Enterprise is a classic spin n’ puke ride seen at many theme parks and even at some traveling carnivals. Enterprise was originally a Schwarzkopf designed ride which debuted in 1971, however Huss Rides built their own version a year later and was issued a patent. The primary difference between the two is that the Huss version has a larger capacity and larger cars compared to the Schwarzkopf model. However, from my experience riding both, the Schwarzkopf models seemed much more intense with a higher G force.
Here’s a video of the Huss Enterprise at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, PA. It’s a pretty nice looking park model with red and orange cars along with blue and yellow lighting.
Another rousing trip to Six Flags Great Adventure. While driving to the park it started to rain a bit; great, looks like the threat of rain actually followed through. I got to the park at around 6pm and found that the park wasn’t too crowded. At this point the rain had also subsided into a moderate mist; a ‘pissy rain’ as I like to call it.
As what’s become almost routine now, I headed straight for El Toro and waited in a modest line before boarding. Toro was running nice and fast in the rain, unfortunately my glasses got plastered with mist leaving me blinded until the brake run. Next was Bizarro which had a stairway wait. I hopped in the back seat and took off my glasses this time. Bizarro was Bizarro on this day, although the misters on the drop and corkscrews seemed a bit redundant for some reason.
Afterwords I decided to take a spin on the Runaway Mine Train. I headed up to the station only to find basically no lines whatsoever (photo.) I took the back seat and waited in a poorly placed fake cobweb for the single train to come back. Backseat on RMT isn’t too bad until you encounter the bunny hops, which rocket you off the seat in a sudden burst of ejector air.
Next I made my way over to Skull Mountain and found barely any lines. I took a spot in the second to last car as the last one had a line. I took one spin and then just sat there to take another as there was no one waiting. After my dual rides on Skullie, I went to over Nitro which actually had a line! I waited about 15 minutes to ride and once again took a back seat. The mist made the far sections of Nitro’s course very dark which was pretty cool.
While waiting for Nitro, I noticed that Batman didn’t seem to be running, so I headed over just to see if it would open anytime soon. No dice there, Batman would remain closed as long as the mist still fell. Instead I walked over to the Boardwalk and rode Twister before getting in line for Scream Machine.
Scream Machine had absolutely no line save for one guy in the front row. I got in the second car and both of us were off. When the train returned there was a few people scattered around, so I hopped in a middle car for a second run. When the train returned for the third time, I got up and went right for the back for my third ride in a row. I seriously contemplated a fourth run but decided to get off; probably a good idea!
Finally I made my way over to Kingda Ka which was actually running for once in misty conditions. I waited about 10 minutes to ride. I’ll tell you what, nothing beats being pelted with tiny droplets of rain at 128mph! I decided to head out after that ride.
As I left the park at around 10:00pm, the rain started to pick up…guess I decided to leave at the right time!
Well…it’s November 2nd, the first day of the off season for many theme parks around the country. Parks will start to re-open in late March-early April so we have about 5 months to go from today!
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On the bright side, if any of you are near Six Flags Great Adventure, the park is holding an event called ‘Hope for the Holidays‘ on November 13th from 5 to 7pm. This event is open to everyone and a clothes/food/toys donation to the Salvation Army or Toys for Tots gains you admission. Hope for the Holidays will feature entertainment, snacks, drinks, games, and last but not least rides on Kingda Ka! Here’s a link to a flyer with all the information (PDF): Hope for the Holidays
NOTE: Hope for the Holidays has been canceled due to the weather.
While wandering around Six Flags this past Friday I stopped dead in my tracks and exclaimed “hell, I still didn’t write that last Six Flags trip report that I PROMISED!” A few people stared in my direction, but I didn’t care; they didn’t know the gravity of the situation! I had slacked off on my site duties! The following is a trip report from a few weeks ago with the more recent one (and subsequent last trip) coming by next week.
Fright Fest: Six Flags Great Adventure – 10/9/09
After getting stuck in traffic and nearly battering another driver with the bat that I lovingly keep in the back seat on my previous trip to Great Adventure, I decided to leave earlier. I left for the shore house in Brick at 2:45pm and cruised down the Parkway, beating most of the rush. I arrived at the house at 4:00pm, dropped off my bag, and hung around for about an hour before heading off the park. The temperature out was about 70 degrees and I was fully expecting the park to be mobbed.
I arrived at Six Flags at about 5:30pm and, to my surprise, found that the lot was only 1/8th full (photo). I waltzed into the park, admired the nice blood fountain with skeletons surrounding it, and then speed walked to El Toro. If I was surprised to find the parking lot nice and empty, I was completely shocked to find a half empty station for Toro! Despite the lack of riders, I took only one spin; I had other rides to quickly hop on at my leisure.
I walked across the bridge to Bizarro to, once again, find a barren station with open slots just begging to be waited in; I hopped into the back car which only has two outer seats separated by a large steel box housing the audio devices or power or whatever is in there. The back seats are a little rough but nothing to really complain about; the upside is that it’s nice riding without a seat next to you!
After Bizarro I headed down through Frontier Adventures, which unfortunately wasn’t transformed into Bone Butcher Territory this Fright Fest. With only the Runaway Mine Train operating over there, the area was pretty desolate. I bypassed the coaster and ended up trekking over to the other side of the park. I hopped on Skull Mountain first which had basically no line. The inside was decked out with Halloween stuff as well as strobe lights at the end, triggering as the train hit the brakes for some reason.
Afterwards I headed for Nitro which sported a station wait. I chose to wait one train for the back seats and was accompanied by two other riders who decided to take the two middle seats after I took the outermost seat on the far side; come on, gimmie some space! The ride was running pretty nice tonight with lots of air over the hills.
Next I got into line for Batman: the Ride and was greet by a completely empty station (photo); oh boy! I scurried right for the front seat before anyone came barreling through the Flash Pass entrance. Again, two other riders got into the front line, but this time I got space! Now I’ve never been on Batman’s front row before, but I have to say, it’s pretty damn good! There’s a lot of G force in the front along with the obvious unobstructed view.
I walked over to Dark Knight, but balked when I saw that the pre-show doors had just closed. Instead I made my way to Fantasy Fling (photo), the park’s old Round Up. Not much to say, the ride was pretty standard but I hadn’t ridden a Round Up in a while so I wanted to have a spin. Next I walked through the Graveyard, a transformed portion of the Lakefront which isn’t used as anything in the regular season. A few ghouls stared at me and I made the mistake of saying “hey” to one of them who responded by following me through the entire scare zone without saying one word; scary no, awkward yes! I tried to get him to say something but no dice. I finally exited, where he continued to follow me for a short bit before abruptly turning to a pair of guests.
Next up was the Boardwalk, which was now ‘Psycho Circus’ complete with evil clowns strolling around. I headed toward Scream Machine but saw that Twister, the park’s Top Spin, had a small line, so I jumped on in. Twister had its cycle changed recently, something that was five years overdue. The new cycle flips the gondola some six times and then proceeds to do the ‘locking the gondola face down’ trick. The ride lasted less than a minute, but at least it’s a fun minute!
Now I was ready for Scream Machine, I walked through the abandoned queue, up the stairs and waited in line for a row…….it looked to be a 2 train wait, I guess I’ll pull out my camera and review some of the pictures that I…HOLY SHIT!! A LINE (photo)!!!!!!!!! I wondered if people started appreciating the old school looper or if the Apocalypse had finally come but then noticed that the next train was taking a while to come in. I then realized that they were only running one train, bah. The full train flew through the mild night air and to my surprise, the trim brake after the first loop didn’t seem to trigger. The result was the train plowing into the second two loops and rushing around the infamous ‘bonsai turn’ into the mid course brakes where the train proceeded to overshoot half of them before fully slowing down.
Next I went on Superman which had a short line; it’s an okay ride when there’s a short line. Finally I decided to head over to Kingda Ka, which had a small line as well. I waited about 10 minutes and then lo and behold, the ride broke down! People in line got the whole “you can stay in line but we don’t know when it’ll reopen” jazz and I decided to whip out my camera and film the ordeal. After about 10 minutes, then tested the two trains only to have the ride break down again before the second launch. At this point I just left line and decided to leave as it was nearing 10:30pm.
The Astrotower is a 270 foot observation tower that resides in Coney Island, NY. It used to be a part of Astroland Amusement Park up until 2008 when the park closed after the property was purchased by Thor Equities. The tower, which has been a part of Astroland since 1964, has become sort of an icon in Coney Island along with the likes of Wonder Wheel, Parachute Jump and Cyclone. The tower was planned to be taken down in the 08/09 offseason, but was left standing. The fate of the Astrotower is pretty much unknown.
The following video was shot in 2007, the last year Astrotower operated; the ride stood idle in 2008. The song is ‘Uska’ by London Elektricity.
