[Yoshi]

I am posting this on multiple sites so some of the stuff I mention might be obvious to Great Adventure regulars

I have been looking forward to Family Fall Fun Night after the awesome time I had at Coasters After Dark in May where I had basically no waits. Since the park tonight was also only open to Premium SP holders, I expected the park to not be that crowded.

The forecast was horrible all week with it saying 80 - 90% chance of rain as of yesterday. I decided to take the chance and go to the park because it wasn't raining and was only misting/drizzling on the way to the park.

I got to the park a little after 5:00 and it almost looked like the place was closed. There couldn't have been more than 20 - 25 cars in the lot and rides weren't running, because they had no one riding! By the time I got to the entrance it was a little before 5:15 and the security guard told me the park might be closing at 6:00 or 7:00 so I knew I would have to move fast to get on a lot of the coasters today.

I went to Nitro first since I wanted to power ride today and I missed it on my last trip. Unfortunately it was closed for minor technical difficulties and remained that way the entire night. Batman was closed when I first got to the park and was listed as closed on the rides board but I saw it running with people so I went there instead. 2 trains running, station was empty except for 2 people waiting for the front. I was going to go for a re-ride but they ended up taking a train off and I think it closed shortly after that for the rest of the night. The Dark Knight was empty but after I and 3 others went into the pre-show room, the op said they would start the pre-show in around 5 minutes after more people entered. I didn't want to waste close to 15 minutes (5 minutes waiting, 5 minutes pre-show, and a few minutes riding the coaster) so I left.

I went to Skull Mountain next and the ops were standing around waiting for riders, I was the only one on the train. I took the sky ride to the other side of the park. Very few cars running but I was the only one in line so it didn't matter. From the sky ride, the park looked closed, I think I saw a total of 5 non employees walking around the park.

Runaway Mine Train also had no one in the station, I got a solo ride in the front, and took a re-ride again in the front. 2 trains running. Medusa only had people waiting for the front. 2 trains running and I got 4 rides without leaving the train.

The tigers were right up to the viewing windows in the Golden Kingdom which was cool but since Kingda Ka was closed, I went to the Boardwalk. Scream Machine had just the blue train running, another solo ride. I took a re-ride in the 3rd row and this time there were actually 4 other riders.

Superman was also running 1 train but it was a 1 train wait for the front. I moved around to different seats to get 3 total rides but the train never has more than 3 - 4 rows with riders.

On the way back to check Nitro, it was 6:50 and I heard the dreaded, the park is closing at 7:30 announcement (it was supposed to be closing at 10:00). Nitro was still closed so I went back to the Dark Knight where they were still letting people in the pre-show room even though the pre-show was almost over. The room was about 1/2 filled. About 2 minutes later I was boarding the ride and by the time I got to the end of the ride, there was no one waiting to ride so I stayed on for 2 more rides.

It was 7:10 at this point and Nitro was still closed and I knew it wouldn't be opening tonight so I went back to Skull Mountain to finish the night. I got 6 more rides in only having to change seats once.

Although it was dissapointing to have the park close 2 1/2 hours, I guess they figured it wasn't worth it to keep the park open for around 200 people at most. Still, I got more rides (23) in those 2 1/4 hours than most people get during a full day in the park so it was well worth visiting, if only to see what it feels like to almost have the entire park to yourself.

Ride Count:
Batman The Ride, 1x
Skull Mountain, 7x
Skyway, 1x
Runaway Mine Train, 2x
Medusa, 4x
Superman, 3x
Scream Machine, 2x
The Dark Knight, 3x

[Josh Davidson]

Wow, that is a LOT of rides Yoshi in such a short amount of time. In all my years going to the park, I have never done that much on such a large variety of rides.

Man, it would be surreal to see some pictures of the park empty..

[Adam]

I should have taken some with my camera phone. I did not think of doing that.
It really did feel as if you were the only one in the park.

I'd say that of all the rides, Toro probably had most of the crowd which was about fifty of us, if that.

[Josh Davidson]

Willing to bet about one half of the fifty people at Toro were coaster enthusiasts/fans.

[Yoshi]

I was going to take some pictures of the park and lot with my phone but my phone camera is horrible. I really wish I had a camera since I doubt I'll ever see the park that empty again.

Had the park stayed open until 10, I was going to try to get at least 50 coaster rides if I could handle it (my neck was starting to hurt from the restraints on Superman, GASM and Medusa) and try to get 100 inversions in 1 day.

It looked like a lot of people at the park were enthusiasts. There were a few familys but I saw a lot of solo riders power riding and a few people I talked to all seemed to know more about coasters than the average person.

[lil jimmy norton]

That kind of sucks that they closed the park so early. I know that their was practically no one their, but since it was a season pass event, they could have kept it open a little later.

[Josh Davidson]

lil jimmy norton, on Sep 28 2008, 02:34 PM, said:

That kind of sucks that they closed the park so early. I know that their was practically no one their, but since it was a season pass event, they could have kept it open a little later.

If you owned the park, would you keep it open for only 200 people or would you close it and save a ton of money?

[peggybetty]

Josh Davidson, on Sep 28 2008, 04:39 PM, said:

If you owned the park, would you keep it open for only 200 people or would you close it and save a ton of money?

If I owned the park I wouldn't want to disappoint the 200 seasons pass holders that showed up for an advertised event. I'd want them to have the time of their lives and have something special to remember. Thats what I would do if I owned the park.

[Thunderbolt]

Josh Davidson, on Sep 28 2008, 04:39 PM, said:

lil jimmy norton, on Sep 28 2008, 02:34 PM, said:

That kind of sucks that they closed the park so early. I know that their was practically no one their, but since it was a season pass event, they could have kept it open a little later.

If you owned the park, would you keep it open for only 200 people or would you close it and save a ton of money?

I would have not bothered to hold the event at all if profitability was my concern. Events like these are loss leaders held as a "perk" to instill customer loyalty. If I drove to Jackson from my home on Long Island, to see the place operating on an already reduced schedule close so early; I would be PISSED. Typical Red Zone.

[Josh Davidson]

Thunderbolt, on Sep 28 2008, 09:19 PM, said:

Josh Davidson, on Sep 28 2008, 04:39 PM, said:

lil jimmy norton, on Sep 28 2008, 02:34 PM, said:

That kind of sucks that they closed the park so early. I know that their was practically no one their, but since it was a season pass event, they could have kept it open a little later.

If you owned the park, would you keep it open for only 200 people or would you close it and save a ton of money?

I would have not bothered to hold the event at all if profitability was my concern. Events like these are loss leaders held as a "perk" to instill customer loyalty. If I drove to Jackson from my home on Long Island, to see the place operating on an already reduced schedule close so early; I would be PISSED. Typical Red Zone.

They didn't plan on it going to be 80% chance of rain which limited from like 3,000 people to only 200...

[Thunderbolt]

Josh Davidson, on Sep 28 2008, 09:21 PM, said:

They didn't plan on it going to be 80% chance of rain which limited from like 3,000 people to only 200...

Weather reports were dismal for this past weekend days in advance. There was plenty of time to reschedule the event.

[Josh Davidson]

Thunderbolt, on Sep 28 2008, 09:25 PM, said:

Josh Davidson, on Sep 28 2008, 09:21 PM, said:

They didn't plan on it going to be 80% chance of rain which limited from like 3,000 people to only 200...

Weather reports were dismal for this past weekend days in advance. There was plenty of time to reschedule the event.

Look at Six Flags schedule, it is tight for the rest of the year. If they took off the day, it would had not had a chance to be reschedule. Feel good that the park kept the park open for when it did. They were nice and let people ride rides over 50 times in two hours.

[Thunderbolt]

Josh Davidson, on Sep 28 2008, 09:28 PM, said:

Look at Six Flags schedule, it is tight for the rest of the year. If they took off the day, it would had not had a chance to be reschedule. Feel good that the park kept the park open for when it did. They were nice and let people ride rides over 50 times in two hours.

Tuesday, September 30th and/or Friday October 3rd. are open. Schools are closed for Rosh Hashanah, so opening the park from say, 11:00a to 6:00p is quite feasible for staffing (provided competent HR Reps), or keeping the same hours and holding the event a week later should bare little impact.

[Josh Davidson]

Thunderbolt, on Sep 28 2008, 09:43 PM, said:

Josh Davidson, on Sep 28 2008, 09:28 PM, said:

Look at Six Flags schedule, it is tight for the rest of the year. If they took off the day, it would had not had a chance to be reschedule. Feel good that the park kept the park open for when it did. They were nice and let people ride rides over 50 times in two hours.

Tuesday, September 30th and/or Friday October 3rd. are open. Schools are closed for Rosh Hashanah, so opening the park from say, 11:00a to 6:00p is quite feasible for staffing (provided competent HR Reps), or keeping the same hours and holding the event a week later should bare little impact.

You got to remember, the park still has to get ready for Fright Fest during this time..

[Thunderbolt]

Josh Davidson, on Sep 28 2008, 09:50 PM, said:

You got to remember, the park still has to get ready for Fright Fest during this time..

You're kidding, right? For a second there you had me. You honestly can't believe the Fright Fest setup would be prohibitively delayed by a rescheduled 5 hour event. The park is closed weekdays and has plenty of time to prepare for Fright Fest. There is nothing to prevent setups from continuing in areas closed to the GP during the event. If by chance it rained everyday this upcoming week (preventing further Fright Fest decorating), Great Adventure wouldn't close or cancel Fright Fest (rendering your point moot).