab, back to the car, etc. this wasnt very smart, and neither was i for working here, but then again.....
i got to go into the park for free (batman the ride was awesome!) got to actually that was the only good. in fact, that whole summer sucked. thanks for nothing 6drags!
oh and people keep dying at these places, isnt that enough to warrant zero stars?
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I woke up Saturday morning with Great Adventure on my mind. Yes, it was a holiday weekend, but it was cloudy and I was betting on the chance that a few thousand Great Adventurites would cancel their plans. I called a cousin, he came over, picked me up, and off we were.
An hour and a half later we were pulling up to the front gate... the lot was empty. A security guard told us that we were the "brave ones", apparently, there were rolling thundershowers all morning... : )
We walked up to the admissions booth, paid, and were each given a card for 5 free visits between now and nov. 3rd.
The rides were great! I hadn't been to the park in many, many years. There were no lines, and we immediately walked on to the "Great American Scream Machine", it was thrilling!!! We then proceeded to make a full run through the entire park, Kinda Ka, El Toro, The Nitro,..we got on every rollercoaster in under 2 hours. So empty was the park that we were allowed to stay on the rides for multiple runs... we stood on The Nitro for so many consecutive runs that we left with scrambled brains...
The only downside was the food, which is awful. I strongly recommend bringing a sandwich or something...
Overall, the park was clean, well run, and tons of fun. Also, with all the discounts and offers, its pretty cheap too!
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I don't think I shall be going here again very soon. I got there first thing in the morning on Memorial weekend, and only made quick queue time for one rollercoaster--Medusa. It was alright, but then we couldn't get on any other coaster because they all were down or had an absurd waiting time. Wound up going on this soso Spongebob theater-ride which would have been better if I had been on something.
Never go on that wooden rollercoaster there because it hurts your back and private parts.
My class trip wound up hanging out in this random field then wandering around until the trip was over.
It seemed like every ride that I went on... there was an Asian girl and Caucasian guy working the ride... and they were always flirting. I felt like I was in a twilight zone kind of loop where all the rides had clones operating them.
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I used to think Great Adventure was the **** IN MIDDLE SCHOOL! I have to admit, their safari is awesome, but their ticket prices are ridiculously expensive if you don't have some type of discount and I'm sure its that expensive because they need it to manage to the Safari animals which thrill riders DO NOT go there to see. If I remember correctly, the price of admission now also includes safari. Maybe I'm just talking smack because I haven't been back there in a year or two and the rides are perhaps updated. I will write another review after next summer.
But of all the times I've been there as an adult, I really did not enjoy it. The rides were bleh and the park staff just doesn't care (like any teenager working minimum wage would). Perhaps I'm comparing it too much to the other six flags I've been to in California or perhaps its like that line from "Dogma": As a kid [faith/religion - in this case GA] is a small glass that is easily filled and you're happy with it, but as you grow older, the cup gets larger and its harder for it to get filled. That's my two cents on SFGA.
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The east coast cousins brought us here and I actually had a blast! A different vibe from to southern california amusement parks but the same happy kids running around and having a great time. Make sure you use a coupon code if you buy your tickets. You can save alot. Check http://www.themeparkco...
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