The visit got started off on a pretty rough note. Security was a disaster. The biggest issue was that there was one medical person managing the entirety of the security queue. I give her credit for trying, but there was an overwhelming number of people ducking under ropes, stepping over them, and just pushing past other groups. Social distancing was completely non existent and I honestly felt like it was even crazier than a normal day at the security checkpoint. I can't say I ever remember seeing such chaos in the security line at Great Adventure. When I was leaving the park it looked like the same situation was still going on. Just large unruly groups bulldozing through everyone else. I'm not one to complain normally, but I had to talk to guest relations about the situation. It was to a point where it just didn't feel safe and that someone could have gotten hurt or a fight could have broken out. Why the park had just one girl from medical keeping watch of that entire line I have no idea.
Another hiccup I encountered getting into the park was at the gate. The person looking at my reservation claimed my reservation was only for one person. I showed her my confirmation for two people in my email and she accepted that. I call it a hiccup since last time my reservation wasn't asked for at the gate considering it was scanned at the parking lot. It wasn't a big deal at all, but after dealing with the craziness in the security line I really just wanted to get into the park and relax.
Pretty sure all but the last note here were ignored by many during this visit.
Overall, crowd size was small but certainly larger than last time in certain areas of the park. I walked through the Boardwalk area to the now open Kingda Ka, through the Wild Walkway, to El Toro, around through Frontier Adventure and by the lake encountering relatively small crowds. By the time I got back over by Joker though the crowd was certainly starting to build. As the crowd built so did the lines and so did the lack of compliance to the rules. Compared to last time, there was a lot and I mean a lot of people not wearing masks (basically the all had them around their necks). There was basically no staff members enforcing the mask rules either. Only in the Wild Walkway did I hear a staff member actually ask a group to put their masks on. Also, queue lines for Skyway, The Dark Knight, Harley Quinn's Runaway Train, and The Joker all appeared to disregard the social distancing markers on the ground. At the same time, the lines for Big Wheel and Sky Screamer were much smaller and more spaced out.
Still very light crowds by Big Wheel around 2pm
Sky Screamer didn't appear to be very busy today
So from a safety standpoint my overall thoughts are this. The security line was a mess, the ride queues appeared jammed, and there were a bunch of people not wearing masks. That said, the crowd was not large and there was plenty of space to keep away from other groups while walking around. Six Flags needs to step it up a bit in the security area and need to get the people that were walking around doing mask checks last time back out in the park doing that. I can't imagine the state isn't eventually going to crack down on the park if they continue allowing what is going on there to happen.
Twister undergoing a test run after a breakdown. The ride did reopen.
So what was new this trip? Believe it or not a couple things! Last trip I had missed a new gift shop that opened on the right hand side of Main Street called Adventure Kids. It's a nice little gift shop that has a variety of Looney Tunes merchandise and some DC Comics merchandise as well. One of the more random, yet fun items in the shop are rubber ducks that are in various forms. For example there is are rubber ducks that look like turtles, red pandas, hammerhead sharks, dragons, and much more. Really random, but kind of fun I'm not going to lie. Another thing I noticed was that over by the entrance to Frontier Adventures there is now an edible cookie dough stand. Unfortunately it was not open during my visit so I couldn't try it out. Also new this trip is Kingda Ka being open. Last time you couldn't even get close to the ride due to a construction wall that was put up. Zumanjaro however remains closed.
This needs to open like yesterday.
Zumanjaro remains closed... Thanks El Toro train for the photo bomb.
In my last blog I commented on the lack of food options in the park. It appears as though many food options have since returned. At Metro Grill, where I last called out a lack of a menu, the specialty sandwiches have returned! I'll probably get the jerk chicken sandwich on my next visit to the park. Macho Nacho over by El Toro also appeared to be operating with a more normal menu as well. At Totally Kickin Chicken in the Boardwalk section there continues to be just chicken fingers and the two Chinese food places in that building remain closed. Best of the West over by the Sawmill Log Flume also remains closed. Speaking of closed attractions though...
I just want my pulled pork and mac n' cheese bowl...
Specialty sandwiches are back at Metro Grill! Ignore the guy with his mask down...
The Sawmill Log Flume itself remains closed and missing track pieces. Congo Rapids also remains closed due to social distancing concerns. Justice League Battle for Metropolis, Houdini's Great Escape, and Cyborg Cyber Spin are also closed for the same reason. I still cannot figure out why Cyborg isn't able to run yet the Twix sponsored Twister is. As far as Justice League goes, I've heard that it will not be opening this season at all and if that's the case I assume that means Houdini will not open either as they are both indoor attractions. As mentioned, Kingda Ka is now open however Zumanjaro Drop of Doom remains closed. There is now signage outside the park entrance announcing that Jersey Devil's opening is pushed back to 2021. Something I forgot to mention in my last review is that the platform for El' Diablo is still standing behind construction walls. This is the second season the ride has not been in the park.
Due to covid-19, Jersey Devil will debut sometime in the 2021 season
Overall this was a mixed bag of a Six Flags trip. Was it fun? Yes. Was it frustrating at the start of the visit, yes. I gave Six Flags a lot of praise for the job they had done in my last review, so it does disappoint me a bit to say they need to really step it up in certain areas. I understand the park is understaffed. I understand that large groups are hard to control, but what was happening in that security line all day simply cannot happen. Somebody is going to get hurt and I'm not even talking about any associated covid risks. I just mean some kid is going to get ran over. The staff need to feel empowered to ask people to wear their masks correctly. I'm not a stickler for masks. I get that a lot of people are though. I also get that it's a park mandate that should be enforced. We are lucky that the park was even allowed to open and that ability to be open can quickly be taken away again if people aren't willing to follow the rules.
With that I give this trip a C. I was able to enjoy myself and the park itself is still pretty clean and the workers are doing their best to keep it that way. However much of the social distancing protocols seemed to have gone out the window already whereas other theme parks (Walt Disney World and Universal Studios) have been able to maintain those protocols. If the crowd was larger I'm pretty sure I would have just left for the day. That's about all I have for this trip. I will go back again, however my attention now shifts to an impending announcement about Hurricane Harbor.
Thanks as always for reading and stay tuned for the next blog coming real soon!
Bo the cheetah as seen on the Wild Walkway
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