NYC Day Trips - Six Flags, Great Adventures in New Jersey

Located in Jackson, New Jersey Six Flags - Great Adventures is a mighty attraction in our area.

I recall visiting this wonderful theme park when I was a child and being driven through the Wildlife Safari wherein animals of all sorts came up to our car. Heck, we broke the rules back then by feeding an Oreo Cookie to a very curious Ostrich. (and no, you're not supposed to feed the animals). We've returned on a regular basis and it's all just as I remember it. Fun, fun and then even more fun! The rides there will satisfy the kid in everyone and yes, there are rides as well for the kids. You may want to see some of the many photos we'd taken during our first 2005 season visit.

Last Year's Posting: We can't wait to return and catch up on all that we'd missed during our last visit. There's the magic show we're anxious to see as well as the Temple of the Tiger Exhibit featuring Bengal Tigers performing for one and all...'and Crud! We even missed out on Kingda Ka which is to be the tallest and fastest rollercoaster on Earth! Yours truly stopped to ask folks as they'd left the ride and well, they were all speechless. We'll be sure to ride this coaster on our next trip to Six Flags. As big as this park is and as many people there are visiting, there's always something for everyone. So why not give a chance if you haven't as of yet? Heck, we can't wait for Autumn when the air is brisk and sharp and they'll have their Fright Fest with the park all dolled up and ready for Halloween.

Visiting:

Certain things to keep in mind follow:

• The Parking lot is huge. So although you'll be allowed to exit and enter the park by having your hand stamped, you may not find yourself doing this often if at all considering the immense size of the parking area. Mind you, the disabled parking is of course conveniently located near the entrance. Yours truly being disabled had no problem whatsoever in this regard.
• Lockers are available within for a cost. These would come in handy should you be carrying something which can't be brought onboard some of the many rides.
• Food is not allowed at entry.

History:

It all started many years ago when Angus Wynne, a Texas Oil Barren got the vision to create a theme park to end all others. The first Six Flags Over Texas opened in 1961 and the subsequent park openings continued all over America. Today Six Flags owns and operates 30 parks across the country with what seems to be more on the way.

Getting there:

• Besides getting there by car which we'll discuss below on this page, there's also the NJ Transit Bus which leaves from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. According to their site as of this writing, buses depart from NYC at 9:30am and will return you in the evening at and around 10:20pm. Visit their site for additional details.
• Travel Time by car from midtown Manhattan came to 1.5 hours for us considering a traffic accident along the way which slowed us down...no, not ours.
  Our own car trip to Great Adventures was pretty simple and straightforward. We took the Lincoln Tunnel from NYC onto the Jersey Side where we got onto Interstate 95 heading south (note that this changes into the NJ Turnpike. We then rode along until we came across Interstate 195 heading East and got off at Exit 16A. From there on you should see signs along the way indicating that Six Flags is ahead.)
• Also take a look at the map link on the right hand side of this page plus visit MSN Maps for detailed driving instructions on how to get there. Plus, if you're using any sort of other mapping software then consider that the address for Six Flags is: 599 Monmouth Rd, Jackson, NJ 08527

Click on any one of these photos for larger versions