Six Flags Great America announces Wrath of Rakshasa dive roller coaster

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is one of the worst coaster names ever devised.

Drink Rakshasa from a shell? San Francisco show and tell? Babylon sisters?

“Scheduled to debut in 2025” really means 2026 but could be 2027 or maybe even 2028 depending on “unforeseen circumstances.”

Gunkey Monkey:

Scheduled to debut in 2025” really means 2026 but could be 2027 or maybe even 2028 depending on “unforeseen circumstances.”

LMAO!!!!

Scheduled to debut in 2025

The B&Ms don’t seem to have as many issues, and considering new SF is old CF, I think all the new rides, and last years will open in 25.

Im also curious if the big money spent at HH in Arlington and LA was an old SF plan or new SF plan, cause they are way better at Waterpark management then Old SF.

I find the lack of a CP announcement revealing.

They should change the name to Wrath. Keep whatever story and theme that has been created for it. That would work just fine.

Awful name. Nothing to do with County Fair.

Great layout.

The original dive coaster featured a deep tunnel. Sheikra is one of the best dive coasters and its tunnel is a factor. Are these new installations without tunnels simply to save $? A dive into a tunnel, makes the coaster so much better

Was at the park yesterday for the first time since spring (been a strange summer). The signs for today were quite marked in the construction zone.

***The good***
This definitely is something GA needs. While we rode Sky Striker, it certainly was not a ride I'd rush to ride. (For full disclosure, I'm taller in the chest and my shoulders absolutely were crushed by the restrains. I do not remember that happening on maXair, Delirium, or Revolution. The need for them to cycle restraints twice also did not help.) Goliath is really the last time Great America had a true headliner. Joker is simply a clone, and Maxx Force is, well, so darn short.

Beyond that, I notices some signs of what I hope are improved operations with the Cedar fair merger. Ragin Bull was running 3 trains with truly fast dispatches, not really having any significant stacking. Superman also had 2 train running and was fairly efficient.

However, beyond this, I did notice some small things on the side. Parts of the park seemed to be getting a bit more TLC in terms of tree trimming and landscaping. It wasn't major, but parts of the park looked better taken care of than the past few years. Whether this again is the Cedar fair merger or just finally getting there is unknown.

While only one train was running for guests on American Eagle (Blue Train), the Red train was testing part of the day, cycling through empty trains.

The less positive aspects
Getting into the parking lot was still very slow, slower than it should have been. Leaving was pretty fast, but getting there took a while.

The entry plaza is still not finished. It is farther along than in the spring, but not done. I don't forsee this being finished this year, unless maybe it is done for the end of FrightFest.

Single train Batman running was a bit slow. I'm guessing something may have needed more significant work with the second train. It was in the station, but partially disassembled in a manner I've not see on B&M's before.

Condor was closed. I don't know if it has ran at all this year. Same thing for Roaring Rapids. That clearly has not ran this year.

American Eagle really needs some serious TLC. It's tracking rough and the paint on the wood is starting to look decrepit in spots. I'd really like to see this running like KI Racer, but we'll see. The number of Racing Coasters left is few and far between.

And then, the landscaping. One of the things that the better care to landscaping is showing is the shape of some of the buildings. This is especially true, for example, of the bottom of the Goliath station. I suspect this is cosmetic, but some of the trim looks like it is now rotten wood. If not rotten, then definitely dirty and in need of paint.

Overall, with the merger, I thin k there is a lot of deferred maintenance at the Six Flags Parks. We'll see what happens.

Interesting the 3x barrel rolls, but all look to be profiled a little different from one another.

I just rode Valkyria at Liseberg the past two days and that has become my #1 dive coaster... It's so snappy and quick paced. If this is anything like it, fantastic add for the park!

These dive coasters sell like crazy these days... The smaller trains and track gauge (therefor steel and structure costs) must have been a huge influence from the Sheikra/Griffon type days.

Too bad they couldn't just break the mold yet with a drop into an immelman.

Sharpel007:

I find the lack of a CP announcement revealing.

I can't see why anyone would be surprised. Next year will be Top Thrill Two--Extended Dance Remix. Yes, the passholders already know about it (and many have ridden it) but they will be able to market it anew to day ticket guests.

I've only been to the park once, last year. It was great, but strangely unexciting.

American Eagle is awesome and deserves some TLC. They were only running one side. It needs to race.

I'm really happy they didn't remove Demon. It was closed when I was there and I'm happy I get another chance to ride it.

Something that can't be helped by Cedar Fair is the odd placement of the rides. I found the long paths to and from some of the coasters to not be ideal. The rides weren't out in the open, and therefore not as enticing, as other parks with more a thoughtful design.

I made a video about a few another huge problem I saw at the park. It has been one of my most popular videos. I'm hoping that the old Cedar Fair can do something to fix this...

You have to walk up the exits if using Flashpass or a disability pass-there is no dedicated entrance on a lot of the older rides. These exit paths were not designed for this. I saw a family trying desperately to push a wheelchair up the narrow exit path, fighting traffic coming the opposite direction. If using Flashpass, you have to stand to the side and let the swarms of people exiting the ride through multiple times during your journey to the ride station.

Easy solution, but slightly costly... Widen the long exit paths. Or maybe create a new, dedicated path for Flashpass and Disabled riders.

And making the rides more visable, fixing some of the design flaws of the park layout would be very costly... move the buildings that block the view of the coasters, and create new publicly-accessed paths that move visitors closer to the ride's stations. Place the old shops along those new paths. Probably not feasible- Now that I think about it, it's like a Planet Coaster scenario.

And, some of the stations are a cluster-eff when riders are exiting and entering the ride vehicles. This is because of they added turnstiles to the exits of the stations. It stops te large group of exiting riders from moving quickly out of the station. Pair this with oncoming riders crossing over the train to put their loose items in the bins, and it is madness.

Easy solution... move those turnstiles to the entrance of the station, like at every other amusement park. Get exiting riders out of the way as quickly as possible.

Maybe it's time to update my video.

There are pressure pads and photo sensors that can count riders to eliminate turnstiles but seasonal parks won’t use them. They could also count empty seats and dispatches to get hourly ridership which some parks do use as a method.

I wish the “new Six Flags” would take a hard look at the condition of legacy SF parks and make improvements to what is already there. American Eagle could definitely be an awesome ride if reprofiled a bit and trim brakes eliminated as one example. The old Yankee Harbor theming doesn’t mesh with DC Comics rides. Using ride exits for fast lane just sucks all around.

They’ve already been touring the SF parks and making small changes such as eliminating the hidden surcharge so I expect many of those things will be improved in due course.

Gunkey Monkey:

I wish the “new Six Flags” would take a hard look at the condition of legacy SF parks and make improvements to what is already there.

It's been a month and a half.

I can't see why anyone would be surprised.

Kings Island got new water slides, after Camp Snoopy, I am sure CP will get smaller improvements on top of the full marketing behind TT2… I just find the radio silence since early June a bit off putting.

Apart from using pressure pads and counting empty seats, AI could count riders by viewing camera footage. AI could be used in a number of way when it comes to crowd information. I'm sure that technology is available, or will be available in the near future.

Well there is that Tower To Nowhere in CP Shores, so....

Got to give them credit for coming up with an original name, as strange as it is. So happy they aren't touching Demon - but I do hope they rebuild the rocks (rumor was it was going to happen). Also got to say with the new CF/SF coasters coming out next year, they are all a good solid length. Six Flags has built so many unfinished coasters, happy to see that change.

Also I love how Jeff wrote in the headline at the top "the park's beloved Demon roller coaster." Beloved indeed! But plenty of people won't go near Demon due to roughness. Luckily I know all the tricks and best seats so my rides are pain-free.