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COASTER-net.com > Editorials > 2006 > Behind the Thrills: Six Flags Great Adventure

Behind the Thrills: Six Flags Great Adventure

June 13, 2006 - Josh Davidson

[img]http://www.coaster-net.com/pics/sfgad/btt.bmp[/img]© Amusementpics.com and edited by Josh Davidson

For mere mortals, feeling the sudden rush of speed going through your body is unique, entering different worlds and seeing nature's greatest force on the human body, from precision enginering to shaking up your primal extincts. This is the story of Six Flags Great Adventure, considered to be a thrill capital among amusement parks.

No one back in the early 1970s could have imagined a theme park in Jackson, New Jersey featuring some of the biggest thrills and chils the planet has to offer. In 1973, Six Flags Great Adventure, or Warner Leroy's World of Great Adventures, was full of numerous legal challenges and more than a year of consturction. The park finally opened July 1st, 1974. Planned as a Walt Disney World in the Northeast, the park consisted of serval areas, such as Dream Street (today part of Fantasy Forest area); Strawberry Fair and Rootin' Tootin', Rip Roarin' (Frontier Adventures today).

Of course when looking at a theme park's past you will see that the park changes constantly- a history Great Adventure was to follow. The first season was a true sucess. But the true theme park ethusiasts could not even dream on what would become of Great Adventure.

The second season, the park got's its symbol. A hot air ballon and a tiger, showing both land and air. But, the park has still not got it's true ways on how it is recognized today.

The 1977 and the 1978 season would be the end of Warner's LeRoy park. It was sold to Six Flags, and just a week after Six Flags owned the park, it's name officially changed to Six Flags Great Adventure.

The season after Six Flags came they started with what the park was famous for, their roller coasters. Lightning Loops opened, as a famous roller coaster in the Northeast, blowing the other coasters in the park away. First you go through a double loop and reach the top, then do it again backwards. The ride was famous for the trains crossing each other at the same time.

The year after that would introduce Rolling Thunder, a dual racing wooden roller coaster. Series of other rides came after that, but the coasters where a hit. Six Flags seemed to catch on to that, and decided to move on more into this.

Year after that, they introduced Roaring Rapids, now Congo Rapids. The ride was the ultimate test for the super-soakers at the park to test there nerves in true rapids.

But, over that winter break, the park game area was totally destoryed by a fire; luckily no one was hurt. It was re-built and built as a new area, which is known as the boardwalk today.

For the 1984 Olympics, the Savajevo Bobsleds where made as a bobled coaster. It was a hit and lasted from 1984 to 1988. Looney Tunes entered the park and the park was heading into the big times.

The year after that, a totally new type of roller coaster came to play, Ultra-Twister. A heartline roller coaster.

The 1988 season brought a focus on family rides with the addition of a Huss Condor ride which took the former location of Calypso, and a makeover of Looney Tunes Land, turning it into a more modern Bugs Bunny Land. The additions were small in comparison to the original plan which was to build a world-record breaking 7-inversion roller coaster, which was built at Six Flags Great America instead.

The year after that, a true thrill came to the park. This ride was, the Great American Scream Meachine. A 170 foot plunge down almost 70mph, it was a thrillseekers dream. The ride was oringinaly planned to be called Ninja.

In 1990, Shockwave came to the park as a stand-up roller coaster. But the roller coaster was plagued with operation problems, and left the park only the second season it was there.

In 1992, the Batman movies where a big hit. Six Flags decided to capitalize on the box office hit and designed Batman: the Ride, which came as the park's inverted roller coaster in Movie Town.

In 1995, the park introduced Viper, a different type of heartline roller coaster. The roller coaster was extremly intense, and reports of neck problems on the ride. The ride would be taken out of the 2006 season, and last operated in 2004.

The following year brought of the of the best themed rides ever to operate at a Six Flags park! Batman and Robin: The Chiller opened as hope to be the biggest attraction for the park in history, but it's glory only lasted a few days for the ride had launching problems and was down for all of the season.

1999 was the war of rides for Six Flags Great Adventure, featuring twenty-five new rides, and Medusa, the first ever floorless roller coaster ever made.

For the new melliumium, Hurricane Harbor opened as Six Flags thrid park in Jackson, New Jersey with Wild Safari and Great Adventure.

The next season, the parks biggest attraction in history was made. 2001 brought in Nitro, a mega coaster gaining Six Flags Great Adventure the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the Northeast.

In 2003, Superman took flight with Superman: Ultimate Flight. The ride was at the boardwalk joining the Great American Scream Machine.

2004 was the park's 30th anniversary, Batman: the Ride was painted yellow, but blue prints in the background where being made for the next season, as the biggest expansion to the park in history and one of the biggest in Six Flags History.

In 2005, the park introduced Kingda Ka, the tallest and fastest roller coaster on Earth, and the Golden Kingdom, a brand new well themed area with shows and a kid area. But the glory lasted only two weeks after Kingda Ka opened, for a loose bolt sent the ride closed until August. There was no celebration when it re-opened, but a sigh of relief.

2006 would bring new hights getting rid of Viper, which had not operated in two seasons, and made way for a whole new spanish area called Plaza Del Carnival, and El Toro, holding the steepest wooden drop on Earth.

Six Flags Great Adventure has gone a long way, but it has only begun. Make sure to check in next week to find out more of the special events and shows which happened to the park, here at COASTER-net.com!

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