Remember Raphael? Our Brazilian friend that gave us amazing first-timer opinions of almost all Californian theme-parks?! He came back to the US and is sharing his adventures with us again, of course comparing it to the Golden State of California! Join Raphael as he takes us all to Six Flags Great America in this report!
What is the best way to get to Cincinnati from Detroit, without a car? Train is not a very good option, since the schedules are a nightmare for a person that wants to increase the productivity of their day. Sure, Greyhound is an option too, but nighttime road trips on buses are not for me. The solution? Spend a lot of nights trying to find the best deal on airlines. Thank goodness American Airlines is such a nice company (or not) and showed me the way to Cincinnati with a marvelous stopover in Chicago. As I had only one day in the city, and since I am a theme park maniac, I went to Six Flags Great America!
Six Flags Great America always caught my attention because of its past. Being a Marriot theme park originally, it is very interesting to see how much Six Flags Great America could grow and compare to its brother, California’s Great America. I believe that Six Flags’ policy of big investments and the proximity of Chicago, besides being the only massive theme park in the region, helped to improve the theme park through the years.
The moment I stepped out of the Uber, Foghorn Leghorn and Sylvester appeared to receive the guests with dance and hugs. I saw something similar at Six Flags Magic Mountain, so good memories came back instantly. The park entrance is majestic as it should be with the beautiful Columbia Carousel. It was in the ground that I noticed a worth-mentioning difference: a parade route! Unfortunately, I could not see the parade, because of my rollercoaster addiction. You can imagine how I freaked out when I saw the possibility to ride a gem of Schwarzkopf: The Whizzer! While I was waiting for the Flash Pass at the much more vivid and colorful Hometown Square, I could see Whizzer doing her thing. Amazing!
Although my anxiety kept telling me to ride Whizzer, I ran directly to Viper. My experience on Mean Streak was nothing but pain, and sincerely, I was not expecting great things of Viper. However, it turned out to be a decent coaster, with a nice airtime and mild bumps. It is worth to mention the great theming of Viper’s station. My next stop would be my favorite coaster at the park, although it was a very tough decision to choose between it and Goliath. 
Raging Bull is a masterpiece, I rode it as many times I could. The drops are so intense that I felt like I was in a trampoline. It is so smooth, being a coaster that mix emotion and G-forces in an awesome way. Unfortunately, it was at Raging Bull that I noticed something I chose not to believe at Viper: poor operations. My Six Flags day was running in a slower way than my Cedar Point day. It is really a shame, because this compromises one of the most fun parks that I have ever visited.
While I was in the Southwest Territory, I was impressed by the theming done by Six Flags. It is something completely different from what I saw at Discovery Kingdom and Magic Mountain. It has passion, in a Six Flags way. This area remembered me something that a theme park with great theming has. 
Besides that, the technology behind Justice League: Battle for Metropolis surprised me in a very positive way. The ride is pure fun, the air conditioner is fantastic and the scenarios are very decent, along with the souvenirs. 
Their Demon is significantly worse than California’s Great America’s one, not to mention the operations with the VR. A complete disaster! I spent 45 minutes at Demon, from the moment I entered the queue line to the moment I left the station.
I imagined that my nightmare with time would disappear at X-Flight, but I could not be more wrong. More poor operations at an aggressive coaster. Although X-Flight has some cool elements, the ride is not very enjoyable, especially because of the uncomfortable turns. 
After a delicious pizza, I went to American Eagle. What a nervous Eagle! I did not throw up my beautiful pizza, but I must have displaced one of my vertebras for sure. Due to my ride on American Eagle, I passed through Revolution and head directly to Goliath, the amazing RMC that opened two years ago. 
The ride has a challenger course, with inversions being something that I would not believe If I saw something like this on a wooden coaster five years ago. It is incredibly smooth and scary – It is awesome to feel fear on a coaster, no matter how strange it could be. Unfortunately, I got to a point that is not every coaster that makes me feel nervous and with fear. Goliath lost my internal battle with Raging Bull because of some aggressive G’s.
Camp Cartoon is very cute, and touched me in a very emotional way, since that cartoons are the ones that I watched the most in my childhood, like The Flintstones, The Jetsons and Scooby Doo. I’m glad Six Flags is keeping it. Unfortunately, the area was practically empty, and I missed a strong and big kids’ area in the park. 
I had the most powerful flashback ever when I entered the Yukon Territory. My brain almost fooled me picturing in my mind the Endeavour when at Six Flags Great America nothing stands in its area. After riding the okay-for-kids Little Dipper, I had a blast on V2, another Intamin Inverted Impulse Coaster that I love, although a little bit rougher than Wicked Twister and V2 at Discovery Kingdom.
Logger’s Run was pure nostalgia and a necessary refreshment from the warm weather. Batman did not give me something new – it is rough and intense as the other Batmans that I rode. However, The Dark Knight Coaster did surprise me! The theming in the queue line and in the coaster is great, making me remember the scenario inside The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman and Transformers. This made my ride on a regular Wild Mouse pure fun, something that I have not had until this coaster.
Its neighbor was not something I would ride again. Superman Ultimate Flight lacks emotion, and it is easily overcome by other coasters in the park. It seemed B&M had an imagination crisis when creating this coaster. The pretzel loop did not even amuse me, a person that loves this type of inversion. Orleans Place, Superman’s area, gave me another flashback. The similarities to California’s Great America are incredible!
My last coaster was the one that I spent some minutes admiring: The Whizzer. I confess that I thought the coaster would be something like a kiddie coaster, especially because it does not have a lock! However, it was pure classic fun, with a decent speed and awesome turns! In the moment that I exited the ride, Looney Tunes were performing with the kids, giving the park a mood like when the Peanuts gang perform at Cedar Fair parks. Loved it!
I had no problems with the food, but the prices are a little bit higher than usual and as I mentioned, Six Flags Great America suffers with poor operations of the rides. Despite these problems, the park is the best Six Flags park that I have been on (the others being Discovery Kingdom and Magic Mountain). It is clean, friendly, well-structured and has an awesome line-up of attractions. It was very nice to see some old flat rides still operating, and a railroad going through the park is something magical.
Final note: THEY HAVE BULBASAUR!!!
Thank you for following along with Raphael’s adventures, stay tuned for his Kentucky Kingdom and Kings Island adventures! His Cedar Point report can be found here! If you haven’t read about his amazing travels around California last year, or would love to read his first-timer outsider point of view again check out any of his Californian articles:
- Raphael’s Lego Orcas Seaside Adventure
- Raphael’s Universal, Ghost Town, and Radiator Springs Adventure
- Raphael’s Twisted Beach, Six Flags, and Disneyland Adventure
- Raphael’s Northern California Adventure
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