Is This Six Flags' Premiere Park? Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, Illinois)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- In July, I made my first trip to Six Flags Great America in 4 years. It got me thinking - is this Six Flags' premiere park? These are my thoughts.
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Holy shit someone’s talking about great America this is rare
This is the most correct statement in history
true, most of the parks when you type six flags are texas or california, rearly is the illinois park mentioned and when searching it i have to be specific. but hey, it can be the central midwests little secret gem lol.
Thank you for giving Raging Bull its due. If force is the only thing you care about, then no, it's not for you. But it's just such a complete ride and the second half twister section isn't something you can find anywhere else.
raging bull was my first ever hyper, and it turned me into a full blown enthusiast!
@@jack-gn4yl Me too
Max Force is a disappointment?
> Cedar Fair and SeaWorld cancel the 12 Max Force clones they ordered after watching the “What Each Park Needs” videos
Plot twist: They ordered a Dragon Wagon kiddie coaster for every single one of their parks.
@@johnfoltz8183 at least the Dragon Wagon is longer than 7 seconds.
Growing up at Great America, I was always jealous of the new additions that the other parks like MM and GAdv got. It's weird to hear that it's now considered one of the best, but since I moved to California they got X Flight (shortly before), Goliath, Joker and Maxx Force. Not sure if those make it a top tier park now but it's definitely a good well balanced one.
As a kid, Raging Bull was the consensus as the best coaster there, and there may be some Goliath fans now, but I'd still go with Raging Bull.
The park is missing that one standout coaster. Goliath and Raging Bull are very good but not A++ rides (tho my opinion of RB is probably a little too high) but as a whole, the park is deep. Great Adventure's depth isnt that great
Raging Bull is great, but Goliath is better as it's non-stop action which helps make up for it being short. The best 2 in the park. The Whizzer is classic, for years and years there were no seat belts whatsoever which was awesome. The park has a height limit, they are not allowed to have any coaster above 200 feet (or thereabouts), the damn people in Gurnee have castrated the park.
@@NMAfreak Really? I never heard of them having a max height restriction.
Goliath's problem is that it's just too short. If it wasn't for that, it'd be a standout.
@@jimgoebel5348 yeah they had to fight the city to get raging bull built, and that is why mostly every coaster built since then has been under just 200 ft
Do a year-by-year side-by-side history of both Santa Clara and Gurnee parks and how they grew apart by love (Gurnee) and neglect (Santa Clara)
Those last 37 years or so have been very very different lol
That's a good idea
Yep California great America is now going to be gone
Six Flags has a clear top four, and there are similarities to Cedar Fair’s top four as well.
1: Magic Mountain is clearly the flagship, it’s basically the Cedar Point of Six Flags.
2: Great America is like Kings Island, where some people prefer it to the flagship but even its biggest fans know where it sits in the overall hierarchy of the chain.
3: Fiesta Texas is like Carowinds, with recent expansion pushing it far above its quality and popularity of ten to fifteen years ago.
4: Great Adventure is like Kings Dominion, with Six Flags not investing as much into it despite its popularity and local competition (Hersheypark for Great Adventure, Busch Gardens Williamsburg for Kings Dominion), but it is home to one of the premier roller coasters on the planet (El Toro for Gadv, Intimidator 305 for KD). A recent addition from RMC is hopefully a sign of more attention in the future.
You could make an argument that Great Adventure belongs above Fiesta Texas (Great Adventure is my home park and personal favorite) and also that Canada’s Wonderland should be number four for Cedar Fair over Kings Dominion.
I think Fiesta Texas is more similar to Canada's Wonderland in that both are usually the first to get a new type of coaster. Wonderland got the first B&M hyper in the chain and the manufacturer's first giga, as well as a lot of unique flat rides. Fiesta Texas gets the first S&S free spin, RMC Raptor, and the chain's first B&M dive.
another way Great America compares to KI is the fact that they dont have a definitive number 1 all thoosies agree with, like for CP and MM its steve, and either X2 or twisted colossus. For GA some think its goliath, some think its Maxx force, and some think its Raging bull. And for KI, some think its mystic timbers, some think its orion, some think its banshee, some think its beast, and some think its diamondback.
This a phenomenal comparison. The similarities are legit now that I think about it
I feel like magic mountain is at the top with great America not far behind. Then there’s a small gap till great adventure then another bigger gap till fiesta Texas but then there’s a HUGE gap to the rest of the chain except maybe over Georgia
I never considered SFFT ahead of GADV but I respect the choice. Probably because I have always considered GADV top 1 or 2 until recently.
I think magic mountain is still six flags premier, consider how they get rides SOO often and the sheer quantity of 20 coasters and soon to be 2 RMCs. I see your point on how it is better but six flags still gives more attention and $$ to MM.
MM being year round is the main reason, I bet Great America would get just as much love if not more if it was able to be open year round. Illinois area really has a lack of theme parks.
SFMM is definitely Six Flags' poster boy park. It's so unfortunate because SFMM is definitely quantity over quality. You have the elite rides like X2, Twisted Colossus and MAYBE Tatsu. Strong supporting lineup with West Coaster Racers, Viper, Apocalypse, Full Throttle, and I would argue Riddler's. Everything else is pretty much filler. Wonder Woman would add to a strong supporting lineup IMO, definitely not Elite if it rides like Jersey Devil.
I also live in Valenica like Airtime Thrills used to and I am RARELY at Magic Mountain unless I need a quick Twisted Colossus fix to be honest. I think my main issue with Magic Mountain is the lack of originality as an amusement park lol. It's just so blandly themed and literally has nothing going for it other than it's coasters and alot of the park is just so "meh" to look at. Atmosphere really adds so much to a park experience. I just wish Magic Mountain would do better.
@@supremefan yeah I’m luck to have fiesta texas as a home park, in Austin we are used to warm winters.
@@Onoitsbroko yeah I see that and it’s honestly a park that is not bucket list because it seems to be filled with clones or filler coasters. Not to mention their trillions of kiddie rides.
He knows MM is #1
Hard to overstate how instrumental SF Great America proved in the coaster industry.
In 1981, Intamin built one of their first large-scale roller coasters, at SFGAm, with American Eagle.
In 1985, Intamin (yet again), broke ground with Z-Force, the first roller coaster with 4-seat-across trains and the first coaster using the now iconic "box" track shape.
In 1989, SFGAm commissionned the recently-founded B&M's first coaster project with new trains increasing capacity for the Rolling Thunder bobsleigh relocation.
In 1990, happy with B&M's work, SFGAm then ordered the Swiss engineers' first coaster with Iron Wolf.
In 1992, B&M and the park teamed up again to open Batman the Ride (which needs no introduction)
In 1999, Raging Bull opened as one of the first B&M Hypers in existence
In 2012, X-Flight became the first B&M Wingcoaster in America
Six Flags Great America, under the guidance of then-manager Jim Wintrode, certainly helped to shape the amusement industry as we know today. Really glad you're putting this park under the spotlight!
Minor correction:
Wild Eagle at Dollywood opened a couple of months before X-Flight.
Wow that's some interesting info. As I mentioned in another comment, I grew up in Milwaukee during the 70's and 80's so Six Flags Great America was my home park and I absolutely loved it! When they introduced the "Haunted Great America" they really nailed it. From the 🎃👻Halloween👻🎃 theme to the American Eagle's cars sitting in reverse, it was a great idea and damn was it fun! Even the cool temperatures, and even some rain didn't stop us from getting together and spending a day freezing our butts riding 🎢🎢rollercoasters🎢🎢!! So many special and incredible memories happened there. It was really a special place for me.
SFGAm: The Back Seat Park! Where the coasters suck if you aren’t in the back
Edit: if Great America replaces Demon with the single rail, they have to name it Demon’s revenge. An all black single rail with black Jersey Devil/black demon style trains would look insane. Also custom layout to fit the rock work
I've noticed that viper isn't running as well as it has in the past this year. Hopefully the park will fix that in the future.
The chain Hill it rough and the graphite needs to be redone along with new track on the top of the hill needs to be done, sometimes it barely crests the top of the hill
Mannn I rode viper over 20 times in 2021, the ride is rough but not enough that I would care, American eagle is a different story
@@gps-getem3390 I don’t think eagle is that rough it was a little rough but not to bad
@@xlecronnex5625 I thought it was supposed to stop at the top that drop?
This is my home park and no matter what rise brakes down everyone can still find a way to have fun. None of the coasters here are elite, they are all kinda mid to lower tier for their type of ride but in quantity, there is so much. Goliath isn't the best RMC but it's still so good. Raging Bull is like the weakest B&M Hyper but has oneof the best first drops in the world. Maxx Force is short but intense. You will never get bored here.
It’s my home park too and I go once a week. And while none of the rides are ELITE, NONE of them are “mid tier”…there isn’t a weak spot in their lineup top to bottom. One of the most underrated coaster lineups in existence.
Bruh Raging Bull is a top 15 coaster lol. IMO if a coaster is in the top 40 of any list….it’s Elite as it’s the top 5% of what’s in the US.
This was my first Six Flags in the US and it blew me away. I went two days on a row, friday and saturday. Friday was amazing, it was the first night of fright fest and if it wasn’t for the rain I would’ve knocked every credit between 6 and 11 pm. Even got to ride Demon, which seemed pretty unlikely. Saturday was insanely packed, but I only needed Superman and Maxx Force, so no flash pass was needed. I was out by 6 pm with a big smile on my face. Loved it.
Great America is my home park, and boy does it not get the love it deserves. Great America is one of the most well-balanced and decorated parks in the Six Flags chain.
I went to Great America in early September and Demon was open and running well, so hopefully it sticks around for a while longer! Also I found Viper to be unbearably rough in the back. Is there something I’m missing about why you and many other enthusiasts like it?
It was very rough in the back when I went in August. Definitely better towards the front though
@@whitneythatcher yeah it was rough but it felt faster and the first drop is better
Yeah…don’t sit on a wheel seat, prepare yourself for the divot at the top of the second hill, and the rest of the ride will HANDSOMELY reward you 🥰
So since I posted this I've ridden Viper 4 times (all towards the front) and it's gotten better each time! Still not perfect but also not unbearable.
You have to sit in last row to get the full force of the ride. The trade off is the roughness, but for me it adds to the experience.
I went to Great America this summer and raging bull’s drop in the back is insane, definitely the highlight of the park
Goliath back row night ride at fright fest was mine
@@BurgerInATux I was THIS (🤏🏻) close to a night fog ride in the rain during Fright Fest last year…until the train behind us overshot the final brake run because it was too slick and almost ran into as we were putting our seatbelts on. That train got stuck out in the rain and got soaked and we never got our night ride in the foggy rain 😭
Demon has reopened, I think the lift motor gave out.
So happy to have this as a home park. Demon is still doing good, park staff have actually increased its theming and gave the station a new paint job while it was closed; the coaster looks better than ever.
Yayy glad to hear if gonna check it out this spring :)
I'd give the nod to Great Adventure as best in the chain, but Great America is very close behind. My personal favorite is Goliath, but I've found a new found appreciation for Raging Bull after my two back row rides in May. You're right about RB, row 9 only. My rankings of Great America's coasters:
1. Goliath
2. Raging Bull
3. Maxx Force
4. Superman: Ultimate Flight
5. Batman: the Ride
6. Viper
7. X-Flight
8. Whizzer
9. American Eagle
10. Vertical Velocity
11. Demon
12. Dark Knight (it's a great wild mouse but can't rank it too high)
13. Joker
14. Little Dipper
15. Sprocket Rockets
Worked raging Bull this year and it progressed to becoming one of my favorite Rollercoaster period. Think I was working that day, but at a different time.
Unfortunately, it might now regress as management wants to put an additional seat belt on ride as we’ve struggled to dispatch trains at the desired interval. If we speed up in checking the trains, it may be perceived that the rider is not secured enough, but in actuality there are two separate locking mechanisms, and the seats are impossible to escape when they are registered, via the computer, as locked.
Also Eagle can really only run one train as the track, specifically the final helix, has been worn down so much and minimal work can be done on it due to its proximity to the highway
Also they fixed Demon; it’s chain lift motor gave out and had to be replaced once again(it came from Shockwave, a previous Arrow Coaster in the park). I forgot who manufactured the motor, but once they even installed it, it took them a while to get it too mesh with the computer system
The day they put seat belts in at bull is the day that I quite. That is why I love working bull over viper. At bull you just have the clamshell to check. If they had seatbelt you would slow it down so much. I could not imagine trying to run 3 trains with seat belts.
Nooo no seatbelts on RB. Nothing slows ops down worse than that
@@AirtimeThrills yep
@@Galarticuno I do miss shockwave. I always felt it was a vastly underrated coaster.
I spent two days at SFGAm (weekend in September 2019) and absolutely loved it. Goliath would be the best followed by Raging Bull. Got 15 rides on Goliath and 13 on Raging Bull. First day i had the flashpass but Goliath had a single riders queue surprisingly. The next day it didnt. Was during Frighfest so got nightrides and it was awesome. I agree on your love for Raging Bull, but I think you need to give Goliath a few more rides and love. Actually have it ranked above Twisted Colossus and that's elite in my books. I think the fact I could marathon it helped it's rankings, especially at night with some rain pummeling your face. That diveloop and stall are sensational. Probably the best two elements that flow into eachother on any coaster for me.
The reason why Demon was closed was because of a broken lift motor. The ride is open back up now though. By the way, I’m happy you made a video on my home park
Considering all it's lights, etc were working during fright Fest makes me think they have no plans to scrap it anytime soon. Still pretty smooth besides the normal corkscrew headbanging issues they all had.
@@supremefan like I said. The ride is operating as normal now so I don’t think we have anything to worry about
I was lucky enough to get a trimless back row ride on Raging Bull the last time I was there. Let me say, it was one of the best rides on any coaster I've ever gotten. That airtime hill is actually amazing when the trim is off. And that first drop in the back row is without a doubt my favorite drop, even more than the giga drops I've ridden.
HIGHLY doubt the trim was off because I’ve been to private night events at SFGAm and I even asked the ride ops working during those if they’d ever turn off the trim on RB and it was a resounding “no.” If the trims don’t get turned off for private night events with ERT, than it just doesn’t happen.
Ayyy my home park
Great America is by far the cleanest and best looking six flags park... I would almost say all of my visits had cleaner facilities and pathways than my visits to Cedar Point.
I also very recently rode Demon. Not sure what happened there.
I went earlier this year and was able to ride everything that wasn’t a clone. I can say that Raging Bull is freaking phenomenal, as is Goliath and Maxx Force. X Flight’s vest restraints are freaking awful which is weird because I enjoy Banshee’s and Gatekeeper’s, but alas. I thought Viper and American Eagle were honestly really great and I know it’ll probably get RMCed but I honestly wouldn’t mind AE to be kept normal
I hope not, we already have an elite RMC! I'd really love to see something different at this park because it feels like this park is made up of weak coasters, clones, and extremely short rides :(
Plus I agree American Eagle is an amazing ride by itself
Just like SFDK and CGA in northern Califonia, there is a height restriction in Gurnee Illinois so no gigas allowed for SF Great America without exemption even if SF were crazy enough to splurge for one......NOT!
I'm probably biased but I feel like Great America is quite close to the perfect park
I never been to Six Flags Great America yet. but I was hoping if I can try out going on the rides at that park. I believe it will be very fun!
American Eagle is my guilty pleasure at SFGAM (my home park) Its a classic and I will always love it. its also a huge part of SFGAM's skyline. Would love it if it got RMC'd though
I hope they don't touch it. They need to keep a few woodies old school.
Up until a couple years ago, Great Adventure was my favorite Six Flags park by far. I’ve never been, nor will I probably ever get to magic mountain so I will leave that out… I spent a two day trip at Great America a couple years ago and within an hour or two I knew it would be my favorite park over great adventure. In my rankings, overall everything runs into my rankings. Capacities, employees, shrubbery, coasters, everything… There was just something about the feel of Great America that far out did great adventure. To me Great Adventure seems like just a giant carnival where great America to me seems like a more thought out park. Don’t get me wrong, great adventure has awesome roller coasters, but overall I had such a different feeling at great America. I can’t wait to get back there next year. When I went to the park it was one week before MaxXForce opened, I was bummed.
The demon roller coaster reopened in fall but I believe it was closed during the summer because of maintenance issues and short-staffed but I'm not sure how many years left the Demon has as the lines are very short and the corkscrews are pretty rough though I still enjoy the ride as it's a classic.
Its my home park and I actually prefer Goliath to outlaw run and lighting rod sorry not sorry. Raging bull is still my favorite being probably the best BnM hyper maybe second to diamond back but not really. I know everyone ab to hate on this but them rides are A1
I was at Great America in August 2021 and Demon was running, I believe the lift motor (which was originally on Shockwave, little trivia) broke, they got it fixed. My favorite ride is definitely Raging Bull, it's legitimately in my top 5 of over 200 coasters, it's not just nostalgia from riding it opening year, even this year the airtime on the first drop is legendary. As for a giga, I highly doubt it will come since the park needed a height waiver for the 208 foot Bull, so I can't really see getting 300. Honestly I think the park really doesn't need any new coasters, I think the next addition should be a large scale thrilling flat ride. Like a Giant Discovery or Screamin Swing (they could get the tallest Screamin Swing without needing to break 200 feet)
I finally got back to Great America after last having been in 2012 (home park growing up). Goliath was my favorite and it was the only thing we got to ride more than once over 3 packed days during Fright Fest, and meanwhile I lost my hat on an unpleasant ride on The Dark Knight. Raging Bull still slaps, Demon still gives a headache on the corkscrews, and I'm sad I couldn't get on either Maxx Force or Viper but I definitely plan on trying to find a weekday to go back and rack up time on Bull and Goliath again. The helix on American Eagle made me feel exactly like you described btw, I was thinking they can just smooth it out and it'd be good enough. I think the structure is what's keeping them from running 2 trains anymore so that seems like a much bigger investment they'd have to undertake.
The crowds can really kill that park experience though. Fright Fest crowds this year were INSANE.
six flags great america is such a solid park it’s honestly amazing to have rides like the goliath and raging bull in ur backyard.
I've been a Raging Bull fan for years... but I've never been to the park lol
SFGAm is the last major Six Flags park I have yet to visit. Someday, maybe 2022... it looks great.
American Eagle is a classic and shouldn't be touched in my opinion (rode it for the first time in Summer 2022).. Especially the helix that shakes so much you feel like you are in a runaway mine cart that's going to fly off the track and kill you. The build up in shakiness is the unique part that made it great to my surprise as I learned during my 7 year old daughter's first big coaster park visit. To start the day after a couple warm up rides I took my daughter on Goliath because she wanted to and it was so intense that she got timid on riding big rides. I was sad because it felt like the day was shot and we weren't gonna ride anything fun because I went too big too fast. American Eagle was something I was at first embarrassed to take my daughter on because of it's lack of modernity. We were literally playing in the baby ride section when out of desperation I was like let's go on Shakey old American Eagle and that perked her Attention where she said ok. American Eagle turned out to be the highlight of the day. Each time it ended she begged to go on it again. Five times straight! running jumping empty barriers in line and my old 45 year old butt felt like a kid again with her. We were hollering and hooting during the whole helix that takes forever each time. It was a moment that was so fun and also brought her out of her shell to ride big rides again for the rest of the day. I don't think I'm ever going to forget that memory. On old woodies you actually have time to interact with your riding partner as you're literally afraid the thing is gonna shake itself apart. It's a different experience that makes me imagine what it must have been like back in the day when coasters could literally kill you since they didn't have computer models to design them, just make it bigger and see what happens lol. American Eagle also reminded me of the time when I was my daughters age and my grandma rode the original Six Flags Magic Mountain Colossus with us 10 grandchildren. Now that she is gone we still talk about that moment 40 years later when remembering grandma for being such a badass in our little eyes way back when. If all Six Flags had were modern Hyper Coasters, I doubt we would have had that memory with grandma thanks to the original Colossus or saved the day 40 years later on American Eagle. I'm so glad my daughter reminded me what makes the big old rickety woodies so unique. Sadly I was for the modernization of the Original Colossus to twisted Colossus when they did it, Now I am just beyond sad it is gone because they don't make them like that anymore.
0:24:. Best park in the Six Flags chain?
*Confused Six Flags America noises*
*Cries in Six Flags Magic Mountain*
*Laughs in Cedar Point*
Great America is legendary. And such a wonderfully themed park. I miss when they had looney toons and cartoon network there. That was really big back then until 2012, then I think everyone went DC 100%
I would say SF Great America is a close #2 in the Six Flags chain after MM with Great Adventure at #3. I think SF was trying to make Great Adventure the "Flagship" of the east coast for the chain but the numbers probably just weren't there.
I love GA but miss a few of the old coasters like Shockwave. But it’s been probably 10 years since I’ve been there last. But now I’m like 2 hours away. Indiana Beach is much closer now and Cedar Point is only another hour more.
As for my favorite ride, it would be the Eagle, especially when backwards. There’s just something IMO about the old school wooden racing coasters that I absolutely love. I hope they retrack it and keep it in the same configuration
I love that this park is my home park. Raging bull is my child and I always ride it atleast 3 times! Maxxforce is good but short and also here is a tip for this Joker clone the green side flips a lot more! Use this knowledge next time lol. Otherwise hope u have a good day!
Very well rounded park. Demon reopened something with the lift moter went bad. V2 i think is getting a retheme.
He's right about Superman and being a parking lot coaster. but at least they cared to plant grass and trees. *cough (Scream Magic Mountain) *cough
Raging bull was my first roller coaster here on my first visit and almost craped myself great ride
This is my home park (as if you couldn’t tell by the profile picture). It does have a great ride selection and is way too much to conquer in one day unless you have some kind of Flash Pass. The few downsides are the park does tend to get very crowded especially on the weekends and the wait times for the food lines can be just as long as the rides. Definitely mobile ordering is your friend here. I would love to see this park get a RMC Raptor in the near future. A Giga coaster would be difficult due to the Village of Gurnee height restrictions and the park pretty much landlocked but it would be cool to see.
I worked with Great America for the first couple months, but after some complications I had to give it up. But I still stay in constant contact with a friend who’s been there for a couple years, and they’ve been severely understaffed this year
I'm really glad that you agree American Eagle should be kept as it is.
Fortunate to have Great America 15 minutes away. I will say the crowds have been unbearable this year which has made it a challenge to enjoy all the park has to offer. Glad you are a part of the R. Bull backseat fanclub!
Hope you got a chance to go this past weekend- the lines weren’t that long and it seemed like everyone was having fun. It was a bonus weekend and the weather was awesome!
Viper is a front row ride and the back is still amazing
I think the back row on Viper's first drop gives the best moment of airtime in the whole park. Maybe Goliaths first drop could be better to some people, but not for me
The fun thing about that front row is how far it dangles over the drop before picking up speed. Less force but very unique - Feels like the train is barely going to make it.
I love Great America! To avoid the crowds, you have to go on an early season weekday. Schools will be there, but they generally leave 1-2 hours before the park closes for the day. Last time i went on a day like this, i waited no more than 30 mins for anything, then like an hour and a half before the park closed, everything was a station wait.
I agree with your assessment of American Eagle. For me it's the best in the park, but you're right, that helix is pretty useless and kind of a buzzkill in the middle of the ride. A re-profiling would do wonders, but at this point it's so iconic they may never touch it.
Just a little trackwork would work wonders
I have a background in mathematics, so perhaps I can shed some light on why a compressed air launch and a hydraulic launch might feel different from one another.
It comes down to how the acceleration is distributed over the entire time of the launch.
From personal observation:
Intamin launches tend to be logarithmic in nature, meaning that the acceleration is very high toward the beginning of the launch and not so much so at later time intervals.
Compressed air launches tend to be a bit more linear. The change in velocity over time tends to be more evenly distributed across all time intervals, hence the difference in subjective sensation.
On a side note, Jason Mons from S&S was interviewed and stated that Maxx Force accelerates to 80 mph in under 2 seconds.
ACE confirmed that Maxx Force accelerates from 0 to 78 mph in 1.7 seconds, and the park president of SFGAm said that Maxx Force accelerates from 0 to 78 mph in 1.8 seconds.
Who to believe??
Thats as good as any explanation I've heard so I'm inclined to believe it
When I went in July Raging Bull was a 3-4 train wait in the front, and next train in the back. Some friends I met there weren't aware about the back row on it. I've converted them in one ride. It's my favorite B&M hyper.
This is my home park (Wisconite) and i really like raging bull. It was my number one for 3 years until i rode Voyage this year. It's such a good ride providing best of laterals and airtime. Not to forget the amazing first drop. Maxx force was disappointing for me too, just because of the length. i was expecting it to be 2nd in the park, and it's not in my top 5 out of 59 credits (Life of a midwest enthusiast). Goliath, while being #2 in the park i end up forgetting somhow. i always ride it once at every visit and plenty on Raging bull i don't think i appreciate it as much as i should. It's relentless, and the inversions are really good, but for me, a little too short. overall, SFGAM has a very diverse lineup and an amazing top 3, but why the hell do they have to advertise the disgusting takis.
Big facts
Everything feels too short in this park. I feel spoiled as it's my home park too, but I much prefer basically every Cedar Fair Park I've been to because of quality over quantity.
Demon re opened by the time I went in august, it had something to do with the lift motor
I went to Great America back in September for the first time in 19 years (which is a big oh boy) and that being my original home park shows I’ve missed that place a lot and I’m glad I came back. I returned and did all the coasters but V2 because that is getting repainted and rethemed to Flash Vertical Velocity.
Other than that and staying there the whole day, it was a great return. Goliath (after doing Steel Vengeance in June) was shorter but nice to do. Felt like it’s best in the park followed by Maxx Force, then Raging Bull. I also did find out American Eagle is going to get retracking because on the red side (to the right) there’s wood spotted there for it. I think Great America was nice to return to after a while and I can’t wait to come back in June of 2022. (Last visit I went to was Save the Whizzer and seeing pieces of track of Shockwave in the parking lot)
Also thank you for giving lots of love to Raging Bull, I don’t understand the hate for it cause it’s that damn good
You must be delusional to rate Maxx Force over Raging Bull! The launch is underwhelming, there's no air time, the "records" are super gimmicky, and it's over in a blink of an eye. You gotta make sure you are paying attention or you might miss the whole ride!
Happy to hear American Eagle is being retracted tho :)
I've only been to Great America, so I don't have much of an opinion when comparing it to other parks, but I have such a good time every time I go. It's always, unfortunately, very busy every time I go though. I love how there's so much variety in the coasters. So many different models that are all very different from one another. Also the mix of history and nostalgia with the big and modern is so nice and makes it such a well rounded park for everyone. We could definitely use a larger scale, thrilling flat ride, but that's about it besides some small renovations and maybe amping up the kiddie areas. There's something for everybody.
My top 5: 1. Goliath 2. Raging Bull 3. Maxx Force 4. American Eagle 5. X-Flight (number 3 and 4 are pretty interchangeable)
I also LOVE Great America. I agree with your comments about American Eagle except for the look of the helix. I personally think that it is one of the prettiest and most impressive coasters to look at. I guess that beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. 😊
I honestly don’t complain to much if a coaster does not have enough airtime or is forceless or too short. I’m thankful for what my home park has and I don’t even do all the coasters in a single day just because Great America has so much to offer.
Last time I was at Great America they still had Iron Wolf. That said I've ridden a lot of the BM hypers since and Raging Bull is still in my top 3 out of all of them. Really need to get back to Great America since it's only like a four hour drive.
i miss iron wolf, it was a headbanger tho
In my opinion, I do think this is my favorite six flags park, even though I only rode 8 coasters here and never went to magic mountain. The thing I did regret about my visit was not riding raging bull in the back row.
PS you can really see the whip on raging bull's back seat drop at 2:14
Your breathless reports and reviews are a thrill in themselves, always a blast to watch. My bf and I agree wholeheartedly about Raging Bull and Viper, both underrated. The lack of land in the park forces SF-GA to get creative with layouts, twisting and turning track around itself. The pretzel configurations makes the rides far more thrilling, and force the coaster makers to work extra hard. We all benefit as a result. Lucky to have this nearby, but SF neglects the park’s maintenance. And it appeared this summer that they weren’t matching Cedar Fair’s hourly wage. The result: many rides simply don’t have the proper staff, often remaining closed. With the crowds this park gets, it needs to fire on all cylinders. One example of such a park is Cedar Point, especially this summer. We just pray that Cedar Fair will acquire Great America (or build some competition nearby).
You would know better than me, but from the limited times I've been there I've been impressed with the ops. Then again, maybe it just looks good compared to the horrible ops at other smaller parks
I plan on going for a couple hours tomorrow for a few rides
This was the first Six Flags park I actually made it too. I was supposed to go to Fiesta Texas and Over Texas first but the Texas snow storm happened the weekend of that trip so that was a flop. So I drove six and a half hours to come to Great America to make my diamond membership at least have some use and I gotta say it was worth it.
This park gave me some Kings Island vibes it felt like everyone was having fun when I was there. The coasters were fun if a little too short. The line up complimented itself very well since even tho my favorite ride was Goliath and it is the weakest RMC I’ve ridden. I didn’t really mind this park is just fun and I can’t wait to go back next season
As my hp it is great whenever people say good things about it. I do agree that the park is super packed all of the year from early June to October and on my last visit, the cars went all the way out to the back of the parking lot where it was all torn up and weeds were growing through. But it can be manageable by getting there early and on weekdays if possible.
X flight is my favourite in the park lol
In my opinion, American Eagle gives the second most airtime in the entire park, and the helix is amazing and really gets more intense as it goes on and I find it extremely smooth. I can’t deny that Mass Force is better than American Eagle and Raging Bull, mainly because of the launch, and when I rode I got plenty of hangtime, I was very confused when I watched this video because of the completely different opinions.
I had a crazy idea that I'm not too sure about, what if Goliath at magic mountain got replaced by an rmc trex giga, that would be awesome.
My home park!
such a well rounded line up
Yes. It’s my 2nd personal favorite six flags park and as a mallrat, Gurnee Mills is just down the street too. One of my favorite outlet properties. Gurnee is similar to Vaughan, Canada with having a large theme park and a large outlet mall in the same city.
This is my home park. It’s nice to see it getting the attention it deserves. I’ve never been to Magic Mountain so I can’t compare them but I think Great America is probably a top 3 Six Flags park
We've been spoiled with new coasters in the last 10 years. It's time to replace American eagle though with something better
And that cant replace Superman, one of the log flumes, roaring rapids, demon, viper v2, or the go carts?
I may be biased, but this park has the best mix of thrill coasters and family coasters in the nation IMO.
Definitely super balanced
Made my first trip here in June, and I agree with everything you said about Raging Bull. Absolutely blew me away, and it’s my favorite B&M hyper (tho I am missing Mako, behemoth and Goliath). The only one I’ve experienced with true ejector, which is a marvelous sensation with a clamshell restraint
I went for a day and half in August 21 for my first time. I had an incredibly boring ride on Viper in the back row, it wasn't rough, just dull. Other than that, I'd agree with your thoughts. Ops were surprisingly great. It was packed both days, but I still managed to ride all the coasters over the 2 days without flash pass with rerides on Raging Bull, Batman, and American Eagle on the second day.
I haven't been to Magic Mountain yet, but compared to Great Adventure, I like this park more. El Toro is awesome and my overall #2, but otherwise Great America is better.
Glad I found this video. I went back in 2008 twice while I was stationed there for school in the Navy. We got really lucky and they had a military only day. I remember we hit up The Dark Knight and Superman first and because there was no line got to ride them multiple times. Such a great time!
You thought your luck is bad, try getting Superman to break down when you’re next in line to ride it. That was my case when I was 12, but thankfully I do have a season pass. So I’ve gotten on it on plenty of other occasions. Maxx Force was also a little disappointing for me as well, it wasn’t really worth waiting that long for such a short ride. It was still fun but I wish it had been about 50% longer and they were able to carve out more space to throw in a few more elements in there. Thankfully Demon was open the last time I went there, so it might be safe for now. It was my first major roller coaster, so I’d hate to see it leave. I still like to ride it once in a while.
I always appreciate american eagle for what it is...I am still holding out for a titan track to smooth it out, and maybe give a different profile on the helix, but I think what it has is a blast. Still love raging bull too
So glad this is my home park!
Great America’s downfall has always been the crowds. Six Flags has been happy to milk this cash cow for all its worth without putting in the investment they do with their California parks. When you look at annual attendance and consider G A is closed for 5 months out of the year, you begin to see how much this park is under appreciated and neglected by Six Flags management. Gurnee has given them many opportunities to expand the footprint that would have alleviated the crowding, but SF didn’t want to invest the money. The crowding could also be managed by putting in limits, but that would cut into their profit squeezing.
First, there is no way to know real attendance. TEACOM numbers are a joke & wild guesses. GAm is getting plenty of investment, they do have height limits & space concerns. The notion they are neglected can only come from SFGAMm fanboy logic. Limits is not the solution to crowding, raising prices is the answer. You get more from each person, can get more or same/ revenue, while people feeling they are having a better experience if every ride isn't 2hours+ & you have to wait 1hr to get your Flash Pass from the redemption center or a skip the line pass.
I dont think GAM has been mistreated by the chain investment wise. I cant speak to the land situation but the investments have been 2nd to only SFMM
demon was open 2 weeks ago when i went
Great America is my home park, and I disagree that Maxx Force was a disappointment. It was my first real powerful launch coaster, and it's heartline roll and Maxx Dive Loop was super whippy. I congratulated S&S when I first rode it back in June of 2021. And Raging Bull and Intimidator are completely different experiences, and I rode both. Both are amazing coasters, except for the trims. Intimidator gives the more airtime, while Raging Bull gives more positives. Batman is the best out of all the clones, except it's a little rougher than the others. I honestly think Maxx Force is in Top 3 of the park. I have Goliath in #1 for me so far. Maxx Force is in my top 15. We're heading out to Cedar Point end of June/beginning of July for the first time, so Steel Vengeance will jump to #1.
I unfortunately don't share the positive outlook of the experience or offerings of my home park (sfgam). It does almost feel a bit eclectic of a coaster collection, but so many of the rides have a "if only it didn't" - "if only it could" - "if it were another 1k feet longer" inherent flaw or flaws, that its now hard for me to have fun.
I finally went for the first time this year, and am happy to report that Maxx Force feels like it is being launched regularly at nearly at its designed exiting velocity. It was a real bummer the first ride I had where it nearly stalled in the dog tongue and neutered the pacing and remainder of the ride. Now running at the expected and intended rate, all the sub - 1-second slight maneuvers that Dr. Draves baked into the experience has it feeling far more worth a wait and feel more full and complete even when compared to other coasters in the park with quadruple its ride time.
Ignoring the issue of budgeting coaster experiences and shouting about how exclusive and best in the world their new attraction any given year is, the frustrating part of the sfgam experience seems to be artificially inflated wait times, neglecting to do proper upkeep and installing modernized and readily available to install permanent magnetic brake runs on rides like their classic B&Ms (especially RB) as well as on their woodies (on top of retracking, revitalizing structures to allow eagle to race again and not be on the brink of collapse) is upsetting for multiple reasons. RB getting perm-mag brakes on the MCBR and FBR would guarantee rain-operations without the need to drop down to 2 or 1 train. Retrofitting seatbelts to RB would *finally* allow RB to rid of most if not all of the trimming it is so badly afflicted by on its one and only air time shaped hill. BTR would benefit from a run of permanent magnets on its FBR, too.
BTR shockingly is running amazingly smooth and fast, but its not like adding a safer, more reliable and easier to operate main-duty braking zone would hurt the experience. SF could even attempt to advertise the upgrade and do news segments on how much smoother BTR stops now and how good of them for making it safer.
Its hard to condense into a clean statement the reason(s) I'm bitter about SFGAM, but I think that's part of the SF's intended effects of their operations. Its too difficult for GP to see through their nostalgia glasses, or beyond the scope of what a fun day in an amusement park means and what they can or should expect from the group bringing them that experience, or almost legally false over-inflating advertising efforts that act like a slathering of metal flake spray paint on an old rusted beater of which is metaphorically applied to already-stale new attractions, or is *literally* new paint on tired, mechanically flawed or failing attractions which great efforts in advertising and through internal literature strongly attempt to convince you that they're new experiences (FLASH V2, BRAND NEW WITH EXTRA SPEEDFORCE).
ps. I miss when Viper was in the sweet spot of being just the right amount of broken in where it flat-out cruised through its excellent layout. I wish it would honestly get a rehab from GCI in the most modest way -- bringing it up to modern design standards in regards to wear-expectations, materials and assembly practices; some fresh millennium flyers; and modest track reprofiling: just enough to add some surprise, but more importantly, to sharpen the moments that were already great and aid in facilitating a longer and more revered landmark-ride experience.
I just got back from my first ever visit here and it was also my first time at a Six Flags park. Over my day and half, lines were not long enough to justify a Flash Pass so I got rerides on all the good ones except MaxxForce as they only had one train going with the other down for maintinance and the line was the longest. Flash surprised me as did the intensity of my first flying coaster in Superman. Raging Bull took the crown for me with Goliath, Superman, Batman, and Flash following to make up my top 5 in the park. None of the water rides were open and neither were some of the big flat rides like Condor, the superloop, and the observation tower. Despite this, I was so pleased with all the coasters being open, how solid the ops were, they had a sense of humor especially at the launch coasters. I have to say I was impressed. Great America definitely made my first Six Flags experience a really good one and I would totally return. I'm looking to start my own new coaster channel and give my thoughts on it as well as show my personal ranking of the coasters.
This is where I got over my fear of coasters. Whizzer, American eagle and viper are under rated and ae doesn’t deserve the hate. Raging bull is my number 1 and the star of the park. Goliath is not the worst rmc and is great. Batman is better than expected and i got so dizzy I could hardly stand. V2 sucks. I have diabetes and autism so I get a disability pass and that gets me right on the coasters, but you still have to wait because there dispatch’s are terrible. It was raining so everything was flying and raging bull was giving airtime in the middle
Before the pandemic, great america was always dead on weekdays. The only rides that had a long line were Superman, Goliath, Whizzer, and Maxx Force. Always go to Maxx Force first
as one of my home parks magic mountain being the second i can say yes this is a premier park and can we just thank god it doesnt have magic mountain bathrooms
Bathrooms at MM are getting a major overhaul as we speak....yes...including the ones in the very front by Revolution!
@@seanlewis1148 Great America is my closest park to my home and yes i can agree raging bull is my guilty pleasure
Raging Bull back row is #1!
We need a TRex model here🙏🙏
For me, Maxx force is my favorite there. its honestly twice as good if your in front seat compared to anything else, because you can see the track ahead of you, knowing that you could launch at any second, its just more intense in my opinion for front seat.
I grew up in Milwaukee during the 70's and 80's. Six Flags Great America was my "Home Park" so to speak. I was very protective of it. My half-brother's wife had a two kids with this lady, and she had three kids from a previous marriage, on of which used to brag about Cedar Point Amusement Park. About the massive 🎢🎢rollercoasters🎢🎢, the amount of 🎢🎢rollercoasters🎢🎢, and how much better it was. It used to really tick me off. To me as a kid, a teenager, Six Flags Great America was the most incredible place to visit, and "Cedar Point" was nothing compared to "my park". Now while Six Flags is a GREAT AMERICA, oops a Great Place, Cedar Point is also a phenomenal park. They have some of the most iconic and incredible rollercoasters ever seen or ridden. So I really owe my step-nephew/half-nephew a huge apology. Again Six Flags IS a really epic place. But Cedar Point has made a "POINT" of building some of the best coasters ever, and they continue to to this day. I've also learned that with as many Amusement Parks around, that they all have something great to contribute. Fans of rides, ALL TYPES of rides can find something, or some park that has what they love. No offense to Disneyland, but after their $10,000.⁰⁰ a weekend excursion aboard their Starship hotel? As well as overpriced and underwhelming rides in Disneyland and Disneyworld respectively. They used to be something special but now they are so insanely priced, and no offense or disrespect but Disney has turned everything that Walt Disney had created and they've turned it into a mockery. Their agendas. Their foolishness, and their destruction of two of the biggest and most beloved Franchises in movie and comic book history, has left a sour/bitter taste in so many peoples lives.
My brother doesn't like the fact that there are roller coaster enthusiast. He doesn't like the fact that you dive deep into certain details. What do you have to say?
215 coaster creds/29 parks visited. . SFGAM is my home park too. Top coasters in order. Goliath, Xflight, Raging Bull, Maxx Force, American eagle, Whizzer, Batman, Superman, V2, Dark Knight, Demon, Joker, Sprocket Rockets, Little Dipper.
Demon not going anywhere yet, it just got new paint, sound & effects in tunnel, and refurb trains. Buccaneer Battle closed more than 2 years now, so heavy rumor is it's gone and go karts moved which opens middle of park for RMC raptor or S&S Axxis. Also possible a family spinning coaster. Other rumor is to build in employee parking lot( behind flumes) expanding the park , a huge coaster can go back there along with new flat rides to expand DC area or create new theme area. Eagle could use a retrack and reprofile if they were to build the lift hill taller and steeper to bring it's stats into the modern age without totally RMCing it. They need a biggersit down restaurant as food lines are stupid long always. This park needs a Sky Screamer as well as some of the crazy new flat rides out last few years. Park attendance has shot up recent years with new rides. I still rank SFGAM 3rd overall in SF chain.
So my experience with this park was weird and very cool. I was there a few years back for frightfest. It rained all day but stopped about 30 mins before the park opened so it was literally empty. I managed to ride nearly everything in 6 hrs with the max wait time of about 20 mins. For some reason in my mind this was a mid tier park with about 6-7 coasters, I had forgotten how many coasters this park has since it isn't talked about much in enthusiast circles. What I think sets this park apart is their maintenance crew, their rides run amazingly well.
Maintenance and operations in general throughout the park are generally great at Great America!
I have only been to 4 of the six flags parks: SFSTL, SFOT, SFFT, and Great America. So I can only speak for those 4. I'd have to say that Fiesta Texas and Great America were the 2 best of those 4. But I'd say Great America is the best Six Flags park I've ever visited. Great America had such a wide range of Coasters and its one of the few Six Flags parks that has kept its theming on on most of the rides. The theming at a park like SFSTL has been missing for years. You can tell Six Flags only puts their money in a couple parks and Great America is one of them.
Definitely a top-five Six Flags park
I’m shocked you didn’t get any weightlessness on the dog tongue element. I am out of my seat on the entrance and exit.