SFGAm 5-23-03

This is my first TR, so here goes:

It was a sunny but chilly morning when we headed out the door of the hotel to Six Flags Great America, I had been to this park before so I knew what to expect. When we arrived there, the enterance was pouring with thousands of kids from schools in the chicago area. After about 45 minutes of waiting at the enterance, we finally made it in the park. As usual, the park was very beautiful,especially at the enterance near the carousel and the Southwest Territory.
Right as we got in, we immediatly headed tward Superman, but when we got there, the line had extended about 500 ft out of the queue line, and we figured the wait would be close to 2 hrs, so we decided to go back later.

After being dissapointed with Supermans line, we decided to hit Raging Bull first, we got into the queue line, and were suprised by how small the line was, it was only about a 20 minute wait, and we boarded the 2nd row, This used to be my 5th favorite coaster, but after riding it, it has become my 3rd favorite (behind Montu and Millienium Force). I absolutly love the sheer speed and constant airtime. I loved every second of it! Grade: A+


After Raging Bull we decided to go to Viper, the line was almost up to the station. so we got pretty lucky on this one! The last time I remebered, the line was full of litter in the tall grass, but now it was very clean, I am happy SFGAm has taken into consideration of cleaning queue lines. After riding it, Viper is now my pick for the most under-rated Wodden Coaster, This has always been my favorite woodie, but I totally forgot the air-time and lateral G's you get! I think that just about every seat on this monster gives you maximum air, but if you want to be surprised, sit in the back! Grade: A

After the wonderful ride on viper, it was time to hit Batman. So we made our way across the park and noticed that the line was way to long, so we went to Iron Wolf instead, This is probobly my pick for the worst B&M I have ever been on, but then again it was their first try, so I hade to give them credit, I still think that this coaster has some fun spots, but it is just a little to much "head Bangy", the corkscrew gave me a little deja-vu of Shockwave, and its horrible inversions. some advice: Dont sit at the back of the train! Grade: B-

Once we got off Iron wolf, we were feeling a bit hungry, so we got some fries and coke, and we sat outside of superman, watching the people scream their heads off. Then we noticed that the line had dramatically decreased from before, so we quickly ran into line with out fries and drinks still in hand. After about 1:10 minutes in line, we got up to the station, and were about 2 trains away from boarding, when the coaster suddenly broke down. I was furious, but I wouldnt let that get me down, so after 15 minutes of continuous testing, they opened up the coaster, after 2 more minutes of waiting, we boarded the train. It was really cool to experience that flying feeling for the1st time, I thought that the first drop was phoenominal, and words just can't describe the Pretzal Loop, I thought that it was so intense , it was the first time in a long time IU have lost my stomach on a coaster, and the air-time on the pretzal loop is awesome! The best seat is definantly the back, because of the amazing air. Grade: A

Once we finished Superman, we headed to Whizzer, I havent been on this coaster for about 3 years, so I dont remember much, but let me tell you, this is a FUN family coaster. The speed is great, the banking is fun too. I sure am happy that they decided not to remove this fantastic coaster! Grade: B+

After another ride on Superman, we went to ride Batman, The line was decently short (10 min) and I have always admired the theming. The ride was short but sweet, and the G's are intense! Although this is the least favorite of the inverteds I have been on, it still ranks in my top 20. Grade: B+

After Batman, we got in line for Raging Bull again, and got in one great ride, then we hopped in line again, and right as we got to the station, it broke down. by this time it was roughly 6:15, and the park closed at 7:00, so we waited for another 15 minutes, and it did not open, so we ran to Superman for one last ride. Once we got on Superman, the park closed and we headed out.

Overall, the park was clean, had decent food, and had great operators that were funny and nice. However there were a lot of break downs while I was in line (4 break-downs), and 3 of them were with Superman. I was very happy with the park, and plan to come back soon. Overall Grade: A-

Sound like you had a good time except for the breakdowns. Great TR!

------------------
Shockwave @ SFGAm R.I.P 1988-2002
Top 5 Coasters at SFGAm 1)S:UF 2)RB 3) DV 4)V2 5)Viper
Total number of coasters ridden=43

If you want an even bigger suprise on Viper, sit in the first car, last row, next time. Leave your lap bar a little loose and prepare for some serious standup ejector airtime.

------------------
Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

Thanks a lot for the tip, Kick the Sky! I always try to leave up a lot of room on the lap bars of that coaster, but the op's keep pushing them down a bit. But I will try next time!

My trick is I keep my hand under the lap bar and when they come I just push up so they can't push it down.

------------------
Shockwave @ SFGAm R.I.P 1988-2002
Top 5 Coasters at SFGAm 1)S:UF 2)RB 3) DV 4)V2 5)Viper
Total number of coasters ridden=43

yeah, thats a good idea, somtimes on Raging Bull I try to puff my stomach out a bit, and then when the ride starts I just release. One time my friend and I were on Viper, and he got his lap-bar up about 6-7 inches by pulling his shirt out, but as the ride started, a ride op caught him and stopped the train and made him pull it down ALL THE WAY to his stomach, so he was pinned down.