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I'm no expert for Great America, only saying what I've witnessed the past two years. 2023 I was able to bang out a good chunk of rides but still missed Maxx Force, Viper, American Eagle, Demon, Batman, Flash, Superman, Dark Knight, etc. I skipped most of those, though, because they were carrying a 45+ minute wait all day and they're rides I've done plenty of times at other Six Flags parks, so no big deal. 2024 was more or less the same, but I prioritized Maxx Force, Viper, and American Eagle as they're unique to the park and I hadn't ridden them. I'm 2.5-3 hours south of the park. Even with a season pass both years I only went once each year. For context, I went to Great Adventure multiple times both years (we visit family in Jersey 3-5 times annually) and was able to make those shorter, half-day or less visits and I was still able to bang out nearly the entire park each time, including MULTIPLE laps on star attractions like Toro, Jersey Devil, and Ka. Great America I've spent the entire day at the park and hardly made a dent both times. Great America has potential and has a great lineup of coasters and flats, but operations have soured me to the park. I'd much rather drive the 2-ish hours to Six Flags St Louis and go buckwild there all day like I did last year. Mr. Freeze and The Boss are more than worth the trip alone and, hot take, are better rides than 90% of what Great America offers. Yeah, I said it. Goliath and, to a lesser extent, Maxx Force, are the only truly standout attractions at Great America. The other rides are plenty fun but kinda boilerplate since they have so many clones.

I'm so excited! I'll be attending my very first Holliwood Nights this year (and my first proper trip to the park, since the only time prior I've gotten to go, the day got rained out and only got on two coasters and two flats). it had sold out in ~30 seconds, but was able to score a pair of tickets at a charity auction raising $$ for the National Roller Coaster Museum. looking forwards to it! edit: and since it was a pair of tix, I immediately invited Teacher Kim to come with. we're gonna have a blast, and I'll (of course) have a trip report up after.

If the weather is nice? You're screwed unless you pay for Fast Lane. If the weather is gray or damp? You're all set. Operations are, frankly, bad. A station wait for American Eagle still took 15 minutes when I visited this past October. I straight-up skipped Goliath WITH a Fast Lane reservation because operations were so horrible. The Fast Lane line was down the stairs and didn't move at all for over ten minutes. Maxx Force? Prepare to wait for a long time while you keep watching them dispatch one train every five minutes with six empty seats as you slowly fill with rage. Raging Bull is, in my experience, the only ride in the park that pumps people through consistently. I stood in line through most of the switchbacks and it only took 20-30 minutes to get a backseat ride. Viper wasn't too bad, either, but the ride itself is still Viper, so do with that information what you will.

On Monday, the first pieces of track were installed! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18XmE34y8R/

Meanwhile, SFSTL can't even run its carousel forward.