Forgiving Great Adventure for killing The Great American Scream Machine won’t be easy. I figured that if The Green Lantern Coaster blew me away that I’d have an easy time forgetting about one of my favorite coasters of my youth, but no matter how insane the rides get I’ll always have a thing for The Great American Scream Machine. When I was a kid that was the coaster that got major hype, and rightfully so. As the ride started to decline in popularity I would go on it 6 or 7 times per visit. Good luck pulling that off on the new Green Lantern Coaster, even if you have a Flash Pass! Is the new Green Lantern coaster worth waiting on the long lines for? Slip on your power ring and continue reading to find out!
Now, situated to the right of Superman Ultimate Flight, there’s an enormous power lantern near the entrance. A schnazzy graphic of Green Lantern towers above the beginning of the line. Since this was a season pass only preview there were a lot of pissed off people hanging around this area. I thought this was the long line for the ride, but it was mostly people who didn’t have season passes and were walking away disgruntled. Our wait was less than a mere half hour. While on the line I was pleased to see that similar to Superman Ultimate Flight, there are large comic book panels posted around the ride queue familiarizing those on line with the Green Lantern mythos. It makes me happy anytime the DC Universe is properly represented in a theme park.
After the wait, we were ready to strap ourselves in. The engineer emphasizes that everyone needs to stand up straight and that they can’t sit down on the annoying crotch piece that protrudes from between your legs. This intruding part of the harness is shoved right up under your crotch! Right off the bat I wasn’t a big fan of it because it was uncomfortable. If you’re a guy and plan on riding this, I recommend opting for boxer briefs the day you plan on riding they’ll keep everything nice and secure. Aside from that minor gripe, the ride was pretty damn exciting.
The GL Coaster is innovative and utilizes the most up to date technology to make for an intense experience. As we made our slow ascent, there was audio from the GL characters pumped through the speakers. From there, it epitomizes the term thrill ride. It’s a full throttle and packed with stomach tickling excitement. The speed of the ride is really what left the biggest impression on me. You’ll be tearing through the air at 63 mph. Obviously stay away if you’re not a roller coaster person, but even if you are, this one is not for the amateurs.
Great Adventure History is a treasure trove of New Jersey theme park goodness. If you are fan of Six Flags G.A and have been going there since you were a kid, this site offers so much park history and ephemera that you might not be aware of. Block out some time on your schedule though because I wound up reading it for solid couple of hours.