View of Six Flags Great Adventure from the ferris wheel
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.
Hardwicke Industries, who built safari parks in Canada and Europe, collaborated with LeRoy in planning parks for the Jackson property. They planned to open seven parks in stages over a 5-year period. However, elements of four parks created one amusement park, the Enchanted Forest. The park and Safari opened on July 1st1974 with a grand opening on Independence Day.
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.
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.'
A sign warning people not to cut lines
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. Thus, lines for some of the park's most popular rides, such as Kinga Ka and Medusa, can stretch for longer than two hours on a busy day.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.
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.People are arranged 2 across and 2 down It was run with only two of four trains throughout most of the 2006 season. It has use of all four trains once again.
Sometimes the ride doesnt make it over the hill.
El Toro
On June 11, 2006, Six Flags opened El Toro, a roller coaster at the center of a Mexican-themed section called Plaza Del Carnaval. The coaster differs from traditional wooden roller coasters in that it runs on a prefabricated track. This wooden roller coaster also holds the record for the steepest drop on a wooden roller coaster, which is at 76 degrees. For riders, know that this ride provides massive amounts of "air time" or the feeling of lifting out of your seat.
Nitro
On April 7, 2001, the park opened Nitro. It stands 230 feet above the ground and travels at speeds 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 due to its novelty in both structure and speed. Nitro's very high reliability, 36-seat trains and simple restraints that can be checked very quickly by the attendants result in wait times that are relatively short for a coaster this popular. 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. The coaster featured signs which compared points on the lift hill to other tall structures such as Niagara Falls. The signs were removed after a bad thunderstorm a few years after its opening. This ride is crazy
There have been a few notable accidents at Great Adventure that resulted in deaths of employees or guests. On August 16, 1981 20-year-old park employee Scott Tyler of Middletown NJ fell 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 CountyProsecutor's Office the fire started when a guest used a cigarette lighter to find his way through a strobe-lit hall. The flame from the lighter ignited a foam rubber-covered wall. The wall was covered in rubber to protect guests from bumping hard into the wall. One of the emergency exits was blocked off thus many could not get out. A few other fires occurred at other local haunted attractions at this time, although no deaths occuried as a result of arson.
The Castle fire seemed to set off a string of accidents and incidents at the park. One such accident occurred on June 17, 1987. 19-year-old Karen Brown of Pennsylvania boarded a train on the Lightnin' Loops shuttle loop roller coaster after it had been checked. She died after it was launched into a loop. An investigation by the State Labor Department concluded that the ride itself was operating properly, but the ride operator started the ride without checking that all 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. Another incident occuried on the Sarajevo Bobsled ride when an operator advanced a train as a guest was exiting the ride vehicle. After a third incident involving a Safari employee who was knocked down by a camel, the park GM was ousted and two other park officials were moved to other Six Flags parks.
In the case of Lightnin' Loops, 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 each track was moved to other parks.
Sections
Main Street
The entrance plaza at Six Flags Great Adventure.
Main Street is the first area a visitor encounters upon entering the park. It's home to several of the park's primary shops, street characters and eateries such as Carnegie Deli, Papa Johns, Johnny Rockets Express and Cold Stone Creamery. Fort Independence is home to Dolphin Discovery, an exhibit that showcases bottle-nose dolphins and sea lions. Main Street Market sells Great Adventure souviners and is located by the main gate. The Main Street Fountain is the focal point is used as a landmark for groups to meet one another and as a guide for getting from one side of the park to the other. Guest Relations, stroller rentals, Package Pickup and The Looney Tunes Shoppe are located to the left of the entrance. Funnel cakes, fugde, candy, urban clothing and MySixFlagsPhotos are sold in the buildings to the right. FlashPass and Ben and Jerry's and Dippin' Dots icecream is sold beyond the fountain.
Fantasy Forest
Fantasy Forest runs through Main Street and is the main midway which connects the east and west sides of the park. It includes Big Wheel, the Carousel, one end of the Sky Ride (the other is in Frontier Adventures), Houdini's Great Escape, Enchanted Teacups, Flying Wave (swings), Fantasy Fling (spin ride), The Character Cafe' and Granny's Country Kitchen
Lakefront
The Lakefront runs along the lake, parallel to Fantasy Forest. It is home to Skull Mountain, Blackbeard's Lost Treasure Train (small family roller coaster), Buccaneer (pirate ship), Jolly Roger (spin ride) and The Great Lake Grandstand, a lake side arena where water stunt shows and summer fireworks are held. A Panda Express is located here, adjacent to Skull Mountain.
Old Country
Old Country is a small section which is contiguous to Movie Town and home to die Autobahn (bumper cars) and Musik Express, the traditional amusement park spin ride. The area contains the Old Country Picnic Grove, which is used for large-scale parties with reservations.
Movie Town
There are often parades at Great Adventure.
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. Movie Town Water Effect is an old-fashioned shoot-the-chutes ride located here, which operates in warm weather and soaks guests on a large boat and on a bridge at the ride's exit. Two show venues Showcase Theater and Movie Town Stunt Arena will be "dark" in 2007, except for special avents. Also located in this area are Studio 28 Arcade, Justice LeagueHeadquarters Clothing Shop and a Papa Johns.
Frontier Adventures is home to Medusa, Runaway Mine Train, the Saw Mill 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 restaurant known as The 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" appeared in 2006.
Looney Tunes Seaport
In 1999, the slides of Adventure Rivers were dismantled to give way to this section which features rides that adults can ride along with their children. It is located past Fantasy Forest behind Wiggles World in the top-right section of the park. It's also home to Congo Rapids river boat ride.
Bugs Bunny National Park
This new for 2006 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 (formerly 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)
Golden Kingdom
Kingda Ka is located here and Balin's Jungleland is at the center of the section. It has 4 children spin rides, 1 junior train and dry and wet slides, nets and other play elements for children. The park's seven bengal tigers- Balin, Faruk, Hara and Chandi, rare golden tabby cubs Kingda Ka and Raina, and white cub Kiril call The Golden Kingdom their home. The tigers are featured in a 15-minute Spirit of the Tiger educational presentation who can be viewed up close at the Temple of the Tiger exhibit before sundown. A Papa John's is located in the section by the entrance of Bugs Bunny National Park. This land made up the entirety of Bugs Bunny Land as well as part of Frontier Adventures before being redeveloped in 2005. The section can be reached by the entrance at the Top Spin ride in the Boardwalk games square, the Four Tent area of The Boardwalk and Plaza del Carnival.
Plaza del Carnaval
This section features the park's two wooden coasters, Rolling Thunder and El Toro. Other attractions include a gentle ride named Tango, Fiesta (midway) Games, a merchandise kiosk named El Mercado and an eatery named La Cocina. This area was called Hernando's Hideaway when created in the late 1970's to accompany the opening of Rolling Thunder. Time Warner redeveloped the park's themed lands and combined this southwest-themed area with Frontier Adventures. In 2006 this area was transformed back into its own section for the debut of El Toro. Plaza del Carnaval can be reached by the Temple of the Tiger side of The Golden Kingdom and from a bridge by Medusa in Frontier Adventures.
Wiggles World
In 2007 Six Flags Great Adventure opened this new section, themed on The Wiggles. It is the park's fourth children section and it hosts a show featuring Wiggles characters Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog, Captain Feathersword and Henry the Octopus. All four of the Wiggles (Sam, Murray, Jeff, and Anthony) will make a live performance on May 27th, 2007. Part of Looney Tunes Seaport and Riptide's ride area was used to create Wiggles World.
Restaurants
The Best of the West - Ribs, burgers, pulled BBQ pork, grilled chicken, baked potatoes, roasted corn, soups, salads and beer - Frontier Adventures
La Cocina - tacos, chicken/steak fajitas, taco salads, SantaFe Rolls, churros - Plaza del Carnaval
Ben and Jerrys - Ice Cream - Fantasy Forest, The Boardwalk and inside The Character Cafe
The Great Character Cafe - traditional food - Main Street
The Riverbank Cafe - traditional food - Movie Town
The HBO Backlot - Pizza and other italian fare - Movietown
Granny's Kitchen - fried chicken - Movietown
Ted's Cheesesteaks - The Boardwalk
Mama Flora's - Italian food - Fantasy Forest
Park history
2007: Wiggles World opens. Batman & Robin: The Chiller's zero-G rolls have been removed and replaced by inclined banked S-turns. Ben and Jerrys opens 3 locations in the park. A Cold Stone Creamery is added to the Quenchers building next to the Carnegie Deli. The Great American Hamburger is transformed into Johnny Rockets Express and Wok & Roll becomes Panda Express. Kingda Ka has four trains running and all four trains on Rolling Thunder are racing for the first time since 2005. A package pickup system has been established for merchandise with a pickup location by Guest Relations. While street and character entertainment is prevalant, few sit-down shows have been scheduled for the 2007 season.
2006: Red Zone takes over Six Flags and increases the admission by $10, increases the parking fee by $5, the annual parking pass by $15, increases food prices, the amount of closed rides and the length of downtimes of rides while decreasing the number of units used on roller coasters and decreases the variety of food available in the park. Spin Meister is removed by the start of the season. Bugs Bunny National Park opens in March. The Runaway Train's track is repainted orange and its supports are repainted red and its trains receive new single t-bars but the ride spends parts of the season closed as the new restraints needed modification. Flying Wave's opening is delayed by two months due to "refurbishment." Plaza Del Carnaval, the re-themed Spanish section opens just before Memorial Day. The Carnegie Deli restaurant also opens that weekend on Main Street. El Toro soon follows on June 11th; Rolling Thunder is closed for most of the Spring and two trains of its four are used on one side during most of its operation. Kingda Ka only runs two trains throughout the year. The Batman side of The Chiller opens on May 5th for the first time since 2004. The entire attraction is closed on June 7, 2006 after an incident on The Robin side. Neither track reopens for the rest of the season. Stuntman's Freefall has a spotty season of operations and Riptide spends most of the season closed. Freefall, Riptide and Koala Canyon (the last of the new-for-Adventure Rivers attractions) are removed as shown on [1] in the off season.
2005: Chiller and Great American Scream Machine are repainted. 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. 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: SpongeBob SquarePants: The Ride replaces The Escape from Dino Island; Batman: The Ride's supports are repainted midnight blue with yellow track; The Season Pass Entrance and Bugs Bunny Land are 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;File:Supermanultimateflight coas.pngErUPtion (S&S upcharge attraction;) Right Stuff Mach 1 Adventure is brought back for one season; Jumpin' Jack Flash only operates 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. It was unused in 2006.
2002: Pirate's Flight is removed by the start of season and sent to Six Flags Worlds of Adventure (Geauga Lake.) The Summer of Festivals features a new theme and new exhibits each week 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 where it opened 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 the 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.
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 SpongeBob SquarePants in 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.
1987: Splashwater Falls. [Now Movie Town Water Effect] A management change at the end of 1987 re-emphasized family values at the park and slowly rebuilt Great Adventure's freefalling reputation.
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]
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
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
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.'"
