TR Six Flags Great America with a few pictures

[coasterboy76]

Hey all, I made my annual trip to Gurnee Ill. to visit Six Flags Great America. This is the 11th trip I have made up there, and as usual fun was had by all!

 

We arrived at the park around three o clock on our first day, big crowd at the ticket counters/security gates so I figured that the crowds would be big inside. We got into the park and headed right for the Raging Bull, I had a friend with me that had never been to the park before, and so was she in for a treat. The line was pretty long, I would say we waited just about 45 minutes, that was the longest I have waited for the bull in a long time!

and of course the wait was worth it as usual! the ride on RB was as smooth as it always is.

 

Since we were already in the Southwest teritory, a ride on Viper was in order, and as usual, the ride was as awesome as ever, with pleanty of airtime to spare.. the wait for the ride was not too long, approx. 25 min.

 

The next stop was the American Eagle-- another favorite of mine. was shocked and disapointed when I arrived in the station and they weren't running the blue train backwards! They were however actually racing the trains and were doing it contantly all day long which is nice since that's what they were originally built for. wait time for this ride was very short, under 15 min. they had 2 trains of each color running.

 

Our next stop was the good old headbanger itself, The Iron Wolf. Yes I rode this simply because of the fact that I had someone with me that had not ridden it. She liked part of the ride, but once the headbanging started, she began to hate it. after we got off the ride, my buddie and I both agreed on the fact, that would be our last time riding Iron Wolf. wait time for this ride was about 25 min.

 

it was then on to Superman Ultimate Flight.... yet another great experience, once you got through the hour and 5 min. line! We then went for some snacks, then headed back to the hotel..

 

Day 2 we arrived at the park about 10:45 and were greeted to an even bigger crowd, and once we got past those crowds then it was off to do the couple of coasters we didn't do the day before. As we were heading off to the right, we were stopped by one of those Six Flags photo people, the ones that say " hold it right there for a picture" and as she started to aim and focus on us, i whipped out my camera and snapped a picture of her while saying "You stand still too please" and she lost it!! I had to do that...

 

well after that bit of fun it was off to the Whizzer, and I must say I always enjoy my ride on the Whizzer! The line was extremely short so I wanted to take advantage of that because I knew it would be busy later.

after the Whizzer, it was off to the Demon! get around the corner, and what do I see? a sign in front of the Demon that says "This attraction is closed" Something was going on with the loop, there was a couple of mechanics on a cherry picker working on the loop.

 

Since we were in the area we decided to head over to Deja Vu for a chance to ride one of the most closed/broken down coasters in the world. I have had my share of Deja Vu, so I was going to play the non rider today, and decided to get some camera shots instead. I guess my friends were in line for about 25 minutes before the announcement came over the loud speaker "Ladies and Gentlemen, Deja Vu is experiencing technical difficulties and is temporarily closed".... well as soon as my friends got out of line, the ride re-opened so it was off to do something else instead.

 

V2 was the next ride--wait time 38 min. Ride was cool as always, but there were some long breaks in between launches of the coaster.

After V2, it was off to Ragin Cajun... yeah we actually stood in line for about an hour for this, and came to the conclusion that Six Flags messed up in the construction of this rides que line.. they should have built a shelter, since they were only running 4 trains..

 

as we were riding RC I noticed in the distance that the Demon train was climbing the lift hill...so that meant a ride on that was next.. I don't care what anybody says, I will always like riding the Demon, I think this is a really fun coaster. My friend and I sat in the back car, and as we were climbing up I told her to hang on for some air.. and when we dropped down the hill, she was still not expecting to come out of her seat for as long as she did.

 

as we were exiting the Demon I noticed that Deja Vu was running, and I told my friend that this would be her last chance to ride it if she was going to. They got back in line, and after about a 50 min wait, they were on and riding, I was even able to snap a picture of them on the train, ( she called my cell and told me where they were sitting).

 

That was the end of our trip, by that time it was working on 5:30 and the park had been closing at 8:00 so it was time to head to Joes Crab Shack, then to the hotel and back to St. Louis the next day.. This was my 11th trip to SFGA, and as always it was an enjoyable one. The only drawbacks were the lines were huge on both days surprising for a wend. and thurs. and the closing time of 8 pm, I mean it was just starting to get dark so no fireworks or parade. but I guess since it's so late in the season the hours get cut.

 

Took a few shots of the coasters you can check them out below, I wore my TPR shirt, and I heard several people talking in the background saying "hey I go to that site", and "hey that's my favorite site" so I did a little TPR advertising!

 

this was my first trip report, hope it's not to boring.

finally I took a picture of one of those silly photo people, she was NOT expecting that, and right after she took the pic, she couldnt stop laughing!

my friend is in the third row, right seat on the inside set of seats, wearing the orange tshirt..

here is a rare shot of the Deja Vu at SFGA actually working...

a shot of the second loop of the Demon

the Demon in action while waiting in line

here is a shot of the Demon in action around 1:30 in the afternoon

Here is something I see almost everytime I go to SFGA-- Giant Drop broken down...

This was the mechanics working on the Demon at around 11:00 am

[pvcoasterguy]

I really do love Six Flags Great America. It is simply what all Six Flags parks need to be, in terms of staff, atmosphere, and good mix of rides for everyone.

 

Let's face it:

-Good mix of coasters for everyone (yay Whizzer, Demon, the Woodies, Spacely Sproket and Rajun Cajun all for 48", with Demon taking on 42" and Whizzer/Spacely taking on 36")

 

-Many flats, some dated but still fun.

 

-Good operations

 

-(For the most part) good staff

 

-Two flume rides, rapids, and splash boat

 

-Good atmosphere, clean, good music (70's and 80's music adds to the fun atmosphere)

 

Anyway, nice TR. I truly enjoy seeing people's impressions of Great America, as it is a truly underrated park that is very nice.

 

I love the fact that American Eagle is running racing almost all of the time now- it adds to the ride so much. This is combination with how well it has been running recently makes for a great, fun ride. Trims have been the lightest they have ever been (season-wide).

[coasterdude5]

^Agreed. Six Flags Great America needs to be the model park. Great TR, too. I've been there tons of times, and I've never seen Giant Drop broken. (but I have seen Deja Vu closed)

[Erik Johnson]

Yeah we really thought that SFGam was a really good park as well. The fact that every coaster was open while we were there was amazing. Good friendly ride ops as well as other staff really helps. "The Demon, its going to get you!"

[ECZenith]

Sorry to bite your style, but I'm definately doing the "countersnap" on my next visit to SFNE.

 

Nice photos, it seems like all SF parks with Deja Vu's currently have them running.