Six Flags Great Adventure

Visited: December 29, 2022

Attending: Just Brian

I didn’t even realize that I hadn’t been to Great Adventure at all in 2022. It was a pretty good coaster year for me in all other respects, so I didn’t notice. However, I bought a Six Flags Diamond Pass for 2023, and I remembered that in past years, you needed to pick up your pass in person at the park. Since I’m planning on a Magic Mountain trip in February, my only chance to pick it up would be this week. That turned out not to be the case, as Six Flags has lightened up a bit, and embraced the mobile app, but I still felt more comfortable having a physical card. And I needed to go to Bonnie’s to drop off some presents, which isn’t really anywhere near Great Adventure, but qualifies as “in Jersey,” so I figured I’d stop by for a bit. My last trip to Great Adventure during Holiday in the Park was disappointing, so I wasn’t really expecting much. Still, it was sunny, with temps around 50, so worth a try. Several coasters were closed for the season: Kingda Ka, El Toro, Medusa, and Green Lantern, so I figured I could just avoid that half of the park.

Jersey Devil

Remembering my experience from the previous year, I decided to empty my pockets completely before visiting Jersey Devil, which may not have been necessary, but was convenient, as I found a bank of lockers halfway between Jersey Devil and Nitro. The line was pretty short, mostly in the station, and the continuous feed made it move along nicely. I got a seat in the back half, maybe row 8 or 9, which was good enough. I was surprised by the speed and intensity of this ride, compared to my previous rides on it. I also expected it to be a little sluggish because of the temperatures, but it was actually moving at quite a clip. If the mid-course brakes hit at all, I didn’t notice them. Strong positives through the turnarounds, and the stall felt about as good as any other RMC stall, so that was cool. I probably could’ve gone around again, but I had other things to do.

Nitro

Nitro was also a station wait. I’d worried it might not have been, since there was little else open in the park, but Nitro still gets no love. I snagged the back row pretty easily, and only had to wait a couple of cycles. I sat on the right edge, which I normally don’t, but there’s no real reason for that. On my last winter ride on Nitro, I was badly disappointed in how sluggish it was. This time was a distinct improvement. It wasn’t quite at its middle of summer best, but it was only a little bit off of that. I felt some odd positive G’s coming out of the hammerhead that I normally don’t feel, so that was different. The airtime over the bunny hills was fun, and on the whole, it was a decent experience.

I thought about riding Batman, but I didn’t want to stay too late. On the whole, I was there less than an hour, and it was a fairly pleasant experience. Not bad for a December visit.