JJnCFL

Nothing like fresh, off the assembly line, brand spankin new seats

That's 10 stories taller every 10 years, wonder what the next one will be in 2042

Thanks for the updates, glad to see the park getting much deserved TLC. When I was a ride op/supervisor back in 2002 & 2003, I remember getting a challenge from my manager to see what area could get the highest ridership while still prioritizing safety of course. When I was at Grizzly we were averaging 5-6K riders. After the challenge was set, we were able to bust our butt to hit just shy of 10K daily riders. We became in competition with the Demon crew which set the standard hitting high ridership and being the first team to hit 10K in our area, as our motivation for fast cycles. We'd try our best to dispatch the train right after the dreaded high speed second turnover. Those were the best summers I can remember.

Once this thing is official and ground has broken, I will be the happiest camper ever! What a difference a couple years make, as things are finally coming around, can't wait for 2013 and beyond!

I believe it's less than 65mph after the modification to 150ft and the 45 degree angle change. I remember riding it after the modification and it actually reaching the end of the twisted track, but for the past several years they've shortened it considerably and it barely even gets halfway after the zero-g roll. On the second backwards trip it doesn't speed up. Also on the backspike it doesn't hold the train for a second or two like before and release, I missed that.

The new website just went live: http://www.cagreatamerica.com/

It's about time! Guess someone tipped them off of the rusty track pic that was on CGA's website in their season pass advertisement lol. Yay for new paint for Flight Deck (Forever Top Gun) & Demon!

Merry Christmas everyone! What I got: Samsung Galaxy Nexus Nikon D5100 Clothes

The line was not too bad, about 15-20 minutes though it felt longer as we were being held at the bottom of the entrance. Fortunately I was in front of the fire pit. The rides I took definitely were the roughest I've ridden in a long time, more than Kong IMO, and that says a lot lol.

Just went last night (12/22), and was there from 3 till 9 (Closing). Everything was a walk on except for Roar (due to running 1 train) & Pandemonium (about a 10 min wait). Overall a nice evening, definitely bring a warm jacket and gloves!

Why would they? all they have to do is slap a "Six flags" in front of the great america logo at the Chicago park to mark it as theirs...I'm sure that they were aware of the fact that it was part of a small chain of parks when they bought the place in 84. Cause we live in sue-happy nation . Regarding the last day of haunt (and season), I was able to make the last 2 hours after getting off work. Parking lot was packed and I had to park almost near the back close to the overflow entrance. I was only able to do 3 of the mazes (Club Blood, Toy Factory & Cornstalkers) and 1 ride on Demon since it was hella crowded. This was the first time I saw all the rides queue lines full and overflowing, switchbacks and all, since the days when they were still open till Midnight on 4th of July yearly. If Drop Zone err Tower (leaves a bad taste in my mouth) still had the original 3 sections of queue, they'd all be filled. Though it was my shortest trip ever, I had a great time and it was nice to see how organized (with the employees holding the end of the line signs at the mazes) and great the atmosphere was. It's great to see how attendance shot up exponentially. Last year everything was practically a walk on, now it's Disneyland crowds. Hope JMA sees this and keeps it, they'd be foolish not to.

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Six Flags own the copyright or the trademark to "Great America", hence ours had to have "California's" in front of it to avoid the copyrights?

Since we got that all straightened out, anyone check the permits page lately?

Ah the smell of rumors... Everyone relax, CGA isn't going anywhere. There's a reason why the city owns the land and not the owners of the park. It's a cash cow for the city. All that message means is that October 30th is the last day of this SEASON, so get your last ride on Flight Deck before the park closes for the year, plain and simple. I know as theme park nerds we over analyze little things, but that's what we do, we're not like the GP. Looking forward to 2012 and the new and upcoming changes with the new owners.

Do parents not know how to read? Clearly states on the website and at the park: WARNING! This event is rated PG-13 and may be too intense for young children.. People will always complain just for the sake of complaining, seriously! You guys are doing a great job, keep it up!

Really? I don't see BART coming to Santa Clara, it seems a little too upscale to have BART stopping at. Vallejo on the other hand... It would be nice to have BART next door, but it wouldn't fit into the geometry of the layout of BART. I know BART's extension to San Jose is scheduled to be completed and open by 2018 (projected date) and will have a station in Milpitas next to the Great Mall where you can connect to Light Rail. BART's original plan was to have the line end at Santa Clara CalTrain, but because of less than expected revenue from the tax hike that was approved in '08 by voters, the extension had to be scaled back to a future phase of construction and instead will end at Berryessa where the Flea Market is currently. http://www.vta.org/bart/documents/other/berryessa_phase1_factsheet.pdf

I don't get all the negativity, all I have is optimism. Obviously CF didn't give a damn anymore with all the politics, and now (hopefully) we'll get the attention that's long overdue, instead of being a shadow among 18 parks in a chain. Growing up with this park, working here in my teen years for 4 seasons being promoted to area manager, it's always gonna have a place in my heart. Looking forward on what's to come...

Woohoo! Looks like I'll be renewing my pass for the 11th straight season! Since they're using Pandemonium's spot & keeping the covered platform area, judging from the pics, maybe 3rd time's the charm and this will stay longer than a few years?!

Just came back from SFMM, arrived about 10 minutes after the park opened. This was the lightest crowd I've ever seen, obviously with school back in session it helped. Longest wait of the day was 45 min for Goliath due to only a 1 train operation. X2 only was a 30 min wait when I went in the morning. Deja Vu was a walk on all day considering that it is leaving the park. Everything else had little to no waits. Green Lantern, Tatsu, & Colossus (1 Train), were about only 15-20 min wait. Batman, Apocalypse, Scream (1 Train), Revolution (1 Train), Gold Rusher (1 Train) were all walk-ons and were able to ride multiple times without going back in line. Skipped Viper. Didn't ride Ninja or Superman due to the park closing at 6. Regarding the earthquake, we were next in line at Riddler's, 5 min wait, when the station started shaking a bit. The train was already midcourse when it struck. The people around me all looked at each other and said if we all felt that. We knew it couldn't have been the ride as most of us were familiar with how things felt with the ride running. We were all calm as cucumbers since we all were from CA. Literally right after the moment it hit, a recorded announcement came on the loudspeaker that the ride was experiencing a delay. I checked my phone and sure enough a quake hit in Newhall, Ca, literally right near us. I was impressed how quickly it came on and they immediately stopped loading as soon as the train came back. While we waited they announced Tidal Wave was apparently open & some flats which was quick. I got the email regarding the new Drop Tower ride on Superman announcement and showed people in line on my phone the youtube video and pics, everyone had the same reaction when I mentioned it was gonna be on superman and how tall and fast the drop was, which everyone got all bug eyed and shocked, lol. The mechanics checked for about 30 min before the all clear was given. They only did 1 cycle before we were let on. All in all was a fun, interesting day, full of firsts, first and last time on Deja Vu, first earthquake I felt as an adult (last one was 89 in the Bay Area), first time I was in a theme park when it hit.

Thank God for TPR! Anyways, I used to be until I finally grew up and stopped caring what other people thought of me. We spend so much of our time worrying about what other people think of us, when the reality is, they're also worried about what we think of them! I say just let live! Life's too short, as long as it isn't hurting anyone else, enjoy! Though on a side note if someone mentions B&M or Hyper in the same sentence, they're automatically bumped up near the top of my list!

I wouldn't mind a Windseeker for CGA IF they build the GCI Woodie along with it!

It was marketed as a reality coaster but of course we all know it's not. It's interesting to note when Paramount was still the owner, CGA got a coaster (big or small) 4 years in a row from 1998 till 2001, '98: Invertigo (till '10), '99: Taxi Jam, '00: Stealth (till '03), '01: Psycho Mouse. Here's hoping CGA get's back to it, whiny neighbors, stadiums and all...

Totally caught me off guard, hopefully they're wrong. Seems like NorCal keeps shafted when it comes to coasters. Although it's only 3 years old, Stealth at CGA only lasted 3 years before being relocated. Though the last couple of times I've been to SFDK, Pandemonium's line hasn't been long and barely ever ends near the covered part of the queue (note I never go on weekends in the summer). It if does end up leaving it would be interesting to note that both CGA & SFDK would only have 7 coasters each...

I can answer this one. Tatsu is actually running both sides on a daily basis now. It really helps capacity. The only time we don't run both sides is when we are short on certified operators or on low attendance days. I was there a couple weeks ago and they were running both sides, though does help to have a FP

Everytime I went they were more relaxed with people with hats, I just put mine in my jacket. On Medusa they were more stricter with people leaving their flip flops on the side and told them they had to bring it with them. You should be ok having your camera in your pocket.