Six Flags brings record-breaking Jersey Devil coaster, COVID safety in 2021

Nothing, not even a global pandemic, can stop the team at Six Flags Great Adventure from entertaining guests year after year.

For the Jackson thrill park's 2021 season, innovations necessitated last year by caution over COVID-19 remain in place.

“At Six Flags, we’ve continued to move forward,” said Kristin Fitzgerald, the park's marketing and public relations manager. “The pandemic required us to pivot and explore new ways to entertain, which included bringing back something from our past with a new twist.”

That something was the Six Flags Wild Safari Drive-Thru Adventure. The 4.5-mile trip across a 350-acre preserve housing approximately 1,200 animals resumed operation as a drive-through experience in 2020 for the first time in nearly a decade.

This year, the Six Flags Great Adventure thrill park began its season at the end of March, followed by the re-opening of water park Six Flags Hurricane Harbor on May 15.

Hurricane Harbor starts its 2021 season with a two-week preview period beginning Saturday with many rides, eateries and retail locations open before the park's official launch later the month on Memorial Day weekend.

Six Flags Great Adventure's newest ride, the Jersey Devil Coaster, is still on track to open in 2021, though details of an exact opening date were unavailable at press time.

Up to 130 feet high, sending riders as fast as 58 miles per hour as they hurtle over 3,000 feet of track, the Jersey Devil Coaster is set to be the tallest, longest and fastest single-rail coaster in the world.

Get a preview of Six Flags Great Adventure's Jersey Devil Coaster in the video at the top of this story.

Originally announced in 2019, the coaster ran into construction delays due to the pandemic. Crews returned to work in December, placing the final piece of track in January.

COVID-19 safety measures remain in place this year, including a limit on daily attendance. All guests, including park members and season pass holders, must make advance reservations and are required to have been healthy for at least 14 days prior to visiting the park.

All employees and guests older than 2 are required to wear masks covering their nose and mouth at all times, with the exception of designated mask break zones, and in pools and waterpark attractions.

Temperatures of employees and visitors will be checked on arrival, and social distancing will be encouraged on lines and in dining areas. Common areas will be sanitized, hand sanitizer and hand-washing stations will be available throughout the parks, and mobile payments will be accepted at restaurants, retail stores, games, ticket windows and parking lots.

The park unveiled plenty of COVID-inspired adaptations in 2020, such as the return of the drive-through safari, a modified fall fright extravaganza dubbed Hallowfest, and a drive-through component for the winter Holiday in the Park spectacular.

"Operating during the pandemic also provided us with an incredible learning experience," Fitzgerald said. "We’re placing a large emphasis on research, gauging what new features resonate with our guests — and without question, some of our recent additions will remain after the pandemic has passed."

Go: Six Flags Great Adventure, Wild Safari and Hurricane Harbor, 1 Six Flags Blvd., Jackson; sixflags.com/greatadventure for tickets and operating schedule.

To make required reservations, visit sixflags.com/reserve. For a full explanation of Six Flags' COVID-19 safety protocols, visit sixflags.com/greatadventure/plan-your-visit/safety-protocols.

Alex Biese has been writing about art, entertainment, culture and news on a local and national level for more than 15 years.