I worked at the park in '88 and '89, and had a friend who worked Shockwave its first year. Nostalgia aside, Shockwave was a spine-cracking blackout and concussion machine. Seriously - a lot of people complained about some kind of physical issue on the ride, and sometimes more than one. He told me that a ton of riders would just kind of stagger off the train at the end of the ride, and have to lean against the railing for a bit, or even wobble their way down the ramp in a desperate search for somewhere to sit down. Or even sit down for a minute in the exit ramp. It was just that kind of ride. As employees, we could get into the park for free on our days off, and many of us did it frequently. (Free is good for entertainment when you're making something like minimum wage plus a quarter.) And that first summer, with multiple visits for really the first time, I fell in love with coasters. Whizze was my very first coaster when I was only 7, but even aside from the nostalgia it's unique and fun. American Eagle is my favorite coaster ever. For Demon, as long as the line was short I'd always hop on, janky entrance to the corkscrew and all. Great rides. But Shockwave...I regularly started blacking out around that third loop, and was rudely snapped back to reality by that whip left turn that was basically unbanked into the brake station that DID NOTHING. I've seen TH-cam vids of Shockwave's sibling Arrow 7-loopers, and they all slow the hell down there (and for that matter, they smooth out the turn into the brake station in general). So, for those that loved it, that's awesome, but "hey, I avoided blacking but bruised the sides of my head on the restraint" wasn't my idea of coaster fun. I respect the opinion of those of you that miss it, but I sure as hell don't.
1990, we pulled into the parking lot... and I thought they were still building the coaster because it was a twisted monster! I totally chickened out. I did eventually ride it and it was smooth as butter and awesome. I was shocked to hear they tore it down.
@@JanxyFN lol This guy clearly didnt ride Shockwave in Gurnee. That thing was anything but smooth. I rode it at least 50 times per season. Fun yes, smooth no
Oh my gosh this brings back SO many memories. As a child I had recorded it on a VHS tape and would watch it over and over again and could quote every line. Looks like still pretty much can after all these years. I remember child me would never ride that but I loved watching it. I always wondered if she was related to Helen and/or Bonnie Hunt.
It was from 1988 actually on a show called "Beyond Tomorrow" on FOX and then later on Discovery (Channel). It a tele show that covers subjects that Popular Mechanics magazine would feature. Mostly upcoming products and technology that will "change" our lives. I am still waiting on those bicycle tires that you can drill holes into them and then ride off like nothing happened because they never go flat. :) Funny enough the show would continue longer in Australia by a production company that would eventually bring us "Mythbusters"
She shut her eyes the entire ride. 😄 The screams. Oooooo! Ooooo! Oooo! 😂 I miss ShockWave. I went on it from my high school years until they shut it down in my early 30's. During the last year it was open, the line for the ShockWave was short. Too many people were complaining about getting headaches and neckaches. Somehow, it never bothered me. My favorite coaster. R.I.P. ShockWave.
This was a beautiful ride. Literally. I could WATCH it run all day. Oh, and it SOUNDED like nothing else, too. But am I really the only one here who remembers how PAINFUL the thing was to ride? I miss it, but not all that much.
I loved the Shockwave. Actually, any time I visited Great America, even if I had only a little time, there were two coasters I had to ride before I did anything else....the Shockwave, and......The Whizzer! Yep, the Whizzer.....there was just something about it I loved that nothing else at the park had. But I was one of the (frequent) Shockwave riders who ended up with a neck injury from which I never really fully recovered, and it ended my enjoyment of coasters, and I have not been back to Great America since, even though I live very nearby.
I’ve been to great America once the shockwave was gone at that point it was the Superman there when I went. I live right next to Six flags St. Louis and I wanted to go to great America and there’s so many sick roller coasters there. The raging bull is my fav. The Goliath and the wing roller coaster was dope too
It’s a shame that these types of coasters are disappearing. Arrow Dynamics was one of the greatest coaster manufactures of its time and Ron Toomer brought great designs to life. I just wish some company can bring the custom looping coaster back and make it so it is not rough as some rides were.
that was one of the best coasters I have ever been on !!! That used to be the highlight of going to that theme park. It was very sad they tore it down to put up the superman !! They claimed it was getting hard to maint but it seems the ride they put in its place was down more than it was up every time we were there !!
I never went on it and I regret it I was 12 years old and scared of this coaster it was super intimidating and one year later it got torn down for Superman. The last remaining clone is Viper in Six Flags Magic Mountain it’s an identical layout to Shockwave
@@HondaAccordPerformanceviper is trimmed on the first loop and the midcourse is slightly different. Shockwave was far more raw and unchained, it is super fascinating.
I loved this ride. I was floored when they brought it down because of people complaining who had no business being on a Roller Coaster that it was so intense
Another reason though Shockwave was taken out was it because of how much technical issues and structural flaws it had. Shockwave had an issue where the trains would often go faster than they were supposed to and this would put ungodly amounts of stress on the track often causing cracks and welds to fail which was costly and difficult.
That first drop scared the bejesus outta me the first 10 times I rode it. Sad they had to tear it down but that's the nature of the roller coaster game I suppose.
@Sum1MakinVids Yeah I noticed that too, it seemed very smooth. Unfortunately that happens to a lot of the best rides today, then they get torn down. But then people wish that they get rebuilt again so hopefully this ride won't be forgotten.
"Why do people submit themselves to technology that takes the human body through a series of inhuman curves, and drops that can only be described as sheer torment?" Why did people submit themselves to technology that took their human bodies through such torture that can only be described as masochistic?
It was either '88 or '89. You can tell by the top of the three vertical loops. Extra bracing was added to those loops in the off-season between '89 and '90 because of stress fractures developing in the track due to the loops being take at excessive speed. So long answer to a short question...It was shot in probably 88' or also '89.
It's a shame the Shockwave is gone. I rode it repeatedly in '94 - it was a major thrill for me to sit in the front seat in the first car and hold my hands up during the first drop.
@dcrusselle no, you're not alone pal... Shockwave was the most intense, not stop action coaster I have ever been on. There are coasters with bigger loops, bigger drops, etc.. but there literally was NO break in the action from invert ot invert... 3 loops, a cobra roll, 2 corkscrews and a mega G turn... it had it all... GRRRRRRREAT coaster.
You know launch coasters use Lsm launches, we can make this ride again except it's smoother than the old model with different manufacturers and different trains
for crazyforcoasters, Is a mixture of images. The roller coaster appeared in 0:14 is a Schwarzkopf Looping Star;) The Schwarzkopf coaster can be seen completely in 1:12. sorry for my bad English.
Shockwave was originally intended for Great Adventure, but was held back due to the Haunted Castle and Lightning Loops incidents and the parks attempt to re-build it's family image. They were identical except GASM had the second and third loops going right instead of left, as it was found out after Shockwave opened that the turn going up to the brake run was too tight, so Arrow re designed it so it would be a bigger turn
@@sweepersmusic have you ridden both? and if so, did that turn in fact turn out to be easier on the head/ears after the "redesign" for GASM? that turn was so gnarly on shock wave. that was the one part of the ride that was guaranteed to beat up your head somewhat, no matter how hard you forced your head to the right or left or back. I used to ignore the warnings and stick my neck and head OUT PAST the restraints in order to avoid the headache and it actually worked and it didn't hurt or strain my neck either.
well, it would have had to have been 1988, cuz 2 more opened in 1989 and 1990 that were both taller than this. plus, in 1989, the first hyper coaster opened.
This was my first roller coaster at the age of 12. Scared the crap out of me but I loved it. However it's amazing how much coasters have improved since this time. After riding something like The Raging Bull, the Shockwave felt pretty rough and obsolete.
Mr. Extreme shockwave was built by a company called arrow dynamics (which is no longer in business) that made very rough coasters. Shockwave was one of there worst. Raging Bull however was made by a company called B&M which makes a lot smoother rides and they are just plain better.
Didn't know that, thanks for the info. Would I be correct in saying that steel coasters improved considerably in part due to advances in computer technology?
Mr. Extreme Arrow Dynamics based it's heartline on the center of the train, while B&M bases the heartline on the riders chest. This allows for smooth transitions. It's also worth noting that Arrow Dynamics stuck with an old track type and tried to push boundaries with it (Was a big mistake) and while it's competitors continued to improve, Arrow stuck with it's designs. Arrow also used over the shoulder restraints, which prevented hand movement and allowed for extra chances of head banging.
This one was the first of three Arrow Dynamics seven inversion "mega-looper" coasters, so it had a few rougher moments that were fixed on Great American Scream Machine at Great Adventure and Viper at Magic Mountain. It's amazing that at the time when these coasters were new, people raved about how lightning fast and smooth they were. The track of a modern roller coaster is designed to cup riders by basing all the maneuvers around a fixed center of gravity. In the time that Shockwave was made, most companies based their turns around one of the rails. For example, to enter a banked turn towards the left, they would have done something such as keep the right rail level and gradually rotate the left rail around the right rail to achieve the bank that they wanted. The trains of a modern coaster hug the rails while steering along the track, while older models, though Shockwave and most others did have trailered cars, had a fairly large gaps between the wheels and the rails. Arrow Dynamics, the company that pioneered the steel roller coaster and was the leader in the field until the 1990s, failed to update their design methods in time to compete with a company called B&M that had been hard at work refining design techniques to make smoother and more reliable coasters. In turn, Arrow's coasters did start to feel obsolete.
My fav ride I miss it. Couldn't of put super man in a different part of the the park .rumour has it that space Needle might be going by by bc of maintenance issues and on up polarity .maybe they can bring it back .
This was my first coaster, I had my eyes closed most if the time, was 12. When I went on it after becomming a coaster conneusour, it made my head hurt, lol.
I rode this ride the first year it came out .... all I could is Damn!!! this ride should have made it to another park with no problem... it's a shame to let this ride go..
@@mynamehasspacesinit8687 I HOPE MM maintains and keeps theirs...Viper is the last of the three Arrow megaloopers. Shockwave is gone, Great American Scream Machine in NJ is gone....very sad.
hell no you're not.... I miss Shockwave like crazy.. one of my top 5 all time favourte coasters. My Top 5: Millenium Force, Magnum XL200, Shockwave, Goliath & Raptor
I miss this ride so much! It was my absolute favorite as a kid! I hate that SFGAm took this down in favor of Whizzer for Superman: Ultimate Flight. Smh. I love Superman: Ultimate Flight, but it should of went where Whizzer is, not my beloved Shockwave!!!
they never put in anything that truly replaced ShockWave or filled in its boots. Superman is NO shock wave. flying is cool, but not at the expense of height, speed, and length. beyond the flying concept superman really has nothing going for it. it's not tall, it's not fast, the only fun part is the inverse loop with the crazy G forces. one of the turns has some nice pull to it and that is IT. even X Flight is nothing to brag about beyond its concept. i am so tired of my home park (SFGAm) putting in these high concept rides and TOTALLY flaking on their actual quality and intensity. these rides are all SO short and forceless. The only rides currently there that are worth the wait are Viper, American Eagle and Raging Bull. Even Goliath ends prematurely. It feels like half of a roller coaster. Raging Bull is the only B&M GAm has that I am actually proud of. Batman is the original so I forgive it. But Superman and X Flight are embarassing. I always imagined they would replace Shock Wave with a bright blue B&M floorless and call it ShockWave Reloaded or something clever. A record breaking floorless - 17 or 18 stories, 7 inversions, and interesting/forceful transitions. instead we get a barely 12 story, barely over 50mph, two inversion, no mid-course, barely a minute and a half long generic flyer that is found at two other parks if not more.
@@erinmurset2787 Hey, you took the words right outta my mouth! Superman is ok at best. Tatsu (SFMM version) is ssooo much better! But I hear you! I've been saying this same exact thing for years! Why is it when it comes to our homepark (SFGAm) we get the short end of the stck?! Its always shorter, smaller or more midsized compact versions of coasters/rides that we get versus other big parks that get the same or similar coasters/rides on a much grander or more massive scale!!! I asked a question to some people once that nobody realized. SFGAm is definitely one of the premier parks in the Six Flags chain. One of the big boys right? Then somebody tell me....what is OUR signature coaster that No One Else has?? I mean what coaster or ride do WE have that is unique to us? Especially within the Six Flags chain?! For example...SFGAd has Kingda Ka. Yes, Cedar Point has Top Thrill Dragster, but it really doesn't compare to Kingda Ka. SFMM has X2. Nobody else in America has anything quite like it. Just two other places in the world. The only thing that was EVER unique to SFGAm was Batman The Ride when it premiered. It was truly a unique, one of a kind ride. It went on to become one of the most cloned and copied roller coasters on the planet! So answer my question. What do we have that's unique to us elusively?! What you say? Friggin' Whizzer?! Why it would only be unique by default because of it being the last of it's kind. But that doesn't count because that's not what I mean. I mean, what do WE have that is new age, next level, one of a kind, unique to us as a great theme park?? The answer is absolutely NOTHING!!! Because for whatever reason SFGAm doesn't seem to want to create or add something unique to our coaster line up. When we first got Superman Ultimate Flight, I thought it would be massive and have dual stations or better like the one in SFOG. But nope! When we got X-Flight, I thought it was going to be a bigger, longer, faster, better version of X2. But I was wrong!! When we got Goliath, I thought it would be way longer and much more thrilling! But nope again! In my opinion, Viper should of just received the RMC treatment versus creating Goliath. I really think that would of worked out a lot better. And when we got Maxx Force I was praying it would be much more exciting, longer, taller and way faster than any other air launch coaster in the world. Perhaps even with two launch sequences! Yet no, nope and no way! To be fair though Gurnee has a stupid height restriction for reasons that are beyond me! When Great America first opened in 1976 they had 600 acres. A huge percentage of those acres were sold off because of economy issues, bad management of SFGAm and pressure by Gurnee itself because of complaints from residents because the park was growing in popularity! So basically, SFGAm has no real edge to it. And we have nothing that the park can say is truly it's own. Roller coaster wise anyway. Flat ride maybe...idk?! And please don't say Little Dipper. I have a few ideas though. I really want us to get a massive Mack Rides Xtreme Twisting coaster in the vein of Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City. But of course ours would be taller, faster, longer and have a unique layout elusive to SFGAm alone. It could be themed to the biggest city in the Midwest, Chicago. Call it Windy City Twister! Or a massive T-Rex dueling coaster called Justice League V. Legion Of Doom! Or a never before seen coaster that combines the elements of air, water, earth and fire and call it Force Of Nature!! But none of these will probably ever come to fruition because of politics, favoritism and money. But we can hope and pray. But so far, that hasn't worked out for us either so who knows.
@@xkee2013 aww yeah I miss ShockWave SO SO much. as rough as it ended up being, I was still never satisfied with my day at great america unless I rode it. when it was there it was almost ALWAYS my first ride of the day. I miss the glory days when it had a 45-60 min wait, they ran 3 trains to keep up (dark blue was my fave), and it was still relatively smooth. i loved that drop, how it wasn't your typical straight down. the first drop was the best part for me.
@@erinmurset2787 Yeah I agree with all that. Waiting in line to get to the ride was awesome as you saw people riding over your head. I liked all the cars but yellow and red were my favorites. Yes it got rough in the end days but it was still a fan favorite and a mainstay. Politics and favoritism killed Shockwave. I miss it dearly. I really wanted my kids to enjoy it as well but alas it's just a memory now. Sigh! What did you think about what I said. I know I wrote a lot, but I wanted your input on it. So what'd you think??
"Since the mid 70s roller coaster designers have relied on computers..." AHAHAHA. I dont think so sweetheart. "The g-force pressers riders uncomfortably into their seats..." Oh how things have changed!
r u joking. when i went there was zero people waiting in line for the shockwave. thats why they took it down. I go mabey two times a year and the line for whizzer is packed. theres a reason shockwave taken down instead. its a rough ride, its just loops after loops, And too many people were complaining about it.
@singingsoccerstar1 I agree. The Viper is NOT one of my favorites. Everyone thinks American Eagle is so rickety, but I think the Viper is WAY more rickety and jostles you around too much.
The ride always had problems, especially with the wills that were expensive, and had to be changed out quite frequently. That caused the ride to be closed frequently for 10-15 minutes at a time. On top of that, it was tough on riders and gained a reputation as being overly-intense. And the Superman was actually supposed to replace the Whizzer. However, there was a large public outcry and overall, the Whizzer was just more popular than the Shockwave. So it was the Shockwave that had to go.
People ride the whizzer! Anyways, though an amazing coaster, I think superman is better, only bad thing is Superman dosn't get the same amount of people through that the shockwave did, so the lines just move slower.
this isn't six flags great adventure history it's six flags great america. I know must of you know this but I just don't get the association with great adventure sitting on the screen the whole time. is there no great american scream machine footage to pull from?
I hated this ride the only reason I rode it was because I thought my mom liked it, and the only reason she rode it was because she thought I liked it. Anyhow, the initial height and drop were terrifying the following twists turns and loops were brutal, this thing would beat you up.
The reason they took shockwave out was because it was really expensive to run. They had to keep repairing the tracks. And the wheels needed to be replaced more than once a day. The superman isn't as good as shockwave was, but at least it's safer and far less expensive.
People whine and piss about this coaster giving them headaches and what not and this is just not true. This coaster was spectacular and The American Eagle wooden coaster shakes you around more to give a headache than Shockwave....um and Unpopular MY ASS!!! This thing always had long lines. This thing was quick, fast, non-stop thrill and it's a shamed it couldn't be saved like Kiddielands Little Dipper and older coasters. We miss you Shockwave AND Arrow Dynamics!!!
u know why they chose this becuz of whizzer because whizzer was too unique a ride to remove but demon was too similar to shockwave they thought probably
Shockwave was scrapped. However, they did use a small part of the track on Demon which the original track on Demon had water damage due to a water effect years ago. Also the lift motor is used on Demon which is a Arrow coaster as well. Pretty sure this is accurate.
Despite being plagued with structural and mechanical flaws, it was a game changer in the roller coaster industry.
R.I.P. Shockwave 1988 - 2002
I rode it for the first time in 1989 and regularly until 2002.
I worked at the park in '88 and '89, and had a friend who worked Shockwave its first year. Nostalgia aside, Shockwave was a spine-cracking blackout and concussion machine. Seriously - a lot of people complained about some kind of physical issue on the ride, and sometimes more than one. He told me that a ton of riders would just kind of stagger off the train at the end of the ride, and have to lean against the railing for a bit, or even wobble their way down the ramp in a desperate search for somewhere to sit down. Or even sit down for a minute in the exit ramp. It was just that kind of ride.
As employees, we could get into the park for free on our days off, and many of us did it frequently. (Free is good for entertainment when you're making something like minimum wage plus a quarter.) And that first summer, with multiple visits for really the first time, I fell in love with coasters. Whizze was my very first coaster when I was only 7, but even aside from the nostalgia it's unique and fun. American Eagle is my favorite coaster ever. For Demon, as long as the line was short I'd always hop on, janky entrance to the corkscrew and all. Great rides.
But Shockwave...I regularly started blacking out around that third loop, and was rudely snapped back to reality by that whip left turn that was basically unbanked into the brake station that DID NOTHING. I've seen TH-cam vids of Shockwave's sibling Arrow 7-loopers, and they all slow the hell down there (and for that matter, they smooth out the turn into the brake station in general). So, for those that loved it, that's awesome, but "hey, I avoided blacking but bruised the sides of my head on the restraint" wasn't my idea of coaster fun. I respect the opinion of those of you that miss it, but I sure as hell don't.
1990, we pulled into the parking lot... and I thought they were still building the coaster because it was a twisted monster! I totally chickened out. I did eventually ride it and it was smooth as butter and awesome. I was shocked to hear they tore it down.
smooth as butter? really
@@JanxyFN lol This guy clearly didnt ride Shockwave in Gurnee. That thing was anything but smooth. I rode it at least 50 times per season. Fun yes, smooth no
@@horsecockexpress7612maybe he has thick skin
The best great america ever had. We miss you shockwave. Now i have to go to magic mountain to ride its twin counterpart. The viper
Oh my gosh this brings back SO many memories. As a child I had recorded it on a VHS tape and would watch it over and over again and could quote every line. Looks like still pretty much can after all these years. I remember child me would never ride that but I loved watching it. I always wondered if she was related to Helen and/or Bonnie Hunt.
Dear god this video reeks with early 90's so much! Looks cool!
It was from 1988 actually on a show called "Beyond Tomorrow" on FOX and then later on Discovery (Channel). It a tele show that covers subjects that Popular Mechanics magazine would feature. Mostly upcoming products and technology that will "change" our lives. I am still waiting on those bicycle tires that you can drill holes into them and then ride off like nothing happened because they never go flat. :) Funny enough the show would continue longer in Australia by a production company that would eventually bring us "Mythbusters"
Yeah it was from 1988 right when the ride just opened.
She shut her eyes the entire ride. 😄 The screams. Oooooo! Ooooo! Oooo! 😂 I miss ShockWave. I went on it from my high school years until they shut it down in my early 30's. During the last year it was open, the line for the ShockWave was short. Too many people were complaining about getting headaches and neckaches. Somehow, it never bothered me. My favorite coaster. R.I.P. ShockWave.
This was a beautiful ride.
Literally. I could WATCH it run all day. Oh, and it SOUNDED like nothing else, too.
But am I really the only one here who remembers how PAINFUL the thing was to ride? I miss it, but not all that much.
I loved the Shockwave. Actually, any time I visited Great America, even if I had only a little time, there were two coasters I had to ride before I did anything else....the Shockwave, and......The Whizzer! Yep, the Whizzer.....there was just something about it I loved that nothing else at the park had.
But I was one of the (frequent) Shockwave riders who ended up with a neck injury from which I never really fully recovered, and it ended my enjoyment of coasters, and I have not been back to Great America since, even though I live very nearby.
RIP Shockwave :(
I’ve been to great America once the shockwave was gone at that point it was the Superman there when I went. I live right next to Six flags St. Louis and I wanted to go to great America and there’s so many sick roller coasters there. The raging bull is my fav. The Goliath and the wing roller coaster was dope too
It’s a shame that these types of coasters are disappearing. Arrow Dynamics was one of the greatest coaster manufactures of its time and Ron Toomer brought great designs to life. I just wish some company can bring the custom looping coaster back and make it so it is not rough as some rides were.
that was one of the best coasters I have ever been on !!! That used to be the highlight of going to that theme park. It was very sad they tore it down to put up the superman !! They claimed it was getting hard to maint but it seems the ride they put in its place was down more than it was up every time we were there !!
I never went on it and I regret it I was 12 years old and scared of this coaster it was super intimidating and one year later it got torn down for Superman. The last remaining clone is Viper in Six Flags Magic Mountain it’s an identical layout to Shockwave
@@HondaAccordPerformanceviper is trimmed on the first loop and the midcourse is slightly different. Shockwave was far more raw and unchained, it is super fascinating.
I loved this ride. I was floored when they brought it down because of people complaining who had no business being on a Roller Coaster that it was so intense
Another reason though Shockwave was taken out was it because of how much technical issues and structural flaws it had.
Shockwave had an issue where the trains would often go faster than they were supposed to and this would put ungodly amounts of stress on the track often causing cracks and welds to fail which was costly and difficult.
i love arrow coasters thx for posting :)
That looks like it was a lot of fun. I wish I could have gone on it.
That first drop scared the bejesus outta me the first 10 times I rode it. Sad they had to tear it down but that's the nature of the roller coaster game I suppose.
Imagine if this was made by B&M!
@Sum1MakinVids Yeah I noticed that too, it seemed very smooth. Unfortunately that happens to a lot of the best rides today, then they get torn down. But then people wish that they get rebuilt again so hopefully this ride won't be forgotten.
u can see at the top of the loops there is no specail braced track. this was filmed b4 they found out how much stress is on the loops
Ahhh...good ole Shock Wave. Memories
"Why do people submit themselves to technology that takes the human body through a series of inhuman curves, and drops that can only be described as sheer torment?" Why did people submit themselves to technology that took their human bodies through such torture that can only be described as masochistic?
This ride was so much better then the crappy Super Man ride
wow in NJ it was called the great America scream machine
This still exists at six flags magic mountain in Los Angeles. It was built in 1992 and has pretty much an identical track layout but it's called viper
It was either '88 or '89. You can tell by the top of the three vertical loops. Extra bracing was added to those loops in the off-season between '89 and '90 because of stress fractures developing in the track due to the loops being take at excessive speed. So long answer to a short question...It was shot in probably 88' or also '89.
It's a shame the Shockwave is gone. I rode it repeatedly in '94 - it was a major thrill for me to sit in the front seat in the first car and hold my hands up during the first drop.
Fun fact: Arrow never used a proper clothoid. They simply used two circle diameters to emulate the clothoid.
@dcrusselle no, you're not alone pal... Shockwave was the most intense, not stop action coaster I have ever been on. There are coasters with bigger loops, bigger drops, etc.. but there literally was NO break in the action from invert ot invert... 3 loops, a cobra roll, 2 corkscrews and a mega G turn... it had it all... GRRRRRRREAT coaster.
*a Batwing
You know launch coasters use Lsm launches, we can make this ride again except it's smoother than the old model with different manufacturers and different trains
for crazyforcoasters,
Is a mixture of images.
The roller coaster appeared in 0:14 is a Schwarzkopf Looping Star;)
The Schwarzkopf coaster can be seen completely in 1:12.
sorry for my bad English.
I still don't get why people thought Shockwave was rough. And it was always looked popular to me when it was there.
This was a great ride for it's time. The only negative was that it beat the crap out of you on a couple spots.
i miss the shockwave.we had one as well at six flags great america in gurnee (chicago).they tore it down and put superman it its place.
This is pretty much like the GASM coaster that was at SFGA.
Shockwave was originally intended for Great Adventure, but was held back due to the Haunted Castle and Lightning Loops incidents and the parks attempt to re-build it's family image. They were identical except GASM had the second and third loops going right instead of left, as it was found out after Shockwave opened that the turn going up to the brake run was too tight, so Arrow re designed it so it would be a bigger turn
@@sweepersmusic have you ridden both? and if so, did that turn in fact turn out to be easier on the head/ears after the "redesign" for GASM? that turn was so gnarly on shock wave. that was the one part of the ride that was guaranteed to beat up your head somewhat, no matter how hard you forced your head to the right or left or back. I used to ignore the warnings and stick my neck and head OUT PAST the restraints in order to avoid the headache and it actually worked and it didn't hurt or strain my neck either.
well, it would have had to have been 1988, cuz 2 more opened in 1989 and 1990 that were both taller than this. plus, in 1989, the first hyper coaster opened.
Her eyes stayed glued shut on that ride.
@xxremix1 There were shoulder bars. It was a " real" coaster. Shit you would black out after the first loop..
This was my first roller coaster at the age of 12. Scared the crap out of me but I loved it. However it's amazing how much coasters have improved since this time. After riding something like The Raging Bull, the Shockwave felt pretty rough and obsolete.
Mr. Extreme shockwave was built by a company called arrow dynamics (which is no longer in business) that made very rough coasters. Shockwave was one of there worst. Raging Bull however was made by a company called B&M which makes a lot smoother rides and they are just plain better.
Didn't know that, thanks for the info. Would I be correct in saying that steel coasters improved considerably in part due to advances in computer technology?
Yeah that would be correct. Since arrow was one of the first companies to build coasters that went upside down companies have improved over the years.
Mr. Extreme Arrow Dynamics based it's heartline on the center of the train, while B&M bases the heartline on the riders chest. This allows for smooth transitions. It's also worth noting that Arrow Dynamics stuck with an old track type and tried to push boundaries with it (Was a big mistake) and while it's competitors continued to improve, Arrow stuck with it's designs. Arrow also used over the shoulder restraints, which prevented hand movement and allowed for extra chances of head banging.
This one was the first of three Arrow Dynamics seven inversion "mega-looper" coasters, so it had a few rougher moments that were fixed on Great American Scream Machine at Great Adventure and Viper at Magic Mountain. It's amazing that at the time when these coasters were new, people raved about how lightning fast and smooth they were. The track of a modern roller coaster is designed to cup riders by basing all the maneuvers around a fixed center of gravity. In the time that Shockwave was made, most companies based their turns around one of the rails. For example, to enter a banked turn towards the left, they would have done something such as keep the right rail level and gradually rotate the left rail around the right rail to achieve the bank that they wanted. The trains of a modern coaster hug the rails while steering along the track, while older models, though Shockwave and most others did have trailered cars, had a fairly large gaps between the wheels and the rails. Arrow Dynamics, the company that pioneered the steel roller coaster and was the leader in the field until the 1990s, failed to update their design methods in time to compete with a company called B&M that had been hard at work refining design techniques to make smoother and more reliable coasters. In turn, Arrow's coasters did start to feel obsolete.
I’m pretty sure I have permanent neck damage from going on this so many times. Lol. It was brutal
My fav ride I miss it. Couldn't of put super man in a different part of the the park .rumour has it that space Needle might be going by by bc of maintenance issues and on up polarity .maybe they can bring it back .
No, not the space needle, that's sad.
This was my first coaster, I had my eyes closed most if the time, was 12. When I went on it after becomming a coaster conneusour, it made my head hurt, lol.
@chargerboy35 Yeah pretty much, it is in the same spot. Sucks right? Shockwave was my favorite ride.
RIP Shockwave
It really was the best ride ever..... Those loops where INSANE. Stupid Whizzer.
Whizzer is a classic. If it makes you feel better the California one was removed in 1988
wait... so did superman ultimate flight replace shockwave?????
If this ride was still around it would be super rough life great american scream machine.
I rode this ride the first year it came out .... all I could is Damn!!! this ride should have made it to another park with no problem... it's a shame to let this ride go..
Richard Reeder there is one like it called viper which is at Six Flags Magic Mountain but I have heard that may be going in 2017
thank you .... but that's a shame it may be going
@@nationalcoasternews5798 It's the end of 2019, and it's still running.
@@mynamehasspacesinit8687 I HOPE MM maintains and keeps theirs...Viper is the last of the three Arrow megaloopers. Shockwave is gone, Great American Scream Machine in NJ is gone....very sad.
Actually Superman stand where this is. Deja Vu was where Sky Whirl was. dark Knight was put inside a theater and they added another building to it.
rip shockwave
hell no you're not.... I miss Shockwave like crazy.. one of my top 5 all time favourte coasters. My Top 5: Millenium Force, Magnum XL200, Shockwave, Goliath & Raptor
Shock Wave was absolutely brutal. After ten seconds or so you were just holding on for dear life. My head still hurts.
You need to see a doctor.
Look out!!! Jerri Curl spotted @ :43. LMAO!!!
That looks just as scary as the amazing rollercoasters today!
Wish they kept this D=. Now the only thing I can do now is to get on viper at SFMM.
BurnedShadow /Dylanstorm10 I've heard that may bite the dust in the middle of 2017 so hurry!
Roller Coasters are Trains on crack ! LoL But they are what gives
Life Joy and living in the Moment
I miss this ride so much! It was my absolute favorite as a kid! I hate that SFGAm took this down in favor of Whizzer for Superman: Ultimate Flight. Smh. I love Superman: Ultimate Flight, but it should of went where Whizzer is, not my beloved Shockwave!!!
they never put in anything that truly replaced ShockWave or filled in its boots. Superman is NO shock wave. flying is cool, but not at the expense of height, speed, and length. beyond the flying concept superman really has nothing going for it. it's not tall, it's not fast, the only fun part is the inverse loop with the crazy G forces. one of the turns has some nice pull to it and that is IT. even X Flight is nothing to brag about beyond its concept. i am so tired of my home park (SFGAm) putting in these high concept rides and TOTALLY flaking on their actual quality and intensity. these rides are all SO short and forceless. The only rides currently there that are worth the wait are Viper, American Eagle and Raging Bull. Even Goliath ends prematurely. It feels like half of a roller coaster. Raging Bull is the only B&M GAm has that I am actually proud of. Batman is the original so I forgive it. But Superman and X Flight are embarassing.
I always imagined they would replace Shock Wave with a bright blue B&M floorless and call it ShockWave Reloaded or something clever. A record breaking floorless - 17 or 18 stories, 7 inversions, and interesting/forceful transitions. instead we get a barely 12 story, barely over 50mph, two inversion, no mid-course, barely a minute and a half long generic flyer that is found at two other parks if not more.
@@erinmurset2787 Hey, you took the words right outta my mouth! Superman is ok at best. Tatsu (SFMM version) is ssooo much better! But I hear you! I've been saying this same exact thing for years! Why is it when it comes to our homepark (SFGAm) we get the short end of the stck?! Its always shorter, smaller or more midsized compact versions of coasters/rides that we get versus other big parks that get the same or similar coasters/rides on a much grander or more massive scale!!! I asked a question to some people once that nobody realized. SFGAm is definitely one of the premier parks in the Six Flags chain. One of the big boys right? Then somebody tell me....what is OUR signature coaster that No One Else has?? I mean what coaster or ride do WE have that is unique to us? Especially within the Six Flags chain?! For example...SFGAd has Kingda Ka. Yes, Cedar Point has Top Thrill Dragster, but it really doesn't compare to Kingda Ka. SFMM has X2. Nobody else in America has anything quite like it. Just two other places in the world. The only thing that was EVER unique to SFGAm was Batman The Ride when it premiered. It was truly a unique, one of a kind ride. It went on to become one of the most cloned and copied roller coasters on the planet! So answer my question. What do we have that's unique to us elusively?! What you say? Friggin' Whizzer?! Why it would only be unique by default because of it being the last of it's kind. But that doesn't count because that's not what I mean. I mean, what do WE have that is new age, next level, one of a kind, unique to us as a great theme park?? The answer is absolutely NOTHING!!! Because for whatever reason SFGAm doesn't seem to want to create or add something unique to our coaster line up. When we first got Superman Ultimate Flight, I thought it would be massive and have dual stations or better like the one in SFOG. But nope! When we got X-Flight, I thought it was going to be a bigger, longer, faster, better version of X2. But I was wrong!! When we got Goliath, I thought it would be way longer and much more thrilling! But nope again! In my opinion, Viper should of just received the RMC treatment versus creating Goliath. I really think that would of worked out a lot better. And when we got Maxx Force I was praying it would be much more exciting, longer, taller and way faster than any other air launch coaster in the world. Perhaps even with two launch sequences! Yet no, nope and no way! To be fair though Gurnee has a stupid height restriction for reasons that are beyond me! When Great America first opened in 1976 they had 600 acres. A huge percentage of those acres were sold off because of economy issues, bad management of SFGAm and pressure by Gurnee itself because of complaints from residents because the park was growing in popularity! So basically, SFGAm has no real edge to it. And we have nothing that the park can say is truly it's own. Roller coaster wise anyway. Flat ride maybe...idk?! And please don't say Little Dipper. I have a few ideas though. I really want us to get a massive Mack Rides Xtreme Twisting coaster in the vein of Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City. But of course ours would be taller, faster, longer and have a unique layout elusive to SFGAm alone. It could be themed to the biggest city in the Midwest, Chicago. Call it Windy City Twister! Or a massive T-Rex dueling coaster called Justice League V. Legion Of Doom! Or a never before seen coaster that combines the elements of air, water, earth and fire and call it Force Of Nature!! But none of these will probably ever come to fruition because of politics, favoritism and money. But we can hope and pray. But so far, that hasn't worked out for us either so who knows.
@@xkee2013 aww yeah I miss ShockWave SO SO much. as rough as it ended up being, I was still never satisfied with my day at great america unless I rode it. when it was there it was almost ALWAYS my first ride of the day. I miss the glory days when it had a 45-60 min wait, they ran 3 trains to keep up (dark blue was my fave), and it was still relatively smooth. i loved that drop, how it wasn't your typical straight down. the first drop was the best part for me.
@@erinmurset2787 Yeah I agree with all that. Waiting in line to get to the ride was awesome as you saw people riding over your head. I liked all the cars but yellow and red were my favorites. Yes it got rough in the end days but it was still a fan favorite and a mainstay. Politics and favoritism killed Shockwave. I miss it dearly. I really wanted my kids to enjoy it as well but alas it's just a memory now. Sigh! What did you think about what I said. I know I wrote a lot, but I wanted your input on it. So what'd you think??
"Since the mid 70s roller coaster designers have relied on computers..."
AHAHAHA. I dont think so sweetheart.
"The g-force pressers riders uncomfortably into their seats..."
Oh how things have changed!
Great documentary!
r u joking. when i went there was zero people waiting in line for the shockwave. thats why they took it down. I go mabey two times a year and the line for whizzer is packed. theres a reason shockwave taken down instead. its a rough ride, its just loops after loops, And too many people were complaining about it.
I wish my school would take me to Great America to learn physics.
Damn I miss riding the Shockwave..
Actually, she's on the evac catwalk where the mid course is located at. She's fine.
Wow you are REALLY close to the tracks at 3:04 but they took out this ride=( im in 2009!
thats what i was thinking, didnt see any, and then when she's on it they magically appear
@singingsoccerstar1 I agree. The Viper is NOT one of my favorites. Everyone thinks American Eagle is so rickety, but I think the Viper is WAY more rickety and jostles you around too much.
this is the six flags great america shockwave
The ride always had problems, especially with the wills that were expensive, and had to be changed out quite frequently. That caused the ride to be closed frequently for 10-15 minutes at a time. On top of that, it was tough on riders and gained a reputation as being overly-intense.
And the Superman was actually supposed to replace the Whizzer. However, there was a large public outcry and overall, the Whizzer was just more popular than the Shockwave. So it was the Shockwave that had to go.
People ride the whizzer! Anyways, though an amazing coaster, I think superman is better, only bad thing is Superman dosn't get the same amount of people through that the shockwave did, so the lines just move slower.
they put up super man rollercoaster, but i still miss shockwave
no shoulder bars on this ride? O: too bad it's gone.
i did miss that ride
What year was this video shot. This had to be the late 80s or early 90s, because it opened in 1988.
the shokwave kinda looks like the batman but with more loops
@singingsoccerstar1 I would MUCH rather have an awesome wooden coaster than an arrow looper thank you very much!
@Fujiko0033 Shockwave was good, but I still think Raging Bull is better, and Superman may not have the best drop, but it is still very fun.
the only thing unsafe about that coaster in that time is there is no seatbelts on the restraints
@passthepipe1 Computers were around in the 70s.
this isn't six flags great adventure history it's six flags great america. I know must of you know this but I just don't get the association with great adventure sitting on the screen the whole time. is there no great american scream machine footage to pull from?
at 0:14, did the ride open without over the shoulder restraints?
Stock footage from another ride.
Doctors love this ride, why you ask, they get money from concussion treatment that patients need after riding this
I hated this ride the only reason I rode it was because I thought my mom liked it, and the only reason she rode it was because she thought I liked it. Anyhow, the initial height and drop were terrifying the following twists turns and loops were brutal, this thing would beat you up.
That was very interesting about the loop.
The reason they took shockwave out was because it was really expensive to run. They had to keep repairing the tracks. And the wheels needed to be replaced more than once a day. The superman isn't as good as shockwave was, but at least it's safer and far less expensive.
ChicagoWhiteSox20 To be frank, in the long run if they just refurbished it completely, it would have probably been more costcutting
+nintendoplaystation5 What happened?
I thought the first dude interviewed was John Denver.
@singingsoccerstar1 I think you might have forgotten that they ripped it to shreds and melted it down
People whine and piss about this coaster giving them headaches and what not and this is just not true. This coaster was spectacular and The American Eagle wooden coaster shakes you around more to give a headache than Shockwave....um and Unpopular MY ASS!!! This thing always had long lines. This thing was quick, fast, non-stop thrill and it's a shamed it couldn't be saved like Kiddielands Little Dipper and older coasters. We miss you Shockwave AND Arrow Dynamics!!!
u know why they chose this becuz of whizzer because whizzer was too unique a ride to remove but demon was too similar to shockwave they thought probably
Why did they get rid of this for superman?
I know that this sounds weird, but I feel like Arrows were meant to be red and white...
Superman is pretty awesome. Scream machine was cool for a while until bigger and better rides started coming to great adventure.
Too bad they had to get rid of ShockWave. It was my favorite. But I heard they had lots of maintenance problems with it.
Who else thought something was on your phone screen at 3:58
Yes
when was this bulit
That thing looks brutal
" It wont carry me okay?! "
Shock wave was a fun Ride
They didn't scrap the Shockwave. It was dismantled, refurbished and rebuilt at Six Flags Great Adventure as Great American Sceam Machine.
rfgstl incorrect
Shockwave was scrapped. However, they did use a small part of the track on Demon which the original track on Demon had water damage due to a water effect years ago. Also the lift motor is used on Demon which is a Arrow coaster as well. Pretty sure this is accurate.
another one i wante dto ride but didnt get too... T_T
What The Hell??? Tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world?? How old is this video?