JamesMC

I was old enough to drive, but just barely. Me and three friends got stopped on the lift-hill for "Demon" at Six Flags Great America. It was raining and then it switched to hail. After they unloaded (this was when they were running 3 trains almost continually) the guests who had just boarded, they sent us over the lift (in the hail still) and even when we got back to the station brakes after the corkscrew, they were still unboarding the train in front of us. A couple min. later we got to disembark, but by then we were all soaking wet and had all gotten 'dinged' with hail. At the time, we thought it was a hoot.

To finish up my last post (had some weird pc prob going on)...... Park was really busy for a Tues. in August. Demon started off the train with the yellow and black trains, and then switched it out for the "Stride-wrap" train mid=day and never did run all three. I guess that was okay, even with two trains they were stacking them for almost a minute. I only waited for five trains to board Iron Wolf. Somehow that took over twenty minutes. The Ride Op was 'spot-on' about telling people how to board, affix the harness and ride the ride, but it was NOT in a friendly tone at all. I've been on this ride probably over 75 times throughout it's lifetime and I've never heard someone so condescending to the riders. If she'd put some humor into it, it would've been okay, but for those that have never ridden it, she probably made them feel like idiots. Not such a good idea! The tower-op at Riptide Bay spoke in such an exaggerated accent, that I'm surpised that anyone outside of "Monty Python" fans could understand him. No offense to exchange students and (Disney Term) "Casual Temporary" employees, but even knowing how to ride the 'drop towers' at "Riptide Bay" , "Crowwszha fee and put ze arms up behin ze nek" might not make sense to the average person. The audio for this tower keeps repeating, "Persons under 48 in. and persons over 300 lbs. may not participate in this attraciton." or something to that effect. I watched some little maybe 3.5 ft child ride in front of me, and I saw some person obviously over this weight limit allowed to ride. Just saying....I'll keep going back to 6FGAM.....it's my "homepark", but that doesnt mean I like everything that goes on there.

Went to Great America this last Tuesday....didn't have my camera on me, but I will try to go back next week to take some last pics of Iron Wolf, and SplashwaterFalls area for construction/deconstruction updates. Just a FYI for the SFGA 'veterans' but one of the shots I'd like to get is of the "overflow" queue of Iron Wolf to the left of the main entrance...anyone have pics of that area when it was the queue for "Whirligig" before that ride was moved to the "Batman" area? I think I do, but I got shoeboxes of Kodak 110 buried deep all over the place. Might take me years to find those pics, and/or of Z-Force. I've been saying that Iron Wolf has lost it's 're-ridable-ness' for years, but now that it's really set to go, I'm kinda feeling over-protective of it. I actually rode it again on Tues. and hope to get a couple more rides in next Mon/Tues. It was 'weird' having to wait more than 5 min to get on it. The sad fact is, when I was younger I would 'willingly' wait an hour or 90 min to get on it and thought it was fantastic. Maybe I got spoiled by other B&M's. Now it hurts..just a little, but a little too much. American Eagle did not operate until after noon. I rode it about 4 p.m. and got a ride on both sides (backward/forward) in about 40 min. Backward kinda fun, but I still like Red Side better. Hurricane Harbor was "open" but not really. The back half of the park was completely shut down, as were the two tall body slides (on the same staircase as the 'toilet bowl/raft slides'.) To make matters worse, there was only one lifeguard on the tower (with the two bowl slides and raft rides), so the lines were overly long. I was kinda disgusted. Don't bother shutting down half the park and understaffing what "is" working. Lame. Yeah, the waterpark will be open weekends but I work every weekend and can't get to the park then. Last Tues. was it for me for the waterpark.

Never been to CW. but would like to. Kinda watching all the speculation going on about "Leviathan", and is it just me, or is that overbanked turn in the graphic look like it might almost be an elongated corkscrew. Or is the graphic just simply "that" overbanked? Maybe I see an inversion where there is none.....just saying! Anywho, we will find out soon. "

To Answer some ?'s ^ posted above.... I was at the park on Tuesday (yest.) the 19th. Blue side of the Eagle was still running Forwards...not backwards. Both sides were running around 1 p.m. Superman was down and not even testing as of 7 p.m.---I left the park around then, so if it opened at the end of the night, I cannot be sure. If you are looking to get to the park weekdays, you want to take I-294 'around' Chicago, there's a couple of slow spots, but most of the time you will be moving right along, especially if you have the I-Pass transponder in your car (electronic toll collector)...however if you are coming up on the weekend and hit I-94 "Early", it is a shorter trip by a dozen miles or so. Most likely you will get bogged down around "The Circle" (Chicago-speak for the stretch of road of I-94 at the I-290 connection) but this is only about a two mile slowdown. We have electronic signage in place that will tell you travel times....watch them...but before you travel, please Look At A Real Map!!!! If you don't want to worry about the maybe ten min you can save on I-94 on weekends just follow the signage for I-294....for the most part it moves pretty steadily and every twelve miles you have an "Oasis" you can stop at if you need to. Riptide Bay is Jammed from the minute it opens until almost the time they shut down. If you get to Hurricane Harbor early, hit all the other slides first, and then get to Riptide Bay....you will have walk-ons on all the 'old' slides for an hour and a half, and by the time you hit Riptide, the waits will still be about the same. Maybe less, because that's when everyone at Riptide starts to migrate to other parts of the waterpark. Just remember, they are new slides, but they are "LOW" capacity attractions. Demon and Whizzer were both on 3-train operation, but kept stacking them all day, didn't see the point. The crew on Raging Bull were spot on yesterday....very very efficient. Viper very good also. Batman about the usual dispatch times. No new construction yet on the site of Splashwater Falls, Barney Oldfield Speedway. Lots of displaced concrete though. Heard a "Very Intersting Rumor" though yesterday......there is a small section of (overflow) parking lot just west(northwest of park) of main parking lot that has been torn up and concrete piles are all over the place, and the rumor is that this section of torn up parking lot is the "Turnaround" for the new attraction that will cross over the Washington St. entrance roadway( just after the turn-off for the main parking lot) much like The American Eagle crosses over it right after you enter the park from the south. I "HOPE" this is true!!! however I have a feeling we are adding another low capacity, albeit new, coaster. I got a feeling we are getting a Green Lantern clone, which will be fun assuming I don't have to wait three hours to ride it. I would personally like to see another Wing-rider from B&M or an Intamin (is there a law against two hyper-coasters considering the first one is the park's best attraction?) I'll be visiting the park at least two more times during their normal summer operations and if anything changes I will post it.

Two teenage girls in row next to me while we were waiting for rain to clear up in the Superman line: Girl 1:) Viper is WAY older than the The American Eagle.... Girl 2:) Isn't this 30 years for the eagle? Girl 1:) Yeah, but Viper is like twice as old which is why it's so small. My dad has pix of it when it was the only thing in the park. I truly truly would have liked to have called her dad and seen THAT pic......

No, ^ but I moved up a seat so that they could keep theirs....rode twice on the blue side and then switched over to the red side, then ran and got on Bull one more time and Superman twice. The Last 90 min were especially busy for me.

Went to Great America yesterday and had 'planned' to take pix and make a TR....but: Here's what happened: Park slightly more crowded than previous Monday of last week (the Mon. b4 Memorial Day)... The Purple People Eater (Raging Bull) was down. The ONLY other time I have seen this ride open more than ten min. late was the debut season....and that was the first time I was there that year, it was still testing and didn't open at all....SO all of the people that would normally be occupied with this ride or Hurricane Harbor (which opens weekdays next week) were displaced....in other words....after the park opened, even with a 'light' crowd, Viper already had a 40 min wait...and American Eagle, same thing. They were testing the Blue Side, but it was not open, and for whatever reason, the ride ops were not on top of the game and were stacking the two Red trains. Giant Drop meanwhile (and I didn't ride it) was operating with only 2 of six gondolas. In the "Preseason" I am used to finding half the ride down, but this time it was 2/3rds....c'mon people, the Bull is down, we need to maximize capacity on ALL the other rides. In the other posts ^^ the pics where the "Rubble Runway" has replaced the Great America Raceway....from the 'smoking section' near the Demon....the fence has been covered by a protective green vinyl film....when I walked up to it, you could see thru it, slighly obscured...but that just makes me think that something IS going to be happening here. Actually rode "Aneurysm, The Ride", (A.K.A. Iron Wolf) and didn't die. I don't normally 'feel' old, but this ride makes me feel old. Wow, but I rode in the second row, and the normal Head Bashing was slighly less than normal. It made me feel better when the 3 teens in the row behind me also complained of getting a headache. For once I just had 'One' sore ear. American Eagle broke down for a couple hours mid-day...naturally right when I was at the stairs of the loading platform. The new Go-Karts added a bit of grass to the ride area....looks better, but still sticks out like a sore thumb. That area is going to be killer in the sun in the next couple of months and I don't mean killer in a good way. Yankee Clipper did not operate, but Logger's Run was running (go figure). Got in a fairly long line for Superman (behind some really foul mouthed 8th graders from Oak Lawn Homestead Middle School ((or so their T-shirts said))---I am not a puritan or a curmudgeon, but really, it's like these kids just learned the F-Word and all it's conjugations and I got to hear it for 45 min straight. Then as a topper the weather turned nasty and just as I got my seat, but before we were pulled into "Doggie Position", the ride shut due to weather....ugh!!!!!!!!!! Then, 20 min later the sun came out, the Itsy Bitsy Spider got to do his thing....The Bull opened, The American Eagle re-opened, with both sides, the waits turned to almost walk-on's and in two and half hours I tripled my ride count. Bull was a little slow at first, they were running 3 trains, but only 2 with people and one empty (however, last week the 3rd train was sitting on the Transfer Track and didn't even have the T-bar restraints on it...so that's an improvement) for awhile, but they did end up loading/using it by the end of the day. Riptide bay has 'real' and not cyclone fencing on the inside of the park near the Sky Tower...from the parking lot looks a little dicey still, BUT, they had all sorts of potted landscaping sitting in the lot this week just waiting to be installed. I won't be able to go back for about 3 weeks, but I'm sure by then it will be good to go.....looks fun, can't wait to try the new additions" And that's that. I thank my wife again for giving me a Season Pass for my birthday!!!! P.S. anyone know why Batman is not using the "Wheel Cover Assemblies" for either train this year...they are all just gathering dust in the station shed. I should mention that even when Bull and Eagle were down, the wait was about 15 min for the ride...those ride ops were on fire that day for dispatches. Kudos!

It's late, and this 'MAY" have been mentioned, but the 1911 above the RIT website got me thinking, and so I "Wikipedia-ed" that year, and there is a notable mention for someone who pioneered work in superconductivity in that year....just saying...it's in the April or May listings for that year.

X before it was X2------waited 2.5 hours in the blazing sun----the Pop machine stole my money so it cost me twice as much to get something to drink......while in line.....and then they decided to put train #2 on the track after an hour, which took another hour for whatever reason to cycle thru......and then.....45 min later we actually got to ride. I feel bad for the people maybe twenty min behind us in line because after I rode it, it broke down again. If I had never ridden this ride before, I would not have waited. On the plus side, while at Tatsu Media Day, I got on a few times with minimal waits....Still haven't been on the "new" version though.

(At Six Flags Great America-earlier this week): How come they're not running more trains on this ride? Which sounds okay until I realized that I was in line for Vertical Velocity......

I was at the park yesterday.....very low capacity and almost no waits for any of the rides...yay for me!!! The new Riptide Bay looks fun, but it's right smack dab in the parking lot and there's not much "themeing" yet....hopefully there will be some "greenery" and/or "theming" added because right now it's 'pretty bare' as far as that goes. The Funnel Tube Flume had water running for testing yesterday, and there were all sorts of workers finishing up the concrete work. And 'Heavens To Betsy" the new tube ride features an 'automatic tube lift', so you you don't have to carry one up the stairs...about time!!!! Tons of discarded concrete on the "Great America Speedway/Barney Oldfield Speedway/SplashWater Falls area".......the cars are still there....but there's no way that that amount of concrete ejecta couldn't've damaged the track for future use.....I am expecting that the new coaster will be built here. PLEASE......Not another Low Capacity Coaster.....Green Lantern at SFMM looks fun, but we need something that will provide rides for more than 500 guests per hour....we've got enough of those. Rode everything ( almost literally) except for "Iron Wolf"....the ironic thing is that fifteen years ago, I would've waited 90 min for the ride when it was new, but now, even though it's a 'walk-on', I have a hard time justifiying how bad my head will hurt with actually riding it. I am "Not One" for coaster removals, but if this one were to 'go' I would not mind. I love B&M's but this one has 'NOT' aged gracefully. I'll ride it this year to say I did,but ...I am in no hurry to do so.....what a shame. And the "re-imagined" go-karts....I feel bad for anybody riding this when it actually gets hot out....wow, what a bad idea....and it looks terrible as well......Concrete, concrete, concrete........uggggh.........I'd rather have screaming kids back in this spot than pavement and Absolutely NO SHADE!!!!!!!!!! Not a good visual....not at all

oops, never mind, thought there were sixteen boxes but it's really only twelve.....my bad.

Not sure what to do with this info, but if there are sixteen unfilled boxes, did anyone notice that Dr. Michael Coupone (letters only) =16 characters....maybe the grid is an anagram puzzle (you know, take those sixteen letters and rearrange them)....just saying.... and yes, this could be wrong. I haven't tried it yet.

Regarding the spillway element----the first time I visited Busch Gardens The Dark Continent, "Stanley Falls" had one of these, but when I returned a few years later, that particular element was removed. I've been wanting to see pix from the original structure, but really haven't been able to find any.........anyone got pics of this? I know for a fact that it existed because I rode on it when it had them, I just don't have any shots to prove this.....it was unique.

Yup...a few years ago at King's Island....I had my ACE card (Sorry, no buffets offered that day) but I got the "walkback" to "The Beast" With the P.R. person who shared the first ride with me in the front seat....when we returned to the station, there was still no queue...and she said, "Wanna go again? Sit anywhere you want!" Magic words for me, I moved to the backseat, and had the ride 'All To Myself', yay!!!! When I got back to the station again, there were like five people in line, but I got to keep my seat in the back for an additional 3rd ride. Also, got to ride "Tony Hawk" at SFSTL by myself in my train, and have gotten to ride "Dark Thud, and Rajun Cajun" at SFGAM in cars all by myself.

Yeah, Manhattan Express or "Roller Coaster" at NYNY in Las Vegas is just mind-numbingly awful. It should be fun! It looks fun, and it's neat to ride a coaster in Vegas where you can see The Strip while riding. It's just that I think the steep price of riding it should include a couple "Alleve"...............Yay for TogoTerror...............

Here's what I believe/know: Expansion to waterpark this year----yay!!!!!!!!!!!!! Antique cars going the way of "The DoDo", possibly mid-season. New coaster- former Splash Water Falls area/ Antique Cars area----however, the footprint isn't huge.... My predictions- The new coaster we are getting for '12 will either be a SFOG Dare Devil Dive Clone, or (hopefully) A B&M "Gardaland" clone---- I just want a new coaster with a "Decent Capacity" I'm not that fussy!

Umm....if no one else wants it...(ugly or whatever), I will sponsor it's paperwork to come to Six Flags Great America; we don't have a floorless yet.....just saying.....

Educated Guess, not a rumor per se, but given the fact that something is afoot for '12 at Six Flags Great America...and given the current space within which to work....e.g. Splashwater Falls area, and the fact that there ARE rumors that the former Barney Oldfield Six Flags Speedway (is getting moved or dismantled this season), logically speaking, I think we are looking at getting a "EuroFighter" in that location. A new coaster is great, and I'll ride it regardless, but I would LOVE SFGAM, to put in something with a little more throughput (guests/hour capacity), but the truth is I think we'll be getting a close clone of "DareDevil Dive" at SFOG. We shall see.

I thought that by adding "Little Dipper" to SFGAM, that it was a great choice to preserve some nostalgia....sounded like a "Great" idea. And it is a great coaster for kids, but..... Yeah, it was kind of lame once you took away the nostalgia factor. To be honest, I would've rather had a clone of the coaster at King's Island/Dominion "Woodstock Express", cuz even as an adult, that one is still ridable to me.

Not to tear it down completely, but to just fix the .....thing...."Son Of Beast"----looks like it should be such an awesome coaster, but just isn't....Turn it into an El Toro or something....anything, just don't waste the wood. (Um, there's a juvenile joke in there, but that wasn't my intention.)

All the coasters at Sauzer's Kiddieland in Schereville, IN. (Roller Coaster, Mad Mouse, and Galaxi) King's Island: "Screamin' Demon", "King Cobra", and "Son Of Beast (w/loop). Six Flags Great America: "Tidal Wave", "Z-Force", "Shockwave", "Turn Of The Century", "Deja-Vu". Six Flags St. Louis: "River King Mine Ride"-the side that is now Big Bad John at Magic Springs, "JetScream". Six Flags Magic Mountain: "Psyclone", "Flashback" (formerly at SFGA as Z-Force)". Six Flags Over Georgia: "Viper", (formerly Tidal Wave at SFGA). Busch Gardens, Tampa: "Python". I think that's it, but if I think of any more I will edit this post.

Son Of Beast at K.I. (With Loop). Looked like an AMAZING ride, and found out that my neck and head really don't like a JackHammer riding on them during the helixes. Strangely enough, the loop itself was slippery smooth. That, the drop from the station, and the first drop were the only parts I liked. Hopefully this ride gets transformed a la "Texas Giant"

Raging Bull The Voyage Tatsu Screaming Eagle Raptor Not sure what I'd call the park except....fun.....