TR SFGAM 5-4-08

[Coasternut17]

-Photos are here:
http://coasterwarriors.com/community/vi ... =1437#1437
(Keep checking this link, as I will be uploading more photos from my trip).

I took a visit to Six Flags Great America on Sunday, May 4th to get my coaster fix. I must say, I came out of that coaster withdrawl! Here is my ride count (in order), considering that there was a dance festival going on, and that it was 68 degrees out and sunny (perfect to draw crowds in with) :
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Whizzer: 1
Viper: 1
Raging Bull: 1
Giant Drop: 2
Demon: 1
Iron Wolf: 1
Vertical Velocity (V2): 1
Batman: The Ride: 1
Superman: Ultimate Flight: 1
Sky Trek Tower: 1
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The lines weren't too bad, but Raging Bull was only running 2 trains. The maximum wait was about a half hour. I didn't have to wait for anything more than a walk-on. My secrect? Not flash passes, but these special "sorry for your inconvenience" passes (you'll get to see them later in this TR)! What you do is walk up the exit on any ride, and get on the next available seat. I used this on Raging Bull (got a back seat), V2 (got another back seat), and Superman (got a middle seat). They are very cool! We got them because last season, at Angelo's, we got hard meatballs. Ha! My mom was mad, so she E-mailed the park and complained. We got 3 of those passes, and $40 worth of meal vouchers. What a deal!

So my day went like this:

We left home at about 8:30, picked up McDonalds for breakfast, and headed for the park! We drove, and drove. Then, we got to the park! As we drove in, you could see Dark Knight, just looming over that section of the park. We paid for our parking when the idiot in front of us broke his mirror on the barriers of the employee huts. What's funny about that is that the lady giving us our pass said it happens all the time. "To anxious to get into the park," she said. Lol!

So we get in, pick up our vouchers, and head for Southwest Territory. I just had to stop at Whizzer. I couldn't pass up a ride when it was a walk on! It was running pretty good today, just like normal.

After that, I headed for Viper, where I was greeted again by no lines. Awesome! So I take a back seat ride. This ended up being one of the best rides of the day. Viper seemed to be lagging a little, probably just warming up! I definitely like the new logos on the trains. They look great! The crew was doing a great job of dispatching trains!

After Viper, I headed over to Raging Bull, and let me tell you, that new paint job is AMAZING! The pictures really don't do it justice. This is when I found out how to use those inconvenience passes. You just walk up the exit, and give the op your ticket. They then give you the next available seat. It works like a charm! I got to sit next to some people that were on Bull for their first time. I was thinking "Why are you sitting in the back seat on your first ride, dumbos!", but I just said "Yeah I've been on it before. It is awesome." They just went with it! Their hands were glued to the restraint the whole way, while mine were in the air! I just loved how they freaked out when they realized they were getting major air on the drop and I was just laughing! Overall, Raging Bull was running quite well, except for the fact that the blue train was out of commission. I got a picture of it just sitting on the pavement behind the ride.

Also, another something about the paint job; there were little orange and purple drops of paint everywhere in the queue from the recent painting. It was pretty cool!

Next I headed over to Giant Drop. Now, drop towers always get me, but it seems like Giant Drop was either running really good, or I was just getting used to G-forces again. Probably both! I got two rides in, considering it was another walk-on, and deserved another ride. I couldn't tell you how awesome Bull looked from up there.

After that it was over to Demon for me! Demon's crew surprised me the most. The op was saying cool slogans like, "The Deja Vu is dead, so let's ride the Demon instead!", and (jokingly), "Have fun on Superman: Ultimate Flight. Fly, fly, fly!" . The new logos on the trains look exeptionally sexy, especially the one on the yellow train. Demon always deserves a ride, even though it might not be the smoothest coaster in the park.

Then it was time to take pictures of Vu and Splashwater Falls' old spots. I have to say, that area of the park looks very bare now, and will take some time getting used to. The only thing left from Deja Vu is the base of tower 1, and a couple piles of supports. Splashwater Falls is completely gone. Just down the path is where we ate for lunch. We paid all of $.59 for our meal at Papa John's (thanks to the meal vouchers). The food service is not the greatest, by far the worst thing that happened today. We waited 30 mins for two slices of pizza. What a rip! Hey, maybe my mom will complain again! Just kidding.

After we ate, I decided to take a ride on American Eagle. When I saw the line (which was almost as long as Raging Bull's running two trains), I turned and walked out, heading for Iron Wolf. Now Iron Wolf is not what you call 'smooth'. I was standing next to two guys from ACE, and I don't know how their ears survived! Mine didn't! Seriously though, I don't know if I will be giving Iron Wolf even a courtesy ride next time I go, even if it is a walk-on. It just hurts. The layout is the only good thing about it, besides that it is the first coaster by B&M.

Letting my ears recover, we headed over to V2, and used our second inconvenience pass. The line gets pretty large on some days (like today). I got a middle seat, which was good, but I would have preferred a back seat ride. V2 always gets me. It is just pure fun!

Next up was Batman: The Ride. Even the queue is interesting and well themed (if you've been on it, you know what I'm talking about; if you haven't, there are pics below). Batman is still one of my favorite coasters at Six Flags Great America. It pulls tons of G's, and was another top ride of the day.

We then walked over to Superman: Ultimate Flight, where I used my last inconvenience pass. While I was walking up the exit, I got pics of Dark Knight construction (see pics below), and S:UF operation. This ended up to be the last ride of the day. Didn't get a back seat ride, so the G's weren't all that incredibly forceful, but the pretzel loop still gets me.

We then got on Sky Trek Tower, where I got some nice shots of the park. After that, we went to some gift shops, left, and went to White Castle for dinner.

Overall, the day went pretty well, and I am looking forward to going again. I might upload some pictures here, but if not you can find my ongoing PTR here:
http://coasterwarriors.com/community/vi ... =1437#1437
Also, the new loose article policy isn't that bad if you wear cargo pockets.

[Trailblazer Tony]

AWESOME job on the pictures!!!! I feel like i've been there this year (which i haven't yet).

[Coasternut17]

Thanks! I really wanted to hit up all the construction going on. Keep checking that link between now and the end of the week. I only posted about 2/3 of my photos!

Still to come: Raging Bull, Demon, ramdon park pics, Iron Wolf, and AE.

Hope you have fun when you go!

[tsalas08]

glad you caught a picture of blue train because I left the camera in my car. I wonder how long its been there and where the rest of it is!

[Director_Guy]

I think that's my gigantic head.

[Coasternut17]

Yep!

That's the famous picture. I was timing the picture, and then I saw a familiar face; from the Busch Gardens TR, and I was like, "who is that?" Then I remembered, and I took the picture when the timing came. Just happened to walk by at that point and time.