Today I ventured to Gurnee, Illinois to visit one of my favorite Six Flags parks, Great America. The park always seems to have a good crowd, especially during the month of July. However, I lucked out today as waves of rain hit the park late in the morning which kept lines to a minimum, at least for a few hours.
I see a new coat of paint on the Sky Trek Tower. My how things can change in less than a year. Personally, I prefer the old color scheme!
I decided to buy a season pass because I’ll be returning to this park a couple more times before I head back to Memphis and I’ll hopefully be visiting a couple other Six Flags parks before this season ends. $74.99 is a steal!
Onto my first stop, Raging Bull!
Well, if I can see it, I must be close!
I decided to put my stuff in a locker ($1? I prefer SeaWorld’s $0.25!), so there will be a lack of Raging Bull photos until later in the day!
I’ll see you tomorrow, Viper.
Giant Drop, being giant.
I miss the Time Warner era of Six Flags!
I wandered around to try and grab some different photos so this would not be a repeat of last year’s trip report.
Demon will always have the best tunnel. Who could resist those lights?
I call this the fail car, no, not because of the hideous train wraps, but because it doesn’t quite make it onto the brake run.
Apparently this ride was an epic fail. I thought no one was riding it because of the weather. It was so successful at Dollywood – why not here?
I never saw much activity around Magiquest.
Kudos to Six Flags for saving this little piece of history.
There are several interesting signs to read as you wait in line.
More history signage.
I wish Libertyland had been given the same honor after it closed.
The ride is very fun, especially for the little ones in your group.
Required nerd shot.
The Little Dipper queue gives you plenty of Batman photo opportunities.
This will be one of many questions I ask to die-hard Great America fans. Was this area used for something at one time? It looks as if it could have been an outdoor seating area.
In a matter of seconds, the park was overtaken by a downpour of rain. Most rides closed, except the Whirliwhatever.
Everyone darted to shelter, leaving the rest of the park rather empty.
Thankfully the rain passed within an hour, and the rides resumed operation. Question #2: Is this signage new?
With the uncertainty of the weather, I figured I better get a ride on Batman. After recreating the coaster on RCT3, I thought I should see how well I did.
I’m glad Six Flags have kept simple effects in place, such as the “smoking” police car.
My head usually can’t tolerate more than one ride on Batman, but it truly is a great ride.
Although I love the yellow/dark purple color scheme, I would love to see the coaster return to its original all-black scheme one day in the future.
And unlike Iron Wolf, this B&M original has maintained its smoothness.
Speaking of Iron Wolf…
I want to love this ride. I really do. It has a great layout. But any ride that leaves young children (and myself) crying in pain at the end should be put out of its (and its riders) misery.
Perhaps this ride can be “Texas Giant-ized” in the future. Obviously in a different way, though.
Question #3: Has the Yankee Harbor received a paint job? It jumped out at me. Either way, it looks nice!
Click here to read Part 2 of this trip report!
Regarding your question on that Yankee Harbor building, my guess would be that it was in fact a patio area, perhaps for a restaurant that may have occupied what’s now the arcade. I do know that the back portion is now used for storage
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