Aerial Photo Update - Dark Knight foundation

Our favorite photographer, Flyin' Phil, has provided Great Adventure Source with another Aerial Photo Update of the Dark Knight construction. The photos show that all of Chiller's track has finally been removed and foundations are being built for the Dark Knight building. To check out all of Phil's photos, click here. I just wanted to share this quick update with you and I'll have more on this in the coming days. Enjoy and have a safe and Happy New Year tonight!

New Years Resolutions

So New Years is all about resolutions, right? Yeah, I guess it's also tradition to break your resolutions just as fast as you think of them. In fact, perhaps the better angle is to place bets on how long it takes your friend to break his commitment to work off some of that beer gut. Well I'm here to say "not me"! I've drafted up five resolutions for this web site that I plan to stick to this year…so here’s what to expect:

* Launch the Northeast Theme Park Network
Don't worry, it's coming...I PROMISE! Announced in November, the Northeast Theme Park Network will combine this site with SFNE Online and TGE Source to bring together three Six Flags parks that share so much in common. Nothing about this site will change, and if you don't care at all about TGE or SFNE, then you really won't be affected at all. For those that are, however, you can see the re-branding launching in EARLY January.

* Update the web site thoroughly
Yeah, so since the site is not congruent, you'll find a few different layouts spread-out amongst the many pages. Little by little this WILL be tackled and you'll actually see the site look the same, for once!

* Finish the Attraction Guide
I know no one has reason to believe this will happen, because I always seem to make this resolution...but this one's for me. MajorTom and I are going to really tackle this in the coming weeks.

* Create extensive photo galleries and post frequent photo updates
Great Adventure Source is getting back in the game of photos. There will be a strong commitment this year to posting frequent photo updates and creating extensive galleries of all your favorite rides and attractions. In fact, viewer help will even be encouraged. It's going to be a lot of fun.

* Keep this blog updated
If you ever read my first entry, you'll recall that I said I was more excited about this feature than anything that I've ever done with this web site. This one isn't so much a resolution for me as it is for you guys to see that this will keep happening. I feel this blog is going even better than I anticipated and the feedback has been so great. Thanks for all of your support and know that it will keep on coming! Just wait until there's actually stuff to write about.

So there they are...my New Years resolutions for 2008. I guess I have a lot of work to do, but I'm really excited and I can't wait to get things rolling. On that note I wish you a Happy New Year and I hope you have a great holiday! Don't forget to check back next week for a brief photo update pertaining to The Dark Knight. It's our belated Christmas gift to you. Happy New Year everyone!

P.S. - Don't forget...voting for the FINAL ROUND of Survivor ends on Wednesday. Be sure to vote for your champion; El Toro or Nitro.

Merry Christmas

Well, I just finished wrapping the last of my presents and I can smell all the food cooking downstairs in the kitchen, so that must mean it's finally Christmas! Though I suspect the readership of this entry will be quite low due to many holiday commitments, I figured that I would send out a holiday greeting just the same!

I also figured that I should give all of you a Christmas gift...which will come later this week. The Northeast Theme Park Network and Great Adventure Source will release a brief photo update at the end of the week pertaining to some important Dark Knight information. Think of it this way; after all the presents are opened and the food is gone...you'll still have something to look forward to.

Anyway, I wish you and yours a very Happy Holiday and I can't wait for the year ahead of us (more on that in an entry later this week). Merry Christmas!

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!

Park offers sneak peak of Dark Knight construction

The park has released a very brief update of The Dark Knight construction, with three photos taken on December 3. The quality isn't great, but you can see up close on the ground where Batman & Robin: The Chiller and Movietown Water Effect once stood.

Also evident in the photos is that the Observatory and station from Chiller are still standing, as they are expected to remain with the addition of the new roller coaster. Another hint given in this update is that The Dark Knight will be located not so much in Chilller's former location, but rather in the former location of Water Effect.

To check out the update, click here. What are your thoughts of the progress made so far?

1-day season pass sale just in time for Christmas

Just in time for Christmas, Six Flags is holding a one-day sale on season passes, giving 25% off of certain season passes for all of their parks. The sale runs through noon tomorrow (December 17) and brings a season pass for Six Flags Great Adventure and Wild Safari down to $59.99, which is just about the price of a one-day admission ticket.

Forums member CHILLERC1 brought this to our attention and brings up a point that this does not seem to include admission to all Six Flags parks, which means that you will probably only gain access to the New Jersey park, but that's not all that bad if you don't plan on traveling to other Six Flags parks this summer. Stew560 also brings up the point that this deal requires a minimum $10.00 shipping purchase on season pass renewals and at least a $3.00 "Print at Home" charge for new passes, so there's a slight catch. Depending on your situation, though, this may just work out to be a good deal. Again, be sure to hurry because the sale only lasts through noon tomorrow, but I thought it was worth bringing to everyone's attention.

An underrated favorite

With 86% of the vote, Medusa was eliminated this week after making it to the “final four” of Six Flags Survivor. Matched up head-to-head with its sister, Nitro, the purple and yellow monster stood no chance to advance to the championship round. But this got me thinking about how underrated this ride really is.

Tucked away in the back corner of often-ignored Frontier Adventures, this prototype coaster has been steady and reliable since day one. The ride has never had an extended period of downtime and save for its first season and certain exceptionally crowded days…there rarely is a wait beyond fifteen minutes. To put it simply, Medusa gives you the most bang for your buck (well, that is if you had to pay on a per-ride basis).

I know many of you share my sentiment, but many more tend to look past this ride to understandably more thrilling coasters in the park; Kingda Ka still holds two world records, El Toro is the park’s current shining star and Nitro is in a class by itself. But Medusa packs seven inversions into a long and enjoyable layout and basically launched a hugely popular new coaster style. The ride bolstered a long-neglected and far-from-thrilling part of the park and though its themeing is suspect, Medusa certainly is nothing to sneeze at.

Though we may never see Medusa in the championship round of Survivor, it will always have at least a few fans who quietly view it as the park’s best…or at least their sentimental favorite.

El Toro places 2nd in 2007 Wood Coaster Poll

* Close, but no cigar! El Toro placed second (by 6 votes) to Holiday World’s The Voyage in Mitch Hawker's 2007 Wood Coaster Poll. The poll is one of the most effective in ranking the best roller coasters each year. This is actually still a huge recognition for El Toro, as it moved up from third place last year. To give you an idea how much value this poll has, Mark Kane, the GM of Great Adventure, was urging our Great Adventure Source members to vote for El Toro in the poll at the exclusive GAdv.com Q&A session in October.

Voters in the poll, from all over the world, indicate which wooden roller coasters they’ve ridden and then are asked to rank them based on certain criteria. The poll then uses some crazy mathematical formulas to tabulate and compare voters’ responses to derive the final tally. It’s pretty reliable and has been around for fourteen years now.

Another positive note is that this web site ranked 23rd out of the top 32 web sites to refer voters. This says a lot about our member base and I thank all of you for contributing! To give you an idea…Screamscape referred the second highest number of voters.

* I’m going home for the weekend for a “Christmas weekend” where I’ll be seeing Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the Wachovia Center on Saturday. My family tries to get to their show every year, but we didn’t make it last Christmas. Anyway, I’ll try and post something if I have some time, but if not stay tuned for the SFNE Dark Knight plans on Monday…

Have a great weekend!

More on The Dark Knight, plus some other odds and ends

* In my entry yesterday I forgot to mention some other aspects that we have learned about The Dark Knight from Six Flags New England’s approval to the Agawam Planning Board. Since the plans for all three coaster will be the same, here’s more of what we can expect:

The queue may have some extensive themeing done to it, working up to a pre-show video of some kind to set the story in motion. Also, the station will be themed as a Gotham City subway station. The exterior of the building will be designed to appear like smaller city buildings, mimicking the fictional Gotham City of Batman fame. The drawings on file in the Planning and Community Development office show Gotham City Hall, Gotham Police, and the Wayne Industries tower. A billboard proclaims "Harvey Dent for Mayor," which references Gotham's new district attorney.

* I came across an update at xtremecoastin.com featuring fresh paint being applied to Medusa at SFDK. It’s amazing how good the fresh purple paint looks and it just makes you wonder when our version well get the TLC.

* It looks like Scream Machine will be this week’s victim in Six Flags Survivor, giving the game a final four of El Toro, Nitro, Kingda Ka and Medusa…which seems about right. There are three rounds left, the next of which will feature Nitro against Medusa to determine the Group A champion. The Round 7 voting should be up sometime tonight.

The loss of an NJ legend

I did not realize this little fact, but Forum member CHILLERC1 informed me that we lost a legend yesterday; Jack Rabbit at Clementon Lake Park was demolished. In his words:

The wooden coaster was the oldest before Leap the Dips came back into operation. It was the 2nd oldest coaster in the world. It was the oldest of three Jack Rabbit coasters remaining; the one @ Kennywood and the other at Seabreeze.

The park, under new management, still has the newer wooden coaster, J2 (otherwise known as Tsunami), but Jack Rabbit will always be a legend. I can vouch that it was my first roller coaster ever, and as many of you know, that certainly means something. I remember growing up going to my dad's company picnics at Clementon Park and I would be scared out of my mind of the Log Flume, let alone their lone coaster...but when I reached that certain age, I got the nerve and...voila...I was hooked.

One day the NEPTN hopes to add a special site and forums for Clementon Park, a NJ legend...and nothing is more legendary than Jack Rabbit and may it rest in peace. What are your thoughts? You can add your comments here or join the discussion at the Forums.

Some Chiller/Dark Knight odds and ends

*Just to fill some of you in, as of November 25 (thanks to Flyin’ Phil), Chiller is almost completely gone. It is also worth noting that next door, Movietown Water Effect has also been removed. While we know that Chiller is being sold to another park, Movietown Water Effect is not expected to be sold and has most likely been demolished.

As we’re assuming that Chiller’s replacement, The Dark Knight, is just going to be a standard wild mouse layout…it is safe to compare it to the version at Hersheypark, which RCDB lists with dimensions of 144' 4" x 62' 4". Considering The Dark Knight would be the same size and have the same dimensions, the ride figures to fit well in Chiller’s former location…however with Water Effect now being removed, how much of that small lot (if any) will be used for The Dark Knight?

Our partner site, SFNE Online has recently reported that the Agawam Planning Board has approved The Dark Knight coaster at Six Flags New England. Knowing that the New England version of the ride will be the same one built in Jackson, we now have some more details on what we can expect in the spring: The ride will indeed be indoors, air conditioned and built in a 12,000 square foot building. The ride in New England will be placed in the location of the current “Batman Stunt Show” arena. We’ll be following the developments in Agawam closely to get some clues of what to expect at Great Adventure, so stay tuned!

Speaking of Chiller being sold, In the Loop recently had an interview with a representative of the company selling the ride. It was noted that they have received 25 inquiries and two parks in particular want it. With the purchase, both interested parks seem to want a 2-year maintenance agreement. The coaster will be completely rehabbed in about two months at which time it will be available for whoever wins the bidding. No word on which parks are interested, but I’ll keep you posted.

* A real quick blurb on Looney Tunes Seaport - At the November 19 Jackson Planning Board Meeting, an item up for approval was:

Six Flags Great Adventure – Block 3101, Lot 11
Improvements, addition and re-theme “Sea Port Eats”

The minutes from the meeting haven’t been posted yet, but some guesses on the Forums seem to presume that the entrance to Looney Tunes Seaport will be moved slightly towards the entrance to Nitro and the existing food area containing funnel cakes, butterfly fries, etc will be slightly re-themed into “Sea Port Eats”. More on this when the minutes are published.