document_title: Six Flags Great Adventure

question_text: when did six flags great adventure first open

question_tokens: when did six flags great adventure first open

text: Six Flags Great Adventure

text: History[edit]

text: Warner LeRoy era (1974–1977)[edit]

text: In 1972, entrepreneurial businessman Warner LeRoy developed concept plans for the Great Adventure entertainment complex, proposing seven parks be built within the complex: An amusement park, a safari park, a show park, a floral park, a sports complex, a shopping district, and a campground with beach/waterpark and stables.[5] His proposal also included plans for hotels, which were connected to the parks and could be reached by boats, buses, a sky ride and/or a monorail. LeRoy wanted his parks to flow naturally through the forest and lakes, capitalizing on the back-to-nature movement of the era. He chose a property then owned by the Switlik family, in an area centrally located between the New York City and Philadelphia regions. The property on CR 537 had easy access to the newly constructed Interstate 195, which connected central New Jersey to the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) and would eventually (in 1981) connect to the Garden State Parkway.

text: LeRoy collaborated with Hardwicke Industries, who previously built safari parks in Canada and Europe. Together, they set out to open the seven parks in stages over a 5-year period. After a 4,500 invitation-only guest opening on June 30, 1974, the Great Adventure entertainment complex opened to the general public on July 1, 1974, at a price tag of $10 million.[6][7] At the time of the opening, only the Enchanted Forest and Safari parks were operational, and despite plans for a seven-park complex, only those three (if you count Hurricane Harbor) parks were ever realized, with elements from five of the other planned parks being used to create the Enchanted Forest.

text: The Enchanted Forest was designed and built to look as if it appeared through the eyes of a child. Almost everything was designed to be bigger-than-life. A Big Balloon was a tethered hot-air balloon that loomed over the park's entrance and was the biggest of its kind in the world. The Log Flume was the longest log ride constructed in the world at that time and it was accompanied by a giant "Conestoga Wagon", an over-sized log cabin restaurant called "Best of the  West" and a huge Western Fortress, in the park's Rootin' Tootin' Rip Roarin' section. The Giant Wheel (now Big Wheel), then the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, and the Freedom Fountain, then the largest spraying fountain in the world, were located on the opposite end of the park. One of the few smaller-than-real life attractions was an outdoor walk-through attraction called the Garden of Marvels. It used working G-scale (o-g scale) LGB trains and boats amongst models of American landmarks and 1/25-scale recreations of European castles.

text: This miniature village was an idea taken from LeRoy's proposed Over the Rainbow floral park. A tree filled with snakes, a carousel, antique cars, koi pond, children's playground (called Kiddie Kingdom), petting zoo (named Happy Feeling) and a restaurant named Gingerbread Fancy (now Granny's Country Kitchen) were also borrowed from the floral park concept to create a section of The Enchanted Forest. This section created the park's main midway named Dream Street.

text: Shoppe Lane was named after a proposed "shopping extravaganza" park, which LeRoy had designed for the property. It lent its large open squares, huge fountain (Main Street Fountain), street performers (clowns and stilt walkers) and shops to the Enchanted Forest. Fairy Tales was the name of a shop that opened with the park in one of the park's over-sized bazaar tents. It sold stuffed animals and toys, including Superman. Other influences from LeRoy's proposal would surface in the years to come.

text: Neptune's Kingdom was a concept for a lakeside, aquatic show park. From its design came Aqua Spectacle, the home for dolphin performances and high dive shows. Today, the stadium features dolphins but is now known as Fort Independence. Neptune's Kingdom was designed to run the length from Runaway Train to Northern Star Arena, but most of its influences appear in the park's Lakefront area.

text: Rootin' Tootin' Ready for shootin' opened with Runaway Mine Train on the grand opening on Independence Day. A small compact coaster named Big Fury opened later in the season. The Sky Ride connected two ends of the park with stations in Rootin' Tootin' Ready for shootin and Dream Street. The double sky ride ran originally at the 1964–'65 New York World's Fair. The Great Train Ride was a small train ride that brought guests through a loop of the woods, rather than to a destination of another gate. A small handful of spin rides were located in the Strawberry Fair section and were as close to any thematic journey as the guests were going to take. The Fantasy Fling is older than the park and is the only survivor of these spin rides in 2008.

text: The Fun Fair area debuted in 1975 with several new spinning rides, a smaller Ferris wheel and a Schwarzkopf Jumbo Jet roller coaster. The coaster never opened and was removed at the end of the season. A second flume called the Moon Flume was built by Arrow Dynamics to ease crowds on the Log Flume. It was built on the opposite end of the park and the station turntable is used for the stage of the Wiggles show today. The Fortune Festival was a new game section that was located where the Boardwalk section exists today.

text: A large portion of LeRoy's vision for the amusement park that never came to be was the inclusion of dark rides. Although "Man, Time and Space", "The Keystone Cops" and "(Alice) Down the Wishing Well" (among others) never came to be, the Haunted Castle Across the Moat, which was added a few years later, took its cue from the rooms and monsters of the "Hotel Transylvania".

text: In 1976, the park's entrance was moved to a new central location, the same entrance still in use today. It was designed with an outer mall called Liberty Court and its Federal style architecture was influenced by the celebration of the United States bicentennial. An inner mall called Avenue of States was adorned by fifty state flags in the central corridor. Six flags remain on Main Street today. The Enchanted Forest name on the park was changed to the complex's main name of Great Adventure. The Strawberry Fair and Fun Fair names were discontinued and the attractions in these areas became part of the newly named Enchanted Forest section. More spin rides, "yummy yummy" food, shows, games and the Safari became a part of "the greatest day of your life." The park became a major attraction with dozens of rides, shows, and several steel roller coasters. The Big Balloon, Happy Kid Ride, The Gondola, Pretty Monster, and Super Cat were the first attractions to be removed from the park before a new owner would make big changes.

text: Penn Central / Bally's / Westray Capital era (1977–1992)[edit]

text: In 1977, construction began on a steel looping shuttle coaster called Lightnin' Loops (which was removed in 1992). Late that year, however, the park was purchased by Six Flags. This regional theme park company was owned then by Penn Central, which had large stakes in the Philadelphia and New York City regions. Six Flags added rides found in bigger theme parks such as the wooden coaster called Rolling Thunder in 1979, The Buccaneer (a swinging ship from Intamin), Roaring Rapids (now Congo Rapids, an Intamin River Rapids ride), Parachuter's Perch (now Parachute Training Center: Edwards AFB Jump Tower, an Intamin Parachute ride) and Freefall (later Stuntman's Freefall, an Intamin First Generation Freefall), all before the park's tenth anniversary.

text: 1980 saw very few changes. In 1981, the park added a water ride called Roaring Rapids (now called Congo River Rapids). In 1983, the park added a Freefall Ride and in 1984, the park added a roller coaster called the Sarajevo Bobsleds but closed and removed Lil' Thunder, a kiddie coaster, keeping the coaster count to four.

text: Eight teenagers, including four students and one graduate of Franklin K. Lane High School, lost their lives in a fire at the Haunted Castle on May 11, 1984,[8] sparking controversy over the safety of such attractions. After the incident, new fire safety laws were passed for amusement park fun houses and dark rides.

text: 1986 saw the addition of a second looping coaster and the park's fifth roller coaster, Ultra Twister, with spiral inline twists. The ride was built next to Rolling Thunder, partially taking away the area's western theme. Another water ride called Splashwater Falls (which became Movietown Water Effect in 1992 and has since been removed) was added in which riders rode in a large boat which was pulled up hill and then down a steep waterfall, soaking riders. The new addition was made since attendance at the park had lowered since the Haunted Castle fire, and the park realized new additions were needed to keep the park alive.

text: Attendance dropped even further when an accident occurred on the Lightning Loops roller coaster. A teenage girl was thrown from the train because she was seated on the wrong side of the shoulder restraint. After the accident, new safety features were added not only to Great Adventure's roller coasters, but also to roller coasters around the world. Once again, Great Adventure set both a bad and later good example for the amusement park world. However, the accident was not good for the park's attendance. Attendance was so low, in fact, that in 1987 rumors began to spread that the park may close in a few years. At the end of that season, the park was slated to get a new multiple looping coaster but by the end of the year, it was decided that Six Flags Great America would get the coaster since Great Adventure was not seen as a good investment. At the end of the 1988, the park was about to lose its license to sell food, and attendance was so low park management realized a big new addition was necessary.

text: In the spring of 1988, it was announced that the park would indeed get a new coaster. Sarajevo Bobsleds was removed to make room for the new coaster, The Great American Scream Machine, which opened in April 1989. This coaster had multiple loops and for a month was the tallest roller coaster in the world and brought the park back to five roller coasters. The Scream Machine was removed in 2010 to make room for the new Green Lantern stand-up coaster.

text: In 1990, as part of a ride rotation program, a stand up looping roller coaster called Shockwave was added to the park. Shockwave had previously operated at Six Flags Magic Mountain. However, Ultra Twister was removed at the end of 1989 and sent to Six Flags Astroworld for the 1991 season keeping the park's coaster count at five. In 1991, the park added a huge complex of "dry" waterslides. While guests got wet on them, they could ride these with regular clothes or swimsuits. These slides were themed after the rivers of the world. Roaring Rapids, as well as the second flume ride in the park, were incorporated into this complex. Roaring Rapids became Congo Rapids, and The Hydro Flume became Irrawaddy Riptide.

text: Time Warner era (1990–1997)[edit]

text: In 1990, Time Warner acquired a 19.5% stake in Six Flags, then by the end of 1991 acquired an additional 30.5% giving them 50% ownership of the corporation, with the remaining divided equally by silent partners, The Blackstone Group and Wertheim Schroder.[9] Time Warner used the opportunity to advertise and promote their movies through the Six Flags parks. Time Warner purchased the remaining 50% in 1993, then in 1995 sold 51% of the corporation to Boston Ventures. Time Warner, however continued to manage the parks through 1997.[9]

text: In 1992, the eastern area or Fun Fair area of the park was re-themed Action Town, and then Movietown in 1993. A Batman stunt show was added and the announcement that a new inverted looping roller coaster called Batman The Ride would be added. Lightning Loops opened for the first half of the season but was disassembled at the end of July to begin construction of Batman. That coaster was sold to Premier Parks, which at the time was a different company than Six Flags (but would eventually buy Six Flags). Premier Parks put one of the Lightning Loops tracks in Frontier City located in Oklahoma City and it still operates today. Premier Parks put the other Lightning Loops track in their park in Largo, Maryland (near Washington, DC), then called Adventure World. That track was renamed the Python, which would be removed in 1999. At the end of 1992 the roller coaster Shockwave was removed as part of the "Ride Rotation Program" of Six Flags. Shockwave would be sent to Six Flags Astroworld and would reopen there in 1994 as Batman The Escape. So by the end of 1992 the park was down to just three coasters.

text: Batman, designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, opened in the spring of 1993 bringing the coaster count back up to four. In 1994, a motion simulator theatre ride was added. Initially, it was an airplane flying themed attraction but has since been changed to a Halloween theme in the fall over the years. A dinosaur theme and a three-dimensional dinosaur theme was also used for this attraction. For several years, it operated as SpongeBob the ride and then as Fly Me To The Moon. For the 2010 season, the attraction did not run and that building remained vacant for future use.

text: 1995 saw the addition of Viper, a steel spiral looping roller coaster similar to Ultra Twister and in Ultra Twister's old spot, bringing the coaster count to five again. 1996 saw the addition of an indoor themed junior roller coaster called Skull Mountain. In 1997, a multiple looping dual track shuttle coaster called Batman & Robin: The Chiller was built but only opened for a day and encountered more technical difficulties. This coaster ended up not opening again until the spring of 1998. This coaster ran rather rough and was referred to as a "headbanger" as was Viper, and to a lesser extent The Scream Machine. The Mine Train and Rolling Thunder were also rough rides by then. Also, many flat rides were removed over the years and the park was showing signs of wear and tear, as well as obsolete attractions.

text: Premier era (1998–2005)[edit]

text: Premier Parks purchased Six Flags from Time Warner and Boston Ventures on April 1, 1998.[9] The following year, the new management team added a dozen flat rides to the park and declared a "war on lines". The Adventure River complex was retired but the flume ride and the Congo Rapids remained. A kiddie water play area also remained as part of a new kiddie ride area called Looney Tunes Seaport. A junior roller coaster called Blackbeard's Lost Treasure Train (now known as Harley Quinn Crazy Train) as well as a kiddie roller coaster called Road Runner Railway were also added, but the star attraction was a floorless steel multiple looping roller coaster called Medusa (now known as Bizarro).

text: No changes were made at the park in 2000, but across the property on a separate parking lot, a Waterpark named Hurricane Harbor was built and opened at the end of May. This was also separately gated and charges a separate admission from Great Adventure. The park consists of a dozen waterslides, a kiddie water play area, and a wavepool.

text: In 2001, the park added another state of the art roller coaster called Nitro. In 2002, Batman & Robin: The Chiller was renovated and new trains without over the shoulder harnesses were added making it a much smoother ride. In 2003, Superman: Ultimate Flight was added. Exact models of this are found at Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags Great America. In 2004, new harnesses were added to the Runaway Mine Train and the up-charge attraction erUPtion was added to the Boardwalk.

text: In 2005, the park added the world's tallest coaster called Kingda Ka and also dismantled Viper. With the addition of Kingda Ka, the season pass holders entrance to the park was closed because Kingda Ka's footprint went right over it. A new children's play area called Balin's Jungleland was also added. In 2006, a wooden twister coaster called El Toro was added in the spot formerly occupied by Viper, along with a new themed area, and another kiddie ride area to replace Bugs Bunny Land which was retired at the end of 2004.

text: Shapiro era (2006–2010)[edit]

text: At the end of 2005, a proxy battle resulted in two major stockholders assuming control of the Six Flags Board. The Premier Group was ousted in December and the new board appointed Mark Shapiro as CEO.[9] In 2007, the park added Wiggles World and removed Batman & Robin: The Chiller. The rolls were replaced with banked hills to enhance ride performance. However, the ride closed forever on June 28 due to technical problems with the ride. Disassembling occurred that September. In addition, the path leading to Chiller was blocked off and several rides including Freefall, Splashwater Falls/Movietown Water Effect, and a couple other flat rides were removed.

text: In 2008, in the area occupied by the Movietown Water Effect, a new junior indoor Wild Mouse rollercoaster was added called The Dark Knight. Motion Simulator Ride ended the SpongeBob theming in favor of Fly Me To The Moon. Also Glow in the Park Parade was added to the entertainment lineup.

text: Medusa was refurbished over the off-season and returned in 2009 as "Bizarro", a new incarnation of the same ride. The whole coaster, station, and surrounding theme elements were all changed and repainted to go with the new theme of the ride. Bizarro comic strips were put up along the queue line, and special effects and audio were added to the actual ride. The refurbishment brought crowds back to a ride that was beginning to lose its original charm and popularity.

text: Weber/Anderson era (2010–present)[edit]

text: The theme park's parent Six Flags emerged from a 2008–2010 bankruptcy with Al Weber Jr. as an interim CEO and subsequently by Jim Reid-Anderson in August 2010.  The company parent also moved its corporate headquarters from New York City back to Texas where the company started.[10]

text: For the 2010 season, the Motion Simulator ride Fly Me To The Moon did not reopen and was not replaced with anything and remained vacant. In April 2010, rumors also began that the Great American Scream Machine would be removed at the end of the season. By mid June, rumors were that the coaster would be removed on July 1. That date came and went but on July 5, 2010, via Facebook, Six Flags confirmed the rumored removal of the Great American Scream Machine on July 18, 2010. The ride closed on late on that date and was demolished immediately after to make room for "a major new attraction in 2011."  On September 16, 2010, the park announced that the Green Lantern, a standup roller coaster formerly known as Chang at the recently closed Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, would debut in the Boardwalk section for the 2011 season. Green Lantern's lift hill and first drop runs parallel to the lift hill of Superman Ultimate Flight, which involved the demolition of a rarely used section of the preferred parking area.

text: In late 2010, Six Flags began the process of removing licensed theming from attractions. They terminated several licenses including their license with The Wiggles. Wiggles' World was renamed and rethemed to Safari Kids in time for the 2011 season. Also in 2011, eruption was removed. Construction for the new Funtime Slingshot replacing eruption started mid-June 2011 and was recently finished a few weeks after.[11]

text: In 2012, Great Adventure introduced SkyScreamer, a 242-foot-tall (74 m) Funtime StarFlyer, that soars riders in a 98-foot (30 m) circle at speeds over 43 miles per hour (69 km/h), that opened in the spring of 2012, along with bumper cars, flying elephants, and a musical themed scrambler that opened in the newly transformed area Adventure Alley (formerly Fantasy Forest area around the Big Wheel). On February 13, 2012, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in New Jersey announced a new major water attraction King Cobra, that is the first in the United States.[12][13] The ride Falls at Hurricane Harbor was proposed to get a transformation, giving it a trapdoor release in 2012,[14][15] but was later cancelled for the new attraction King Cobra.[13] Furthermore in 2012, Six Flags Great Adventure removed two of its four Johnny Rockets food stands, one located in Plaza Del Carnival and the other in the Boardwalk. Both were replaced with a new food stand named Totally Kickin' Chicken.

text: In August 30, 2012, Six Flags combined its 160-acre (65 ha) Great Adventure Park with its 350-acre (140 ha) Wild Safari animal park to form the 510-acre (210 ha) Six Flags Great Adventure & Safari park, the second-largest theme park in the world, after Disney's Animal Kingdom.[16][17][18]

text: On August 29, 2013, Six Flags officially announced the addition of Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom for the 2014 season a drop tower to be built on the vertical supports of Kingda Ka, as well as the removal of Rolling Thunder on September 8.[19]

text: On August 28, 2014, Six Flags officially announced the addition of a Giant Loop from Larson International for the 2015 season, dubbed as Looping Dragon in Plaza del Carnaval section of the park. The Giant Loop was later renamed on January 14, 2015 to El Diablo.[20][21]

text: In March 2015, Six Flags Great Adventure announced its plans to clear more than 18,000 trees to build a 90-acre solar farm with 21.9 megawatts capable of meeting virtually all of the theme park's electrical needs.[22][23][24] On September 3, 2015, Six Flags Great Adventure announced they would open a 4th Dimension roller coaster in spring 2016, then dubbed "Total Mayhem".[25] On November 21, 2015, Holiday in the Park, a Christmas event with millions of glittering lights and a meet and greet with Santa Claus, began for the first time at the park. On January 27, 2016, the park announced that "Total Mayhem" will be renamed to "The Joker" and that Blackbeard's Lost Treasure Train would be renamed to Harley Quinn Crazy Train. On September 1, 2016, the park announced Justice League: Battle for Metropolis 4D, featuring the first ever virtual loop. The ride opened on June 17, 2017, and uses the exterior building from the Chiller as a set piece.

text: On August 31, 2017, Six Flags announced that the park's newest ride, called Cyborg Cyber Spin, would open in spring of 2018. The ride will whirl guests on three axes while lifting riders up to 70 feet in the air. It will be located in the park's Metropolis section.[26]

text: Concerts[edit]

text: Numerous artists have performed concerts at the park, including The Ramones, The Beach Boys, Heart, Kansas, Cheap Trick, Joan Jett, and Alice Cooper.[27]

text: On September 29, 2012, Great Adventure hosted the FestEvil, a festival hosting contemporary metal and hardcore acts; Falling In Reverse and We Came As Romans coheadlined. It was Great Adventure's first metal show. At the end of the show, Falling In Reverse frontman Ronnie Radke threw three microphone stands into the crowd, injuring two attendees.  Radke was arrested after the show, and a spokesperson for Great Adventure announced that the park would no longer host shows with metal bands.[28]

text: Timeline[edit]

text:
Year

Events

Image

1974

Safari Park and Enchanted Forest (amusement park) open. Rides (with manufacturer information included): carousel, Sky Ride, Giant Wheel, Super Round Up, Runaway Mine Train, log flume, Flying Wave, Traffic Jam, Swiss Bob, Calypso, Matterhorn, Woodland Express, Grand Prix, Pretty Monster, antique cars, and Big Fury.

1975

Rides added: Jumbo Jet, Enterprise, Poland Spring Plunge, Lil' Thunder, Super Cat, Schwabinchen, Wild Rider.

1976

Rides added: Musik Express replace Happy Feeling petting zoo; Pretty Monster moved to current site of tea cups.

1977

Rides added: Monster Spin replaces Pretty Monster in current tea cup spot, Gondola (added then removed at end of season)

1978

Rides added: Lightnin' Loops, Wild Rider, Scrambler, Haunted Castle Across the Moat-a single haunted walk-through attraction added.

1979

Rides added: Rolling Thunder, Spin Meister [since removed], second side of Haunted Castle built for regular season; Grand Prix cars removed at end of season.

1980

Buccaneer and Adventure Theater added; Six Flags Great Adventure Rail Road removed at end of season.

1981

Roaring Rapids [Now Congo Rapids] added; Wild Rider removed. 20-year-old employee, fell to his death on Rolling Thunder.

1982

Joust-a-Bout added [since removed]

1983

Bally runs Six Flags; Stuntman's Freefall [since removed] and Parachuter's Perch added (the latter came from Six Flags St. Louis)

1984

Haunted Castle is destroyed by fire, killing eight visitors.[29] Sarajevo Bobsled added; Rolling Thunder Coaster 2's trains run backwards (known as "Rednuht Gnillor")

1985

Looping Starship added (later known as Space Shuttle).

1986

Ultra Twister (TOGO heartline coaster) added; Matterhorn is removed and sent to Six Flags Atlantis in Hollywood, Florida, Swabinchen removed at end of season.

1987

Splashwater Falls [later known as Movie Town Water Effect] added; Scrambler moved to Swabinchen location; a management change at the end of 1987 re-emphasized family values at the park. On Wednesday, June 17, 1987, 19-year-old Karen Brown of Chester, PA fell 75 feet (23 m) to her death while on the Lightnin' Loops. She wasn't properly secured, and the ride took off. Karen was pronounced dead at Freehold Hospital with Basilar skull fracture from the fall. An investigation by the State Labor Department concluded that the ride itself was operating properly, but that the ride operator started the ride without having made sure that all of the passengers were secured by the safety harnesses. The Department's Office of Safety Compliance further concluded that the accident would not have occurred had proper procedures been followed.

1988

Condor debuts on site of Calypso; Sarajevo Bobsled removed and sent to Six Flags Great America

1989

Great American Scream Machine added; Ultra Twister removed before end of season and sent to Six Flags Astroworld

1990

Shockwave added from Six Flags Magic Mountain

1991

Adventure Rivers (in-park street-clothes rubber-raft water slides) added (removed for 1999); Condor and Swiss Bob removed. Fright Fest starts.

1992

Time Warner purchases Six Flags and renames the former Enchanted Forest section "Action Town" and builds the Batman Stunt Show Arena; Lightnin' Loops removed mid-season and is sent to Adventure World in Maryland and Frontier City in Oklahoma, Shockwave removed at end of season and sent to Six Flags Astroworld

1993

El Sombrero (Swabinchen) added to Frontier Adventures, Batman: The Ride opens in May; Action Town becomes Movie Town

1994

"Right Stuff: Mach 1 Adventure" (Iwerks turbo simulator) added (runs Elvira Superstition during Fright Fest)

1995

Viper debuts on June 1.

1996

Skull Mountain opens the week after Memorial Day, Enchanted Tea Cups, and Lethal Weapon Stunt Show added

1997

Dare Devil Dive – a 155 ft (47 m) tall Skycoaster added, Batman & Robin: The Chiller is built but only operates briefly this season in June

1998

Batman & Robin: The Chiller opens regularly this season; the Adventure Rivers dry slides and Sky Pilot are removed at the end of the season in order to expand the ride offerings for 1999

1999

Medusa (now known as Bizarro)opens April 3. Other rides such as Blackbeard's Lost Treasure Train, Road Runner Railway, Looney Tunes Seaport (themed kiddie area), and Houdini's Great Escape added; a large collection of flat rides promoted as a "War on Lines" include Spinnaker, Time Warp, Pirate's Flight, Evolution, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Pendulum, Rodeo Stampede, Chaos, Twister, and Jolly Roger all open that spring, some on opening day, some later; "Escape from Dino Island 3D" replaces "Mach 1 Adventure;" Gotham City Carnival of Chaos replaces the Batman Returns Stunt Show; Hollywood Animal Actor Show occupies Bandstand on the Lake for one season; Great American Road Race (up charge go-cart track) opens on former queue for Mach 1

2000

Hurricane Harbor water park opened as a separate admission park; employee housing (Six Flags University) opens on former site of ball field; Spinnaker removed after the season ends.

2001

Nitro opens on April 7; short-lived Season Pass entrance opens; Slingshot and Turbo Force (up charge rides) debut; Viper stands but does not operate all season; El Sombrero, Centrifuge G Force (scrambler), and Time Warp are removed

2002

Pirate's Flight is removed by the start of season; The Summer of Festivals features a new theme and new exhibits each week through summer in central park; Viper reopens; Chiller's trains are modified by removing the shoulder restraints

2003

Evolution is removed before the season starts and sent to Six Flags St. Louis; Superman: Ultimate Flight opens on April 17; ErUPtion (upcharge attraction) added; "Right Stuff Mach 1 Adventure" is brought back for one season; Jumpin' Jack Flash only operates for a few hours in 2002 and 2003 and it is removed at the end of season, Pendulum is removed by the end of season and sent to Six Flags Great America

2004

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Ride replaces "Right Stuff;" Batman: The Ride's supports are repainted midnight blue with yellow track, Main Street's buildings are repainted and new landscaping is added; the Season Pass Entrance and Bugs Bunny Land are discontinued at the end of season. Viper closes at the end of the season.

2005

Chiller and Great American Scream Machine are repainted; Safari tours bring guests through the Safari via vans from The Northern Star Arena; The Golden Kingdom themed area debuts with Balin's Jungleland (children's play area), Temple of the Tiger (tiger exhibit), and Spirit of the Tiger (educational tiger presentation), Kingda Ka opens on May 21; Viper is demolished in June to make room for a new roller coaster; Taz Twister, Rodeo Stampede, and Chaos are removed (Stampede was sent to Six Flags Over Texas)

2006

Spin Meister is removed by the start of the season, Red Zone wins a take over battle of Six Flags and increases prices on admission, parking, and other items within park; Bugs Bunny National Park opens in March; Runaway Train's track is repainted orange, its supports are repainted red, and its trains receive new single t-bars; Flying Wave's opening is delayed by two months due to refurbishment; Plaza Del Carnaval, the re-themed Spanish section, opens just before Memorial Day, the Carnegie Deli restaurant also opens that weekend on Main Street; El Toro opens on June 11; Rolling Thunder is closed for most of the spring and two of its four trains are used on one side during most of its operation; Kingda Ka only runs two trains throughout the year; the Batman side of The Chiller opens on May 5 for the first time since 2004, the entire attraction is closed on June 2 and remained closed for the entire season after an incident on the Robin side; Stuntman's Freefall, Riptide, and Koala Canyon (the last of the former Adventure Rivers attractions) are removed

2007

Batman & Robin: The Chiller reopens both sides in April but is closed on one side mid June and on both sides permanently on June 28 due to more malfunctions; Wiggles World opens; Autobahn receives several new cars; Ben and Jerry's opens three locations in the park, a Cold Stone Creamery is added to the Quenchers building next to the Carnegie Deli, The Great American Hamburger is transformed into Johnny Rockets Express and Wok & Roll becomes Panda Express; Kingda Ka has four trains running, all four trains on Rolling Thunder are racing for the first time since 2005, a package pickup system has been established for merchandise with a pickup location by Guest Relations; Movie Town Water Effect is demolished during the offseason.

2008

On May 15, The Dark Knight, a new indoor roller coaster based on the film of the same name, is added; SpongeBob SquarePants: The Ride is removed for a new ride called "Fly Me To The Moon;" two more Johnny Rockets and one more Coldstone Creamery open in the park; Old Country and Houdini's Great Escape are closed; the Super Teepee is destroyed in a storm and removed; Six Flags institutes a new locker policy to reduce the amount of loose articles brought into the station, $1 Lockers are available at each major coasters for one-time use of up to two hours; Cabanas are available for rental in Spin Meister's location; Space Shuttle and Flying Wave are removed

2009

Medusa goes under a complete overhaul and becomes Bizarro, opens on May 23; the Big Wheel is repainted to resemble what it looked like in 1974; Mr. Six returns and is now a character in the park, he has a dance party every couple of hours (including 12:30 pm, 3:30 pm, and 6:00 pm) and does a small dance in the morning when the park opens; a cyber cafe opens next to the Carnegie Deli in Main Street. The Parachute Tower is re-painted with a blue, red, orange, and yellow paint scheme in September and Houdini's Great Escape is re-opened exclusively for Fright Fest.

2010

Hurricane Harbor adds a ProSlide Tornado scheduled for opening on Memorial Day Weekend, the water park's first new slide in nearly a decade. Many buildings on Main Street are refurbished and given fresh coats of paint. Fly Me To The Moon is closed for the season in preparation for a new major attraction for the 2011 season. On July 18, the Great American Scream Machine closes and soon after is demolished to make room for the Green Lantern roller coaster.

2011

On May 27, Green Lantern (formerly Chang removed from the former Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom (now open under different ownership as Kentucky Kingdom), a green B&M stand-up coaster, is introduced at the end of the Boardwalk to coincide with the release of the Warner Bros. film of the same name. Slingshot, an upcharge attraction, is added, replacing erUPtion, also on the Boardwalk. Tango, a family ride, Bugaboo, a children's ride, and Foghorn Leghorn's Stagecoach Express, a mini-train ride, are all reopened after each spending at least a season standing but not operating. Fantasy Fling is repainted red and renamed "Tornado", since its sponsor is the food item Tornadoes. Coca-Cola Freestyle, a new refreshment restaurant featuring over 100 flavors of soda, opens, replacing Jersey Shore Candy.

2012

In May, SkyScreamer is added into newly themed adventure alley section, along with fender benders and Déjà Vu, as well as Air Jumbo
Safari is closed on September 30. The Safari undergoes major renovations and redesign during the winter to unite Six Flags Great Adventure as one property.

2013

On May 23, Wild Safari reopens as Safari Offroad Adventures. On the weekend after Labor Day on September 7, Rolling Thunder, one of the park's two wooden rollercoasters, closes after nearly 35 years of operation.

2014

On July 5, Six Flags Great Adventure finally opens Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom, which is the tallest drop ride in the world. It drops riders 415 feet at speeds of up to 90 mph. It is built on the face of Kingda Ka.

2015

In May, El Diablo opens to the public. Holiday in the Park begins in late November. Fort Independence and the Great Lake Grandstand are fenced off and demolished for The Joker, a new S&S 4D free fly coaster. Batman runs backwards from July 4 weekend to the end of Fright Fest.

2016

On May 27, The Joker, a new 4D Free Fly roller coaster replacing Fort Independence, Great Lake Grandstand, and Festival Stage. Hurricane Harbor receives a new family friendly water play structure expansion called Caribbean Cove in 2016. Blackbeard's Lost Treasure Train is renamed to Harley Quinn Crazy Train.

2017

Justice League: Battle For Metropolis, a 4D Interactive-Gaming dark ride replacing Batman & Robin: The Chiller is announced. The "Justice League Headquarters" Shop is re-themed and renamed to "Gotham City Gift Shop" to match the Gotham Theme in Movie Town; re-theme was needed to make a shop for Justice League:Battle For Metropolis.

text: Attractions[edit]

text: Main Street[edit]

text: Main Street serves as the entry gate for Six Flags Great Adventure. It was originally entitled Liberty Court, and was built when the entrance to the park was moved from near what is now the Boardwalk area to a more central location. Main Street is themed as an Early-American town, somewhere around the 18th century. Later additions to Main Street have formed it into more of a turn-of-the-century town. In the front is Freedom Fountain, a popular meeting place.

text:
Attraction

Description

Main Street Market

Six Flags gifts, medicine, and cameras

Looney Tunes Shoppe

Looney Tunes and Justice League souvenirs

Sweet Treats

Candies, fudge, and caramel apples

My Six Flags Photo

Pick up your souvenir photos of today's visit

M-PORIUM

Featuring M&M'S and Mars candy favorites

The Flash Pass Headquarters

Purchase your ride reservation system

Super Hero Cape Cart

Capes from all your favorite DC Super Heroes

Liberty Square Gazebo

Home to seasonal shows

text: Fantasy Forest[edit]

text: Fantasy Forest serves as the midway for the park, and was originally part of the entrance. Fantasy Forest is designed to make its visitors feel like children, and the section's bright colors and fanciful design give it a magical feel. The Yum Yum Cafe, (Previously "The Great Character Cafe), which is designed to look like a giant ice cream sundae, is in this area along with the colorful Carousel and Enchanted Teacups. Originally, this section was split into two sections; Dream Street, the east side featuring the Carousel, and Strawberry Fair, the west side featuring the Big Wheel and Fantasy Fling. During Time Warner's acquisition of the park, these two sections of the park were combined into one. In 2012, the east side stayed as Fantasy Forest and the west side was re-themed and transformed to Adventure Alley.

text:
Ride

Year opened

Manufacturer

Description

Carousel

1974

Frederick Savage

The park's grand carousel, at the end of what was Dream Street.

Enchanted Tea Cups

1996

Zamperla

Tea-cups style ride with fanciful theming.

Houdini's Great Escape

1999

Vekoma

Vekoma Madhouse attraction; held in "mansion" and complete with Harry Houdini theming

text: Adventure Alley[edit]

text: Adventure Alley, made up of what used to be the right half of Fantasy Forest, opened in 2012 along with SkyScreamer, a FunTime StarFlyer. The area has a retro theme, and features several classic family rides. It was built in a formerly barren area in response to complaints about there being a lack of family rides in the park. SkyScreamer, Déjà Vu (a Scrambler relocated from American Adventures in Georgia), and Air Jumbo (a Flying Elephants ride relocated from Balin's Jungleland in the Golden Kingdom) all opened in May, while Fender Benders, a bumper cars attraction, opened in early July.  The area was sponsored by the Broadway show Jersey Boys, and as such, features songs from the musical as its soundtrack.

text:
Ride

Year opened

Manufacturer

Description

Big Wheel

1974

Anton Schwarzkopf

A large Ferris wheel that once held the title for the world's tallest Ferris wheel.

Air Jumbo

2012

Flying elephants style ride relocated from the Golden Kingdom section of the park.

Adventure Alley Games

2012

Test your skills at our family-friendly games.

Déjà Vu

2012

Eli Bridge

A scrambler style attraction accompanied by music.

Fender Benders

2012

Bertazzon

Bumper cars style attraction.

SkyScreamer

2012

Funtime

A Funtime Starflyer model that swings riders 242 feet high in the air at 43 mph.

text: Adventure Seaport[edit]

text: Adventure Seaport was introduced for the 2011 season.  It is made up of two children's areas - Looney Tunes Seaport, and Safari Kids, and a small section of the park formerly part of Movietown.  Note that attractions in Looney Tunes Seaport and Safari kids are not included in the attractions list below but rather have their own separate lists.

text:
Ride

Year opened

Manufacturer

Description

Congo Rapids

1981

Intamin

Rapids ride; Congo Rapids was one of the first of its kind to open in the world.

Nitro

2001

Bolliger & Mabillard

230-foot (70 m)-tall hyper-coaster, rated the 7th best steel coaster in the world.

text: Safari Kids[edit]

text: Safari Kids was added in 2011. It was known as Wiggles World from 2007 to 2010. Most of the rides were re-themed from Looney Tunes Seaport, while the section itself replaced an aging part of Looney Tunes Seaport and the outdated Riptide flume ride. The area was renamed and rethemed Safari Kids for 2011 when the parks rights to use the Wiggles brand expired.

text:
Ride

Year opened

Description

Adventure Theater

2007

Home to kids' shows

Air Safari

2007

The only ride added with Wiggles World in 2007. Originally named Big Red Planes and rethemed in 2011.

Bugaboo

1976

A kiddie ride formerly located in the now defunct Balin's Jungleland themed section

Jumpin' Joey

1999

A children's drop tower that originally opened as Sylvester's Pounce and Bounce and was later named Bouncin' With Wags. Rethemed in 2007 for Wiggles World and 2011 for Safari Kids.

Raja's Rickshaws

1982

A kiddie scrambler transferred from Balin's Jungleland themed section.

Safari Tours

1999

A car ride that originally opened as Taz's Seaport Trucking Company and was later named Big Red Cars. Rethemed in 2007 for Wiggles World and 2011 for Safari Kids.

Sky Zooma

1999

A children's balloon ride that originally opened as Elmer Fudd's Seaport Weather Balloons and was later named Dorothy's Racing to the Rainbow. Rethemed in 2007 for Wiggles World and 2011 for Safari Kids.

text: Looney Tunes Seaport[edit]

text: This children's section of the park, based on Looney Tunes characters, opened in 1999 with the War on Lines.

text: Attractions:

text:
Ride

Year opened

Description

Bugs Bunny Seaport Barnstormer

1999

A plane themed ride spinning on two separate axis.

Daffy's Deep Sea Diver

1999

A submarine themed ride.

Pepe Le Pew's Hearts Aweigh

1999

A miniature spinning teacups ride.

Road Runner Railway

1999

A children's roller coaster built by Zamperla.

Taz's Tornado

1999

A swings ride.

text: Movie Town[edit]

text: This section makes up of what used to be the "Fun Fair" and "Action Town" sections of the park. It is themed as a Hollywood back lot, complete with Hollywood style buildings, and movie-themed ride, shops, stalls, and other attractions. Most of the attractions include DC Comics (Batman: The Ride, Justice League). Over the years, many of the movie props have been removed, and all the flat rides in this section of the park have been moved or dismantled, leaving the section with very few rides. The addition of The Dark Knight Coaster meant the removal of the Movietown Water Effect, a themed Splashdown ride. Batman and Robin: The Chiller and Stuntman's Freefall (an Intamin free-fall ride) had already been removed; so now the section is relatively empty. Nitro was included in Movietown until the 2011 season, when it became part of Adventure Seaport. In summer 2016, permits were released for a Justice League: Battle for Metropolis dark ride to be placed where Batman and Robin: The Chiller once stood. The area surrounding Justice League: Battle for Metropolis was rethemed to Metropolis, but is still treated as part of Movietown.

text:
Ride

Year opened

Manufacturer

Description

Studio 28 Arcade

1978

Exchange game tickets for prizes (formerly known as Skeeball Barn)

The Dark Knight Coaster

2008

Mack Rides

Indoor themed wild-mouse coaster. The coaster opened in 2008 to coincide with the release of the hit movie, The Dark Knight.

Batman: The Ride

1993

Bolliger & Mabillard

The second installation of B&M's Batman Inverted Coaster

Showcase Theater

1978

Home to musical shows

Movietown Arena

1992

Home to special events

Justice League: Battle for Metropolis

2017

Sally Corp

A 4D dark ride. Replaced Batman & Robin: The Chiller.

Cyborg: Cyber Spin

2018

ABC Rides, Intamin

Triple-Axis rotating ride.

text: Lakefront[edit]

text: Lakefront, as its name suggests, is found right on the lake in the back of the property. The rides and structures in Lakefront all have a nautical theme. The section also includes a Panda Express eatery.

text:
Ride

Year opened

Manufacturer

Description

Harley Quinn Crazy Train

1999

Zierer

Family coaster themed as a mine train. Was previously named Blackbeard's Lost Treasure Train up until the 2016 season where it was renamed to accompany the newly added Joker.

Buccaneer

1980

Intamin

Swinging-ship ride, themed as a pirate ship.

Jolly Roger

1999

Zamperla

Spinning ride, with a large skull sign

Skull Mountain

1996

Intamin

Indoor in-the-dark coaster.

Skyway

1974

Von Roll Holding

Aerial tramway relocated from the 1964 World's Fair to Frontier Adventures

Swashbuckler

1974

Hrubetz

Has been relocated and repainted several times, opened as "Super Round Up". Formally known as Fantasy Fling and Tornado.

The Joker

2016

S&S Worldwide

4D Free Spin Roller Coaster taking the place of the Grandstand, Festival Stage, and Fort Independence. Was named Total Mayhem when announced.

text: Frontier Adventures[edit]

text: Previously known as "Best of the West" and "Rootin' Tootin' Rip Roarin'", the park's western-themed section is very picturesque. It is home to many of the park's most famous structures including the Fort, and the Best of the West restaurant, as well as some of the park's very popular rides. In 2009, Bizarro opened (formerly Medusa, opened in 1999) in this section, and though it is questionable how that relates to the Old West, Bizarro was given a backstory; relating to his takeover of the Medusa Mine. Frontier Adventures features Best of the West restaurant, one of the most popular eateries in the park. Frontier Adventures is now home to the Safari Off Road Adventure station. It stands on the former location of the Super Teepee and the Conestoga Wagon.

text:
Ride

Year opened

Manufacturer

Description

Safari Off Road Adventure

2013

Safari Off Road Adventure is a safari attraction. It replaced Six Flags Wild Safari, which closed on September 30, 2012, as a separate park. Wild Safari's 350 acres (140 ha), added to Great Adventure to create one park in 2013, made Six Flags Great Adventure the largest theme park in the world with 510 acres (210 ha)

Camp Aventura

2013

On Safari, feed giraffes or ride the Soaring Eagle zip-line for an additional fee and meet our small, exotic animals

Bizarro

1999 (as Medusa)

Bolliger & Mabillard

The world's first Floorless coaster, featuring 7 inversions. Originally named Medusa 1999–2008. Must be 54 inches to ride

Runaway Mine Train

1974

Arrow Development

A mine train, The park's first roller coaster, themed as a mine train. Riders load in "The Fort", and go on an adventure through a forest, and over a lake.

Skyway

1974

Von Roll Holding

Moved from the 1964 World's Fair, was originally intended to travel almost twice the distance it does now, it also loads in "The Fort", and takes riders to Lakefront. In 2011, in addition to the red and blue cable cars, Sky Ride re-painted the new cable cars, which were added yellow, green and brown.

Saw Mill Log Flume

1974

Arrow Development

The park's log flume, with boats themed as logs that takes riders down and around an island.

Plymouth Rock Assurance Arena

1974

A concert stage with shows.

text: Bugs Bunny National Park[edit]

text: Bugs Bunny National Park opened in 2006 along with El Toro. It has a series of camp-themed rides, all in a rustic area on the lake. Attractions include Bugs Bunny Camp Carousel, Bugs Bunny National Water Park Tower, Bugs Bunny Ranger Pilots, Daffy Duck's Hot Air Balloons, Porky Pig Camp Wagons and Wile E. Coyote Canyon Blaster.

text:
Ride

Year opened

Description

Bugs Bunny Camp Carousel

1979

An Allan Herschell Company carousel, themed with posters for different Bugs Bunny cartoons, including "Knighty Knight Bugs".

Bugs Bunny National Water Park Tower

2006

A leaky water tower which can get guests wet

Bugs Bunny Ranger Pilots

2006

One of many airplane rides in the park. Relocated from Six Flags AstroWorld.

Daffy Duck's Hot Air Balloons

2006

A circular balloon ride

Porky Pig Camp Wagons

2006

Circular wagon ride

Wile E. Coyote Canyon Blaster

2006

Kiddie Music Express ride themed to race cars

Wilderness Theater

1974

Home to Looney Tunes shows for children

text: Plaza del Carnaval[edit]

text: This area was originally part of Frontier Adventures, and was also called "Hernando's Hideaway" for the opening of Rolling Thunder. This section of the park has heavy Spanish influences, including music, lights, and various structures including the station for El Toro. The whole area is very festive and is filled with vibrant colors and stucco buildings and Spanish tile roofs.

text:
Ride

Year opened

Manufacturer

Description

El Diablo

2015

Larson International

22M Super Loop. Originally named "Looping Dragon" when announced. Must be 48 inches to ride

El Toro

2006

Intamin

Prefabricated wooden roller coaster. Voted the world's best wooden rollercoaster by The Golden Ticket Awards for 2012. 48 inches to ride

Tango

2006

Zamperla

Rocking, spinning ride for families

text: The Golden Kingdom[edit]

text: The Golden Kingdom[30] opened in 2005 with Kingda Ka on what was Bugs Bunny Land, the park's old kiddie-section. This section of the park is themed with many bamboo plants, stone temples, and more. It is also home to three llamas, which are near the entrance to the area on Aldabra Island, formerly home to aldabra tortoises.

text:
Ride

Year opened

Manufacturer

Description

Kingda Ka

2005

Intamin

Strata-coaster, the tallest roller coaster in the world as of 2015. Themed as a bengal tiger, the queue line takes riders through bamboo plants, and past the launch track.

Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom

2014[31]

Intamin

The world's tallest drop ride,[31] connected to Kingda Ka. Riders can see Philadelphia's skyline on clear days.

Splashwater Oasis

2005

Jungle-themed children's water play structure

Safari Discoveries

2011

Guests will be able to get up close and personal with a variety of different animals from kinkajous to sea lions.

SeaFari Theater

2014

See "otterly" adorable Asian small-clawed otters up close

text: Boardwalk[edit]

text: Previously Fortune Festival, the boardwalk section of Great Adventure has games commonly found on boardwalks, boardwalk restaurants, and many of the park's larger flat rides. This area of the park was also previously themed as Edwards Air Force Base, and many of the theme elements from then still exist now, including "latrines", and the parachute tower's name. The section also has a slight boardwalk-influence to its rides.

text:
Ride

Year opened

Manufacturer

Description

Boardwalk Games Center

1976

Video arcade games

Dare Devil Dive

1997

Skycoaster, Inc.

Skycoaster, up charge

Games Square

1975

Win prizes at these boardwalk-style skill games

Great American Road Race

1999

J&J Amusements

Go-karts, up charge

Green Lantern

2011

Bolliger & Mabillard

Stand-up coaster, featuring 5 inversions. Formerly located at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom as Chang

Parachute Training Center: Edwards AFB Jump Tower

1983

Intamin

Gentle 23-story drop

Rockwall

Up charge attraction, rock wall

Slingshot

2011

Funtime (manufacturer)

Tall, slingshot ride, up charge

Superman: Ultimate Flight

2003

Bolliger & Mabillard

Flying coaster, featuring 2 inversions

The Twister

1999

Huss Maschinenfabrik

Top spin

text: Former attractions[edit]

text:
Ride

Year Opened

Year Closed

Type

Description

Boats

1974

1974

Flat Ride

Paddle boats that guests were able to use in the lake.

Antique Cars

1974

1975

Flat Ride

Antique car ride.

Jumbo Jet

1975

1975

Roller Coaster

It was built and tested only a few times before it was removed. It is unknown as to why it was never opened to the public.

Big Fury

1974

1977

Roller Coaster

Pretty Monster

1974

1977

Flat Ride

Enterprise

1975

1977

Flat Ride

Gondola

1977

1977

Flat Ride

Wild Flower

1975

1977

Flat Ride

Haunted House

1978

1978

Walkthrough Attraction

Super Cat

1975

1978

Flat Ride

Grand Prix

1974

1979

Flat Ride

Antique car ride.

Alpen Blitz

1976

1978

Roller Coaster

Featured two cars that would push or pull the train along its course.

Great Train Ride

1974

1980

Transport Ride

Wild Rider

1978

1981

Roller Coaster

Super Sidewinder

1976

1983

Flat Ride

The Screamer

1976

1983

Roller Coaster

Children's roller coaster.

Haunted Castle

1979

1984

Walkthrough Attraction

Burned down in 1984, killing 8 people.

Matterhorn

1974

1986

Flat Ride

Calypso

1974

1987

Flat Ride

Monster Spin

1978

1987

Flat Ride

Paddle Boats

1983

1987

Upcharge Attraction

Paddle boats that park guests could use in the lake.

Skooter

1975

1987

Flat Ride

Bumper car attraction.

Tilt-a-Whirl

1979

1987

Flat Ride

Sarajevo Bobsled

1984

1988

Roller Coaster

Was moved to Six Flags Great America.

Ultra Twister

1986

1989

Roller Coaster

Was moved to Six Flags Astroworld.

Condor

1988

1990

Flat Ride

Swiss Bob

1974

1991

Flat Ride

Lightnin' Loops

1978

1992

Roller Coaster

A roller coaster where one track was sent to Adventure World (now named Six Flags America) while the other was moved to Frontier City.

Shockwave

1990

1992

Roller Coaster

Was moved to Six Flags Astroworld.

Traffic Jam

1974

1992

Flat Ride

A classic bumper cars ride.

Virtual Revolution

1995

1995

Upcharge Attraction

A flight simulator.

Panorama Wheel

1974

1996

Flat Ride

Ferris wheel.

African Tower

1991

1998

Flat Ride

Was a part of the Adventure Rivers section that was removed to make more space for the mass amount of attractions to be added the following season.

Asian Tower

1991

1998

Flat Ride

Was a part of the Adventure Rivers section that was removed to make more space for the mass amount of attractions to be added the following season.

Joust-a-Bout

1982

1998

Flat Ride

Removed due to high maintenance costs.

North American Tower

1991

1998

Flat Ride

Was a part of the Adventure Rivers section that was removed to make more space for the mass amount of attractions to be added the following season.

Spinnaker

1999

2000

Flat Ride

Pirate's Flight

1999

2001

Flat Ride

Schwabinchen

1975

2001

Flat Ride

Removed at the end of the 1986 season but was added back in 1993.

Scrambler

1978

2001

Flat Ride

Sling Shot

2001

2001

Upcharge Attraction

It was a trailer mounted attraction.

Time Warp

1999

2001

Flat Ride

Evolution

1999

2002

Flat Ride

Speed Sports

2001

2002

Upcharge Attraction

Turbo Force

2001

2002

Upcharge Attraction

It was a trailer mounted attraction.

Jumpin' Jack Flash

1999

2003

Flat Ride

Pendulum

1999

2003

Flat Ride

Chaos

1999

2005

Flat Ride

Rodeo Stampede

1999

2005

Flat Ride

Rotor

1975

2005

Flat Ride

Viper

1995

2005

Roller Coaster

The ride was closed very often and was considered extremely rough by park-goers.

Spin Meister

1979

2005

Flat Ride

Freefall

1983

2006

Flat Ride

Hydro Flume

1999

2006

Flat Ride

Alcatraz

2001

2007

Upcharge Attraction

The ride was not very popular as its entrance was hard to locate and guests didn't know what the ride was.

Autobahn

1976

2007

Flat Ride

Bumper cars. The ride building has been closed since 2008.

Batman and Robin: The Chiller

1997

2007

Roller Coaster

The ride was closed very often and opened almost a year behind schedule. The Batman side was troubled more than the Robin as it was rarely open throughout its lifetime.

Flying Wave

1974

2007

Flat Ride

Looping Starship

1985

2007

Flat Ride

Musik Express

1976

2007

Flat Ride

Closed from 2008 to 2014, removed mid-2014.

Splash Water Falls

1987

2007

Flat Ride

The name was changed to Movie Town Water Effect during its life at the park.

Eruption

2003

2010

Upcharge Attraction

The Great American Scream Machine

1989

2010

Roller Coaster

The ride was replaced by Green Lantern.

The Right Stuff: Mach 1 Adventure

1994

2010

Flat Ride

Motion simulator that had many different films throughout its lifetime. The building is currently used for storage as the theater seats have been removed from the main show room.

Turbo Bungy

2001

2011

Upcharge Attraction

A trampoline attraction.

Rolling Thunder

1979

2013

Roller Coaster

Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom and El Diablo unofficially replaced it.

text: Restaurants[edit]

text:
The Best of the West – Pit barbecue ribs, pulled pork, burgers, grilled chicken, salad, beer – Frontier Adventures
Nathan's Famous – The Boardwalk
Johnny Rockets – Main Street Frontier Adventures, Plaza Del Carneval
Primo's Pizzeria Featuring Famous Famiglia – The Golden Kingdom, MovieTown and Main Street
Panda Express – Lakefront
Carnegie Deli – corned beef, pastrami, turkey, roast beef sandwiches (white, rye, or wheat), garden salads, pickles, desserts – Main Street
Cold Stone Creamery – Main Street, Movietown, Golden Kingdom
Ben and Jerrys – Fantasy Forest, The Boardwalk and inside Yum Yum Cafe
Yum Yum Cafe, formerly the Yum Yum Palace and later the Great Character Cafe, in a building decorated with fiberglass moldings in the shape of ice cream and candies,[32][33][34][35] in the Fantasy Forest, offering "hamburgers, chicken fritters, fries, salads"[36]
Johnny Rockets/Papa Johns – Looney Tunes Seaport
Backlot – traditional food – Movietown
Granny's Country Kitchen – fried chicken – Fantasy Forest
Garden State Grill – Variety of burgers, including the Jersey Burger - The Boardwalk
Mama Flora's Cucina – Italian food – Adventure Alley
La Cocina – Mexican food – Plaza Del Carnaval
New England Hot Dog – Premium Hot Dogs with unique toppings – Looney Tunes Seaport
Coca-Cola Freestyle – Coca-Cola drinks flavored as-you-like – Fantasy Forest
"Sweet Cakes & Cones" - Funnel cakes & hand-dipped ice cream (open in the evening) - "Main Street"
"Cyber Cafe" - Funnel cakes, freshly brewed coffee and internet access - "Main Street"
"Dippin' Dots - Flash-frozen ice cream - "Main Street"
"Main Street Pub" - Chicken tenders, fries & beer - "Main Street"
"Liberty Pub" - Ice-cold beer & wine - "Main Street"
"Lakefront Snacks" - Pretzels, popcorn, churros, & beverages - "Main Street"
"Main Street Snacks" - Pretzels, turkey legs, popcorn & beverages - "Main Street"
"Fountain Drink" - Snacks & Slurpee®
Adventure Alley Snacks - Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, salads & beer, air conditioned

text: Awards[edit]

text: Many of Six Flags Great Adventure's most thrilling roller coasters have placed in Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards. Below is a table with coasters at Great Adventure and their highest ranking in the Golden Ticket Awards.

text:
Roller Coaster

Highest Rank

Nitro

3 (2007 – 2012)[37]

El Toro

1 (2012, 2017)[38]

Bizarro (Medusa)

16 (1999)[39]

Kingda Ka

25 (2008)[40]

text: In 2012, Six Flags Great Adventure, along with the Garden State Film Festival, was awarded the Tourism Achievement Award. Both were presented the award for their contributions to improving the economy of the bi-county area through the use of tourism.[41]

text: Fright Fest[edit]

text: During the Halloween season, Six Flags Great Adventure is redecorated with spider webs, smoke machines, and other Halloween related decorations. Actors dress up in scary costumes and walk around to frighten guests, as they once did at the Haunted Castle. Fright Fest typically begins at 6:00 PM, as the zombies parade to a stage to kick off "fright by night." The park does not recommend the nighttime activities for children 13 or under. Fright Fest attracts some of the heaviest crowds of the season, and becomes more and more crowded as the date draws closer to Halloween.

text: One of the most popular attractions at Fright Fest every year is the theatrical production of Dead Man's Party, a live dance show with popular music that draws hundreds of viewers for every showing and has attained an almost cult-like local following.

text: The seasonal event includes upcharge walk-through haunted attractions. Recurring attractions include The Manor, Total Darkness, Voodoo Island, and Wasteland. Areas of the park that include free-roaming zombies are The Bloody Fountain (Main Street), Circus Psycho (Boardwalk), and Bone Butcher Terror-tory (Frontier Adventures).


document_title: I Have a Dream

question_text: i have a dream speech is what kind of writing

root

text: I Have a Dream

text: Background

text: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was partly intended to demonstrate mass support for the civil rights legislation proposed by President Kennedy in June. Martin Luther King and other leaders therefore agreed to keep their speeches calm, also, to avoid provoking the civil disobedience which had become the hallmark of the Civil Rights Movement. King originally designed his speech as a homage to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, timed to correspond with the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation.[6]

tag: p

text: Speech title and the writing process

text: King had been preaching about dreams since 1960, when he gave a speech to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) called "The Negro and the American Dream". This speech discusses the gap between the American dream and reality, saying that overt white supremacists have violated the dream, and that "our federal government has also scarred the dream through its apathy and hypocrisy, its betrayal of the cause of justice". King suggests that "It may well be that the Negro is God's instrument to save the soul of America."[9][10] In 1961, he spoke of the Civil Rights Movement and student activists' "dream" of equality—"the American Dream ... a dream as yet unfulfilled"—in several national speeches and statements, and took "the dream" as the centerpiece for these speeches.[11]

text: On November 27, 1962, King gave a speech at Booker T. Washington High School in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. That speech was longer than the version which he would eventually deliver from the Lincoln Memorial. And while parts of the text had been moved around, large portions were identical, including the "I have a dream" refrain.[12][13] After being rediscovered,[14] the restored and digitized recording of the 1962 speech was presented to the public by the English department of North Carolina State University.[12]

text: Martin Luther King had also delivered a "dream" speech in Detroit, in June 1963, when he marched on Woodward Avenue with Walter Reuther and the Reverend C. L. Franklin, and had rehearsed other parts.[15]

text: The March on Washington Speech, known as "I Have a Dream Speech", has been shown to have had several versions, written at several different times.[16] It has no single version draft, but is an amalgamation of several drafts, and was originally called "Normalcy, Never Again". Little of this, and another "Normalcy Speech", ended up in the final draft. A draft of "Normalcy, Never Again" is housed in the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection of the Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center and Morehouse College.[17] The focus on "I have a dream" comes through the speech's delivery. Toward the end of its delivery, noted African American gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouted to King from the crowd, "Tell them about the dream, Martin."[18] King departed from his prepared remarks and started "preaching" improvisationally, punctuating his points with "I have a dream."

text: The speech was drafted with the assistance of Stanley Levison and Clarence Benjamin Jones[19] in Riverdale, New York City. Jones has said that "the logistical preparations for the march were so burdensome that the speech was not a priority for us" and that, "on the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 27, [12 hours before the march] Martin still didn't know what he was going to say".[20]

text: Leading up to the speech's rendition at the Great March on Washington, King had delivered its "I have a dream" refrains in his speech before 25,000 people in Detroit's Cobo Hall immediately after the 125,000-strong Great Walk to Freedom in Detroit, June 23, 1963.[21][22] After the Washington, D.C. March, a recording of King's Cobo Hall speech was released by Detroit's Gordy Records as an LP entitled "The Great March To Freedom".[23]

text: Speech

text: Widely hailed as a masterpiece of rhetoric, King's speech invokes pivotal documents in American history, including the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the United States Constitution. Early in his speech, King alludes to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address by saying "Five score years ago..." In reference to the abolition of slavery articulated in the Emancipation Proclamation, King says: "It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity." Anaphora (i.e., the repetition of a phrase at the beginning of sentences) is employed throughout the speech. Early in his speech, King urges his audience to seize the moment; "Now is the time" is repeated three times in the sixth paragraph. The most widely cited example of anaphora is found in the often quoted phrase "I have a dream", which is repeated eight times as King paints a picture of an integrated and unified America for his audience. Other occasions include "One hundred years later", "We can never be satisfied", "With this faith", "Let freedom ring", and "free at last". King was the sixteenth out of eighteen people to speak that day, according to the official program.[24]

text:
I still have a dream, a dream deeply rooted in the American dream – one day this nation will rise up and live up to its creed, "We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream...
“
”

Martin Luther King Jr. (1963)[25]

tag: div

text: Among the most quoted lines of the speech are "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!"[26]

text: According to U.S. Representative John Lewis, who also spoke that day as the president of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, "Dr. King had the power, the ability, and the capacity to transform those steps on the Lincoln Memorial into a monumental area that will forever be recognized. By speaking the way he did, he educated, he inspired, he informed not just the people there, but people throughout America and unborn generations."[27]

text: The ideas in the speech reflect King's social experiences of ethnocentric abuse, the mistreatment and exploitation of blacks.[28] The speech draws upon appeals to America's myths as a nation founded to provide freedom and justice to all people, and then reinforces and transcends those secular mythologies by placing them within a spiritual context by arguing that racial justice is also in accord with God's will. Thus, the rhetoric of the speech provides redemption to America for its racial sins.[29] King describes the promises made by America as a "promissory note" on which America has defaulted. He says that "America has given the Negro people a bad check", but that "we've come to cash this check" by marching in Washington, D.C.

text: Similarities and allusions

text: King's speech used words and ideas from his own speeches and other texts. For years, he had spoken about dreams, quoted from Samuel Francis Smith's popular patriotic hymn "America" ("My Country, 'Tis of Thee"), and of course referred extensively to the Bible. The idea of constitutional rights as an "unfulfilled promise" was suggested by Clarence Jones.[9]

text: The final passage from King's speech closely resembles Archibald Carey Jr.'s address to the 1952 Republican National Convention: both speeches end with a recitation of the first verse of "America", and the speeches share the name of one of several mountains from which both exhort "let freedom ring".[9][30]

text: King also is said to have used portions of Prathia Hall's speech at the site of a burned-down African American church in Terrell County, Georgia, in September 1962, in which she used the repeated phrase "I have a dream".[31] The church burned down after it was used for voter registration meetings.[32]

text: The speech also alludes to Psalm 30:5[33] in the second stanza of the speech. Additionally, King quotes from Isaiah 40:4–5 ("I have a dream that every valley shall be exalted..."[34]) and Amos 5:24 ("But let justice roll down like water..."[35]). He also alludes to the opening lines of Shakespeare's Richard III ("Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer...") when he remarks that "this sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn..."

text: Rhetoric

text: The "I Have a Dream" speech can be dissected by using three rhetorical lenses: voice merging, prophetic voice, and dynamic spectacle.[36] Voice merging is the combining of one's own voice with religious predecessors. Prophetic voice is using rhetoric to speak for a population. A dynamic spectacle has origins from the Aristotelian definition as "a weak hybrid form of drama, a theatrical concoction that relied upon external factors (shock, sensation, and passionate release) such as televised rituals of conflict and social control."[37]

text: Voice merging is a common technique used amongst African American preachers. It combines the voices of previous preachers and excerpts from scriptures along with their own unique thoughts to create a unique voice. King uses voice merging in his peroration when he references the secular hymn "America."

text: The rhetoric of King's speech can be compared to the rhetoric of Old Testament prophets. During King's speech, he speaks with urgency and crisis giving him a prophetic voice. The prophetic voice must "restore a sense of duty and virtue amidst the decay of venality."[38] An evident example is when King declares that, "now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children."

text: Why King's speech was powerful is debated, but essentially, it came at a point of many factors combining at a key cultural turning point. Executive speechwriter Anthony Trendl writes, "The right man delivered the right words to the right people in the right place at the right time."[39]

text: "Given the context of drama and tension in which it was situated", King's speech can be classified as a dynamic spectacle.[40] A dynamic spectacle is dependent on the situation in which it is used. It can be considered a dynamic spectacle because it happened at the correct time and place: during the Civil Rights Movement and the March on Washington.

text: Responses

text: The speech was lauded in the days after the event, and was widely considered the high point of the March by contemporary observers.[41] James Reston, writing for The New York Times, said that "Dr. King touched all the themes of the day, only better than anybody else. He was full of the symbolism of Lincoln and Gandhi, and the cadences of the Bible. He was both militant and sad, and he sent the crowd away feeling that the long journey had been worthwhile."[9] Reston also noted that the event "was better covered by television and the press than any event here since President Kennedy's inauguration", and opined that "it will be a long time before [Washington] forgets the melodious and melancholy voice of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. crying out his dreams to the multitude."[42] An article in The Boston Globe by Mary McGrory reported that King's speech "caught the mood" and "moved the crowd" of the day "as no other" speaker in the event.[43] Marquis Childs of The Washington Post wrote that King's speech "rose above mere oratory".[44] An article in the Los Angeles Times commented that the "matchless eloquence" displayed by King—"a supreme orator" of "a type so rare as almost to be forgotten in our age"—put to shame the advocates of segregation by inspiring the "conscience of America" with the justice of the civil-rights cause.[45]

text: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which viewed King and his allies for racial justice as subversive, also noticed the speech. This provoked the organization to expand their COINTELPRO operation against the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and to target King specifically as a major enemy of the United States.[46] Two days after King delivered "I Have a Dream", Agent William C. Sullivan, the head of COINTELPRO, wrote a memo about King's growing influence:

text: In the light of King's powerful demagogic speech yesterday he stands head and shoulders above all other Negro leaders put together when it comes to influencing great masses of Negroes. We must mark him now, if we have not done so before, as the most dangerous Negro of the future in this Nation from the standpoint of communism, the Negro and national security.[47]

text: The speech was a success for the Kennedy administration and for the liberal civil rights coalition that had planned it. It was considered a "triumph of managed protest", and not one arrest relating to the demonstration occurred. Kennedy had watched King's speech on television and been very impressed. Afterwards, March leaders accepted an invitation to the White House to meet with President Kennedy. Kennedy felt the March bolstered the chances for his civil rights bill.[48]

text: Meanwhile, some of the more radical Black leaders who were present condemned the speech (along with the rest of the march)[citation needed] as too compromising. Malcolm X later wrote in his autobiography: "Who ever heard of angry revolutionaries swinging their bare feet together with their oppressor in lily pad pools, with gospels and guitars and 'I have a dream' speeches?"[6]

text: Legacy

text: The March on Washington put pressure on the Kennedy administration to advance its civil rights legislation in Congress.[49] The diaries of Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., published posthumously in 2007, suggest that President Kennedy was concerned that if the march failed to attract large numbers of demonstrators, it might undermine his civil rights efforts.

text: In the wake of the speech and march, King was named Man of the Year by TIME magazine for 1963, and in 1964, he was the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.[50] The full speech did not appear in writing until August 1983, some 15 years after King's death, when a transcript was published in The Washington Post.[4]

text: In 1990, the Australian alternative comedy rock band Doug Anthony All Stars released an album called Icon. One song from Icon, "Shang-a-lang", sampled the end of the speech.

text: In 1992, the band Moodswings, incorporated excerpts from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech in their song "Spiritual High, Part III. on the album Moodfood".

text: In 2002, the Library of Congress honored the speech by adding it to the United States National Recording Registry.[51] In 2003, the National Park Service dedicated an inscribed marble pedestal to commemorate the location of King's speech at the Lincoln Memorial.[52]

text: The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was dedicated in 2011. The centerpiece for the memorial is based on a line from King's "I Have A Dream" speech: "Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope."[53] A 30 feet (9.1 m)-high relief of King named the "Stone of Hope" stands past two other pieces of granite that symbolize the "mountain of despair."[53]

text: In August 2012, the Dutch DJ and producer Bakermat released the single "One Day", which consists of an integrated sample of the speech. The re-release in 2014 became a hit in several European countries.[citation needed]

text: On August 26, 2013, UK's BBC Radio 4 broadcast "God's Trombone", in which Gary Younge looked behind the scenes of the speech and explored "what made it both timely and timeless".[54]

text: On August 28, 2013, thousands gathered on the mall in Washington D.C. where King made his historic speech to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the occasion. In attendance were former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and incumbent President Barack Obama, who addressed the crowd and spoke on the significance of the event. Many of King's family were in attendance.[55]

text: On October 11, 2015, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published an exclusive report about Stone Mountain officials considering installation of a new "Freedom Bell" honoring King and citing the speech's reference to the mountain "Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia."[56] Design details and a timeline for its installation remain to be determined. The article mentioned inspiration for the proposed monument came from a bell-ringing ceremony held in 2013 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of King's speech.

text: On April 20, 2016, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew announced that the U.S. $5 bill, which has featured the Lincoln Memorial on its back, would undergo a redesign prior to 2020. Lew said that a portrait of Lincoln would remain on the front of the bill, but the back would be redesigned to depict various historical events that have occurred at the memorial, including an image from King's speech.[57]

text: In October 2016, Science Friday in a segment on its crowd sourced update to the Voyager Golden Record included the speech.[58]

text: Copyright dispute

text: Because King's speech was broadcast to a large radio and television audience, there was controversy about its copyright status. If the performance of the speech constituted "general publication", it would have entered the public domain due to King's failure to register the speech with the Register of Copyrights. However, if the performance only constituted "limited publication", King retained common law copyright. This led to a lawsuit, Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. v. CBS, Inc., which established that the King estate does hold copyright over the speech and had standing to sue; the parties then settled. Unlicensed use of the speech or a part of it can still be lawful in some circumstances, especially in jurisdictions under doctrines such as fair use or fair dealing. Under the applicable copyright laws, the speech will remain under copyright in the United States until 70 years after King's death, until 2038.[59]

text: Original copy of the speech

text: As King waved goodbye to the audience, he handed George Raveling the original typewritten "I Have a Dream" speech.[60] Raveling, an All-American Villanova Wildcats college basketball player, had volunteered as a security guard for the event and was on the podium with King at that moment.[61] In 2013, Raveling still had custody of the original copy, for which he had been offered $3,000,000, but he has said he does not intend to sell it.[62][63]


document_title: Parasympathetic nervous system

question_text: where do the axons of the parasympathetic division originate from

text: Parasympathetic nervous system

text: Structure[edit]

text: The parasympathetic nerves are autonomic or visceral[4][5] branches of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Parasympathetic nerve supply arises through three primary areas:

text:
Some of the cranial nerves in the cranium, namely the preganglionic parasympathetic nerves (CN III, CN VII, and CN IX) usually arise from specific nuclei in the central nervous system (CNS) and synapse at one of four parasympathetic ganglia: ciliary, pterygopalatine, otic, or submandibular. From these four ganglia the parasympathetic nerves complete their journey to target tissues via trigeminal branches (ophthalmic nerve, maxillary nerve, mandibular nerve).
The vagus nerve does not participate in these cranial ganglia as most of its parasympathetic fibers are destined for a broad array of ganglia on or near thoracic viscera (esophagus, trachea, heart, lungs) and abdominal viscera (stomach, pancreas, liver, kidneys, small intestine, and about half of the large intestine). The vagus innervation ends at the junction between the midgut and hindgut, just before the splenic flexure of the transverse colon.
The pelvic splanchnic efferent preganglionic nerve cell bodies reside in the lateral gray horn of the spinal cord at the T12-L1 vertebral levels (the spinal cord terminates at the L1-L2 vertebrae with the conus medullaris), and their axons exit the vertebral column as S2-S4 spinal nerves through the sacral foramina.[6] Their axons continue away from the CNS to synapse at an autonomic ganglion. The parasympathetic ganglion where these preganglionic neurons synapse will be close to the organ of innervation.  This differs from the sympathetic nervous system, where synapses between pre- and post-ganglionic efferent nerves in general occur at ganglia that are farther away from the target organ.

tag: ol

text: As in the sympathetic nervous system, efferent parasympathetic nerve signals are carried from the central nervous system to their targets by a system of two neurons.  The first neuron in this pathway is referred to as the preganglionic or presynaptic neuron.  Its cell body sits in the central nervous system and its axon usually extends to synapse with the dendrites of a postganglionic neuron somewhere else in the body. The axons of presynaptic parasympathetic neurons are usually long, extending from the CNS into a ganglion that is either very close to or embedded in their target organ.  As a result, the postsynaptic parasympathetic nerve fibers are very short.[7]:42

text: Cranial nerves[edit]

text: The oculomotor nerve is responsible for several parasympathetic functions related to the eye. The oculomotor PNS fibers originate in the Edinger-Westphal nucleus in the central nervous system and travel through the superior orbital fissure to synapse in the ciliary ganglion located just behind the orbit (eye). From the ciliary ganglion the postganglionic parasympathetic fibers leave via short ciliary nerve fibers, a continuation of the nasociliary nerve (a branch of ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve). The short ciliary nerves innervate the orbit to control the ciliary muscle (responsible for accommodation) and the iris sphincter muscle, which is responsible for miosis or constriction of the pupil (in response to light or accommodation).

text: The parasympathetic aspect of the facial nerve controls secretion of the sublingual and submandibular salivary glands, the lacrimal gland, and the glands associated with the nasal cavity. The preganglionic fibers originate within the CNS in the superior salivatory nucleus and leave as the intermediate nerve (which some consider a separate cranial nerve altogether) to connect with the facial nerve just distal (further out) to it surfacing the central nervous system. Just after the facial nerve geniculate ganglion (general sensory ganglion) in the temporal bone, the facial nerve gives off two separate parasympathetic nerves. The first is the greater petrosal nerve and the second is the chorda tympani. The greater petrosal nerve travels through the middle ear and eventually combines with the deep petrosal nerve (sympathetic fibers) to form the nerve of the pterygoid canal. The parasympathetic fibers of the nerve of the pterygoid canal synapse at the pterygopalatine ganglion, which is closely associated with the maxillary division of the trigeminal nerve (CN V2). The postganglionic parasympathetic fibers leave the pterygopalatine ganglion in several directions. One division leaves on the zygomatic division of CN V2 and travels on a communicating branch to unite with the lacrimal nerve (branch of the ophthalmic nerve of CN V1) before synapsing at the lacrimal gland. These parasympathetic to the lacrimal gland control tear production.

text: A separate group of parasympathetic leaving from the pterygopalatine ganglion are the descending palatine nerves (CN V2 branch), which include the greater and lesser palatine nerves. The greater palatine parasympathetic synapse on the hard palate and regulate mucus glands located there. The lesser palatine nerve synapses at the soft palate and controls sparse taste receptors and mucus glands. Yet another set of divisions from the pterygopalatine ganglion are the posterior, superior, and inferior lateral nasal nerves; and the nasopalatine nerves (all branches of CN V2, maxillary division of the trigeminal nerve) that bring parasympathetic innervation to glands of the nasal mucosa. The second parasympathetic branch that leaves the facial nerve is the chorda tympani. This nerve carries secretomotor fibers to the submandibular and sublingual glands. The chorda tympani travels through the middle ear and attaches to the lingual nerve (mandibular division of trigeminal, CN V3). After joining the lingual nerve, the preganglionic fibers synapse at the submandibular ganglion and send postganglionic fibers to the sublingual and submandibular salivary glands.

text: The glossopharyngeal nerve has parasympathetic fibers that innervate the parotid salivary gland. The preganglionic fibers depart CN IX as the tympanic nerve and continue to the middle ear where they make up a tympanic plexus on the cochlear promontory of the mesotympanum. The tympanic plexus of nerves rejoin and form the lesser petrosal nerve and exit through the foramen ovale to synapse at the otic ganglion. From the otic ganglion postganglionic parasympathetic fibers travel with the auriculotemporal nerve (mandibular branch of trigeminal, CN V3) to the parotid salivary gland.

text: Vagus nerve[edit]

text: The vagus nerve, named after the Latin word vagus (because the nerve controls such a broad range of target tissues – vagus in Latin literally means "wandering"), has parasympathetic that originate in the dorsal nucleus of the vagus nerve and the nucleus ambiguus in the CNS. The vagus nerve is an unusual cranial parasympathetic in that it doesn't join the trigeminal nerve in order to get to its target tissues. Another peculiarity is that the vagus has an autonomic ganglion associated with it at approximately the level of C1 vertebra. The vagus gives no parasympathetic to the cranium. The vagus nerve is hard to track definitively due to its ubiquitous nature in the thorax and abdomen so the major contributions will be discussed. Several parasympathetic nerves come off the vagus nerve as it enters the thorax. One nerve is the recurrent laryngeal nerve, which becomes the inferior laryngeal nerve. From the left vagus nerve the recurrent laryngeal nerve hooks around the aorta to travel back up to the larynx and proximal esophagus while, from the right vagus nerve, the recurrent laryngeal nerve hooks around the right subclavian artery to travel back up to the same location as its counterpart. These different paths are a direct result of embryological development of the circulatory system. Each recurrent laryngeal nerve supplies the trachea and the esophagus with parasympathetic secretomotor innervation for glands associated with them (and other fibers that are not PN).

text: Another nerve that comes off the vagus nerves approximately at the level of entering the thorax are the cardiac nerves. These cardiac nerves go on to form cardiac and pulmonary plexuses around the heart and lungs. As the main vagus nerves continue into the thorax they become intimately linked with the esophagus and sympathetic nerves from the sympathetic trunks to form the esophageal plexus. This is very efficient as the major function of the vagus nerve from there on will be control of the gut smooth muscles and glands. As the esophageal plexus enter the abdomen through the esophageal hiatus anterior and posterior vagus trunks form. The vagus trunks then join with preaortic sympathetic ganglion around the aorta to disperse with the blood vessels and sympathetic nerves throughout the abdomen. The extent of the parasympathetic in the abdomen include the pancreas, kidneys, liver, gall bladder, stomach and gut tube. The vagus contribution of parasympathetic continues down the gut tube until the end of the midgut. The midgut ends two thirds of the way across the transverse colon near the splenic flexure.[8]

text: Pelvic splanchnic nerves[edit]

text: The pelvic splanchnic nerves, S2-4, work in tandem to innervate the pelvic viscera. Unlike in the cranium, where one parasympathetic is in charge of one particular tissue or region, for the most part the pelvic splanchnics each contribute fibers to pelvic viscera by traveling to one or more plexuses before being dispersed to the target tissue. These plexuses are composed of mixed autonomic nerve fibers (parasympathetic and sympathetic) and include the vesical, prostatic, rectal, uterovaginal, and inferior hypogastric plexuses. The preganglionic neurons in the pathway do not synapse in a ganglion as in the cranium but rather in the walls of the tissues or organs that they innervate. The fiber paths are variable and each individual's autonomic nervous system in the pelvis is unique. The visceral tissues in the pelvis that the parasympathetic nerve pathway controls include those of the urinary bladder, ureters, urinary sphincter, anal sphincter, uterus, prostate, glands, vagina, and penis. Unconsciously, the parasympathetic will cause peristaltic movements of the ureters and intestines, moving urine from the kidneys into the bladder and food down the intestinal tract and, upon necessity, the parasympathetic will assist in excreting urine from the bladder or defecation. Stimulation of the parasympathetic will cause the detrusor muscle (urinary bladder wall) to contract and simultaneously relax the internal sphincter muscle between the bladder and the urethra, allowing the bladder to void. Also, parasympathetic stimulation of the internal anal sphincter will relax this muscle to allow defecation. There are other skeletal muscles involved with these processes but the parasympathetic plays a huge role in continence and bowel retention.

text: A study published in 2016, suggests that all sacral autonomic output may be sympathetic; indicating that the rectum, bladder and reproductive organs may only be innervated by the sympathetic nervous system. This suggestion is based on detailed analysis of 15 phenotypic and ontogenetic factors differentiating sympathetic from parasympathetic neurons in the mouse. Assuming that the reported findings most likely applies to other mammals as well, this novel perspective suggests a simplified, bipartite architecture of the autonomic nervous system, in which the parasympathetic nervous system receives input from cranial nerves exclusively and the sympathetic nervous system from thoracic to sacral spinal nerves.[9]

text:
Autonomic nervous supply to organs in the human body edit

Organ
Nerves[10]
Spinal column origin[10]

stomach

PS: anterior and posterior vagal trunks
S: greater splanchnic nerves

T5,T6, T7, T8, T9, sometimes T10

duodenum

PS: vagus nerves
S: greater splanchnic nerves

T5, T6, T7, T8, T9, sometimes T10

jejunum and ileum

PS: posterior vagal trunks
S: greater splanchnic nerves

T5, T6, T7, T8, T9

spleen

S: greater splanchnic nerves

T6, T7, T8

gallbladder and liver

PS: vagus nerve
S: celiac plexus
right phrenic nerve

T6, T7, T8, T9

colon

PS: vagus nerves and pelvic splanchnic nerves
S: lesser and least splanchnic nerves

T10, T11, T12 (proximal colon)
L1, L2, L3,  (distal colon)

pancreatic head

PS: vagus nerves
S: thoracic splanchnic nerves

T8, T9

appendix

nerves to superior mesenteric plexus

T10

kidneys and ureters

PS: vagus nerve
S: thoracic and lumbar splanchnic nerves

T11, T12

tag: table

text: Emerging evidence in mouse models is suggesting that the previously held notion of the sacral spinal nerves being parasympathetic is incorrect, and that they may actually be sympathetic.[9]

text: Function[edit]

text: Sensation[edit]

text: The afferent fibers of the autonomic nervous system, which transmit sensory information from the internal organs of the body back to the central nervous system, are not divided into parasympathetic and sympathetic fibers as the efferent fibers are.[7]:34–35  Instead, autonomic sensory information is conducted by general visceral afferent fibers.

text: General visceral afferent sensations are mostly unconscious visceral motor reflex sensations from hollow organs and glands that are transmitted to the CNS.  While the unconscious reflex arcs normally are undetectable, in certain instances they may send pain sensations to the CNS masked as referred pain. If the peritoneal cavity becomes inflamed or if the bowel is suddenly distended, the body will interpret the afferent pain stimulus as somatic in origin. This pain is usually non-localized. The pain is also usually referred to dermatomes that are at the same spinal nerve level as the visceral afferent synapse.

text: Vascular effects[edit]

text: Heart rate is largely controlled by the heart's internal pacemaker activity. Considering a healthy heart, the main pacemaker is a collection of cells on the border of the atria and vena cava called the sinoatrial node. Heart cells exhibit automaticity which is the ability to generate electrical activity independent of external stimulation. As a result, the cells of the node spontaneously generate electrical activity that is subsequently conducted throughout the heart, resulting in a regular heart rate.

text: In absence of any external stimuli, sinoatrial pacing contributes to maintain the heart rate in the range of 60-100 beats per minute (bpm).[11] At the same time, the two branches of the autonomic nervous system act in a complementary way increasing or slowing the heart rate. In this context, the vagus nerve acts on sinoatrial node slowing its conduction thus actively modulating vagal tone accordingly. This modulation is mediated by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and downstream changes to ionic currents and calcium of heart cells.[12]

text: The vagus nerve plays a crucial role in heart rate regulation by modulating the response of sinoatrial node, vagal tone can be quantified by investigating heart rate modulation induced by vagal tone changes. As a general consideration, increased vagal tone (and thus vagal action) is associated with a diminished and more variable heart rate.[13][14] The main mechanism by which the parasympathetic nervous system acts on vascular and cardiac control is the so called respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). RSA is described as the physiological and rhythmical fluctuation of heart rate at the respiration frequency, characterized by heart rate increase during inspiration and decrease during expiration.

text: Sexual activity[edit]

text: Another role that the parasympathetic nervous system plays is in sexual activity. In males, the cavernous nerves from the prostatic plexus stimulate smooth muscles in the fibrous trabeculae of the coiled helicene arteries to relax and allow blood to fill the corpora cavernosum and the corpus spongiosum of the penis, making it rigid to prepare for sexual activity. Upon emission of ejaculate, the sympathetics participate and cause peristalsis of the ductus deferens and closure of the internal urethral sphincter to prevent semen from entering the bladder. At the same time, parasympathetics cause peristalsis of the urethral muscle, and the pudendal nerve causes contraction of the bulbospongiosus (skeletal muscle is not via PN), to forcibly emit the semen. During remission the penis becomes flaccid again. In the female, there is erectile tissue analogous to the male yet less substantial that plays a large role in sexual stimulation. The PN cause release of secretions in the female that decrease friction. Also in the female, the parasympathetics innervate the fallopian tubes, which helps peristaltic contractions and movement of the oocyte to the uterus for implantation. The secretions from the female genital tract aid in sperm migration. The PN (and SN to a lesser extent) play a significant role in reproduction.[7]

text: Receptors[edit]

text: The parasympathetic nervous system uses chiefly acetylcholine (ACh) as its neurotransmitter, although peptides (such as cholecystokinin) can be used.[15][16] The ACh acts on two types of receptors, the muscarinic and nicotinic cholinergic receptors. Most transmissions occur in two stages: When stimulated, the preganglionic neuron releases ACh at the ganglion, which acts on nicotinic receptors of postganglionic neurons. The postganglionic neuron then releases ACh to stimulate the muscarinic receptors of the target organ.

text: Types of muscarinic receptors[edit]

text: The five main types of muscarinic receptors:

text:
The M1 muscarinic receptors (CHRM1) are located in the neural system.
The M2 muscarinic receptors  (CHRM2) are located in the heart, and act to bring the heart back to normal after the actions of the sympathetic nervous system: slowing down the heart rate, reducing contractile forces of the atrial cardiac muscle, and reducing conduction velocity of the sinoatrial node and atrioventricular node. They have a minimal effect on the contractile forces of the ventricular muscle due to sparse innervation of the ventricles from the parasympathetic nervous system.
The M3 muscarinic receptors  (CHRM3) are located at many places in the body, such as the endothelial cells of blood vessels, as well as the lungs causing bronchoconstriction. The net effect of innervated M3 receptors on blood vessels is vasodilation, as acetylcholine causes endothelial cells to produce nitric oxide, which diffuses to smooth muscle and results in vasodilation. They are also in the smooth muscles of the gastrointestinal tract, which help in increasing intestinal motility and dilating sphincters. The M3 receptors are also located in many glands that help to stimulate secretion in salivary glands and other glands of the body. They are also located on the detrusor muscle and urothelium of the bladder, causing contraction.[17]
The M4 muscarinic receptors: Postganglionic cholinergic nerves, possible CNS effects
The M5 muscarinic receptors: Possible effects on the CNS

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text: Types of nicotinic receptors[edit]

text: In vertebrates, nicotinic receptors are broadly classified into two subtypes based on their primary sites of expression: muscle-type nicotinic receptors (N1) primarily for somatic motor neurons; and neuronal-type nicotinic receptors (N2) primarily for autonomic nervous system.[18]

text: Relationship to sympathetic nervous system[edit]

text: Sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions typically function in opposition to each other. The sympathetic division typically functions in actions requiring quick responses. The parasympathetic division functions with actions that do not require immediate reaction. A useful mnemonic to summarize the functions of the parasympathetic nervous system is SSLUDD (sexual arousal, salivation, lacrimation, urination, digestion and defecation).

text: Clinical significance[edit]

text: This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2012)

text: The parasympathetic nervous system promotes digestion and the synthesis of glycogen, and allows for normal function and behavior.