DKCF Goes To Six Flags Great Adventure 2016

[Oscar]

So, what did you think overall of The Joker? Good worthwhile addition or do you think something better could have been added in the spot its at?

I like this amusement park

[slosprint]

Oscar wrote:

So, what did you think overall of The Joker? Good worthwhile addition or do you think something better could have been added in the spot its at?

I mean the footprint is like the size of a postage stamp. It's either that, a Sky Rocket II, or an Intamin impulse or Zac-Spin

Oscar wrote:

So, what did you think overall of The Joker? Good worthwhile addition or do you think something better could have been added in the spot its at?

While I did enjoy my first ride on the Joker a lot, I still should ride it a few more times to definitely feel the seats flipping around a couple times, as I barely flipped when I rode it.

Which do you think is intense, Top Spin or this one? I'm just curious about the "nauseous" feel of a ride.

Visit #13 - June 3, 2016

Despite the wet weather, I took a visit to the park. I arrived at 10am, and the entrance gates opened at 10:15am. First ride I got on was the Joker, which I rode twice. My first ride was a walk on, and I was on the purple side. My second ride on it was a 20 minute wait, and I was on the green side. Out of both sides, the green side is the best, as I was able to flip 4 times on the green side.

My next ride was the Fender Benders, which was a walk on as I was able to get on the last remaining car before the ride started. This was followed by a ride on the Dark Knight, which had a short wait. Nitro was my next ride, and the wait for that was 15 minutes. While on Nitro, I noticed that the river channel on Congo Rapids is now filled with water. On my last visit, Congo Rapids had water in the reservoir, but not on the ride. I would like to assume that Congo Rapids will be open within the next couple of weeks.



After exiting Nitro, I took a quick break from the rides, and had a funnel cake. My funnel cake had whipped cream as a topping, and it was good! Very delicious. Skull Mountain was my next ride, and that had a short wait at the station. This was followed by a ride on the Harley Quinn Crazy Train, which actually had a 15 minute wait. I then rode the Joker for the third time, where I waited 15 minutes and was on the purple side.

I then took a walk across the park to El Toro, which was a walk on. The walk on to El Toro was a surprise to me. Kingda Ka was my next ride. While waiting in line for Kingda Ka, it broke down for about 10 minutes, and once I got to the station, a train was brought in from the storage track. Overall, I waited around an hour and 15 minutes in line. Zumanjaro was my last ride of the day, and I left the park around 3:15pm.

Total ride count:
The Joker: x3
Fender Benders: x1
Dark Knight: x1
Nitro: x1
Skull Mountain: x1
Harley Quinn Crazy Train: x1
El Toro: x1
Kingda Ka: x1
Zumanjaro: x1

Even with the wet weather drawing some people away, the park was still crowded with school trips. It appears that more school trips are visiting the park every time I go. Those school trips will be taken over by summer crowds once the summer hits and the days get really warm. It was fortunate that the Joker was having 15 to 20 minute waits during my visit, considering that it has a single rider line, which I'm glad they have, but if I were to ride the Joker for the next couple of months, I would either have to ride it first, or get a Platinum Flash Pass. You should do the same. As usual, I aim to visit again next week.

^ The last photo may be a pretty great help for NL2 users to create station buildings and the surroundings. Great use of wooden fences to make that queue look like a part of the maze!

Keep updating!

Visit #14 - June 10, 2016

I arrived at the park and parked my car before 10am, with the entrance gates opening at 10:15am. The first ride I got in line for was The Joker. Before the ride opened, a large crowd came by to get on it, and the Joker didn't open until around 10:43am. I got my ride, then headed for a different ride. Here's a pic of the line 15 minutes before the Joker opened.



My next ride was on the safari, which was a walk on as it was still after the park opened for the day. Just like the previous times I've went on the safari, I had a good time. Camp Aventura wasn't opened during my ride, but I hope the next time I ride it, I'll be able to stop there. After the safari, I got on the Log Flume, which was a walk on. I noticed that it was open while walking to the safari, so I decided to take the risk of getting drenched and ride it. While I only got sprinkled, I still had fun.



El Toro was my next ride, and I rode it twice, mainly due to short lines. I then headed for Kingda Ka, but when I got on line, the wait looked long, so I decided to get on Zumanjaro instead, which I rode three times. Before my third ride, Zumanjaro broke down for about 10 minutes, but the breakdown wasn't too big of a problem, as the ride reopened after the fault was quickly fixed and a test run was conducted.



I then took a walk across the park to ride the SkyScreamer, which had a short wait. This was followed by the Dark Knight, which had a 10 minute wait. The preshow wasn't running when I was in line for it. After the Dark Knight, I headed for Congo Rapids, which had a 10 minute wait. My ride on Congo Rapids was fun, even though I didn't really get wet. The only thing from me that got damp were my shoes. I then left the park before 2:30pm.



Total ride count:
The Joker: x1
Safari: x1
Log Flume: x1
El Toro: x2
Zumanjaro: x3
SkyScreamer: x1
Dark Knight: x1
Congo Rapids: x1

Before I conclude this report, I'd like to mention this. While getting my rides on Zumanjaro, the Flash Pass employee there recognized me from these reports that I've been making, which is very awesome to know. I really did appreciated it. Also, while I was on one of my rides on Zumanjaro, the guests who were on the same gondola as me recognized me from when I used to work at the park. Even with my hair now longer than how it was during my time as a Six Flags employee, it's amazing that a couple of guests can remember my face. It's completely amazing.

Just like my previous visits recently, school trips are still visiting the park. The school year in New Jersey should be ending soon, and maybe within the next couple of weeks, the summer crowds will kick in. With the Joker still being new, people would want a ride on it, and a long line will happen before the ride even opens. Plus, a security officer has been at the Joker since its official opening in the morning before it opens for the day to remind the crowds about the ride policies and to control the line. Getting to the park early is always the biggest plus to a good day, and the best way to get on the first rides of the day for the Joker. Always remember to get to the park early. I'm not sure how the line for the Joker is after the large crowds die down, but always check with it if you plan on riding it if you're still at the park in the afternoon. I haven't stayed at the park all day yet, but once I find the time to do that later in the summer, I'll definitely do that. As always, I aim to visit again next week.

[Paradox]

The Joker is such a bad decision for this park. With crowds like that, the last thing the park needs is a ride with extremely low capacity.

^ totally agree. A lot of low budget additions to all six flags this year.

jealous of all your visits to a park with such great coasters. Ill have to jump in the car for the 7hr drive to get there once this summer.

[TTD03]

As often as you and I both go DKCF, we should really meet up.

Joker is fun, its a very cool addition to the park.

[Coasterkidmwm]

Paradox wrote:

The Joker is such a bad decision for this park. With crowds like that, the last thing the park needs is a ride with extremely low capacity.

I am wondering if it's SFGAdv's upper management being totally spineless and just caving in to corporate without "bargaining" with them or something. SFMM seems to be guilty of this as well. Super obviously low capacity rides like that piss off the employees too. Someone there has to care about this.

I've always had a hypothesis that the SFGAm managers are really good at telling corporate to eat a bag of dicks because I don't think any other park could pull off rebuilding a historic wooden kiddie coaster (yes they modernized it a bit I know but it's better than scrapping it) they bought at auction, and they managed to get rid of Chang when it was stupidly going to be installed on the property while Iron Wolf still existed at the park simultaneously. The Whizzer also still exists at the park, which is amazing considering that Whizzer looks like it's the opposite of a cost-cutting measure given that it's the last remaining big Jet Star. The maintenance people have also been sneaking flame metal-works on to the Eagle at times and managed to get some custom hot rod guy to airbrush the Demon trains and make them look totally badass, which again I don't see some place like SFMM pulling off.

Thanks for uploading your little trip reports and sorry for going waaaaayyyy off topic. Do you like the Dark Knight coaster? I like wild mouse coasters for some reason and I feel like people crap on them too much.

TTD03 wrote:

As often as you and I both go DKCF, we should really meet up.

Joker is fun, its a very cool addition to the park.

I definitely agree. I'll send you a PM.

Coasterkidmwm wrote:

Paradox wrote:

The Joker is such a bad decision for this park. With crowds like that, the last thing the park needs is a ride with extremely low capacity.

I am wondering if it's SFGAdv's upper management being totally spineless and just caving in to corporate without "bargaining" with them or something. SFMM seems to be guilty of this as well. Super obviously low capacity rides like that piss off the employees too. Someone there has to care about this.

I've always had a hypothesis that the SFGAm managers are really good at telling corporate to eat a bag of dicks because I don't think any other park could pull off rebuilding a historic wooden kiddie coaster (yes they modernized it a bit I know but it's better than scrapping it) they bought at auction, and they managed to get rid of Chang when it was stupidly going to be installed on the property while Iron Wolf still existed at the park simultaneously. The Whizzer also still exists at the park, which is amazing considering that Whizzer looks like it's the opposite of a cost-cutting measure given that it's the last remaining big Jet Star. The maintenance people have also been sneaking flame metal-works on to the Eagle at times and managed to get some custom hot rod guy to airbrush the Demon trains and make them look totally badass, which again I don't see some place like SFMM pulling off.

Thanks for uploading your little trip reports and sorry for going waaaaayyyy off topic. Do you like the Dark Knight coaster? I like wild mouse coasters for some reason and I feel like people crap on them too much.

I appreciate you enjoying these reports. I do enjoy the Dark Knight coaster. Not only it's a fun ride to get on from all of the extreme rides, but that was the ride that I worked at during my time as an employee at the park, with Congo Rapids being another ride I worked at as well.

I'm not sure why people hate wild mouse coasters. Maybe those people are the ones who expect an extreme ride or coaster every year. Wild mouse coasters are usually good for children who aren't tall enough or ready for the bigger rides. Plus, every amusement park has to cater to every age group. Extreme rides don't matter all the time.

^ I actually love real "lateral g-force" rides that are engineered perfectly, though I don't like any lateral shocks that happen on a NL simulator!

Visit #15 - June 16, 2016

After a day at work, I decided to go the park for a short time to ride a couple of rides. I arrived at the park and parked my car before 4:30pm. After going through the entrance gates, I headed for the Joker, which I rode twice, mainly due to a short line. Both times I rode it were on the green side. I flipped once on my first ride, and three times on my second ride. After that, I headed for the Dark Knight, but when I got there, it was temporary closed, so I rode Batman instead, which was a walk on. After Batman, the Dark Knight reopened and I got my ride. The wait was short and the preshow wasn't on. After that, I rode Nitro, which was also a walk on. After Nitro, I saw that one of their shows was starting, so I decided to watch it. The show is called This Magic Moment, and as in the name, it's a magic show. It was cheesy and goofy, but it was fun to watch. After watching that show, I left the park.

No pics for this report, as my visit was very short.

Total ride count:
The Joker: x2
Batman: x1
Dark Knight: x1
Nitro: x1

Overall, this visit was great, despite it being a short one. No large crowds were making the lines longer during my visit, which was awesome. I'll be back at the park tomorrow, where I plan to marathon the water rides.

You do know how to have the time of your life in a few hours!

Visit #16 - June 17, 2016

I arrived at the park and parked my car after 10:20am, which was followed by waiting at the security gates for a few minutes. After crossing through the entrance gates, I made my way to the Log Flume, as trying to get on the Joker first would take some time. Since it was still the morning, I rode the Log Flume three times, and got considerably wet afterwards. I then rode Bizarro twice, as it was a walk on, and the station was almost empty before I took my second ride. This was followed by a ride on the Skyway, where I decided to film a YouTube vlog about my visit during the morning.



After all of that, I made my way towards Congo Rapids, and got there a few minutes before it opened at noon. Because of short lines and no one waiting in line occasionally, I was able to ride Congo Rapids four times. It was on my fourth ride where I got the most wet. While taking a quick break from the rides, I took this pic. While I was wet, it's hard to actually see that I was indeed drenched.



Instead of wasting money on the people dryer, which apparently doesn't always work, I took a ride on Nitro as one way to help me dry off. It took me 20 minutes to get on, and I was on the second car. This was followed by the Dark Knight, which had a 20 minute wait, and the preshow wasn't working. I then decided to see how the line was for the Joker. Thankfully, the line was short, so I got in line, and thanks to the single rider line, it took 10 minutes to wait before I got on. I was on the green side and flipped twice. Immediately afterwards, I bought a shirt from the gift shop right by the exit. Here's a pic of me wearing it.



The Joker was my last ride of the day. I then bought a popcorn bucket from the food stand right nearby the Joker, and ate all of the popcorn in one sitting. I then made my way to the theater hosting This Magic Moment, as I enjoyed on my previous visit. After seeing that show, I left the park.

Total ride count:
Log Flume: x3
Bizarro: x2
Skyway: x1
Congo Rapids: x4
Nitro: x1
Dark Knight: x1
The Joker: x1

School trips were still visiting the park, but what I noticed was that at the Frontier Adventures section of the park after the park opened for the day, it was almost empty, and lines were simply walk ons, so getting on the Log Flume first was definitely worth it, as I now realize that the Joker is the main ride to get on in the morning, so while most people will keep their attention towards the Joker, I kept my attention towards the other rides. If that's the case when you visit the park, take advantage of that, because the line for the Joker should get shorter as the day goes by. As usual, I aim to visit again next week.

You do look happy every time you visit that park!

Visit #17 - June 23, 2016

After a day at work, I headed to the park, arriving at 4:30pm. First ride I got on was the Joker, which I rode three times. My first ride was on the purple side, and I didn't even make a full flip on that ride. My second and third rides were on the green side, where I flipped four times in both rides. Immediately after that, I rode the Harley Quinn Crazy Train. After that, I decided to stop by This Magic Moment, where I managed to get a spot to volunteer in one of their acts. This act involved mind reading, and it was very fun to be a part of it.

Here's a pic of me and the hosts of the show, Cliff and Nick, taken after the show.



After that, I rode the Dark Knight, where the preshow was working, but the line was still short. I was able to ride the Dark Knight twice. This was followed by a ride on Nitro, where I rode in the very last car. While on Nitro, I noticed that Congo Rapids was open, but while exiting Nitro, it closed due to oncoming inclement weather. Even so, I had to drop by to see my former coworkers.

I then made my way to the other side of the park. I went for Green Lantern, which was a walk on, but after I got to the station before getting on, a train was transferred off, leaving Green Lantern with only one train due to low ridership. Superman was my next ride, and like Green Lantern, it ran with one train. After that, SkyScreamer was my last ride of the day, and I left the park after 8pm.

Total ride count:
The Joker: x3
Harley Quinn Crazy Train: x1
Dark Knight: x2
Nitro: x1
Green Lantern: x1
Superman: x1
SkyScreamer: x1

When I first got to the park for the day, school trips were leaving, making the park less crowded, and causing shorter lines. Even with being at the park for three and a half hours, lines were short during my visit. Also, there were reports of thunderstorms throughout the day, but those were disproven as the day went by while I was at work, and no rain was at the park at all, so that could contribute to the short lines at the park. Plus, if poor weather were to be reported, there could be a dead day where the park could close early, but even with the park not closing early during my visit, always be aware of that. As usual, I aim to visit again next week.

Visit #18 - June 30, 2016

After a day at work, I arrived at the park and parked my car at 4:30pm. I'm not sure why, but there was a line at the security gate, and I waited around 8 minutes to get through it. After crossing through the entrance gates, I headed for Congo Rapids, where I waited 10 to 15 minutes in line, and got drenched. It felt wonderful. While drying off, I saw the 5:30pm showing of This Magic Moment, which I still enjoy due to it having different scenarios in their acts every time I see it. The most funniest moment of it was one of the host breaking character twice, but the most ridiculous moment was the volunteer in the show's final act doing the Dab when told to do a pose. Really? Anyways, here's a pic of me minutes after getting drenched on Congo Rapids.



After watching This Magic Moment, I took a ride on Skull Mountain, and the wait for it was short. This was followed by a ride on the Dark Knight. The wait time for that, including the preshow, was at least 10 minutes. Batman was my next ride, and because of walk ons and short waits, I managed to ride it three times in a row. Alright!

The Joker was my next ride, and even with using the single rider line, it took me about 20 minutes to get onto the ride from when I got in line. During my ride, I was on the green side and flipped two and a half times. For the heck of it, I took a ride on the Buccaneer afterwards, where I had to wait in line while the ride cycled before getting on. With a few minutes to spare before Congo Rapids reached its 8pm closing time, I was able to get there and get on my last ride of the day on it. This time, only my shorts got wet. Immediately after riding Congo Rapids, I left the park.

Total ride count:
Congo Rapids: x2
Skull Mountain: x1
Dark Knight: x1
Batman: x3
The Joker: x1
Buccaneer: x1

Nothing to say about how the crowds were during my visit, as it was the afternoon, going onto the evening, so nothing to say about the crowds due to the short lines I've experienced. I'll most likely be back at the park on Sunday for the 4th of July fest, mainly to get in the park early. If not, then I'll visit again next week.

Thanks all the time for updating your fruitful visits!

Visit #19 - July 3, 2016 (4th of July Fest)

I arrived at the park and parked my car after 8:30am. After turning in my can of Coke, and waiting less than 15 minutes at the security gate, I passed through the entrance gates at 9am. However, security had to make everyone wait until exactly 9:30am to let everyone roam the park. My first ride of the day was El Toro, which I rode 5 times in a row in one hour. After that, the general opening time was coming by, so I headed for Kingda Ka.

When I got to Kingda Ka at around 10:30am, the ride didn't open until around 10:50am. I got my ride, and after the train I was in entered the station, Kingda Ka closed. It was quite a surprise that it broke down after my ride, but I'm not complaining. Zumanjaro was my next ride, and because of short lines at the standard queue, since I took the single rider line, I got on Zumanjaro three times in a row, and on each and every gondola. While heading towards my next ride, I took this photo of El Toro.



Dare Devil Dive was my next ride. Even with it requiring an additional fee from most of the rides, it's worth my money! Dark Knight was my next ride, which had a wait time of around ten minutes, including the preshow. I then went to check on the lines for the Joker and the Harley Quinn Crazy Train, but both had long lines, so I took a ride on Skull Mountain instead, and that had a short wait at the station. My last ride of the day was Nitro, where I waited 30 minutes in line before getting on, because a train was being transferred on. After that, I watched the 1pm showing of This Magic Moment. I then left the park after 1:30pm.

Here's a YouTube vlog about my visit:



Total ride count:
El Toro: x5
Kingda Ka: x1
Zumanjaro: x3
Dare Devil Dive: x1
Dark Knight: x1
Skull Mountain: x1
Nitro: x1

Nothing to say about the crowd in the morning, as I kept my focus on El Toro for the one hour of early ride time. Since I didn't stay at the park throughout the entire afternoon, I would now like to assume that the line for the Joker did die down a couple of hours after I left the park, but who knows how the lines are on a usual summer day. As usual, I aim to visit again in the next few days.

One line: WTG!

Visit #20 - July 8, 2016

I arrived at the park and parked my car before 10am. After the entrance gates opened at 10:15am, the first ride I got on was the Dark Knight. Because of the rides opening up at the time, I rode the Dark Knight four times in a row without getting back in line. My next ride was the SkyScreamer, and that was a walk on. After that, there was a long line for the Joker, so I decided to wait for the line to die down. Here's the Joker after opening around 11am.



My next ride was the Log Flume, which I rode twice. Even with it being a walk on, I got back in line as I wanted to take a look at my ride photos. I didn't buy a ride photo, but maybe if it looks good, I'll buy one next time. Anyways, here's me after getting wet on the Log Flume, wearing a shirt from back when Green Lantern first opened at the park. You can clearly see where I got wet.



After that, I took a walk across the park again. The line for the Joker was still a tad bit long, so I rode Skull Mountain instead. After that, I got in line with people waiting for Congo Rapids to open, which ended up getting delayed, so after 20 minutes of waiting, I went for Nitro, which had a short station wait. After that, Congo Rapids opened, but ended up closing down after a short time, and the entire ride ended up shutting off its pumps that flow the water as well, so I ended up riding Nitro again.

After those two rides on Nitro, I saw the 1pm showing of This Magic Moment, which actually had a smaller crowd that how it was during my previous times seeing it, but it was still good to see the show. I then made my way to the Joker, which had a line that I would be fine waiting in, and thanks to the single rider line, it took me a few minutes to get on. I was on the purple side, and I flipped twice. I've never had a full flip on the purple side, so that was an achievement. I then left the park before 2pm.

Total ride count:
Dark Knight: x4
SkyScreamer: x1
Log Flume: x2
SKull Mountain: x1
Nitro: x2
The Joker: x1

The only thing I'll say about the crowd is that they only focus on riding the most popular rides first, with the Joker being a popular ride in the morning, so it's always a good idea to ride the Joker when the line gets short for your patience. As always, I aim to visit again next week.

Visit #21 - July 15, 2016

I arrived at the park and parked my car before 12:30pm. Immediately after going through the entrance gates and filling up my souvenir cup, I headed for Congo Rapids, which was a walk on. I got decently wet on it, and was pretty much damp for the rest of my visit. Immediately after that, I rode Nitro, which had a 10 minute wait, as a train was being transferred on. This was followed by the Dark Knight, which had a short wait after the preshow. Batman was next. What was interesting about Batman was that there was a grouper at the station, even with a 5 minute wait.

SkyScreamer was next, and that had a short wait. After that, I went to ride the Joker, but it ended up closing down temporary, so I rode the Harley Quinn Crazy Train instead. After that, I watched the 2:30 showing of This Magic Moment, and in that showing, only one host was at the show, so it was different from how it usually is, but it was still good to see. I then took a walk across the park to the Log Flume, but it had a 25 minute wait when I got there, so I decided to skip the Log Flume for the Runaway Mine Train, which was followed by Bizarro. Even with Bizarro running with all three of its trains, it was a walk on.

What I did next was see the 4:00 showing of the Wildlife Games, and that was my first time seeing that show. I had a good time seeing it, especially with how the hosts were interacting with the audience. Right after that, I rode Zumanjaro twice, as Kingda Ka was closed temporary, but reopened after I left Zumanjaro, so I got my ride on Kingda Ka, which had a 10 minute wait. This was followed by El Toro, which had a short wait. My last ride of the day was the Joker, where I waited 10 minutes in line. I was on the purple side, and flipped one and a half times. I then left the park before 6pm.

Now for some pics that I felt like taking at the park.









Total ride count:
Congo Rapids: x1
Nitro: x1
Dark Knight: x1
Batman: x1
SkyScreamer: x1
Harley Quinn Crazy Train: x1
Runaway Mine Train: x1
Bizarro: x1
Zumanjaro: x2
Kingda Ka: x1
El Toro: x1
The Joker: x1

Out of all of my visits this year, this has been my longest, as I was at the park for around five and a half hours. As for the crowds, since it was a hot day, some people kept their attention towards Hurricane Harbor and the water rides at Great Adventure. Even with it being the middle of summer, there wasn't any large crowds causing really long lines, so that's a good thing. As always, I aim to visit again next week.