squirrelnut1416

2 words. Arrow looper.

^ to echo what he said. most, if not all, parks are built in phases. Six flags great america started off with only 2 and a half coasters (sorry gulf you weren't around for long enough) and over time added flats and coasters and became as big as it is today. Just add in one major coaster, one medium coaster, a tiny kids land, food stalls a plenty (seriously those are cash cows) and a few flats. Either imagine or draw out where and how you would like to expand after you get balanced after the first few (in game) years. Then just add one or 2 rides per year and maybe tweak some of the older sections.

I really don't get this whole family park vs "hardXcore tpr acer i have a vekoma in my pants" rider mentality. It's like when people complain that the wii is "just for kids and not for the hard core gamer" where as 360/ps3 is for the "hardXcore pwnin n00bs frag master" type person. I feel like everyones missing the real meaning of theme parks. Fun! Who cares what other parks get? Who cares if our b&m is only XXX feet while YYY park is ZZZZ tall. I mean seriously people, is that all we can do anymore is just keep comparing ourselves to other parks and bash what we got? I know a majority of the people though genuinly do love theme parks and don't care if its a 70's arrow or a 2010 B&M hyper super mega twister deluxe sp and for that i applaud you. Everyone bashing BB, have you even sat on it? Have you even experienced the ride at all? Have you seen the kids on the midway smiling from ear to ear as they blast people on the ride? Have you not noticed the kids coming off the ride with even bigger smiles? Me personally, I haven't sat on it (always forget to bring my bathin suit) but just the theming alone shows that SFI has some interest in this park. I know some of you guys are totally thrill seekers and that's great. I also know some of you just like the whole experience of the park and that's just dandy as well. My one friend who can barely ride TDK without feeling sick just loves to walk around the park and go on a few flats. I actually applaud him for that and he applauds the park for having stuff just to look at (the shows, the rides themselves, the flats he does like). All in all, we like to think that Great America was built just for us and we all have an opinion of what she should look like. All in all though, she was just built because they thought it would be a solid business adventure. The good news is it was back then, it is now and with how it's run now it will be in the future.

theres always this giant disney blunder http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/disney-blunder/

themeparkman, i totally understand your need to respectfully disagree. I'm just upset with how SFI is handling our park. I want something that makes people think about SFGAm when they talk about the top 10 roller coasters in the nation. I mean sure Whizzer is a living legend in my books but not too many non coaster enthusiasts would agree with me. Demon will always be my most favorite ride there for the fact its a balls to the walls style arrow looper. It doesn't try to apologize for being rough and tumble, it says "Listen, you wanted to challenge the Demon, so come on lets challenge". Plus everyone just sits on a ride and expects to not have to do anything. The Demon actually makes you think about when and how to brace your head. Sorry, I'm a tangent professional. Let me clarify my stance a bit more though. The park is the cleanest it has ever been. There's nothing on the midway. I've seen absolutely everyone picking up trash even with their own bare hands. The park is the best value its been in years. Sure people would complain if parking was 5 bucks and the entry was 10. You got to remember though think of how much everything costs. You're not just paying for a parking spot, you're paying for everyones salary with that 15/25 bucks. With that said, season passes are cheaper, day passes only cost if you buy them at the gate. The buffets on special weekends is the greatest thing anyone could have ever invented. I remember reading about Cedar Point doing that and I was like ZOMG THE CP IZ SO MUCH BETTA!!!111!!1!1 Sure enough though Six Flags came through and satisfied both of my desires (coasters and food). The ride ops are the friendliest they've been in years. They acutally seem to enjoy their job. I'll never forget riding Raging Bull late one night and the ride op was gettin the crowd so pumped up. You would have sworn it was for a concert. He was makin the riders scream, yelling out random facts, getting everyones adrenaline pumping inside the ride queue. The anticipation to ride the ride I've been riding since 2003 was killing me. Now that takes talent. More franchises inside the park. I know that may sound like a negative but to me it's a great thing. It generates revenue, and shows that companies are willing to invest in Six Flags, speaking of which. Leasing their name out to foreign parks was the smartest thing ever. I'd love to have someone pay me to use my name and I don't have to anything. The problem I have with SFI is SFGAm has so much potential. You got like what 11M people in the Chicago suburbs. I have no idea how many people are in/near Milwaukee/Racine/Kenosha but I'd venture to guess about 4 million. Don't forget about North West Indiana and pretty much everything along 80/90 and 65 and south western Michigan. SFGAm is great in the community; their board loves them. I mean it's like they could do no wrong at this point... except just keep doing minimal investments in the park while MM gets totally rehabbed (I know, it needed it but still ya know). I mean if you look at all we got going for it, it should be a no brainer that SFGAm should get a major installation soon. I know the rumors of Chang but I've heard some pretty gnarly stuff against the rumors too. It doesn't even need to be a dive machine or a 700 foot giga coaster that also dispenses free beer and tv's. Just something to compliment what we already got going for us. Even if they made the place more themed or brought back some of the Marriott era things (live demonstrations, the costumes). I mean SFGAm was built as the "Disneyland of the Midwest". @Rizash, you forgot about one park, Indiana Beach. Yes I know their not a major park but give it 10 years, they are trying to be. They already got the name and "street cred" to do it. They are already offering season passes and have a very unique steel coaster. It use to just be a fun place to go to on the weekends or if your passing through but they want to become the destination of everything from Chicago to Fort Wayne to Indianapolis. Just wait and see.

It took me 2 days but i read through this whole park. The whole time i was screaming in my head ENOUGH WITH THE SCENERY GIVE ME SOME RIDES. You said it yourself when you put in the Enterprise, this park needs a thrill ride. I mean I can see why you want to make the park as beautiful as possible, but you gotta remember you can't pull out iconic rides like the Carolina Calamity and then replace it with more buildings and a few kiddie rides. It desperately needs something big and steel, something to garner some attention in the nation. I mean Six Flags Great America just built the Shockwave and that thing is a beast. Look at how much attention that got. Maybe there should be some liquidation of the assets or try to get some public backing in order to raise the funds for a new coaster.

^Sorry I could have phrased that a bit better. Stupid 4am postings. I know that the park always has a plan. I was actually quite surprised with how quickly they got the little dipper and how quickly they found an area to put it in. My comment was more directed towards the 2011 installation that everyone keeps wondering about. Theres not a single doubt in my mind though that the big wigs of SFGAm know the score, it's just SFI that doesn't seem like they have much of a game plan. I know they do on a global scale though, just not on a park by park status.

Hey everyone, long time lurker (freakin awesome trip reports) first time poster. I have also heard some rumblings about whos getting what and whos not getting what, but yeah i'm pretty sure six flags really has no clue what their doing to our park.