A hint at some park upgrades for '08

At the latest meeting held by the Jackson Township Planning and Zoning Board on December 17, Great Adventure’s final approvals for construction on The Dark Knight in addition to other capital improvements were granted. Here’s a look at what we can expect to see in ’08:

- Riverbank Café renovation
No word on whether this will be the new “Seaport Eats” that was hinted at in an earlier meeting, but we still don’t know the specifics. All we DO know is that this food location will be upgraded next season, which will be a nice improvement.

- Dark Knight location confirmed
As I’ve discussed, the location will be primarily on the Movietown Water Effect lot.

- Hall of Justice shop will be remodeled
This will probably be done to incorporate the ride exit for Dark Knight, and will probably take on a “Batman” theme.

- Chiller’s station and the Observatory will remain
No plans for these two things just yet, but it looks like they may play a role in the future…stay tuned for more on this.

- Relaxation station will be located between Carousel and the paintball building

- A small expansion of Guest Relations and the administrative human resources building in Hurricane Harbor

- A large soil sediment project to happen on the east side of the park's property
No details on this, but the reasons could range from the Safari to a possible expansion of the theme park in the future.

- 10 tree removals to allow for the new “Glow in the Park” Parade

Thanks to JJ2K who helped with this information. There is definitely more details on the way, we just can’t release them all quite yet. In the meantime, here are some other odds and ends:

* It seems as though The Dark Knight has an unofficial targeted opening date of May 3, which seems a bit ambitious, but still certainly possible.

* As MajorTom brings to our attetion, Mark Shapiro is optimistic about his 3-year plan to improve the Six Flags chain, despite the bad weather out west and a freak accident in Kentucky. For the most part, though, it looks as though things have worked out as planned.

* All is pretty quiet right now with Christmas only a few days away, but if I hear anything, it will be posted here. The Survivor final vote will run through New Years, and it looks like El Toro will match up again against Nitro, so be sure to get your vote in. Have a great weekend and I’ll check in with you soon!