Photo TR: (Paramount's) Great America

[TopThrill182]

Photos will be uploaded tomorrow.

 

(Paramount's) Great America

 

Date of Visit: July 31st

 

Weather During Visit: Sunny

 

Crowds During Visit: Very Light

 

Time at Park: 10:30am - 8:00pm

 

Trip Report

 

The Park

 

I was somewhat skeptical of the park after reading some very mediocre things about it online, but I was very surprised with the park itself.  The entrance is quite nice.  There is a large fountain with a double decker carousel.  There is quite a bit of landscaping which includes much of the lush vegetation of California, and everything looks very new (freshly painted benches and signs, etc).  Even the ticket booths had nice architecture.  The rest of the park was nicely spaced, and had the same lush vegetation as the entrance.  There wasn't one section of the park which I thought needed more trees or flowers.  It wasn't over done though.  Everything also looked quite new throughout the rest of the park, and nothing really needed paint or repair.  Overall, the park was extremely nice.  It is definitely one of the nicer parks I have been to, not the rides, just the park.

 

There are numerous nice shows in the park.  One magic show held in a huge theater was quite funny.  The kids areas in the park are superb with quite a bit of Nick themeing.  This is what a true kids area can be, and I hope CF takes notice.  The themeing is just great, and all the kids love it.  I hope the Nick characters get introduced into CF parks.  If Great America could just get one great coaster, it would be an extremely nice park which I would actually want to visit again.  Unfortunately at the moment, the park is filled with numerous rides that aren't bad, but are just OK.

 

The Rides

 

Grizzly:

 

This is definitely one of the more boring coasters I have been on.  There wasn't anything wrong with it, but nothing right with it either.  The layout was slow, boring, and unmemorable.  It also had no air-time whatsoever.  It was just not memorable at all.

 

5.5/10

 

Psycho Mouse:

 

This wild mouse had a slow and boring top section, which offered little forces.  The second half of the ride could have been good, but was too heavily braked, so it wasn't crazy fun, and the air-time was minimal.  Disappointing in comparison to the one at Hershey.

 

5.5/10

 

Vortex:

 

Again, there wasn't anything wrong with the ride, but not much right with it either.  It was relatively smooth and had some fun elements, but it was low to the ground, slow, very, very short, and relatively boring.

 

6/10

 

Demon:

 

This ride had cheaper looking themeing than the one at Six Flags Great America.  One tunnel usually has tons of lights flash as you go through it, but none of the lights were working on my ride.  The ride is somewhat boring, and the last corkscrew can be painful if you are not expecting it.  Still, it is an ok ride.

 

5.5/10

 

Top Gun:

 

Hands down the best coaster at the park.  It had a great layout.  It had a nice loop, spin after the loop going up, zero-g-roll, and an awesome finale over water with corkscrews.  It could have been longer, but it was still an awesome ride.  You actually felt like you could touch the water in the finale.  It was a nice mix between fun and intense.  I didn't enjoy it a ton the first ride I got on it, but I got 3 more re-rides later, and it kept getting better.  You have to enjoy it for what it is, as it is just fun and cool, not amazing.

 

8.5/10

 

The kiddie coasters were actually quite good.  Runaway Reptar had mist and other themeing.

 

**We did not get on Invertigo as I have an installment at Kings Island, and I don't think its that hot.  Plus, the ride was supposed to be closed all day, and when it finally re-opened, I didn't feel like subtracting water park time for it.**

 

Other Rides/Attractions

 

Boomerang Bay was a great water park.  It had two awesome speed slides, and three amazing tube slides.  One was a boomerang type slide that had a huge trop, and went forward and backward.  You actually got air-time on this one.  The other was a family raft slide, very long and fun with numerous people in a raft, and the final one was an enclosed slide which was quite nice.  The lazy river looked great, and had a ton of wonderful landscaping.  The water play structure was also quite nice, and there were a few nice kids activity areas.  The wave pool was still closed (although it appeared they were doing life guard training in there).  Overall, the water park had the perfect mix of attractions, and had wonderful Australian themeing and landscaping.  This is a wonderful water park, and I would highly recommend it to anyone in the area.  Plus, it is included in park admission!

 

There was a sky ride which provided nice views, and also a swinging inverter where if you spit, you would get kicked out of the park (they never really held up the kicking people out part of it though).

 

We rode Drop Zone, which was quite small in height, but we got off with our feet after a thrilling ride!

 

Notes/Observations

 

-Park extremely uncrowded

-Numerous extra employees simply "chilling"

-Souvenir prices were cheap

-Nice collection of shows

-Great water park

-Great amusement park / just needs good rides (new ones)

-Park has horribly short hours

-Park is nice and looks new, tons of landscaping

 

Next Up: Knott's Berry Farm

 

-TT182-

[Angry_Gumball]

Looking forward to some photos. I'm heading to GA this following Sunday again to get my coaster fill in again. Personally, Vortex and the Gun are probably my favorite B&Ms as they're of the more intense side. Yea, I know people say Vortex is rough for them and whatnot but I don't find it that bad. Same goes for Demon. I actually found it quite smooth minus entering the corkscrews...I was a bit concerned seeing that coathanger transition coming in to it. Glad to know that it was light for a Sunday as Sundays are the only days I will be able to visit/my free days. Wait a sec...the wave pool's still closed? The Mercury News (Who needs to stop calling my cell!) claimed that it was going to reopen if I read it right...but there's no real point of opening it if Boom Bay closes after Labor Day.

[jjeerr]

Wavepool is open as of 2ish today. I even got one of the free tubes!

 

They had at least 13 Lifeguards within that area, and they even made my brother put on a height-wristband. (he's well over 54in)

 

They are at least looking like its more "safe"

[chmilo24]

You should have gone on Invertigo, it is one of the smoothest vekoma inverted boomerangs I've been on.

[dpxtreme]

^^^Read the top of the trip report. It said he went there on July 31st which was a Tuesday.

[KGA29]

I'm surprised you gave Grizzly a 5.5. It's awful! But I still ride it every time I go. Also when comparing Wild Mouse at HP with ANY other wild mouse coaster anywhere, you will be disappointed. I've heard HP runs theirs crazily with almost no brakes.

 

The reason why they have such short hours is because of your first point. There are absolutely NO crowds during the week and if anyone has ever been to the park at park closing (which you said you did), you'll know that it's almost empty there, even at 8. The park is really a family park and hasn't gotten a coaster in 6 years and a thrilling coaster in (technically 7, Stealth) almost 10 years!!!!! Invertigo in 98. GA hasn't even done a scary halloween event since 01.

[robbalvey]

Nice report. Pretty much how I feel about the park. It's actually not a bad park, but it really REALLY needs a good coaster or at least another good flat ride.

 

It's been trying to survive off Top Gun for what...14 years now???

 

One little pet peeve though....please don't use "Photo TR" in your topic title unless it really IS a Photo TR! There is nothing more annoying to click on a "Photo TR" only to find there are no photos.

 

--Robb

[Sunfire]

Hey Robb, do you think that TPR will ever do a West Coast trip, with parks such as Disneyland and SFMM, but also Norcal parks like Great America and Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk? That would be so awesome. Great America is my homepark, and it'd be sweet to meet you guys in person.

 

It would also be hilarious to see 40 TPR members overtake Survivor the Ride.

[TopThrill182]

Glad you all liked the report. I think Great America is a great little park. But I agree with Rob, they definitely need a new (and good) coaster.

 

And as said above, the wavepool was closed when I was at the park, but I was there on the 31st of July. I just got back a week ago and it took me a while to write these. However you could see they were doing lifeguard training, so I'm not surprised to hear they've made many changes.

 

And I completely agree about the hours. That park doesn't need to be open any longer, because at 8, it was just dead.

 

Anyways, here are some photos. And sorry about not having them up earlier, I didn't think many people would see it until now.

 

I've uploaded half of the photos now, and the other half will be up in a few hours.

Here it is again...

Really fun ride with interesting restraints and seats...

A lot of nice themeing.

Survivor: The Ride.

Feet all there? Check...

 

Good ride, but it does need to be a bit taller, because as of now it isn't all that intimidating like a drop tower should be. Still thrilling though.

Uh-oh...

Invertigo.

Shade canopies. GREAT idea.

It looks like it could be fun... Maybe even have some air-time?

Another example of the surplus of vegetation and shade within the park.

Demon through a fence.

Lines for the day weren't bad.

Again, the park has great landscaping.

American flag floral bed with Vortex in the distance.

Cedar Fair has taken over.

Another nice view of the great entrance area. The fountain really adds a lot.

One of the nicest entrances in a park anywhere.

[KGA29]

Good ride, but it does need to be a bit taller, because as of now it isn't all that intimidating like a drop tower should be. Still thrilling though.

 

GA can't build much higher due to the San Jose airport being very close.

[RIP Psyclone]

I've only been there once, summer '95. I guess to a 15 year old rides like Demon, Grizzly, and especially Vortex seemed a lot more fun than they would if I rode them now. And...oh yeah, I had to remember that the Survivor ride is not a credit.

[Loco]

*sigh* My home park...people might say it's crappy, but I love it to death!

[Manic Monte]

I actually like Great America...a lot. It's got that Northern Cal feeling of unpretentiousness. Like Rob says though, the park BADLY needs a few more flats and a signature coaster. Nothing huge, perhaps something like Balder or Stealth at Thorpe Park.

 

That park needs something with airtime badly.

[Sunfire]

*sigh* My home park...people might say it's crappy, but I love it to death!

 

I TOTALLY agree with you! Lots of people criticize Great America, but for me, it will always be my favorite park. It's been like a second home for me for the last decade or so.

[TopThrill182]

Here are some more photos (they are all up now):

Goodbye Great America! You're a great little park.

Boomerang Bay entrance shot.

Never been on one before. Great ride.

One last Top Gun shot.

The train in the un-covered station.

Some themeing. This was pretty much it other than a radar.

The lift.

What is that?

Vortex's layout. Yes, that's it.

Many of the coasters had no enclosed stations.

The skyride offered some great picture opportunities.

The water play structure.

You can actually see every slide Boomerang Bay has to offer in this picture. The two blue speed slides are in the background to the left. The complex of 3 slides is in the foreground (the interesting boomerang slide in the back).

Boomerang Bay.

Nickelodeon themeing at its finest!

The ride layout. Way too much braking!

Psycho Mouse.

Grizzly was actually quite boring.

Every time the train enters this corkscrew, I hear someone complaining of an injury. Nice water fall though.

The car ride was actually quite fun.

It looks like it could be fun!

The station/ train of Grizzly.

[KGA29]

*sigh* My home park...people might say it's crappy, but I love it to death!

 

I agree. Been a loyal season pass holder for 6 years now and keep coming back. I went today for only 5.5 hours and got in 39 rides! That includes 10 straight on Drop Zone and 15 straight (yes, we almost got sick) on Top Gun. What I like about GA is that it's almost never crowded. I haven't seen many lines over an hour since Stealth (including weekends and holidays). Well, maybe Survivor.

[chmilo24]

That part on Demon right before the Double Corkscrew always gets my ear. The change in direction is so fast you head just slams into the head rest.

[Angry_Gumball]

Oh yea...did you hit up the Spongebob ride? Yea, sure, it's in the kid's area but if you do things right, you can make it spin quite a bit and make the ride so much more enjoyable...shoot...make it spin before the ride starts. The ops didn't care.

[Sunfire]

Oh yea...did you hit up the Spongebob ride? Yea, sure, it's in the kid's area but if you do things right, you can make it spin quite a bit and make the ride so much more enjoyable...shoot...make it spin before the ride starts. The ops didn't care.

 

That's something I have to ride every time at Great America now! After I saw your video of Wipeout, I do that on Spongebob all the time. By the way, I went to Santa Cruz on Friday, and got about 30 spins on Wipeout before it started, and got about 15 consecutive flips on Rock O Plane. I almost puked.

[dpxtreme]

And most of the ride-ops at Spongebob spins each car after they check the restraints anyways.

[cfc]

Sigh! I remember when all the lights worked in the Demon's tunnels.

[65skylark]

^ Same here! I went many times during the eighties and early nineties.

 

While Vortex is nearly unrideable now, it was actually quite smooth and fun when it first opened. Too bad Stealth is gone, it did add a bit to the coaster collection. Top Gun is still a great ride IMO, but I do agree that the rest of the coasters there are very average to below average.

 

Justin "I miss the Whizzer!" Saxe.

[speedracer]

^ Ditto everything you just said. Live only 10 miles away, haven't been in over 5yrs, mediocre underwhelming rides in a lackluster park can only be entertaining for so long. Combined with nothing impressive ever added (yet Paramount insisted on always charging the highest admission of any park in the chain) don't feel like I've missed out on anything at all.

 

Hopefully CF will change all that soon and give a valid reason for the over-inflated admission prices.

[dougr]

Dumb question: How do the two Bay area parks stack up to each other? We went to SF(MW)DK a couple of years ago. I thought it was a pretty decent park-Kong was our first suspended coaster and Medusa was a lot of fun. Even the woodie felt pretty good. How does (P)GA compare?

[KGA29]

Dumb question: How do the two Bay area parks stack up to each other? We went to SF(MW)DK a couple of years ago. I thought it was a pretty decent park-Kong was our first suspended coaster and Medusa was a lot of fun. Even the woodie felt pretty good. How does (P)GA compare?

 

Well, DK's coasters are longer. I don't think GA has a coaster over 2 minutes, except for maybe Grizzly. Grizzly is FAR inferior to Roar, which is my favorite woodie. Bumpy, slow, boring, but I still ride it a lot. Top Gun is shorter than Kong, but way smoother, faster, and more intense. Kong is almost unbearable now too. Both parks have decent family coasters, GA having 2 kiddy and a wild mouse and SFDK having a kiddy and a large Zierer. As for the other coasters, V2 and Medusa blow Vortex, Demon, and Invertigo out of the water. Both are very smooth, intense, and unique. Vortex, Demon, and even Invertigo can all be quite jerky.

 

Basically, SFDK has smooth coasters (with the exception of Kong. Even Boomerang isn't bad) and GA has mostly rough coasters (except Top Gun). As for the other rides, GA wins in the summer because of the water park and better amusement park water rides. SFDK completely wins in shows (Shouka-killer whale, dolphin, acrobat, bird, sea lion). Flats is a tough one. Both have some very good ones and some average ones. I really like Hammerhead, Tasmanian Devil, Voodoo (was running an awesome program when I went, surprisingly), and Thrilla Gorilla at SFDK. However, GA has Drop Zone, Survivor, Delirium, Orbit, and Flying Eagles.

 

In terms of kiddy areas, SFDK has 3, all very well themed. GA has 2, both themed pretty well as well, but SFDK has more kiddy rides I think. But the one thing that SFDK has that GA is the animals. That way non-riders have something to do rather than sit on a bench waiting for the riders to finish. Basically it comes down to this:

 

SFDK- better coasters, nicer overall theme, animals, shows, better kiddy areas

 

GA- water park, better flats, better food, better water rides