Jersey Devil (Six Flags Great Adventure)

On a scorching Saturday up in NJ, we were able to make our way to SFGA bright and early to try to be the firsts on JDC for the morning. We figured a short day, as we knew El Toro was still down after its derailment and Kingda Ka hadn't been running well... that essentially eliminates a back 1/3 of the park (poor Bizarro location). Sure enough as we were walking towards the coaster, we saw a train go up... with people..? Before opening time..? Very unlike SFGA so we bolted for the entrance. And then we saw the signs.

NO ANYTHING.

For real, no objects of any kind in your pockets even if they can zip and velcro or you have a fanny pack. So we ran to the lockers... they're not free. Six Flags is such a sad scam, can't believe that they are not hit with class action lawsuits every year.

We decided to ride separately instead and hold each other's stuff. After all, JDC is single-file single-rail so no point in riding together if it costs money. I got on first, waited five minutes and got the second-to-last seat. The restraints are surprisingly more comfortable than the Golden Lasso... similar to it, the train is constantly moving which keeps everything going; that said, there are only two trains (at least when we were there).

The lift up is slow even for an RMC and mostly uneventful. Then the first drop... excellent. Just enough speed coming off the lift to make it not too aggressive but get a little pop of air as you head towards the inversion. Whipping around to a nice ejector hill, you hit the extended stall. Excellent stall! Enjoy it much more than the one on Velocicoaster, which I feel doesn't take advantage. You hit the turnaround... RMC doesn't seem to do these very well as it was just as jerky as Golden Lasso's first drop. One more silky smooth inversion before a brake run. A low turnaround and three twisty bunny hops later and you hit the final brake run.

I was extremely pleased with this. After Golden Lasso, I thought for sure JDC would be an improvement as the layout didn't have to be contorted into a small footprint, but it's elongated shape allowed for just smooth not jerky elements. On the slow roll back into the station, I waved to Britt to run towards the entrance. We switched belongings from her to me and she ran on. Five minutes later, I saw her head up in the back row... lucky. She didn't enjoy the ride as much as me, still felt little jerky to her. Once off, it was one more time for me. Had to take advantage of such a short line. Such a different atmosphere from a UO or Disney where people are stacking at the entrance an hour before the park opens.

Jersey Devil is a great addition to this already stellar lineup. Would say if RMC was able to get Rolling Thunder in before they demolished it, this would have the best lineup of all Six Flags besides Magic Mountain. That said, it's disappointing that Six Flags has decided to screw people even worse with its idiotic articles policy, which makes this impossible to ride for any single rider out there. Guess it wouldn't be a Six Flags Day without something like that though.