Six Flags Great America Summer 2014 Update

With August already upon us, it’s hard to believe that the summer season will soon be giving way to fall and parks’ Halloween festivities.

I decided to visit Six Flags Great America for a mid-season checkup before the park goes into Fright Fest mode (which begins September 27, 2014). Goliath has been open for well over a month, and the crowds are still flocking in droves to the world-record-breaking wooden coaster’s entrance every day.

Determined to be on one of the first trains out of the day, I arrived at the park nearly an hour before opening: 9:30 a.m. I wasn’t surprised to find a mass of people already clogging the area between the metal detectors and the turnstiles.

Luckily, as soon as I walked up to the line leading to the turnstile (around 9:45 a.m.), employees began scanning guests into the park.

And then the “brisk walk” to Goliath began. I used my daily running and exercise regimen to my advantage. While running is prohibited in the park (and security guards posted throughout will kindly remind guests of that), speed walking is permissible.

By the time I reached Goliath’s entrance, there were only 40-50 people ahead of me…and probably hundreds behind me.

Security guards were on the lookout for any line-skippers (read: line “joiners”). Anyone caught skipping or joining a party already in line would be forced to go to the back of the line.

The security guards had a zero-tolerance policy, and I commend them for that.

A guard began walking people through the entire queue around 10:15 a.m., 15 minutes before the park was due to open. Zig-zagging through the switchbacks was dizzying, but it beat standing in front of the entrance for another 15 minutes.

As this newly installed case demonstrates, bringing your phone with you on Goliath is not a smart idea.

The first Goliath train rolled out of the station around 10:20 a.m. Since I was so close to the front of the line, I decided to delay my boarding and wait for the front row. Otherwise, I would have been out on the second or third train of the day.

The wait for the front was of course worth every additional second in line.

Seeing the drop from the front row (or at least part of it) is like no other ride experience in the park.

Overall, Goliath seems to be getting better and better as the season progresses. The train seems to fly through the layout much faster than it did when it first opened.

In other news, the park’s Cyber Cafe building has been transformed into a “Go Fresh Cafe” location.

Not much has changed aside from the new signage and color scheme, which I find very out of place for a New Orleans-themed section of the park.

The restaurant still serves many of the Cyber Cafe’s signature offerings like coffee, donuts and other sweets. But healthier options such as wraps and salads are available.

But for the most part, I believe the menu has remained mostly unchanged.

Superman still draws big crowds, even though many guests now bypass the flying coaster for Goliath.

Within the last few weeks, Six Flags Great America has quietly rolled out special single rider entrances on three of its coasters: Batman: The Ride, Raging Bull and Superman: Ultimate Flight.

The system seems to work fairly well. Single riders enter via the Flash Pass line and notify the Flash Pass attendant. The single rider then receives a special lanyard or wristband and joins up with the main line (usually at the station or very close to it).

Each of these coasters has a grouper – an employee standing at the entrance to the station who groups riders and assigns single riders to specific rows to ensure that trains are departing as fully loaded as possible.

Another sign of a hot and crowded day: The Dark Knight has an hour-long wait.

King Chaos has been down for at least a week. Hopefully it will reopen soon.

Ragin’ Cajun’s former station and queue remain seemingly untouched.

As the building fits in so well with the Mardi Gras section of the park, I assume that this structure will be reintegrated into whatever becomes of the small spot of real estate.

With temperatures reaching into the mid to upper 80s (hot by this mild summer’s standards), the line for Roaring Rapids was the longest I’ve seen it all season.

Even X-Flight’s normally short line stretched well past the control tower.

But one ride that didn’t have a long wait was the park’s newly reopened Scenic Railway.

The train operates a round trip from the Hometown Square station. The County Fair station is closed due to Goliath’s overflow queue line effectively sealing it off from the rest of the park.

If you’re lucky, you’ll get to see Goliath from a totally new perspective.

I’m not sure if this is a leftover from construction or if the park is planning something to travel underneath Goliath’s structure. Time will tell, I suppose.

The overbank turn and twist-and-shout elements look completely different from this angle.

Those of you who still doubt that Goliath is a wooden coaster, note the layers of wood in the photo above.

Regardless of what you call Goliath, it’s hard to deny the coaster’s structural beauty.

Above, see two of my favorite Six Flags Great America rides in one frame.

Lots of people and lots of long lines seemed to be the theme of this day at the park.

Whizzer is still…whizzing…along just fine. I have much respect for Six Flags for keeping this classic coaster around.

This season, I’ve become hooked on the first row of Batman. Even if it means a longer wait, the front row is the best way to go.

And I have to commend the Batman ride crew for being consistently swift in their load times and dispatch intervals. They’ve kept the line moving quickly, which was vital on a busy day like this.

Overall, I think Six Flags Great America is having a good season. Although the lines were long (not necessarily a bad thing), the staff seemed to be working hard to accommodate the influx of guests.

Have you visited Six Flags Great America this year? Share your thoughts about the park in the comments section below.

Tags: 2014batmangreat americasfgamsix flagssupermantrip reportupdatex flight