Photo TR: Six Flags Great America - June 2, 2008

[Golfie]

I had an awesome time at the park today... sorry that I don't have many pictures. I was pretty tired today. But first, I'd like to say a few things about The Dark Knight.

 

I was pretty excited about the ride... Six Flags looked like it had an awesome project in the making. Waiting in line was awesome - the tension built up with the whole pre-show and everything... I was getting really excited for the whole thing! Then we sat down in the little subway cars (which have some nice legroom!) and the ride began. The car slowly chugged up the lift hill with some ominous-looking light bulbs flickering on and off. Then, the car accelerated up the lift and made a super sharp turn at the top after riders see a sign saying something along the lines of, "Subway not finished" or something... the rest was pretty much a blur. Because the car traveled so fast, everything in the ride was just plain information overload. By the time you recognized what you were seeing, it was gone. The ride also had some random sections of pitch black where nothing happened... which really took away from the whole experience. Because everything went by so quickly, I didn't feel affected by the ride at all. All of the theming went by so quickly that I wasn't able to be emotionally affected by what I was seeing. I didn't feel terror when the Joker's laugh was right next to me while I was speeding down the hallway with "HAHA" written all over the walls... I didn't feel affected when I saw his minions standing on a billboard with huge guns. The ride seemed unorganized and choppy, and I was extremely disappointed. And where was Batman? I would only reccomend to ride this if you haven't ridden it before and you want to know what it's like, or if the wait is under 10 minutes. Nice try, Six Flags, but it could've been much better. MAYBE put more trims on the beginning and the whole thing will be more enjoyable.

 

Now to the photos...

Thanks to these guys, Raging Bull looks 1 year old again!

Empty brake run? Good job, ride ops!

The Bull was totally awesome today.

Into the Wild Southwest.

Sorry! Not today!

Let's ride American Eagle! Wait... no. I'd rather wait in a line for Raging Bull.

How about some of the GOOD Batman?

More V2

Crazy crooked shot!

Off to V2 for some REAL fun

We're outta here! That was disappointing!

And this thing! I'm the Joker's minion! Bleh!

Even more lines.

Wait.. what? There's more lines? Oh my god.

And then the crazy video kicks in. It was pretty awesome - creepy and unsetteling, but not too crazy. It'll make little kids not want to ride, though.

The press-conference before (note - this is the best part of the whole ride)

The Joker torments you by making everything quite blurry, too!

We're almost to the pre-show!

Nice giant billboard.

Just a word of warning... the line may not seem long, but once you get inside the old theater, you're going to be eating your words.

Here's the subway key!

Theming...

The entrance gate...

And now to the Dark Knight!

Here's where Splashwater used to be. Please don't tell me that SF is just going to leave that empty next year with no Dive Coaster.

Demon is just okay... they were running the yellow train today aswell. I haven't seen the yellow train running in a while.

Deja is nowhere to be seen. I hope it's getting much more love at its new home!

Over to Viper, and then Raging Bull - nice new paint job!

Whizzer! I love this ride...

Walking into the park to get our season pass stuff...

[YoshiFan]

If Batman is in the same spot as in Great Adventure's version, he's at the first hair pin turn and firing from the truck during the first big drop.

 

I agree about the Dark Knight. It moves too fast to see anything and I have never seen the reaction so bad from people coming off the ride. I have been to Great Adventure 3 times since the ride opened and every time people are either yelling about how bad it was and not to waste the time in line or giving it a thubms down, literally.

 

Looks like the ride is much more popular at SFGAM than SFGADV. Today at GADV, it was less than a 20 minute wait.

[Golfie]

^ It just goes to show you how hard it was to notice things in the ride. It was also pretty busy here today. The weather was AMAZING and a lot of school groups were there. We waited almost exactly 1 hour for the ride.

[Scaparri]

The Bull was totally awesome today.

 

They removed the trims!?!?!?

 

Nice TR. It's disappointing to hear so many negative reviews about the Dark Knight. Gotta give SF an A for effort though (at least in comparison to their more recent efforts, or lack there of). And I must say, Raging Bull looks amazing with its new coat of paint.

[307]

Wow, Raging Bull looks sweet with it's new paintjob... hopefully it's running sweet, too!

 

I've yet to read an overly positive Dark Knight review.

[YoshiFan]

^ It just goes to show you how hard it was to notice things in the ride.

 

Agreed, I got my 7th ride today and this was the first time I noticed it was Batman firing from the truck. It's so fast and the light near him goes out so fast I only thought he was at that first hairpin turn I mentioned before. They really need to slow it down so you can see everything.

[noyzz]

Nice report!!!! 2 more weeks and I get to ride the BULL! Looks like a fun park!

[JamesMC]

I got my season pass to SFGA last week (I was there on Tuesday when it was only 48 for a high) and got to ride Dark Knight.

 

So today I was also there (a nice 84 temp) and I avoided Dark Knight. Pretty much everything you said in your TR I posted last week in a DK thread.

 

I think kids would like this ride, I really do. But I stand by my opinion that the actual theming on the ride is pointless because you don't have a chance to see anything. I also think that it's too short and it doesn't offer me as an adult thrill-seeking rider enough satisfaction. I'd go on it again if it were a 15 min or less wait, or if I happen to bring along someone who hasn't ridden that wants to go on.

 

Otherwise, I'll do like I did today and avoid it. I'd rather wait 25 min for Raging Bull than 60 min for DK.

 

I am gonna try and go again next Mon or Tues when Hurricane Harbor opens for the weekdays.

 

Nice pics and Raging Bull does have an awesome new paint job.

[Airtime&Gravity]

While fun, Dark Knight did have its problems. Like you mentioned, the ride moves so fast that by the time you see the theming, it is gone. Sure it is fun, but it isn't the coaster that I have to ride every trip I make to the park. One of the best things about Dark Knight is that it is air conditioned (why I rode it a second time on my last visit), and that it attracts large crowds making the other lines shorter.

[VivaLaVibora]

There are two Batman's I know of in the Dark Knight. After you turn the second time, Batman is on your right. So, look right. So, basically, it's lift hill, turn once, go through Joker Grafatti, and than turn again, and Batman is on your right.

 

Also, there is a drop you go down, and Batman is on a motorcycle. I believe this is right after the truck is firing at you. He is on the right side.