'Glow in the Park' will be quite a production

When you hear the word "parade", Six Flags isn't the company that first pops into your mind. That would be reserved for the likes of Disney and even Universal. It's no surprise, then, that many didn't have high expectations when it was announced last fall that the all new "Glow in the Park Parade" would take to the Great Adventure pathways in 2008.

The press release stated that "you can bask in the glow of your favorite characters as custom-designed floats illuminate the night in this uniquely, themed parade." As nice as that sounds, I'll have to admit that even I was a little skeptical. Adding to the intrigue were the "drummers, puppeteers, singers, dancers and kinetic stilt walkers creating an unparalleled nighttime fantasyland of sound, light and motion." Based on the parades at Great Adventure I've seen, I just didn't see how they were going to pull all of this off.

Well the latest news indicates that this indeed will not only be pulled off, but that it will be a great parade. Screamscape reports that the parade is being created by Gary Goddard Entertainment, who is working with a known Rose Parade float designer named Raul Rodriguez. Furthermore, custom music score is being composed by Benoit Jutras, who has done work for Cirque du Soleil. The night-time parade will feature five major floats covered in lights and a cast full of singers, dancers, stilt-walkers and puppets.

So it appears that Six Flags may wish to be included when the topic of theme park parades is brought up. This will certainly be something worth checking out when it premieres on Memorial Day weekend...and I feel like Six Flags is going to prove me wrong!

Summing up the "calm before the storm"

Well if you're a Great Adventure Source Forums regular, you know how slow things are during the off-season. Despite our best efforts, there's just not all that much to talk about in January. We have done a pretty good job, however, with the coaster draft and off-topic threads. It is my pleasure to fill some of you in on what has been going on.

First of all, I would like to announce that the Great Adventure Source Forums will indeed be staying as the "Great Adventure Source" Forums. Jim will be moving the SFNE Online Forums to his server which will therefore end our original plan of creating joint forums for the Northeast Theme Park Network. This decision was mutual and we both feel it will be for the best. For Jim, it will allow SFNE Online to grow into its own site and on our end it will allow the forums to stay focused on Great Adventure.

On that note, based on feedback from many of our members, there will be a lot of exciting improvements coming to the Forums as the season draws near. First on the plate is our search for a new moderator. We're looking for some great candidates, so everyone is welcome to apply!

Also, be sure to vote in Mitch Hawker's Steel Coaster Poll. We'd like to get some representation from Great Adventure, just as El Toro placed 2nd last month. In the wooden poll, Great Adventure Source was listed a top referrer, so let's try to keep up that representation!

Once we get to February, everything will fly by and it will be April before we know it!

Dark Knight details revealed

Great Adventure Source affiliate SFGAm World has a look at some details of the Dark Knight. I'll detail everything below, but I just want to announce a disclaimer that these are based on the Dark Knight version for Great America and not Great Adventure, so we cannot assume that everything will translate. By the way, the original information can be found here.

Great America's Dark Knight coaster will utilize an existing structure, the Theatre Royale. Therefore, the entire layout of the coaster will be based off of this building, which will receive a makeover. The queue will contain a pre-show followed by an effect that sets up having to "escape".

The cars will look like a subway car and the lift will be enclosed by a tunnel, equipped with "subway lights", so it appears that the "escape" is via a "runaway subway car". This seems to make the idea that most of the theming will be in the queue/pre-show a bit easier to swallow, because from experience...there is nothing to look at while you're riding the subway.

Again, please note that the above photos and information apply to the Great America version of The Dark Knight, so nothing is guaranteed for our version. I'd like to extend a special thanks to supermanros16 for finding this information and to our affiliate SFGAm World.

Mid-Week Rumblings

Just some little blips that have come across the Forums:

* If you ever wondered what things at the Safari were like during the off-season, the Asbury Park Press has a nice article with a behind-the-scenes look. It certainly brings to light the fact that working there is certainly a year-round job! For example, the 360 acres of roadways must be cleared almost immediately after any winter storm to ensure that all of the animals can continued to be cared for. It's a great read, especially if you are a fan of the animal park.

* Six Flags Inc. has reported a growth of 7% in revenue and 4% in attendance for the 4th Quarter of 2007. While good to hear, this is more of a reflection on the Texas and California parks, since Great Adventure only operates on weekends of one month of the quarter (October). A major point that Mark Shapiro pointed out, however, was advance sales of 2008 season passes.

* SFNE Online reports that Six Flags New England is targeting Memorial Day Weekend (May 24-26, 2008) as the opening date for their version of The Dark Knight. Considering that and the current construction progress indicated by Flyin Phil's latest update...that seems to make the claim that our version will open in April seem a little hard to believe.

* In case you didn't notice, the site plans for The Dark Knight that we released last week seem to be off by about 45 degrees when compared to Flyin' Phil's most recent update. Aside from that, those plans (taken from the Jackson Township Planning Board) seem to be pretty accurate.

With all of that out of the way, I've got to get back to MSNBC to see the latest results from New Hampshire. Primary is so intense this year, I find myself following it like the baseball playoff chase. I almost expect to find about 20 minutes of Sports Center dedicated to it each night. Even more, Vegas should be all over this thing! I've got Obama and McCain in this one...what about you?

Complete 2008 operating schedule announced

The complete 2008 operating calendar for Great Adventure has been released at the park's official web site. As noted earlier, the park officially opens on Saturday, April 5 and will close for the season on November 2, a Sunday as usual. Here are some other notes of interest:

* Great Adventure's annual "Spring Break" will be the week of April 19-27, where the park will be open daily (until 10P on the two Saturdays, 8P on Sunday 4/20 and 4/27, and until 6P the rest of the days).

* Daily operation begins Thursday, May 15 for both the theme park and safari. Unlike last year, the safari will not be open daily at the start of the season.

* During the summer, the park will close nightly at 10P. During Fright Fest, in October, the park will be open again on Friday nights and will close both Fridays and Saturdays at 11P.

* The theme park will again open at 10:30A rather than 10A.

Nothing too shocking here, but it's nice to now know what exactly we have to look forward to!