SIX FLAGS GREAT AMERICA - 6/13 & 6/16

MONDAY 6/13/05

My housemate Dave & my friends Jen & Steven drove with me up from Chicago for “Gay Day”. The park didn’t seem much different than on a normal operating day, but we would occasionally catch a glimpse of same-sex couples holding hands while walking through the park. No big whoop.

Most of the day was spent on the coasters, and it was a hoot to ride with people who had either never been to SFGam, or hadn’t made the trip in a long time. My friends were absolutely giddy riding Superman: Ultimate Flight & Raging Bull for the first time. Even though I’ve had more laps on these coasters than I can count, I’m always entertained by experiencing them with virgin riders.

Highlights of the day included getting drenched by a brief downpour while waiting for Deja Vu... Jen & I scoring "front of the line" passes in exchange for being stuck on the Batman break-run for 10 minutes... feasting on yummy turkey legs... and exploring the "Skull Island" interactive playground in Hurricane Harbor...

I posted a few photos in my Livejournal blog, including some amusing on-ride photos that Jen asked me to alter.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/djgreghaus/96537.html

RIDES FOR THE DAY

• Raging Bull - 2 (1 front / 1 back)
• Deja Vu - 1 (front seat)
• Vertical Velocity - 1 (front seat)
• Batman - 2 (1 front / 1 back)
• Viper - (2nd row)
• Supernman: Ultimate Flights - (back row)
• Demon - (back row)
• American Eagle: Red
• Skull Island (walkthrough)

THURSDAY 6/16/05

I ended up meeting my buddy Jim, who was in town visiting from New York, around 4:00pm. He was spending time with another friend in Chicago's Lakeview/Wrigleyville neighborhood, but was anxious to get up to Gurnee a day early to get some extra ride time in. (He had already made plans to hit the park on Friday). I was happy to drive up again for the evening, especially because it was a gorgeous day (mid-70s / low humidity).

As I mentioned in my Wisconsin Dells trip report, Jim and I haven't seen each other in several years, and actually reconnected via Coasterbuzz (I had no idea he was a coaster nut, and vice versa).

Since we arrived between 5:30 and 6:00pm, the park was already starting to clear out, to the lines were fairly short.

RIDES FOR THE DAY

• Vertical Velocity (front)
• American Eagle: Red
• Demon
• Deja Vu (near the back of the train)
• Raging Bull (back)
• Batman (back)
• Viper (2 laps... the back was better)
• Whizzer (night ride!)

This was the first time Jim had ever ridden one of the Vu's. He didn't seem particularly excited about it, other than the fact that it was the first time he'd seen one running. I couldn't tell how he felt about the experience once the ride was over. His only immediate reaction was "That's not what I expected".

Overall, it was a great evening - short but sweet. It made me really appreciate having SFGam as my home park. Jim was kind enough to buy me dinner in exchange for driving, which certainly wasn't necessary but greatly appreciated. Hopefully I'll have the chance to meet up with him and some of the other cool folks I met this weekend for some amusement park adventures in other states.

In the next month or so, I plan on visiting PKI to give "Italian Job: Stunt Track" a go... and maybe hit up Cedar Point or Kentucky Kingdom too, so I'm sure I'll have more to report in the near future. Thanks for reading!

-Greg

*** Edited 7/7/2005 7:21:25 PM UTC by djgreghaus***