Six Flags Great America on 5-12-01 (VERY LONG)
Associated parks:
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Trip Report for Six Flags Great America on 5-12-01.
This day turned out to be a very beautiful but slightly chilly day. Still with the sun shining one did not need a jacket. We only were there from 1-5pm but due to one of my friends who is handicapped being with, we managed to get around the whole park…well for the most part…thanks to his exit pass. WARNING to those who will be using the exit pass you will need to have your own photo id ready along with the pass. Be sure you get back your id! We almost did not get my friends drivers license back.
We decided to make our way around the park heading to the season pass processing area first. Considering the length of the line it moved very quickly. We then headed towards Southwest Territory. Low and behold they did make SFGAm one big loop again. I was hoping it to be temporary, but it looks to be a permanent decision as they boarded off the bridge.
We decided that our first victim of the would be Viper. As always this little wooden coaster packs quite a punch. It did feel as though it needed a bit of grease though and slightly rougher than last season. But not unbearable.
Next up Raging Bull. Well it broke down right as we got up to the station. We waited anyway. Wow the maintenance crew was pretty quick today. They had the ride back up and running within 5 minutes. They actually even told everyone what the problem was. Apparently one of the lap bars was not latching right. But when they tested it the lap bar did not malfunction. LOL! Ah what a beautiful ride. As usual. Still as smooth as ever. And the airtime was intense. Considering we got row 3 I was surprised how much air I got.
We then hit Giant Drop. Hey man, I have yet to find a better adrenaline rush in the park….well at least until the 2 newbies start operating. We got a lovely view of the park. I love this ride. It is better than coffee to start out the day with. Nothing like a freefall. Well at least until I get to ride one of the stand-up free falls.
We then went over to go ride the Demon and check out the new harnesses along with seeing the Déjà Vu. Bummer….the Demon broke down. But wait a second. I still had to check out Déjà Vu. It is really is quite impressive standing right under it in the midway. This thing is HUGE! The boomerang element alone takes up the space formerly occupied by the Sky Whirl. And then it goes back behind the fry stall into an area formerly occupied by a pond. Well sorry to say but the pond got partially filled in. We will not be looking down into the water on this ride. The station will be located near where the Haybaler used to be located. Hope that gives you a perspective on the magnitude of the ride. It really is bigger than I thought it would be. There was a small section of track in the station area missing. Hey why don’t we just jump over the missing track. Now that would be exciting. I was kidding there for a moment. While in this area I did catch them attaching the motor on to the second tower. That motor is HUGE. Also of note is that this side of the bridge is boarded off as well. But I still can’t get over this new monstrosity called Déjà Vu.
We then decided to skip over the American Eagle. (I was slightly dissappointed that I did not get to ride but I got over-ruled 2-1.) Well I guess I will get to it next time. We decide to hit Iron Wolf. They definitely replaced the harnesses on this ride. They look like the harnesses on Mantis at Cedar Point but with a seat belt on them. I have to say this is a dissappointing new feature. The new harnesses are very unaccomadating for big people like me. I can ride everything else in the park. But if you a big in the chest or stomach you may not be able to ride it now. I was not able to ride it because I could not get the belt to buckle. They also DO NOT have any big boy seats. BOOO!!!!!!HISS!!!!!!!! Sorry. I love Iron Wolf and am so dissappointed that I could not ride it. The rest of my party rode but did not tell me what they thought of the new restraints.
We headed towards Batman. I decided to walk behind the shops along the little boardwalk. Just so I could get a closeup view of Vertical Velocity (V2). Ooh what timing we got there just in time to see them test V2. It was a full track test. The queue lines appeared to be almost completed. And they are in front of the ride. Not the back as many expected them to be. You should have heard the oohs and ahs as the ride tested. It was almost deafening. And there were only about 10 people where we were watching from. We watched it go half way up the first spiral then back through the station. Up the other tower. Down through the station and then all the way up the spiral. Then back through the station. They then freeze it on the other vertical tower. Then drop it and it goes through the station and half way up the spiral tower again. And finally back to the station. We then walked to where the q line entrance will be. And they have a metal Vertical Velocity sign up and V2 signs on the station and near the queue line entrance. The signs are all beautifully done. Around the corner by the pasta restaurant I finally got proof that the face down vertical tower is over water. So we WILL be staring at the water when they freeze us on that tower. WOW that will be intense. And exciting. Also I noticed that bridge everyone was talking about is for the queue line to the boat ride and not for V2. However the exit for V2 may be there as well. That I could not tell and I did not get a chance to walk that bridge at this time.
Now for Batman….the final ride of our short day at SF Great America. We got on the front seat. We got to see them test V2 some more while going up the lift of Batman. Still what a beautiful ride it will be when they let us ride it finally. Well as Batman approaches it’s 10th birthday it seemed slightly rougher than previously. But again not unbearable. This proved to me that B+M quality is better than Arrow was at the time the ride was made. As Shockwave was unbearable in 5 years. At least IMO…but I still ride it. I love the G’s that Batman pulls. We decided in all essence to skip Shockwave. Heck its line was out into the midway. That I have not seen in years. So maybe they did to something to improve it’s rideability. So I guess I have to check it out at least once and see if it is better this season.
The one thing that did stand out and impress me this season is that they cleaned up the park quite nicely. Everything seemed to be repainted. Overall the atmosphere at SFGAM was better than in recent years.
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What is life without it's ups and downs
This day turned out to be a very beautiful but slightly chilly day. Still with the sun shining one did not need a jacket. We only were there from 1-5pm but due to one of my friends who is handicapped being with, we managed to get around the whole park…well for the most part…thanks to his exit pass. WARNING to those who will be using the exit pass you will need to have your own photo id ready along with the pass. Be sure you get back your id! We almost did not get my friends drivers license back.
We decided to make our way around the park heading to the season pass processing area first. Considering the length of the line it moved very quickly. We then headed towards Southwest Territory. Low and behold they did make SFGAm one big loop again. I was hoping it to be temporary, but it looks to be a permanent decision as they boarded off the bridge.
We decided that our first victim of the would be Viper. As always this little wooden coaster packs quite a punch. It did feel as though it needed a bit of grease though and slightly rougher than last season. But not unbearable.
Next up Raging Bull. Well it broke down right as we got up to the station. We waited anyway. Wow the maintenance crew was pretty quick today. They had the ride back up and running within 5 minutes. They actually even told everyone what the problem was. Apparently one of the lap bars was not latching right. But when they tested it the lap bar did not malfunction. LOL! Ah what a beautiful ride. As usual. Still as smooth as ever. And the airtime was intense. Considering we got row 3 I was surprised how much air I got.
We then hit Giant Drop. Hey man, I have yet to find a better adrenaline rush in the park….well at least until the 2 newbies start operating. We got a lovely view of the park. I love this ride. It is better than coffee to start out the day with. Nothing like a freefall. Well at least until I get to ride one of the stand-up free falls.
We then went over to go ride the Demon and check out the new harnesses along with seeing the Déjà Vu. Bummer….the Demon broke down. But wait a second. I still had to check out Déjà Vu. It is really is quite impressive standing right under it in the midway. This thing is HUGE! The boomerang element alone takes up the space formerly occupied by the Sky Whirl. And then it goes back behind the fry stall into an area formerly occupied by a pond. Well sorry to say but the pond got partially filled in. We will not be looking down into the water on this ride. The station will be located near where the Haybaler used to be located. Hope that gives you a perspective on the magnitude of the ride. It really is bigger than I thought it would be. There was a small section of track in the station area missing. Hey why don’t we just jump over the missing track. Now that would be exciting. I was kidding there for a moment. While in this area I did catch them attaching the motor on to the second tower. That motor is HUGE. Also of note is that this side of the bridge is boarded off as well. But I still can’t get over this new monstrosity called Déjà Vu.
We then decided to skip over the American Eagle. (I was slightly dissappointed that I did not get to ride but I got over-ruled 2-1.) Well I guess I will get to it next time. We decide to hit Iron Wolf. They definitely replaced the harnesses on this ride. They look like the harnesses on Mantis at Cedar Point but with a seat belt on them. I have to say this is a dissappointing new feature. The new harnesses are very unaccomadating for big people like me. I can ride everything else in the park. But if you a big in the chest or stomach you may not be able to ride it now. I was not able to ride it because I could not get the belt to buckle. They also DO NOT have any big boy seats. BOOO!!!!!!HISS!!!!!!!! Sorry. I love Iron Wolf and am so dissappointed that I could not ride it. The rest of my party rode but did not tell me what they thought of the new restraints.
We headed towards Batman. I decided to walk behind the shops along the little boardwalk. Just so I could get a closeup view of Vertical Velocity (V2). Ooh what timing we got there just in time to see them test V2. It was a full track test. The queue lines appeared to be almost completed. And they are in front of the ride. Not the back as many expected them to be. You should have heard the oohs and ahs as the ride tested. It was almost deafening. And there were only about 10 people where we were watching from. We watched it go half way up the first spiral then back through the station. Up the other tower. Down through the station and then all the way up the spiral. Then back through the station. They then freeze it on the other vertical tower. Then drop it and it goes through the station and half way up the spiral tower again. And finally back to the station. We then walked to where the q line entrance will be. And they have a metal Vertical Velocity sign up and V2 signs on the station and near the queue line entrance. The signs are all beautifully done. Around the corner by the pasta restaurant I finally got proof that the face down vertical tower is over water. So we WILL be staring at the water when they freeze us on that tower. WOW that will be intense. And exciting. Also I noticed that bridge everyone was talking about is for the queue line to the boat ride and not for V2. However the exit for V2 may be there as well. That I could not tell and I did not get a chance to walk that bridge at this time.
Now for Batman….the final ride of our short day at SF Great America. We got on the front seat. We got to see them test V2 some more while going up the lift of Batman. Still what a beautiful ride it will be when they let us ride it finally. Well as Batman approaches it’s 10th birthday it seemed slightly rougher than previously. But again not unbearable. This proved to me that B+M quality is better than Arrow was at the time the ride was made. As Shockwave was unbearable in 5 years. At least IMO…but I still ride it. I love the G’s that Batman pulls. We decided in all essence to skip Shockwave. Heck its line was out into the midway. That I have not seen in years. So maybe they did to something to improve it’s rideability. So I guess I have to check it out at least once and see if it is better this season.
The one thing that did stand out and impress me this season is that they cleaned up the park quite nicely. Everything seemed to be repainted. Overall the atmosphere at SFGAM was better than in recent years.
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What is life without it's ups and downs
I went there on opening day. It was great to get back on a coaster. We only rode Bull, Viper and Demon. Bull was a major rush as usual, and Demon made me realize just how long it was since I had been upside down! The new coasters do look impressive. However, I was very dissappointed that both weren't up. One working would have been nice. But I have come to expect that sort of disappointment from 6 Flags. They hype like crazy only to not have things working.
The park was nice and clean, but I was really annoyed that they blocked off the path from the square to the Demon. They put in the stupid child's bungee jump thing. Now to get to the Demon you have to walk all the way around through the Wild West and back. That's just bad planning and very annoying.
The park was nice and clean, but I was really annoyed that they blocked off the path from the square to the Demon. They put in the stupid child's bungee jump thing. Now to get to the Demon you have to walk all the way around through the Wild West and back. That's just bad planning and very annoying.
Who knows...the bridge is still there...it is entirely possible to re-open the bridge. Perhaps theyt will re-open it after the construction is done?
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"It's Deja Vu all over again." - Yogi Berra
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"It's Deja Vu all over again." - Yogi Berra
i was there on saturday too and I could have sworn I heard that they were turning one side of the eagle around to go backwards for the 20th anniversary of the ride? Whats up with that?
red: That's exacly what I was thinking. To me, it makes sense to close off that area so that work can continue even if the park is open. But either way, I dont see it as being an inconvience. It was much worse when SWT didnt have that path under Demon, IMO.
jata
jeremy
--DONT LOOK BACK!
jata
jeremy
--DONT LOOK BACK!
Great report! I like how you went into detail about stuff...and the V2 testing sounds awesome! Can't wait to see that tower sway when I go! ;)
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-Glitchey
Who was at BGW on April 28th.
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-Glitchey
Who was at BGW on April 28th.
2Hostyl, True...now that was a pain in the butt dead-end. the walk "back" to demon and DejaVu isn't that bad....(not saying I wouldn't like to have the bridge re-opened, however.)
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"It's Deja Vu all over again." - Yogi Berra
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"It's Deja Vu all over again." - Yogi Berra
I totally agree with redman822. My friend is whining the whole time about the stupid bridge. I don't think it's that big of a deal. Not as bad as I thought. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind having that bridge back.
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Heading to SFoT on the 19th! Titan, here I come!
Webmaster:SFGAm 2001
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme/Coasterz
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Heading to SFoT on the 19th! Titan, here I come!
Webmaster:SFGAm 2001
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme/Coasterz
Well I posted my pics from 5-12-01 finally. You can check out for yourself the bridge. Frankly I think they plan to close it off permanently. The way it was boarded off and the fencing/boarding cemented into the ground makes it appear to be more permanent. But I must warn you that the pics are of a rather large byte size and may take a while to load.
http://www.angelfire.com/il3/beast7369/images/sfgam/
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What is life without it's ups and downs
http://www.angelfire.com/il3/beast7369/images/sfgam/
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What is life without it's ups and downs
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