PTR: Six Flags Great Adventure

Date: Friday, May 15th, 2009

Active riding time: 10:30AM to 5:00 PM (My grandparents burnt out)

Weather: foggy morning, light drizzle at lunch (10min), sunny afternoon

Total Rides: 10

Dissapointments: Kingda Ka was closed all day (this was my second to to SFGAdv, second time I was unable to ride it [:(!]), likely because of the couple drops of moisture that tainted what would other wise have been a pristine track. Paranoid much?

Bizarro wasn't done yet. Oh well...

Rant:
I have received information from both my grandparents and cousins that they are rather unhappy with the down-time this ride experiences, and now, so am I. This is coming after an announced closure for the 9th and 10th. It was closed for three days in the same week, and likely more. However, the real point here is there was NO point in keeping the ride closed for the latter half of the day, when it was SUNNY out. There was an announced closure for May 9th and 10th, so I don't think this was a maintenance issue. I just wish SFGAdv would put a little more effort into making this ride perform optimally, rather than close it down completely if there is even a 2% chance of rain for the day due to a paranoia attack (Cedar Point exists, fellas, leave that to them).
/rant

However, other than that, things worked out pretty good.

I arrived at 10:00, and my first task was to retrieve a Q-Bot I picked up online, which came in pretty handy (they got rid of the booths and now it's all done electronically, so I was effectively "waiting" for one ride while grabbing a seat in another on the other side of the park).

Once that was done, I enjoyed watching the crowd build, there was a HUGE amount of middle and high school fun trips, and an equal number of bands and tourist groups, so it was fairly crowded today. Once the gates opened at 10-30, it was time to grab my warm-up ride:

Great American Scream Machine
Front row
As I had learned a few days ago, Arrows require a special pose to ride them without being concussed: head pressed back, chest pressed forward. Considering I rode this three times and exited the park with just tired feet (an accomplishment), I think I pulled it off. But WOW, that was a workout, indeed several people had their heads banged on this one today.

Afterwards, I took a quick walk in the Golden Kingdom (saw the tigers) while reserving a spot on El Toro, which was thankfully open. Once I got the buzz:

El Toro
Front Row
LOONG Line, that I never waited in (Cue Nelson-style Ha Ha!). I did have to wait some for the front, though.
I have to say, El Toro really does feel like you are riding a bucking bull. That first drop was insane, I ALMOST put my hands down, after that it was fast-paced Ejector Air and quick turns all around, and you return to the station still trying to process what you just went through. Insanity, that's all I can say. Afterwards, it was time to cross the park for my next ride:

Nitro
Back Seat
El Toro showed me what to expect from a front seat ride on an air-time machine, so Nitro was there to show me the back. Night and day difference, I say. I never once attempted to get a front-seat ride on Nitro, I was straight to the back each and every time.

After Nitro, I had some time to break and get some lunch before my next ride:

Batman: The Ride
Front Seat
Pretty vanilla Inverted B&M. Montu was much better, though.

To be honest, those were the only four coasters I rode today (Rolling Thunder didn't interest me, Superman: Ultimate Flight I didn't like that much last time I came, and that includes the such ungodly wait time that I would not even bother with my Q-Bot, Runaway Mine Train didn't interest me, and neither did The Dark Knight or Skull Mountain at the time.)

The Ride order afterwards was:

Nitro: Back Seat
GASM: Row 10 (I was not allowed to choose)
El Toro: Back Seat (HUGE difference here)
Nitro: Back Seat
Batman: The Ride: Front Seat
GASM: Row 7

I left at 5:00 because my grandparents, who accompanied me, were done (note to self, return alone, and preferably on a Saturday).

The Verdict: 6/10

The trip was OK, but not great. Too many major coasters were closed that day and it was also too short a timeframe (I left one hour before closure, but I wanted to stay until closure, until I needed to compromise). The end result is that I left wanting more than what I got; enough to where I'm already planning my next trip. Well, hey, at least I got a Q-Bot.

A weekend visit to SFMM some time later in the season is what I'm after. I'll see you then.

TR < PTR

PTR?

I am at my grandparents house typing this. it is really tomorrow, and that day was yesterday.

I'm just typing "today" because I am writing like I went back in time in my head. The trip occurred yesterday.

[Oscar]

Where the pictures man! [:)]

And i believe KK is closed because it got stuck by lightning by a few storms we had here not to long ago. So theyre probably trying to fix it.

Cedar Fair isn't paranoid, its called being safe. Thats why we don't have to worry about guests going home in body bags. Unfortunately, other parks don't have that safety record.

Far as I know, the last time someone was killed at SFGAdv was yeeeears and years ago...like 70's or something.

Originally posted by dcs221

Far as I know, the last time someone was killed at SFGAdv was yeeeears and years ago...like 70's or something.

I was speaking about the company as a whole.

Ka is still closed i went monday... I'll probably have pictures up tmmrow sometime. Bizzaros great.

Ka is going to be closed for a while...

The site says it's closed for maintenance, so what's wrong with it?

EDIT: It was struck by lightning, after all.

In early May 2009, Kingda Ka was struck by lightning and suffered frequent downtime following the strike. The date it happened is not absolutely known. The ride operated on May 9 and May 10 off and on with down-time more often than operating time. The park attempted to open the ride on May 16 but was unable to get it running properly. The park then announced in that Kingda Ka was be temporarily closed for maintenance. By May 20, it was announced that the ride would be down for an extended period of time. Six Flags Great Adventure ordered new parts for the ride from Intamin, but the damage requires complicated repairs to Kingda Ka. A Screamscape post mentioned that, due to the nature of the needed repairs, Kingda Ka's launch will require a full test and adjust period, causing the ride to be closed to riders until late spring/early summer. Few park employees will discuss this issue and either deny knowing anything or saying something to the tune of "I am not at liberty to comment on this situation except to say its down for routine maintainence

http://screamscape.com/html/six_flags_great_adventure.htm

That ride is crap compared to TTD anyways.

*sigh* not the whole TTD v. KK thing again.

Well, its not that. Im tired of hearing from people who havent ridden ttd and dont no anything about coasters and say "Kingda Ka is so awsome" just because it is like 5 mph faster and 10 ft taller. And i tell them "no its really not that good compared to ttd" And they look ate me as if i just told them that homework is better than having a life or something. And then they think im crazy. So i just have alot of stuff against it becuase everyone thinks its so much better.

Thankfully you guys dont. Sorry, im in a real venting type of mood today.

Originally posted by Kyle Sloane

Well, its not that. Im tired of hearing from people who havent ridden ttd and dont no anything about coasters and say "Kingda Ka is so awsome" just because it is like 5 mph faster and 10 ft taller. And i tell them "no its really not that good compared to ttd" And they look ate me as if i just told them that homework is better than having a life or something. And then they think im crazy. So i just have alot of stuff against it becuase everyone thinks its so much better.

Thankfully you guys dont. Sorry, im in a real venting type of mood today.

Lol, great point.

Anyways, after hearing that it was struck, that deflated my anger significantly, I just didn't edit my post to reflect my new views.

Anyways, it wasn't a serious loss, I still got to go on El Toro Twice [:p].

I've already begun planning my next outing. it will be a weekend visit to SFMM in August. And this time, I'll make sure to bring a camera.

It's oficially open as of May 31, apparently.

really? cool

Yeah it has been open since then.

I've ridden both, and they're both about equally awesome to me. I also don't understand why there's a comparison here...very few people ride both, and those who go to GAdv don't care what you think about a similar ride that's 8 hours away.