Six Flags Great America (SFGAm) Discussion Thread

[adamico2]

Thank you to everyone who provided tips for conquering the park on a Saturday. They were very helpful.

 

I had been to the park before (about 5 years ago), but I've been itching to get back ever since. This trip, I was able to pick up 4 new credits: Goliath, X-flight, American Eagle (Red), and Little Dipper.

 

We pulled into the parking lot right at 9:30. There were no lines at the toll booths, but already a significant number of cars in the parking lot. It took about a half hour to get through the security and entrance lines. After a quick pit stop, we headed back to the already forming Goliath line.

 

Once Goliath opened (around 10:40), it was about 20 minutes before we got on. By the time we got off the ride, the line was already up to 75 minutes!

 

Next we hit up X-flight, Raging Bull, Viper, and Demon, each with less than a half hour wait. It took about 40 minutes to get through the AE (red) line, due to the double rides and really slow operations. While double rides would be an awesome service to offer guests on a slow day, I don't know who had the brilliant idea of doing this on a busy Saturday. That being said, I did enjoy riding it twice in the back seat.

 

Lunch at JB's BBQ was great. Service was quick and accurate. I ordered the pulled pork + brisket sandwich, which, with a side salad was $15, not bad at all.

 

Superman had a posted wait of 105 minutes, but we got on in 5, through the single rider line. I will say the platinum flash pass really screws with things, though. While on the station platform, I had to be regrouped twice due to partial rows of people with platinum wristbands. Not a big deal, but you could tell it was driving the seater nuts. He was doing a great job of filling each row with 4 people, but that effort was all for not when 2 people in a row would be staying on the train. I am all for the flash pass system, but the double ride thing is really an operations nightmare.

 

Next up was by far the longest wait of the day, for Batman. The posted time was 90 minutes, but it took 2 hours. A Cedar Fair crew could have pumped through this line in about an hour. I have never seen such a lethargic crew on any coaster ever. While I'm sure it's extremely demoralizing when only 2 people are assigned to work the ride, there is still no excuse for moving that slow. Six Flags desperately needs more operators on their platforms.

 

Oh, what I will do for a credit...We waited nearly an hour for the Little Dipper. At least the information boards were quite interesting.

 

We waited about a half hour for AE (blue), then an hour for Whizzer and headed out.

 

My friend gets sick on spinning rides, so we just stuck to the coasters. I was able to get on all of the flats during my last visit, so I didn't feel too bad about it.

 

Operations

Good: Demon, Viper

Acceptable: Superman, Raging Bull

Slow: X-Flight, Goliath, Whizzer

Abysmal: American Eagle, Batman

 

Friendliness

The Viper crew was friendly and energetic. All of the other employees in the park looked like they didn't want to be there. The weren't rude, just uninterested. This was a big change from my last visit, when most of the employees were very friendly, to the point where I couldn't believe I was at a Six Flags park.

 

Cleanliness

The park was fairly clean, especially for the crowds, but for a park that constantly advertises being the cleanest in the country, I expect to see a Holiday World or Disney level of cleanliness.

 

Ride Reviews

Goliath: I was a bit underwhelmed by the ride, to be honest. It was a good ride, but not a great one. My one ride was early in the morning, in the 5th seat from the back, so I'm sure a back seat ride late in the day would have been better. The first drop was great but expected. I was expecting El Toro-esque air time over single airtime hill on the ride, but it really only delivered strong floater/mild ejector air. Where the ride really shined was the inverted airtime hill. It's a very unique experience to be floating upside-down.

 

X-Flight: This is probably the weakest of the US wing coasters. It was a decent ride, but not all that exciting. The vests still lock on this one, which does detract from the experience a bit.

 

Raging Bull was quite a bit better than I remembered. I love the layout on this ride. It's a good ride that could be great, if they would just get rid of those pesky trims. B&M should really build some more of these hyper-twisters.

 

Viper, on the other hand was not quite as good as I remembered. It was still smooth as glass, but the airtime, while very much present, was not quite as strong as it was on my last visit. This could just be another case of morning ride syndrome.

 

Whizzer: This is such a great little ride, especially at dusk. I'm so glad the park decided to preserve it.

 

American Eagle: During my last visit, only Blue was open. I was not a fan of the ride. The outbound track was good, but the helix was slow and the return run was pointless. My opinion of Blue has not changed. Red, on the other hand, obliterated my expectations! The outbound run was good, with some nice pops of air. The helix was faster than Blue due to less trimming and a tighter radius. But it's the return run that makes the ride great, with several moments of crazy ejector air time, even with the trim after the helix. I can't imagine how insane a trim-free ride on this would be. AM Red is the best coaster in the park. Does anyone else have this same opinion? I know I'm in the minority, but I'm curious to see if I'm just completely nuts.

[DILinator]

^What was your overall feeling about the whole process of getting there early, waiting to be walked back to Goliath, and that process of walking back as a group? I'm not an overly anxious person by nature, but sometimes really crowded groups of people pushing and shoving can really bother me. Was it a fairly decent process, or was it a pain in the rear? I'm going in a couple weeks, and I'm mostly concerned about getting there early enough to get a couple of rides in on Goliath before it gets really crowded. Thankfully, I'm not going on a Saturday, so hopefully that helps the crowds. Thank in advance for your feedback!

[kcurry11]

Word on Condor anyone? I'm heading to the park tomorrow and that is one of my favorite rides, just because of nostalgia. Hopefully it is open, just so I can get another ride on it.

[radiohead8989]

^What was your overall feeling about the whole process of getting there early, waiting to be walked back to Goliath, and that process of walking back as a group? I'm not an overly anxious person by nature, but sometimes really crowded groups of people pushing and shoving can really bother me. Was it a fairly decent process, or was it a pain in the rear? I'm going in a couple weeks, and I'm mostly concerned about getting there early enough to get a couple of rides in on Goliath before it gets really crowded. Thankfully, I'm not going on a Saturday, so hopefully that helps the crowds. Thank in advance for your feedback!

 

If you go during the week, they may not walk you back to Goliath. Most weekdays when I've gone to the park, you can just run all the way to Goliath. If you do get walked back, stay on the left side of the group. When they get near Goliath, they form a single file line on the left side. People that run past security usually get sent to the end of the line.

[adamico2]

^What was your overall feeling about the whole process of getting there early, waiting to be walked back to Goliath, and that process of walking back as a group? I'm not an overly anxious person by nature, but sometimes really crowded groups of people pushing and shoving can really bother me. Was it a fairly decent process, or was it a pain in the rear? I'm going in a couple weeks, and I'm mostly concerned about getting there early enough to get a couple of rides in on Goliath before it gets really crowded. Thankfully, I'm not going on a Saturday, so hopefully that helps the crowds. Thank in advance for your feedback!

I actually got through the gate about 5 minutes after the walk-back, so I wasn't walking in a huge crowd. Even those on the first train of the day would have had to wait about an hour for a second ride.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I did not experience any line jumping for any ride during my visit. Goliath ensured this with the "boarding pass" tickets, but the other rides just had several large signs. Are bigger signs really the only things Cedar Point needs to prevent line jumping?

[Rollercoaster Rider]

Word on Condor anyone? I'm heading to the park tomorrow and that is one of my favorite rides, just because of nostalgia. Hopefully it is open, just so I can get another ride on it.

 

 

I expect the ride to be removed. I've been to the park 15+ times this year and have yet to see it run. Maybe Six Flags America will get a new flat?

[AirMBTB]

American Eagle: During my last visit, only Blue was open. I was not a fan of the ride. The outbound track was good, but the helix was slow and the return run was pointless. My opinion of Blue has not changed. Red, on the other hand, obliterated my expectations! The outbound run was good, with some nice pops of air. The helix was faster than Blue due to less trimming and a tighter radius. But it's the return run that makes the ride great, with several moments of crazy ejector air time, even with the trim after the helix. I can't imagine how insane a trim-free ride on this would be. AM Red is the best coaster in the park. Does anyone else have this same opinion? I know I'm in the minority, but I'm curious to see if I'm just completely nuts.

 

With those helix-exit brakes off, American Eagle (red) becomes "Phoenix meets Voyage." Around 2008-2011, it was frequently running brakeless and smooth... it was insane! Mark Shapiro, SF CEO at the time, said AE was his favorite coaster in the chain; hence the money that went into it and the brakeless rides. I took a few friends on it during that period who previously had dismal/mediocre experiences, and they were all blown away. In 2012, they only ran it brakeless during Fright Fest and in 2013 all brakes were back on/all the time.

 

Although back to it's old braked self, it's still a great ride. That first drop is the only one like it in the world. I love the near-stop at the top and gradual *circular* drop to the steepest point; it's like going over a mountain.

[9Armgeddon4]

I went to the park yesterday with two of my friends and we all had a great time. We spent the first part of day at the Hurricane Harbor, then the rest of the day at the park. We didn't ride many rides though and skipped the double rides on Goliath the last hour as the line was over 2 hours.

Here's what we rode.

Raging Bull- 2

Viper- 1

Whizzer- 1

AE Blue- 1

Chubasco- 1

Loggers Run- 1

Yankee Clipper- 1

Roaring Rapids- 1

Best part of day was at the Hurricane Harbor when we both bowl slides. My one friend fell on the tube on both slides. First time with my other friend and then me. Of corse my other friend and I fell off with him. All is good though as none of us got really hurt.

[kcurry11]

Went to the park yesterday. It was quite packed for being a Wednesday. Operations were painfully slow on some rides. We got to the park like 15 min early, and headed back to Goliath, and were about 3/4 of the way down the line. It still took an hour to get in the station. They were stacking for 3-5 min at a time, which didn't help at all. We went to Hurricane Harbor for about an hour because my friends wanted to get out of the sun. Was not too packed. The dry park however, was. We waited 45+ for Goliath, Batman, Superman, and Raging Bull. 30 for X-Flight and 2x rides on American Eagle. 15 for Viper. Got to the Goliath double rides at about 7:45, knowing that by the time we got through the line, it would be 2x rides time. The end of the day was a fiasco. We attempted to take advantage of the Popchips ERT, but we were given wrong info twice. First, the lady at the front, when we got our wristbands, told us that every major roller coaster would be available. Then, when we ran to Raging Bull after Goliath, the employee working the gate wouldn't let us in, claiming he knew nothing about the promotion. Then he proceed to call multiple people trying to figure it out. Finally at about 9:20, one of the managers told us that it was ONLY on Superman, and from 9:30-10:30. We ran over to Superman, on the other side of the park, only to find out that it ended at 9:30. I was furious. But what can you do. On to the rides

 

Goliath (3x)- Front seat once, back seat twice. Great ride, short, but great. Airtime out of the little hill before the dive loop is fantastic, in back especially. I always love this ride, and is probably my favorite in the park, even for how short it is.

 

X-Flight- Fun little ride, rode middle, right side. So smooth, and the keyhole is great in slow motion. It just feels like you are flying.

 

Raging Bull- Love it to death, but come on. The trims hit so hard that I was thrust forward in my seat. Rode in back, and the pre-drop only makes the first hill better. I still love the twister section though.

 

Viper- Love it. So fun, lots of laterals. Little rough in spots, but what are you going to do. Many tiny pops of airtime.

 

American Eagle- 2x rides on the red side made this better. Flew through the track. The last bunny hill before the rise up to the helix is amazing, you fly out of your seat. Red is definitely better here.

 

Batman- Backseat was intense and fun. The compactness of this ride is what makes it so great. Still smooth. But was running with no wheel covers. Anyone know why?

 

Superman- Little blah after the pretzel loop, but my friends loved the flying.

 

V2- Fun, especially when you try to run through the station.

 

All around, great day. Still a little frustrated with how it ended, but we still had a ton of fun.

[DILinator]

^ Uh, oh! Now you're scaring me for my Wednesday visit on the 19th! Hopefully it's not so bad then...

 

Thanks for your report on Goliath at opening, to those who responded to that!

[kcurry11]

^Definitely still go right in the morning. When we got off, it was up to 120, and never dropped below 90.

[Imagineer Josh]

Does anyone else think that Pictorium might close in favor of a Justice League Dark Ride? I need your opinion because it's my home park!

[cfc]

^It would be a big improvement over how the building is used now.

[RaceBoarder]

Does anyone else think that Pictorium might close in favor of a Justice League Dark Ride? I need your opinion because it's my home park!

Given the problems with the current JL rides in St. Louis and Texas, I have to think that Six Flags might be taking a step beck with these... They are great, but still have bugs that need to be worked out...

[cfc]

^A new ride with "bugs" during its opening season? Why this is unheard of!

[scottiemon]

^A new ride with "bugs" during its opening season? Why this is unheard of!

[RaceBoarder]

^A new ride with "bugs" during its opening season? Why this is unheard of!

Oh, I know it's not a major revelation... I'm just kinda sick of SFGAm being a park that gets "firsts" instead of designs that have been tested... I'd rather have a better 2nd/3rd generation ride then a 1st... Goliath and X-Flight are great examples....

[PhantomPoster32]

Um, Goliath WAS a "2nd generation"

For some reason it turned out to be a majorly inferior product of the original though.

[DILinator]

^ In defense of Goliath, however, SFGAm didn't have much space there where Iron Wolf was to work with. SDC had tons of land to create an amazing layout. Though I haven't ridden Goliath yet (I hope to rectify that in less than two weeks!), from what I've seen, it looks like they still made a pretty amazing coaster in that limited space!

[PhantomPoster32]

They had as little or as much space as they wanted. It's not like they couldn't have gone over the train tracks into backstage if they needed more room.

[ilrider]

^ In defense of Goliath, however, SFGAm didn't have much space there where Iron Wolf was to work with. SDC had tons of land to create an amazing layout. Though I haven't ridden Goliath yet (I hope to rectify that in less than two weeks!), from what I've seen, it looks like they still made a pretty amazing coaster in that limited space!

 

It is a great ride and I am sure you will enjoy it. That zero G stall is an amazing element and my favorite part of the ride.

[Superbatboy]

Goliath is what happens when you combine height and a small footprint, I almost would've preferred them to install a ride the size of Wicked Cyclone instead. That being said, many suggest Goliath is still the best ride at SFGAM!

[ilrider]

Goliath is what happens when you combine height and a small footprint, I almost would've preferred them to install a ride the size of Wicked Cyclone instead. That being said, many suggest Goliath is still the best ride at SFGAM!

 

Guess breaking the 3 records was paramount, but I too have wondered what could have been done in that fairly compact space with a smaller first drop. It is definitely the best or at least in the top few rides at the park though.

[DILinator]

^ In defense of Goliath, however, SFGAm didn't have much space there where Iron Wolf was to work with. SDC had tons of land to create an amazing layout. Though I haven't ridden Goliath yet (I hope to rectify that in less than two weeks!), from what I've seen, it looks like they still made a pretty amazing coaster in that limited space!

 

It is a great ride and I am sure you will enjoy it. That zero G stall is an amazing element and my favorite part of the ride.

 

This is what I've heard! I haven't ridden any RMC coasters yet, so even if this is the "worst", I imagine it's still better than most non-RMC coasters! A couple of friends went this past weekend, and it became the second favorite wooden coaster of my enthusiast friend (behind Voyage), and favorite wooden coaster of his wife (who hasn't ridden nearly as many coasters!) I'll be going on my birthday, so I'm excited for a "gift" of experiencing the awesomeness of RMC for the first time!

 

Goliath is what happens when you combine height and a small footprint, I almost would've preferred them to install a ride the size of Wicked Cyclone instead. That being said, many suggest Goliath is still the best ride at SFGAM!

 

This is what I was alluding to above... It was clearly important for SFGAm to install the coaster in that confined footprint left over from Iron Wolf (and not get into putting it over the train or amphitheater, or kiddie area, and all the extra work that would involve), and I think that it looks like they built a pretty amazing coaster, all things considered. Yes, clearly the records were what they were after, as a smaller ride with more punch like Wicked Cyclone was certainly within their grasp with that footprint as well. But given their desire to grab a couple of records, build an awesome coaster, and do it all in a limited footprint, I think SFGAm, and RMC, did quite well! Currently, my favorite GAm ride is Raging Bull, but I suspect Goliath will dethrone it in a couple of weeks... We shall see!

[BabyDinosaur]

Does anyone have predictions as to what will be coming for 2016?