Which Fun Place (in New Jersey) Wins?

Here’s a myth for you: in New Jersey, there’s absolutely nary a fun place for the whole family.

Nary? Well, I can name at least 2 of them and yes, I have been to both. Both have rides for all ages and both of them have water parks (That’s right – they’re the ones with the lazy rivers, wave pools, and slides!) That brings up this question: which one is worth your visit?

Land of Make Believe and Pirate’s Cove, Hope

How I love when my thoughts run
To the land of make believe.
Where everything is fun
Forever.
– Chuck Mangione

If such a place describes those words, then the Land of Make Believe is it. It’s a charming amusement park in the Jenny Jump Mountains off Interstate 80 – Hope Township to be exact.

Admission is well within budget, keeping in mind free parking, but bring in cash and/or your Discover card – they only accept either and nothing else. The rides are kid friendly, but if you love thrills, then this park is not your cup of tea. It does have a roller coaster, but it’s a kiddie one. But you can explore the Jenny Jump house and learn about the Oz character. I loved the rides there as a kid only, and that warmed me up for the bigger ones in other parks.

Also, the admission includes Pirates Cove Waterpark, right next to it. The big kiddie pool with that big ship and slides thrilled me when I was young. It features a body slide complex called Pirate’s Peak, a wedge tube slide called the Sidewinder, and a serpentine tube slide called the Black Hole. It also features a body slide/tube bowl slide complex called Pirate’s Plunge and a lazy river.

I liked going there as a kid, but would not recommend it for the truer thrill-seekers. But it’s a worthwhile place if you have young’uns under 10 in tow.

Six Flags Great Adventure and Hurricane Harbor, Jackson Township

There’s a joke about a characteristic of a New Jersey resident: he or she knows that Six Flags Great Adventure is called “Great Adventure,” not “Six Flags.” Whatever you call it, it’s a fun theme park with all the Warner Brothers charm and huge thrills! Well, there are a lot of clear differences between that and the LOMB, but I want to name some of them.

The LOMB is in the North Jersey mountains whereas Great Adventure is located in Jackson Township in South Jersey. The latter is expensive with higher admission fees plus parking prices, but they accept more credit cards! There’s separate admission for the Wild Safari (a drive-through safari, but I’m not discussing it here) and the waterpark Hurricane Harbor.

Another main difference is the quality of the rides. While the LOMB’s selection of rides is nothing more than a carnival, Great Adventure pulls out all the stops in the caliber of theirs. I can tell you that there is more than one roller coaster in that park. Try riding Kingda Ka, one of the tallest ones in the world, or El Toro if you want something extreme from a wooden coaster!

The water park, although you have to pay separately, is considerably better thanks to the variety of slides and pools. It has two (and I mean two) raft slides: The Big Bambu and Reef Runner, all in one complex. It also includes tube slide tower Bada Bing, Bada Bang, and Bada Boom, body slide tower The Four Winds,(Boreas, Eurus, Zephyrus and Nortus), another body slide tower (Cannonball Falls, Wahini Falls and Jurahnimo Falls), toboggan slide Hurricane Mountain, and funnel slide The Tornado!

But the thorny side (besides price) is getting there. The park and water park are located off Interstate 195, which is accessible by two evils: the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike. The former road has you losing your impatience, especially in the summer with all the Bennies and other stuff! The other one – well, you know why it’s the pits. Both of them want you to get yourself plenty of dough for that day trip, but you can always give yourself extra drive time and find your way around those roads with a little planning.

As a kid, my family would take both evils (first the Parkway, then the Turnpike) to get to Interstate 195 and eventually to Great Adventure. Expensive, yes, but it’s worth it! If you have the time and money, go there! Little kids, teens, and adults alike are going to enjoy it!

So which location do you prefer: that small park in Hope or that world-class thrill venue in Jackson?

Reference:

• www.lomb.com/
• www.sixflags.com/greatAdventure/index.aspx
• www.sixflags.com/hurricaneHarborNJ/index.aspx