I hadn’t visited a Six Flags park all year up until Monday, October 9, 2023. Usually by now I’ve visited Six Flags America (SFA) and/or Six Flags Great Advenuture (SFGAdv) a time or two each. Not this year. I haven’t had the desire to visit SFA with portions of the park closed. When it came to SFGAdv, it’s been a mix of waiting for El Toro to reopen and my schedule being full. But this is all in the past now. On Monday I finally visited SFGAdv for the first time since November 2022 when I went with James. I didn’t make this trip alone, however.
A few months ago my friend, Karah, told me that she wanted to come along for one of my amusement park trips. She loves coasters and said she hadn’t been to a park in a long time. We tossed around the idea of going to Hersheypark, but our schedules didn’t match up with the park’s this late in the season. That’s when I saw that SFGAdv would be open on Monday, October 9. I mentioned it to Karah and she was instantly on board.
Arriving to an Empty Park
When Karah and I arrived we saw that the crowds were light. With Fright Fest activities happening later in the day, I recommended that we hit Kingda Ka and El Toro first thing. Between their knack for downtime and possible crowds showing up later, I wanted to make sure we were able to ride both, especially El Toro.
With this being Karah’s first time at SFGAdv, this was akin to tossing her into the deep end of the pool. She started the day with the two most intense coasters in the park, with a back row ride on Ka and two back-to-back rides on Toro. But hey, she handled them and loved every minute of it. At least I think that’s what her silence and bulging eyes meant returning to the stations. I could be wrong?
El Toro
Just like Kingda Ka before it, El Toro was a walk on. Only a few rows were taken when we walked in and we could have went right on. Instead we waited for the front row – a one train wait. We had just come off a back row ride on Ka and I thought Karah would appreciate the tamer ride on Toro. She also liked having the unobstructed view. It had been a while since I’ve been on the coaster, much less in the front seat. I was game for anything.
Although we were in the front I did notice the “bumpy” parts on the turn around that people have been complaining about after the re-tracking. I honestly expected them to be much worse based on what people have said online. Maybe it would be worse in the back? We didn’t have to wait long to find out.
Since no one was in the station, we were told we could ride again if no one was in our row or if we wanted to switch rows. We made our way to the back of the train. Rows 17 and 18 were already full, so we sat in Row 16. I told Karah to expect a world of difference on the drops.
When we made our way back into the station, Karah told me how much better the ride was in the back. She loved the stronger airtime. And as for those “bumpy” spots, I didn’t notice much of a difference from the front to the back. Would the ride be better without them? Yes. Are they unbearable? No.
Medusa
When I visited SFGAdv last November, Medusa was closed. This visit was my first chance to experience the ride since it lost its Bizarro name and theme. I’m so glad its gone too. I was never a fan of this or Superman in Six Flags New England (SFNE) being changed to Bizarro. I’ve gone on and on about this in the past, so I won’t spend more time on it here. I’m just glad Medusa is back.
One thing that surprised me was how much Karah loved this coaster. It’s always been an enjoyable ride, but it was Karah’s favorite ride of the day so far and turned out to be one of her favorites of the entire day.
“Medusa was my favorite ride for sure. The twists and turns kept me on my toes the whole ride,” she said. “It kept me excited the entire time.”
Just like Jen the week before loving Griffon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW), here is another friend of mine loving a Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) coaster that most of us enthusiasts overlook. Once again, it’s neat to see what non-enthusiasts enjoy the most when they visit the park.
Nitro
Of all the coasters at SFGAdv, this is the one I thought Karah would claim as her favorite. After saying how much she loved Medusa, I was even more certain she’d love it. B&M certainly makes rides that please park-goers. Heck, Karah didn’t even hate Green Lantern, although she did say she could do without the headbanging. Take that away and she liked the course and elements. But that’s Green Lantern. Onto Nitro.
I insisted we ride the back row. After El Toro I knew Karah would prefer the stronger airtime pops. I was 100 percent correct. Add in the smoothness of the ride, this was right up there with Medusa for her favorite rides of the day. I guess she’s just a B&M girl! No worries, Karah. Nitro is a favorite of mine too. Now I just have to get you down to Carowinds to ride Fury 325.
” I love how smooth the ride is on Nitro and how free I felt with the lack of restraints. That was probably my favorite part of the ride – that feeling of minimal protection,” Karah said.
Final Ride Counts
Batman the Ride (1)
Dark Knight (1)
El Toro (2)
Green Lantern (1)
Houdini’s Great Escape (1)
Jersey Devil Coaster (1)
Kingda Ka (1)
Medusa (1)
Nitro (1)
Superman Ultimate Flight (x)
Hopefully the First of Many
Karah had been after me for a few months wanting to go to an amusement park. I’m glad we finally got the chance. We are already talking about what other parks we might be able to visit. My thought is Hersheypark during Christmas Candylane. I’m not sure I’ll have much time to go anywhere before the end of Halloween festivities here in 2023. I sure wouldn’t mind riding Wildcat’s Revenge a few more times before the end of the year though. I think Karah would love it. She did enjoy Jersey Devil Coaster, so she does have a Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) experience to her name. Heck, maybe I’ll drag her down to Kings Dominion for some Twisted Timbers too. I usually go anyhow, so why not?
Six Flags Great Adventure Photo Gallery - October 9, 2023
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CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
