Six Flags Great America (SFGAm) Discussion Thread

[RaceBoarder]

5pm or 6pm till 11pm is normal for a Friday night.

[teacherkim]

Wow. This thread and the FB page for SFGA are totally dead. ANY word on the street about an opening date? SFSTL opened this week. Since we probably won't be doing any big trips this year, thought we might make a HW, KK, KI, CP run in late July and talked about adding on Indiana Beach and SFGA since they aren't that out of the way coming home.

[AmyUD06]

Given that Illinois "Phase 4," which is scheduled to take effect tomorrow, still limits gatherings to 50 people, I don't see it happening until the state reaches "Phase 5" whenever that may be.

[RaceBoarder]

In Illinois, theme parks would fall under Phase 5, which is the final phase in reopening. At this point I wouldn't expect there to be a 2020 season. Illinois has been one of the most cautious states in reopening and given the results that FL and TX are seeing with their reopening, I firmly believe that large scale gatherings won't happen here for the foreseeable future...

[teacherkim]

Yeah, but MO is still on the 50 person gathering thing but SFSTL was able to open with the restrictions in place, mostly because it is outdoors I think. Besides if IL is letting zoos open under phase 4 (which they are) then why not amusement parks? Oh well. SFGA would be a tack on to the last day of the road trip so we can make a late decision I guess.

[RaceBoarder]

Like I said, Illinois has been one of the most cautious states in opening. Because of that, Amusement Parks are going to be one of the last things to open. It sucks, but that is how IL is handling this.

[teacherkim]

There were SFGA employees down here helping out at SFSTL but apparently they have gone back home now that the holiday weekend is over. Have no idea what that means, if anything, for a SFGA opening date.

[Rick Tengle]

Given that Illinois "Phase 4," which is scheduled to take effect tomorrow, still limits gatherings to 50 people, I don't see it happening until the state reaches "Phase 5" whenever that may be.

 

Raging Rivers in Grafton has opened with 50% capacity and no mask requirement, but are water parks considered amusement parks or public pools?

Edited July 8, 2020 by rickjuly252012

[Rick Tengle]

Yeah, but MO is still on the 50 person gathering thing but SFSTL was able to open with the restrictions in place, mostly because it is outdoors I think. Besides if IL is letting zoos open under phase 4 (which they are) then why not amusement parks? Oh well. SFGA would be a tack on to the last day of the road trip so we can make a late decision I guess.

 

MO has no statewide crowd limits or mask mandate, must be the limit of STL County

[teacherkim]

It is STl county, I should have specified. Our gov is just letting each county do as they feel necessary, which is not working out so well for some of the rural counties right now. Since I posted that STL county/city have made a public mask mandate.

[Rollercoaster Rider]

The 2 Waterparks in Illinois are opening starting July 20

[PKI Jizzman]

Just read that the waterpark is open, so interesting. It's a phenomenal waterpark, I think they have every model from ProSlide!

 

Hope the dry park can open this year, I'd love to try Maxx Force.

[Canobie Coaster]

Six Flags Great America has been given permission to reopen for Holiday in the Park...sort of.  The park can open, but they cannot operate any rides.

News Article- WGNTV

Quote

By Marcus Leshock (WGNTV)

It’s been a summer of silence at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee. Seven months after their normal opening date, the theme park has been granted approval to open to guests. 

Great America will reopen on November 27th with their third season of Holiday in the Park. They are calling this year’s festivities “Holiday in the Park Lights” – and it will be a bit different this season.

“Due to Illinois safety guidelines, rides won’t be operating at Holiday in the Park Lights,” Caitlin Kepple, Six Flags Great America’s Communications Manager, says. “It’s strictly a holiday lights experience.”

What can you expect as part of that experience? The park says they are going all out with decorations and lights across their nearly 300 acres. The maintenance team is hard at work setting up two and a half million holiday lights on the trees and buildings. The traditional holiday food items and hot chocolate will be available, as well. 

We also spoke with David Major, Six Flags Great America’s entertainment manager, about adjusting the event to bring some of Holiday in the Park’s indoor elements outside. 

“We are going to bring our characters and our stage shows outside,” Major told us. “It will be socially distanced for our performers and for our guests. Everything is coming outside, onto the midways and onto the streets.”

Great America says they are following reopening guidelines put forward by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s office. In addition to having no rides operating, the park will operate at reduced capacity levels. Guests will have to make a reservation on the Six Flags website, a system that will be familiar to anybody who visited the Hurricane Harbor waterpark when it was able to reopen this summer. 

Guests will have their temperatures checked with a contactless thermal imaging system, social distancing will be strictly enforced throughout the property, and masks will be required for everybody over two years old. Dedicated cleaning teams will be put in place to sanitize touch points throughout the grounds. Mobile food ordering will also be available – guests can order items on the Six Flags app and have them ready for pickup, allowing for touchless transactions. The park will be hiring around 800 seasonal employees to make the event happen.

Reservations are scheduled to open today, October 15, on Six Flags Great America’s website. Members and Season Pass holders will receive priority over single-day ticket buyers. Those single day tickets will be sold for $19.99 this season with free parking included. 

The staff at Great America says they are excited to open the gates and offer another way to get outside and enjoy the holiday season. Their new opening day is just 43 days away. Major tells me they are definitely under some pressure to get everything ready in time, but they’re up to the challenge. 

“We rallied the team together to make this happen. We want to bring it to our guests and celebrate the holiday season at Six Flags Great America.”

 

[coasterbill]

I’m so ready for these totally arbitrary and nonsensical covid rules to be over. 

So a waterpark with no masks was fine all summer but they can’t run a coaster Or a Scrambler with a bunch of empty rows 5 months later with everyone wearing masks? 

No clue where they came up with that but I have no doubt that they claimed they were “following the science™” 

[jlp94]

^ My thoughts as well. The decision up to the state, of course, but it doesn't really make sense.

[coasterbill]

Also, on the surface this seems great but if it’s a ploy to un-freeze all Six Flags Great America memberships for 5 additional months as opposed to having to keep them frozen until they open next May without opening any rides then L...o...f*cking... L

[prozach626]

On 10/15/2020 at 7:22 AM, coasterbill said:

I’m so ready for these totally arbitrary and nonsensical covid rules to be over. 

So a waterpark with no masks was fine all summer but they can’t run a coaster Or a Scrambler with a bunch of empty rows 5 months later with everyone wearing masks? 

No clue where they came up with that but I have no doubt that they claimed they were “following the science™” 

This is life in Illinois. We're everything that's wrong with California, without the view.

[coasterbill]

The walk-through event was confirmed on the conference call. This is the extent of what we know...

Quote

We plan to open a holiday walkthrough experience at our Great America Park, outside of Chicago in late November through December

Link

LOL if they un-freeze the memberships.

[prozach626]

We just shut down local food and entertainment again. No inside dining. Seems pretty fucked to me.

[Danrarbc]

Great America is joining 3 other parks in turning Holiday in the Park into a drive-thru.

[coasterbill]

Yup... Six Flags is still running circles around the rest of the regional park industry and it’s horrifying.

[prozach626]

10 hours ago, coasterbill said:

Yup... Six Flags is still running circles around the rest of the regional park industry and it’s horrifying.

"Buy your season passes for only $49.99 to enjoy unlimited visits to Six Flags Elysburg in 2021."

[AmyUD06]

31 minutes ago, prozach626 said:

"Buy your season passes for only $49.99 to enjoy unlimited visits to Six Flags Elysburg in 2021."

Not even funny, man, not even funny.

[CenturyFlyer]

Just like at Over Texas, I think that Great America may have leaked its plans for 2021! 

[dankeykang]

We'll see if this actually happens, but good for Six Flags for at least putting a date out there!