Six Flags Chicago, officially known as Six Flags Great America, is a theme park in Gurnee, Illinois featuring a number of roller coasters, kids’ rides and an extensive wate rpark. How does Six Flags Great America rate in terms of its thrill rides, its games and its value for the price? Read on for my complete Six Flags Chicago review.
Six Flags Chicago Review: Coasters and thrill rides
The roller coasters at Six Flags Great America are very ordinary. None go very fast. They certainly don’t compare to the much faster and scarier coasters at non-chain theme parks like Cedar Point in Ohio and Kennywood in Pennsylvania.
The Batman ride is an uncomfortable experience, as it slams your head back and forth between hard rubber padding. The Giant Drop is a letdown as well – it only drops you once instead of multiple times like the drops at many other theme parks.
The Superman ride may be the best coaster thanks to its unique design. After you sit down and buckle yourself in, the ride inverts upward so that you are dangling from above, facing straight down. This allows you put your arms straight out and get the sensation that you’re flying, just like Superman. It’s definitely an interesting feeling.
My favorite coaster after the Superman is the Raging Bull, which is the fastest coaster in the park, even if its top speed is an unimpressive 73 miles per hour.
Coasters and thrill rides grade: C
Six Flags Chicago Review: Games
Like all good theme parks, Great America has a number of traditional carnival games. Most cost a couple bucks to play, which isn’t outrageous. You can attempt to knock over milk bottles or make a three-point basketball shot.
But what is outrageous is the size of the prizes. Many of the stuffed animals are so enormous that they’re a massive headache to carry around all day. And they don’t fit in a locker. I’m honestly not sure how people get some of the prizes home. If you’re driving a compact car, don’t try to win a giant gorilla, because you will literally not be able to fit it inside your vehicle.
Games grade: C
Six Flags Chicago Review: Water park
Hurricane Harbor is the water park inside Six Flags Great America, and it’s big. Among the attractions is the Tornado, which features a funnel shaped like a giant megaphone. Riders on rafts are spin from side to side inside the funnel. The ride looks more fun than it actually is, however, and the whole experience lasts no more than 15 seconds.
A less popular but much more fun ride is the slide some people refer to as the “toilet bowl,” officially known as the Vortex and the Typhoon. You sit on a raft and proceed down a water slide, where you’re expelled into a big round ring that resembles the shape of a toilet. You spin around the ring a few times until your momentum runs out, at which time you are sucked into the hole in the middle and down another slide until you arrive at the exit. It’s the most fun water ride in the park.
There’s also a (very long) lazy river, a wave pool, and numerous body slides. I’m not a big fan of water parks, but I like this one a lot. The only downsides are that it can get very crowded and the lockers are expensive. Overall, Hurricane Harbor is a lot of fun.
Water park grade: B
Six Flags Chicago Review: Prices
Food prices are high but that’s to be expected at a theme park. Parking is a headache at $15. A basic Six Flags Chicago ticket is priced at $54.99, which is way too high, but there are always promotions available on the Great America website, such as “two for one” admittance fees or “adults pays child’s price” promotions.
The way to get your money’s worth is to buy a season pass. At just $74 (they were actually only $64 for a limited time), you get unlimited access to Great America (and all other Six Flags parks) all summer long. Repeat visitors also get special deals like free sodas and free parking by joining the Rewards program.
Where Great America loses points is the fact that any time you go on a coaster, instead of leaving your drink or shoes or stuffed animals on the ground for the duration of your ride, they make you rent a locker to cram everything in. Even at just a couple bucks per ride, the lockers are an unexpected cost that can add up over the course of a day.
Veteran Great America patrons have learned to never take anything into the park beyond your keys, phone and wallet, which can be stored in your pockets. Avoid the lockers if at all possible!
The water park lockers are even more expensive. A handful are available for $11, but most are $14 and the rest are $17. The only saving grace with these is that you get the locker for the entire day, so you can leave everything inside even if you leave the water park and head over to ride some coasters for a while.
Prices grade: C+
Six Flags Chicago Review: Summary
Six Flags Great America is an average to slightly above-average theme park. The coasters and rides are not entertaining enough to occupy an entire day, but the Hurricane Harbor water park makes up for it. The lines for rides can get very long and prices can be high, but the value of a season pass makes it worth the investment.
Six Flags Chicago Review: Sources
http://www.sixflags.com/greatamerica/
