Six Flags Great Adventure
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 Six Flags Great Adventure logo |
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| Location | Jackson Township, NJ, USA |
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| Website | Six Flags Great Adventure |
| Owner | Six Flags |
| General Manager | Mark Kane |
| Opened | 1974 |
| Previous names | Great Adventure |
| Operating season | April through October |
| Area | 260 acres (1.0 km²) |
| Rides | 54 park admission rides
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Six Flags Great Adventure is an amusement park in Jackson Township, New Jersey, 74 miles from New York City, 67 miles from Newark and 60 miles from Philadelphia, not far from the New Jersey Turnpike, consisting of a theme park area, a Wild Safari area, and a water park called Hurricane Harbor. Owned by the Six Flags brand of amusement parks, Great Adventure is known for its roller coasters with brilliant and colorful tracks, such as Nitro, Medusa, The Great American Scream Machine, Rolling Thunder, Batman & Robin: The Chiller, Batman: The Ride (not to be confused with the Chiller), Superman: Ultimate Flight, the record setting Kingda Ka, and the brand new El Toro. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Six Flags Great Adventure has more rides than any other theme park in the world, with 72 rides as of 2006.
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[edit] History
Restaurateur Warner LeRoy planned an entertainment complex in 1972 capitalizing on the back-to-nature movement of the era. He designed seven parks to flow naturally in the woods and lakes on the Switlik family property. An amusement park, safari, show park, floral park, sports complex, campground and shopping district would connect to one another and to hotels via boat, train, sky ride and monorail.
LeRoy got together with Hardwicke Industries of New York City who had safari parks built in Canada. The seven parks were planned to open in stages over a 5-year period. However, elements from four of the proposed parks were combined to create one amusement park, the Enchanted Forest. The amusement park and The Safari had a soft opening on July 1st and a grand opening on Independence Day 1974.
The Enchanted Forest was designed to look as if it appeared through the eyes of a child. Everything from a Conestoga wagon to a Western Fortress was bigger-than-life. The Big Balloon loomed near the parking lot, as it was the biggest hot air balloon in the world. The Log Flume was the longest log ride in the world and the Giant Wheel (now Big Wheel) was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world. The only smaller-than-real life attraction was an outdoor walk-through attraction called the Garden of Marvels, which had working scale trains and boats and 1/25-scale recreations of European castles and American landmarks.
The miniature village was an idea taken from the proposed Over the Rainbow floral park. Over the Rainbow was designed for the peninsulas where Frontier Adventures lies. A koi pond, tree of snakes, carousel, antique cars, a children playground (Kiddie Kingdom) and Gingerbread Fancy (now Granny's Country Kitchen) were also borrowed and placed in the surrounds of The Enchanted Forest’s main midway.
The namesake of the midway came from LeRoy's plan for a "shopping extravaganza" called Dream Street. It lent its large open squares, a huge fountain named Freedom Fountain, later redesigned as Main Street Fountain, street performers (clowns and stilt walkers) and shops to the amusement park. Fairy Tales was a shop purposed to sell such toys as Superman! Other influences from LeRoy's proposal would surface in the years to come.
Neptune's Kingdom was LeRoy's design concept for a lakeside aquatic show park. From it came Aqua Spectacle (known today as Fort Independence,) a home for dolphin performances and high dive shows. Neptune's Kingdom was purposed to be adjacent to Over the Rainbow would have run the length from Runaway Train to Northern Star Arena today if it were built.
A sprinkling of flat rides surrounded The Giant Wheel in Strawberry Fair, but the park's only coaster would not be ready for opening day. A news article account of that day included guest complaints about the size of the park- not that it was too big, but too small. LeRoy approached the Bank of Chicago for help in financing additions to the park's selection. The Pritzker family owned the bank and took partial ownership of the complex. They owned McCall's magazine and ran ads for the park in a 1975 issue. Neptune's Kingdom (The Lakefront,) Fun Fair (Movie Town) and Fortune Festival (The Boardwalk) were new sections built to improve guest flow and offered more rides. Fortune Festival was the largest open-air games square in the world. Hydraflume had a space theme reflecting a theme that LeRoy had proposed for a couple of the original rides for the amusement park. This second flume would be known by many names over the years and is known as Riptide in 2006. Big Fury (a wild mouse) and a Jumbo Jet were the park's 2nd and 3rd roller coasters. Several "spectacular" flat rides, as they were described in the park's guidebooks, made Fun Fair. The Rotor (Taz Twister) was the last remaining of these flat rides until it was removed twenty years later.
The amusement park's entrance was moved in 1976 to its present, more central location. The entrance was designed with an outer mall named Liberty Court and its Federal style architecture was influenced by the celebration of the United States bicentennial. The inner mall was named Avenue of States and had fifty state flags flying in the center of the walkway. Only six flags remain today. The park was renamed Great Adventure and Fun Fair picked up the Enchanted Forest moniker. The Strawberry Fair section was dissolved and its attractions became part of Dream Street. The Big Balloon, Jumbo Jet roller coaster, snake exhibit, and flats- The Gondola, Pretty Monster and Super Cat were the first attractions removed from the park.
The park became a major attraction with several small steel roller coasters (by today's standards.) One such coaster, The Runaway Train still operates today. More spin rides, "yummy yummy" food, shows, games and the Safari became a part of ‘‘the greatest day of your life, the original park slogan.
Late in 1977 the park was purchased by Six Flags. The regional theme park company was owned by Penn Central who had large stakes in the Philadelphia and New York City regions. Six Flags gradually added standard rides like the looping coaster Lightnin' Loops, the wooden coaster Rolling Thunder, the pirate ship Buccaneer, a rapids ride Roaring Rapids and drop towers Freefall and Parachuter's Perch.
One rather large portion of LeRoy's vision for the amusement park that never surfaced was the dark rides. Although 'Man, Time and Space,' 'The Keystone Cops' and '(Alice) Down the Wishing Well' never came to be, the Haunted Castle Across the Moat took its que from the rooms and monsters of the 'Transylvanian Haunted Castle.'
Like several other Six Flags theme parks, including Six Flags Great America, it has the potential to draw huge crowds because of its location between two major metropolitan areas. New York and Philadelphia are easy to reach and inner-city crowds tend to dominate the weekends while suburbanites prefer the weekdays. Teens are the heavy draw on Friday and Saturday nights and Fright Fest nights.
[edit] Great Adventure's Most Popular Rides
[edit] Kingda Ka
On May 21, 2005, the park debuted Kingda Ka, the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster. Kingda Ka has a top speed of 128 mph (206 km/h) and rises to a height of 456 feet (139 m), which beat the previous marks of 120 mph and 420 feet set by Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point. It is the only coaster in the park that is closed when it rains -- other coasters in the park remain open unless thunder or lightning are nearby.
The ride can carry 18 people per train and has a ride capacity of 1400 people per hour with all four trains running. For all of the 2006 season, it has only run two trains.
[edit] El Toro
On June 11, 2006, Six Flags opened El Toro, a new roller at the center of a Spanish-themed section called Plaza Del Carnaval. The coaster differs from real wooden roller coasters in that it runs on a prefabricated track. It reaches speeds of up to 70 mph.
[edit] Nitro
On April 7, 2001, the park opened Nitro. It stands 230 feet above the ground and travels at speeds of up to 80 mph. Nitro was the tallest and fastest coaster in New Jersey until the opening of Kingda Ka in 2005, which far surpassed it in both categories. Nitro is widely respected as one of the world's top coasters. The ride continues to be extremely popular despite short wait times, due to its novelty in both structure and speed. The one mile track features no inversions, but includes six camelbacks, a hammer head turn and a double helix. Each rider is secured by their own individual lap restraint, with four riders to a single row. At one point, the coaster featured signs which compared points on the lift hill to other tall structures such as Niagara Falls. However, these signs have been removed.
[edit] Park accidents
There have been many notable incidents at Great Adventure that resulted in severe injuries or deaths of workers or guests. The first fatality was on August 16, 1981 when 20-year-old park employee Scott Tyler of Middletown, NJ fall from the Rolling Thunder roller coaster during a routine test run. According to a park representative, Tyler "may have assumed an unauthorized riding position that did not make use of safety restraints". Rolling Thunder reopened a day later and still operates at Great Adventure.
The park's worst accident occurred on May 11, 1984 when eight teenagers died in a fire at the park's Haunted Castle attraction. According to a statement by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, the fire started when a guest using a cigarette lighter to find his way through the attraction eventually bumped into and ignited some foam rubber wall padding.
The Castle fire seemed to set off a string of accidents and incidents at the park. One such accident occurred on June 17, 1987 when 19-year-old Karen Brown of Pennsylvania died after falling from the Lightning Loops shuttle loop roller coaster. An investigation by the State Labor Department concluded that the ride itself was operating properly, but that the ride operator started the ride without checking that all of the passengers were secured by the safety harnesses. The Department's Office of Safety Compliance further concluded that the accident would not have occurred had proper procedures been followed. The park was found to be in violation of the Carnival/Amusement Ride Safety Act and was subsequently charged with the maximum state fines of $1,000. The ride was reopened a few months later with the permission of the Labor Department. The ride was eventually dismantled and moved to other parks.
Other incidents include a stabbing at a New Edition concert at the beginning of the park's 1987 season. A management change at the end of 1987 re-emphasized family values at the park and slowly rebuilt Great Adventure's freefalling reputation.
[edit] Sections
[edit] Main Street
Main Street is one of the smallest sections in the park, it runs from the entrance to the fountain. It does not include any rides, but is home to several of the park's primary shops and street characters. It is the first section of the park a visitor encounters after entering.
[edit] Fantasy Forest
Fantasy Forest runs perpendicular to Main Street, meeting it at the fountain, and is the main path that connects the two sides of the park. It includes one end of the Sky Ride (the other is in Frontier Adventures), the Big Wheel, and the Carousel.
[edit] Lakefront
The lakefront runs along the lake, parallel to Fantasy Forest. It is home to Skull Mountain and several smaller rides.
[edit] Old Country
Old Country is another small section which is contiguous to Movie Town and home to two rides. The area also contains the Old Country Picnic Grove, which is used for large-scale parties with reservations.
[edit] Movie Town
Movie Town is the main section on this side of the park. It is home to three of the park's coasters, Batman & Robin: The Chiller, Batman: The Ride and Nitro, as well as Stuntman's Free fall and Movietown Water Effect. Rumors speculating the removal of Stuntman's Freefall surfaced during the off-season between 2006 and 2007 when four first generation Intamin freefall rides were put up for sale. Stuntman's freefall is, in fact, first generation Intamin freefall ride. It has also been removed from the rides list on the Great Adventure Website.
[edit] Boardwalk
Located to the left of the entrance, the Boardwalk is home to The Great American Scream Machine, Superman: Ultimate Flight, Spongbob Squarepants 3-D, a parachute tower and the world's largest games midway featuring traditional Boardwalk-style games.
[edit] Frontier Adventures
Frontier Adventures is home to Medusa, Runaway Mine Train, the Log Flume, the Sky Ride and the Northern Star Arena concert venue. This western area features a larger-than-life Western Fortress, Super Teepee, Conestoga Wagon and log cabin (Best of the West.) Frontier Adventures can be reached by the Golden Kingdom, Bugs Bunny National Park, and a bridge in Plaza Del Carnaval by El Toro. The section used to include a small western town which was re-themed as part of the Golden Kingdom in 2005 and a Mexican section which became Plaza Del Carnaval in 2006. A stage show at the base of the Runaway Mine Train called "Runaway Country" appears daily.
[edit] Bugs Bunny National Park
This new children's section is located between Frontier Adventures and The Lakefront. Six children rides include small versions of the ferris wheel, carousel, a himalaya ride, plus a samba tower (tea cups on a tower,) a kiddie train-type ride and another airplane ride which propells the rider in the air by using a joystick. The Looney Tunes show We Got the Beat returned in the newly-named Wilderness Theater (Bandstand on the Lake.) It stars Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck among other characters. Looney Tunes characters roam the park and a water tower drops cold water on guests in the hot months. Food can be purchased at Granny's Camp Kitchen (formerly Bandstanza and McDonalds)
[edit] Golden Kingdom
The Golden Kingdom includes Kingda Ka, Balin's Jungleland with several children's rides and play elements and home to the park's seven bengal tigers: Balin, Faruk, Hara and Chandi and rare golden tabby cubs Kingda Ka and Raina, and white cub Kiril. These tigers are featured in a 15-minute "Spirit of the Tiger" show. The land was formerly part of Frontier Adventures as well the entirety of the former Bugs Bunny Land. It can be reached by an entrance between the Topspin ride and the Boardwalk games square as well as the Four Tent Plaza and Plaza del Carnival.
[edit] Plaza Del Carnaval
The park's newest section features the park's two wooden coasters, Rolling Thunder and El Toro as well as Tango, a gentle family spinning ride. Other attractions include several midway games, a merchandise kiosk, and a new food stand named "La Cocina". It can be reached from the Golden Kingdom and from a bridge by Medusa in Frontier Adventures.
[edit] Park History
- 2006: Red Zone takes over Six Flags and increases admission by $10, parking fee by $5, parking pass by $15, and increases food prices and amount of closed rides and legnth of downtime while decreasing the number of units used on roller coasters and the variety of food available in the park. Bugs Bunny National Park opens in March. Spin Meister is removed at the start of the season. Runaway Train is repainted with red supports and orange track and receives new single t-bars and spends much of the season closed for "repairs." Flying Wave's opening delayed for two months due to "refurbishment." Plaza Del Carnaval, a re-themed Spanish section opens mid-season and El Toro soon follows on June 11th; Rolling Thunder is closed for half the season and uses one train on one side when open. Stuntmans Freefall opens for a week and Riptide opens for one day. Batman and Robin: The Chiller is closed on June 7, 2006 and never reopens this season.
- 2005: Safari Tours bring guests through the Safari via vans from The Northern Star Arena (for one season;) The Golden Kingdom themed area debuts with Balin's Jungleland (children's play area,) Temple of the Tiger (tiger exhibit) and Spirit of the Tiger (educational tiger presentation;) Kingda Ka opens May 21st. Viper is demolished in June. Chiller and Great American Scream Machine are repainted. Taz Twister and Rodeo Stampede are removed in September, the later is sent to Six Flags Over Texas; Chaos, a ride with numerous operating problems at various parks is removed after season ends.
- 2004: Sponge Bob Square Pants 3D replaces Mach 1; Batman: The Ride's supports are repainted midnight blue and the track is yellow; Season Pass Entrance and Bugs Bunny Land demolished after end of season.
- 2003: Evolution is removed and sent to Six Flags St. Louis and opened as Excalibur; Superman: Ultimate Flight opens April 17th;
ErUPtion (S&S upcharge attraction;) Right Stuff Mach 1 Adventure brought back for one season; Jumpin' Jack Flash, which only operated for a few hours in 2002 and 2003 is removed at end of season. Pendulum is removed by end of season and sent to Six Flags Great America where it operated as Revolution in 2004 and 2005.
- 2002: Pirate's Flight is removed by the start of season and was sent to Six Flags Worlds of Adventure (Geauga Lake.) Summer of Festivals runs through summer in central park.
- 2001: Nitro opens April 7th; Short-lived Season Pass entrance opens; Slingshot and Turbo Force (up charge rides) debut. El Sombrero removed before end of season; Centrifuge G Force (scrambler) is removed at end of the season and is sent to Six Flags Over Georgia, opens as Shake, Rattle n' Roll in 2002; Time Warp is removed after season's end and is placed in the park boneyard.
- 2000: Hurricane Harbor water park opened as a separate admission park. Employee housing (Six Flags University) opens on former site of ball field. Spinnaker removed after season ends.
- 1999: Medusa, Blackbeard's Lost Treasure Train (Zierer large Tivoli coaster;) Road Runner Railway (Zamperla kiddie coaster;) Looney Tunes Seaport (themed kiddie area;) Houdini's Great Escape (Vekoma mad house;) Escape from Dino Island 3D replaces Mach 1 Adventure; Gotham City Carnival of Chaos stunt show replaces Batman Returns; Hollywood Animal Actor Show occupied Bandstand on the Lake for one season; Great American Road Race (up charge go-cart track) opens on former queue for Mach 1; Much needed flat rides added in a ride package that the park promoted as a "War on Lines." Rides included Spinnaker (Zamperla polyup;) Time Warp (Chance double inverter;) Pirate's Flight (Zamperla balloon flight;) Evolution (Nauta Bussink;) Jumpin' Jack Flash (HUSS Jump;) Pendulum (HUSS frisbee;) Rodeo Stampede (HUSS breakdance 4;) and Chaos (Chance;) Twister (HUSS top spin) and Jolly Roger (Zamperla regatta) remain in the park in 2006.
- 1998: Batman & Robin: The Chiller [added in 1997 but not in operation the entire season]
- 1997: Dare Devil Dive- a 153 ft. tall Skycoaster
- 1996: Skull Mountain (Intamin indoor in-the-dark family coaster,) Enchanted Tea Cups (Zamperla;) Lethal Weapon Stunt Show
- 1995: Viper (Togo mega heartline coaster) debutes in June.
- 1994: Right Stuff: Mach 1 Adventure (Iwerks turbo simulator) added, [changed to Dino Island 3D in 1999 and Sponge Bob 3D in 2004], runs as Elvira Superstition during Fright Fest
- 1993: Batman: The Ride opens in May; Action Town becomes Movie Town; El Sombrero (Swabinchen) added to Frontier Adventures)
- 1992: Time Warner purchases Six Flags and renames the former Enchanted Forest section Action Town and builds the Batman Stunt Show Arena; Lightnin' Loops removed mid-season. Shockwave removed at end of season and sent to Six Flags Astroworld, renamed Batman the Escape.
- 1991: Adventure Rivers (in park water slides) added, [removed for 1999;] Condor and Swiss Bob removed
- 1990: Shockwave (Intamin-sold stand up coaster) added from Six Flags Magic Mountain.
- 1989: Great American Scream Machine.
- 1988: Condor (HUSS) debuts on site of Calypso; Ultra Twister removed before end of season and sent to Six Flags Astroworld; Sarajevo Bobsled removed and sent to Six Flags Great America
- 1987: Splashwater Falls. [Now Movie Town Water Effect]
- 1986: Ultra Twister (Vekoma heartline coaster.)
- 1985: Looping Starship. (Intamin) [Now Space Shuttle]
- 1984: Sarajevo Bobsled debuts (Intamin-sold bobsled coaster;) Rednuht Gnillor (two trains facing backwards) runs one season on Rolling Thunder; The Haunted Castle is destroyed by fire. (See Incidents at Six Flags parks for more information.)
- 1983: Bally Manufacturing runs Six Flags. Freefall (Intamin 1st generation drop tower) [Now Stuntman's Freefall] and Parachuter's Perch (Intamin parachute drop) added [the later came from Six Flags St. Louis.]
- 1982: Joust-a-Bout (Schwarzkopf Chinese junk flying carpet ride) [since removed]
- 1981: Roaring Rapids (Intamin) [Now Congo Rapids]; Wild Rider removed.
- 1980: Buccaneer (Intamin Bounty pirate ship;) Six Flags Great Adventure Rail Road removed at end of season.
- 1979: Rolling Thunder; Spin Meister (Schwarzkopf Enterprise, park model) [since removed;] Second side of Haunted Castle built for regular season; Grand Prix removed at end of season.
- 1978: Lightnin' Loops (Arrow intertwining shuttle loop coasters;) Wild Rider (Schwarzkopf wild cat;) Haunted Castle Across the Moat, a single haunted walk-thru attraction added for then named Halloweekends
- 1977: Musik Express (Mack)
- 1976: Alpen Blitz (Schwarzkopf alpen blitz II)
- 1975: Big Fury; Blue Flower-Powered Coaster (Schwarzkopf jumbo jet;) Enterprise (HUSS;)Hydraflume (Arrow hydroflume;) Lil' Thunder (Herschel little dipper;) Panarama Wheel (later known as Lil' Wheel;) Rotor (Chance;) Supercat; Swabinchen (Mack hully gully;) Wild Rider (HUSS troika)
- 1974: Giant Wheel; Runaway Mine Train; Log Flume (Arrow;) Sky Ride (Von Roll); Carousel (Savage round about;) Flying Wave; (Hrubetz) Super Round Up (today's Fantasy Fling;) Traffic Jam; Swiss Bob (Mack bayern kurve;) Calypso (Mack;) Matterhorn (Mack;) Woodland Express (C.P. Huntington train;) Grand Prix (race cars;) Pretty Monster; antique cars; Safari Park opened
[edit] Golden Ticket Awards
Many of Six Flags Great Adventure's most thrilling roller coasters have placed in Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards. Below is a table with coasters at Great Adventure and their highest ranking in the Golden Ticket Awards.
| Roller Coaster | Highest Rank |
|---|---|
| Nitro | 4 |
| El Toro | 13 |
| Medusa | 17 |
| Kingda Ka | 28 |
[edit] External links
- Six Flags official web site
- Six Flags Great Adventure official web site
- Great Adventure Source
- Satellite View of the park
| Roller coasters at Six Flags Great Adventure |
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Batman & Robin: The Chiller - Batman: The Ride - Blackbeard's Lost Treasure Train - El Toro - Great American Scream Machine - Kingda Ka - Medusa - Nitro - Road Runner Railway - Rolling Thunder - Runaway Mine Train - Skull Mountain - Superman: Ultimate Flight |
[edit] References
- New York Times; August 13, 1984; "A spate of amusement park accidents, including the Great Adventure fun-house fire that killed eight people in New Jersey and recent fatalities on park rides, has stirred support in Congress for reinstating Federal jurisdiction over safety at the parks. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has jurisdiction over the safety of traveling amusement rides, but Congress lifted its jurisdiction over permanent installations in 1981. 'I am very adamant that we have jurisdiction over fixed-site rides,' said the commission chairman, Nancy Harvey Stoerts. 'This issue is critical. There have been 12 deaths already this year and the average is 7.'"
