Six Flags Great America (SFGAm) Discussion Thread

[mcjaco]

TPR peeps + QBot = awesomeness

 

Thanks everyone!

[traincrossin]

TPR peeps + QBot = awesomeness

 

Thanks everyone!

QFT. I had a blast hanging out with everyone and the QBot really helped us out throughout the day!

[nay]

Yup, the lines were super long, but QBot was our savior. I'm kind of in love with it.

 

Thanks to everyone for such a fun day!!

[Jojo19799]

Q-bots are just plain sexy.

 

It was great meeting you and Melanie yesterday. I had a lot of fun. Wish I took today off to recover though!

[coastermaniac1]

To save me starting a new topic I have a few questions about an upcoming trip to Great America. I have never been to the park before but I plan on visiting 1 day during my holiday to Chicago.

 

How do I get to the park from Chicago by public transport?

 

I'm thinking of going to the park on Wednesday 26th or Thursday 27th August, how busy do you think it'll be? (are schools back at that time etc...)

 

I was planning to buy a Gold Flashpass like I did at Great Adventure last year but if the park is allot quieter towards the end of the month I mightn't bother.

 

Any other general advise about the park would be great to!

[Mr. Starr]

How do I get to the park from Chicago by public transport?

 

Most likely bus, maybe train. I would maybe recommend renting a car if you can.

 

 

I'm thinking of going to the park on Wednesday 26th or Thursday 27th August, how busy do you think it'll be? (are schools back at that time etc...)

 

I know that I go back to school that week, so I would assume that a majority of kids are back in by then too.

 

I was planning to buy a Gold Flashpass like I did at Great Adventure last year but if the park is allot quieter towards the end of the month I mightn't bother.

 

I would suggest spending the whole day there, and maybe checking out the parking lot and early morning wait times just to see how crowded it really is. A Gold FlashPass is very valuable, but you might regret buying it if the crowds are low.

[JamesMC]

You'll have to rent a car. No public transport from Chicago goes directly to the park. You could prob. do a train/taxi combo, but you are gonna spend more than you would on just renting a car as far as I know.

[JamesMC]

Also - - -bring and carry nothing that cannot fit in your pockets. Most rides have l o c k e r s that you'll have to stow your belongings in at the entrance otherwise. (for a fee)

 

Bring a cooler with sandwiches for the car and don't eat in the park, unless you are a really big fan of overpriced Papa John's, Papa John's, Papa John's, Papa John's or Johnny Rockets, Johnny Rockets, or nuts and berries you may find on the trees near The Whizzer.

 

Aunt Martha's and Moosejaw Restaurants aren't bad if you like "decent" food with financing options available.

 

Yes, I am not crazy about the dining options but I LOVE the park---If it's busy skip Dark Knight (lame any which way you look at it), and Rajun' Cajun (though if you HAVE to go on a MadMouse, go on this one. If the wait for Iron Wolf is less than a half hour it's worth it, but you WILL get your head boxed around on the run out to the Flat Spin unti the station.

 

Raging Bull is the BEST coaster in the park and Viper is better than American Eagle despite it's size. Both deserve a ride though . . .but if you HAVE to choose, go on Viper.

 

Superman tends to load slow and have a longish wait, but boy oh boy that Pretzel Loop is fun.

 

Batman is Batman. (if the "portion" of the queus is full, expect to wait at least an hour though)

 

Whizzer is kinda pokey, but still fun and you are riding the last vestige of a piece of history. What a classy/classic throwback station though!!!

 

Vertical Velocity is actually more fun since they do not use the holding brake on the rear spike.

 

Demon is fun, lean "into" the direction of the corkscrews though.

 

If the waits are decent, go on "Fiddlers Fling". "Triple Play", "Richochet" and "Revolution" for some good flat rides. Giant Drop is fun if the wait is less than 20 min.

 

Hurricane Harbor is a BLAST, but get an all day locker outside the waterpark to store your clothes and just change in the regular bathrooms---or your car if you can----leave your cover-ups and shoes on any chaise lounge in the park. I have been doing this since HH opened in 2005 and have never had anyone mess with my stuff. Go early, and leave early, cuz when it gets hot HH gets busy but the ride waits decrease.

 

If it's humid and sunny, expect a thundershower/rainshower. SFGAM is pretty good about restarting the rides after the rain though.

 

The train ride is "nice" but awfully squeaky around the curves and mostly the ride path is curved.

 

If I think of anything else I will post it later.

[JamesMC]

^ Okay, I am not sure who put the "cookie" in my last post, but every time you read the words Fluffy, Fluffy Bunnies in my my post, insert the word "L. O. C. K. E. R. S." in it's place.

 

Kinda funny tho, but just "Kinda"

[coastermaniac1]

Thanks for the help but renting a car isn't really an option as we are just staying in the city of Chicago for the week. Any idea the best way maybe by bus or train that gets anywhere near the park? I was really looking forward to visiting but if it's not easy to get to by public transport then I might just have to leave it .

 

I pretty much know what to expect anyways as I have been to Six Flags Great Adventure last year and I don't usually bring a bag with me to parks so I won't have to worry about the lockers.

[Airtime&Gravity]

There is a bus that go to the park with only two pick up areas. You then have to spend the day at the park as it will only pick you up again at the end of the day. If you do this, I'd suggest using the second stop at the Rosemont CTA (subway) station.

 

 

Bus Information

[themeparkguy27]

You really should not have any problems with crowds. The park in only open until 6pm those days. Most local schools will be back in session by then. The crowds are probably at their highest right now, and start to get smaller and smaller as the weeks go on.

 

Have fun!

[Loopy]

lockers

 

^lol

[monsterfan99]

^ Not sure about that. I went last year during the days when the park was open during the last week they were open during the weekdays. Raging Bull, Superman, V2 and Viper were all over 45 minutes on those day.

[mcjaco]

^ Okay, I am not sure who put the "cookie" in my last post, but every time you read the words Fluffy, Fluffy Bunnies in my my post, insert the word "L. O. C. K. E. R. S." in it's place.

 

Kinda funny tho, but just "Kinda"

 

You've found one of the mysterious word filters!

[Jerrykoala2112]

Hey guys!

 

I actually went to SFGADV and SFOG...and going to those 2 parks make our park more superior. I mean, both of them had the worst and slowest park employees.

 

On Goliath at SFOG, they dispatched the train every 4 minutes, and only running 2 trains. While Raging Bull runs 3 trains and has 2 continuesly going.

 

SFGADV was also slow. They weren't really strict on the L.O>C K5 E R Policy and they also had the slow down trains on nitro.

 

Their were more problems, but SFGAM pretty much tops both of those parks if you want a more enjoyable day.

[mcjaco]

You can't base your opinion off of one visit to each park.

[CorkscrewFoley]

^Yeah because if that were the case, I'd have nothing good to say about CW with how slow they move their lines.

[Jerrykoala2112]

So...what you are saying is...if I go to the park again, they will dispatch a train every 2 and a half minutes?

[Mr. Starr]

So...what you are saying is...if I go to the park again, they will dispatch a train every 2 and a half minutes?

 

Not necessarily, but parks have good and bad days. I've been to SFGAm on a bad day, as well as many parks, and it doesn't make me automatically rank them lower. Try going to these parks again. Try looking for some good aspects of the park, and then come back here and add some more of your opinions that will justify the fact that SFGAm is, or is not, better than them.

[monsterfan99]

So...what you are saying is...if I go to the park again, they will dispatch a train every 2 and a half minutes?

I was at SFOG last Monday and they were dispatching trains on Goliath around every 2 minutes or so. So they were not that bad. Now Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom on the other hand...6 minutes per dispatch on Chang with one train running.

 

However, even with the times being slower then Great America does not mean I did not enjoy both places. Yes there were negatives, but there were also many more positives.

[Jerrykoala2112]

Ok guys, I will take into consideration of what all you guys said. I will keep it in mind.

 

But any-who

 

I was talking with a park employee and she told me they might remove Great American Speed Way. Now I am kinda shocked of this because it always seems to have a line, but maybe because it doesn't have good capacity. It is an original ride from the opening of the park, even though it isn't in it's original layout.

 

Any thoughts on what would fit hear? A GCI wooden coaster?

[traincrossin]

I do think that the Great America Raceway isn't as popular as it once was. I haven't seen it run both sides all season which probably is one of the reasons for the long line. Also, I would think that many of those cars are pretty old and gas guzzlers. But I don't think that you would have to remove the raceway for a GCI to fit there. Other things that could fit there would be any kind of flat ride.

 

Has anyone heard of an official announcement or date regarding next season?

[monsterfan99]

The could put the go karts there if they expand Hurricane Harbor.

[VivaLaVibora]

So...what you are saying is...if I go to the park again, they will dispatch a train every 2 and a half minutes?

I was at SFOG last Monday and they were dispatching trains on Goliath around every 2 minutes or so. So they were not that bad. Now Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom on the other hand...6 minutes per dispatch on Chang with one train running.

 

However, even with the times being slower then Great America does not mean I did not enjoy both places. Yes there were negatives, but there were also many more positives.

 

That's actually pretty bad for that Goliath ride. That ride has no seatbelts, and it's just like Raging Bull with a clamshell. It takes about a minute for Batman at Great America with seatbelts!

 

However, here's the thing that might be the reason why for slow capacity other than the workers are slow. The ride doesn't have block brakes in the middle of the ride that I know like Raging Bull does, Whizzer, or Demon, and so on. Thus, I think they only can send the train once it hits the brakes at the end of the ride. The reason why it matters is because what happens if the one train valleys inbetween the two hills.

 

Viper at SFGAm, I notice that they send it when it's more than halfway done, but maybe it's because the hills aren't as high at that point, and they can always stop it on the lifthill if something does happen.

 

I guess they can send the train 25 seconds on Goliath before the other one ends, and if something goes wrong, the train will just stuck on the lifthill. The lifthill from a video is about 37 seconds. That's the problem with not having a block brake in the middle of the ride. They need more of them on rides. Six Flags has none of them on the middle of this Goliath, Batman the Rides, and Superman Ultimate Flight. On Goliath, I see one of them, but I wonder if that's enough to stop the train (It doesn't look that big.)

 

They only have 2 trains on Goliath at SFOG. They don't have a 3rd one.