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Just wondering if anyone else has noticed the decline of enjoyment at this park. I have had season tickets there on and off for the last six-seven years, and it has continued to get ridiculously crowded and the wait on rides just gets longer. I went several times this summer and never made it to the new roller coasters, or the summer before, because the wait was 2-3 hours for them. Even with Frightfest, the crowds are huge.
I think the park itself is nice, clean, and fun. Just don't plan on actually riding anything while you're there. Curious to hear about other's experiences at Six Flags, and if anyone has stopped going for any reason.
I went this past weekend and spent 4 hours there, basically walking around. Went to the dolphin show, 20 minutes long. Waited 45 minutes to see it.
I continue to be really disappointed with the park and lack of ride accommodations there. We won't be renewing our passes next year.
Well, Six Flags Great Adventure is great! My friend's son just went there with Piscataway High School Key Clubs, and it was huge Key Clubs events that day! They had lots of fun as I heard and no problem to have any ride they like may be because it is October. His two sons all went althought they have Season Pass every year since he was single in 1984. His boys wanted to go because the fun is combine rides and peers and Key Clubs. Rides with family are always different than rides with classmates or club members.
Now, without a Season Pass, one had to pay $35 for group rate, otherwise just $5 bus fare. So, for families with kids, it is almost a good thing to have Season Pass every year.
One good way to use Season Pass is that you can visit Six Flags Great Adventure any time, so if you happen to have nothing to do, get there at 9am and drive thru Safari and get in theme park at 10am, and get all the rides you like with short lines and get to Hurrancane waterpark after lunch at van around 1pm and leave after 4pm when crowd start coming with discount tickets.
Another way is to keep in mind Six Flags Season Pass is good for all Six Flags. So, visit the one at DC area after museums closed at 5pm during summer time, and visit one at New England when heading to Boston, and visit one at Lake George area, and of course Niagra Falls area too.
One last tip is to pick a "rainy day" to go. Why? because the weather report is seldom accurate, and when it say will rain, it may rain a while then sunny day again. My friend were very excited to tell me the great experience of riding exciting ride with only their family, and again and again, no line at all. And this tip is also true for many other theme park like Hershey Park you could ride all rides many times in a few hours. This is even more ture at Disney World area.
I have a problem with Six Flags, and I won't go there again.
It wasn't the lines - I got used to that.
The last time I went (beginning of the summer), which will be the last time I go, we were waiting for a water ride. Being an exceedingly hot day, the misters are on, full blast. All of a sudden, the misters get turned way down.... a few moments later, we hear "Lemonade!". That was DISGUSTING to me. It got so bad that someone, about 10 minutes into this deplorable marketing mess, passed out. So what happens? They turn up the misters - a *slight* adjustment up, and resume selling lemonade.
Screw Great Adventure. They have lost my business forever.
I don't know... I kind of like it. We bought passes this summer and went a lot. We spend most of our time in the kiddie areas though, and you can go onto basically any of the rides with no wait. I took my daughter a few times in the summer during the week, and we'd stay a couple hours and do more than enough.
I guess the most bothersome thing to me is the lack of consistency in wait times. Yesterday, we were told the El Toro line was well over an hour, but got onto the ride in 40 minutes.
The lemonade thing on the lines is riduclous, as that lemonade is so sticky sweet all you want is a huge bottle of water after drinking it. I guess that's the idea.
Glad I am past that stage as all my kids are grown.
I hate amusement parks.....last time was 4 years ago for my grand daughters 8th birthday to Disney...ugh...her parents can take her to great Adventure
My wife, son and I have had season passes for the last 3 or 4 years, and here is what works for us, so we feel like we get our money's worth and actually enjoy everything. We live around 35 minutes drive from the park.
1. Make sure you get the 3-park pass (includes Hurricane Harbor). Get your passes early, i.e. in April or before, so you are ready to use 'em as soon as the park opens in the spring and you save money on the passes.
2. Go to Great Adventure several times during April - May, even into early June, before school ends. During that time, the lines are short (or reasonable for Kingda Ka, El Toro and Superman) and temperatures nice. Our son really loves roller coasters, so he gets his fill during this time. He was able to ride Kingda Ka and El Toro multiple times this season without standing in a line of more than approx 30 minutes max. And no, we don't buy the Fast Pass, by all reports it is a ripoff.
3. Make sure to use some of the "bring a friend for free" passes during the April-June time frame also - you get extra value from your season passes, and kids get to enjoy the park with their friends.
4. Once the weather gets pretty hot and public schools are out, the lines at Great Adventure get ridiculous, especially on the weekend, but for us, we've had enough of Great Adventure by then anyway! So we start going to Hurricane Harbor. Again, by going there early in the season, you can actually ride the various water slides multiple times without standing in any long lines. As the summer progresses and the weather gets hotter, getting to the park at opening time usually means more comfort and enjoyment, as long as the weather cooperates.
5. Bring some bottles of frozen water and a backpack, and drink 'em as they thaw during the hot days. You'll have really cold water when you want it, and save money. You can't bring food or other beverages into the parks, but they let you bring in plenty of water.
6. Minimize the number of times you actually eat a meal in either of these parks. The food is so-so at best and badly over-priced. Get out of the park and go to the nearby Wawa for some much healthier and less expensive lunch instead. Or pack an ice chest with sandwiches etc and eat in the parking lot (this doesn't work as well when the summer gets really hot).
7. The crowds are not too bad during FrightFest if you go early enough in the day, so you can squeeze in one or two more Great Adventure visits during October, and weather is usually very nice then too.
My wife, son and I have had season passes for the last 3 or 4 years, and here is what works for us, so we feel like we get our money's worth and actually enjoy everything. We live around 35 minutes drive from the park.
1. Make sure you get the 3-park pass (includes Hurricane Harbor). Get your passes early, i.e. in April or before, so you are ready to use 'em as soon as the park opens in the spring and you save money on the passes.
2. Go to Great Adventure several times during April - May, even into early June, before school ends. During that time, the lines are short (or reasonable for Kingda Ka, El Toro and Superman) and temperatures nice. Our son really loves roller coasters, so he gets his fill during this time. He was able to ride Kingda Ka and El Toro multiple times this season without standing in a line of more than approx 30 minutes max. And no, we don't buy the Fast Pass, by all reports it is a ripoff.
3. Make sure to use some of the "bring a friend for free" passes during the April-June time frame also - you get extra value from your season passes, and kids get to enjoy the park with their friends.
4. Once the weather gets pretty hot and public schools are out, the lines at Great Adventure get ridiculous, especially on the weekend, but for us, we've had enough of Great Adventure by then anyway! So we start going to Hurricane Harbor. Again, by going there early in the season, you can actually ride the various water slides multiple times without standing in any long lines. As the summer progresses and the weather gets hotter, getting to the park at opening time usually means more comfort and enjoyment, as long as the weather cooperates.
5. Bring some bottles of frozen water and a backpack, and drink 'em as they thaw during the hot days. You'll have really cold water when you want it, and save money. You can't bring food or other beverages into the parks, but they let you bring in plenty of water.
6. Minimize the number of times you actually eat a meal in either of these parks. The food is so-so at best and badly over-priced. Get out of the park and go to the nearby Wawa for some much healthier and less expensive lunch instead. Or pack an ice chest with sandwiches etc and eat in the parking lot (this doesn't work as well when the summer gets really hot).
7. The crowds are not too bad during FrightFest if you go early enough in the day, so you can squeeze in one or two more Great Adventure visits during October, and weather is usually very nice then too.
I could not have said it better myself. Thanks for saving me the time to type all that out.... We go during the week, no holidays etc etc just like the malls. Avoid the peak times. Great idea re: WaWa store. They make great quick sandwiches to go. Great post- you get reps from me !!!
Thanks for reminding me of all the reasons I wouldn't go to Six Flags even for free. Give me Disney anytime. Was there last week and the most we had to wait for a ride was 20-30 minutes and didn't even need a FREE fast pass for the major rides like Space Mountain, Tower of Terror and the Aerosmith Roller Coaster.
I'm still a fan of Knoebel's Amusement Park here in Pennsylvania. The park has free admission, free parking, and for rides you can either pay as you go or get a handstamp (I think I paid roughly $30 each for a handstamp for me and my boyfriend). They have roller coasters, a ferris wheel, kiddie rides, log flumes, and dozens of others.
We just went about a month ago during some sort of charity walk, so the park was packed. Nevertheless, the longest we waited in line was about ten minutes for the Tilt-a-Whirl. My friends got onto the Twister and Phoenix (the park's two massive wooden roller coasters) in just under ten minutes (I'm still afraid of roller coasters myself ever since I saw the opening scene in Final Destination 3).
I can't recall ever not having a great time at Knoebel's. It's not far off of I-80 in Central Pennsylvania; roughly a two-hour drive for most of you.
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We bought passes this summer and went a lot. We spend most of our time in the kiddie areas though, and you can go onto basically any of the rides with no wait. I took my daughter a few times in the summer during the week, and we'd stay a couple hours and do more than enough.
Six Flags Great Adventure strategy
