Six Flags Great America (SFGAm) Discussion Thread

[KevinM]

^As for your wi-fi information, they used to have a "cyber cafe" which is now "Go Fresh Cafe" at the front of the park in Orleans Place. (Around the carousel to the left) I don't think they've ever offered wi-fi anywhere else, and I'm not even sure if they offer it in Go Fresh any more.

 

I wanted to jump in on the conversation about the single-use Flash Pass. Anyone complaining about the price is coming at it from a guest perspective and not a business perspective. It benefits Six Flags to make a lot of money off of fewer people. If they had, say, twice as many people for half the price, it would be much more strain on the integration person, and it would further slow down the standby line. Personally I am grateful when skip-the-line systems are highly limited. On the rare occasion that I use one, it makes it a greater value for me. On the other hand, as a non-user, having a limited and expensive system means that my wait times are more reasonable.

[hazelgreen]

Got a bit of a transportation challenge for everyone.

 

I'll be in Chicago next weekend and am planning on visiting Six Flags on Sunday. I thought renting a car just for Sunday might be the way to go, but all the major rental agencies are closed Sundays. I don't need a car for the entire weekend, just the one day. Any suggestions for getting there and back? I'm staying about 40 miles to the south of the park.

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Just thought I'd mention....last year we went the Sunday before Columbus Day and it was INSANE. The wait times were ridiculous, I think Raging Bull was over 3 hours. We had the gold flash pass and still had 1-1.5 hour wait times.

[Diamondbacker27]

I'm surprised they don't take the Haunt route and make you pay for wifi

[milo]

Just thought I'd mention....last year we went the Sunday before Columbus Day and it was INSANE. The wait times were ridiculous, I think Raging Bull was over 3 hours. We had the gold flash pass and still had 1-1.5 hour wait times.

 

Yikes, I certainly hope it's not that bad this weekend. I don't really have choice, as I'm visiting from out of town, but I'm planning on arriving early to beat any lines. Not crazy about the cool weather either, so I won't be staying after sundown.

 

Is there early entry for Membership holders?

[EricGarbo]

Just thought I'd mention....last year we went the Sunday before Columbus Day and it was INSANE. The wait times were ridiculous, I think Raging Bull was over 3 hours. We had the gold flash pass and still had 1-1.5 hour wait times.

 

Yikes, I certainly hope it's not that bad this weekend. I don't really have choice, as I'm visiting from out of town, but I'm planning on arriving early to beat any lines. Not crazy about the cool weather either, so I won't be staying after sundown.

 

Is there early entry for Membership holders?

 

Only for Discover cardholders.

[prozach626]

Magic Mountain might have the best coaster lineup, although I keep hearing how horrible Viper/Shockwave is nowadays. For my tastes, Cedar Point is just alright. Mean Streak and Magnum are very painful and I hear Gemini is bad now too. Mantis wasn't exactly comfortable before, going floorless may improve it. Blue Streak is a lot like our Viper. Didn't ride MF or Dragster and don't really find them appealing. Maverick has some awesome moments, but I'd like it better with a few more inversions. Still a top coaster. Raptor is good but pales in comparison to Batman and Montu. Corkscrew is decent and less forceful than Demon. I'm a big fan of Iron Dragon, but I hear Ninja does this type of thing better. Haven't been on Gatekeeper. Where CP excels is as an overall experience. SFGA does have a coaster lineup that while lacking any obvious star attractions, is difficult to beat.

 

SFGAm lacking star attractions? Just because it doesn't have I305 doesn't mean it doesn't have any "star attractions." Those of us who have SFStl as their home park would kill to have a 200 foot B&M Hyper, however trimmed it may be, or a RMC, however short it may be. Not only that, but SFGAm's "run of the mill" attractions, X-Flight, Superman, V2, would be cherished here.

 

So you say Cedar Point's coaster lineup is just alright? I think most people would consider it better than average. Almost everything they have is a solid quality ride. I think the problem lies with unreasonably high expectations. You sound spoiled. Maybe you should seriously consider going coasterless for a few years so you can appreciate such mediocre 200 foot coasters and short RMC's.

[coasterbill]

Everyone is of course entitled to their opinion but...

 

Didn't ride MF or Dragster and don't really find them appealing.

 

Haven't been on Gatekeeper.

 

Cedar Point is just alright.

 

Shouldn't you sort of ride those before passing judgement? I mean... it's not like you skipped Corkscrew, Mantis and Woodstock's Express... you haven't ridden 3 of their top attractions (one of which is still considered the best steel coaster in the world in a lot of coasters polls). That would be like me saying Great Adventure is just alright but I haven't ridden El Toro, Kingda Ka or Nitro.

[rcjp]

^Yeah .... that was a bit odd.

[G$ Kurt]

Yeah, can't really hate on Great America's "lack of star attractions" and also hate on CP by skipping their star attractions.

[prozach626]

via Imgflip Meme Maker

 

 

 

via Imgflip Meme Maker

[i<3coasters]

Everyone is of course entitled to their opinion but...

 

Didn't ride MF or Dragster and don't really find them appealing.

 

Haven't been on Gatekeeper.

 

Cedar Point is just alright.

 

Shouldn't you sort of ride those before passing judgement? I mean... it's not like you skipped Corkscrew, Mantis and Woodstock's Express... you haven't ridden 3 of their top attractions (one of which is still considered the best steel coaster in the world in a lot of coasters polls). That would be like me saying Great Adventure is just alright but I haven't ridden El Toro, Kingda Ka or Nitro.

 

I was hoping I misread batman's post.

 

But... nope.

[Gnome]

People on this forum crack me up! Complaining about not getting something new for next year. This park has received 2 state of the art coasters in the last 3 years! How many other theme Six Flags parks have received this much investment?

 

 

Magic Mountain with Full Coaster Throttle Yolo and Twisted Colossus?

We lost the Log Jammer for Yolo. IMO it wasn't a good trade.

 

And I will say while SFGam's overall collection appears to be better then average. Even if Raging Bull doesn't quite live up to its full potential, but what potentially amazing ride isn't trimmed all to hell these days? In a park full of great rides, its hard to have a stand out. SFMM is another perfect example of that. People's favorites tend to vary between X2, Tatsu, Riddler's, and Goliath and notable additions. Now with Twisted Colossus, I'm not sure which attraction you can pick as "the star." But that's not a bad problem to have, imo.

Edited October 8, 2014 by Gnome

[batmanfan80]

Looks like they are reserving lanes for season parking pass holders before 12:30 PM. If you do a search for Six Flags and revenue, it brings up some interesting articles. They still have something like a billion in debt. Said their problems started from buying parks and going into debt to put new rides everywhere. Then I read something else that praises the strategy of using new attractions to drive park attendance. So they're hot shotting some parks at the moment, but how long can they keep that up? Disney and Comcast earn far more than Six Flags, with stuff like Harry Potter and Transformers driving the traffic. I think there was some talk about how a lot of people don't return to Six Flags after an initial visit. The season passes seem more profitable than I thought, one article said the average pass holder spends $18.38 per visit. Read-Anderson also said they are working on raising prices more.

 

My taste in coasters is definitely far from what the average coaster fan is into or even the general public. MF and TTD are perceived as the star attractions of Cedar Point. Those are the most popular and still draw strongly a decade plus later. A lot of the public has this idea that faster+taller=best. Maverick isn't perfect, but it's very underrated compared to all the hype those two rides get. Height, speed, and to a lesser extent air time don't appeal to me a ton. I was real into Viper last year but it hasn't done much of anything for me this year for some reason. I've gotten pretty good at figuring out what I'll like and what I won't. Height is even something that makes me dislike a ride. The idea of being dropped at high speeds from 300-400 feet doesn't really appeal to me, I don't even like Goliath's drop. On an inverted coaster I may be able to tolerate the heights, but not in anything that will make me feel an ejector type feeling.

 

A lot of people like that sorta thing, lots of people rave over individual elements on Goliath. Yeah, my interests in coasters is pretty limited. When I go back to Busch Gardens, I'd be surprised if I made it a priority to ride any of the coasters again aside from Montu and Scorpion. There's only some objectivity in saying this or that ride is better. No one should mistake me for being representative of a usual coaster fan. People in the Busch Gardens thread have said over and over how that lineup of coasters is one of the best and I ride Kumba and wish I was back on Demon instead.

 

Winged coasters and inverted coasters appeal to me most, followed by Intamin Maverick style rides and B&M floorless, with arrow looping coasters, B&M Standup, and B&M Flyers at the bottom of the major styles I've experienced. I'd probably be happier at a park with a lot of great non-coaster rides and a couple top-notch looping coasters. We'll see when I attend Universal in a couple months.

[Cullvion]

I went there 2 weeks ago for a weekend trip. NEVER GO ON THE OPENING WEEKEND OF FRIGHTFEST. LINES. All the coasters were 45+ minutes the entire day, the food service was slow, but it was clean! The rides were fun, Goliath was AMAZING (although after I got off it I never saw it drop below a 150 minute wait all day). It looks like a fun park to go to at the right time.

[anewman35]

I went there 2 weeks ago for a weekend trip. NEVER GO ON THE OPENING WEEKEND OF FRIGHTFEST. LINES. All the coasters were 45+ minutes the entire day, the food service was slow, but it was clean! The rides were fun, Goliath was AMAZING (although after I got off it I never saw it drop below a 150 minute wait all day). It looks like a fun park to go to at the right time.

 

The funny thing is, on a lot of years the opening weekend of Fright Fest is very light compared to other weekends of Fright Fest. It's just a pretty busy park in general. I think opening weekend was busy this year because the weather was nice, but in future years I really don't recommend waiting until later in the year because it's usually not going to get any better (unless, again, the weather is bad). Historically when they've been open past Halloween, those days have been pretty dead, so I'm hoping that happens again this year.

[milo]

Just thought I'd mention....last year we went the Sunday before Columbus Day and it was INSANE. The wait times were ridiculous, I think Raging Bull was over 3 hours. We had the gold flash pass and still had 1-1.5 hour wait times.

 

I went today and it was pretty much as you described your visit. At 1130am, Goliath's line was 210 minutes, though it settled down a bit later. I didn't have the stamina (or bladder) to endure that kind of wait, so I was only able to ride Raging Bull and X-Flight, waiting a total of 2.5 years for both. The temperature dropped significantly later in the day, so I headed out. Much too cold for this westcoaster.

[GayCoasterGuy]

Here's your star attraction. The other one is on the edge of the park, is full of brakes and mis-maintained track, but sometimes still races... If you caught it on a good day in 2009, you would see why it used to be a top 10 coaster.

They don't make em like they used to. 3,200' of track with a 70' lift.

[batmanfan80]

has anyone been there on a Saturday after 9? I haven't been able to get anyone to stick around. They'd rather have dinner and drive 50 miles home than wait in the lines. I at least was able to walk around the park a couple weeks ago on Saturday around 7. X Flight was full and probably about a two hour wait. Most everything had a full or slightly overflowing queue except the flat rides if I remember. Wasn't much of a yolo crowd, just a lot of hyperactive kids running around at full speed at full volume, I'd guess probably 10-12 year olds. JB's had a line of 30 people which took a little over a half hour to clear. Aunt Martha's had the longest line I've ever seen there which was maybe 25-35% longer than JB's.

 

Someone else I knew went the next day, said lines were horrendous too. Think she said Goliath was listed at 210 minutes.

 

Is Whizzer running that much worse than in previous years? To me it feels very jerky and kinda rough at times, mainly on the transitions. I've always heard from people 45+ how much better Whizzer, Eagle, Shockwave, Iron Wolf, Demon, etc ran in their primes.

[GayCoasterGuy]

^Maybe you just aren't used to the Whizzer? Some of the transitions are a little *wild* going in and coming out of turns (especially the one coming out of the ground level turn.) I've been riding the Whizzer since 1981 and I think it's running just as good if not better than it has ever run (operations aside, cough cough. What used to be an under-the-station 25/30 minute wait is now somehow over 90 minutes). The trains are regularly rehabbed... the track is that super-expensive, super-smart Anton flexing track with hinges all over.

 

As for Demon and Eagle... both are temperamental. Demon is generally rougher just b/c it's an Arrow; the parts and wheels are changed out every couple years, so if you get a recently rehabbed train at the start of the season - you get a smooth ride. If not, you know what you get. 2nd to back seat is great as its slower going into the corks... but rough exiting the vertical loops. Pick your poison!

 

Eagle, in top form, is a top 10 ride hands-down. Was a champ until about 1985 (when SF took over?) It ran smooth and nearly brakeless 2008-2010; then brakeless only during Fright Fest 2011/2012. Now it's back to rough and all brakes on all the time. I hope to god they don't RMC this... just fix it up here and there; maybe add some topper track to the helix, and let her fly!

 

It's good to focus on the positive; I LOVE my home park so much... we have a great selection of coasters (especially Whizzer!) and we're very lucky to have so many of our original classic flat rides (note East River Crawler/Lobster is running better than it has in over 20 years due to a recent rehab and new motors; unfortunately, the ride cycle is very short.) But... the operations in the park are atrocious.

 

Got there at 3pm to see some friends today and left at 5:30. The park was maxed out; the park sign said 2 things when I left "Park Crowded" and "Visit another Day!"

 

Goliath had over a 3 hour line with 2-4 empty seats in some trains. Demon crew was trying to run 3 trains and the ride set up in brakes. We sat there for a while (on what was once an extra unload platform in the old days, when people could think) before maintenance got the ride back up. We were given free drink tickets. I skipped the 30 minute wait for a drink ("Sorry, we're out of ice"..."Sorry, we're out of Coke.") and ran for my car!

[nicman]

What is the difference between a hyper coaster and a hyper-twister? Like I do not see a difference between Raging Bull and other hyper coasters.

[SFGAmFan1976]

^Raging Bull is more twisty and compact than the other out-and-back hyper coasters.

[nicman]

^Raging Bull is more twisty and compact than the other out-and-back hyper coasters.

 

Does that make it better than hyper coasters?

[rcjp]

^I haven't tried raging bull but apparently it's trimmed to death which doesn't make it very exiting.

[nicman]

^I haven't tried raging bull but apparently it's trimmed to death which doesn't make it very exiting.

 

Do you mean it has a lot of brakes?

[rcjp]

^Yes. From what I've heard they brake the trains way too much meaning there is little air over the hills and that, overall, the coaster doesn't travel as fast as it should.