Six Flags Great America

This was one of the rare times that we arrived at a park before opening. We wanted to make sure we got to spend some quality time at this park because we both felt like we didn't get enough time there last year. We arrived at the park and headed to the right of the carousel to wait for the ropes to drop. I was really surprised that none of the people that were supposed to be at the park that day were there to meet us. It's very odd that we would be the first ones here! Maybe we just don't see them. No, that can't be because Fred of Las Vegas would certainly tower over the crowd. This is strange. They're ALL late?! Odd. Finally, "The Star Spangled Banner" played, the rope dropped, and the race was on. I was following Mark, thinking he knew where we were supposed to meet people. Finally he said, "Do you know how to get there?" I asked, "Well, where are we going?" "V2," he replied. "Well, then we're going the wrong way! We should have waited on the other side! Can't you see V2 towering over there?!" "Oh," he said, "I didn't know there was another way you could go." Yeah, you should never follow Mark through a park. ;-) Well, we turned around and got to the ride eventually. Of course, the Chicago boys had already ridden and were ready to head off to Raging Bull. We told them we'd meet them there after our ride. In line we saw Joe Schwartz, no-dreadlock Jim, and someone I didn't recognize. We also caught sight of Fred and his friend Neils just as we were about to board the back seat of the coaster. Scott Schaffer was a ride op on this coaster and gave us a couple of riding tips before we boarded. It's too bad Scott had to work because it would have been fun to hang out with him.

V2 was the equal in ride quality to S:UE at SFWoA. I like it a little better, however, because of its location within the park. At World's of Adventure, the ride is right next to a road, where V2 is located smack within the beautiful landscapes of Great America. Our back seat ride was a lot of fun, and nothing tops that split second stop at the top of the rear spike! It would have been nice to ride this coaster more on this trip, but the lines were long and we were drawn more to the coasters on the other side of the park.

We met Fred and Neils and Joe Schwartz and started making our way around the park to Raging Bull. Our first stop was Fiddler's Fling; an insane flat ride set in "spin-your-brains-out" mode. This ride is identical to the Calypso at Cedar Point, only they run it MUCH faster. I'm seriously dizzy every time I get off this ride!

Six Flags Great America is my favorite Six Flags park, and rides like Fiddler's Fling are among the reasons for that. I love this park because it is beautifully landscaped and themed, has very good coasters, an awesome selection of flat rides, very good ride operations, and decent food. Maybe I've gotten lucky, but I've never had a bad day at this park. If it were just a little closer to me, I'd make it a "must-do" park on my list for each year.

One stop on our way to Raging Bull was American Eagle. It feels like Mark has been complaining about this coaster forever. In fact, for a couple of years now, he's had it ranked as his "worst" wooden roller coaster. Well, I had only ridden it once in the past, and while I wasn't overly impressed with it, I still had it in my "mediocre" wooden coaster category rather than near the bottom of my list. I hadn't thought it was ~quite~ as bad as Mark had made it out to be. Still, standing in line and listening to him tell Neils that he was about to experience one of the worst wooden coasters on the planet, I was actually starting to dread the experience.

American Eagle has several strikes against it, starting with the ridiculous blinders on the sides of the trains. I'm sure they serve some purpose (probably to prevent hand slapping with the people on the other train), but they seem ludicrous to me. The second, far bigger, strike against it is the heavy braking used throughout the course, particularly when entering the massive helix turnaround. We knew these things going in and really weren't expecting much of a ride as a result.

Well, we were wrong. While this is in no way one of the best wooden coasters in the country, it certainly isn't the worst, either. We had a really fun ride! There was a lot more airtime on the "out" portion of this coaster than I had remembered, the brakes at the helix weren't on too heavily, and the return run was really fun all the way up to the heavy brake entering the ending helix. After this ride, Mark had to admit that it wasn't as bad as he remembered it, and that it could no longer be placed at the bottom of his list. His "summer of redemption" was continuing.

We finally made it over to the Southwest territory and met up with the rest of the group: Joe Campanella, Clayton Hauck, Mike Parker, Brad Haller, and Anthony somebody (sorry, I've forgotten your last name). It was finally time for a spin on Raging Bull.

I rode this coaster for the first time last year, finding it pretty mediocre in the front, but very good in the back. I left the park liking it a lot, but I placed it in the mid-to--low section of my hyper coaster rankings. Well, something has happened to this coaster this year! It's insane! It seems to be running much faster this year. Joe Campanella said that they're using a new kind of wheels this year, and they've made the ride run a little faster. I don't know much about the "technicalities" of coasters, I just know that this ride shot way up my list! I was seriously impressed and experienced great airtime on every drop in the back. We rode the Bull several times throughout the day, and had a couple of interesting experiences.

One experience involved operations. When we rode the first couple of times, riders were free to choose where they sat and the line seemed to move quickly and efficiently. Later, a girl was positioned at the top of the stairs and was attempting to assign seats. This did not work AT ALL! Train after train was leaving the station with loads of empty seats. People were just not filling in the queues! When seats were being assigned, the line moved much more slowly and their throughput must have decreased a significant amount.

The second experience is...well...it's gross. We were waiting for the back seat, and were two trains away from riding. The group in front of us went to board, and as two young boys were about to sit down, they noticed something. Something that made them scream and say "Oooo! Gross! I'm not riding here!" We figured someone had thrown up, but it turned out to be much worse. Laying in one of the back seats was: a used tampon! Oh my God! I can't even believe that someone would do something like that! What in the world was that chick doing during the ride?! It has to be one of the most bizarre and disgusting things I've ever seen on a ride. Naturally, it provided fodder for jokes for the rest of the evening.

Viper is the forgotten wooden roller coaster. At least, I forget how good it is every year for some reason. This is an outstanding wooden coaster! It offers a smooth ride and there is amazing airtime on most every hill in the front seat! It really is top ten material and I have no idea why I tend to forget that when I fill out Mitch Hawker's poll every year. I could easily spend a day just riding this coaster over and over. It's easily my favorite coaster in the park. Joe Campanella is a ride op on this coaster, and it seems like he never quits working, even on his day off! He's very proud of his ride, and we often witnessed him cleaning the queue area of litter. We learned a lot from Joe about the operation of the park throughout the day.

Several of us decided to get something to eat at the Crazy Buffalo Saloon in the Southwest Territory. I ate here last year and really liked the food. The prices might be a little high, but it's a nice break in the day to sit in an air-conditioned environment and get sit down service. Brad and Mike opted for the buffet, and from the looks of their plates, the selection on the buffet is very good. Joe C. and Fred got BBQ or burgers and I opted for the grilled chicken salad. I can't speak for the others, but my salad was delicious! It was nice to just sit and chat and eat for a little while. Mark begged off eating lunch and went to purchase a tee shirt. Weather.com deceived us all week, and Mark had worn a sweatshirt to the park, thinking it would be a little chilly. I figured with his sense of direction, we'd never see him again! Well, he did eventually find his way back to the saloon, but admitted he had to stop for directions and a map in order to do it! ;-)

Another of my favorite flat rides in the park is the teacups. These teacups spin with ease and the ride you can create for yourself can be insane! Mark, Fred and I took one cup, while another group rode with Mike Parker. There were MANY people in the group who decided to sit that one out because they knew they couldn't handle the insane "spinage." We were spinning so fast I could barely hold my head up! Still, the spectators said that Mike's cup won in a big way. As fast as we were going, I can't imagine how insane it must have been in that cup!

Whizzer is quiet this year! I believe Joe said this is another coaster that received new wheels, which make it run more quietly. It was very odd to stand in line and not here the loud noises of the trains as they made their way around the course. I really love this ride. I like its layout and the area that it travels through. It's not the biggest or most thrilling coaster ever built, but it is loads of fun and is historically significant. I hope they keep that ride forever!

This was really a great day. We rode everything we wanted to as much as we wanted to, and we were with a great group of people. I really like the Chicago boys because all they care about his having fun. Nobody was stressed out or trying to rush from one thing to the next. Everyone just seemed to be enjoying the day and not worrying about what to do or where to go next. I can't stand having my days at a park "planned out" and fortunately, none of the people in our group were bossy "planners" that needed everyone to do exactly the same thing at exactly the same time and in a specific order. It was fantastic.

Sometime in the middle of the day, Clayton started going on and on about funnel cake sundaes. He just HAD to have a funnel cake sundae, and "does anybody want to share a funnel cake sundae?" and "wouldn't anyone like to have a funnel cake sundae?" Well, finally we had to say, "Get this boy his sundae!" ;-) He finally went to buy one and it was bigger than he was! Holy cow I don't know how he managed to eat it all, but I was left amazed at the amount a teenage boy can eat! Mark opted for a snow cone treat (I believe he had two giant snow cones that he raved about throughout the day plus an Italian Ice). I went for a bag of popcorn. I really didn't expect the popcorn to be great, but it was really addicting. The bag was huge and I ended up passing it off to Mark and Joe. I think they would both agree that it was "salty good" and I think they were disappointed when they reached the bottom of the bag.

Brad Haller's obsession was to get Mark to play "Dance, Dance Revolution" with him. We were to meet Brad at Big Chief's the day before, but when we heard there weren't evening ride session passes, we told him we probably wouldn't be there long and that we didn't know when we'd get there. Mark promised that he would make it up to him in any way Brad deemed appropriate. So, Mark was stuck with a round of this video game. For those that haven't seen it, it's a large video game where you stand on a platform with direction arrows on it. You're supposed to move your feet to the appropriate arrow when the video screen directs you to. You're supposed to be "dancing" to the music playing. It took Mark a couple of songs to realize he was supposed to be dancing, but he did very well despite his lack of understanding this. I think he was a little embarrassed to be dancing to "So Many Men," but I don't think his moves were as embarrassing as he perceived them to be. I did a round with Brad after Mark's turn, and I was "stylin'!" ;-) It really was funny to watch people play. I believe Clayton captured the moment on video so it may be coming to a TV near you in the future.

We finished the night with rides on the Bull and Viper. The night ride on Viper was a definite highlight. The airtime was extreme! I know I've been saying this a lot lately, but this was another perfect day! The weather was great, the company was great, and the rides were great. The only complaint I have about Six Flags Great America is that the days I spend there seem to go by too quickly! I never feel like I've been there long enough.