crowds & Flash

[conquerant]

Hi all!

I'm a Milwaukee native who grew up with Great America. I remember when it was Mariott's Great America! I remember when I was a yougster and my grandpa measured me to see if I was tall enough to ride the Tidal Wave..I was, but when we got there I was too scared...! Sorry, please indulge my nostalgia for a bit because I haven't been to Great America since 2001, as I moved to Boston several years ago, and haven't been able to include a trip in my trips back home. But I'm going to Great America when I go back in August! I'm going to ride Raging Bull again! I'm going to ride the Eagle (and not get expelled from the park for standing up like I did when I was in high school...) I'm going to get a burger in the Yukon Territory with the talking moose!!

I will be going on a Friday in August, what will the crowds be like? I'm thinking about the Flash passes, they didn't have them I was there before, would it be worth it?

And also, I went to Six Flags New England, and it SUCKED! But even more than the fact that the park sucked, I took a vaction day to go on a weekday to avoid crowds. But, in what I could only assume was a cost-cutting measure, many of the rides were closed, and the rides that were open were running at minimum capacity (like only one train per roller coaster) so the wait for lines were still huge. I had gone to Great America on weekdays many times, and had never encountered this. Is this unique to SFNE? Or is this a new corporate-wide Six Flags thing, so that when I go to Great America on a Friday I'll get the same thing?

Thanks in advance for your input!

[bigb7965]

crowds are unpredictable....


there have been many topics like this lately and the same thing has been said

you can also use the search box

[conquerant]

crowds are unpredictable....


there have been many topics like this lately and the same thing has been said

you can also use the search box

Searches for "shut downs rides on weekdays" and "runs at miminimum capcity on weekdays" don't bring up any results

[onyxhotel08]

Crowds are decent even during weekdays during peak summer days of July and August. Great America is great at having all rides open on a typical day. The flash passes are pricey and I wouldn't get them unless you want to make sure you take in the big coasters like Bull, Batman, Superman and V2 without waiting an hour. Fridays-Sundays are the worst in my book because we have concerts going on, people going to Hurricane Harbor, people off from work and a lot of good weather. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days to go I think. Anyway, have fun and take pics cause a lot has changed since the 90's.

P.S. If you do buy a flash pass, the most money for your buck seems to be a GOLD flash pass when crowds are lengthy.

[saylorman47]

Wow, you haven't been since 2001! Well, things have definitely changed, more thrills and a lot bigger.

The flash pass would be a great idea, and then you can go on any day, weekday or weekend, with guaranteed short lines (and they are really cheap for one person )

I hope you have a much better experience than at Six Flags New England!

[cowboy1192]

lOl I love how the newbies are always like "Hello everybody, Its nice to meet you. I love Six Flags great america!! Dont you!?!?!''


Lol its cool, nothing against you

[rct2wizard360]

^You havent exactly been around too long yourself buddy.

I'd reccomend a flash pass. A lot of schools start early this year, so if you go after the second or third week you might not need one at all. But if you plan on going at the beginning of August I would reccomend it.

Also with your experience at SFNE, what month did you go?
Early in the season, a lot of their employees are students, therefore not able to work.

Hope you enjoy your visit!

[conquerant]

Thanks all for the info! It does give me an idea of what to expect==it's a Friday, but it'll still be rather crowded and all the rides will be going. I'll be buying Flash because it's been 7 years since I rode Raging Bull, and I want to ride it again at least twice Oh, and the Eagle twice. And I can't wait to ride Superman for the first time. And get a burger with a talking Moose!!!

lOl I love how the newbies are always like "Hello everybody, Its nice to meet you. I love Six Flags great america!! Dont you!?!?!''
Lol its cool, nothing against you

Ha! that's because Great America is a really great park!!

@ rct2wizard360 that is a possibitilty. I don't remeber off hand if I went during schoool or not. But really, SFNE was very disappointing. The park itself wasn't very good.

[Aaron084]

I really don't want to start a new thread in fears of it being locked right away, so I'll hijack this one quick.

Does anyone know from experience as to what wait time the standard flash pass levels out at? For example, if its a real busy day and both houses are full for Bull and it extends out of the que, will the flash pass give a 2 hour wait or will it usually only display an hour or so? I'll be going this Sunday and plan on getting a standard flash pass for the first time and I'd like to prepare in advance the max waiting times on the pass.

Thanks!