Six Flags Great America

Six Flags Great America, originally known as Marriott's Great America, is a Six Flags theme park in the Chicago metropolitan area, located in Gurnee, Illinois, USA. As of 2024, the park has nine themed sections, a 20-acre (65,000 m²) water park, three specially themed children's areas, and various other forms of entertainment.

History

The park opened on May 29, 1976. A near-identical sister park of the same name (now known as California's Great America) in Santa Clara, California, USA opened earlier in the month.^[1]

Six Flags purchased the Illinois park from the Marriott Corporation in 1984.^[1]

While Six Flags Great America was closed for the entire 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic, Hurricane Harbor operated that year.^[2] The dry park then reopened on April 24, 2021.^[3]

Roller coasters

Present (16)

Name	Manufacturer	Type	Opened
American Eagle	Intamin	Wooden Twin	May 23, 1981
Batman The Ride	Bolliger & Mabillard	Inverted	May 9, 1992
Demon	Arrow Development	Sit-Down	May 29, 1976
Flash: Vertical Velocity	Intamin	Launched Inverted Shuttle	May 18, 2001
Goliath	Rocky Mountain Construction	Wooden	June 19, 2014
Joker	S&S Worldwide	4th Dimension Winged	May 27, 2017
Little Dipper	Philadelphia Toboggan Company	Wooden Family	May 27, 2010
Maxx Force	S&S Worldwide	Launched	July 4, 2019
Raging Bull	Bolliger & Mabillard	Hyper	May 1, 1999
Sprocket Rockets	Vekoma	Sit-Down	1998
Superman Ultimate Flight	Bolliger & Mabillard	Flying	May 3, 2003
The Dark Knight Coaster	Mack Rides	Wild Mouse Enclosed	May 21, 2008
Viper	Six Flags	Wooden	April 29, 1995
Whizzer	Schwarzkopf	Sit-Down	1976
Wrath of Rakshasa	Bolliger & Mabillard	Dive	May 31, 2025
X-Flight	Bolliger & Mabillard	Winged	May 16, 2012

Past (8)

Name	Manufacturer	Type	Opened	Closed	Fate
Déjà Vu	Vekoma	Inverted Shuttle	October 7, 2001	October 28, 2007	Relocated to Silverwood Theme Park
Gulf Coaster	Bradley & Kaye	Kiddie	1976	1976	Unknown
Iron Wolf	Bolliger & Mabillard	Stand-Up	April 28, 1990	September 5, 2011	Relocated to Six Flags America
Ragin' Cajun	Zamperla	Spinning Wild Mouse	May 28, 2004	October 27, 2013	Relocated to Six Flags America
Rolling Thunder	Intamin	Bobsled	1989	1995	Relocated to Great Escape
ShockWave	Arrow Dynamics	Sit-Down	June 3, 1988	2002	Scrapped
Tidal Wave	Schwarzkopf	Launched Shuttle	May 6, 1978	1991	Relocated to Six Flags Over Georgia
Z-Force	Intamin	Sit-Down	July 10, 1985	1987	Relocated to Six Flags Over Georgia

Attractions

Operating

Name	Manufacturer	Type	Opened
Aquaman Splashdown	Arrow Development	Log Flume	1976
Big Easy Balloons	Zamperla	Balloon Race	2004
Bouncer	Zamperla	Junior Drop Tower	2007
Chubasco	Zamperla	Teacups	1996
Columbia Carousel	Chance Rides	Carousel	1976
Condor	HUSS	Condor	1991
Crazy Bus	Zamperla	Crazy Bus	1998
DC Super Villains Swing	Zierer	Waveswinger	1976
Fiddler's Fling	Schwarzkopf	Calypso	1976
Giant Drop	Intamin	Drop Tower	1997
Hometown Fun Machine	Eli Bridge Company	Scrambler	1976
Justice League: Battle for Metropolis	Oceaneering Entertainment Systems	Tracked Dark Ride	2016
Krazy Kars	Zamperla	Track Ride	2007
Krazy Kups	Zamperla	Junior Teacups	2007
Lady Bugs	Modern Products	Roundabout	1976
Lobster	Schwarzkopf	Polyp	1976
Logger's Run	Arrow Development	Log Flume	1976
Red Baron	Chance Rides	Junior Jets	1976
Ricochet	HUSS	Ramba Zamba/Swingaround	1977
River Rocker	Zamperla	Pirate Ship	1996
Roaring Rapids	Intamin	River Rapids	1984
Rue Le Dodge	Soli	Dodgems	1976
Scenic Railway	G.E. Custom Fabricators	Miniature Railway	1976
Sky Striker	Zamperla	Frisbee	2024
Sky Trek Tower	Intamin	Observation Tower	1977
Tot's Livery	Carousels USA	Roundabout	1976
Triple Play	HUSS	Troika	1976
Up, Up & Away	Zamperla	Balloon Tower	2007
Winner's Circle Go Karts	J&J Amusements	Go-Karts	1999
Yahoo River	Theel Brothers Manufacturing	Roundabout	1976
ZoomJets	Zamperla	Jets	2007

Closed

Name	Manufacturer	Type	Opened	Closed	Fate
Bottoms Up	Chance Rides	Trabant	1976	1983	Unknown
Buccaneer Battle	Mack Rides	Splash Battle	2009	2021	Scrapped
Cajun Cliffhanger	Chance Rides	Rotor	1976	2000	Scrapped
Dare Devil Dive	Sky Fun 1 Inc.	Skycoaster	1997	2023	Stored in Employee Parking Lot
Davey Jones Dinghies	Intamin	Flying Dutchman	1977	1982	Unknown
Delta Flyer	Schwarzkopf	Bayern Kurve	1976	1990	Scrapped
Edge	Intamin	Freefall	1983	1986	Relocated to Rocky Point Park
Great America Raceway	Arrow Development	Track Ride	1976	2010	Scrapped
Jester's Wild Ride	Zamperla	Rockin' Tug	2004	2016	Relocated to Six Flags Mexico
King Chaos	HUSS	Top Spin	2004	2017	Stored in boneyard, later relocated to Indiana Beach
Mardi Gras Hangover	Larson International	Super Loop	2018	2023	Relocated to Niagara Amusement Park and Splash World
Orbit	Schwarzkopf	Enterprise	1976	2016	Scrapped
Power Dive	Intamin	Ranger	1987	2001	Scrapped
Revolution	HUSS	Frisbee	2004	2023	Relocated to Niagara Amusement Park and Splash World
Sky Whirl	Waagner-Biro	Ferris Wheel	1976	2000	Scrapped
Splashwater Falls	Hopkins	Shoot The Chute	1986	2007	Scrapped
Trailblazer	Zamperla	Rainbow	1996	2006	Scrapped
Eagle's Flight	Von Roll	Ropeway	1976	1984	Cars relocated to Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags Over Georgia^[4]
Southern Cross	Von Roll	Ropeway	1977	1983 or earlier	Cars relocated to Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags Over Georgia^[5]

Non-ride attractions

Sky Trail was a ropes course which operated from 2010 to 2014.

Themed Sections (Work In Progress)

Section	Description
Carousel Plaza	Carousel Plaza is the first section of the park that all guests walk into through the main entrance. To the left is the building for Guest Relation Services, allowing easy access to any new guests of the park. In the middle of the section, and the main part of Carousel Plaza. Is a wide, long pool of water with trees on the left and right side. At the end of the pool is the iconic Colombia Carousel, the world record breaking tallest carousel along with its sister the Carousel Colombia. The Colombia Carousel opened with the park in 1976, and is regarded by the guests and workers to be one of the main sights of the park. Other notable places of Carousel Plaza are the entrance to the attraction Sky Trek Tower, yet another iconic sight of the park, which offers riders a wide view of the park. The entrance of Maxx Force is also notable, as it is the fastest roller coaster in the United States of America in terms of acceleration. To the left and right past the pool are gift shops, and to the left are restrooms, baby strollers for rent, and lockers to store personal belongings during a guests' visit at the park.
Hometown Square	Hometown Square is primarily entered through the right of Carousel Plaza. As the name suggests, Hometown Square is themed around the idea of being a town square. Because of this the buildings in this area are designed similar to buildings in a town square or downtown area. Many notable buildings are located in this area, such as the Flash Pass headquarters, a first aid building for injuries, a theater used for live performances such as dancing or plays, and a large building from where floats for parades in the park emerge from. In the middle of Hometown Square is an open area where cartoon characters from Looney Tunes are often able to be seen and greeted. Notable rides and attractions are plenty in this area, this is because every ride and attraction located in Hometown Square has been operating since the park first opened. A notable attraction is Whizzer, the last remaining Speed-racer coaster in the United States of America, and an ACE historical coaster landmark. Another is the Scenic Railway, which takes riders on a slow moving train throughout the entire park. There is also a sub-section of Hometown Square themed to kids by the name of Hometown Park. Hometown park contains three kiddie rides.
Southwest Territory	Southwest Territory is located in the eastern part of the park and is primarily entered through the top right part Hometown Square. Southwest Territory is a frontier themed section of the park, with the design of buildings that of western architecture in media, related to things such as the genre of Wild West. Notable buildings include the gift shop El Mercado, which is a building that guests who've just ridden Viper exit from. Another notable building is located in the middle of Southwest Territory, and is a large bell tower building with a courtyard, where the attraction Chubasco is located. Notable rides are the wooden-coaster Viper, built to be a larger, smoother, and more exciting version than Cyclone at Luna Park. Viper's entrance is also directly located to the park entrance of Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Chicago. Another notable ride is Raging Bull, which since it's opening in May 1st, 1999, it has been the tallest and longest roller coaster in the park. Holding those titles, and being unique in going underground makes it the main point of interest of Southwest Territory.
Metropolis Plaza	Metropolis Plaza is primarily entered through the top of Southwest Territory. Metropolis Plaza is themed after the fictional city of Metropolis in D.C. Comics. However the size of the section limits the theme, as it is the smallest themed section of the entire park. Looking at the official park map there are only two points of any interest in the entire section. The main point of interest it the ride Justice League: Battle for Metropolis, BoM (Battle for Metropolis shortened for convenience) Is an interactive dark ride that shares it's model across multiple Six flags parks. The ride replaced the Southwest Amphitheater in 2016 for the parks 40th anniversary, and is the reason the Metropolis Plaza section of the park exists. The only other point of any interest in the entire section is a Dippin' Dots stand for guests to enjoy the frozen dessert.
County Fair	The Great Midwest Livestock Exposition at County fair, or simply known and referred to as County Fair, is primarily entered through the top of Hometown Square. County Fair is the largest themed section of the park, and has the most points of interest of any section. Themed after a county fair in the mid-west, it has many buildings themed around the setting. County fair houses the parks main food court, which has a variety of restaurants to eat from, and a large selection of carnival games guests can play for an additional fee. County Fair has the most coasters of any themed section of the park... W.I.P.
Yukon Territory	W.I.P.
DC Universe	W.I.P.
Mardi Gras	W.I.P.
Orleans Place	W.I.P.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 "Six Flags Great America - Part 1: Marriott in the Midwest". Themerica. 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
↑ "Hurricane Harbor opens in Gurnee with coronavirus measures in place".
↑ "They're back! Six Flags Great America opens April 24 and Hurricane Harbor opens May 29".
↑ "Sky Ride At Six Flags Great Adventure". GreatAdventureHistory.com. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
↑ "Sky Ride At Six Flags Great Adventure". GreatAdventureHistory.com. Retrieved 2022-01-02.

External links

Six Flags Great America on the Roller Coaster DataBase.

Current Water Parks (Within Park Grounds)

Carolina Harbor Oceans of Fun Six Flags Hurricane Harbor (Great Escape)Six Flags Hurricane Harbor (Over Georgia)Six Flags Hurricane Harbor (St. Louis)Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Darien Lake Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Maryland Six Flags Hurricane Harbor New England South Bay Shores Splash Works Soak City (Kings Dominion)Soak City (Kings Island)Soak City (Valleyfair)WildWater Adventure Wildwater Kingdom Wild West Water Works

Current Water Parks (Separate Admission or Standalone)

Former Properties (Theme Parks)

American Adventures Bellewaerde Park Six Flags AstroWorld Six Flags AutoWorld Six Flags Belgium Six Flags Elitch Gardens Six Flags Holland Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom Six Flags New Orleans Six Flags Worlds of Adventure Walibi Aquitaine Walibi Lorraine Walibi Rhône-Alpes Warner Bros. Movie World Germany Warner Bros. Park Madrid Wild Waves and Enchanted Village Wyandot Lake

Former Properties (Water Parks)

Aqualibi Hurricane Harbor Worlds of Adventure Six Flags Atlantis Island Kingdom Six Flags Splashwater Kingdom Six Flags WaterWorld Waterworld Sacramento

Cancelled

Dubai Zhejiang

[:0-1] 1.0 ^1.1 "Six Flags Great America - Part 1: Marriott in the Midwest". Themerica. 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2024-12-20.

[2] "Hurricane Harbor opens in Gurnee with coronavirus measures in place".

[3] "They're back! Six Flags Great America opens April 24 and Hurricane Harbor opens May 29".

[4] "Sky Ride At Six Flags Great Adventure". GreatAdventureHistory.com. Retrieved 2022-01-02.

[5] "Sky Ride At Six Flags Great Adventure". GreatAdventureHistory.com. Retrieved 2022-01-02.

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