It was only a few weeks ago that I was at Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) with Jen and a bunch of my coworkers. We had rain in the evening forecast, but it would come early and the park would close at 4 p.m. We didn’t get in a ton of rides, although Jen, who was visiting the park for her first time, did get to ride El Toro, Flash Vertical Velocity, Medusa, and Superman Ultimate Flight. The rest would have to wait.
Ultimately, Jen wouldn’t have to wait long. Here we were on our way home from a New England area trip that saw us visit Quassy, Lake Compounce, and Six Flags New England (SFNE) twice. We were driving south on the Jersey Turnpike to get home and with SFGAdv being at about the midway point of our drive, we figured we’d make a stop. It wouldn’t be a full day, but perhaps Jen could complete all the park’s credits?
Still No Park Completion for Jen
We came to the realization immediately that Jen would have to return to the park again if she wanted park completion. Check out everything that happened this visit to stop Jen from getting all the park’s coaster credits:
- Batman the Ride – Still down. It has been for months, maybe even for the entire year so far.
- Barrels O’ Fun – Not open yet. I’m sure it’ll open a couple of days after our visit with our luck at SFGAdv as of late.
- Jersey Devil Coaster – Closed. We didn’t see it cycle once. That’s been the case for the last few visits Sam has had to the park too.
- Lil’ Devil Coaster – Jen was told you need to ride with a kid. That’s never been the case and it isn’t posted on the park’s site or on the signage out front. We’ve seen coasters that clearly state this and this one does not.
Oh well. She still needed a good number of the park’s other coasters that she wasn’t able to get with the rain out a few weeks ago. We’ll just have to come back for a third time for the rest. Plus, I’ll need the Barrels O’ Fun credit too when it does open.
Here’s some of what we did ride during our short stay. Once again it was a scorcher, even worse than yesterday at SFNE.
Skull Mountain
This was the ride we waited out the storm in a few weeks ago. We never got to ride it before the park closed and thankfully it was open today. There was no line and we boarded immediately.
Sadly I think this ride is getting worse and worse as the years go by. There is too much light leaking into the building, so the dark aspect is ruined. I haven’t heard the soundtrack play in quite a while, which at least got you hyped up a little bit. And lastly, where is the skeleton toward the end? The one thing that felt like you could rely on still being there when all these other things have gone by the wayside was him. Now you can’t even see him, if he’s even there at all.
I don’t know what you can do to this ride, but it needs to be reimagined. Something… Anything… Either that, or it’s time for it to go and be replaced by a newer.
Nitro
Of all the coasters that Jen missed last visit, I’m glad this one was open. Both Sam and I told her how much we enjoy this ride and knew Jen would too. She has fun on Apollo’s Chariot and Candymonium regularly. Last year her rides on Raging Bull were some of her favorite during our trip. She also enjoyed Thunder Striker a few years ago too.
Needless to say, you can add Nitro to the list of coasters Jen enjoys. We made sure to get in two rides in the back while we were here. If there was any ride to get back onto, this is easily one of the most desirable. Add in the heat and that air in your face sure did feel great.
Roaring Rapids
Speaking of cooling off, when we saw Roaring Rapids was open, we didn’t hesitate – especially since the Saw Mill Log Flume, like many other rides this visit, were closed or experiencing downtime. If we were going to get wet, this was going to be our only chance.
Although I have ridden this rapids ride before, it’s been easily a decade or more since my last ride. I didn’t even realize the ride’s name had changed until we approached the entrance either. Did this change when the park reverted to the old mine train name too? Or did this happen some time ago and I’m just now seeing it?
For the majority of the ride we didn’t get too wet. There was a rapid or two that tossed some water up onto some of us, but this was not one of those rapids rides that get us drenched. Well, not until the end anyhow. The water shot out at the boats to get them over to the ramp totally soaked us. That was nice, but I do wish the rockwork still had the waterfall feature before that. Something a little more themed during the ride. At least I feel like it used to have a waterfall from my childhood memories. Am I remembering this right?
Final Ride Counts
Dark Knight (1)
El Toro (2: Patrick, Sam, 1: Jen)
Harley Quinn Crazy Train (1)
Joker (1)
Justice League Battle for Metropolis (1)
Nitro (2)
Roaring Rapids (1)
Runaway Train (1: Sam, Jen)
Skull Mountain (1)
What's Up with Batman & El Toro
Here we are starting off July and two of SFGAdv’s more popular coasters are down or running at limited capacity. Like I said above, Batman has been closed for an extended period of time. It might not have even opened yet at all this season. I’m not 100 percent sure on that, but I wouldn’t be surprised. Anyone know what the hold up on it is?
Then there’s El Toro still running one train. I don’t even see the second train on the service track either. While I haven’t visited the park on what I’d call a busy day, having just one train on this coaster is a major inconvenience. It feels like the train takes forever to get people in, seated properly, and all the cars that require re-checks to be verified. It makes this loading process unpleasant. At least with two trains that can take place while the other is out on the course. It’s slow and as much as I enjoy this ride, I would not bother with it if I go back this year on a busier day.
Here’s hoping to some improvements to these rides and the availability of others. I didn’t make light of it in this report, but throughout the entire day rides were constantly going down, or just not open at all. Seems like a trend with this park going back to last year. I hope it improves if Six Flags wants this park to be one of its main draws.
Six Flags Great Adventure Photo Gallery - July 2, 2026
If you would like to use any of the images in the gallery above for your commercial and/or non-commercial projects, feel free to do so. I ask that you credit We Were Inverted whenever they’re used. I also ask that you do not alter the image or remove the watermarks. If you need any images/video resized or without the watermarks, please contact me directly.
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
Sam
Admiral
New Credit(s): n/a
Jen
Admiral
New Credit(s): Dark Knight, Skull Mountain, Harley Quinn Crazy Train, Joker, Runaway Train, Nitro