Six Flags Great America 5/19/15

[Gplez90]

Six Flags Great America had always been a park that was on my bucket list, especially with the addition of Goliath in 2014. I heard great things about it, plus it seemed as if they had a pretty solid coaster line up. Now, since I'm living in the Fox Valley region in Wisconsin, getting to Great America is easier than ever! The park opened at 10:30am and closed at 5pm, and since it was a Tuesday, I wasn't expecting the whole city of Chicago to be there. Well, the whole city wasn't there, but every school district within a 20 mile radius might have been.... Anyway, it was a quick two 2 hours and 15 minute drive from the Fox Valley, and a very easy drive it was. Highway 41 to I-94, I-94 to Great America's doorstep.

Great America has one of the more aesthetically pleasing entrances of any Six Flags park I had been to. I noticed right away it was a clean and well kept park. I decided to go with a Gold Membership for my time in Wisconsin. $12 and some change pretty much gets you everything that a platinum pass would at a Cedar Fair park, only with a membership, you can cancel anytime after 12 months and you're not limited to just 12 months (It's a pretty sweet deal if you ask me).

Once I processed my pass, it was time to go into the park. As soon as you walk through the gate (and even in the parking lot) Columbia Carousel is immediately visible. For a carousel, IT'S HUGE. One of (if not) the largest carousels in the world. It is also very beautiful and well keep. As the centerpiece of the park, it does a great job of saying "Welcome to Six Flags Great America. Enjoy your day!" It is also one of the first tastes you get of the parks Americana theme.

When I visit parks, I like to skip the the potatoes and get straight to Filet Mignon. Goliath being the Filet Mignon of this park in my opinion. It was my most anticipated ride, and also my first coaster from RMC! To get to it, you walk through the very well themed Mardi Gras/Orleans Place area of the park.

The whole idea was basically to make you feel like you were walking down Bourbon Street in New Orleans. There are a few rides located in this section, the big ones being Superman Ultimate Flight and The Dark Knight, but we'll save those for later. Like I said, I want Filet Mignon.

Continuing on, you walk through Yankee Harbor, Yukon Territory, and eventually in the County Fair area where Goliath dominates the skyline. Boy does this ride stand out or what....

At first, what catches my eye about this ride is not how tall it is, but how steep the first drop is. I have seen wooden coasters taller than it (El Toro, Son of Beast), but WOW it's steep! It is a very pleasing ride to look at. If I had a full day, I would have brought my new DSLR into the park to take pictures, but sadly I didn't have enough time. The entrance of the ride is pretty cool as well, even though Six Flags loves to reuse the Roman theme. But I realize most people don't visit many other Six Flags parks (if any other ones at all) so that's fine.

We queued up with about a 45 min wait ahead of us in the old Iron Wolf queues. The guy in the blue jacket in the bottom middle part of the picture handed us a ticket with a number on it ( you probably heard about this last year). Before heading up the stairs to the rides's platform, you handed you ticket in. If your ticket was not within 5-10 numbers of the ticket in front of you, you were asked to leave the line (suspected line jumping) unless your group was that large. I like this method. I keeps patrons honest, and it doesn't affect the pace of the ride, or the line. Just don't be a busy body in line and lose your ticket. Going up the stairs to the platform, I got my first close up look at an RMC train... Man they are gorgeous! The Chariot look really fits the ride's theme and looks really good on RMC's trains!

The station was a poo show. People everywhere with no sense of organization. However, with a drop like that, there was only one place to sit. In the back... About 5 mins later we boarded the train. Seatbelt first, lap bar second. Literally. Ride ops would check the entire train for seat belts first tel you to pull down your lap bar, head back to the front of the train, then check lap bars. As annoying as it sounds, I kind of liked it. I like not being rushed. However, they will STAPLE you to the seat, and with RMC trains having the very uncomfortable shin guard, it can be a problem. Whatever, I didn't care. We were finally ride the World's "tallest" fastest and steepest "wooden" roller coaster!! It's a short climb to the top of the hill. It was over cast, but from the top you can see both Chicago's and Milwaukee's skyline. In the last row you better look quick because by the time you see them you're plunging down a 180ft drop at an 85 degree angle at 72mph! Probably the most intense drop I have ever experience.... It feels as is the track will never plain out, but next thing you know you're at the bottom of the drop in a fog filled tunnel. In the back seat, there's airtime all over the place on this thing. One airtime bunny hop, then up into the dive loop which leaves you weightless for a quick second or two. Then you're forcefully pulled downward through a heap of wood and into the graceful zero-g stall. Ahhhhhhh the feeling of being weightless and upside down. It's a wonderful feeling. Most people down like the feeling of hanging upside down, but this is more of a floating sensation. It's almost as if life is in slow motion during the zero-g stall. A dive back into the mist filled tunnel, a quick over banked turn, smile for the camera, and one last pop of airtime heading into the final break run. Pedal to the metal from start to finish, a forceful yet very smooth ride, and the weightless goodness is having me give this ride a 9/10. One point deducted because it's a very short ride.

Long way up!

Nerd shot of the lift motor.

Somewhere in that heap of wood, there are 24 upside down passengers.

Zero-G stall from the ride's exit.

And again.

Since riding Gatekeeper at Cedar Point, I was always interested to see how X-Flight compared so it was time to head there. X-Flight is also in the County Fair section of the park so it was a relatively short walk. X-Flight is a very pleasing coaster to look at. It is almost as photogenic as Banshee is .

Great views of every part of the ride from the midway.

The was only about a 20 minute wait for X-Flight which was really nice. I love waiting in lines where you can see the coaster in action. It makes the line go by faster, and you also get a kick out of hearing really nervous people talk about how scared they are of the ride . Pick your side under the station just like Gatekeeper, and up the stairs you go. We chose the right side. The station of the ride is pretty decent. You get the feeling of being inside an airplane hangar, although I'm not sure how good it is at keeping rain out. Especially if it's rainy and a little windy. You wouldn't want to stay in this station if the ride was shut down for weather reasons that's for sure. And so we headed for the front row which was about a 3 train wait.

Since Six Flags isn't particularly concerned with rider capacity, you didn't encounter a stampede as the gate opened to take your seat. Nor did you get a gut check (or a manhood check depending on how tall you are and obviously your sex) on your way to the exit. Soon enough, we boarded, and off we were. It's a relatively short lift. The ride is 120ft tall, and the station already sits approximately 20ft off the round. Also, the lift chain is pretty fast. The wing over drop is still excellent, as is the rest of the ride. Very smooth transitions, nothing too intense, but X-Flight still delivers a forceful ride. In the front right you even get some nice doses of weightlessness! The control tower fly-though is pretty freaking sweet combined with the slow roll. X-Flight gets a 7.5/10. A perfect coaster for all coaster fans to enjoy!

The wing-over drop.

Watch your head!

Through the hangar facade

I loved how close the queue takes you to the ride!

Onward to the Southwest Territory! 10 months ago, I visited several parts of the Southwestern U.S., so the vision of what it looked like was fresh in my mind.This area hit the scenery right on the head!

Raging Bull hadn't been open all morning, but it was testing. So we headed that way, and as soon as we got in front of it, it opened. Walking through the queues, I looked around an noticed how many switchbacks there were and thought to myself, "It would really suck to wait in this line on 4th of July or during Fright Fest." But since the ride had just opened for the day, we literally walked all the way to the station and waited 4 trains for front row.

Now, if there was one coaster in the park that they should use three trains on, this is it! Most of the time, when a train left the station, the preceding train was just hitting the MCBR, so there was about 50 seconds of downtime between trains (finishing the course and the final break run). 10 mins later, we boarded. I felt like I was on Nitro again with the similar drop out of the station. It's a long, slow climb up the lift hill, but you'll get that with older B&M hyper coasters. I believe the lift chain is slower and they also ascend at a more shallow angle. Sitting in the front row, the pre-drop on the ride really provides some momentum going down the first drop. You get a nice dose of airtime thanks to the pre-drop! Personally i love rides with underground tunnels at the bottom of the first drop (SFGAm has two!!). After the drop, you float around a high over-banked turn and then HOLY TRIM BREAK going up the "airtime" hill. You can literally hear, and feel the trim break sucking the life out of Raging Bull. Much worse than Diamondback. Until you get to the MCBR, the ride's pacing seems rather slow. Coming down from the MCBR in the front seat, you get a great and surprising pop of airtime. There are airtime moments in the second half of this ride where you wouldn't expect them! One bunny hop, some twist, turns, and a few airtime moments later you are screaming into the final break run. No stacking on this ride, you just roll straight into the station because the train in front is already more than half way up the lift hill. For being 17 years old, Raging Bull still delivers quite the punch. Smooth, very airtimey in the second half, and TWISTYYYYYYY (forgive me), I give raging bull an 8/10.

It was only 50 degrees that day. The Bull had to turn around because Hurricane Harbor was closed

The "airtime" hill. HOLY TRIM BREAK!!

On the way back around the park, we ran into one of the parks original rides, Demon. I liked Demon. It was one of the more comfortable Arrow Loopers I've ever been on. Really 70s lighting effects in the tunnels, typical Arrow positive Gs and not too rough. Also it was one of the only coasters I've ever seen without a roof over the station. Full Throttle at SFMM being the other I can think of right now. Demon gets a 6.5/10. Pretty good for an Arrow Looper in my world lol.

Time to go back in time! The Whizzer is one of the parks original coasters and still runs great to this day! It's had it's fair share of issues in the past, and the park even announced it's removal in 2002, but instead removed a different coaster to make way for Superman Ultimate Flight. I'm only 22 years old, but back in the 70s, this ride must have been the S%&t! I love the fact that SFGAm operates many of the rides original to the park! The Whizzer is fast, and pretty darn cool if you ask me. Its a great family ride and a great first coaster for anyone! I won't rate this one because it is a family ride.

The rest of the ride is kind of hard to see from the Midway .

Who says adult can't ride the carousel?!?! Especially when it's one of the world's largest carousels! Columbia Carousel just looks freaking cool! A double decker which lots of character. Waiting to board, I noticed the art on the side of the carousel told the story of our great country.

I won't post all of these, but if you want to see more just let me know.

One that is very familiar to us Ohioans!

Tatsu at SFMM saved my personal opinion of B&M flyers, so I was willing to give Superman Ultimate Flight a try for the third time. What was cool about this SUF, is the entrance. The entrance to the one at Great Adventure is thought a big bubble looking thing, but this is the entrance to the one at Great America...

I has a little bit of the Mardi Gras theme to it!

This time we chose to sit in the back. Slightly different ride lol. The pretzel loop in the back was pretty sweet! Getting pulled down towards Earth head first at 50+mph is pretty cool, and it's a different sensation in the back (as with any coaster). I'll move my rating up to a 7/10 on all SUF clones .

Onto Batman The Ride clone #4. Same story, same scenery, different paint job. Except for the one at Great Adventure. Fast, intense, forceful, OOO LOOK A BATMOBILE. 8/10. Still not better than Banshee .

P.S. One of these days I'm gonna catch one of the clones running backwards.....

IMHO, inverted impulse coasters are some of the most underrated coasters a park. Wicked Twister, Vertical Velocity, Possessed, even Steel Venom (Superman Ultimate Escape), are all underrated IMO. My only thing is that the ones with the straight spike going backwards no long have the brief pause at the top anymore (nostalgia). None-the-less they are still great rides that never have lines. 7.5/10 for Vertical Velocity (or V2).

The view from V2's station. How many coasters can you spot?

Onto an old Intamin friend, American Eagle. Before riding it, i thought "RMC could have a field day with this thing" seeing what they just did to Colossus combined with Six Flags current RMC obsession. After riding i thought, it's fine just the way it is. It looks like an old fart, but for a wooden coaster, it rides like a dream! But MAN the queue walk up is LOOOOONG. It took us about 5 mins to get all the way to the station lol. The ride itself is fast and full of airtime! It's a little jackhammerish, but what do you expect from a woodie? The ride was a walk on, so sadly it was not racing. 7/10 for American Eagle.

Now back to Goliath to finish the day, but first let me take a selfie....

Even though i hate Daffy Duck lol. Where's Yosemite Sam? He's my favorite!

Front row on Goliath? Sure why not! Still a great ride, but the back is where it's at. I think I'll stick to the back on my next visit!

After 3 more rides on Goliath (all of which were 15 min waits). That concluded our day! Great American is a great park with a great theme. It's clean, the coaster and flat ride line up is excellent! Hopefully on my next visit i get to ride some more flat rides instead of just Columbia Carousel. Here are some more pictures from throughout the day!

Zero-G goodness!

It was overcast to start, but it eventually cleared up!

X-Flight finishing it's slow in-line twist.

Nerd shot of the underside of Goliath's kicker wheels.

Every time you entered a different section, you went through a covered bridge with the area name on top.

Thanks for reading folks! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

-GP-

[McSalsa]

Great TR and awesome photos. I was kinda hoping Demon (the park's "Arrow" looping coaster which looks fun based on POV's) and Viper (their Wooden "Cy-Clone" Coaster which I have heard good things about) would be on here but as you said, you live closer now and I'm guessing you'll be back for them at some point.

 

Also: wow, that structure for Goliath looks incredible from these images you took. Wood or steel, the ride's looks alone are incredible regardless. The B&M's at the park also look very sweet but most B&M's do anyway from what I have seen in person and photos.

 

And finally: that Batman isn't a clone. It's actually the one the clones were "made" from.

[Rustbucket]

Great report. I may see you theree some time.

I always thought that SFGAm is a park without a great coaster. There are few good coasters such as Raging Bull, Viper and Whizzer. Goliath is another good but really short coaster. My favorite is still Viper. The Batman backwards was really neat 2 years ago. BTW, it was nice to hear that there was only 15 minute wait for Goliath. I thought this was going to be a capacity nightmare.

[Gplez90]

The ride ops actually move at a decent pace. The stacking issue only exists because the ride is so short. Other than that, the line moves quite wel!

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[Gplez90]

Great TR and awesome photos. I was kinda hoping Demon (the park's "Arrow" looping coaster which looks fun based on POV's) and Viper (their Wooden "Cy-Clone" Coaster which I have heard good things about) would be on here but as you said, you live closer now and I'm guessing you'll be back for them at some point.

Also: wow, that structure for Goliath looks incredible from these images you took. Wood or steel, the ride's looks alone are incredible regardless. The B&M's at the park also look very sweet but most B&M's do anyway from what I have seen in person and photos.

And finally: that Batman isn't a clone. It's actually the one the clones were "made" from.

I actually did ride Demon!! I totally forgot to write about it though .

I liked Demon. It was one of the more comfortable Arrow Loopers I've ever been on. Really 70s lighting effects in the tunnels, typical Arrow positive Gs and not too rough. Also it was one of the only coasters I've ever seen without a roof over the station. Full Throttle at SFMM being the other I can think of right now. Demon gets a 6.5/10. Pretty good for an Arrow Looper in my world lol.

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[Spectrum91]

Great trip report! I've been wanting to get to SFGA for ages now, especially since Goliath was installed last season. Maybe I'll get around to planning a trip there sometime this summer.

[Gplez90]

I'd definitely say it is one of Six Flags' best parks! Definitely worth a trip!

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[Ride On_17]

I was actually across the street from the park at KeyLime Cove Sunday night as my Science Olympiad team was coming back from Nebraska. It was torture seeing the park and not getting to go. Originally we were planning on going the next day on Monday but of course it was the one day of the week the park was closed so we had to make other plans. Hopefully I'll make it back this summer, since it sounds like an amazing park with a fun ride lineup. Thanks for the report and pictures!

[Gplez90]

Revisited SFGAm today. With a 100% chance of rain and steadily declining temperatures in the forecast, I thought it'd be a great day to go. And a great day it was! The park was absolutely dead! So dead that I was able to ride Goliath 10 times in a row in the first 45 mins the park was open! In all, i ended up riding Goliath 32 times. I was also able to ride Raging Bull at least 20 times, 10 times without even getting out of line! Once i madd about 4 laps around the park, I turned my attention to some flat rides. Since it was a bit busy with less time on my first visit, I didn't get to ride any flats. MAN does SFGAm have a plentiful flat ride selection! (Although im quite surprised there isn't a Star Flyer in the park) Imho, this trip has led me to believe that Great America is one of, if not the, most well rounded Six Flags park in the chain!

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