Six Flags Great adventure-PLEASE help!!

Coaster_holic24 · #1 03-30-2008, 12:42 PM

Hey guys, I was thinking about heading to SFGradv sometime this summer. I will proabably be taking the southwest flight. I wanted to fly in on a Sunday and spend a Monday and Tuesday in the park. When is the best time to go? What month? Which rides should I hit first? Will the flash pass be worth getting since I'm going on a Monday and Tuesday? What are the "not to miss rides" ? Does the park run the coasters at a good capacity? Do they have any kind of 2day pass? I know I'm asking alot but any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Nitro Luvr · #2 03-30-2008, 01:09 PM

Coaster_holic24, you are talking about Six Flags most visited park in their chain. Going on a Monday as opposed to a Sunday is almost irrelevent in the summer time. The place is going to be PACKED regardless. Since SFGADV is my homepark, I'll give you a few pointers on the rides to visit first. You need to get there a good 30 minutes before they even open. As soon as you enter the park, you might as well head left. That is where Kingda Ka, El Toro, and Superman are at. Head to Kingda Ka first, because if you don't ride it early in the morning, expect a good 4-5 hour wait just to get on the ride. Next stop should be Superman. Not my favorite ride in the park, but it has an incredibly low capacity per hour. You need to ride that in the morning too or you will be waiting a good two hours for just a mediocre ride. Next head to El Toro, my favorite woodie thus far. Hopefully they will be running two trains. If so, the line moves fairly quickly, but this is another ride you want to hit early too. Don't let temptation get to you, avoid Medusa, Rolling Thunder, and GA Scream Machine. Head towards the opposite side of the park by Nitro. It should be open by then, but I suggest your next ride is Dark Knight. This is nothing but a wild mouse in the dark brand new coaster. The line is going to be long, but you need to weigh your options. Ride the tallest, fastest, and steepest coasters on the left side of the park first or ride a wild mouse and risk waiting hours for those other coasters. To me the decision is easy. I rather wait for a wild mouse for a couple of hours than Kingda Ka for 4-5 hours. So ride Dark Knight and then head to Batman, because well it's a classic must ride. This is hit or miss too, sometimes the line is long, sometimes it isn't, but you still need to ride it. Since you are over there, next ride Nitro, my all time favorite steel coaster. This monster is worth getting on. And Nitro has an incredibly high hourly capacity. The line is usually medium length, so you won't wait more than 45 minutes tops. My usual time is about 20 minutes. After riding all of that, then head back to the other coasters you missed. I just mentioned the high capacity ones you want to ride first, but the others are good too. I love Medusa, but the line is almost always short, basically a walk on. So you have all day to ride it. The flash pass in my opinion is only worth it for Kingda Ka if you get there late. Other than that, avoid getting one. I'm not sure if Six Flags still does the Twicket (I'm a season pass holder), but ask someone that works there. You get a Twicket for like 10 bucks at the end of the day and you can come back the very next day. Well I think I gave you an earful, hope you enjoy your trip there

coasterdude28 · #3 03-30-2008, 01:12 PM

Go in May or early June.

The order of the rides doesn't really matter, as you will be able to ride everything.

Flash Pass may be worth it if it is crowded. Decide when you get there.

Do not miss Nitro, El Toro, Kingda Ka, Medusa, Batman, and ofcourse all of the other coasters.

The park sometimes does a decent job with capacity, but sometimes they don't. It's hit or miss. Nitro is always good with capacity. Kingda Ka and El Toro can be slow at times.

Check their website for two day passes. You also may want to look on ebay or something like that to get cheaper tickets.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. I know the park very well.

Coaster_holic24 · #4 03-30-2008, 02:28 PM

Thanks guys, I am looking at the dates of June 16 & 17th, hopefully it wont be too horrbly packed those days. Either way Kingd ka is the main reason I'm going.

Nitro Luvr · #5 03-30-2008, 02:42 PM

Kingda Ka may be your main reason for going, but trust me there is some very stellar coasters there. KK is good, but it actually isn't even in my top 20 favorite coasters alltime. El Toro and Nitro IMO are better rides, so don't just look as your trip primarily for KK. You will find that the other coasters are just as great, if not better.

coasterdude28 · #6 03-30-2008, 04:54 PM

You should be going for ET, not KK. Kingda Ka is awesome, but ET is in a league of it's own. I believe it will exceed your expectaion, especially if you ride in the last row.

**Leo C** · #7 03-30-2008, 05:06 PM

With that "PLEASE" I thought you were stuck in a shallow well at SFGADV. LoL. Of course I'll give you advice. I just don't waste the money on Fastpass cause I'm local enough to be there several times a year with a Season Pass. I probably would since you're a out of towner. I'd save it for Kingda Ka, Superman: Ultimate Flight cause it's popular?/takes forever to load, El Toro, basically anything that's not the B&M because they have great capacity. Waiting in a line for Batman may be annoying but I can't predict day by day if the line will be beyond the storm drain or not.

Since you're going after June I would not go on a Saturday in Summer. In the past I complained how my worst SFGADV visit ever was on a Summer Saturday in July or was it June? If you go early on a Sunday morning at opening I was able to do all the major coasters starting with NITRO and doing the counter clockwise route before noon. This was without Kingda Ka and Superman cause I refuse to be in that line unless it's really short. I do them once or twice a season.

Early week-mid week looks good. I mostly go in a counter clockwise route whenever I visit. The park layout is easy to follow. We will have an altered park view this year since the bottom of our park, Old Country will be closed off. This lead into Movietown with CHILLER. My ride is gone so I'm sorry you missed that unique ride. Walking beyond the Big Wheel Ferris Wheel you can dip down to find Batman The Ride and The Dark Knight coaster before hitting NITRO. If you're credit desperate there is the Roadrunner Express kiddie coaster tucked in the Looney Tunes Seaport next to Wiggle's World. Skull Mountain is next to Wiggle's World and the Skyride. I love Blackbeard's Treasure Train, a family coaster. Don't miss our Runaway Mine Train, it's a real oldie but surprising for its age the Arrow Mine Train only has one lift. These little coaster suggestions are in order as you follow the counterclockwise route and if you plan to have a long long day at the park. Otherwise skip those. Medusa is next, then Toro, Rolling Thunder, Kingda Ka, GASM, and SUF. That's generally the route I follow in the park. Since I get beat that's part of the reason I skip S:UF. I really wished Rolling Thunder would be complimented by El Toro but El Toro blasts the shaky, airtime lacking, sometimes racing Rolling Thunder off the map. You probably would feel sorry for us that for at least 30 years that was our only wooden coaster.

The two airtime coasters are like Ying and Yang. They headline the different parts of the park. NITRO on the one end with the floater air, El Toro, a true gem, with Ejector air, on the other. I think you'd want 2 rides on Toro.

Medusa is my favorite floorless. I do a headrest stand most times I ride if if it's not in the first row of course.

The easiest credit to get in the park is the once world's tallest, the classic Arrow - Great American Scream Machine. A true parking lot coaster, at least it has a red, brown gravel field unlike other SF parking lot coasters.

No freefall tower in our park. Our parachute drop next to GASM is one of the very few in our chain.

Flying Southwest - I would like to say "Welcome to Philadelphia"

Coaster_holic24 · #8 03-30-2008, 05:24 PM

Ok here are my choices, May 19 & 20th or June 16th & 17th both ar mondays and tuesdays.

**Leo C** · #9 03-30-2008, 05:31 PM

NitroLuver probably has the better route for you than myself because overlooking my advice it's still heavily biased to my local attendance/conditions. Yes, ask any of us; we want you to get the most and enjoy this park. Those later June days is when I start to loathe the park switching over to the summer crowd. Those June days could be right in the transition, one of the last good weekends or it begins to be that Summer crowd. Schools are letting out then.

I loved May for the empty park weekdays when they host school trips. The last few years the park's been getting smarter with hours those days with the new management. I doubt I'll have marathoning those days this year. May weekends would be great and spring mild.

SFOT really blew me out of the water in satisfaction when I went so I want to be "Texas like" in hospitality as well.

tofattoride · #10 03-30-2008, 08:56 PM

I went last year in August. It was crowded but I had the fast pass gold so I did not care. I had my fill of all of it and was out of the park by 5ish.

They let SP holders get in early for ERT on Kingda ka that day. I got the first ride of the day front seat. We rode six straight times before we moved on to Rolling thunder. I think that is the name of that white coaster that sucks. Then the park opened and we moved on to better things (el toro).

I will not risk driving 12 hours again without the money for a fast pass gold. It was well worth it that day.

Coaster_holic24 · #11 03-30-2008, 09:14 PM

^your screen name reminded me, I am about 200lbs.5foot5inches Will I have any problems riding KK? Do they have test seats outside the entrance?

rjholla2003 · #12 03-30-2008, 09:21 PM

I personally go on weekdays since even in the summer it's not too bad. I tend to go clockwise around the park, skipping all the way to Kingda Ka or El Toro first, mood dependant. Superman is usually skipped since I pretty much refuse to ride unless the queue looks to be around the 15 minute or less mark. It's a decent ride. It does it's job perfectly, but it also feels like it's missing a soul. Medusa is simply a classic that IMO can't be missed. Runaway Mine Train is pretty fun now since they have the new and more comfortable trains. Nitro and Batman the Ride, in any order are definitely fly. Skull Mountain is a decent indoor coaster, with a great first drop. The jury's still out on Dark Knight of course. That's expecting to open Mid-May, but it seems that you're planning your trip after that point anyway.

When it comes to reliability and waiting times, that was a major focus point last season, and it improved dramatically. The once "reliably unreliable" menace Kingda Ka opened before the park almost every day in the season through August, which then I stopped working for the season. It was so reliable that we joked that it was trying to be a real roller coaster. It only really went down for rollbacks. The difference was simply absurd. El Toro stopped doing it's "I always open at noon" thing and opened before the park near daily as well. It had it's issues here and there, but for the most part you could count on riding it. It was definitely an oddity when it went down and stayed down for the day. The B&Ms are as reliable as any other B&M with the exception of Superman, which kicked it up many notches last season as well. This season, all of the rides that were unreliable simply don't exist anymore.

When you do visit, I hope you have a great time.

tofattoride · #13 03-30-2008, 09:28 PM

I was/am a weird shape. I am very heavy so my weight will seem crazy to you. I was 300lbs when I went. I fit in all the rides but Batman. I don't look 300 lbs but I am thick and I do weight that much. I have big shoulders and that hurts me in my OTSR. I am trying to get as thin as I can. If I can get to 250 then I am good to go no matter what. El toro was tight on the seat belt but I fit and could do it without help. Kingda was fine. I wear about a 64 in a suite coat and I fit so you will be fine I think.

Coaster_holic24 · #14 04-13-2008, 07:14 AM

Hey guys, I have decided to go Sunday May 18th as well. I was thinking about the Flash pass. How does it work? And how does the goldene pass work? Is there a seperate lane at the coasters for pass holders or what? thanks guys

***Katie*** · #15 04-13-2008, 08:30 AM

It is the same as other parks. You reserve your ride, but you don't wait in line. Your wait time is equivilant to the line.

The Gold Flash Pass is the same thing, but 75% of the wait time is cut off. You still don't have to wait in line either. You reserve from the rides entrance with flash pass.

I am not sure how the gold one works. You might be able to reserve from anywhere in the park.

http://www.sixflags.com/greatAdventu...flashpass.aspx This link I found on Gadv's website.

Coaster_holic24 · #16 04-13-2008, 12:33 PM

^I have never been to a SF park thats why I was asking. Also w/ a reg flash pass do you get to pick where at on the train to sit and how many rides can you reserve at a time?

***Katie*** · #17 04-13-2008, 01:01 PM

No, they only rope off certain rows for flash passes.

And no to the other question as well. It's one ride at a time.

**Jimmy B** · #18 04-13-2008, 02:51 PM

I can help you with looking for flights.

As far as air travel, if you keep with Southwest Airlines, as CHILLERLC1 pointed out, Philadelphia is the closest Southwest city to the park and the only practical destination to where you want to go. Newark Liberty Int'l I believe might the closest airport to the park, but I'd ask those New Jersey locals above to make sure.

Obviously, the first airline I'd consider is Continental Airlines, which Newark is its second-largest hub/base. You can fly from most North Carolina airports directly into Newark.

US Airways' largest and second-largest hubs are Philadelphia and Charlotte respectively, so you should be able to find loads of options on US Airways....Charlotte to either Newark or Philadelphia, or from any North Carolina airport to Philadelphia.

And American Airlines should also have direct flights from Raleigh/Durham to either Philadelphia or Newark.

Nitro Luvr · #19 04-13-2008, 03:13 PM

^^ You know I'm not even sure which airport is closer to SFGADV, but if I was to pick which one to fly into, I would go with Newark at nighttime. You will hit basically no traffic at all on the NJTP trying to get to the park. Then just wake up bright and early the following day to go there. With Philly, it's kind of hit or miss with that place. If you hit traffic, you are pretty much screwed. But then if you go with Southwest, you pretty much have no choice but to fly to Philly. I say toss a coin and see what you get. Both airprorts have their pros and cons.

James · #20 04-13-2008, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katie

No, they only rope off certain rows for flash passes.

Thats not true anymore. Only in its first few years did they have qbot (flashpash) only rows... Now (well at least at SFNE and Gadv) you just skip to where the station entrance is.. And from that point you can then pick to wait for any row you want (so you can take the front seat if you wait in its line)

And for KingdaKa... they have a full station JUST for the pass people. And once more, after you enter the station you can then wait for whatever row you want. The one time I rode Ka in the front row I ended up having to wait about 40mins in the station itself (after the bot said it was time to ride)

And if you've never been to the park.. Get the gold bot. Yeah its more money, but its sooooo worth it.

(Gadv is the only park I tend to get the bot at each time I go, but I have used bots at SFNE and SFOG as well)

Quote:

I am not sure how the gold one works. You might be able to reserve from anywhere in the park

Six Flags has new bots this season (like the ones Dollywood and Thorpe Park have) so you no longer have to walk around to the ride to scan a time. You can do it on the bot itself from anywhere in the park. You can also line up as many rides as you want on it (but you only 'wait' in one line at a time)

Coaster_holic24 · #21 04-13-2008, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James

Thats not true anymore. Only in its first few years did they have qbot (flashpash) only rows... Now (well at least at SFNE and Gadv) you just skip to where the station entrance is.. And from that point you can then pick to wait for any row you want (so you can take the front seat if you wait in its line)

And for KingdaKa... they have a full station JUST for the pass people. And once more, after you enter the station you can then wait for whatever row you want. The one time I rode Ka in the front row I ended up having to wait about 40mins in the station itself (after the bot said it was time to ride)

And if you've never been to the park.. Get the gold bot. Yeah its more money, but its sooooo worth it.

(Gadv is the only park I tend to get the bot at each time I go, but I have used bots at SFNE and SFOG as well)

Six Flags has new bots this season (like the ones Dollywood and Thorpe Park have) so you no longer have to walk around to the ride to scan a time. You can do it on the bot itself from anywhere in the park. You can also line up as many rides as you want on it (but you only 'wait' in one line at a time)

Ive never been to the park so i'll proably get a gold pass for Sunday when I go. Do you get a bot for the gold or is it just a gold "pass"?

James · #22 04-13-2008, 05:41 PM

I use goldbot at Gadv.

Its the same looking as the non-gold.. But it cuts the wait down by 75%.. So when rides have an hour line, you only wait about 15min.

**Leo C** · #23 04-13-2008, 08:44 PM

Philly Airport, foremost, is a big US Airways hub with Southwest making a vibrant presence since they arrived in Philly. From the airport you can be at the park in about 75 minutes. I'm about 35 from the airport and 40-45 to the park, hence my guess. Take I-95 to Betsy Ross Bridge(Rt 90) to cross into Jersey, take Rt. 73 to 295 or NJTP, which run within a few feet of each other up towards 195, which will get you to 537 and the park.

I was close. Google maps says 69 minutes, You'd take 95 north for only a few miles to 76 (Walt Whitman Bridge) to Jersey connecting to 295. They suggest you switch over to the Turnpike then and continue to 195.

Most of the lines I had for Medusa was only up the steps, about 10-15 minutes. I guess that's not really Bot worthy but if the Bot lets you be King since you paid for it, go for it I guess. Out of towners should have a bot.

Bratman · #24 04-13-2008, 09:01 PM

I got a regular bot for my trip there for the ACE event last August. Totally worth it, especially with two whiny teenage nieces accompanying me. Waits were not too bad... largest one might have been a half-hr, and some were rediculously short (Medusa was 5 minutes when there was clearly a half hr line). We took advantage of the "wait" time to sit and relax..or cool off indoors.. or eat... or go on an attraction with a short wait. Worked out well for us.

Coaster_holic24 · #25 04-14-2008, 08:10 AM

Thanks for all the help guys I think I finally got the system figured out now. I'll definatly be getting the gold pass for Sunday and wait and see what the crowds are like Monday. OMG I cant wait this will be a whole new experience for me. KK, Nitro, El toro, Medusa are the ones I'm looking forward to most.
For anyone who have ridden Apollos chariot and Nitro-which one is better in your opinion? I personally love apollos chariot so its gonna be hard to beat AC.

Nitro Luvr · #26 04-14-2008, 08:46 AM

^^ Those are two very remarkable hyper coasters, but I have to lean towards Nitro. I enjoyed it a little bit more. IMO, the drop and hammerhead is what makes it better than AC. Now don't get me wrong though, AC is no cookie cutter either. I absolutely loved the ride and I can never get enough of it when I am at BGE. I guess with SFGADV being my homepark, I am a little biased, who knows. One thing for sure, you won't be disappointed with Nitro though.

**Leo C** · #27 04-14-2008, 09:17 AM

AC is fun but I thought NITRO always had a better fluidity. I still get the thought I'm out on a journey just like on AC. No annoying trim brakes half way up a hill or a tease of running through an outhouse tunnel either.