We (me, Angie, Dillon, Jason and Adrian) spent the day at Six Flags Great Adventure yesterday. We had our two Coke cans for "Buy One Get One Free" tickets and drove straight to the Safari entrance (it was around 11am by the time we got there, I think). With the coupons and paying $10 each for the Safari, it was about $150 with tax (Adrian was free for everything, of course). The Safari was really cool and everyone really enjoyed it. It was a great time of day to go because all of the animals were out and about (mostly eating). One giraffe started "tasting" a car in front of us at one point, which was pretty funny. The kids all got a kick out of that.
Then we ate our pre-packed lunch at the Safari "Exploration Station." We grabbed a picnic table and sat down to eat there. Just when we were finishing up, it started to rain (and we had already paid for our theme park admission). So we went back to the minivan and waited about 10 minutes or so before heading over to the big parking lot. We paid $15 to park (they do not accept cash anymore, either, it's all credit card), and opted not to pay an additional $10 for "Preferred Parking." Attendance seemed to be down anyway, and we were able to park in the first row after the "Preferred Area" anyway. So it seemed silly to pay another 10 bucks to be one row closer (although I saw a handful of cars that did this).
By the time we got into the park, it was pretty humid, but the rain had stopped and the sun was out. We also realized at this point that we had forgotten Adrian's stroller so we had to rent one for $10 (thank God we "saved" that 10 bucks on not parking in the preferred area!). We headed straight to the little Looney Toons "National Park" where they had little rides for kids. We did a few of these and made our way around back to the left. We all did the big carousel, even though Jason was very nervous about the horse going up and down. I think Angie did the big tea cups with Dillon and Adrian at this point. After that, Dillon and I went on the log flume while Angie waited with Jason (who said he didn't want to go) and Adrian. I saw people with kids Adrian's age on there, but Angie didn't feel like it would be safe. Then Angie did the Runaway Train with Dillon, while Jason (who opted out again) sat with me and Adrian. There were no lines at all on the rides, so when Angie/Dillon came back, she suggested I go on it with Dillon right then (which we did). It was great, we went right up to the loading deck and got right on. Days like that are the best!
We then made our way to the back and headed to the back right corner of the park. On the way, we passed some kiddie roller coasters (Blackbeard's Treasure Train) that mommy went on with Dillon and Adrian (Jason again opted out so I waited with him).
Oh yeah, somewhere around this time Adrian started nodding off in the stroller, so since we were near "El Toro" (a relatively new wooden coaster I hadn't been on yet, ever), I asked Angie if she'd park while I checked out the lines. There was no waiting, so I jumped on the very next train that was departing. Man, this thing is a beast!! No loops, but the coaster maintains a very fast speed (something like 68 MPH) the WHOLE TIME! There are so many steep drops that I was cracking up laughing the whole time. If you haven't been on it and you like roller coasters, make it a point to GET ON THIS RIDE. I told Angie afterward that she had to go on it, so I waited with the kids (Adrian was still sleeping) while she walked over to the track. About 10 or 15 minutes later she came back looking completely shocked with a huge smile on her face. I know she was blown away by it, too. Totally crazy coaster... You have to do it!
Next we stopped off for some ice cream at Coldstone Creamery ($16 for three "smalls" that were more than enough for all of us).
I tried talking Dillon into getting on Rolling Thunder, but for some reason he didn't want to. I think the name freaked him out. Although, Jason and Dillon kept pointing to "Skull Mountain" on the map. It's all they talked about and was their goal for the day, it seemed. When we finally got to it, Jason was about a 1/2 inch too short and got turned away, but Dillon was tall enough so he and I entered the dark mountain. Some teenagers were whopping and screaming on their way through the tunnels and this really freaked Dillon out. He started to run back to the entrance, but I grabbed him and picked him up. I carried him all the way to the loading deck where he calmed down for a second or two. Then all he kept saying was "I don't like the dark. Why does it have to be dark in here??!" I told him I'd sit right next to him and hold his hand, but he really lost it then. So I carried him across the coaster and we went straight to the exit of the ride and met up with Angie again. He was still sobbing when we got outside. Maybe next year!
After that we went to the Wiggles park where all of the kids got to enjoy some rides (flying planes, driving cars, flying in the spinning balloons, etc.). And we did the large ferris wheel (not a soul in line when we went up to it - I was totally shocked).
By this point it was almost 7pm and we hadn't had dinner (and the park was closing at 8pm). So we let the boys pick a couple of rides that they wanted to "re-do" and they chose Log Flume (Dillon) and the Looney Toons National Park (Jason). But there was enough time to get Jason on the log flume (he finally relented and had a great time) and on the Runaway Train (which he loved). We hit the gift shop, bought some souvenir Scooby-Doo and Bugs Bunny cups and headed out of the park (after making a pitstop at the restrooms, of course).
Dillon dropped his cup just outside the exit, and it (of course) broke. I was ticked off (more at myself for letting him carry it), but decided to go back into the park to see if they would switch it for a replacement (they did). We hit McD's for dinner and went home for baths and bed.
Long day, but it was really fun and I think everyone had a really good time... I'll post some pictures soon.
Then we ate our pre-packed lunch at the Safari "Exploration Station." We grabbed a picnic table and sat down to eat there. Just when we were finishing up, it started to rain (and we had already paid for our theme park admission). So we went back to the minivan and waited about 10 minutes or so before heading over to the big parking lot. We paid $15 to park (they do not accept cash anymore, either, it's all credit card), and opted not to pay an additional $10 for "Preferred Parking." Attendance seemed to be down anyway, and we were able to park in the first row after the "Preferred Area" anyway. So it seemed silly to pay another 10 bucks to be one row closer (although I saw a handful of cars that did this).
By the time we got into the park, it was pretty humid, but the rain had stopped and the sun was out. We also realized at this point that we had forgotten Adrian's stroller so we had to rent one for $10 (thank God we "saved" that 10 bucks on not parking in the preferred area!). We headed straight to the little Looney Toons "National Park" where they had little rides for kids. We did a few of these and made our way around back to the left. We all did the big carousel, even though Jason was very nervous about the horse going up and down. I think Angie did the big tea cups with Dillon and Adrian at this point. After that, Dillon and I went on the log flume while Angie waited with Jason (who said he didn't want to go) and Adrian. I saw people with kids Adrian's age on there, but Angie didn't feel like it would be safe. Then Angie did the Runaway Train with Dillon, while Jason (who opted out again) sat with me and Adrian. There were no lines at all on the rides, so when Angie/Dillon came back, she suggested I go on it with Dillon right then (which we did). It was great, we went right up to the loading deck and got right on. Days like that are the best!
We then made our way to the back and headed to the back right corner of the park. On the way, we passed some kiddie roller coasters (Blackbeard's Treasure Train) that mommy went on with Dillon and Adrian (Jason again opted out so I waited with him).
Oh yeah, somewhere around this time Adrian started nodding off in the stroller, so since we were near "El Toro" (a relatively new wooden coaster I hadn't been on yet, ever), I asked Angie if she'd park while I checked out the lines. There was no waiting, so I jumped on the very next train that was departing. Man, this thing is a beast!! No loops, but the coaster maintains a very fast speed (something like 68 MPH) the WHOLE TIME! There are so many steep drops that I was cracking up laughing the whole time. If you haven't been on it and you like roller coasters, make it a point to GET ON THIS RIDE. I told Angie afterward that she had to go on it, so I waited with the kids (Adrian was still sleeping) while she walked over to the track. About 10 or 15 minutes later she came back looking completely shocked with a huge smile on her face. I know she was blown away by it, too. Totally crazy coaster... You have to do it!
Next we stopped off for some ice cream at Coldstone Creamery ($16 for three "smalls" that were more than enough for all of us).
I tried talking Dillon into getting on Rolling Thunder, but for some reason he didn't want to. I think the name freaked him out. Although, Jason and Dillon kept pointing to "Skull Mountain" on the map. It's all they talked about and was their goal for the day, it seemed. When we finally got to it, Jason was about a 1/2 inch too short and got turned away, but Dillon was tall enough so he and I entered the dark mountain. Some teenagers were whopping and screaming on their way through the tunnels and this really freaked Dillon out. He started to run back to the entrance, but I grabbed him and picked him up. I carried him all the way to the loading deck where he calmed down for a second or two. Then all he kept saying was "I don't like the dark. Why does it have to be dark in here??!" I told him I'd sit right next to him and hold his hand, but he really lost it then. So I carried him across the coaster and we went straight to the exit of the ride and met up with Angie again. He was still sobbing when we got outside. Maybe next year!
After that we went to the Wiggles park where all of the kids got to enjoy some rides (flying planes, driving cars, flying in the spinning balloons, etc.). And we did the large ferris wheel (not a soul in line when we went up to it - I was totally shocked).
By this point it was almost 7pm and we hadn't had dinner (and the park was closing at 8pm). So we let the boys pick a couple of rides that they wanted to "re-do" and they chose Log Flume (Dillon) and the Looney Toons National Park (Jason). But there was enough time to get Jason on the log flume (he finally relented and had a great time) and on the Runaway Train (which he loved). We hit the gift shop, bought some souvenir Scooby-Doo and Bugs Bunny cups and headed out of the park (after making a pitstop at the restrooms, of course).
Dillon dropped his cup just outside the exit, and it (of course) broke. I was ticked off (more at myself for letting him carry it), but decided to go back into the park to see if they would switch it for a replacement (they did). We hit McD's for dinner and went home for baths and bed.
Long day, but it was really fun and I think everyone had a really good time... I'll post some pictures soon.
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