Six Flags Vs Great America

[GreatAmerica1995]

I did a search and could not find anything on this topic, so I apologize if I missed something.

Does anybody on this board call Great America "Great America" and not "Six Flags?"

I'm curious if there's anyone else out there like me.....I always call it Great America and the other local parks by their local name.....except for the "Six Flags over..." parks.

Anybody else have an opinion or thought on this?

[ilrider]

I did a search and could not find anything on this topic, so I apologize if I missed something.

Does anybody on this board call Great America "Great America" and not "Six Flags?"

I'm curious if there's anyone else out there like me.....I always call it Great America and the other local parks by their local name.....except for the "Six Flags over..." parks.

Anybody else have an opinion or thought on this?

In my family, we have always called it Great America, though we have lived near it since the beginning, so I suppose rather then calling it by its various iterations of corporate ownership, we have just chosen the park name.

[Jodon]

I use both monikers and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason why I use either. Sometimes it comes out as Six Flags, sometimes I say Great America.


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[GreatAmerica1995]

Interesting you say that. I just had a conversation with a co-worker who lives in Gurnee, and she called it "Six Flags". And being the wiseguy that I am, I asked her if she meant Great Adventure in New Jersey. And she replied "No I mean Six Flags!" Lol. She said her reasoning for calling the park Six Flags is because she lives so close to it and that is current name of the park, even if it was once called Great America.

I feel like it's becoming a generational thing.....people who were familiar with the park before 1993 call it Great America. Then when the corporate branding of the 90's really kicked in and ride announcements were changed to "Enjoy the rest of your day at Six Flags" and so on.

Incidentally, I love what Great Adventure does with the post-ride announcement: "Enjoy the rest of your day at Six Flags. (about a five second pause........) and make it a Great Adventure!" So cool.

[tp41190]

Everyone over 40, that I would talk about SFGAm to, still call it Marriots.

[GreatAmerica1995]

You mean just Marriott's? Not even Marriott's Great America?

[CoasterCale]

I call Six Flags by the subtitle of the park. "Great America, Over Texas, Magic Mountain, etc." Also I never say Disney's _____.

[anewman35]

I'm 33, I've lived about a half hour from the park my whole life, and I think I've heard people call it "Great America" about 99% of the time (and that's what I call it myself)

[GayCoasterGuy]

Everyone over 40, that I would talk about SFGAm to, still call it Marriots.

I'm 41 and I've always called it Great America. Most people who grew up around Chicagoland before or during the 80s call it Great America. I've heard it called "Marriotts" by an aunt of mine (years ago) and remember people calling it that.

Seems like a lot of younger folks call it Six Flags... which is what the company wants, I guess. Over the years, the GREAT AMERICA in the logo got smaller and smaller and the SIX FLAGS has gotten bigger and bigger. Same deal with the other parks, especially Magic Mountain. Such great park names... I'm not a fan of calling them Six Flags.

[GreatAmerica1995]

I've taught high school for 14 years now and all of my students, as well as my teenage nieces nephews, know the park as nothing but Six Flags. A student today told me he was going to Six Flags this weekend, I ask him which one, just because I was curious if he knew our local park's name. He had never heard of it being called Great America before.

I suppose it is cheaper to brand all the parks by the same name. And it is all about branding, so that people all over the country will say Six Flags and not worry about the details that separate each park.

I do find it curious though that If anyone were to say "I'm going to Disney" or say Disneyland when they mean Disney World, people will often question them on it. But nobody has a problem with calling so many different parks that are owned by the Six Flags corporation by the same exact name.

[Guy_With_A_Stick]

My family and a lot of Gurnee locals call pretty much all Six Flags parks Great America(Great America in St. Louis, Great America Magic Mountain, etc)

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[Dragsterboy]

I live 20 minutes away from SFGAm, I have for 40 years now. I call it "Great America". Some of the elder members of my family still call it "Marriotts" lol

[Chitown]

Talking with locals about the park, we always refer to it as Great America. Online and not in the Chicago area, I will refer to it as Six Flags Great America, or Six Flags Chicago. If you are talking with people outside the area, alot of them don't know of it as Great America unless they are enthusiasts.

[Foltzy]

I've taught high school for 14 years now and all of my students, as well as my teenage nieces nephews, know the park as nothing but Six Flags. A student today told me he was going to Six Flags this weekend, I ask him which one, just because I was curious if he knew our local park's name. He had never heard of it being called Great America before.

I suppose it is cheaper to brand all the parks by the same name. And it is all about branding, so that people all over the country will say Six Flags and not worry about the details that separate each park.

I do find it curious though that If anyone were to say "I'm going to Disney" or say Disneyland when they mean Disney World, people will often question them on it. But nobody has a problem with calling so many different parks that are owned by the Six Flags corporation by the same exact name.

Normally, when people say I'm going to disney I ask world or land, and they say the one in Florida or wherever they go. Shocking how many don't know difference between disney world and land. (Ones HUGE and the other is only big)

[CoasterCale]

I've taught high school for 14 years now and all of my students, as well as my teenage nieces nephews, know the park as nothing but Six Flags. A student today told me he was going to Six Flags this weekend, I ask him which one, just because I was curious if he knew our local park's name. He had never heard of it being called Great America before.

I suppose it is cheaper to brand all the parks by the same name. And it is all about branding, so that people all over the country will say Six Flags and not worry about the details that separate each park.

I do find it curious though that If anyone were to say "I'm going to Disney" or say Disneyland when they mean Disney World, people will often question them on it. But nobody has a problem with calling so many different parks that are owned by the Six Flags corporation by the same exact name.

Normally, when people say I'm going to disney I ask world or land, and they say the one in Florida or wherever they go. Shocking how many don't know difference between disney world and land. (Ones HUGE and the other is only big)

As a Disney Freak, this is my biggest Pet Peeve. When I ask for clarification, they ask back if it really matters. Then I give them a 15-20 minute spiel about the differences.

[anewman35]

Normally, when people say I'm going to disney I ask world or land, and they say the one in Florida or wherever they go. Shocking how many don't know difference between disney world and land. (Ones HUGE and the other is only big)

As a Disney Freak, this is my biggest Pet Peeve. When I ask for clarification, they ask back if it really matters. Then I give them a 15-20 minute spiel about the differences.

Honestly, for stuff like this, 99% of people are just never going to care, and, really, there's not really any reason why they have to. Giving them a lecture is really just going to annoy most people.

[Viper 88]

I'm with Jodon I usually either choose Six Flags or Great America but ironically never Six Flags Great America. I also can't stand it when people don't know the name of the park they are visiting. Just like I can't stand them not knowing the names of the rides.

[kossdude1]

I just say SFGAm. People usually get what I'm talking about right away

[Tardis1972]

I usually call it Great America, but if I'm at another theme park (Cedar Point) then I call it by its full name (six flags great america).

[GayCoasterGuy]

Plenty of media folks (radio, news, Marcus LeShock) still proudly call it Great America

[sfgam-fan]

Grew up in Gurnee. If I'm talking to people from the area I always say "Great America" but if they're not from the area I'll use the full name.

When talking about some other parks like Six Flags over Georgia, over Texas, or St Louis, I always say "Six Flags over Texas" etc, because "over Texas" by itself isn't very descriptive.

I've never heard someone refer to the park as Marriott's. For me, I associate "Marriott's" with hotels and the Marriott Lincolnshire theater.

I've never said, for example, "Disney's Animal Kingdom" because each park is so well known that it's not necessary. If you say Animal Kingdom, people should know what you're referring to.

[Coastermonkey61]

You hear both in Rockford, but probably more of "Great America" than "Six Flags"

[Sharon29060]

I call it by its abbreviation (SFGAm), but if I'm with GP, I just say Six Flags.

For the rest of the Six Flags parks, I just call them: Magic Mountain, Fiesta Texas, Over Georgia, etc...

[Paradise]

To everyone in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Sfgam is still the number one park. Even though it's three hours away, it's still everyone's home park. People usually just call it "six flags".