Jackson, NJ
Six Flags Great Adventure
This was the biggest Six Flags I’ve been to. Its crown jewel is Kingda Ka — currently the tallest roller coaster in the world at 456′ and max speed of 128 mph. When we arrived we immediately found the line for Kingda Ka. The ride had been closed all week for maintenance and so we hoped with all our might that it would open the day we arrived. Well when we got in line, the ride was still closed but they were sending out test cars so we waited it out. After about 1 hr we were on the coaster and being accelerated to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds. At the base of the climb when the ride is at its max speed I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. And we survived 🙂
The park also had some other fantastic coasters that were some of the smoothest I’ve ridden. Their Superman was similar to our (Magic Mountian’s) Tatsu in that they lift you up so it’s like you’re flying, yet unlike Tatsu, which whips you around harshly, it was so smooth and really did resemble soaring around in the sky. The other treasure we found was Nitro, easygoing but thrilling creamy smooth coaster with no loops. Though we didn’t expect toward the end of the ride a long spiral turn that caused both Skylar and I to mildly black out for a second.
What makes this Six Flags unlike all other six flags (besides it housing the tallest roller coaster) is that it also has a safari and animal preservation area. We enjoyed the 45 minute safari tour to see animals from six different continents including elephants, rhinos, tigers, giraffes, and lions.
Return to Trenton
While we waited for the Six Flags park to open, we stopped at a road travel stop Starbucks. We used the public wifi and restrooms, and enjoyed some Starbucks breakfast sandwiches. Unfortunately, we had to return to this travel stop the following day (after driving to and spending the night in Connecticut) because I accidentally left my purse behind. We were very blessed that someone had turned in my purse and everything was still accounted for (including all credit cards, driver license, and temple recommend). God was watching out for us on this one.