Whipping winds, roaring rapids, and horrifying heights were the amusement park trinity I experienced at Six Flags Great Adventure theme park in Jackson Township, New Jersey.

Built in 1974, the park offers 66 rides, with notable ones being the world’s tallest roller coaster, Kingda Ka, and other rides such as El Toro and the Joker. While the prices for food and drinks were amusement-park-level high, the Jersey Devil BBQ did serve a mouth-watering pulled pork sandwich, and the “all-you-can-drink” sippy cup is a bang-for-your-buck kind of deal. 

The park is a great way to spend a hot summer’s day and below is a review of the top rides I rode: 

Nitro:

This is the only ride I’ve gone on three times in a row, nonstop. There is about a twenty-second slow, gripping build-up to the biggest fall in the beginning, a fall that leads into a series of beautiful scenic views overlooking a lush, green forest and a small pond. With speeds peaking at 80 mph and a high-drop of 215 feet, Nitro made me scream in terror the entire time. While this ride doesn’t have any loop-de-loops, the G-force’s on it can hit hard; I even blacked out a little during one of the more intense sections. The third time I rode it, I was fortunate enough to experience the front row, and wow, the views were even better up there. 

Skull Mountain: 

If there were three words that described the theme of this ride, they would be: mild rave party. This fully-enclosed roller coaster comes with quick drops and swift turns paired with pumping music and flashing lights. While the layout of the ride itself was not the most scary, the mostly pitch-black interior made each drop unexpected. To be honest, this is a ride that I would be comfortable with taking my little sister on: it’s a mild scare that’s great for first-time riders. 

Jersey Devil: 

This ride was inspired by the myth of the Jersey Devil, a mythical creature who is said to live in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. A single-rail roller coaster that goes up to 58 mph, this ride features a steep drop that extends into a dive loop, a series of shocking inversions, and  a zero-G-force stall where the track turns 180-degrees, making riders feel pure weightlessness for a few brief seconds. I was able to sit near the front of the train, so I felt the speed of this ride full-force; all I can say is that this devil was the perfect combination of speed, hills, and unexpected twists. 

Roaring Rapids:

As someone who has been white-water rafting, Roaring Rapids was a pretty accurate representation of the experience. The short ride features a 12-seat round river raft that carries riders through an intense downstream flow, one where riders are met with intense whirlpools, unpredictable falls, a lot of sharp swerves, all while being absolutely drenched by the water that splashes around. After the ride finished, half of my body was soaked and my shoes sloshed from how wet they were. If you plan on riding the Roaring Rapids, don’t plan on staying dry!

Sky Screamer: 

Let me start by saying: do not wear a hat on this ride, or anything  that could easily detach or fall off. While the beautifully decorated star-shaped gondola and swing-chair seats make the ride look mild, the feeling of being swung in a 98-foot circle around the center base at 40 mph, 242 feet above the ground, or 24 stories high, was absolutely terrifying. However, the winds and the views up there were insane; I felt like I was overlooking the entire park while on this ride. 

The next time you swing by New Jersey, don’t forget to cross off Six Flags Great Adventure as one of the top attractions to experience!