TW4ever1978

Let's look at the timeline here. Z-Force opened in July 1985, closed after the 1987 season and was moved to Georgia. Rolling Thunder, moved to Great America from Great Adventure, opened in 1989. The park moved the entire Z-Force station to serve for Rolling Thunder which lasted through the 1995 season. Iron Wolf opened in 1990 with a new station. I was 35 when Z-Force opened and was going to the park nearly 20 times a season and personally witnessed all of this action. Please know that park employees are not always knowledgeable on history of the park. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard park employees misquote on park history. I have been going there every year since the park opened in 1976. As a sidelight, Whirligig was originally in the spot where Goliath is going, and was moved to Yankee Harbor to make room for Z-Force.

I feel I must make a correction to an earlier post in this thread. The station that will be used for Goliath was built NEW for Iron Wolf in 1990. The station originally used for Z-Force was moved to Rolling Thunder in 1989, and was scrapped after that ride was moved to The Great Escape after the 1995 season. This misconception has appeared in various forums and must be corrected. Thank you!

Mine was "Turn of the Century"at Marriott's Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. It has been "Demon"since 1980, the park has long been Six Flags Great America, but it was definitely my first coaster with inversions!

I was there all day on Saturday, too. My friends and I had a great time, and were pleased to find out that the Dark Knight finally is running all 10 cars! Line moved much quicker than usual. We also were given a tip that several of the Huss flat rides (Condor, King Chaos, Revolution) were all running on different cycles, and wow, was that true! King Chaos flipped us no less than 6 times, and some in reverse! Revolution was more intense than ever. Love at First Fright was great as always, but more chatter between the songs, and some good political humor thrown in! Two of us bought our 2009 passes. Crowds were moderate, no really major waits in line. We did not ride Superman or Raging Bull, but made the rest of the coasters and had a very good time, as always! The park should have Fright Fest for more weekends, starting earlier. I have made it for all 18 seasons and it is always a highlight!

I was at Dark Knight media day, and I have to say, I love the ride. It is something Great America has needed for a long time, a dark ride. And it is dark! I was skeptical about using Theatre Royale for this attraction, but it has been done so well. For those familiar with the theatre, the queues take up about 1/2 of the original seating area. There is a wall built up, probably even with where the middle cross aisle was. My friend was on a backstage hard-hat tour of the site on ACE day, May 10, and he said the rest of the theatre, including the stage, is intact behind the wall, and that the area is being used for storage. So if someday, the Batman thing runs its course, the theatre could be restored. But, kudos to the park for bringing this fine attraction to us!

Flashback originally opened in 1985 at Six Flags Great America as "Z-Force". While it was there (1985-1987) it was one of my favorite coasters, full of surprises and never disappointing. My favorite thing about it was the phenomenal upward helix at the end of the ride. I also got to ride it at Six Flags Over Georgia in 1990, and felt it had lost nothing. But, when riding it in 1998 at Magic Mountain, it had fallen into a sad state of disrepair. It was so rough it bore no resemblance to its original incarnation. If Magic Mountain had no intention of keeping the ride running well, then it is a good thing it is being dismantled. But, I cannot help but think that if it had found its way back to Gurnee, IL, we could have restored it and kept a totally unique attraction.

Great America had better not remove Theatre Royale for this new "Dark Knight" coaster, as there is absolutely no need to. If you have seen the way Top Gun was built around - and over- Theatre Royale at the Santa Clara park, an enclosed mouse should have no problem fitting in. Remember there is land on each side of the service road. The reason they are putting this ride in is because attendance was way down this year, and this is likely a stopgap measure to bring people back. The theme park has been allowed to languish for three years now. Hurricane Harbor should not be forgotten, but I believe there will be more additions there down the line, and there is room for that if the go-karts and Space Shuttle America are removed, which both need to be. A B&M dive machine would be cool, but I would rather see a twisted Intamin coaster like an extended Maverick. Leave the theaters alone - they are an integral part of the Marriott legacy, and some of the finest theaters in any park, anywhere.