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Here’s a list of large/medium fairs in and around New Jersey in 2009. Check out the links for more information about the particular fair. Also if you know about a fair in the NJ, southern NY or eastern PA areas that’s not on this list (I’m sure there’s many more), please leave a comment with the name of the fair, starting/ending dates and a link to the fair’s website if applicable. Thanks!

Dates that are in red indicate fairs that are currently underway. Dates that are in light grey indicate fairs that have already past; a trip report will be next to them if applicable.

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OLP Fair 2009

Posted by on May 19, 2009 | Add a Comment

Event: OLP Parish Carnival
Where: Our Lady of Peace Church; New Providence, NJ
Primary Ride Operator: Blue Sky Amusements
Dates: 5/13/09 – 5/16/09

If you want to check out some setup pictures of this fair, hop on over to this post.

I’ve been going to this fair every year since before I can remember. It used to be a little rinky dink affair featuring atrocities like the Skydiver, Scat and Cobra…sometimes even at the same time! However in recent years it’s been getting progressively better and this year it was probably the biggest fair to date. This year’s line up was…

Midway 1

  • Zipper
  • Himalaya (Wisdom version)
  • Riptide (an ARM Ali Baba)
  • Round-Up
  • Gravitron
  • Scooters
  • Sizzler
  • Chair Jet Swinger (or just Swinger)
  • Big WheelMidway 2
  • Berry Go Round
  • Super Slide
  • Two funhouses
  • A myriad of kiddie rides
  • A selection of greasy treats stands
  • A bunch of ‘chance wheels’ and carny games
  • Several vendors

So yeah, there was quite a bit there! Blue Sky Amusements brought nearly every ride they own actually. The rides were packed into the medium sized lot with little room between them but still enough room to not disrupt the flow of fairgoers.

ZipperWhere to start…well, the Zipper was a nice addition this year. The Zipper used to make regular appearances at this fair back in the early 90s but it’s been absent ever since then. On Friday and Saturday night, I noticed that the Zipper crew had a duel queue line going where riders would file in both entrances so two cars could be loaded at once.

… OLP Fair 2009

A racked Round Up ride

Update: …and here’s the completed fair trip report!

Every May the Catholic church in New Providence, NJ holds a fair…now being a ride lover like myself, how can I not check out the build up process? This year the carnival was extended from three days to four; probably to compensate for the fact that it always rains one day! In effect the setup had to be sped up a bit to open a day earlier. Here’s some pictures of the area from Sunday and today…

… Scoping Out the Local Fair Setup

Great Adventure

Just arriving...pretty cloudy out.

I took a solo trip to Six Flags Great Adventure on a cloudy Saturday, May 2nd so that I could do whatever I pleased and stop for as many photos as I saw fit. I got to the park at around 2:00pm and found that the lot wasn’t too full (yay!) As I walked in, a song with the lyrics “It’s gonna be a good day” (or something similar) played over the speakers; foreshadowing maybe?

I had heard around that May 2nd was cheerleader day or something like that and feared that there would be throngs of annoying cheerleaders around. I was partially right, they were kind of annoying but they didn’t over run the place.

The first order of business would usually be to get my season pass validated, but I had the piece of plastic all ready to go so instead I made a beeline to El Toro. Upon arriving at The Bull, I noticed that it had a line that took up the entire far switchback and into the closest one. That’s not too bad of a line, but I decided to pass as I knew it would be less later on.

BizarroInstead of bull riding, I walked over by Bizarro via the re-opened bridge route, over the stagnant creek that runs through Frontier Adventures. Towards the end of last year the bridge was closed for repairs, resulting in a dead ends by El Toro and Medusa. There really wasn’t a whole heck of a lot to see over by Bizarro; I was hoping to see maybe a test train, or some workers, or maybe even Lex Luthor himself. All I got was Mr. Six with the word Funstruction screamed out next to him.

Next I walked through Frontier Adventures and saw that the Saw Mill log flume was open; an original attraction at Great Adventure. I thought about riding until I saw the steady stream of people using the “a-hole devices” next to the flume. Of course I’m referring to those sprayers that cost a quarter or so to use. The sprayers on this flume are pretty bad, dumping a nice robust stream of water right into the log; I didn’t really want to risk my camera with those.

VLUU L310 W / Samsung L310 W
VLUU L310 W / Samsung L310 W
VLUU L310 W / Samsung L310 W
VLUU L310 W / Samsung L310 W

… Trip Report: Six Flags Great Adventure 5/2/09

Just a quick little update with some photos of Bizarro from the 5/2 trip to Six Flags Great Adventure. It’s kind of tough getting different shots of the ride since they have the fence right up near the front of the path.

VLUU L310 W / Samsung L310 W
VLUU L310 W / Samsung L310 W
VLUU L310 W / Samsung L310 W
VLUU L310 W / Samsung L310 W
VLUU L310 W / Samsung L310 W

It looks almost ready to go! Notice the two sets of posts flanking the path; looks like they’ll be putting a big Bizarro sign there. Also, while on El Toro, I could see that they had some large props around the helix portion; they looked like faux building pieces or something with the backs left unfinished since no one will really see the backs while on the ride.

And here’s a little side by side of Medusa and Bizarro just for fun:

Medusa Bizarro

Great Adventure is also working on a new attraction called Xploratorium to take up residence in Batman and Robin: the Chiller’s old observatory structure. I’ve heard it’s going to be an attraction with exhibits and such inside, kind of like Epcot’s Innoventions. Here’s the two pictures I have of Xploratorium:

VLUU L310 W / Samsung L310 W
VLUU L310 W / Samsung L310 W

The structure is completely hidden by the Dark Knight coaster’s building so they’ll need to advertise it in the park or people might not even realize it’s there!

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