Great Adventure Boards > Great Adventure Trip Reports and Meeting Plans
Photo TR: SFGADV Sept. 28th (Hanging with BubbaZ)
sir clinksalot:
Since I'm new to the site (Didn't know it existed until today) I figured I would sare our SFGADV TR from September this year. We had a guided tour from GADVUpdates own BubbaZ and had an awesome time.
Our day began at the Holiday Inn Express across the street from Dorney Park. We had done HersheyPark, Knoebels and Dorney earlier that weekend.
We set the alarm for 6:40 but we actually woke up at 6:20. Surprisingly we weren?t that tired so we decided to get up and head for SFGADV. Bubba had said he usually wakes up at 7:00 but we figured we would give him until 8:00. We hit the road shortly after 7:00.
Driving on the PA Turnpike there wasn?t any traffic at all and we made it to Philly at around 8:00 even after stopping for a Diet Coke on the way.
Called Bubba to let him know we would be going and he said he would meet us there.
It was nice to drive through Philly during the day, looks like a nice city. I think we want to spend at least ? day in the city when we come out next year. But we will just have to see.
We made it to Six Flags at about 9:15 and Bubba had just arrived. He called on the cell and said that he was waiting for us past the front gates.
Wait a second, this is Six Flags right?
Walked in the park, security was no problem and meet Bubba at the front. First impressions of the park are very nice. The only Six Flags park I could really compare this to for themeing would be SFFT. It was VERY nice. It was also cool that Bubba actually knew a lot of the history of the park. While also being a great tour guide, we did get to hear some history of the park. Very cool.
The Q-bot office was already open so we went in and got our Q-bot for 3. You have to sign a waiver stating that you are not guaranteed to ride Kingda Ka. That?s kind of funny.
We decided to start off on the side of the park with Superman, KK and GASM. We figured we would queue up KK with the Q-bot and then do the rest of the rides over here. Bubba said we wouldn?t need Q-bot for them.
I always think it's funny when people say "You paid $60 to ride one ride". I don't see it that way. We paid $60 so we could ride everything else and not have to wait in line to only ride one ride. And it certainly worked out for us today.
They opened the park right at 10:00 and we walked over to KK which actually hadn?t begun testing yet. We scan the Q-bot and get a 10:46 return time. SWEET. Enough time to do Superman and GASM.
Superman: Ultimate Flight ? We had ridden Superman in Georgia so we knew what to expect. I still think it?s an awesome ride though. The Pretzel loop is absolutely the most intense part of the ride. It was weird not seeing the dual loading stations like the SFOG model. We took a back seat ride and got some nice POV.
GASM ? I wasn?t really looking forward to the Arrow multi-looper but this one was actually not bad. We took a front seat ride and, I almost hate to say it, I actually enjoyed this ride. It?s WAY better than Viper.
After GASM we checked our Q-bot and noticed that our time for KK had been pushed back to 11:05, no biggie. But the ride was now running with people and launching consistently. Good sign.
We headed over to the Frontier Adventures section of the park. Bubba showed us where the new woodie was going. It?s going to look sweet over in that area. The landscaping in this area is really awesome. They have really done a nice job with this park. We then headed over for the arrow mine train.
Runaway Mine Train ? Fun ride. One of the better Arrow Mine Trains IMO. I still think the one at SFFT is better but this one is really fun.
Up next was Medusa, or Scream East. Walking over and we see ? no parking lot. WOW!!! It?s actually very nicely themed over here as well.
Medusa ? I don?t understand that if Scream is a mirror image of this, how Medusa is so much better. Sure the location has something to do with it, but the ride just seemed smoother and more intense than it?s West Coast counterpart. I think this is my new favorite B&M Floorless.
So now it was about 11:00 and it was time for Kinda Ka. Got over, right up to the station and we were on the next train out, Row 2. Wouldn?t you know ? the damn thing breaks down. This was the ONLY time this weekend that was stressful. We still had some more rides to get on, and I REALLY wanted to ride Nitro. We really didn?t care about riding KK at first, but after going this far, getting the Q-bot, and we are the next train we wanted to ride.
Luckily the break down only lasted about 10 minutes, they tested it and we were off.
Kingda-Ka ? This ride gets A LOT of bad word of mouth. Sure it?s a one-trick pony, but it?s one hell of a trick. I still think that Storm Runner is my favorite Intamin Rocket, but I may like KK more than Xcelerator. After riding Xcelerator probably 100 times this one is quite weird. I kept expecting to go over the top but it kept going and going and going. The drop down was amazing. The air-time hill was kind of a let down and I still say it?s a shame to let all of that speed go to waste.
Overall Kristi and I really liked it. But, I wouldn?t wait 3 hours for it. I think the wait we had was about perfect.
So after KK it was over to the other side of the park. We had really just planned on riding Nitro and Chiller after that but we saw there was no line for Blackbeards Lost Treasure Train the zierer double figure 8.
Blackbeards Lost Treasure Train ? The only other coaster I have been on that compared to this was Cobra at SFMW. It?s a fun ride, and it was a walk on.
Up next was Skull Mountain. We kind of forgot we had the Q-bot and got in the regular line because Bubba said it?s usually a walk-on. Well, it wasn?t. So we reversed our direction, queued up the ride and it gave us a wait time of about 7 minutes. I figured now was a good time to queue up Nitro, Batman and Chiller. By the time we queued those up it was time for our ride.
Skull Mountain ? This is very similar to Runaway Mountain at SFOT. Fun ride. Bubba said during Fright Fest they have some lights and stuff inside. They should have kept it that way all year, it would be better.
After Skull Mountain we had about 15 minutes before our Nitro ride so we walked through Bugs Bunny World. I really do think this has to be one of the nicer themed Six Flags parks. The Bugs Bunny world looked amazing. Also their Fright Fest decorations were pretty sweet.
Nitro ? This was probably the ride I was most looking forward to at the park. It was our first B&M sit down (other than floorless coasters). We took a back seat ride and weren?t disappointed. I know these aren?t as intense as their Intamin counterparts, but it was still the best hyper I have been on. I definitely want to get some more rides on this when we go back next year.
Batman: The Ride ? This was our 3rd Batman and I rank it behind SFOG?s and before SFMM?s. Gone is the ghetto queue of SFMM?s and they got the yellow paint treatment that I like A LOT better.
Batman and Robin: The Chiller (Robin Side) ? Personally I would have rather the Batman side been open, but this was still a great ride. I really do like the Premier launched coasters. They aren?t quiet at all which is great.
At this point it was about 1:30. We had done everything we wanted to do at the park in 3 ? hours. We wanted to do some shopping since we hadn?t done any at Dorney the night before. Back over to Golden Kingdom, got the kids some KK shirts, I got a KK shirt and Kristi got a KK sweatshirt. We also got a snowglobe and some magnets for some of our CA friends.
Took some pictures of the Tigers which are pretty cool. If these things were at SFMM they would be dead by now.
At 2:00 we said our goodbye?s to Bubba, who was going to pick up Hanna and be home in time to see his wife when she got off of work.
The flight home was not too bad. We did have a screaming baby the ENTIRE flight. I hate that. But we got through Disc 6 of LOST which was cool.
DianaR:
Excellent photo TR! I absolutely love this style TR :) Welcome to updates, as a fellow parent I'll tell you it's going to be a pleasure to have you here since we are few and, far between. My best Diva friend is Jodi Malone, maybe you've met her since she is from CA as well. :D
Bubba Z:
Gregg, Glad you found the site. I had a great time that day and can't wait for the season to get here.
WadeJ:
Gregg, welcome to Updates 8)
First off, I also love Photo TR's. Nice job. I really enjoyed reading it. My favorite line had to be
--- Quote ---If these things were at SFMM they would be dead by now
--- End quote ---
lol.
Hopefully more of the Gadv regulars begin following this format. It really makes you feel like you just visited the park.
Glad you had a good visit. You couldn't ask for a better tour guide than Bubba :)
-Wade
blazzinmatt:
That was a great trip report. Those are the ones I enjoy reading because the pictures make you feel like you were there. Great work and I hope that this next season comes faster than we think. I miss the park and can't wait to step foot inside it again.
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