Six Flags Great Adventure

What is it about wanting to be hurtled through space through loops and corkscrews at eye drying speeds that makes us scream, "Woooo!"?  I asked myself this as I waited on line to ride Kingda Ka this past Monday when I went with my brother and a friend (who was about to partake in his first ever roller coaster ride) to Six Flags Great Adventure.  Monday was a hot, humid, basically miserable day to be outdoors.  Yet, we put are collective brains together and came up with the brilliant idea of going to Jackson, NJ to ride the coasters.  We were able to enjoy all the major rides which was, quite frankly, an achievement I'd love to take credit for.   You see, it isn't out of the question to expect 1 or 2 of the major rides to be shut down due to weather related concerns or mechanical problems, which can be very disappointing after having paid the entrance fee.  Their website makes no mention of which rides are running, or not running for that matter, on any given day.

Although not my favorite, that honor goes to El Toro, Kingda Ka is a kick-ass albeit over-too-soon experience and is right up there with El Toro and Nitro as my top 3 favorites at the amusement park.  As we're making our way on the line, we get to wait it out near the location where the roller coaster sits before being slingshot on it's way.  Having already been on the ride twice (prior to Mondays visit), I knew what to expect.  But seeing it get launched from 0 to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds (as the claim goes) brought out a nervous excitement in me all over again.  

Finally, we make our way into the station and board our coffin, er... coaster.  I couldn't help but remember back to my first experience on the ride and how I had wondered what the heck I was thinking.  Although, everyone had enjoyed a successful albeit raucous return, I couldn't help but wonder "with my luck..."!  As always, I tried to time the hissing of the brake release to when the launch would happen but I'm always caught somewhat by surprise when it begins. It's during this acceleration, which is needed to get up and over the 456 ft high main top hat tower, that my left and right cheeks have their yearly meeting at the back of my head.

Needless to say, with heart firmly held in throat and eyes totally void of moisture, we scream our way up, over and back down (via a 270-degree spiral, thank you very much) on our way to the station.  Ride duration: approx 28 seconds. 

Following video I took with my digital camera (sorry for the quality) from the line about 15 minutes before it was our turn.  

As previously mentioned, we were able to enjoy all the major rides except for the new Dark Knight coaster.  Line was too long for the amount of heat one had to endure while waiting so... next time.  The list of coasters we rode were El Toro, Medusa, Batman: The Ride, Nitro, Great American Scream Machine and Superman: Ultimate Flight.  The older I get, the more protective of my ribs I become so I passed on Rolling Thunder for now.  Hell, we even rode on the Sky Way transportation ride to enjoy the scenery and take pictures.  I wanted to get on the tea cups ride but didn't think my friend could handle it since he was already complaining of dizzyness from the Batman ride.  

So, what's the best thing about hanging with family and/or friends, eating Churros and riding roller coasters?  That it all took place on a Monday.  :)