Before even getting into the park there is a problem that I want to point out as for the past two days it has become a big deal as the day wears on. That problem is the traffic getting into the park. More specifically the traffic trying to get to the safari. Six Flags currently only has the main entrance operating which means that all park and safari guests are going in the same entrance. The problem is as the day wears on that line backs up heavily as people cut each other off and jockey for position in the lines. When I left the park today the line to get into the park extended to the Wawa which is over a mile away from the park's parking lot. Six Flags does have signs stating Hurricane Harbor and Safari guests keep left, theme park guests keep right. Even in the morning when I got there though, people were all over the place.
From the time you get out of your car and enter the pedestrian walkway you see social distancing markers on the ground. There are a couple security and staff members along the way reminding folks to maintain their appropriate distance and to get their mask on before getting up to the security queue. Security was fast and I mean fast. We never stopped walking. You pass through two tents, one I'm assuming has a thermal camera to make sure everyone's temperature is normal. The second has highly sophisticated bag/metal/probably temperature scanners. This was by far the fastest I've ever gotten through security and the crowd in the line did a good job adhering to the rules.
Once in the park there was an immediate change. The Looney Tunes gift shop has been completely gutted and is in the process of being replaced by a store called Six Flags Universe. From the looks of it though, it is nowhere near ready to open. Another change in the not so main street area is the Johnny Rockets building by the main fountain is getting a major overhaul. The Johnny Rockets signage is currently down as well so I'm not exactly sure if that's what it is still going to be when it reopens.
The biggest and most obvious change is the area near Nitro where the Jersey Devil Roller Coaster can now be seen both through the trees and above them as well. Sadly the signage for the ride now states that the coaster will be opening in 2021. I'm not exactly surprised about this. The park is lucky to be open right now to begin with. That and the ongoing construction delays due to covid has it making sense to me for the ride to be pushed back. Another big change comes at The Wild Walkway where the Sea Lions now take center stage, the new cheetahs are easy to see and gorgous, and the new coatis are really cute and fun to watch. There was one staff member hanging around the walkway answering questions and making sure nobody was harassing the animals.
It could be just for now, but it could be a sign for the season, but the food offerings in the park appeared to be extremely limited. I was hoping to pick up one of the yummy jerk chicken sandwiches from Metro Grill or a pork roll and cheese sandwich, but neither of them seem to be in the park right now. Pretty much every place had a limited menu consisting of fries, burgers, chicken tenders, or pizza. There is a new fish n' chips stand over by Nitro and the Macho Nacho by Batman and The Dark Knight is now a quesadilla stand.... Though I've heard rumors they aren't serving quesadillas yet... Many food stands as well as the Fill the Thrill snack and drink stands were closed. With the park not being overly busy it was okay, but if the park gets more crowded they're going to have to open some of those stands up because the lines elsewhere are going to explode.
Speaking of things being closed. Several attractions were closed and look like they are going to remain closed for the time being. The signs all basically say it's due to covid-19, but I'm not really buying all of that. Justice League Battle for Metropolis, Zumanjaro Drop of Doom, Kingda Ka, Congo Rapids, Sawmill Log Flume, Houdini's Great Escape, Slingshot, Dare Devil Dive, and Cyborg Cyber Spin were all closed during my visit. The teacup ride was originally closed, but eventually opened. I can tell you for a fact that the Sawmill Log Flume is closed due to a piece of the flume missing as opposed to social distancing related reasons. Zumanjaro being closed makes sense since it has a very small capacity to begin with let alone trying to social distance on it. Kingda Ka was seen testing multiple times throughout the weekend which makes me wonder if that's having more of a mechanical reason for not being open. Cyborg Cyber Spin being closed was odd to me since Twister is open. Twister has a higher capacity I believe, but given the history of Cyborg, I wonder if it was having mechanical issues as well. The other rides being closed all made sense under the social distance reasoning. Yes Justice League could operate with one party per car, but the blasters are very high touch points. Houdini and Congo Rapids have guests sitting very close to one another. Dare Devil Dive and Slingshot literally have staff strapping guests in so they're out for sure.
So what's the good and the bad when it comes to safety? The good from what I saw far outweighed the bad. The crowd was pretty light throughout the day though the larger rides did have a lot of people in them. From what I can see the groups were doing a decent job at maintaining six feet from one another. The spots on the ground certainly helped with that. In the case of The Dark Knight Roller Coaster they were basically letting one party into the building at a time. There are social distance floor markers, but there was no line so it was just easier for the staff to let one group in. Cleaning teams were everywhere. Rides and dining areas were being sanitized frequently. I didn't go on a ride and think it was disgusting at all.
So what's the bad. In one word. Masks. Six Flags states that masks are mandatory for all staff and guests unless in designated mask break areas. During my visit I saw a few staff members walking around with their masks either below their nose or even under their mouth. There was a decent number of guests who were also walking around with their masks in a similar fashion or just not on at all. For the most part the staff did their best in asking people to put the masks back on or raise them, but sadly many of them were ignored. Also, if the whole staff isn't wearing them correctly how do you tell guests to wear them correctly? It's a tough place for the staff that are doing it right to be in, but luckily I didn't really see anyone give a staff member a hard time outside of just outright ignoring them. Overall though the number of people correctly wearing masks far outweighed the number of people not. The crowd level being so light also made it easy to avoid people who weren't following the rules.
This trip to Six Flags Great Adventure I have to give a solid B+! Given the situation we are all in it was a pleasant surprise to see the park and its staff doing all they are doing to keep people safe. The number of rides being closed didn't really surprise me at all, though I think some will open up as the season goes on. The food situation is one that I hope improves, but I see why they are keeping it limited. It's an easy spot to cut expenses right now and the company as a whole is hurting. That said the number of food locations is going to need to increase if the park gets busier. The park was clean and the staff were, for the most part, doing their best to make sure that all the new guidelines were being adhered to. I even have to admit that the staff was the friendliest I have seen at Six Flags in a long time. Pretty much everyone seemed happy to be there again. We will see if that lasts, but I certainly want to give that shout out now as it is warranted. It was a solid first trip back to the park and I'm looking forward to going back.
Note: This ad amuses me as El Diablo is featured at the top of the page... El Diablo left Six Flags Great Adventure at the end of the 2018 season...
The biggest and most obvious change is the area near Nitro where the Jersey Devil Roller Coaster can now be seen both through the trees and above them as well. Sadly the signage for the ride now states that the coaster will be opening in 2021. I'm not exactly surprised about this. The park is lucky to be open right now to begin with. That and the ongoing construction delays due to covid has it making sense to me for the ride to be pushed back. Another big change comes at The Wild Walkway where the Sea Lions now take center stage, the new cheetahs are easy to see and gorgous, and the new coatis are really cute and fun to watch. There was one staff member hanging around the walkway answering questions and making sure nobody was harassing the animals.
The Top of Nitro
Part of Jersey Devil near Congo Rapids
Another part of Jersey Devil visible from the theater in Looney Toons Seaport
Construction appears to still be halted on Jersey Devil
See ya in 2021 Jersey Devil
It could be just for now, but it could be a sign for the season, but the food offerings in the park appeared to be extremely limited. I was hoping to pick up one of the yummy jerk chicken sandwiches from Metro Grill or a pork roll and cheese sandwich, but neither of them seem to be in the park right now. Pretty much every place had a limited menu consisting of fries, burgers, chicken tenders, or pizza. There is a new fish n' chips stand over by Nitro and the Macho Nacho by Batman and The Dark Knight is now a quesadilla stand.... Though I've heard rumors they aren't serving quesadillas yet... Many food stands as well as the Fill the Thrill snack and drink stands were closed. With the park not being overly busy it was okay, but if the park gets more crowded they're going to have to open some of those stands up because the lines elsewhere are going to explode.
Cheetahs just lounging in the shade
Bonnie and Clyde (coatis) make a serious case for cutest animals in the park
Just doin some diggin
Gettin a sip from the bucket.
Speaking of things being closed. Several attractions were closed and look like they are going to remain closed for the time being. The signs all basically say it's due to covid-19, but I'm not really buying all of that. Justice League Battle for Metropolis, Zumanjaro Drop of Doom, Kingda Ka, Congo Rapids, Sawmill Log Flume, Houdini's Great Escape, Slingshot, Dare Devil Dive, and Cyborg Cyber Spin were all closed during my visit. The teacup ride was originally closed, but eventually opened. I can tell you for a fact that the Sawmill Log Flume is closed due to a piece of the flume missing as opposed to social distancing related reasons. Zumanjaro being closed makes sense since it has a very small capacity to begin with let alone trying to social distance on it. Kingda Ka was seen testing multiple times throughout the weekend which makes me wonder if that's having more of a mechanical reason for not being open. Cyborg Cyber Spin being closed was odd to me since Twister is open. Twister has a higher capacity I believe, but given the history of Cyborg, I wonder if it was having mechanical issues as well. The other rides being closed all made sense under the social distance reasoning. Yes Justice League could operate with one party per car, but the blasters are very high touch points. Houdini and Congo Rapids have guests sitting very close to one another. Dare Devil Dive and Slingshot literally have staff strapping guests in so they're out for sure.
Shortest log flume ride ever
So what's the good and the bad when it comes to safety? The good from what I saw far outweighed the bad. The crowd was pretty light throughout the day though the larger rides did have a lot of people in them. From what I can see the groups were doing a decent job at maintaining six feet from one another. The spots on the ground certainly helped with that. In the case of The Dark Knight Roller Coaster they were basically letting one party into the building at a time. There are social distance floor markers, but there was no line so it was just easier for the staff to let one group in. Cleaning teams were everywhere. Rides and dining areas were being sanitized frequently. I didn't go on a ride and think it was disgusting at all.
Sanitizing about to being at Harley Quinn Crazy Train, hand sanitizing at the gate of every ride.
Sterilizing going on on the right. Note the crowd level between 12 noon and 1pm.
Signage everywhere
So what's the bad. In one word. Masks. Six Flags states that masks are mandatory for all staff and guests unless in designated mask break areas. During my visit I saw a few staff members walking around with their masks either below their nose or even under their mouth. There was a decent number of guests who were also walking around with their masks in a similar fashion or just not on at all. For the most part the staff did their best in asking people to put the masks back on or raise them, but sadly many of them were ignored. Also, if the whole staff isn't wearing them correctly how do you tell guests to wear them correctly? It's a tough place for the staff that are doing it right to be in, but luckily I didn't really see anyone give a staff member a hard time outside of just outright ignoring them. Overall though the number of people correctly wearing masks far outweighed the number of people not. The crowd level being so light also made it easy to avoid people who weren't following the rules.
This trip to Six Flags Great Adventure I have to give a solid B+! Given the situation we are all in it was a pleasant surprise to see the park and its staff doing all they are doing to keep people safe. The number of rides being closed didn't really surprise me at all, though I think some will open up as the season goes on. The food situation is one that I hope improves, but I see why they are keeping it limited. It's an easy spot to cut expenses right now and the company as a whole is hurting. That said the number of food locations is going to need to increase if the park gets busier. The park was clean and the staff were, for the most part, doing their best to make sure that all the new guidelines were being adhered to. I even have to admit that the staff was the friendliest I have seen at Six Flags in a long time. Pretty much everyone seemed happy to be there again. We will see if that lasts, but I certainly want to give that shout out now as it is warranted. It was a solid first trip back to the park and I'm looking forward to going back.
Joker from Harley Quinn Crazy Train's queue
Slingshot remains closed due to covid-19
That about wraps up my first review blog for the season at Six Flags Great Adventure. The whole experience from making the reservation to getting into the park to the park itself was painless and a lot of fun was had. I recommend trying to get your reservation early and getting to the park early for lighter crowds and to not have to deal with the crazy traffic backups the safari seems to be causing. As always, thank you all for reading and stay tuned for the next blog coming real soon!
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