Six Flags Great America

Post Office Box 1776

Gurnee, Illinois 60031

708/249-2133

Great America opened in 1976 and was one of three amusement parks owned by the Marriot Corporation; it's sister park, Paramount's Great America, is in Santa Clara, California. The park is now a member of the Six Flags family.

Rides and Pastimes...

The Whizzer (1976)

A steel coaster by Anton Schwarzkopf that is 70 feet high and 3100 feet in length, reaching speeds of 42 miles an hour and banks up to 70 degrees vertical over its nearly two minute ride time.

The Demon (1976)

Previously known as The Turn of the Century, this is a steel coaster designed by Arrow Dynamics. It's 82 foot lift is followed by two vertical loops (70 and 55 feet) and a double corkscrew. The entire 1250 foot long track takes 1 minute and 45 seconds to complete.

Tidal Wave (1978)

A classic Intamin gravity-driven shuttle loop coaster. The ride accelerates along a straight path to 55 miles per hour (in a mere 4.2 seconds) and enters a 76 foot loop, continuing along the 849 foot track where it stalls and then returns backwards through the station. The entire ride takes only 36 seconds. The ride was replaced by Batman the Ride in 1992.

The American Eagle (1981)

This is a twin wooden racing coaster designed by Intamin, Inc. The track is 4650 feet long with a lift height of 127 feet; the first drop is 55 degrees vertical and has a top speed of 66 miles an hour.

Shockwave (1988)

An 170 foot vertical Arrow Dynamics steel coaster. The coaster soars down a 155 foot, 55 degree first drop and into a total of seven loops. There is one 130 foot vertical loop, two 116 foot vertical loops, a double corkscrew and a boomerang. Total ride time is about two minutes and twenty seconds at a top speed of 65 miles per hour over the 3900 foot track length.

Iron Wolf (1990)

This was hailed as The United States' largest and fastest "stand up" looping coaster. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, this 2900 foot ride propels its riders down a 90 foot first drop and through a course packed with steep drops, two tight curves, and two vertical loops. Its top speed is 55 miles per hour in its two minute ride time.

Batman the Ride (1992)

Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, this is the world's first inverted coaster. Riders find themselves "hanging" from a ski-lift-like chair as it screams through 2700 feet of track, covering two vertical loops, two flatspins, and a unique heartline loop designed to give the sensation of 0 G's for about four seconds. The two minute ride reaches top speeds of up to fifty miles per hour. The release of this ride coincides with the release of the Time-Warner film, Batman Returns.

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