Rumor After the Boardwalk Renovation & Coaster

[paintervision]

I think with the placement of the lift hill/drop you’d need to pull a Carowinds entrance for Superman and have a tunnel under and a truss over, which would honestly be pretty cool.

It's just fun to imagine something filling in all the void space around the Boardwalk area. If GCI does a metal structure or uses more I-beams, that may cut down on the supports needed for taller sections?

North of that (in the old GL lift turnaround that's "behind" Superman's lift) could also go a new haunted house and outdoor queue setup, and I could see them building that during the year to be ready by the Fall (like they did with the Stranger Things house a few years back).

Maybe we'll get that by the end of the decade, but I don't think they are going for four new coasters in a row - also seems to be hinting that the kids areas are next in line for renovations. I also think there may be a linking pathway under the Purple coaster that makes this less of a dead-end, which may put Golden Kingdom on deck for improvements first?

 

[Tacky3663]

It's just fun to imagine something filling in all the void space around the Boardwalk area. If GCI does a metal structure or uses more I-beams, that may cut down on the supports needed for taller sections?

North of that (in the old GL lift turnaround that's "behind" Superman's lift) could also go a new haunted house and outdoor queue setup, and I could see them building that during the year to be ready by the Fall (like they did with the Stranger Things house a few years back).

Maybe we'll get that by the end of the decade, but I don't think they are going for four new coasters in a row - also seems to be hinting that the kids areas are next in line for renovations.

I don’t know if they’d do a wooden coaster here, at least from what I was told, they’re more focused on steel.

 

[RDL]

I remember seeing a new kids area in that survey from awhile back (the one with the drop tower and the flat package which I assume was the one that was announced today)

I wonder if they will do both that and the drop tower for 2028?

 

[paintervision]

I don’t know if they’d do a wooden coaster here, at least from what I was told, they’re more focused on steel.

There was an interview from PR guy Ryan Eldredge saying this a family wooden coaster was a clear gap in Great Adventure's line-up when asked about Rolling Thunder. I think he even compared it to Thunderhawk as a family coaster stepping-stone, something about how many good wooden coasters have survived in the Northeast but this park didn't have one?

I do think a wooden coaster fits in between the Wild Mouse and Superman/Purple Coaster in terms of thrill level.

 

[northdetective]

There was an interview from PR guy Ryan Eldredge saying this a family wooden coaster was a clear gap in Great Adventure's line-up when asked about Rolling Thunder. I think he even compared it to Thunderhawk as a family coaster stepping-stone, something about how many good wooden coasters have survived in the Northeast but this park didn't have one?

I do think a wooden coaster fits in between the Wild Mouse and Superman/Purple Coaster in terms of thrill level.

(40:33 - 41:08) "It's funny because coincidentally people always ask me, 'What would you do with Great Adventure?' The one thing about Great Adventure that I say a lot is like through some of the ride removals — because you're you're trying to be the thrill capital, so it's deliberate — but there are some rides that were removed that I think are like 'soul rides.' Like when you don't have them in a park, it's just kind of like the soul of the park doesn't feel the same. Rolling Thunder is like one of those and like maybe people aren't loud about it, but when you have like an old classic wooden roller coaster, there's just something about it that tells you like 'I'm in the Northeast, and this is where we preserve our history.'"

I am very encouraged by the sentiment behind this quote, and even though I feel it's at odds with the park's more recent history, I know that's not his fault directly. The bolded part does make me concerned that the northdetective project's commitment to history and locale has not yet been brought to Mr. Eldredge's attention, but the overall understanding of the importance of respecting both concepts and using them in the development of Great Adventure's future makes me hopeful

Here's the quote

Personally I think something closer to a Bobcat-scale Gravity Group woodie would be better at closing the "thrill gap" in the lineup. But Wild One would do it even better than that

 

[paintervision]

Here's the quote

Thanks! I knew I didn't make it up

Personally I think something closer to a Bobcat-scale Gravity Group woodie would be better at closing the "thrill gap" in the lineup. But Wild One would do it even better than that

That would work too. A wooden coaster in this spot would be great: you'd see it on the skyline, from the parking lot and entrance. It would work so well with the Boardwalk setting and plug a gap within the park's lineup. And if they do popcorn running lights at night, that adds a lot to the atmosphere of the park in a way that the other steel coasters don't. It would tie the games areas and the new sections together real well.

It may not be a priority one, but I am willing to wait a few years to see it done right. (That is, assuming that the current management sticks around that long, which... who knows). A Rapterra/Jungle-X situation, where they finish it over time?

 

[GASM]

Personally I think something closer to a Bobcat-scale Gravity Group woodie would be better at closing the "thrill gap" in the lineup.

If it ain’t Wild One, this is the answer. That DDD/go karts plot is ripe for a GG woodie.

 

[RDL]

@DWNitro I figured I’d respond to your reply here since I don’t wanna go off topic in the other thread

Superman getting rethemed, and then Nitro being rethemed to Superman? Thoosies would hate that but I’d honestly be very open to it. A big blue and red B&M hyper would look beautiful, and it’d work really well next to Batman.

DC theming is fine if it’s all in its own area. Nitro really hasn’t had a theme ever, and its queue line looks like a prison. Anything to give that thing some love would be a welcomed development

 

[GASM]

As much as I can’t be bothered to care about DC, I’d also be perfectly fine with this, assuming they just copy the paint scheme of Goliath at La Ronde. Nitro’s close enough to the rest of the DC rides aside from Joker/HQ that it would fit right in.

 

[michaellynn4]

It would create way too much confusion with the vast majority of park guests.

 

[ski4ever5]

I’d be okay with a Nitro > Superman retheme if they re-routed the queue so you enter over by the arena; otherwise I think it would break theme too much with the new Pine Barrens

 

[Nitro230]

@DWNitro I figured I’d respond to your reply here since I don’t wanna go off topic in the other thread

Superman getting rethemed, and then Nitro being rethemed to Superman? Thoosies would hate that but I’d honestly be very open to it. A big blue and red B&M hyper would look beautiful, and it’d work really well next to Batman.

DC theming is fine if it’s all in its own area. Nitro really hasn’t had a theme ever, and its queue line looks like a prison. Anything to give that thing some love would be a welcomed development

Yeah I would definitely not be happy with it. The DC theming is fine in movie town but outside of that it needs to go. Nitro really isn't part of that area and it's one of the park's big three rides once the 2027 coaster goes in. Traditionally at Great Adventure the big 3 have all had their own original name and theme (or at least style cause Nitro is not themed). For the last 20 years the park's headlining attractions were Kingda Ka, El Toro, and Nitro. I would be really disappointed to see them expand the DC theme instead of try to expand/revisit the Pine Barrens theme to incorporate Nitro and Roaring Rapids. If you want to add a superman themed ride it's still doable. There is definitely still room for a larger flat ride or something in that area that you could name after Superman. Nitro needs a refresh but NOT with a DC theme.

 

[northdetective]

That's part of why I don't understand the desire for "theme" if it's gonna be inconsistent. If Superman got a retheme it'd be because it thematically doesn't fit in the boardwalk. I get that the generic "Nitro" "theme" doesn't precisely fit the Pine Barrens, but retheming to Superman is even more incongruous. I previously made the argument that a Nitro renaming is not well advised because they don't need to confuse the public about which of their flagship coasters are still standing. Renaming Nitro to Superman creates even more ambiguity than just renaming Nitro. They could always "theme" Nitro to the New Egypt Speedway if they felt it needed to be better integrated into the Pine Barrens. Also Batman and the Dark Knight being adjacent to the Pine Barrens is lore-consistent given that Gotham is canonically in South Jersey.

Localism is good, fun, and has few to no licensing fees. If there has to be a Nitro renaming, I hope they can cook up something piney

 

[DWNitro]

Yeah, I definitely wasn’t advocating for this change, more so just trying to float and idea through their eyes if they’re trying to align all the theming with the areas. I’d rather them cook up a story for Nitro, maybe as some Protector of the Pinelands hero and Jersey Devil can be the villain of that story. I just figure most DC areas (if not all?) at Six Flags parks have some prescience of Superman in their big rides, so maybe they would look at just putting that on Nitro. Hopefully that doesn’t end up the case

 

[Mushroom]

That's part of why I don't understand the desire for "theme" if it's gonna be inconsistent. If Superman got a retheme it'd be because it thematically doesn't fit in the boardwalk. I get that the generic "Nitro" "theme" doesn't precisely fit the Pine Barrens, but retheming to Superman is even more incongruous. I previously made the argument that a Nitro renaming is not well advised because they don't need to confuse the public about which of their flagship coasters are still standing. Renaming Nitro to Superman creates even more ambiguity than just renaming Nitro. They could always "theme" Nitro to the New Egypt Speedway if they felt it needed to be better integrated into the Pine Barrens. Also Batman and the Dark Knight being adjacent to the Pine Barrens is lore-consistent given that Gotham is canonically in South Jersey.

Localism is good, fun, and has few to no licensing fees. If there has to be a Nitro renaming, I hope they can cook up something piney

I’m with you on this. It feels like the best solution would be for them to get creative and pick a theme that allows the Nitro name to still work. I’m not familiar enough with the area of the park or the locale to know what that theme would be, but I’m sure a good creative team could figure it out. It’s the smartest compromise between giving guests a new theme and setting while preserving the familiar name to limit confusion.

I’m drawing blank on examples of parks that have done this, but one loose example would be Rock n’ Rollercoaster at DHS effectively getting a full retheme but still being called Rock n’ Rollercoaster for continuity. Or making up an example from a park I’m more familiar with, it’s like if KD gave Dominator a nautical theme and they made “Dominator” the in-universe name of some infamous pirate or his ship.

Plus, I think it’s a fun thought exercise because creative constraint breeds some of the most interesting work. I think it’s more satisfying to see how someone fits creative work within an existing parameter (in this case, a name) instead of having a blank slate. DCA’s transformation, for example, and seeing how Imagineers had to get scrappy and turn a cheaply built park into something Disney-quality, will always fascinate me.

 

[Nitro230]

I feel like the best example for how a Nitro theme could work is Orion. A space theme would work exceptionally well with a new color scheme. The overall infrastructure wouldn't need major work, just some sprucing up and themed elements added. However, I do feel like a lot of these decisions come down to what ends up happening with Roaring Rapids. RR fits in well with the Pine Barrens theme, add some additional theming elements in and it could work well. That would make Nitro kinda feel like the odd one out though. The flip side of that though, is that RR is a really old ride. We've seen much newer rapids rides get taken out across the country and I don't necessarily think it's that crazy to believe RR could be on its way out. Essentially, the way I see it, if RR goes away I would think they go with a more Orion type of theme, if RR is here for a while longer I would assume Nitro gets a much more major retheme to fit in with the Pine Barrens theme.

 

[abs227]

I think Nitro should be themed to a glass furnace that gets out of control and starts a wildfire. It would allow you to keep the name (story wise, you could simply say it was called the Nitro Glassworks), while integrating it better into the pine barrens area and paying homage to local industry similar to Iron Menace.

It could probably be accomplished simply by repainting it to have orange track, renovating the station to appear more like a historic pine barrens village, and adding some props and signs into the queue.

 

[MikeGS6789]

Make it part of the pine barrens, keep the Nitro name and theme it to the Air Force/military. The Warren Grove range is nearby within the pine barrens and is used by the military for weapons testing and training.

 

[northdetective]

I would love to see rides/lands themed to:

Ong's Hat (lore-rich ghost town in Burlington County, also the name/setting of one of the first ARGs)

War of the Worlds and its Martian invasion, set in Grovers Mill

Naval Weapons Station Earle/Leonardo Piers (call the coaster Normandy Road) or Fort Dix/Lakehurst/Military Land

Something parachutey to stop original Great Adventure land owner and "parachute pioneer" Stanley Switlik from rolling over in his grave (he never wanted the amusement park at all now that I think of it. So I wonder whether parachuter's perch was taken as an homage or a triumphant insult by him)

Apple Pie Hill and its iconic fire tower

and the next IP partnership better be the introduction of Ocean Spray Cranberry Land (SFNE can get one too)

 

[harry580]

if superman theming were to move to movietown, its be either a: a simulator ride in the showcase theater building (built a new indoor theater in half of dare devil dive space) or b: a drop tower called superman tower of power in either musik express space (that space wasn't taken over by flash) or cyborg space