By Karen Rubin & Laurie Millman, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

For those for whom riding coasters is more sport than entertainment and are forever seeking out the latest, greatest, newest, biggest, bad-est thrill ride to stop your heart and defy gravity, Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, is your ultimate destination.

Packed into a relatively compact space considering the 3-dimensional thrills, are 14 coasters. And like ski areas, the coasters have a progression of development – from little ones in kid-friendly areas like the skiing learning area (that gets them conditioned and hooked early!), up to coasters rated a 5 for thrills (equivalent to skiing’s double black) that pull enough Gs to rival what a fighter pilot, aerobatic flyer and even an astronaut might experience. You progress from small turns and tilts and drops up to the dramatic, thrilling, heart-pulsing, screaming twists, turns, topsy turvy rolls and gravity-defying plunges.

When we watched how people dangle on The Joker coaster ride, we basically said, “Are they kidding?!!

On a recent visit just after Great Adventure opened for the season, we get to see construction underway for the newest mega-coaster (much of it is still so secret, they refer to it as the “Purple Project”), which is expected to be open in 2027. It is going up in the newly expanded Shoreline Pier section, where visitors will get to ride five new attractions opening later this season, and a revamped Boardwalk made to evoke the Jersey Shore.

We watch as workmen in their orange suits are suspended as they piece track together.

During a press preview, we learn that the new, massive roller coaster – a successor to Kingda Ka – will be a first or biggest in six coaster categories but little else is disclosed.

It will be uniquely different, unique to this park, was all Ryan Patrick, the park’s communications manager, teased. Does it use some new technology like magnets? Won’t say. Who is inventing/designing/engineering it? Ryan will only say it is a top global coaster company.

We get more from Colin, who publishes @coliwood and videos at www.youtube.com/@ColiwoodStudios/videos, and is a veritable expert on Six Flags Great Adventure. He tells us it will be the world’s first coaster that launches from a still position and go up to 375 feet high – so high, the FAA had to be consulted. It will be intense (though not quite 5G of force).

Shoreline Pier at The Boardwalk is a new rides area that channels the vibe, electricity, nostalgia and charm of New Jersey’s iconic oceanside amusement piers. While the new coaster is expected to be open by 2027, this season it will offer five attractions – four new to Great Adventure – along with classic boardwalk treats, fresh theming, and entertainment.

• Barrels O’ Fun: This spinning family coaster in wooden barrel-inspired cars that dip and twist like bobbing buoys on the surf, designed for young thrill seekers.

• Flying Scooters: A nostalgic favorite found on piers up and down the Shore puts you in control of your own flight around the boardwalk. Riders soar on winged scooters, using the sails to swing, dip, and glide—choosing between a gentle breeze or a more thrilling ride with each push and pull.

• Wave Swinger is a breezy seaside swing ride that lifts you into the air, spinning  above the midway with sweeping Boardwalk views and a weightless, soaring sensation. It evokes the nostalgia of the Flying Wave, which thrilled generations at Great Adventure from 1974 to 2007.

• Hypno Twister is a dazzling, light-drenched spinning ride that whirls you through swirling colors and hypnotic rotations. Four interlocking, rotating arms perform a mesmerizing dance that delivers pops of weightlessness.

• Super Roundup is a high-energy crowd pleaser that sends standing riders spinning in fast, accelerating circles as its platform tilts 80 degrees – with centrifugal force holding everyone to the wall. A classic that’s been delighting Great Adventure guests since 1974, Super Roundup reclaims its original name in a new location after a complete mechanical makeover, having previously twirled under the names Fantasy Fling, The Tornado and Swashbuckler.

The Shoreline Pier will feature entertainment from day into night. On select dates and times, guests can enjoy: stilt walkers, live musicians and roaming acts and performance artists.

When the sun goes down, Boardwalk Nights, will feature stage performances feature vocalists, dancers and gravity-defying acrobats.

Wild Safari Park

One of the iconic highlights of Six Flags Great Adventure is Wild Safari, one of the largest safaris outside of Africa, and home to more than 1,200 animals representing six continents. It offers guests up-close look at wildlife across expansive, naturalistic habitats via safari vehicles (no longer self-drive). The tour can now can be accessed from within the main park (Safari Off-Road Adventure, a 35-minute tour), as well as a separate tour from the Wild Safari Base Camp (a 45-minute tour).

Wild Safari Base Camp is a standalone wildlife experience at the main safari entrance. The area features animal encounters, educational presentations and interactive experiences aimed at deepening guests’ connection to wildlife.

You may well spot its newest arrival, a brown bear cub named JJ, born to mother Hollywood who are spending time together in their own dedicated habitat space among the park’s brown bears.

We do the Safari Off-Road Adventure from Frontier Station inside the theme park – no longer a self-drive, but you pack into a large open safari truck.

It is amazing for me that the last time I visited the Safari Park it was a self-drive experience and the same elephants we saw when my sons were boys (now fathers themselves) are still there and have been since 1974. 

The elephant, we learn, is a “keystone animal” which means if they are removed from their environment, it would cause the eco-system to collapse. Elephants clear trees that open up pathways for migratory animals and vistas to see predators.

We see giraffes, lions, elands, antelope, zebra, red kangaroos (we see baby roos), bears to list just a few of the 1,200 animals that inhabit the Safari Park (each time you visit, you would have a different experience – it is especially exciting to glimpse a newborn bear, J.J.). We come upon a herd of Barbary sheep where two are engaged in a headbutting joust.

The Safari Park is also dedicated to conservation and our tour guide highlights the fact that 40% of the population of lions in the wild and a similar percentage of giraffes are lost every 15 years.

The safari park is a conservation area – the 350 acres were acquired in the 1970s and 52 acres of it are kept pristine, attracting migratory birds, beaver, possum, turtles, eagles. (you can buy a $5 pin that helps fund the conservancy).

Our guide tells us that the wetlands are “nature’s air conditioner” – the flowers suck the humidity out of the air, keeping the air cool and dry.

You can actually overnight in luxurious glamping tents within the Safari Park, at its Savannah Sunset Resort – even feed giraffes that come right up to the porch which is raised up on stilts to eye level, and listen to the lions roaring at night (their enclosure is just a little beyond where the tents are). Glamping guests are driven in and out of the tent area by the resort (which is completely encircled by the safari park/habitat), and are given a tour of the safari park in those special vans instead of the big safari truck vehicles.

Motion is the Common Denominator

After our Safari Park tour, we venture throughout the park – seeing all manners of rides that have as a common denominator motion.

(If you ae prone to motion sickness we recommend taking Bonine or Dramamine 30-60 minutes before so you can enjoy the rides. Also, many of the rides require you to place absolutely everything that might fall or choke, like backpack, cell phone, etc. into lockers that are located right by the entrance to the specific ride – usually a clue as to the intensity of the experience.)

Among the heralded and noteworthy coasters:

THE JOKER™ has a unique track that runs in between the seats, so you are free flying through the ride. After strapping into your “4-D” wing vehicle, you shoot up 12 stories, zooming over hills and pivoting forward with only the sky to catch you. These seats were designed with a one-of-a-kind magnetic technology which allows you to swivel and free-fly with weightless effort.You plummet into a beyond-90° drop before shooting back up into the pandemonium for a series of sudden direction changes and flips as you tumble up and down the coaster’s levels. As if that weren’t enough, The JOKER sends you down a second ultra-steep drop before finally letting you go.

BATMAN-Inspired Experience (rated a 5 in thrill level) – reopening this spring – is an intense, 50-mph juggernaut. Climb aboard the BATMOBILE and prepare to sweep through the city suspended from an overhead track, your feet dangling in the air. With five inversions and enough G-force to plaster you to your seat, this ride is not for the timid. Following a 10-story lift to the top of the world, brace for a full 360-degree loop right from the start, then a fully inverted roll and a second loop about ten seconds later, a double set of wingover loops and corkscrew descents.  As you soar above the park, you briefly experience 4 G-force, pressing you to your seat with four-times the amount of normal gravity; all while taking on the gravity-defying twists and turns.

El Toro (rated 5) , an award-winning coaster, has been improved to provide a smoother ride experience. The coaster combines the aesthetics of a classic wooden ride with ultra-modern technology making it one of the best wooden roller coasters in the country. Ride up nearly 19 stories and brace for the first drop of 176 feet at a 76° angle—the steepest of any wooden roller coaster in the country. Fly through the tracks at a jaw-dropping 70 mph over a series of hills specifically designed to give you maximum airtime, meaning you’ll lift off your seat and defy gravity- a total of nine opportunities to experience zero gravity.

SUPERMAN™: Ultimate Flight (rated a 5 in thrill level)- The first coaster in which passengers ride parallel with the track, you flyface down, head first. The ascent begins by climbing 106 feet high, only to plunge down into a 50° angle drop, pressed into place by the strong G-force. Flying at 50 mph, you go headfirst into a pretzel-shaped loop, swooping up 78 feet high before diving back to the ground only to come right back up again. Then, take on a high-speed horseshoe curve, an insane helix and, finally, a 360° inversion which lands you back where you took off.

Skull Mountain (ranked 3 thrill level): With no light to guide you and plenty of twists and turns, this all-indoor roller coaster combines heart-pounding speed with the fear of the unknown. With only lanterns to guide you, you’ll take a seat in what looks like an old mine cart before the lights go out and you go full speed ahead. Suspended in darkness, you are sent down what feels like a 100-foot drop, but is really only 37 feet. You continue to twist and turn, completing horizontal helixes and drops that feel record breaking in the dark. Then, when you least expect it, you blast into daylight.

THE FLASH™: Vertical Velocity is the first boomerang coaster in North America, Once you strap in, you launch forward reaching speeds up to 59 mph. You travel through a 180° twisted drop, and zoom through the zero-g roll. Then,  right when you reach the vertical tower, you launch backward and do the whole course all over again.

Nitro (rated 5)- This over-the-top, intense “hypercoaster” goes all out in speed, height and airtime. You take off toward a 233-foot hill. At the top, you fly down a 215-foot drop at 80 mph as you zoom into the second hill, up another 181 feet high over the treetops, and down so fast you lift right out of your seat in pure weightlessness. Then you are blasted into the totally original hammerhead U-turn, a paralyzing swift reversal, into impossible horizontal loops, a 540° helix spiral and finish off with a series of camelback hills – traveling a whole mile of track.

Medusa (rated 5): Strap into the world’s first floorless coaster and prepare to climb 142 feet before you’re sent reeling down a twisting 132-foot drop at a 55° angle. You take flight through a 114-foot vertical loop, followed by a 96-foot dive loop. Then, a zero-gravity roll where you feel weightless as you move through the cobra-like track.

Runaway Mine Train (rated 4) appears tame but once you strap in, you haul up a 60-foot hill and drop 39 feet, your mine car losing all brake functions as you reach 38 mph. The train chugs through a series of twisty helixes and curves and a pulse-quickening drop across a shimmering lake

The starter coasters:

Lil’ Devil Coaster (still rated 3 for thrill): This small, mild thrill coaster is just the thing for Junior Thrillseekers to build courage (and height!) up for the max-thrill rides. This beginner thrill ride for kids has a top speed of 15 mph, a 13-foot drop and plenty of gentle twists and turns, so “even the most timid of riders can conquer this adventure.”

HARLEY QUINN™ Crazy Train is a family-friendly junior coaster. Take a seat in the crazy train and go 26 feet high, then take off on a figure-eight trail of small hills and crazy twists and turns at a max speed of 22 mph (“perfect for little villains as they train for the big coasters”).

Other family-friendly (non-coaster) rides: Air Jumbo; Air Safari; Barnstormer; Bugaboo (or thrill seeker), Bugs Bunny Camp Carousel; Bugs Bunny Ranger Pilots; Carousel; Daffy Duck Hot Air Balloons; Enchanted Teacups; Fender Benders; Giant Wheel; Jolly Roger spinning ride; Porky Pig Camp Wagons; Raja’s Rickshaws.

There aren’t many rides that do not involve thrilling coasters or heart-stopping, head-spinning motion. But for those (us) who are not coasties looking for the next thrill, we loved JUSTICE LEAGUE™: Battle for METROPOLIS (rated a 2) ride in MovieTown, where you sit in a car and get to shoot The Joker and Lex Luthor using your handy laser gun as you cruise through the streets of Metropolis. The visual effects are fun and the cars do twist and jerk (they can revolve 360 degrees), but just to the point where you might feel uncomfortable, so total fun.  At the end, you get to know your score (how many bad guys you shot) and you can purchase a photo of yourselves in the ride.

Another is Houdini’s Great Escape, a haunted mansion ride featuring an “ultimate” séance to bring the legendary magician back from beyond (it wasn’t open for our visit)

In addition, there are a score of water attractions like the Saw Mill Log Flume (a 4), and a whole separate Hurricane Harbor water park, one of the Northeast’s largest waterparks with more than 25 attractions.

To see descriptions of all the coasters: https://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/attractions?ride-category=coaster

To see descriptions of all the attractions: https://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/attractions

Motion-oriented rides dominate the experience at Six Flags. To prevent nausea, take over-the-counter motion sickness medication (like Dramamine or Bonine) 30-60 minutes before riding, eat a light, bland meal, and stay hydrated. On the ride, keep your head straight, look forward and avoid closing your eyes. Afterward, sit in the shade, sip water, and use ginger candy to settle your stomach. 

To get the most out of your visit, upgrade to the Fast Pass which lets you go through a much, much faster line.

For those who want to travel near to feel like you are going far, Six Flags Great Adventure is a great destination – just three gallons of gas each way to be transported into a fantasy land.

Six Flags Great Adventure boasts four attractions: Six Flags Great Adventure, Hurricane Harbor, Wild Safari and Savanah Sunset Resort and Spa.

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is one of North America’s largest regional amusement-resort operators with 26 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties across 16 states in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The Company also manages an amusement park in Saudi Arabia.

Six Flags Great Adventure, 1 Six Flags Blvd, Jackson Township, NJ 08527, 732-928-2000, www.sixflags.com/greatadventure.

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