Great Adventure Fright Fest, celebrate the 22nd year, with family-friendly Thrills by Day and even more Fright by Night. Great fun for the whole family! #Travel

This past Saturday we were able to spend a spooky and sun day at Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. Six Flags Great Adventure is a place we had gone to a few times before but haven’t been back in a few years and we were eager to see what had changed in that time and see what it was like going with our daughter, the last time we were there we were still just dating and didn't have a kid! My how things have changed….

We got an early start to our day and thanks in part to little traffic on the Jersey turnpike we were at Great Adventure in about 40 minutes, that meant we were able to get a primo parking spot and get to ride a bunch of rides before the crowds got too big to deal with. 

With fall being here you also get to partake in Fright Fest, Halloween was everywhere in the park if you didn’t notice that you are oblivious! The fountain was not pumping out water it was pumping out blood! Ok so it may not be real blood it’s was water dyed red to give it a chilling effect but our daughter totally loved it and we had to stop and look at it every time we walked past it. 

We were a little unsure how she’d react to Great Adventure, she’s timid when trying new things and scared of most rides but she totally jumped in feet first! She was dragging us from ride to ride and was willing to go on rides like Skull Mountain that I didn’t think she’d ever want to ride, she was a little scared at first but once she felt the wind in her hair she was happy.  But we were truly blown away when she wanted to ride the Buccaneer! It’s a Gravitron type ride that I thought would be too much for her but she was really brave and absolutely loved that ride like no other ride she’s ever been on. The rest of the day and in the subsequent days since we visited she keeps talking about the Buccaneer and how she can’t wait to ride it again.

We were able to enjoy the Safari experience for the first time, we so so many wonderful animals it was an amazing time. Just a tip, if you are planning to go to the Safari on your next trip to Great Adventure, make this your first stop, the lines can get very long. 

 

There is a nice mix of rides in Great Adventure, you have your thrill rides for those of you with strong constitutions, you have a nice assortment of family rides and there is a nice section for kids. 

We wandered around the park for a solid six hours and had a blast, we would have stayed longer but since it was my husband’s birthday we had to get back home to do a family party. My daughter may have been a bit afraid of the festivities that happened after 6pm.  We were warned that the really scary stuff was for kids 12 and up and those who did not scare easily.

My daughter is 8 a little too young for the really gruesome stuff, but fear not, were there many great "fright fest" fun that she could partake in, sure there was. I loved that on each of the maps there was a detailed breakdown of what was scary and what was family friendly. We did just about every family friendly haunted activity there was to offer and there were plenty of non-scary activities including:
Trick-or-Treat Trail
Professors Slithers' Creepy Critters
Six Flags Spooktacular Street Party
The Spooky, Kooky Magic Show. 
And more!

But before we left we were able to do a little trick or treating and take our pictures with some characters. Porky, Daffy Duck, and Lola the bunny were all decked out in their Halloween costumes so we stopped for candy and photos, who doesn't like candy?!

 Of course they had some themed treats, including peeps Halloween hot chocolate! It was adorable, and of course very good. 

We didn’t do any real scary things like we did in the past at Fright Fest because at that time we didn’t have a 8 year old with us! Even thought our Fright Fest didn’t have that many frightening moments in it we still had a great time at Great Adventure and we promised our daughter we will be taking her back next year. She’s already starting her countdown!

Terrifying Fright by Night Entertainment

After 6 pm, the festival transitions to “fright by night” as nearly 200 zombies are released into the park. This fall, the park will introduce a new terror trail – Total Darkness, a blackout maze.  Lakefront will be home to a new scare zone, Straw-Man Stalkers, with blood-thirsty scarecrows.  Terror Trail favorites like Voodoo Island, Asylum, Wasteland and The Manor, now indoors, will return to terrorize guests. In total, Six Flags will offer six haunted walk-through and four scare zones.

Chilling Thrills by Day Entertainment

By day, families can enjoy favorites like the Trick-or-Treat Trail, Professor Slithers’ Creepy Critters animal show and Spooky Kooky Magic Show plus the new Monster Maze, a corn maze including some of Halloween’s most famous characters.  At the Wilderness Theater, guests can enjoy the new Doc Snooker’s Halloween Time Machine, a zany show for all ages.  Guests can also challenge the park’s famous line-up of thrill rides including El Toro, Kingda Ka and Nitro, and the new Safari Off Road Adventure.

Thrills by Day—Geared to Families (included with park admission unless noted)
 • NEW! Monster Maze—Kids and kids-at-heart can find their way through this new corn maze with surprises
  from some of Halloween’s most famous characters.
• NEW! Doc Snooker’s Halloween Time Machine—Go back in time with hilarious Doc Snooker to reincarnate some of Halloween’s most notorious characters (begins Sept. 20).
• Trick-or-Treat Trail—Trick-or-treating and meet-and-greets with the Looney Tunes characters.
• Professor Slithers’ Creepy Critters—The zany professor hosts this animal show featuring snakes and reptiles.
• The Spooky Kooky Magic Show—Kids’ magic show featuring master illusionist Doc Swan.
• Six Flags Spooktacular Street Party—Street dance party featuring Halloween hits.
• Seafari Theater—Animal presentation featuring Asian small-clawed otters.
• Dawn of the Dead & Local—Live music showcase from local artists.
• Sea Lion Scary Tales—Halloween-themed sea lion show.

Theme Park Hours:

Fright Fest begins Sept. 13 and runs weekends through Oct. 27, 2013.

Operating Dates and Hours

There are plenty of Thrills by Day events that are geared to families as well as thrills by night that are geared to teens and adults. Some Halloween activities have an added charge. Please check out Six Flags Great Adventure for more Fright Fest information.

Operating Dates and Hours – Weekends September 13 through October 27^th 2013

Friday Evenings: Sept 13- 5:30 to 10pm, Sept 20, 27, Oct 4, 11, 18, 25 – 5:30 to 11pm

Saturdays: Sept 14 – 10:30am – 10pm, Sept 21, 28 Oct 5, 12, 19, 26 10:30am to 11pm

Sundays: Sept 15 – 10:30 am to 9pm, Sept 22, 29 – 10:30am to 11pm Oct 6, 13,20,27 10:30 to 11pm.

Monday: Oct 14 – 10:30 to 10:00pm

Pricing:

Online Price:                                   Varies - $20 to $5 Savings

General Admission:                          $65.99 +Tax

Junior Admission (under 54” tall)        $39.99 + Tax

Age 2 and under                              Free

Have you ever been to Great Adventure's "Fright Fest"? How would your family love this creepy place?


 




Disclosure: The reviews and or opinions on this blog are my own opinions . I received tickets to experience Fright Fest for this review. No monitory compensation was received. I was not required to write a positive review. Your experience may differ. The opinions I have expressed are my own I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement and Testimonials in Advertising .

Be sure to take in some old fashioned baseball fun at a Camden Riversharks baseball game this summer! #Travel #Riversharks

Are you a big baseball fan, do you love to take in live games there is nothing like it. A great way to see a baseball game, is to check out a minor league team. I would like to introduce you all to a great local minor league team that plays right across the river in Camden, the Riversharks, here is a little more information about the Riversharks from the website.

 

Sahara Sam's Oasis Indoor & Outdoor Water Park a great family fun place!

  Are you looking for a fun day out with the family in the Philadelphia/ New Jersey area? Well I would love to introduce you all to Sahara Sam's Oasis Indoor & Outdoor Water Park!

Featuring 60,000 sq. ft of water attractions, including NJ's only indoor surfing simulator. We also feature a 3,000 sq foot modern arcade, full service cafe, and the WORLD'S TALLEST ropes course! Book the best birthday party, private event, or entertain your staff!

Ripley's Believe it or Not, a great place to visit in Atlantic City!

This past Saturday we took a trip down the Atlantic City Express Way to well Atlantic City and one of things we were able to do was visit the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. 

My husband and I grew up watching the old Ripley's shows hosted by Jack Palance and then when the modern version came on with Dean Cain we watched that as well, we're both fans of oddities and strange things and we're raising our daughter to appreciate the weird as well. 

She couldn't wait to see everything but the one thing she really couldn't wait to see was the life size statue of Robert Wadlow the World's Tallest Man. Once my husband told her that he was almost 9 feet tall (8' 11" to be precise) she became fixated on seeing that statue! The whole trip down she went on and on about seeing it and we kept telling her there is a lot more to see.....that went right over her head as she was hyper-focused on seeing this really tall guy. 

 
 

 We arrived at the museum a few minutes after they opened and that's when our daughter got her wish standing right inside the entrance is the nearly 9 feet tall statue of Robert Wadlow! She nearly exploded, I'm not kidding, I've never seen her this "geeked up" (my husbands term) over something that wasn't a toy or game.

 She made a flat Stanley for school so she put her flattie next to Big Bob and the flattie was about shin high, my daughter stood next to him and was about knee high, I was mid thigh and my husband was about belly button high. He was immense and I can only imagine what it would have been like to see him live and in person it had to be impressive.

 From there we started our tour, I love the way museum is laid out and how you go from room to room, you don't get confused or lost as in some museums. From a 2 headed calf to a Jack Sparrow made out of used car parts to matchstick art that is so impressive with it's level of detail this museum has it all. From the odd to the strange to the bizarre (there is a difference to them all!) It's all here at the Ripley's Museum. 

We were lost in the museum (in a good way) for almost 2 hours. My daughter's obsession went from Big Bob to the feet binding that they used to do in China, she was astonished that a foot could be made to look like that and throughout the entire museum she just kept talking about it and asking us question we couldn't answer! She finally stopped talking when she discovered the mirage that is set up towards the end of the museum, you see a beach girl with a towel or do you??

My husband pointed out the girl my daughter looked and when she continued on her way was floored when the girl wasn't there! She kept running back and forth and was astonished at how she vanished she thought it was the coolest thing....until we got to the end of the museum and the spinning tunnel. At first she was apprehensive and a little scared it was dark and spinning, my husband told her to watch him walk through it and see what happens as he was walking down the tunnel he kept walking into the railing since his balance was all outta whack, he came back through and again kept hitting the railing! That was all my daughter needed to see. 

She kept going back and forth trying to not hit anything and we were laughing and having a great time with that until we realized just how dizzy we all were and had to stop before a protein spill happened! We had a great Saturday at the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, if you're ever in the area of a Ripley's Museum go in you'll have a great time looking at all the odd and amazing things they have. And just for the record she's still fixated on Robert Wadlow......

So if you are looking for a fun family place to visit when you are in the Atlantic City NJ area, Ripley's is an affordable fun place your family will love!

Make sure to visit Ripley's Believe it or Not in Atlantic City. If you are not close to AC, there are many other locations check out Ripley's!

Current Operating Hours:

• Monday – Friday               11 am to 8 pm
• Saturday                             10 am to 9 pm
• Sunday                                10 am to 8 pm

  Ticket Prices for Ripley’s

• Adult (13 and up) $15.99 + tax
• Child (5-12) $9.99 + tax
• Child (4 and younger) free
• Seniors (65+) $12.99 + tax

Susan S. Disclosure: The reviews and or opinions on this blog are my own opinions . I received tickets to review. No monitory compensation was received. I was not required to write a positive review. Your experience may differ. The opinions I have expressed are my own I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement and Testimonials in Advertising .