Six Flags Great America, 6/15

Me and 3 friends decided to do a one day trip to Great America. This was one of the rare times when im not planning a trip like this, so It was kinda strange having someone else do all the planning/driving. This marks my first visit to Great America in 3 years. We left Central Illinois at 7:30 AM, and due to the traffic near O-Hare, we didnt arrive at the park until Around 11. Used our Coke cans to get the 20 dollar discount (anyone who pays 55 bucks to get in is crazy), and our first ride was Superman. Maybe a half hour wait, and after riding X-flight at Geagua lake last year, I really appreciate Superman so much more. Just a much more comfortable ride overall. Next we hit V2, which was OK, and after that we did the log ride and Iron Wolf. I actually like Iron Wolfs layout, and it wasnt too rough, I actually prefer it to Mantis at Cedar Point. Not a great ride, but I think decent for a standup.

The line for Deja Vu looked too long, so we skipped that for now and tried to get on American Eagle but It went down right when we allready walked through that huge line. What is up with the new queue, it takes you so far out of the way to get to the ride its rediculous. We then got in a quick ride on the Demon, and decided to go out to our cars for lunch and then go to Hurricane Harbor. I was actually glad one of my friends made a bunch of sandwhiches for the trip, because I had forgotten just how bad the food prices were at Six Flags parks. And 15 dollars to park is also rediculous. The waterpark was OK, but crowded, we did the lazy river, and a few slides, but we probably werent even there 2 hours. After getting back into the park we did eat supper at papa Johns, sometimes you just have to fork over the money. We then did pretty much everything we missed, except for Deja Vu, which still looked like it had a long line. I didnt remember it being that great anyways when I rode it last, We also never got around to Whizzer this time. I like having only 1 or 2 people with me when im at a park, its easier to decide what to do next, without argueing. American Eagle was fun, had a fairly good race, Viper was running well and had some nice pops of airtime, and Raging Bull also seemed fast and had some nice pops of air.

Our longest wait of the day was on Batman by far, due to only one train operation, which was dissapointing. Overall the park seemed pretty well run, employees seemed pretty good, but the food and drink prices are getting rediculous, and I dont think people are going to put up with it forever. This time we decided beforehand to all throw in 20 bucks on a hotel, which was worth it because its never fun to drive 3 hours home after a long day at the park. Overall I had a good time, although I wouldve liked to have gotten in more rides and just skipped the crowded waterpark alltogether, but when your with a group like that majority rules.

Next week im heading to Pittsburgh to visit relatives like I do almost every summer, a trip to Kennywood is always a must. After that we are going to New York City for a couple days, and I hope to have time to make it to Coney Island, and on the way back I also hope to have time for a quick stop at Konebels, Ive always dreamed to going to Konebels. So look for those trip reports in the coming weeks.

Thanks for the TR! Sounds like you had a typical trip to GA. It IS a long day when you have a drive after being at the park all day.

Even though I'm not a stand-up coaster fan, I would have to agree that Iron Wolf is better than Mantis. :)

OK forget $15 for a meal inside the park. What about $15!!!!! to park!!!!! You get nothing for that price. At least with the meal, you get some food and a drink. I see no reason to complain about the prices of food inside parks, 'till the price to park is addressed.

I think Iron Wolf is without a doubt the worst B&M I have been on. I have been on like 20 too. It was the first coaster I would never ride again because of the roughness. Mantis PWNS Iron Wolf. Hell, Hyrdra pwns the wolf.

Also, you notice the insane amount of brakes on the Bull. Nitro owns this coaster so bad it's not funny. I would have loved to ride Raging Bull before all the brakes.

Anyways, sorry to be so negative but after visiting SFGAM, I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth. Glad you had fun.

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BamBam36 said:
OK forget $15 for a meal inside the park. What about $15!!!!! to park!!!!! You get nothing for that price. At least with the meal, you get some food and a drink. I see no reason to complain about the prices of food inside parks, 'till the price to park is addressed.

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I totally agree, and I believe I mentioned the high price to park in the trip report. But that dosent take away from it costing 12 bucks for a slice of pizza and a drink, either.

Six Flags in Gurnee is an example of everything that can go wrong with a theme park. There is a bottleneck to get in the parking lot, a bottleneck to get into the park, and huge lines at mediocre rides, with line jumpers taking advantage of no line security and clueless janitors rearanging ropes. I have had some good times in Gurnee, but never have I seen all rides opperating on the same day. The Chicago area desperately needs another park to compete with Six Flags.

Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey knows how to handle crowds. Having multiple rides throughout the park that meet the two basic requirements of being desirable to ride and being open goes a long way in dispersing crowds. Entering their parking lot and park are much more like dry sand down a smooth slope than wet sand in an hour glass like in Gurnee. Throw in some tigers, the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world and the most amazing wooden coaster ever built, and you have a park that Six Flags can be proud of. They need to sell or donate their park in Gurnee and build a new one to save their reputation in Illinois. *** Edited 6/19/2007 8:22:57 PM UTC by Dave05***

I was there that day. I remember Batman only having one train running. I was there for coasters after dark, and went Batman. It was the longest wait of the evening. You must have been fooled by the line in Deja Vu. They didn't have the entire cue line opened. The line came back to the main entrance of the ride, but only the first chain was up in the cue line.

Are you kidding me Stljason1 you mentioned in your TR that paying the full price to get into the park is ridiculous and that's true. It's the same with drinks. You should buy one of those souveniour bottles at the park. They costs like 7 or 8 bucks, but you can use the one you buy any year at any six flags park. It's the best deal six flags has to offer. It generally costs only 99 cents for a refill! instead of like 3 bucks for a normal drink. I've been paying 99 cents for drinks at six flags parks for years now.

It always amazes me how season passholders (who no doubt bought their passes dirt-cheap) will piss and moan about $15 parking. If it bothers you that much, buy the season parking pass. When it's all said and done, what you pay to get into the park for an entire year is an absolute steal.

I love Iron Wolf. I think it's one of my five favorite B&M coasters. It's not glass smooth, no, but I've never had any major problem with headbanging. If you know how to ride it, you shouldn't hve a problem either. Sure, having to ride a coaster in a particular way to avoid headbanging is probably not a sign of the greatest-designed ride, but Iron Wolf was built before B&M became afraid of creating forces and started building family rides. It's raw, intense, and excellent.

Saying that Nitro "owns" Raging Bull isn't saying much, as NItro is a bore too. Raging Bull has the better first drop. Nitro has one great moment (the helix) and a nice setting. They're both overly braked. I'll take S:ROS any day.

The comments by Dave05 completely confuse me. Aside from problems with Deja Vu, SFGAm almost never has coasters closed. An "example of everything that can go wrong" with a park? Please. SFGAm is constantly praised around here. Six Flags corporate has mentioned it as one of their greatest parks. Having seen guest satisfaction figures for all Six Flags parks, SFGAm is miles ahead of most of the other parks (including SFGAdv).

Now, I love SFGAdv. I think it's a gorgeous park with excellent rides. But there'a a lot of work to be done in operations and security control. Despite what you claim, those issues just don't exist at the Gurnee park on a regular basis.

-Nate

C'mon, Nate--we all know that Nitro totally "owns" the Bull any day :)

Seriously, I think you both are right. Raging Bull does have the better first drop, but IMO, Nitro is the better ride if you're looking for plenty of air with some positive Gs thrown in for good measure.

However, in terms of upkeep, station and queue design, and operations, I think that the Bull overall "owns" Nitro. Of course, we could just put that on SFGAm, since, IMO, they are the superior park in terms of quality.