More flags, more fun!

Me and the ERL went to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey on Saturday. Yes, we dared to go on a Saturday! We were pleasantly surprised that the park was not packed to the gills. At about 50-60% capacity -- we did not wait more than 20 minutes to get on any of the major attractions. FTW!

We made a beeline to the newest roller coaster/movie tie-in, Green Lantern. The giant lantern battery and the Green Lantern art and artifacts (including a Geoff Johns/ Ethan Van Sciver Parallax tunnel thingee in the actual ride) were nice touches. The coaster is a "stand-up" ride -- basically you are in a harness and straddle a seat. Some great loops and turns, but overall -- the ride hurt! I thought I was the only person to be in pain, but these two tiny girls were complaining about aching calves afterwards. Despite the Green Lantern branding, it ended up being our least favorite ride of the day.

Next up, we rode Kingda Ka TWICE in a row. It was insane. Feel like taking a rocket ride up a mountain? I honestly thought that the G-forces were going to strip the contacts out of my eyes. The ride was prone to breakdowns (check out the Wikipedia entry for the history and records of the ride) so there were some fits and starts in the line. But we really didn't need to be all that patient since we got to ride it twice in less than 45 minutes of wait time. Definitely one of our favorites.

Next came another repeat two-fer on Nitro. This coaster was my second favorite because your arms and upper torso are completely free for the ride. Also seemed to be the longest coaster at Great Adventure. The lap restraint is something like a giant Big Wheel handle bar that gets jammed into your crotch though.

Seriously, the lines were just incredibly short at the park. We could repeat rides and we didn't even have to get a Flash Pass (which allows you special access to rides). For an additional $50 -$100 bucks a person you can have people give you dirty looks as you go through special gates. Fortunately for us, the day we were there the Flash Passes seemed completely unnecessary and we breezed through line after line. Suckers.

As for some good deals:
We got souvenir bottles that were two for about $22 bucks. Free refills on these all day. We definitely got our money's worth since we were parched. They also had a Coke Experience station where you can get crazy permutations on Coke flavors. ERL loved the Sprite Zero Peach!


Discover Card also gets a 5% discount everywhere in the park (and online when getting tickets) and a special entrance at the front gate. They also have a TON of DC merchandise throughout the park. For about $30, I got cool Superman and Batman t-shirts. Sort of Ed Hardy style, but hey, when in Jersey, right?

They also sell capes for $5! I should have got the Superman one I wanted, because by the end of the day they were sold out. Weird thing is -- they had capes for Green Lantern and the Flash. Hello, Nerd Police? I'd like to report a crime. Anyways...

Another DC Comics ride was up next and was our third favorite of the day -- Bizarro (though it's the old Medusa coaster re-branded with some extras thrown in). So many cool touches in this ride! There was pyro and mist and just a ton of cool inversions, twists and turns. My major complaint is that you get boxed in the ears at a certain point (happened to me both times we rode, at the same turn). Other than that, me no like Bizarro! No fun at all!

We did manage to ride some non-coasters as well. The Congo Rapids (we got drenched) -- not worth it. The Skyline -- way faster and less relaxing than expected. The Ferris Wheel -- snoozefest, but probably more romantic at night.  Both "dark ride" coasters (Skull Mountain and the Dark Knight) were short and kind of lame. ERL also played some games on the Boardwalk (but was not a winner and did not have a chicken dinner) -- funny thing to note in WB/Looney Tunes/DC Comics land, they actually had some Marvel branded prizes.

Finally, we ended the day with THREE consecutive trips on Superman: Ultimate Flight. This was our absolute favorite and we agreed to come back next year just to get on this one again. The seats on this ride might be cause for concern since you are locked in down to your ankles (which isn't good for the claustrophobic, but pretty excellent if you want to feel secure). Once you are in the seat, the floor drops out and the seat is angled in such a way that you are dangling -- without a floor or track beneath you -- but look ahead and you'll be flying like Superman! Immensely fun and the closest you'll ever get to actually flying.


All-in-all we spent about $300 bucks on our entire day out. Loads of fun and the weather was perfect. At just about two hours outside of NYC, it's worth the hassle of getting out on the road and into the Garden State for a day of screaming and whipping around. As much fun as when you remembered it as a kid? -- maybe even more.

Two fingers up!

Two thumbs up!

GeekOmnivore score: SIX FLAGS!!!!!!