Six Flags Great America Gurnee Illinois Roller Coaster Reviews

I went to Six Flag Great America on Friday night and it was pretty awesome. First of all I have not been there for what I am guessing is around 15 years. I think the last time I went was in 8th grade for a field trip. The last amusement park I went to was I think Paramount’s Six Flags in or near San Jose that Yahoo! rented out for “search night off”. I think the Chicago Stock Exchange rented it out on Friday, so there were no lines and we got to ride pretty much everything in a only around 3 hrs.

I cannot remember the last time I rode a roller coaster, but I went on every one that was open on Friday night… many of which were wacky or went upside down. Here are some recaps:

American Eagle: This is a giant 25 year old wood coaster. I have been on this one before but did not really remember it. It was awesome being on the back of the cars, and it was rainign and cold and we all got whipped with rain drops as we were going around it. It was great. In this one you are held in with a seatbelt and I think a leg bar. I did not feel like I was really going to fly out at all on this one. It is great for wussies and it does not go upside down.

Batman the ride:I do not really remember this coaster that much other then that the line was longer then most. I think it had some crazy turns in it and it did do 2 loops. We were busy laughing the entire time…that is all I really remember.

Demon: This is another old coaster… they had this the last time I was there, but I think this was the first time I rode it. Pat had the idea of screaming demon whil eyou go through the first loop… so we did. It was fun, old and I think it had pretty secure seating in that it had a harness that lockeked yoiu head in plus a safety belt. It was fun…other then the creaking of 20 year old metal and squeeling of what sounded liek a locked brake! hahaha

Iron Wolf: I do not really remember this one either other then you stand up in it and it has a weird bike seat like crotch bad that you straddle. It was a pretty strange ride and I think this was the one that hurt all of our ears. It was cold out and this ride has these pads that your head goes in and pretty much beats the hell out of you. It was pretty brutal. I do not remember much more than ear pain from this one…and the strange crotch bar, stand up seating.

Ragin’ Cajun: This ride was pretty weird. It is pretty much a weak ass roller coaster as far as speed and thing goes, but it spins like crazy and jerks you around and switches direction quite a bit. It is alot like a teacup ride, but in the air… the first section of the track it just glides down, then on the second level it starts to spin and fling you around. Then it spins, flings you around and hits bumps. It is fun, but I would not recommend it if spinning makes you sick.

Raging Bull: If I remember right, this ride was crazy. It goes over 70MPH and you are held in with what they call a “unique, open-sided cars by lap-bar restraint”. Andrea and I thought we were going to fly out on this one… I really would have liked a seat belt or shoulder harness thing on here… it has these weird seats that kind of sink you in, and then this strange triangle shaped bar that comes over your legs and kind of locks you in… it is kind of strange and does not feel secure at all. Luckily this thing does not do any flips, but it does roll at high speed and high angles… it is pretty fun…although you may go flying out due to the weird design of the restraints… (c:

Superman Ultimate Flight: This was the only ride I did not want to go on, then I tested out the trial seat and liked the way it holds you in place. This I think is the most secure, and weirdest ride at the park. First off you sit in this seat, then a should brace/bar comes down and completely locks you into the seat. Then it grabs your legs and secures those as well. In addition to that, there is like an interal padding/harness that thing that holds you so you do not hurt yourself against the bars. Then the whole ride tips you forward so it is like you are flying. It was the craziest ride at the park and there is a loop that makes you feel like it is going to rip you apart. It was awesome!

Vertical Velocity:This ride scared the shit out of me! First off you are on this car that is stationary and your feet are dangling below you, it is then launched by magnets to 70mph in under 4 seconds, then it climbs straight up, hangs for a second, then zips you backwards past where you started and up, then forwards, up higher and a twist, backwards up and holds you there…then forwards and hangs and then it is over. It was crazy, and I hated how it hung on the last backwards part… You hang long enough for your weight to shift which makes you feel like you will go flying out and die… watch this video of it to understand what the hell I am talking about.

Viper: This is another wood coaster, but is much newer and seems faster than the eagle. It was fun and fast. I do not think I felt like I was going to die on it.

Whizzer: This is the weakest coaster at the park. The seating is really weird and designed so a parent can hold their child I think? I remember going on this with my mom like 20 years ago. It is where we started off and we had a good laugh going through it.

In addition to not riding a roller coaster for over 15 years, the people I went with were big fans of riding in the back of every ride so you get a crazier ride, so we were in the last few rows on every single ride, whipping us around faster and more violently then in the front cars…it was fun.

Since it was the last Friday of September they were preparing the park for fright fest, which is their halloween theming of the park. I do not know if I would ever want to go to these parks when it is not privately rented out… the lines woudl be brutal and it would take you all day to probably ride 4 of these coasters.