Your "Strategy"

[BBH]

Let me put it this way: When you go to Great America, what's the order you usually take to get on all of the major rides? Major rides include the GOOD roller coasters (excluding Demon, the mice, Little Dipper and Death by Arrow) and the two major flats (Revolution and King Chaos), as I can never seem to get it.

Is it possible to get 10 DIFFERENT rides in in one day? Especially with some of the queues being outrageous.

[tp41190]

Ive been on every roller coaster in 2 hours. Just don't go to the park again on the last Saturday of Read to Succeed.

[GrtAmkid]

so BBH should be able to ride everything in one hour, due to all his dislikes???

[Galvan]

I always head to the left side of the park first. Which starts the day off with Superman, TDK, Cajun, BTR, V2, Dipper. and then just wind my way around the park that way.

Its the best strategy that I've ever used to tackle the park.

[GrtAmkid]

I do the opposite of Galvan, but mostly because I have children in tow. HTFM, Triple Play, Wizzer, viper, etc. seems to work well for me.

[FParker185]

I usually break right and keep walking until I see something with no line or a short line(under 10 mins). Generally by 1 or 2, I'm about ready to head out. Only rides I make sure to ride every visit is Whizzer, Eagle Red and sometimes Little Dipper.

On the right days though you can ride every coaster in the park in under 2 hours easy along with a fair number of flats.

On a side note, is demon listed twice? I see Demon and Death By Arrow, Demon is the only Arrow-ish ride we have.

[NightRider785]

Why Eagle Red?

[FParker185]

Mainly I'm just curious how bad the brakes are. More of a morbid/technical sort of curiosity than actually wanting to ride the ride. Besides that I just don't like the blue side, usually just ride that once a year for the heck of it and usually regret it.

[Jerrykoala2112]

I use to always start the park off in the direction of Whizzer and Bull, because there are more major rides on the left side of the park and felt that that side of the park always had bigger crowds. But then I eventually started going to the left first and don't mind going any way.

[NightRider785]

Here's mine. Almost always works: Bull, Eagle Red, Demon, Bull, Whizzer. Then Railway w/ a soda for a break (and behind the scenes look at some stuff). Then V2, BTR. After that its Bull and Eagle Red the rest of the day

[Ilovthevu']

Let me put it this way: When you go to Great America, what's the order you usually take to get on all of the major rides? Major rides include the GOOD roller coasters (excluding Demon, the mice, Little Dipper and Death by Arrow) and the two major flats (Revolution and King Chaos), as I can never seem to get it.

Is it possible to get 10 DIFFERENT rides in in one day? Especially with some of the queues being outrageous.

The only 2 major NOT good roller coasters that you are excluding that I agree with are Rajun Cajun and death by Arrow - Shockwave which is completely junked except for the trains. Why don't you like the Dark Knight, Demon, or the Little Dipper?? Also, what constitutes a major flat? Is Sky Trek Tower, or Condor NOT a major flat ride? Instead you should have said three more teenish / more thrilling / more newish major flats such as Revolution, King Chaos, and the one you missed is Giant Drop. Chubasco, Fiddler's Fling, and the Orbit could make someone puke just as much as Batman the Ride could.

These are strategies I can think of:

-Go on the rides first that you think will have the longest line during the middle of the day.
-Go on the rides first that have the shortest lines, and move from ride to ride to "get rid" of all these rides before they get really packed.
-Go on particular rides that have the shortest lines, and just ride those a lot.
-Go on anything and everything. Just go on the rides you like the most.
-Do as the general public does, and ride the first thing you see.

---Weather also plays a role. If you know a storm might be coming at 1 pm, you would want to go on your favorite coasters as much as possible because the storm comes. Avoid the inside coaster also because you can save that for later. If rain is coming, go on Whizzer / Ragin Cajun first because those shut down really fast usually with rain. Save eating your lunch / dinner for when the rain / heavy rain comes (if it's not too late), and the same thing would be for indoor shows.

[CoasterDude12-2]

I almost always go right unless I'm craving Superman (which I don't) and/or Batman and v2.

[monsterfan99]

I always head to the left side of the park first. Which starts the day off with Superman, TDK, Cajun, BTR, V2, Dipper. and then just wind my way around the park that way.

Its the best strategy that I've ever used to tackle the park.

You have this right as how to hit the park. Hit Superman, Cajun and Dipper early and you are good to go.

[PfightingPolish]

For some reason, I feel like the park flows right and in a counter-clockwise direction when you come out of the entrance. A lot has to do with what you see when you first walk in:

LEFT: Stores, lockers, more stores, food, the arcade, stroller rental, restrooms … nothing I really need or want to see. Really, I'd have to walk to Rue le Dodge, Condor or Superman to hit anything the ladyfriend and I want to ride.

RIGHT: SkyTrek (might ride), the Carousel entrance (same), used to hit the Go-Karts there, the Pictorium (will go if it's warm), and, not far, Triple Play, the Hometown Fun Machine and Whizzer.

It's as if the park is leading you to the right.

As for our attack: Now that we've been a number of times, we know we'll hit everything during the day. Last year, we broke right to get our food tickets, then usually hit Viper, Bull, X-Flight, Eagle and Revolution, did lunch, then just meandered and looked for short lines on things we wanted to ride or went to Hurricane Harbor, depending on the weather, the crowds and what we were hungry for. Going to the park is more about spending time with my girlfriend than anything else.

Will say this: Hitting Batman first is not a bad idea. It's a much more fun ride in the front row and Batman's line tends to fill later than others. Once got to essentially re-ride in the front row after heading there first thing. Awesome day. Probably won't ride it backwards, though — I remember the scrambled-brain feeling well enough from Iron Wolf, thank you.

Also: There's a certain glory to a day when it either threatens rain or rains real hard for 30-60 minutes midday. Go on one of those days and you don't need a plan.

[Ace]

I usually like to go left and ride batman as many times as I can before a line forms. Then I will make my way around the back of the park to fling revy and eagle before making my way to xflight demon then southwest territory. From there on always varies.

[DeathbyDinn]

LEFT: Stores, lockers, more stores, food, the arcade, stroller rental, restrooms … nothing I really need or want to see. Really, I'd have to walk to Rue le Dodge, Condor or Superman to hit anything the ladyfriend and I want to ride.

I would actually argue that because of this the park has a flow in a clock wise direction since you can get in, go to the bathroom, put stuff away in lockers, get a stroller, get a drink, and then start your day. I guess this would be more of a scenario for familys with kids.

Will say this: Hitting Batman first is not a bad idea.

Absolutely! I always go to Batman first since you can get a few re rides before the station fills up, and afterwards you can get on V2 as well with a short wait.

[Mr. SFGAm]

I always go left and get SUF, DK, Ragin Cajun, and V2 right away since those are the worst lines to wait in. Then I usually hit BTR once or twice, then V2 again before heading for Eagle. After that you've pretty much caught up to the crowds, but rides like Bull, X-Flight, Viper, and Whizzer are worth waiting in line for, and the lines usually go quick. Throw one or two laps on Demon in there also.

Now depending on the day, if its busy I won't even bother going back for more rounds on SUF, DK, or V2. If the single rider line is short, I take another ride on Ragin Cajun, otherwise I spend the mid-late afternoon on the flats, train, and Sky Trek Tower. After that, I can usually only tolerate a few *long* lines which is generally BTR, Viper, and Bull. Last ride of the night is usually Bull, X-Flight, or Whizzer.

[PfightingPolish]

I would actually argue that because of this the park has a flow in a clock wise direction since you can get in, go to the bathroom, put stuff away in lockers, get a stroller, get a drink, and then start your day. I guess this would be more of a scenario for familys with kids.

Ah, very true, and a good case for the different perspective. I suppose that would be true for a family.

For as badly as the ladyfriend wants to have children someday, though, we don't have any at the moment and aren't planning on it anytime soon. Our first thought when we get in is "Ride something big before everyone else gets the same idea." And the quickest way for us to do that is to go right. Also, we're cheap and we're regulars, so we try and avoid anything that involves spending more money than we have to and we generally have figured out how to pack what we need such that we often don't need lockers and such.

Interesting, though, and I can see what you're saying. Good call.

[DejaVu2001]

I always go right. Yes the left side is less crowded, but Batman is really the only thing on that side of the park that's worth riding.

[CstrFan512]

My plan usually changes based on the year. When TDK opened, I went towards Viper/Bull first. Last, year I found myself going left more due to the rush of people headed to X-Flight. However this year I'm going back towards Bull first since Batman: Backwards will be the new big draw.

[funkymonkey]

I'll be making my first trip to SFGA this summer (Canada's Wonderland is my home park). My plan was to head straight for X-Flight at park opening as it is the newest ride and therefore will have the longest lines later on. Any sense to that plan or should I head left to do SUF, TDK and Batman first?

[PfightingPolish]

If those four rides are your priorities, then I'd suggest you start out heading left to SUF and TDK. Why? Capacity, capacity, capacity.

SUF and TDK have lines that just crawl. If you get those out of the way at the start of the day, you're probably going to avoid some lines. Hit them a little later and you're going to be waiting.

Batman and X-Flight's lines, though, move pretty quickly. If you get SUF and TDK out of the way, you can probably still reach Batman in time to get a relatively quick reride, then make your way to X-Flight.

I was actually suprised how often X-Flight's line was shorter than SUF's and Raging Bull's last year. Either I just went on the right days or folks really weren't all that overwhelmed by it.

Be prepared to be thoroughly underwhelmed by TDK. X-Flight has recieved mixed reviews, skewing positive generally, but I love it. Have fun and don't forget to take the short drive up to Wisconsin to put some money into our state's economy, too.

[Ace]

I'll be making my first trip to SFGA this summer (Canada's Wonderland is my home park). My plan was to head straight for X-Flight at park opening as it is the newest ride and therefore will have the longest lines later on. Any sense to that plan or should I head left to do SUF, TDK and Batman first?

Capacity is indeed the concern here I would hit superman tdk v2 and batman as soon as you get there as bull xflight and viper all do a pretty good job moving people. Hope you enjoy your trip!

[DejaVu2001]

^ and ^^, Don't forget Ragin' Cajun in your low capacity list. And Little Dipper. Plus morning is also a good time to hit Spacely Sprocket Rockets if you want to get every coaster.

[Goku1910]

I'll be making my first trip to SFGA this summer (Canada's Wonderland is my home park). My plan was to head straight for X-Flight at park opening as it is the newest ride and therefore will have the longest lines later on. Any sense to that plan or should I head left to do SUF, TDK and Batman first?

You don't know how wrong you are....

Superman, Batman, and The Dark Knight should definitely be your #1 choices because they're the most packed of any ride....and with Batman becoming namtaB it'll be even worse with 1 less car. Do I need to even mention Superman's line? I haven't waited in that line since 2006 when I first rode it.

Longest I've waited for X-Flight was 45 minutes to an hour....Oh, and Right wing moves faster.