Jersey Devil Coaster opening at Six Flags Great Adventure; here's what riders think
JACKSON - On any sunny day, the rumbles of roller coasters can be heard ripping across Six Flags Great Adventure.
But on Thursday, the sound had a new, different pitch, as eager parkgoers strapped into the Jersey Devil Coaster for the first time, straddling the monorail on which the cars balance for 3,000 feet of track and nervously tapping their toes as the cars started cranking up a 130-foot hill.
And then, one by one, they screamed their heads off on the way back down.
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"It is fantastic. It is so much fun. That first drop on it is amazing," said Monmouth Beach resident Angelica Shuhala, smiling ear to ear as she ran down the ramp after her first time on the Jersey Devil Coaster.
"I had a blast. I can't wait to go again," she said, before taking off — without a second thought — and running up to ride it one more time.
After over a year of delays during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jersey Devil Coaster will open for the general public on Sunday.
The roller coaster, billed as the tallest, longest and fastest single-rail coaster in the world, hurtles parkgoers across 3,000 feet of track, reaching speeds of up to 58 mph as the cars — with 12 riders arranged single-file — drop 130 feet at an acute 87-degree angle.
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But in a park with a history of iconic roller coasters, what makes the Jersey Devil Coaster stand out isn’t the loops, the hairpin turns or corkscrew rolls. The most unique part of the ride is the track itself — one smooth, orange monorail that leaves riders feeling closer to a roller coaster than they’ve ever felt before, virtually straddling the track from beginning to end.
"Your legs actually straddle the rail," said Bret Ulozas, the New Jersey representative to American Coaster Enthusiasts, a nationwide group of roller coaster fans and aficionados. "It's as close as you're ever going to get to being on a roller coaster track. You're really just a part of the ride."
"You don't see coasters that are a single rail. Riding one of these things is like riding no other coaster you've ever been on," said Michael Reitz, an engineer with Six Flags. "And I think it just adds to this feeling of openness all around you."
The ride is named after the Garden State's favorite cryptid, rumored to haunt the Pine Barrens — literally next door to the park.
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Unlike most of the park's biggest rides, which are themed after DC Comics characters like Batman and Green Lantern, the Jersey Devil Coaster is a throwback to rides from the park's peak of roller coaster innovation — closer in spirit to Nitro or El Toro than The Joker or Cyborg Cyber Spin.
Guests are greeted by a huge, hulking statue of a devil-like figure peering over the queues that will be packed to the brim once the ride opens.
Myths and legends of the Jersey Devil are printed on posters all along the line, setting the mood along the screams of riders and the unmistakable sound of a roller coaster whizzing by.
The Jersey Devil Coaster is the park’s first thrill ride since Wonder Woman: Lasso of Truth opened in 2018, and its first roller coaster since The Joker premiered in 2016. It was first announced in August 2019, expecting to open for summer 2020.
But construction on the ride was halted in early 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic reached New Jersey. While the park reopened to a limited number of guests later in the year, the Jersey Devil Coaster wasn’t ready.
On Thursday, the ride was opened to media members, theme park and roller coaster clubs and reviewers and a few season ticket holders, just three days before it opens to the general public.
For the last two years, Ulozas — who lives in the New Egypt area of Plumsted — was giddy as the orange rails began going up across the site of the former Looney Tunes Seaport area.
"I live just down the road. I watched it being constructed. I saw it stop and get going again, and it's just so great to have this open and that everyone's going to get to enjoy it," Ulozas said.
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His favorite part of the ride comes about halfway through, when the cars twist upside down and — just for a few seconds — leave the riders feeling weightless, before the track twists back around and sends riders away in a flash.
"It's very unique," Ulozas sad. "You're not falling and you're not going upwards. You just kind of float in space."
Mike Davis has spent the last decade covering New Jersey local news, marijuana legalization, transportation and basically whatever else is going on at any given moment. Contact him at email@example.com or @byMikeDavis on Twitter.