Six Flags Great America seeks zoning variance for Chang roller coaster

Wow, I'd like to think that Viper is one of my favorite coasters anywhere, and I haven't been on a Batman I didn't like. I might agree that CP has some better rides, but you make it sound like no one would ever have a good time at Great America.

Yeah yeah, we know, Irish2544, Cedar Point is the greatest thing in the universe. Nothing compares to Cedar Point. There will be a Cedar Point in heaven, where all the angels will operate the roller coasters for us. If you could only have Cedar Point's baby. (Rolls eyes)

Great America has a pretty awesome lineup IMO, and I don't even care much for Raging Bull. Been hearing a LOT of praise for AE this season, and of course, I've never made any secret about having "a thing" for Viper and V2...and when you start with Whizzer? And some great flats...The park almost has too much to offer!

...a lot of it wayyy better than either Chang or Wolfie... ;)

I started going to that park in 1993 and they have made some real quality additions since then. Lets not forget that in that time they also added the Southwest Territory which in addition to housing the Bull and Viper (my two favorite rides there) also has some great flats (Cubasco, Ricochet.) They also added Hurricane Harbor which while is of not much use to me (if I want a waterpark Im going to Noah's Ark not SFGAm) is quite popular.

The park does have a great lineup but it does something new. I am hoping for something that is unique to the area. SFGAM was always a cutting edge park based on the attractions they have been installing but over the last few years they have abandoned that idea. I really want to see something new like what Raging Bull was, a completely new attraction and unique design. Why not build another hyper-coaster or even better a looping hyper coaster.

SFGAm has taken out some coasters, but they've added quite a bit too, and they've added flat rides and a whole new section in the water park. For a park in a cash strapped chain, I think they're doing pretty good, have a great lineup of coasters, and I really want to revisit this summer.

It always makes me giggle a little when someone posts, "This park needs a giga...!" There have only been two gigas in the US and it took 10 years to get the second. In my mind, no one needs something that newly innovated. It's a nice to have, sure. But it's not like the fate of the park is resting on it.

I really liked the line up at SFGAm. It's a great combination of varying ride experiences, in my opinion.

Listen. Never once did I say I want to have Cedar Point's baby. All I am saying is that SFGAm doesn't have the top to bottom quality of Cedar Point or the top notch Six Flags parks like Magic Mountain and Great Adventure. When I said Giga Coaster I wasn't implying just a Millenium Force/Intimidator...I'd love to have a Superman Ride of Steel (Bizzarro now) type. It has the same track structure and is arguably one of the best coasters in the world. What's good for one Six Flags Park should be good for another.

I love SFGAm more than the next person. I consider it my home park and I am in love with most of the rides. V2, Raging Bull and Viper are my favorites, but give me Batman @ night and it's an amazing experience. Not to mention The American Eagle which is just classic.

I'm wondering why SFGAm never got a floorless coaster like Great Adventure and Magic Mountain ? Magic Mountain has built 5 quality coasters since 1999, Goliath, Scream, Tatsu, Terminatior, X2 SFGAm has built 3 in Raging Bull, Superman and V2. I'm not complaining about the coasters we have I'm just wondering why a cash-strapped company can build more coasters there than here??? Great Adventure built 5 too and their season is just as long as SFGAm.

I've been coming to SFGAm for over 20 years. I love the park too. I just think improvements can be made. Why settle for The Dark Knight, Ragin Cajun, and Little Dipper??

All I am saying is that SFGAm doesn't have the top to bottom quality of Cedar Point or the top notch Six Flags parks like Magic Mountain and Great Adventure.

Wow. I think I'm just done here.

LOL Clint. When I think of Magic Mountain or Cedar Point the first word that comes to mind isn't quality.

Quantity, sure...but not quality.

Here is another good one:

Irish2544 said:
All I am saying is that you can't even compare the quality of coasters SFGAM has built compared to Cedar Point...It isn't even close. Asisde from Raging Bull, none of the coasters are in the same league as Cedar Point. They are both midwest parks that are only open from May-October so the money factor is essentially the same.

My arguement has always been the quality of coaster that SFGAM puts in. The Dark Knight Coaster was terrible. Superman is average at best compared to Tatsu and other modern Flying Coasters. And you can't even count Ragin Cajun.

Why does Superman always have a fairly long wait for a ride if only average? It consistently has a longer wait compared to Shockwave. Plus Superman actually doesn't have a parking lot under the layout.

Have you ever considered that maybe Cedar Point and SFGAm don't want to be in the same league?

Your quality complaint is bogus.. but you might have an argument for number of extreme thrill rides compared to other parks.

@ Moosh, I know! I mean, I don't hate CP and really liked SFGADv. Don't care much for SFMM, but I hear it's gotten better. But seriously, I rarely hear the term quality positively attached to SFMM or SFGAdv. But the 2 Six Flags parks mentioned are in the top 2 most populated areas in the US. I think GAm, also in a very populated area, has gotten the type of coasters/rides they need. Heck, I think SFGAdv or SFMM fans should be mad that SFGAm got a bunch of flat rides!

I think everyone has a differing opinion about what quality means. It seems that Irish2544 believes that bigger, faster, higher thrill rating, etc offers a better quality coaster than coasters that may rank lower in those kinds of categories. To each their own.

But the point remains, the volume of crowds attending the park and enjoying what's currently being offered would suggest that Irish2544's opinion may be in the minority. And that's all a business needs to know when making decisions about what/how to expand the park. In the end, park comparisons are not always apples to apples comparisons.

Tekwardo said:
. Heck, I think SFGAdv or SFMM fans should be mad that SFGAm got a bunch of flat rides!

Especially when one of the flats they got (frisbee) came from Great Adventure and all the other rides from Great Adventure that went to other SF parks like Evolution and Pirate's Flight.

got2havefun said:
Have you ever considered that maybe Cedar Point and SFGAm don't want to be in the same league?

Parks can want stuff?