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Nitro @ Six Flags Great Adventure | Coaster Reviews
Take a Spin on Six Flag’s Most Acclaimed Roller Coaster
Nitro is a popular hyper coaster that completes Six Flags Great Adventure’s trinity of top-notch roller coasters. Kingda Ka, El Toro, and Nitro make Great Adventure a must visit destination for coaster enthusiasts. Nitro has received the most praise of just about any roller coaster Six Flags has in their arsenal. In 2006, Nitro was ranked 7th among the best steel roller coasters in the world in Mitch Hawker’s Coaster Poll. It also ranked 4th in Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards.Hoping to replicate the success of Apollo’s Chariot, Six Flags hired Bolliger & Mabillard to build Nitro in 2001. Your ride begins as you climb aboard the ultra-comfortable, chair-like train cars. From your midsection up, you are completely free. The seats are raised above the floor of the cars allowing your feet and legs to swing freely.
After the train leaves the station it takes an immediate swooping turn to the left. Then you begin your long, 23-story ascent. Great Adventure is a pretty
large park, but luckily they gave Nitro its own wooded section. As you rise the lift hill you see only the bright yellow track and trees. Here’s an overhead look of Nitro’s layout. The first drop is a memorable 215′ that results in a furious 80 mph at the bottom. This is followed by another hill, this time with a banked crest. This second hill offers a small pop of airtime and a 130′ drop. More hills follow as you continue to rise up above the tree line only to drop back down to earth.At the half-way point the train rises into the hammerhead turn. (Seen here.) It’s a raised heavily-banked u-turn. It’s somewhat similar to the swooping turn around that follows Millennium Force’s first drop. With it’s height and g-forces the hammerhead element is the highlight of the ride. Next, the train coasts over another smaller hill. Then the s-curve section which is fun, but forgettable. A pretty intense upward double helix is followed by a short brake run.
Immediately following the brakes you reach Nitro’s finale, a series of four small airtime hills. This is the same recipe B&M used to finish off Apollo’s Chariot. On Nitro however, the airtime is much less abundant. That’s my main problem with Nitro as a whole. It’s a fun, smooth
ride, with some large drops and exciting elements, but the airtime (moments of being lifted out of your seat) isn’t as memorable or was non-existent. Nitro is still a great roller coaster that deserves the attention and accolades it receives. Final Rating – 9.0 (Excellent) Similar B&M hyper coasters: Apollo’s Chariot at Busch Gardens Europe, Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia, Silver Star at Europa Park
What’s Your Take?
Do you have a question or comment about Nitro? Leave one below. Photos courtesy of CoasterImage
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The first time I rode Nitro I thought it was an awesome coaster with a ton of really good airtime. I went back to Great Adventure a few years later and thought that it was kind of boring with almost no air time like you described. After riding it a second time that day I realized that Nitro is two completely different rides depending on whether you sit in the front or the back. In the front the trains have enough speed when they crest the hills to pop you out of your seat. However if you sit in the back of the train you have already lost too much speed when you go over each hill to get lifted out of your seat. If Six Flags would have made the coaster a little bit faster I think all sections of the train would get good air time and they could have a world class ride on their hands.
SMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTH and possibly the most comfortable coaster seats ever! I recommend a sunset ride for a spectacular view.
The best ride at Six Flags Great Adventure! No contest!
Jake, that was exactly what I was going to say!
Hey Judy, if you thought the seats to nitro were comfortable, go on apollos chariot at busch gardens. It cant get any better than that!
That is EXACTLY RIGHT. NO SMOOTHER SEATS THAN THE GOD OF THE SUN.
I have now rode both…Nitro is SLIGHTLY better…..I didn’t like the theme as well as Apollo but something about the drop was a little better…..a world class coaster for sure
Just rode Nitro yesterday and have now been on two B&M Hypers also: Apollo’s Chariot and Nitro. Since Nitro was ranked so highly I thought it would be a little bit better than Apollo. To the contrary I think i like Apollo’s Chariot better. The best reason I can think of is the pre drop on Apollo. I don’t know the science of it but I just felt that Apollo was more intense and had better airtime. I agree with the above statement that the front on Nitro is more intense but when i rode the back i felt like there was more floater air. I also didn’t like it at the front when you kind of stutter going over the hill due coming off the chain. Overall i must say I loved the ride and having only been on about 30 coasters Nitro would probably be in my top 5 behind Apollo, El Toro, Intimidator 305 and Volcano.
Nitro is one of my favorite coasters but if you ask me, there is one element of the ride that is constantly overlooked. at the beggining of the ride, you go in a slightly banked sweeping turn a bove the Q. since you just got used to having your legs dangling after the usualy long wait. its a little diorienting, and the people some 10 feet under you looking up and to the fun, the turn leaves you on edge for the rest of the ride. also the seats on nitro and apallos chariot are exactly the same so how can apallo be more comfortable?
I love this feature on B&M’s. Also used on Dominator at KD and Griffon at BGE. It is a nice touch to start a ride off that way!
Nitro is a singular experience. Like the good old Beast at Kings Island of my childhood, it lives in it’s own land of the park. And like any good coaster one has to know how to ride it. Second last seat on the left gets the insane view down on the curving second drop and all the help with the air time coming on. Don’t hold on, relax, airtime fest. I think the hammer head is just a pause for all the good stuff coming, another air moment before intense positive g’s in the up spiral. Soft break and three bumps of neg g’s. Riders have broken into applause after that. But by that point so much has happened on a roller coaster who even knows. Maybe Nitro is a mini-series. Night rides are best. The sky is your own.
how intense is this ride? Is it likely that i’ll throw up? The biggest coaster I’ve been on was Superman (now bizaro) at Six Flags New England
sitting in the front it was one of the best coaster i have ever been on and produces lots of floter air time and is a great senic ride through the woods. but sitting near the back didnt offer as much airtime and it wasnt the same expiriance
cc, where did you ride?
On my most recent trip to Six Flags Great Adventure, I rode This ride six times, once in the morning and five times at night. 4 out of these 6 times, i got to ride in the back, once on the right,edge once on the left edge, and twice in the middle. The two times i didn’t ride in the back, i rode in the second to back, both times on the left side.