Six Flags Great America (SFGAm) Discussion Thread

[deathbydinn]

But, last year the Whizzer was Biohazard during Fright Fest. It had a pretty sweet sign too, if I might add! If someone could post a picture of it, that would be great.

 

 

Reactor Core is the Hometown Fun Machine overlay.

[cfc]

^^I know that some have complained about Dark Knight, but I was pleasantly surprised by it, too. All the effects were working when I rode it in 2010, and I thought it was a pretty good "mouse in a box."

[studiobrandon]

I just realized I spelled it wrong. The Dark Knight* was fun, just bizarre. I did enjoy it though... and all the queue theming of course.

[Ed Farmer]

Not sure what the deal is with Batman's wheel covers. I can't say for certain, but it seems like it's been that way for years. I doubt the reason is much deeper than ease of access for maintenance, but it's curious that it's just one train. Luckily, it doesn't take away from the excellence of the ride.

[Cameron]

At the TPR event at SFGAm two years ago, at the Q&A session, one of the maintenance guys mentioned that the wheel-covers are intentionally left off that train because it makes the ride smoother and faster.

 

Great report, Studiobrandon .. glad you had such a great day at the park!

 

Cameron.

[mcjaco]

Anyone with a Horizons avatar must speak the truth.

[GayCoasterGuy]

- American Eagle was really rundown. They need to refurbish this ASAP. It looked like it came out of Silent Hill, and riding it was kind of scary because it looked like it was falling apart. They were only running one side of it. Is this normal?

 

I assume from hearing your experience that you missed out on the very front seat of American Eagle. I *really* wish you could go back and do that. From the top of the lift until the highway helix is one of the most exhilarating experiences in all of coasterdom. Unfortunately, the park often only operated one side if it's not too busy. Racing really adds to the ride. Red side has 2 more hills than blue. Other than the worn look of the peeling paint, the ride is running better than it has in years. But it's still very rough in other seats - especially the helices.

 

- It was strange riding a lot of the coasters without the seat-belt catch for the restraint. These are standard at Cedar Fair parks, so it threw me off a bit.

 

All that extra seat belt stuff is a Cedar Fair thing. Recent too. I couldn't believe Gemini had seat belts after so many years. For alternating years, either American Eagle or Viper did NOT have seat belts. Some years one did while the other didn't. A couple years, neither had seat belts. It was a cool attempt by Great America to try to increase capacity (while surely paying a higher insurance premium.) Now with *flash pass* doing such things could hurt their pay-to-cut profits....

 

- The crowds were decent. I'm gay and didn't really have to worry about tolerance there. (Unlike parks in Ohio, ha) Very LGBT friendly crowd, and also saw many other LGBT people.

 

That's good to hear. I "came out" when I worked at Cedar Point through 1991-93. There were tons of LGBT folks there, but at the same time, the park clientele always seemed very ... "young republican" heavy. (Nothing against republicans, the generalization is just from my personal experiences.)

 

Did you miss Viper!?? If so, you missed out on one of the best woodies in the chain. Very smooth and mondo airtime in the front; forceful curves, too.

[Commando]

^ I prefer viper in the back row. Great floater airtime throughout the whole course. It is one of the best running woodies I have ever been on and I am amazed that it has stayed this way.

[cfc]

^I like Viper a lot, too--the best of the Cyclone clones, I think. ERT on it back in 2010 was great (especially after a nice thunderstorm).

[mcjaco]

^I like Viper a lot, too--the best of the Cyclone clones, I think. ERT on it back in 2010 was great (especially after a nice thunderstorm).

 

Ugh. Was that 2 years ago already???

[cfc]

^Yep--hard to believe, eh? That was a great day, too.

[deathbydinn]

The Mardi Gras event this past weekend was pretty cool, and I hope it returns. The decorations were only ok, but I wasn't expecting too much seeing as it was only a two day event. The bands added a nice atmosphere and the special food that I had, Bourbon chicken with rice and potatoes, was actually really good and I wish was served all year. The parades weren't amazing, but people really got into them so they were still fun. The day ended with a 10 minute long firework display. So as a whole, the event was great and I hope to see it return and expand next year.

 

[jmfoxfire]

The Mardi Gras event this past weekend was pretty cool, and I hope it returns. The decorations were only ok, but I wasn't expecting too much seeing as it was only a two day event. The bands added a nice atmosphere and the special food that I had, Bourbon chicken with rice and potatoes, was actually really good and I wish was served all year. The parades weren't amazing, but people really got into them so they were still fun. The day ended with a 10 minute long firework display. So as a whole, the event was great and I hope to see it return and expand next year.

 

its awesome they are doing fireworks again

[Commando]

Lost my phone on Superman yesterday. Hopefully I will see it in the box next year.

[Ed Farmer]

Lost my phone on Superman yesterday. Hopefully I will see it in the box next year.

 

The layup response would be to say that's what you get for riding Superman. Hopefully they manage to find it, though. A buddy of mine got his phone back after it fell off on Deja Vu, but it was in 2 pieces.

[IanKgtr]

In the process of planning a trip for Sunday, July 8th with my fam, and was wondering if anyone in the know could suggest a plan of attack. There are four of us (all coaster lovers) and we hit parks hard. I was thinking about buying a Gold Flash Pass, as we want to re-ride everything as much as humanly possible. So, basically my questions are as follows:

 

Is the Gold Flash Pass worth the money, and is it necessary on a Sunday right after July 4th?

When should we hit rides that aren't included in the Flash Pass?

*If* I only got to ride each major coaster once, where is the best seat on each?

[Commando]

Raging Bull = Back Row

X Flight = Right Side, Front Row

Batman = Front Row

V2 = Front or Back row

Viper = Back row

Eagle = Red Side, Back Row

Superman = Never really matter to me, Pretzel loop is awesome anywhere.

Whizzer = Front

Demon = Back Row

Also ride Giant Drop, I prefer it on the side where you can see the majority of the park.

 

These are my personal preferences. Have fun!

 

I believe X Flight is only included with the platinum flash pass, and if you don't have a pass for it I would go either right at the start of the day or at the end. After about 9 the park really tends to clear out.

[cal1br3tto]

^I do think pretzels feel more intense the closer to the back you get. That could very well be a reason I love SFGAdv's S:UF (rode back row) but don't especially care for SFGAm's.

 

In 2010 the advice was to hit Ragin' Cajun ASAP, but I would imagine X-Flight has tweaked that (and is, of course, a much higher priority).

[deathbydinn]

^^ Batman in the front?! I mean, it's Batman so it's good anywhere, but the most intense ride is definitely in the back.

 

Unless you are in the park as in standing next to the carousel when they start letting people in, don't go to X Flight first. I've found it's longest lines to be right when the park opens, with much shorter ones at night. My favorite way to end the day is a night ride on X Flight in the back row of the left side in the outside seat. Best seat on the ride IMO.

[Ed Farmer]

^^ Batman in the front?! I mean, it's Batman so it's good anywhere, but the most intense ride is definitely in the back.

 

Truth. Front is a nice change of pace every once in a while, but people have written songs and poetry about how good the last row is.

 

I finally made it out to the park for the first time this season. It was a hot day and pretty crowded- so exactly the kind of day I typically avoid visiting in. Managed to get a lap on V2, Batman, Raging Bull, and two on X Flight. The wait for X Flight looked like it would be long, but it was surprisingly fast- always nice to have another people eater in the park.

 

The reviews of Swarm and X-Raptor were less than encouraging- most of the positive comments were about how visually impressive Wing Coasters. That's nice, but what if the ride sucks? Does being visually impressive mask that or make it better? I didn't know what to expect before I rode. We rode in the back left and back right.

You can count me among those who are happy with the ride. The intensity mentioned in a lot of reviews was probably over-exaggerated, but the ride was just plain fun. I thought the immelman would be my favorite part of the ride going in, and while it was fun, it was the elongated barrel roll that delivered, especially towards the end of that element. The low turn leading into the brake run came as advertised in reviews- nice and forceful. It's an excellent addition to the park.

 

They really need to do something about that spiel playing in the station. It's awful and it made me want to tear my ears off.

[WildMouse]

Dropped by a couple of times during my USA adventures. The second visit mopping up credits that we didn't have time for the first time around. Here's what I thought of some of the coasters on offer:

 

X Flight - Fun. To simular to Stealth to be anything more than that.

Raging Bull - Good but not great. Doesn't hold a candle to Nitro (in my opinion).

Viper - Suprisingly awesome! Wasn't expecting the airtime it had the grace to provide me with!

Demon - Love me a classic Arrow Looper.

Batman The Ride - Not as intense as I remember SFGAM's being. Fun none the less.

American Eagle - had both sides running on our second visit. Thought that left hand side was the better of the two (had slightly more bite).

Superman Ultimate Flight - I enjoyed the pretzel loop.

[deathbydinn]

The park uploaded some old footage of Batman: The Ride from it's opening day.

 

[Cameron]

Twenty years later, and it's still a totally sexxy beast!

[LoneRider92]

Wow, that was very cool to see. Interesting to see how the ride and the park have changed over the last 2 decades.

[GayCoasterGuy]

Woke up very early yesterday and decided to go to the park at opening. Why I decided to go to Great America on a super hot day, in the summer, on a Saturday, alone - I will NEVER know. Those are things I would rarely even laugh about doing.

 

But I went! Got the park just before opening, and I'm still tired from the day - so I'm gonna keep this short but sweet. Rode Whizzer, Demon, Eagle red (2x - yay for their policy "if the seat is empty, you can probably ride in it" policy), Little Dipper, Logger's Run, Yankee Clipper, Whriligig, and Sky Trek Tower.

 

I took a break to cool down at the mall in the afternoon, then raced back to the park to use my lunch "Season Dining Pass" by the end of the 'lunchtime window' of 3:30. When I got my food, I realized my geeky ziplock "pouch" that I keep my car key, money and cards (season pass, driver's license, credit card) was GONE. I always lock my pockets with safety pins, but somewhere in the rush of getting my food, I must have somehow dropped it.

 

Ran all around the park for about 90 minutes; to and fro between Lost & Found, security, my car, Guest Relations the whole time. I left my car windows opened a crack due to the heat, and I was able to manually winch a window down with my hands. I'm lucky the thing didn't break. So I got in my car to get my phone. Called mom asking her to come get me to take me home - where I would dig around for a spare car key. It was a fiasco. The cheap, blister inducing flip flops didn't help (they are being returned this week). The heat rash on my legs was killing me and the chafing on my inner-thighs was at me too (which is another not-so-friendly reminder that I really do need to loose weight.)

At the time, I didn't know if I lost the *pouch* or if I threw it in the car trunk before I came back into the park.

 

Back to Lost & Found one last time - they had found my geeky ziplock pouch! I called mom (who was on her way up to the park from downtown) to tell her the good news and to go back home.

 

The day really turned out great despite this fiasco. I gave compliments to all those involved with returning my stuff (even thought they couldn't tell me the name of the employee responsible for turning it in; company policy - they cannot take rewards, either.)

 

Even though they were stacking 3 trains, it's hard to complain when you are able to ride Whizzer:

 

He's gonna getcha getcha getcha:

 

This level of coolness usually only happens at places like Knoebel's:

 

The hat was on tight:

 

Kudos for low height requirements:

 

Goodnight Sweetheart: