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Six Flags Great America (SFGAm) Discussion Thread


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So we were at the park from opening to close Friday (5-11) and from 11am opening Saturday till about 6pm.

 

Friday was extremely crowded due to nice weather (until about 10:30 when it started raining) but we got on an impressive amount of rides for such a crowded day. Getting there early really payed off.

 

Saturday the park was absolutely empty. It was dry for the first half hour or so the park was open but then after that the flood gates opened. A thunderstorm hit which shut down everything besides justice league and dark night coaster. The storms cleared at about 1:30 or 2:00 and the rest of the time was spent walking on everything in the rain.

 

We had been to the park in 2014 when Goliath opened so the only new coasters were joker and if you count Viper backwards. The only coaster here I don't care for is Demon, other than that we were very happy with everything here.

 

Few rides of note: Raging Bull is omfg great in the back row. The trims were not anywhere near as noticeable as they were in 2014. I'm sure they didn't change anything but I didn't notice them as much. Don't understand the hate this coaster gets. We enjoyed it a ton and I would definitely put it in my top 20 if I were to make a list.

 

Goliath was amazing too. I remember it being one of my favorite wooden coasters back when I first rode it in 2014 but I couldn't really remember why. This trip just reconfirmed how great it is. It's not as crazy out of control as other RMCs but the ride is butter smooth, and those inversions are pure bliss. The hand choppers in the first inversion are crazy! Definitely still one of my favorites.

 

Other than that, xflight was a pleasant surprise and a ton of fun, superman is great fun the back, and Batman was as good as always.

 

Viper backwards was much smoother than I expected and I really enjoyed it! We rode in the middle of the car that hits the lift chain first.

 

Joker was also a pleasant surprise. I had heard mixed reviews about these clones but I had a great time each time I rode it constantly giggling throughout!

 

Aside from the rides, fright fest was a total let down. We didn't want to spend $35 for what we expect to be crappy houses and the free stuff was almost non-existent. The "scarezones" each had two actors or less. Not a big deal since we were only there for rides anyways but still disappointing.

 

Food service was slow but not horrible. The only full meal we had was at chop six and it was pretty good!

 

With our season passes that we got for basically nothing from their big sale, we will definitely be back numerous times next year.

 

Scorecard for the weekend:

Superman: 1x

Darknight: 1x

Batman: 2x

Joker: 3x (single rider line ftw)

Goliath: 5x

Columbia Carousel upper level: 1x

American Eagle Blue: 1x

X-flight: 4x

Giant Drop: 1x

Viper backwards: 2x

Raging Bull: 10x

V2: 1x

Justice League: 4 (single rider line again!)

 

My pictures are all from my phone and it really didn't like the dark or the rain so not my best quality haha.

Hope you enjoyed my report!

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View from our hotel

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King Kong was a nice touch

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I actually really like this picture

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That's all from rainy Six Flags! Thanks for reading!

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Thinking about making a run to SFGAm on Sunday the 29th. How are crowds on a Sunday during FF?

Depends on the weather... Plan on it being a cluster, however, since it's the last weekend day before Halloween...

I'd be mostly interested in the rides (and I'd likely splurge for Flash Pass)

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^^The same question could be asked to Cedar Fair as well.

1. Likely a $$$ thing.

2. They seem to be the most boring of the B&M models (especially to most enthusiasts I know). Wild Eagle was fun, but was not overly exciting. The view was nice though. I'll ride Gatekeeper next year and be better to confirm my judgement of Wing Coasters.

3. RMC came along with something more thrilling for coaster lovers. SF usually is big on thrills, right?

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Is there a reason why SF parks have not built anymore Wing coasters?

 

2. They seem to be the most boring of the B&M models (especially to most enthusiasts I know). Wild Eagle was fun, but was not overly exciting. The view was nice though. I'll ride Gatekeeper next year and be better to confirm my judgement of Wing Coasters.

 

I don't agree at all with the estimation of Wing Coasters being boring! I love GateKeeper, and Thunderbird, and quite enjoy X-Flight and Wild Eagle as well. On top of that, all the normal (read, GP, non-enthusiast types) people I know, and have heard from, love them as well! So I'm fairly certain ^THIS was NOT the reason they aren't being added to SF parks anymore!

 

Like both previous posters alluded to, the reason is fairly simple, and it has to do with $$$. B&M's are expensive, and Wing Coasters are really pricey in particular right now. SF just isn't spending that kind of money on ANY singular addition in ANY of their parks right now. That's just not their current business model. In fact, the last major expenditure of that size and scope, WAS X-Flight here at SFGAm. I'm not saying it will never happen again, but for the time being, it's just not their game plan, and when it does happen, you can bet it'll be limited to a major revenue producing park like SFMM, SFGAm, or SFGAdv.

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On top of that, all the normal (read, GP, non-enthusiast types) people I know, and have heard from, love them as well! So I'm fairly certain ^THIS was NOT the reason they aren't being added to SF parks anymore!

I agree 100%. As it has been said repeatedly on these forums, parks don't add new attractions with enthusiasts in mind, since they make up a very small percentage of park visitors. Many people I know have ridden Thunderbird, since it's close enough to STL for a cheap family trip. All of them were very impressed.

Edited by prozach626
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Some decent photos - nice to know that there is a Hampton Inn that close to the park.

 

Come next year there will be a brand new Great Wolf Lodge (replacing and drastically expanding upon the now gone Key Lime Cove) mostly indoor water park and resort across the street... I like the fact that now with the Great Wolf Lodge coming to the area you will be able to get a Disney like full fledged resort/hotel experience combined with the theme park... Something I have always felt Great America (and many other Six Flags) lacked as a family and child getaway place...

 

I'm actually really looking forward to having a no travel full fledged resort weekend getaway with a theme park across the street, as I'm only 10ish minutes down the road....

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  • 2 weeks later...

^I have no clue but had a GREAT time at the park last night! Most everything was a walk-on and I got a staggering 8 rides in a row - with out leaving my seat - on Whizzer. If you go, bundle up. The lake winds are harsh. I'm inclined to say the next couple weekends won't be busy on Sundays, but I've been in the past. Seems to be hit or miss. And who knows, the park may offer some discount or bring-a-friend deal on social media the day of, and then it will be packed. I most definitely wouldn't bother going on a Saturday.

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The park sent out an email today - All remaining days of the season are now Bring a Friend for Free. Given how last years BAFF closing weekend was (Full queues for flat rides), I'd expect very large crowds.

 

Also the park opens for the 2018 season on April 21st:

https://www.sixflags.com/greatamerica/special-events/opening-weekend

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^That kinda stinks... hopefully it will be freezing and scare some of the crowd away. They seem to be getting more resilient these days

 

Last night was the first time I ever saw only 1 train on Demon (been riding it since I was a little guy in 1982, I love that ride!) and 1 train on Raging Bull. 1 on Demon was just fine... 1 on Raging Bull made for a 5 train wait, not a biggie either. I've never even heard of those coasters running 1 train. Speaking to a ride op, it seems they were getting ready to add a 2nd train to Bull after it warmed up (!!!). To my dismay, at about 9:15pm (park was closing at 11) walking down the exit we saw the train covered with a tarp in transfer, with fires under it! Holy cow, they were really going to add that train - above and beyond for some reason.

 

Thought I would share a few shots from my 2 hours at the park on Sunday night.

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Lobster looks GREAT after the super-long relocation and repaint/rehab. I have a thing for Schwarzkopf rides... even geek out about those standard issue Schwarzkopf seat that are flat and non-grippy; same seats on some coasters such as Mind Bender (SFOG), Shockwave (SFOT) and Montezooma's revenge. You really get to slide around and enjoy true lateral time in those seats! Such perfection on that super-geeky detail. Fiddler's Fling also has the same seats. It's too bad SFMM didn't go with these original-type of seats when they did Revolution; what is inside those trains is horrible.

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Don't be scurred, it's on the Demon. Many of my coaster buds don't like Demon due to the roughness. Luckily, after having ridden it since I was a kid, I've developed ways to sit and adjust for a fun ride... which isn't really something I like to do, but I make the exception on Demon. 2nd seat from the back, please. Enjoy the *snapping* drop that was removed from the California version in the 90s.

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Still love the Disco tunnel. In the 80s, the lights were red/orange/yellow (as were the trains) and went in a spiral pattern. They removed the lights directly above the track at some point because people were throwing rocks up to break them. It's hard to have nice things.

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I'm not one for camera tech and details, I just try to take a bunch of pictures and hope a couple come out. I like centering my camera on a target, then rotating around it to produce a slight spin effect. The park looks great this year! I still say we have the best all-around Six Flags, operations included (which are usually horrible, unfortunately. What do you expect for a $70 season pass, right?)

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^That kinda stinks... hopefully it will be freezing and scare some of the crowd away. They seem to be getting more resilient these days

 

Honestly, when parks extend their schedules out like this you should be hoping for large crowds. The park is clearly trying to see how far they can push the season and get people to show up. If people keep showing up then Holiday in the Park is likely in Great America's future. If not, then they'll either keep closing in late November or cut back to the end of Fright Fest.

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