Six Flags Great America (SFGAm) Discussion Thread

[drummermattk]

Just thought id post some pics from the parks snapchat. Some angles of Goliath you dont see that often!

 

 

 

 

*EDIT 4/21 Captured some pics from inside Justice League and would like to share them with you guys.

[Beni_Rodriguez]

11 more hours.

[Beni_Rodriguez]

Just got back. We arrived late at 10:50 a.m. There was a HUGE line for early entry off to the right.

 

LIFE HACK: We took the general entrance left of the early entry line. It was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay shorter.

 

Line were short for the first few hours as people were still trying to get in. Around 12:00 p.m. Goliath was ( 60 ) minute wait according to sign and V2 ( 30 ) minutes. It seemed like the lines were much shorter by American Eagle as evidently a lot of people just started forming lines on rides located near the park entrance.

 

It was okay. We'll probably go a few hours when they open tomorrow and leave when it gets (if) too busy again.

 

[diggerg56]

I'm not sure why I continue to subject myself to opening day. With all the one-train ride-ops and slow dispatches it just gets frustrating.

 

I used the Discover Card Entry rather than the Gold Pass entry as the line was much shorter. The pass scanner was having issues with the sunlight which slowed down the process though.

 

I had to go to the Pass Activation Center to get the special offer (mine was for $29.99) Season Dining Pass added to my member card. Glad I went early, just a 20 minute wait. Would have been even shorter but the employee kept trying to sell me a Shopping Pass, Go-Kart Pass or an upgrade to a Gold Dining Pass. Nope, just wanted what I paid for already.

 

When I left the park, the line for the pass processing center was wrapped around by Grand Music Hall, past Whizzer and all the way back to the railroad overpass where you enter Hometown Square. Those people were in for some serious wait time, probably between two and three hours.

 

I really wish they could just automatically add things like Season Dining when you order online. They already have your Pass/Member Card number as part of the order, why can't it just automatically be added?

 

People were still pouring in when I left about about 2pm and the overflow lot had a fair number of cars. It's been awhile since I've seen that many peeps there on opening day.

[diggerg56]

A couple friends have reported fresh paint on parts of American Eagle this week. The park isn't open again until tomorrow. Curious if they're messing with me or whether they're actually finally painting it.

[Satans Hockey]

Maybe they had to add it separately cause it was a special offer price? I ordered the gold season and gold dining pass online for great adventure and when I arrived at the gate both were automatically added to my card when I presented the print out ticket.

[diggerg56]

Maybe they had to add it separately cause it was a special offer price? I ordered the gold season and gold dining pass online for great adventure and when I arrived at the gate both were automatically added to my card when I presented the print out ticket.

 

Sometimes I think they like to do things the hard way.

...And for the second year in a row, my parking said "expired" even though my Gold Membership is valid. Another trip to guest services to get that solved when I was back last Sunday. Got a voucher for free season sports bottle for the hassle. Didn't even ask for anything.

[Superbatboy]

via @SFGreat_America twitter

 

[ragingnitro]

The All Season Flash Pass just went live last week. Looks like I will be enjoying the park lavishly this year. Anyone else thinking of buying one?

[diggerg56]

The All Season Flash Pass just went live last week. Looks like I will be enjoying the park lavishly this year. Anyone else thinking of buying one?

It's tempting, but probably not this year. Maybe if there was a shiny new 300 foot giga coaster to ride I'd think more about it.

[PKI Jizzman]

The All Season Flash Pass just went live last week. Looks like I will be enjoying the park lavishly this year. Anyone else thinking of buying one?

 

Honestly, that's the best way to ensure you'll have a great time every visit! 400+tax, though? I'm not going enough to get the value out of it. I had no idea this was even an option.

[ShaneH]

The All Season Flash Pass just went live last week. Looks like I will be enjoying the park lavishly this year. Anyone else thinking of buying one?

 

I would get one if it worked at all Six Flags parks, but living 6+ hours away from Great America I think I'll pass.

[PKI Jizzman]

I saw on SFGAm's snapchat today that the ride will open May 28th and found an announcement below:

 

 

 

Published on May 11, 2016

Be the first to experience the world's best new ride!

JUSTICE LEAGUE: Battle for Metropolis is an interactive 4D thrill ride that has been voted "Best New Product" by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions is opening to the world on May 28!

[batmanfan80]

Was at Great America a couple weekends ago and Six Flags Over Texas last weekend. GA was pretty empty due to the weather. Rode Pretzelman, Batman twice, and the Crawler. Food lines were fine. Everything was basically a walk up. The cold weather makes the rides a lot less enjoyable/comfortable for whatever reason. SFOT is interesting. Saturday was a nightmare worse than any GA Fright Fest. Hordes of people just kept pouring in, wave after wave with no signs of stopping. Their parking lot is a lot bigger. The amount of people there seemed to be almost double whatever GA's record-breaking fright fest crowds have been. Lines to get a drink were 30 min minimum. Food lines were all long and barely moved. Never got to see the ride lines because all the coasters broke. Just about all of them, literally. No one was scanning passes or anything. Lines to get in are abysmal but at least they have a tram for their mammoth parking lot.

 

SFOT is very sneaky. If you call to try and get info about crowds or rides, they refuse to say anything. Someone taught their employees to do a bait and switch so people will go under circumstances where they normally wouldn't. We gambled and while the place probably had a regular FF level crowd, lines were pretty short. Maybe about 15-20 minutes except Shockwave, which took forever because of the virtual reality headsets. The wife rode Mr Freeze and loved it. Skyscreamer was down due to wind and we didn't bother with Judge Roy Scream since the sign said 30 min. Batman was basically the same, but it's a lot better in warm weather. New Texas Giant is what Goliath should be, but we never really cared for it, so we weren't high on this one either. Wife compared it to riding one of those mechanical bulls and feeling like she's about to fly outta the ride. Shockwave was a real bust. The VR headsets are a stupid gimmick. They don't fit well and the graphics on the cell phones are hardly impressive. You can shoot lasers for seemingly no reason. Train dispatches were some of the slowest we've ever seen due to all the headset problems. At least 5 min per train minimum. Ride seems a tad rough, wife said it also felt like she was about to be tossed out. We didn't ride Titan since neither of us thought we'd enjoy it much. The Great America Raceway was ok, kinda dull scenery. Justice League was down. Wife liked Superman Tower of Power. Says it's like the one at Cedar Point.

 

Park is much bigger than GA and does not go in a circle. Think this is why the lines are shorter. It takes a lot more effort to get from ride to ride than at GA. It'd be like if each thrill ride section at Great America was as far apart as Pretzelman and Eagle. The Dole fruit things we got were the best dining pass snacks ever. Lots of flat rides, but mainly all looked like little kid stuff. Overall the park reminds me more of Cedar Point than GA. Also seemed more family-oriented with a lot of people preferring not to go on the thrill rides. The raceway had as long a line as texas giant. HH is also not on the same physical property. Overall, I think GA is easily the better park.

[zombi3elephant9]

Photo update on BFM via SFGAmWorld.com

There is an arched sign over to the left. I think it's safe to say that will be the entrance to the ride

[Swede]

Does anyone know if they are usually running both sides of American Eagle in the park?

[ytterbiumanalyst]

In my experience, they open just one side at first, but later in the day run both. This is based on a two-day visit on weekdays in July.

[christianscoasters]

I'm hopefully visiting this Tuesday and Wednesday. I'll hear to Goliath first no matter what but anyone have an idea of what crowds should be like?

[Imagineer Josh]

I'm hopefully visiting this Tuesday and Wednesday. I'll hear to Goliath first no matter what but anyone have an idea of what crowds should be like?

 

Lines can range from nonexistent to packed in, depending on what day you visit and what ride it is. In the five times I went last summer, Dark Knight generally has horrendous operations so if you want it, ride it in the morning. By afternoon it will have a full queue. Goliath right away will have a the first major switchback area full but that's it, and Superman always extremely close to spilling out on the walkways. X-Flight gets big lines as well because it's a wing coaster. Raging Bull can get long lines, but I have yet to see a line longer than 30-ish minutes. I'm sure it happens though. Later in the day, the lines can absolutely horrific even during the week and probably approached about an hour or more. The rest of the lines were pretty evenly crowded, with Superman of course taking the lead.

[Vonni]

I just love the Justice League Facades!

[diggerg56]

I really have to shake my head at operations sometimes......Today they dropped the chain on the Raging Bull line about 10:35, everyone went through the line, up the stairs, into the station and started forming lines at the boarding rows. Three trains testing. After a few minutes, some ride op came up the exit ramp grabbed the microphone and told everyone to clear out of the station, back down the steps and to wait by the Flash Pass entrance. The rest of the ride ops looked confused. Two minutes later they waved everyone back up and started loading trains. The ride op that was making the fuss was no where to be found.

 

The first two trains out were over 2 minute 30 second dispatch times. Total confusion amongst the ride ops. I was on the third train out and when the ride was over there were still two trains stacked in the station. I know it's early in the season but they should be figuring things out by now.

[Tanks4me05]

I'm heading over to the park on July 6th for the first time as part of my three week graduation trip, and I'll be there the whole day. If I want to ride all the coasters and re-rides on the better ones, would it be advisable to get a flash pass? If so, would it be feasible to do what I want with just a gold flash pass, or is that really only possible with a platinum?

[RaceBoarder]

I'm heading over to the park on July 6th for the first time as part of my three week graduation trip, and I'll be there the whole day. If I want to ride all the coasters and re-rides on the better ones, would it be advisable to get a flash pass? If so, would it be feasible to do what I want with just a gold flash pass, or is that really only possible with a platinum?

A Gold will get the job done with some strategy. Platinum will allow you to freestyle the day. The price difference would be something you would need to put a value on and make that decision on your own. Being a Wednesday, you may be ok without one. I'm a regular and don't buy FP, but I also pick my days.

 

Justice League just opened, so we don't have a feel for how that line will play out. I'd imagine that draws most people at opening. That should leave Goliath & X-Flight with minimal lines at open compared to the last two seasons. Conversely, with Justice League just down the block, I think the AM marathon sessions on Raging Bull are done for the time being.

 

What would your priorities be? Are you solo or with a group? I've come up with several different itineraries that have worked for friends, so just let me know what you want and I'll be happy to provide insight. Hopefully I'll be able to make the park tomorrow, so I can see how Justice League works throughout the day. That's the wildcard...

[Tanks4me05]

^I'm going with one other person, who's joining for the entirety of the trip (another TPR member, actually.) As I said, I'd prefer to get on all the coasters, and re-rides on the better ones. I usually stick to front and/or back seat, sometimes I do second row from the front or back if the line is significantly shorter. I'll also want to hit up Giant Drop, the train and observation tower for the sake of photography (a huge hobby of mine) and I might do the enterprise, Troika and Top Spin. I generally avoid water parks because there is often not a lot of variety from park to park. I also bought a season pass as it's more economical (we're also going to SFSTL, SFOT and SFFT.)

[RaceBoarder]

^I'm going with one other person, who's joining for the entirety of the trip (another TPR member, actually.) As I said, I'd prefer to get on all the coasters, and re-rides on the better ones. I usually stick to front and/or back seat, sometimes I do second row from the front or back if the line is significantly shorter. I'll also want to hit up Giant Drop, the train and observation tower for the sake of photography (a huge hobby of mine) and I might do the enterprise, Troika and Top Spin. I generally avoid water parks because there is often not a lot of variety from park to park. I also bought a season pass as it's more economical (we're also going to SFSTL, SFOT and SFFT.)

Okie dokie.

 

For starters, plan n getting to the park early. 9:30 - 9:45am will work for a 10:30am opening. You'll be able to enter Carousel Plaza before rope drop. From here you have two options: You can go right if you want Justice League (JL) or you can go left for Goliath. In both cases, you can proceed to the railroad bridge. That is where the rope drop will occur. Like I said earlier, I'm not sure how the GP is moving with JL open now. Personally, I think that you're stuck with a 60-90 minute line with either one after the opening rush, so pick your poison. If you go left, I've been able to knock out Goliath, X-Flight, and American Eagle within 30-40 minutes. I don't think that is possible with the JL, Raging Bull, Giant Drop cluster since the GP will be heavier on that block. Also, Eagle is NOT on Flash Pass, so consider this.

 

After this, you can get your FP if you're gonna get one. I wouldn't buy in advance. Just base it on the crowd. If you went left you can start heading towards the front of the park. Walking towards the front from Goliath will take you past Batman, Vertical Velocity, both Log Flumes & Roaring Rapids (water rides if it's hot), and King Chaos (Top Spin).

 

If you've made it this far w/o a FP, this is where you need to make your choice on getting one. This can be done on a moderate day by 1pm-2pm. Raging bull should be 45-75 minutes at this point and won't back down. Superman would be 60-90 as well, but does offer a Single Rider Line. The SRL can be as quick as a 1-3 train wait depending on operators ability to utilize it. Personally I've never had issue with it in Summer, but others have horror stories (like a lot of things with this park it seems). Justice League is probably 90+ minutes.

 

From here you freestyle your day with a flash pass. JL and Goliath are platinum only, so expect to dedicate 3 hours to cover JL and a re-ride. With gold, just select Bull or Supes and then go wait in a shorter line like Demon, Viper, or Giant Drop. All of those should be 40 minutes or less... Then rinse and repeat till close.

 

Anything you were looking for that I missed? These are my strategies. Your mileage may vary.