Six Flags Great America

Amazing theme park but they are very pricy and they have pretty gross bathrooms but besides that if you get a season pass it’s definitely worth it because I go very often over the summer. Would recommend though. It’s fun and family friendly there’s something for everyone in the family

Who’s dick do I gotta suck to get some ice in my drink after 5pm… at every stand. (Literally) that many spots waiting on ice is a scam when it’s 90 degrees outside .20 bucks for unlimited drink all day… fine print .ice pending. Lol but not joking

I had a bad experience this fall at six flags and decided to give it a second chance yesterday (and also had already paid for season passes so was wanting to get my money’s worth) However my experience yesterday ensures that I will never go back. My partner and I arrived shortly after opening and despite the enormous crowd at the gates got in pretty quickly. I’ve never carried a bag into ANY amusement park, but we were planning on Hurricane Harbor so I brought a towel and a change of clothes in a drawstring bag. I always keep my valuables on me and bring ONLY my ID, pass, and credit card and phone in a waterproof bag that I can fit in a zippered front pocket of my shorts. We decided to do the log flume and yankee clipper before heading out for lunch. I should have had my car key in my pocket, but being concerned about it getting wet it was in the bag and left it in the cubby. By the time the ride was done, our bag was missing. We reported the bag missing at lost and found and called a friend to bring us our spare keys. My partner was concerned that whomever took it would go find our car and take it. The security officer who took the report «assured» us that it would be highly unlikely that would be a problem and said that it would most likely get turned in or left somewhere once they realized there was nothing of value in it. Upon getting my spare keys I went to go my car to find that it had indeed been stolen. I’m sure they do have lots of people who lose track of where they parked and panic all the time, so I get that they could be skeptical of the situation. However, with the fact that our bag had been stolen and reported with the keys in it should have been an indication that we weren’t just two people who were forgetful. The security «supervisor» continued to question how someone could have done this, how could they even know where the car is parked? He must have said that 5 times before actually having someone help us. It’s not rocket science dude, the key and the fob say what kind of car it is. If you walk around pushing the alarm button it’s pretty easy. My partner made a note in her phone of the parking area. Finally after 30 minutes of talking about it he sent me out with security in a car to look around. A few minutes later another security guard found it parked on the opposite side of the lot, backed into a space by the bus parking. It wasn’t until then that I think they actually believed that it had happened. A random woman from the lost and found office asked us if there was a man that we had come with or if it was just the two of us (women) While my partner was talking to the police they asked her if the friend who brought us our keys could be playing a prank on us. Even though the only reason he had to come in the first place was to bring us our keys! The thieves ransacked the car only to steal a pair of prescription eye glasses and an e-​cigarette. Leaving behind the stereo and other pairs of sunglasses. They also left a half drunk bottle of water in the front seat. The cop told me not to touch the car and opened it with gloves on, then asked me to look through and see what had been taken. Once I figured out what was missing he said he couldn’t get fingerprints because I had touched everything (like he told me to). Turns out that Yankee Clipper is one of the «few rides» with no cameras. I think whomever did this knows what they are doing and targets the places where people are most likely to leave things unattended so they don’t get wet. No compensation from them for anything, just a «sorry» and «have a six flags day!» If youre visiting this park this summer be aware that this is obviously something that can and will happen. I’m partially to blame for putting the keys in the bag, but I underestimated the desperation and general crappiness of humans.

Great summer destination with the teenagers. This year we took advantage of the season pass and dining. It was a great deal. The park is kept ip fairly well. It would benefit from a new coat of paint. But it is fun and a great place to spend the day.

Went there today due to very hot weather and they tell us hurricane harbor is closed with no reason why!!! This is absurd!!! The beginning of summer with the hottest day so far and they are not ready to go!!! Millions of people pay for season passes and they pull this crap! Bad park Management on their behalf! As a business u have to be ready to service your customers… so what happens? All the other water rides go to 75 – 90 min waits! Poor management!!!

Coming here after a 10 year hiatus as an adult… I have mixed feelings. With regard to theme parks, this really is the best one around the northwest suburbs with the multitude of rides and attractions.
There are so many roller coasters and thrill rides. I am deathly scared of roller coasters, so that isn’t going to be what my review is about. My review is more about wait times, and service.
I bought a season pass because it was only a little more then the general admission ticket. It can be quite affordable if you only to go even a couple times, and bring a friend on the free days.
I like that the ride times are now visible on the app, and that you can put your season pass bar code in there, and it makes things easy not having to print anything out.
The wait times were pretty spot on, and for the rides, it seemed pretty clear how the lines were moving, even through sometimes with all the gates and rails, it feels like you are waiting in line, to get into another line, to get into a line, for the line, for the line, into the front gate of the ride. (cough Battle for Metropolis)
My biggest gripe was Battle for Metropolis which stated a 85 minute wait time, which proceeded into a 3 hour battle, of listening to the same music, and same video play on loop for hours. The ride broke down, and neither the app nor any employee bother to mention to those waiting, that the ride had broken down and it would take another hour to get it working. While the ride was really cool, after 3 hours of waiting and feeling tired and dehydrated and just plain sick, the ride wasn’t as enjoyable as it could of been.
However the (fast moving) classics like the bumper cars, sky trek tower, and my favorite raft ride, made the experience nostalgic and more enjoyable. Getting to ride the rafts, 3 times straight with zero wait time (because it was cold) was an adrenaline rush and almost made up for the hellish wait to get in to Metropolis.
All in all, as an adult who has no kids, and hates roller coasters, I’ll probably come here once ever 4 years with a season pass. It’s pretty easy to empty your wallet here.

Six flags is a fun summer spot for a summer adventure but prices are all definitely geared for those who live in the area and will go frequently. If you wanna just go once with a group of friends you should plan on spending a pretty penny.
A one day pass is $ 68.99 (with no coupons but I believe if you bring a Coke can it has a coupon) and its $ 85.99 for a season pass which is good through fright fest and includes the water park.
If you don’t want to wait in line you can opt to get a flash pass which reserves a spot in line for you on a beeper device. The device notifies you when your reservation is ready. It’s a really cool concept it’s just also pretty pricey.
Another pricey part of the park is all the food which is mediocre.
All the rides in the park are awesome. There are all different types of rides, ones for extreme adrenaline junkies and ones that aren’t as intense. Raging bull and the viper are my favs by far.
All in all it’s definitely an experience to at least once a year I just wish it wasn’t so over the top expensive.

They offered me a Gold membership for $ 5.99/month, then for $ 3.30/month. I was subscribed for $ 5.99 for 4 people and asked them to honor the $ 3.30 offer I had received. They stonewalled. While I understand their policy, it’s unprofessional that they refuse to modify a subscription minutes after it is setup. Terrible customer service.
Here’s the full correspondence:
=============== EMAIL 1: TO SIX FLAGS ===============
Six Flags,
I’m extremely disappointed that yesterday I discovered that with a single mouse click, I would have saved $ 130/​year on my 4 Gold memberships. Yesterday, I had to cancel 5 memberships (4 on one order, 1 on another). I had to cancel them in order to renew again with different names (2 in the group of 4 have changed).
After canceling the 4, I was offered a chance to renew for $ 5.99/person/month. After carefully reading the language, it looked as if it would be a «new membership,» which would allow for the name changes. So, I went ahead went that process.
Afterward, I had to cancel the 5^th one that was no longer being used. During that process, I learned there was a 2^nd «Special Offer» for only $ 3.30/person/month.
So, I agreed to $ 23.96/month and minutes later learned that other people are being offered the same thing for $ 13.20/month.
Considering we also spend a fortune on food, drinks, and other park features, this rubs me the wrong way.
I fully intended to continue buying 4 gold memberships each year, but this experience has me a bit soured.
Is there a way to make this right? Can you move me to the $ 3.30/person plan, or somewhere between $ 5.99 and $ 3.30 at least?
Thank you for your help. I greatly appreciate it.
Will
=============== EMAIL 2: TO ME ===============
Hi William,
Thank you for contacting Six Flags Membership regarding your concern. Unfortunately, prices cannot be modified or adjusted on an ongoing membership account.
Thank you,
Have A Six Flags Day!
Ade
Supervisor, Membership Support Center
=============== EMAIL 3: TO SIX FLAGS ===============
Ade,
Seriously? I asked privately and politely for a reasonable concession, as a loyal and well paying customer.
Would you prefer that I copy and paste my request publicly on Unilocal instead?
Will
=============== EMAIL 4: TO ME ===============
Hi William,
Thank you for contacting Six Flags Membership, unfortunately we do not have the ability do that as the system send this code randomly, Ever guest that did the cancellation process receive the promo code. some guest never get one as the system send it randomly and depending what park they purchase there membership. there nothing we can do. If you have any other question, please feel free to send us a note.
Quincy
Guest Service Supervisor

It’s a great value for the money. Crowded, long lines at times… yes, but a good value for what you pay for. The coasters are awesome and the meal pass is well worth the $ 89.00 if you go more than 4 times in a year.
I’ve been dozens of times and never get sick of it.

Outstanding value and a great time. Food and food service have finally improved. Staff is very helpful. Allowing ‘singles’ a shorter line is useless. It is not monitored and people constantly abuse it by sitting with friends anyway. It really only server to make the long lines move even slower … And don’t get me started on Fast-​pass, which creates an upper-​class privilege while making the lower-​class wait even longer. GET RID OF FAST PASS. When they do, this is a solid 5-​star amusement park with GREAT world-​class coasters!

If I could give this place 0 stars, I would. What happened was UNACCEPTABLE. I will never come back.
I went here with my family and friends and checked online the day before to make sure the park was open. It was. from 10:30 –6pm on 5÷23÷16 when we checked it the day before. So we get to the park at around 10:30am. The park is still not opened. We figured it was just opening slowly so we waited about 10 minutes. Then we saw all the cars leaving. It turns out that the park decided to close today. The park can decide to close the day of for no good reason. Even if it said the park was open online the day before, day of, they can decide not to open. Weather wasn’t an excuse, it was a beautiful 70−80s out with 0% chance of rain.
We bought 4 season passes just for this trip and now I’m considering just disputing the charge because Six Flags does not deserve my money after this.
We met another family who had traveled from Wisconsin, taken off work, taken their kids out of school, and came all the way down because the hours said it was open, only to find out that, today, they decided not to open. I also met another couple who bought day passes specific to this date but the park was still closed. This is UNACCEPTABLE. I can’t believe this is allowed.

This park needs some vast improvement, desperately. If they cannot get enough staff to operate this park properly until the high school kids are out of school, then they need to quit wasting people’s hard earned money and stay closed until June.
— Food court was a mess. Something broke down at Chop Stix, employees just sat around and refused to tell anyone in line what was going on. It took us almost an hour to get lunch because of this, only to get a tiny and COLD portion for nearly $ 15.
— Eating tables were disgusting and never cleaned. Had to clean one ourselves.
— By mid-​day the bathrooms reeked of vomit. This never changed for the rest of the day so I assume these aren’t even cleaned until after closing.
— Only one operator for 90% of the rides, which slowed down the lines. It took forever for that one person to unload and re-​load the ride. We didn’t re-​ride several simply because it wasn’t worth the wait.
— No warning on the website that American Eagle and King Chaos were closed for the entire day.
— No enforcement of line jumpers. Had teenagers jump in front of us on three different rides and despite my loud objections nothing was done.
— Ordered a plain funnel cake with powdered sugar, but was still charged the full price of $ 12 as if I wanted all the loaded ice cream and sauce toppings. There really needs to be a cheaper option. Funnel cake was overcooked, so doubt I will ever order another one anyways.
— No warning from Six Flags that May 13^th would be overloaded with schools from the local areas. Six Flags refused to open Flash Pass sales so we had no choice but to wait in all the lines. When we had to drive over two hours to get here, that was a huge disappointment. No flash passes also meant no single rider lines, or at least that is what we were told. We would have easily paid the $ 90 to actually be able to enjoy the park on our one day here.
In May this park is an entire waste of money. DON’T DO IT. No idea if these things ever improve or not, but I sure hope so since we bought season passes.

Starbucks needed. Music while waiting n like is needed. Park is clean. Funnel Cakes are EVERYTHING!

I went to six flags with a friend the second day it was open. The weather was freezing but we figured why not go it would be fun. Tickets were half price for opening weekend which was nice. A few things that were annoying was 1) the obvious exorbitant prices. I got a pretzel and it cost $ 7. Then the second thing that was a little frustrating was about half of the rides/​attractions/​shops were closed. I understand it was opening weekend so everything might have not been ready yet and we paid half price– but I didn’t read anywhere only half of the park would be open for half price. Just a little disappointed.

I’m basing this review on the more than 60 times I visited Great America between 2009 and 2015.
PRICE: The most obvious positive that Six Flags marketing hammers into your brain is that season passes are dirt cheap, especially if you buy early and buy 4 or more season passes. I bought my Great America 2016 Gold season pass in late August 2015, which includes free season parking and the ability to go to all Six Flags parks. I paid less than $ 66 each for my gold pass including all taxes. I paid about $ 200 for Cedar Fair’s equivalent, the Platinum Pass. I also added the Six Flags dining plan for $ 86 including tax, which includes a free lunch, free dinner and a free snack every visit, and a sports bottle with free soda refills all season. For Cedar Fair’s all-​season dining plan, it was $ 105 including tax and only includes 2 meals per day, no snacks and no drinks. Also, starting in late August, Six Flags has a promotion where if you buy next year’s season pass, you get unlimited visits during the current year as well. Cedar Fair will only give you one free admission during the current year if you buy a season pass for the following year. And my Disney World annual pass cost $ 850 with no meal plan, so yeah, Six Flags is cheap for people who come regularly.
WAIT TIMES: Because of their cheap price and proximity to 2 major metropolitan areas, the park draws LOTS of people and lines are extremely long compared to Cedar Fair, Disney or Universal parks. It’s not uncommon to wait over an hour for «quick service» meals. 2 hour waits for Goliath are common. The most popular coasters rarely have wait times less than 45 minutes, unless you go early in the day or on a poor weather day. Demon and Whizzer were only running 2 trains for the entire 2015 season. Wait times are even more brutal early in the season, when they are understaffed due to school being in session. The staff they do have is usually untrained. Six Flags is tightening up its policy on Equal Access Passes for guests with disabilities, which suffered from rampant abuse in the past. This should help reduce overall wait times.
RIDES: They have a great mix of coasters, flat rides, and kiddie areas. Hurricane Harbor is one of the largest water parks in the region. One glaring omission is the lack of a proper launch coaster (V2 doesn’t count). I won’t go into too much detail on rides since most of it can be found on their website or googled.
FOOD/​BEV: Quality is mediocre, but has been improving slightly in recent years. The GoFresh Café in Orleans Place is the best place to get a healthy meal. The GoFresh Café in County Fair Food Court has a different menu and isn’t healthy, although the Cuban flatbread is very good. I’m also a fan of Mooseburger Lodge in Yukon Territory because you can load your burger with toppings yourself. JB’s BBQ in Southwest Territory is the only place in the park to watch sports. Aunt Martha’s is being renamed, re-​themed and remodeled, although it will still have some kind of chicken. Primo’s near American Eagle will also be a chicken restaurant. There are very few self-​service fountain soda machines in the park, which contributes to the long wait times, since staff has to fill up the sodas themselves. However, Park President Hank Salemi has promised more self-​service fountain machines for 2016. Alcoholic drinks are more expensive at Great America than Cedar Fair or Disney World. Food isn’t worth the price unless you’re on the dining plan.
SHOWS: Most live shows are of poor quality. One notable exception is the Peking Acrobats show in the Grand Music Hall, which will return for the 2016 season. I highly recommend seeing it.
Overall, my advice is «buy a season pass or don’t go at all». You can’t come close to doing everything in one day unless you buy a Flash Pass, and even then it’s a stretch (there’s no Flash Pass line for food). The single-​day admission is way overpriced.

Six Flags actually has a special place in my heart, as I used to come here pretty often during the summers while growing up. I do go back once in a while when I visit home during the summer, as they have some of my favorite coasters (American Eagle (especially fun at night, or when they do a special ‘backwards’); Raging Bull (super smooth and fast!), and the Viper (a wooden roller coaster, this is super fast, has sharp turns, and you best take off your glasses!)). They also have Hurricane Harbor, the water park, which is free when you get a season pass; if not, just a few bucks more, you can gain access to it. I love running into the Looney Tunes characters (when I saw Sylvester, I almost cried of pure happiness) AHAHAHA If you buy a pack of soda during the spring/​summer time, the cans also have Six Flags coupons, so make sure you’re on the lookout!
+Raging Bull
+Viper
+American Eagle (at nighttime)
+Looney Tunes characters! :D
+special offers on soda cans at local grocery stores

Well well well, look who earned themselves another star from the theme park connoisseur himself. I know, I’m as surprised as you are dear reader.
Following a solo visit on 8÷22÷15, I’ve decided after careful deliberation that SFGAm deserves a boost up from 3* to 4*. It was a difficult decision, but I had a positively lovely time and the major issues I have with this park are front office problems. But more on that later. Let’s cover the good things first:
Ride ops. They’ve taken measures to improve safety checks on coasters (e.g. audible ‘all-​clears’, visual confirmations/​hand signals from the entire platform), and the station attendants were all very amiable. Most ride crews had a series of cute, clever, or amusing taglines when dispatching trains («roses are red, violets are blue, there’s a lot of buttons up here, let’s see what they do»). On a Saturday in late August, the park appeared fully staffed and firing on all cylinders, with most coasters running their maximum train operation. The use of single rider lines on Superman and Goliath come straight out of Cedar Point/Universal’s playbook on guest satisfaction, which made me VERY happy to see.
Concessions. Park food is still hit-​or-​miss and the prices are nuts, but they’ve got you over a barrel, so bend over friendly park-​goer and cough twice! Staff at the various in-​park restaurants were polite, helpful, and rarely without a smile. This goes a long way towards a positive customer experience. I got a boiled corn on the cob for $ 4, a bucket of chili cheese fries for $ 8, and large beers at three different places for $ 12. Each. I would not recommend trying to get drunk at Great America, you’ll run out of funds long before you get a buzz on.
Miscellaneous. The staff is diligent in maintaining a clean park; the walkways, restrooms, eateries. They pride themselves on upkeep, and they deserve every bit of credit for doing so. SFGAm has a nice assortment of rides for adrenaline junkies like me and families alike. Beyond the modest collection of 13 coasters, there’s still a smattering of flat rides operating (here’s looking at you, Triple Play, Fiddler’s Fling, Orbit, and East River Crawler!) I also noted the addition of a ‘Go Fresh Café’ which served wraps, salads, yogurt, and other vegetarian-​friendly food choices that included gluten-​free menu items. Although I’m not a healthy eater, I loved that guests now have an option of something other than a corn dog or pizza, so major props for this.
Now for the shaking-​my-​head stuff:
Great America’s marketing/​advertising/​promotional department is so completely full of sh*t, their office could be a manure factory.
I’m not kidding. A huge banner near Goliath reads: «World’s Tallest, Fastest, Steepest!» Nope. Not even close, you Great American morons. Six Flags is intentionally misleading people into thinking that there’s no other coaster on earth – steel or wooden – that’s taller, faster, or steeper, which is grossly untrue. Takabisha in Japan is the world’s steepest (at a pitch of 121°), Kingda Ka in New Jersey is the world’s tallest (at a height of 456ft), and Formula Rossa in Abu Dhabi is the world’s fastest (at a speed of 149mph).
Even still, Colossus in Germany is, and has been, the world’s tallest wooden roller coaster since it opened in 2006 (at a height of 197ft, compared to Goliath’s 165ft). If I weren’t subject to removal from the park, I would tear down that banner myself and everything associated with these false claims, because Great America is straight up lying to everyone about their new «record breaking ride» in the hopes of boosting attendance. I sincerely hope they change this, but knowing how these devious bastards go about business, I kinda doubt it.
…Elsewhere in the park was a spoken ad for Hurricane Harbor, «the BEST waterpark in the nation!» Yeah, as voted by whom? The lifeguards? It’s not even remotely close to being the best waterpark in the nation, you bunch of self-​righteous assbags. Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas, has been voted the best waterpark in the nation for nearly 2 decades, so don’t you dare consider yourself in the same league as them. Even the bacteria-​infested Noah’s Ark in the Wisconsin Dells has you beat. You might be the best waterpark in the state of Illinois, but that’s as far as you disgraceful frauds can boast.
_​_​_​_​_​_​_​
Final thoughts:
While I might have some strongly-​worded comments for the Six Flags front office regarding their use of superlatives in promotional materials (notably «best» and «tallest»), everything from the ride operations to concessions to park personnel has vastly improved. I picked a damn good year to lash out and buy a season’s pass, and I don’t regret for one second doing so. Nice jobs fellas, keep it up.

The 5^th star deduction is the absolute cost of doing business
$ 25 to park, and they take FOREVER to get you parked. Take your «welcome to great America» and cram it, just get us in so we can park. Not acceptable lines to get in.
$ 45 to get in. Ok reasonable
If you don’t want to wait in lines in the blazing heat, and I suggest you don’t, you’ll need a flash pass. $ 120 on top of parking and ticket will get 1 person access to platinum flash pass. The glory here is that you can ride the rides twice without getting off — hell yes, and you don’t wait in line. But it is expensive.
So in summary, this will be quite a day but at quite a price. Spend less and your day won’t be worth spit.

We visited three different Six Flags parks in the last month.
Our favorite so far is Six Flags Fiesta Texas — San Antonio! To be fair the park was washed out by hurricane Katrina so it is really new. They refurbished all the coasters and they are really smooth. Just don’t go when it is 100 degrees. Superman and Irono Rattler are the best rides.
Six Flags Great America-​Chicago was our second favorite. Has some good coasters. The only one I really didn’t like was the new one called X-​flight. The harness locks down so tight I could barely breath and gets tighter as you ride. If you have a hard time being confined this is not the ride for you. We both liked the Raging Bull and the Superman rides. Fun and clean park. They are the only park with healthy food options — Fresh Café. We had the strawberry Spinach salad and it was really good but huge so share it with someone.
Six Flags St Louis — if you have a season pass it is good if you have nothing else to do. Even the new ride is not all that great and it had a 90 minute wait. Only good ride is the Mr Freeze Reverse Blaster. Go during the week when no one else is there because there isn’t much there worth waiting for. Many of the roller coasters are so old it feels like they could knock out your teeth. Expect a headache when you leave. They need to redo these coasters.
We didn’t do any of the waterparks so we can’t comment on those.
All in all compared to Cedar Point in Sandusky OH (which we compare all amusement parks to) Six Flags Fiesta Texas wins due to the smoothness of all the rides. Plus the landscape is really cool there. If you are down in San Antonio and like to ride, don’t miss this one. Next up for us will be Dallas — but we have to wait for fall. Can’t do it in 100 degree weather.

I am having serious withdrawals from Six Flags. But sitting down the write a review, I wonder how you can review a place like this.
First, you either love roller coasters or you don’t. (I do.) You can either manage crowds or you can’t. (I can.) You either adore water parks or you don’t. (I do.) You’re either a kid at heart or you’re not. Guess which one I am. (Yep. A complete kid at heart.)
Six Flags has worked hard to create some of the best roller coasters and rides around. We love coming with our kids, who aren’t old enough to ride. But then hubby and I will take a day to hit the big kid rides because we need to get our adrenaline fix in.
We have season passes so we can come first thing in the morning and leave whenever we feel like without feeling like we’re not getting our money’s worth. Just 2 visits and the passes are paid for. Some days we leave after several hours. Other days we spend the entire day.
Plus there’s the decision to do the water park or the theme park. People try to do both. But come on. Just pick one.
My recommendation is if you love roller coasters and thrills, this is the place for you!