2018 Fright Fest

We decided to visit Great Adventure today to pick up our 2019 season passes. It was a fairly nice late summer day though a bit humid. There was no line at the parking gate but a bit of a line at security getting into the Main Gate.

Fright Fest was in full swing with decor on display throughout the park. We stayed just a few hours so we only saw the daytime theming.

You can see the parking lot was starting to fill up around mid-day:

The security line was about a 10-15 minute wait. Throughout the summer there have been fairly long lines at security.

You can see the start of the Fright Fest theming:

Some corn stalks between the security entrance and the Main Gate; not a ton of decorations in this area:

Lots of signs pushing the flash sale for 2019 tickets.

Some pumpkins once inside the main gate. Also in this area were a bunch of membership tents setup for picking up membership bottles.

More decorations by the market:

Seems like this pumpkin tree was meant to hide the Patriot Statue:

The main fountain turned to blood and was occupied by the pumpkin king:

Houdini’s Great Escape is just calling out for some Halloween decorations. That’s a fun indoor ride but we go on it infrequently.

You can see the creepy clown decoration headed toward the Boardwalk area. We didn’t get over there this trip.

More pumpkins and an advertisement for the Hell Fest maze, inspired by the movie:

More theming entering Adventure Alley. If it’s even called that anymore? For 2018 the theme areas aren’t really labeled on the maps.

Nitro was temporarily closed while we were here. This is definitely our favorite roller coaster, and the front seat is a must on this one.

If you look closely you’ll see the employees hanging around the station. We heard the horn go off a few times that usually indicates a ride restart, but no such luck.

The Aftermath Maze next to Congo Rapids:

Here you can see some of the Fright Fest theming in Movietown:

The Holiday in the Park sign seems a bit out of place with the rest of the decorations, but it’s there all year.

The Movietown Arena hosting Deadman’s Party. I don’t think this arena has been used for regular shows in at least a decade, so I have to wonder what the future will bring for it.

That’s all for the day. We hope to get back in October to see the other side of the park.

Adventure Seaport

Adventure Seaport is another kids area behind Safari Kids. Despite the giant archway entrance near Congo Rapids, we never went back here on our first several visits. I had no idea there was even a kids coaster back here.

On the walk in there is a small boat with Sylvester and Daffy jumping overboard. Fits with the Seaport theming. IMG_20180915_141129

Pepe has a mini teacup ride. Good for smaller kids but anyone over 5 probably wants to go on the bigger teacup ride across the park.

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The Seaport Barnstormer next to the kids coaster. IMG_20180915_141329 IMG_20180915_141954

The Road Runner Railway coaster. It tends to have a wait of a few minutes due to the slow loading time and takes 2 loops around the track. Fun for any kids old enough to sit up.

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I believe these poles were once part of a queue for an indoor play area that used to be where the fence now resides. Now it just looks like a ride is missing.

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Behind the fence where the Bugs Bunny Fun Factory used to be. It looks like this is now a storage area for another abandoned ride, the Hand Crank railway. Sesame Place still has a hand crank railway hidden in the front corner. It’s actually a self-service type ride at Sesame so I’m surprised Six Flags didn’t do something similar.

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Granny’s House – probably fun for very little kids to run around in.

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Closer to the Skull Mountain side is the Taz Tornado, the only kids swing ride.

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Close to the Skull Mountain exit is the Adventure Theater, that looks to host some sort of Halloween show. There was a magic show here in the summer.

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Overall, if you have kids, definitely head for the Adventure Seaport area.

Safari Kids

Great Adventure has a good amount of kids rides scattered throughout the park. Our youngest is 6 so while she can go on some of the 48″ roller coasters like Skull Mountain she can’t go on the bigger ones yet. While my older daughter and I go on Nitro she will head to the kids area nearby.

The area right outside Nitro, next to Seaport Eats, is called Safari kids. This area has 3 rides, though one was shut down today. IMG_20180915_140616

The biggest ride in this area is Safari Tours, a tracked car ride. It drives around a little landscaped area with animal pictures and statues. IMG_20180915_140651-EFFECTS IMG_20180915_140718

On the other side of the fountain is a slow spinning balloon ride called Sky Zooma. IMG_20180915_140703

Finally there is Jumpin Joey, a bouncy tower lift ride. Last time we were here the seat was totally removed from the track. This time it’s back on the track but still closed, so I guess that’s progress! IMG_20180915_140819

Six Flags Great Adventure

Welcome! My family and I have been Six Flags Great Adventure season pass holders for a few years, and I’ve decided to start this blog to document our trips. Inspired by some of the Disney World park blogs I’ve followed, I will be sharing updates for changes in the park throughout the year, unique experiences, and some general posts regarding a specific area or ride. We plan to travel to other Six Flags parks also so I’ll have some entries on a few of those.

During spring break this year we visited Six Flags America in Maryland, which was significantly smaller but still fun. I’ll have a post or 2 on that in the future.

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