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Hi everyone,

On my latest flight over Great Adventure, I have documented the Wild Safari as I have never done so before, complete with 24 Aerial Photos of this vast, 350 acre wild animal wilderness in the Jackson, New Jersey woods.

See my BLOG entry HERE !!!

Enjoy

I have been taking a much bigger step-back as far as these forums go now that I am at Ole Miss and pursuing my Engineering degree....but when I read this today on screamscape I nearly vomitted and felt the need to reply. I can only hope that these rumors that Mark Kane has moved up to the corporate offices are true.....however the suddeness of this all and the fact that the APP didn't mention what happened to Mark makes me think otherwise. Mark changed our park for the better I know many of our young members don't remember the late 90's and early 2000's but garbage was everywhere! Anybody who does remember these days and Sue I'm sure you can vouch for this as well would remember the "gum tree". There was a tree in the queue of Congo rapids that had literally collected sooo much gum it looked like it was meant to be that way! Cigarette butts were everywhere, trash cans were too few and far between, and when you did find them they were usually ugly looking, rusted and overflowing. Staff was not nearly as friendly as they are now....I had an issue in '98 where I was leaving the park 10 minutes to closing and literally EVERY bathroom except the one at the entrance was already closed for cleaning and the person cleaning at every bathroom was VERY rude about letting you know it was closed. Line-cutting was digustingly normal and security was never around nor cared to remedy the problem. Security felt like they owned the place....during a fright fest in 2001 my group got cut by another group....they literally just cut us and nobody else. Well my ex-gf wasn't having any of that and basically got into an arguement with them until the point that the kid revealed his SF security badge and said "This gives me the right to be ahead of you" (he was off-duty just their to have fun). We called over security (management security none the less) who basically stood behind what the kid did and told us "it was handled". How exactly had it been handled? The kid's group is still ahead of us! Lines for guest relations at the end of the day were ridiculous you'd think it was a line for a coaster.....I kid you not and all of those people were complaining!

This is what Mark himself was directly responsible for changing....its something I never thought I'd see at our park to be honest! Its that simple customer service aspect of the business that in fact just about every business (theme park or not theme park) in the country has lost focus on (including Disney to an extent) and is just now in the last few years trying to bring back again. Customer service no matter what business you are....and I literally mean EVERY business....should ALWAYS be the number one priority next to safety of course. But no one did such a great job bringing back good customer service like Mark Kane did at Great Adventure. And I truly believe the number one reason why he was able to do it so well was his great initiative to lead by example. It says a lot to an employee when your boss is walking around the park picking up trash and making a point to address the guests. So Mark on the off-chance you happen to be reading this I thank you so very much for bringing back such a great atmosphere to my beloved park and I wish you nothing but the best in your future endeavors however I know you don't need my luck because your destined to do well wherever it is you go.

That being said Weber is really really killing me here. I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt for awhile because I feel everyone should be given a chance to make light of their plans...and those take awhile to pan out at least two years IMO before I truly express my opinion on how they are doing. But I believe there are certain changes that shouldn't be made on a wim and I just really feel there have been two major changes that he has made in his 3 month reign that should've been given a lot more though. This is one of those and I still just don't see the logic in firing a guy who has done nothing but good for what he was directly responsible for and replace him with someone whom ran a promising park that ran itself into the ground in just two years! This just makes NO SENSE! What has Fitzgerald showcased to be able to prove he can operate the flagship park of SFI better than Mark Kane?!!! It worries me very much so I like the fact that Fitzgerald started his career here....but I still just do not believe he has showcased enough to get this calling!

The second was the decision to dismantle Great American Scream Machine. He had to make this decision no more than 2 weeks into his position! I understand the fact that he had to make a quick decision because progress had to start being made and I completely agree with his decision to cancel the 5D ride (trust me we didn't need another upcharge that was a terrible idea). I get the business decision to give us chang....that just makes the most sense! The idea of putting it at SFGAm never made sense from the get-go! Why are you going to give a park that already has a B&M stand-up....another B&M stand-up . So I get that and while I'm not overly crazy nor overly upset about getting chang I see why it was done from a business stand point and I completely believe it was 100% the right business decision to move chang here......

.....however, and here is where it gets choppy. I'm tired of hearing this statement, especially from my fellow members here "Well they had to do it you know they tried to fit it over by congo rapids but it would've cost too much money for the tree removal so it sucks but this was the cheapest option"....anyone here who believes that I ask you to please stop drinking the Weber Kool-aid cause your buying right into his hands.

(take this as if I'm directing it at Al Weber) I get that the congo rapids area would've cost too much, however don't insult my intelligence by trying to tell me that your cheapest option was to tear-down GASM. That is simply a lie. NEWSFLASH: Just 4 years ago Jackson planning board already approved the entire parking lot RIGHT NEXT to GASM, KK and SUF to be made into a hotel. The project got cancelled when red zone took-over but the fact remains you want me to believe that the cheapest option was to cart away the steel of GASM when in fact you had an entire parking lot you could've built chang on?! Not to mention the brake-run, station and lift-hill are all being built on said-parking lot and to get this approved by the board you brought up the fact that they had already previously approved for the entire parking lot to be used for the hotel.....so YOU KNEW THAT WAS AN OPTION!

Now don't get me wrong I don't think Weber tore down GASM just to tear-down GASM so let me present to you all my truth on this matter: The truth I believe is that while I am correct that the cheapest course of action was to physically build Chang entirely on said-parking lot Weber saw the potential to make some more money on this deal....how? By tearing down GASM and having it sold for scrap metal while also saving reusable parts and shipping them to SFMM to be used for later replacements and maintenance of Viper. The fact is thats the only reason that makes sense as to why they wouldn't have pursued building chang entirely on the parking lot. Its sad but GASM was torn down not because it had to be but because it was a way to bring in some more money!

That being said whats done is done and these are two changes that can not be taken back I can only hope that Weber has a good plan in action but just remember Weber's goal here is to post good numbers for the stockholders....however many times, especially in the theme park business, what works to make the stockholders happy in the short-run is not always good for the company in the long-run. Sorry for the rant I'll go back to disappearing again now

Participants: Jason (#JasonForWipeOut)
Rob
Kevin
Kaiser
Shelby

Park Hours: 10:30am-9pm

This trip had to be the best trip I've ever had to the park. I'm there 24/7, 5 days a week, and these guys made the day so much fun! I love my bros to death! haha Anyways, there is a lot to talk about on this trip, and I'll finish it off with the "most used lines of the day" and the next trip date! Let's begin!

This trip was planned so the Gadv Online crew could hang out, but I also invited my close friends. So the day started off with me waking up at 8:30 to drive my mom to her office. I was already on the way to SF with my friend, whom I just picked up, when I get a call from her saying to come back, since she forgot her charger. We were suppose to meet at Wawa, but I had to drive all the way back to her office. Finally, after I dropped off her phone, I made it to the park around 10:25. I met the guys at the fountain at around 10:30. From there we weren't really sure where we wanted to go, but along the way to the Movietown/LakeFront areas we met Robbie! We had a little group chat before we departed to Skull Mountain, where Shelby was waiting for us. This was our first ride of the day. There was no wait, of course, so we rode 3 times before heading over to Nitro. Nitro had a 1 car wait. Kaiser, Jason, and Kevin went on the train ahead of us. My friend, Shelby, and I went on the train after them. It was rougher than usual for some reason (*Tune up needed*).

After Nitro, we went over to Fender Benders. This was Kevin's, Jason's, and Shelby's first time on it. The loading/unloading process took about 5-10 minutes per cycle. We finally got on after 2 cycles. Jason had a hard time putting on the restraint. It was very complicated...a belt that went across the shoulder. lol It was a very fun ride. We all rammed into each other so hard. The only one who didn't get hit hard was Shelby. She was stuck behind a lot of kids. lol After this ride, we went on Deja Vu. It was a walk on and it played "Dancing Queen" from Mama Mia. lol Jason's alternate ego, Samantha, came out and danced along with this song. It was me, Kevin, and my other friend in one car, with Jason and Kaiser in the other (Shelby decided to skip this one). I had so much fun! I can't quite say the same thing for Kevin. His pelvis was crushed by mwah! Hahaha

The next part of our journey took us to The Dark Knight! The A/C was still broken in the pre-show. We waited for about 5 minutes and we got on. One car had Kevin, Shelby, and Jason, while the other had me, Kaiser, and my other friend. All I heard throughout the ride was Jason and Kevin screaming my name. lol "Rob! Rob! Rob! Rob!" Batman: The Ride came right after. It was fun as always! The wait was quite long, extending out to the mini fountain. We rode in the last two rows. In row 7, Kevin, Shelby, and I sat in one row while Jason, Kaiser, and my other friend sat in the other.

The Black Beard's Lost Treasure Train came next! It was a total takeover again! We waited 15 minutes for this one of a kind coaster, and grabbed seats near the back of the train. My other friends, arriving fashionably late, came around this time. We all met and ran over to the other side of the park. We were really hungry, so we went to Best of the West! I got a chicken sandwich. I believe Jason had a burger while Kaiser and Kevin had BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. It was...satisfactory. lol After this ride, all twelve of us went over to BIZARRO NUMBER 1. We waited about 15 minutes to ride in the middle. We got the train with the worst audio recording. It was me, Kaiser, Kevin, and Jason sitting in one row , while Shelby sat by herself. My other friends took up the other rows. Next came El Toro with a 20 minute wait. My best friend and I went to the last row. El Toro never stops! It always gives you that thrill you need. Nothing new to report about the ride.

Rolling Thunder came after. We decided to wait for the left side of Rolling Thunder. We waited for an hour...I kid you not. lol The left side was only running one train, and as soon as it was our turn, the ride experienced minor technically difficulties. We finally rode after maintenance fixed the ride. It was one train with me, Kaiser, Jason, Shelby, and my other friend. Kevin decided to skip out to relieve his BBQ pulled pork sickness. lol While waiting patiently for the crew, he overheard a group of woman talking about Universal. They were arguing that Universal had better prices than SF, and overall it was a better park than GA...we had no comment. lol

After the Rolling Blunder, we went to the Boardwalk to ride Houdini's Great Escape! It was a great way to relax from the coaster rage. Superman came after that. It was about a 30 minute wait. Nothing too outrageous for this two trained ride. It was a fun ride. Although, I lost all my change on this ride. I'm so sure there is about 50 dollars worth of change down there. All I kept hearing was "Click! Clack!" Everyone looses their change on this ride. lol After the Superman, Green Lantern came next. Everybody started moaning when I said those two magical words. They all owed me a ride on my baby! It was walk on, and we got on the X train, rows 4 and 5. It wasn't that painful of a ride. It was actually the smoothest ride on GL, EVER!

Right after that came the visit to the Coke Freestyle! Kaiser really wanted his Vanilla Coke so we had to make a pit stop. After that we went over to Congo Rapids. It took about 20 minutes, and we were able to get a boat for ourselves. Kevin and I barely got wet, while Jason and Kaiser got soaked! Hence the reason, #JasonForWipeOut. lol He's so ready for that show! We took a little detour to Safari Tours. We were honored to be able to ride Air Safari! It was Kevin and I in one plane, Kaiser and Jason in separate ones (Shelby, yet again, ditched us lol). My friends from school had to leave around that time (It was 6:15). We went our separate ways, and it was just our Gadv Online crew except for Shelby. In fact, Shelby never came back with us. Next came Safari Tours. The operator looked at us funny. We all fit into one car (I don't know how that happened). It was Kevin and Jason in the front while Kaiser and I were in the back. We were suppose to get a VIP photo, but the operator shooed us out.

We were getting board, so we took a trip to CYBER CAFE. Kevin was literally jumping off the walls over what was coming next year. He couldn't wait any longer. lol He used the internet in the cafe to search all these sites for any information. We stayed in there for about 30 minutes. After Kevin finished we went over to the other side of the park again. We stopped by BBNP to watch the "TURN IT UP!" Its an upbeat, get on your feet type of show! We met up with Richard and Kristen while watching the show. We took pictures with the crew after their performance, and by that time it was time to eat DINNER!

Panda Express!! This was a crazy dinner...let this video describe this part of the trip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wST_Rb2arj4
Yeah...it was late. lol

To end the night with a bang, we rode Nitro in the last row! It was a breath of fresh air! I mean come on? What else would you do instead of Nitro? lol By that time, it was 9:00. We made our way to the entrance, where Kevin had to leave. After Kevin left, Jason, Kaiser, and I went to the Main Street Markets to buy cool stuff! I bought myself another Batman shirt. All good things come to an end, and this day had to end. It was the best trip I've ever had to the park. I had a blast with these guys! More people should join us next time!


Quotes of the Day:
Kaiser/Jason/Kevin/Shelby:"Rob! Rob! Rob! Rob!"
Rob:"NO! It was BAD!"
All:"#JasonForWipeOut"
Kaiser/Rob:"CoasterFreak69, CoasterFreak104, CoasterFreak34, CoasterFreak84, CoasterFreak96, etc."
Kevin:"You're cool..."
Jason:"I don't know if I told you guys this but...I'm selling t-shirts, '#JasonForWipeOut'! Only $15!"

Roller Coasters:
-3x Skull Mountain
-2x Nitro
-1x TDK
-1x B:TR
-1x Bizarro
-1x El Toro
-1x Rolling Thunder (left)
-1x Superman: UF
-1x Green Lantern
-1x BBLTT

Total: 13

Rides:
-1x Houdini's Great Escape
-1x Air Safari
-1x Safari Tours
-1x Fender Benders
-1x Deja Vu

Total: 5

Grand Total: 18


NEXT TRIP: SEPTEMBER 22nd! MARK YOUR CALENDERS!

That's it.

The Fort's a park icon.

I dealt with the park slathering Kingda Ka's station with Karate Kid and hair gel ads. I dealt with El Toro's theme being messed up by Stride Flavor Changing Gum. But this is different. This is completely different. The Fort has been at the park since it first opened. The Fort represented that sense of spectacle that the park founders thought a theme park should have. And now its covered in ads for String Cheese -- not even REAL cheese!?

This is where I draw the line. For the first time ever, I will admit that I am embarrassed by the shamelessness of this establishment. Have they no class? Clearly not.

Here's hoping that the ads are no longer needed VERY SOON.

ANNOUNCING: PLAN "B"

It wont cost you a dime, and it'll only take 2 minutes of your time. Take 1 minute to email the park, unless you've done so already. Ask the park, politely, to bring back Temple of the Tiger for the 2011 season. Then take 1 minute to email your friends. Tell them to email the park, asking the park to bring back Temple of the Tiger for the 2011 season, and to forward the request to their friends. Contact info for the park appears in this thread, in message 111, or you can always get it from the SFGA web site, click "Contact Us" down at the bottom of the page.

Do this no matter where your friends live, even if it's in another state, or country. We're dealing with a global corporation, so let's meet them on a global level. It may sound silly, but it does work. It's the easiest homework assignment you'll ever have. Remember, the park only exists to serve us. We built the park, we pay the workers, we feed the animals, we keep the lights and water turned on. It's OUR park. We CAN do this, the only tool you need is your keyboard.

The 'Holy Grail' would be a message from the park that reads "After much discussion and consideration we have come to a decision to reopen the Temple of the Tiger facility..." Even if that never happens, the quest will still be worthwhile if the park is prompted to maintain Wild Safari and Dolphin Discovery. I have been told they are both "under review". If you've never visited these, I recommend you do. Many people work hard, year round, to keep the animals healthy and happy. They all deserve our support. Think and act like you CAN take on the world. No single one of us can do it alone. But together... yes we CAN. Release your inner tiger!

Seriously. I thought we explained it. It. Was. Not. A. Decision. They. Wanted. To. Make. But they had to because the trainers put the tigers, and themselves, possibly others in danger. Illegal breading is a serious crime. They can't open in it 2011 even if they want to. Want to know why? You said it yourself. You said time and time again. "The tigers grew up the the trainers..." Yatty yatty yata. I seriously am betting on you being half tiger.

It was NOT another cut like most things were. Get that through you're big tiger headed, tiger obsessed skull. The park and corporate offices knew what they were doing. They aren't going to release anything, simply because they can't. If you knew a thing or two about theme parks you would know why. But it seems like you're here to troll, no offense. Thats what it seems like. Whoever youheard that the Wild Safari and Dolphin Discovery is under review from is most likely full of it. Or it was actually most likely just you making up false facts to make you're point seem stronger. The park would never cut off the Safari. They get so much money from it.

You annoying the park will do nothing. You're voice is heard. You're passion is there, but push that passion somewhere else and stop wasting it on here, were nothing can be and will be done by any of us. Its obvious you have an obsession with tigers. Like I mentioned before. Put that obsession to doing something about the ones that aren't in good hands like they are at GAdv.

You're posts are really getting annoying and I'm pretty sure you would have already been banned on other sites, but GAdv.com has been very kind to you. All the members have desperately trying to explain to you, but you just don't understand. JJ2K is the best at explaining things. Just listen to all of what we had to say, we know what we're talking about.

Like I've said before. Just. Drop. It. When and if more info gets revealed then you should get all riled up again. You're only hurting yourself and you're matter by harassing SF on this matter. They aren't happy this had to happen but it did. End of story.

The mechanics check the rides very very thoroughly in the morning and through the day as needed (Kingda Ka). Each individual coaster train is inspected to make sure that all bolts, wheels, etc. are all in proper working order. If something appears to be loose/out of place they fix it immediately. The mechanics also check each restraint/lapbar to make sure they are locking correctly and don't have any give. If they have some give I.E Rolling Thunder it is okay, if they are really loose, they tighten up the tension in order to make it perfect. An extreme visual scan is also done to the coaster trains, the track, and any other part of the ride that needs to be observed. Rolling Thunder & El Toro both get a track walk through each morning by the carpenters to make sure there are no loose boards, nails, steal, etc. that can effect how the ride works.

Once all that good stuff is done, the mechanics hand over the ride to the electricians. If the mechanics could not fix something (say a bad buzz bar on Rolling Thunder) the electricians take care of it. Basically mechanics and carpenters deal with all the moving parts/ride structure. Electricians deal with anything electrical such as a sensors, bad buzz bars, restraint not responding to computer etc. A mechanic can not touch any electrical component on a ride. After the electricians double check their components and fix things as needed they test the ride to make sure all controls are responding properly and the ride is running fine. This includes checking ride stops, emergency stops, doing block checks, etc.

After the electricians do their tests, the normal ride operators come in and do their own safety tests. This includes test rides, track walks, more block checks etc. Finally, the ride is ready to open for the GP.

The same can be said for flat rides. Both maintenance and electricians test out each ride very thoroughly before the ride is open to the general public.

This is why some rides take forever to reopen when they are down. They not only need to wait for maintenance, but they also need to wait for electricians to see which side of the ride caused the problems. We all need to understand that all personnel at the park bust their butt to get rides open on time/through the day.
Six Flags Great Adventure has the #1 safety record of all amusement parks around. As you can see, I clearly just illustrated why.

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.

Roller Coasters 101: So you want to be a coaster enthusiast?!


Introduction:

The world of roller coasters is certainly a fun one. Roller coasters are incredibly fun in multiple ways: following construction and storylines of new coasters including educated speculation in enthusiast communities such as this one, researching and learning about how roller coasters work and how they are built to deliver different types of feelings and forces, designing your own roller coasters, and of course: riding them! However, being a true enthusiast requires some knowledge and overcoming of some general misconceptions about these rides. That’s what this essay is about: helping you become a true roller coaster enthusiast!



How do roller coasters work?

Roller coasters actually work on a couple very simple principles: an energy source and momentum. An energy source provides the roller coaster’s trains with either potential energy which gravity will then turn into kinetic energy (a lift), or with immediate kinetic energy (a launch). The trains are quite heavy to allow for a great amount of momentum to carry the trains throughout the circuit of the track. The tricky part is using the principles of energy and momentum to create a high-thrill layout with intense but acceptable lateral (right-to-left), vertical (up and down; lifted out of your seat or pushed down into your seat), and acceleratory (back and forward; getting pushed back into your seat or pulled forward out of your seat) G-forces (gravitational forces). Forces on a roller coaster are designed to be strong enough to fight again gravity to create the unique anti-gravity and super-gravity moments that riders experience through the ride.



Roller Coaster Anatomy:

All roller coasters have the same basic parts, though the particular shape and style of an individual ride can vary depending upon the manufacturer, design type, and theming elements. Any roller coaster enthusiast should be familiar with this basic terminology. Below are some definitions of these basic but important terms. Some include numbers which are represented in the diagram below the terminology.

Restraints (1): The mechanism which holds, secures, and locks the riders into their seats during the ride.

Cars (2): The individual sections of a train.

Train (3): A vehicle of connected cars.

Station: The area in which riders load and unload trains.

Track (4): The portion which supports the trains and on which the trains move.

Supports (5): The portion which supports the track.

Rails (6): The part of the track on which the train’s wheels contact and ride on.

Main Track/Spine (7): The center point, or backbone, of the track. The supports connect to this area.

Ties (8): The section which connects the rails to the main track/spine.

Brakes: Mechanisms to control the speed of the train at multiple places throughout the ride’s layout, including bring the train to a complete stop.

Sensors: Train-locating and recognizing mechanisms placed along the track that are built into the ride’s computer which enable safe operation of multiple trains at high capacities.

Lift: The section which brings the train upwards to create potential energy which gravity will in turn transform into kinetic energy.

Launch: The section which generates speed and momentum for the trains.





Different types of roller coasters:

Roller coasters can be classified by numerous different categories, including height, material, energy source, circuit, design type, and layout. Here’s how to classify coasters according to each of the aforementioned categories.

Height:

• 200’-299’: Hyper-Coaster. An example of this would be Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure.
• 300’-399’: Giga-Coaster. An example of this would be Millennium Force at Cedar Point.
• 400’-499’: Strata-Coaster. An example of this would be Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure.

Material:

• Wood: Coasters which have a structure and track built from wood (the rails, lift, braking, and transport devices, however, are made from steel). An example would be El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure.
• Steel: Coasters which have a structure and track built from steel. An example would be Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure.
• Hybrid: Coasters which are built from a mix of steel and wood. For example, a coaster which has a structure built from steel and a track built from wood.

Energy Source:

• Lift: These coasters have a lift mechanism which brings the trains to the top of the lift hill to create potential energy which is then turned into kinetic energy as the train goes down the first drop. This energy and momentum built by the first drop carries the train throughout the layout of the ride. The “lift” category can be broken down further into subcategories:

• Chain Lift: These coasters use a chain which pulls the train up the lift hill. This is the most common type of lift, and it generally the slowest. An example of this would be Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure.
• Cable Lift: These coasters use a cable and catch car which pull the train up the lift hill. These are generally fast lifts and lack the “clacking” noise which chain lifts are notable for. This is due to a different anti-rollback feature used for cable lifts. An example of this would be El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure.
• LSM/LIM Lift: These are electro-magnetic propulsion lifts. LSM stands for Linear Synchronous Motor, while LIM stands for Linear Induction Motor. These are also generally fast lifts and lack the “clacking” noise of chain lifts. An example of this would be Maverick at Cedar Point (LSM).

• Launch: These coasters use some type of propulsion, generally along a section of flat, somewhat level track to create the energy and momentum needed for the train to complete the layout. The “launch” category can also be broken down into subcategories:

• LSM Launch: LSM stands for Linear Synchronous Motor. These are a type of electro-magnetic propulsion. An example would be the mid-course launch of Maverick at Cedar Point.
• LIM Launch: LIM stands for Linear Induction Motor. These are a type of electro-magnetic propulsion. An example would be Mr. Freeze at Six Flags Over Texas, or the former Batman and Robin: The Chiller at Six Flags Great Adventure.
• Hydraulic/Accelerator Launch: These launch mechanisms tend to be extremely powerful and produce rapid acceleration. Some of the launch engines are capable of producing upwards of 20,800 peak horsepower. The launch mechanism, which includes a catch car which pulls the train along the launch-way via a steel cable leading to the engine contained in an engine room/house, is similar to the catapult launches used to assist jet planes take off on aircraft carriers. An example of this would be Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure.
• Air/Thrust Air Launch: These launch mechanisms tend to be extremely powerful and produce rapid acceleration. An example of this would be Dodonpa at Fuji-Q Highland.

Circuit:

• Full Circuit: These coasters go in one direction along a contiguous track. An example would be El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure.
• Shuttle: These coasters go forwards and backwards along a non-contiguous track. In some cases, the trains go forwards out of the station, and come backwards into the station. In other cases, trains can go either direction out of the station as the layout of the track includes sections on both sides of the station. An example of the former would be Mr. Freeze at Six Flags Over Texas, while an example of the latter would be Wicked Twister at Cedar Point.
• Multi-Circuit: These coasters have multiple points at which switch-tracks exist which transfer the trains to different sections of a track layout. This creates unpredictability and disorientation in reference to location. An example of this would be Expedition Everest at Walt Disney World Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Design:

• Sit Down: These coasters generally have semi-enclosed and/or floored cars in which the riders sit. The trains sit on top of the track. A non-looping example would be Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure, while a looping example would be Kumba at Busch Gardens Africa.
• Stand-Up: These coasters have cars in which riders stand throughout the ride. Mechanisms are used to keep the riders locked in and standing up straight throughout the ride’s elements and forces. The trains sit on top of the track. An example would be Chang at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom.
• Inverted: These coasters have trains which sit inverted, or underneath, the track. They are generally looping coasters, but not always. A looping example would be Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Great Adventure, while a non-looping example would be Roller Soaker at Hershey Park.
• Suspended/Swinging: These non-looping coasters have trains which are inverted (underneath) the track which have the capability of swinging to the left and right throughout the ride. Pistons help guide and control the swinging. An example of this would be Big Bad Wolf at Busch Gardens Europe.
• 4-D (4th-Dimensional): These looping coasters have trains with seat that extend to either side of the track which have the capability of spinning 360 degrees throughout the ride (which is controlled by a second set of rails) which gives the ride its “4th Dimension”. The trains can either sit on top of the track or hang inverted from the track; however they generally start in the station on top of the track. An example of this would be X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
• Flying: These inverted coasters have trains which hold the riders under the track in a “flying” or “superman” position throughout the ride. An example of this would Superman: Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Great Adventure.
• Floorless: These looping coasters have “floorless” trains which sit on top of the track. There is nothing between the rider’s feet and the track throughout the ride. Stations are specially fitted with moving/separating floors which are controlled by hydraulic pistons which allow riders to load and unload the trains. The floors in the station then fold away to allow the trains to dispatch from the station and allow trains to re-enter the station. An example of this would be Bizarro at Six Flags Great Adventure.
• Dive: These looping coasters have unique trains which generally have 3 rows and up to 10 seats wide. The trains can either be floored or floorless trains. These coasters are distinct for having a vertical or near-vertical first drop including “hang-time” right before the first drop. An example of this would be Griffon at Busch Gardens Europe.
• Pipeline: These coasters are unique in the fact that the cars are centered directly between the rails of the track, creating the same heartline (center point for rotation) for the track and the car. The feature element for this coaster is the heartline roll, in fact multiple of them throughout the ride. An example would be Ultra Twister at Nagashima Spa Land, or the former Ultra Twister at Six Flags Great Adventure.
• Bobsled: These “coasters” are not actually on a track, but rather they roll on wheels on a semi-enclosed “track” which resembles a bobsled run. An example would be Alpine Bobsled at Great Escape.

Layout:

• Out-and-Back: These roller coasters tend to go out and come back along generally the same path along which it went out. Some, but not all (as there are many), variances include L-shape layouts, such as Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure and Twister-section off-shoots such as El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure.
• Figure-Eight (8): These coasters form a figure-eight (8) with their layout. An example of this would be Rolling Thunder at Six Flags Great Adventure.
• Twister/Compact: These coasters tend to be very tightly compact with rapid transitions, turns, etc. The overall footprint (area taken up by the ride) tends to be relatively small.

Common Misconceptions about Roller Coasters:

• Roller Coaster trains do not use electricity or any type of in-train motor to create movement along the track. Energy and momentum is created by either a lift or launch system in which the trains rely on completely for speed.
• Roller Coasters are NOT dangerous. There is a statistic floating around that the chances of being killed on/by a roller coaster are 1 in 300 million. That statistic would even be much less than that if it weren’t for people who abused roller coaster safety precautions or do not abide by recommended health/medical precautions. That being said, ALWAYS abide by the rules and regulations posted by the park and/or verbally communicated by park employees of roller coasters or any other type of ride, including, but not limited to, safety and health/medical issues. Roller coasters are designed to be fun, thrilling, exhilarating, adrenaline-pumping, and even scary….but they are also designed to be completely safe.

Closing Statements:

Want to really learn a lot more specifics about roller coasters? Feel free to use these Great Adventure Online forums (www.gadv.com/forums) as a resource to ask questions about roller coasters in the appropriate section, and use the main site (www.gadv.com) to research more information and photos for roller coasters and other rides at Six Flags Great Adventure. In addition, visit the Roller Coaster Database website (www.rcdb.com) which holds specific information and photos of practically every roller coaster (and more) in the world. Also included is a glossary of roller coaster/theme park enthusiast terminology.

Hope this helps...welcome to the roller coaster enthusiast!
Dave

Lets first start with some very real news coming in that currently Rolling Thunder is listed as closed on the Six Flags site. Can anyone confirm it actually is?

Now onto site news. As has been obvious this whole year we have been facing issues with the site all culminating in the driver error that saw the forums down for an entire week a few weeks ago. We have really begun hitting this hard since June and first off I want to thank Matt Kaiser for his work on the issues. Kaiser has spent numerous hours sometimes full days delving into our ftp to find the issues going on and I am happy to say the issue has been found. The problem is that its going to take some time to fix. I have always been very transparent when it comes to our issues and what was happening and is happening that is causing our malware warnings is that some code has been added to our site that saves everyones IP address into a folder on the site's CP. We have no idea how this happened or why it is happening. Please note your IP address is something we have always had access to anyway from the forums since this is how we go about banning members if need be and that your IP address information was not used in any adverse way or given to any 3rd parties. Its not the fact that we have your IP address information that was causing the malware it was the way in which the code was taking it that made google feel it was suspicious but ultimately its harmless information. The issue that is taking awhile for us to fix it is that it has somehow found a way to post itself to EVERY page of the website! We pretty much have the choice of two things: 1. going to each individual page and deleting the code (could literally take all year). 2. backing up all of our files deleting the code from what appears important making a new file with just the important stuff and deleting everything else. We are or I should say Kaiser is in the middle of doing #2 but this will take some time as well so we appreciate your patience.

Furthermore I was very upfront with our clerical issues of almost everything still being in Peyton's name from the old Great Adventure Source site, we are making progress in this field as well. The first thing was the Invision license for the board I have purchased a new license and spoke to inivision to have the forums put under my license so the boards are no longer licensed to Peyton. We are also reaching out to the host of our website to hopefully work out the clerical problems with the website side of the boards. Our issues here have never been members or even staff you guys are awesome and we are doing all of this to ensure the continued success and future integrity of the community. Once again a big thanks to Matt Kaiser for all of his work without him its very likely the forums would still not be up. If anyone has any questions or concerns please let us know we thank you for continuing to be apart of our community you are what makes us great!

- Great Adventure Online Team

Hi Everyone,

This is my last 2012 operating season update before we get into the winter construction updates I generally provide. There's not that many pictures this time, but nonetheless, I hope you find them appealing. You can find them on my BLOG HERE

I hope you enjoy !!!

Hey guys! I know you have been itching to hear about our trip (Sfnekid12), so let's get started!

Participants:
-Rob CL Chin
-Kevin
-Kaiser
-Jason/Samantha
-Caitlyn Storm
-Josh (Our supreme overlord)
-Brandon(Chop Dog Studios)
-Josh(Chop Dog Studios)
-Tersa

The day started at the Main Street Fountain. We all met around 10:30 am. Josh was already in the park with his Chop Dog buddies. He went to Guest Relations to pick up a media slip for the Fright Fest Attractions. He was able to skip the line of the Terror Trails, but unfortunately, he was only able to take 4 people with him. Kaiser, Kevin, and I bought a TT Season Pass later on in the day, but we'll get to that later. The crew stated it's day at Movietown! Jason and Caitlyn weren't with us at the time, and actually did their own thing for most of the day.

We had no wait for Nitro in the back row! It was a great way to start the day. After that ride on N20, we went on Batman: The Ride! I had my addiction once, and it gave me a huge headache! I love B:TR, but I can't do it more than twice in a given time. The crew went over to the Dark Knight after. It was a nice little way to work off that headache... sort of. lol We finally got off and on our way back to the Nitro lockers, we found Jason and Caitlyn! They took our route (Nitro-B:TR-TDK) after we caught up for a bit.

Our group decided to travel over to the Boardwalk to eat lunch. We got Itchiban chinese food! It was really good! Kevin didn't feel like having Chinese, so he had Totally Kickin Chicken! We lazily got up and walked over to Plaza del Carnival to ride... ROLLING THUNDER! We chose the right side. It had a 5 minute wait. I rode with Josh in front row with kevin behind us, and the rest in the middle of the train. I'm loving Rolling Thunder! It wasn't as rough as I remember.

After our ride on Blunder, we went over to see the SEA LION SHOW! Those sea lions were pretty cute. I wanted to see some cool TRICKS...I mean behaviors, but it was very bland and boring. They barely got into the pool. I guess it didn't help that the sun was beating down on us. After the show, it was about 2:45 pm. We went over to buy the TT passes. Kaiser, Kevin, and I bought the season pass for TT and went to the 'Haunted' Wagon Trails.

We got to see many characters on our way, including FRANKENSTEIN...some witches..Taylor Swift...Dorthy...and FRANKENSTEIN again! haha After the hay ride, we went over to Skull Mountain to see Shelby! She was so happy to see us. Skull had about a 20 minute wait. After Pumpkin Mountain, we made our way over to the Showcase Theatre to see Ghoul Master's Ghosts! I thought it was a pretty neat show, but according to Jason, "IT WAS HORRIBLE!" I'll let him explain all the reasons why it was bad. lol I thought the dancing was amazing, and the special effects just added to the show. After, it was time for the Awakening to start! We were all excited to get Fright Fested (New term that I created....WHAT!).

The new Fright Fest Stage was beautiful! I'm really excited for this new layout and area for the show. Movietown allows more people to watch the show, and it brings more foot traffic to the rest of the rides in the area, including the Fright Fest Trails. (I'm not going to rant about Fright Fest on this trip report, but if you want to read what I said about it, go here.

After the Awakening/DMP opening acts, we went over to the Wasteland Terror Trail. When we got in, we met up with Harry from GreatAdventureHistory! He protected us from the ghoulish frights and scares. Wasteland was a pretty interesting trail. I love how they morphed the trail into something of a theme. There were radioactive waste barrels all over the trail. These deformed humans were transformed by the radiation. Some characters were blended in with the trees. I was walking, and there was somebody right in front of me. The trail ended with the corn maze into Looney Tunes Seaport!

The crew and I went right over to see Circus Psycho. I'm just going to say, they should have rethought the single path of the midway. The actors were the best, as always, but they need some more room to run around. We went over to check out the Voodoo Island Trail and Bob The Butcher Territory. Voodo Island had over an hour wait, so we decided to skip to see the ghouls in Bone Butcher. There were literally 2 people. Again, if you want to see the rants go to this page.

The Manor Terror Trail was next. It was pretty scary. One of the scariest trails I've ever been in. Insanity: Gears of the mind was the scariest. As soon as you open that door to the manor, you are greeted by zombies. Everywhere you go, there was somebody there to scare you. There was one part that scared the crap out of me. There was this huge black parachute that was inflated. We were all stuck in there, feeling the panic closing in. There was somebody at the end of the path to scare us. It was quite creepy. Nothing compared to the Insanity Terror Trail though. Oh jesus. lol

After the Manor trail, it started to rain. We were worried we weren't going to be able to see the original DMP, and unfortunately, we weren't able to. We were able to see the last viewing of the Ghoulmaster's Ghosts show. Jason was so proud of his Norma Nova poster!


We all left around 10:30, since the park was rained out. There is a video on Facebook that shows how we ended the night! *Spoilers-It has the music for the Ghoulmaster's Ghosts show!*

We had a great time! Hopefully, we meet up 2-3 more times before the season ends!

Rides:
-x1 Nitro
-x1 B:TR
-x1 TDK
-x1 Rolling Thunder
-x2 Skull Mountain

Total: 6

Shows:
-1x Sea lion Show
-1x The Awakening
-1x Dead Man's Party
-2x Ghoulmaster's Ghosts

Total: 5

Fright Fest Terror Trails:
-1x Wasteland
-1x Manor

Total: 2

Grand Total: 13

Here are some photos!

Kevin, Josh, and I!


Josh knocked me out! Ouch! lol


Awakening/DMP Pics!




















Group photo before the last Ghoulmaster's Ghosts!

As soon as 13 days until opening day comes around, i'll be posting videos and photos celebrating our 13 roller coasters here at Six Flags Great Adventure, to get everyone ready for the new and exciting 2012 season. Please stay tuned for the updates and enjoy.
Photos courtesy of RCDB. Videos courtesy of woodencoasterfan and Coasterforce.

Somebody bought it? Good lord I hope they asked for the Carfax first.

These are the quick sketches I drew up between homework. The top image would be Safari Discoveries transformed to house the sea lions and dolphins. In the back is the exit to the current theater, to the left you see the sea lion exhibit and to the right the dolphin tank both a with pits to serve as underwater viewing areas. On the bottom right is the entrance to the area (or the current exit) and the bottom middle is a small enclosed grass area, maybe for the really cute piglet that they already have in there. The walkway to the bottom left would lead to the rest of the animal exhibits. The bottom image shows what would have been the path around the tiger enclosure and the glass viewing panels. With the tigers out; however, you'd be able to see the dolphins walking along the path.

I've had some free time since my first year of college ended so I have been working on this project to script into NoLimits 2

 

You Know Who Really Grinds My Gears?

\

ThemeParkReview is a great site (for the most part). But this guy (or should I say manchild) just makes us coaster enthusiasts look like immature little pricks. No wonder he got banned from ACE.

Make sure you check out the Overly Enthusiastic Ride Operator at Bizarro...KEVIN! Aka Coasterfreak96

so they don't stop mid course.

I'm sure that was a common problem at Green Lantern.

See all of my pictures from the day HERE

So me and SFGAdv10 decided to hit the park on Friday for Great Adventure Online day, and the Kingda Ka backstage tour. We arrived at the park around 2:45 and quickly made our way over to Skyscreamer which Darren (SFGAdv10) had not gotten the chance to ride yet.


We waited in Skyscreamer's queue for about 5 minutes, surprisingly quick. Its amazing how efficiently they have been running it lately. Just as we were about to board the ride, they announced that it would be closing due to the approaching thunderstorms. We had no choice but to leave and make our way to Nitro which thankfully was still open at the time. After Nitro we decided to ride Batman which I hadn't ridden yet this season. The line was longer than that of Nitro and we had to wait in the staircase. Normally, that wouldn't be much of an issue but it was well over 90 degrees and the queue was hot and wreaked of sweat. Finally we got up to the station where fans provided some relief from the heat. Strangely there were only a few people waiting for the second row so thats where we decided to ride however when the next train entered the station, they decided to close the ride because the thunderstorms that closed Skyscreamer were now practically on top of us.

After exiting back through the hot smelly queue we heard the first crack of thunder and realized we weren't going to be riding any more coasters for at least another hour so we got in line for Deja Vu which didn't close during the thunderstorm. By the time we were done with Deja Vu, it was already 5:15 so we decided to stay near Main Street where we would have to meet for the Kingda Ka backstage tour at 6:40. BBLTT, Swashbuckler, and Air Jumbo were all closed due to the weather (although it still wasn't raining yet) but Jolly Roger was still open. We rode that and it was surprisingly fun for such a small ride! After Jolly Roger we made our way back through Adventure Alley towards Main Street for the tour. We got to the statue and met up with everyone for the tour just as the opened up and it started to pour. We all took shelter under the awning of a shop on Main Street until 6:00 at which point we started walking over towards Ka for the tour. When we got there we learned that the tour would be delayed because part of the park had lost power and whoever was going to give us the tour was dealing with that issue. We waited by Kingda Ka's onride photo booth for about 2 hours in which time we got our orange vests and took a group photo.

Finally Kingda Ka reopened and soon after Robbie Towns showed up to give us the tour. We crossed over the station via the rides exit and entered the old queue were we saw some of green train's fiberglass shell.

The tour then took us down past the transfer tracks to an open area where we took some photos of the launch track.

Soon after we saw the first launch that took place while we were under the ride. The tour then moved down along the launch track towards the tower. This was particularly interesting because we were able to see what remained of the old queue's switchbacks, and as it turned out....not much. The covered section has been boarded up and is being used as storage. Other than that, pretty much all that remains is some heavily grown in concrete pads and a tunnel under the launch track.


We then found ourselves in the field of gravel that is under the far section of Ka's infield. After hanging around in the infield for a while, we finally went under the tower



We stayed under the tower for about a half hour until Josh asked Robbie if we could go in the hydro-room. Robbie went off to ask if it was ok which it was under the conditions that we don't take any pictures. Everyone crammed inside and the mechanic guy (forgot his name) who was in there told us about the gigantic motor that drags that reels in the launch cable and information about how the ride runs in general. After the hydro-room, there was not much left to see so we all walked back towards the station. The crew in the station was really awesome and they let us ride without waiting in line. When we got of, Darren and I sprinted over to El Toro and some lady let us go in front of her so we scored the backsteat. Next up was Bizarro which had no line. After Bizarro we walked over to Skyscreamer and this time we actually rode it. (EDIT: Darren reminded me that he freaked out on Skyscreamer , thought that was worth mentioning)Then the park closed and we left.