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Six Flags Great America

Gurnee, Illinois, USA

“One of the most complete parks in the Six Flags chain”

It’s hard not to notice the impressive theme park skyline near the town of Gurnee if you’re driving on Interstate 94 between Chicago and Milwaukee. The park was opened in 1976 by Marriott, but disappointing financial results led the hotel chain to withdraw from the amusement park business rather quickly. Since 1984, this place has been known as Six Flags Great America. The new management certainly saw potential in this location and the park has since been transformed into one of the leading roller coaster destinations in the United States. Nowadays, Six Flags offers plenty of thrills and no fewer than seventeen roller coasters.

B&M HEAVEN

At the time I’m writing this article, there are only two theme parks in the world with 5 B&Ms. These are SeaWorld Orlando and Six Flags Great America. Some of these coasters offer little to no surprises. Batman – The Ride is the classic B&M inverted coaster found at almost all Six Flags parks. And although this version is well over 30 years old, it remains a strong experience. Batman – The Ride still guarantees a fast, smooth and intense ride. Superman – Ultimate Flight is another off-the-shelf coaster. The layout of this B&M flying coaster includes an intense pretzel loop, but that’s the only noteworthy element. Therefore I would not count Superman among the park’s top attractions. Still, that doesn’t mean that the line for this attraction is always short. Six Flags didn’t install a dual loading station for this version, which results in a dramatically low capacity. Be sure to ride Superman as early as possible, if you’re visiting on a busy day.

Six Flags Great America’s latest B&M addition is called Wrath of Rakshasa. This is a B&M Dive Machine that premiered in the spring of 2025. The structure of blue and gold redefined Six Flags’ skyline, while also bringing a whole new dynamic to the middle part of the park. I’d like to compliment Great America for the cool entry sign, the ride’s high capacity and the excellent luggage system, which uses boxes that ‘fly’ over the boarding platform. Yet, not everything is perfect in the land of Rakshasa. Although this may seem the most varied and complete dive machine to date, the actual ride turned out to be quite disappointing. The 3rd, 4th and 5th inversion, for example, are fairly similar, making the second half of the layout feel a bit monotonous. Besides, I experienced a certain rattle that simply should not be there when riding a brand-new coaster. It’s an often-heard complaint that B&M’s most recent installations no longer meet the high quality standards of the past, and I’m starting to understand why people feel that way.

Wrath of Rakshasa is part of the County Fair area. This section of Six Flags Great America hasn’t got one particular story, but it’s rather a collection of several individually-themed rides. One of these attractions is X-Flight, a wing coaster with a military aviation theme. It has all the elements you’d expect from a ride like this: it features a dive drop, two zero-g rolls, a slow inline twist and some great near-misses. Although it’s not a particularly intense ride, X-Flight does exactly what it’s supposed to do: creating a sense of flight. I’d also like to mention the ride’s comfort, as it’s one of the smoothest B&M wing coasters I’ve ridden so far.

The theming level at Six Flags Great America is fairly inconsistent. Some attractions have no decoration whatsoever, while other areas are visually pleasing. In my opinion, the most beautiful area of the park is Southwest Territory, which draws its inspiration from Texas and Mexico. The highlight in this section of the park is Raging Bull. This hyper coaster towers high above the southwestern facades and it attracts a lot of attention thanks to its eye-catching colours. And despite its respectable age, the ride turned out to be excellent. The 65-metre first descent provides awesome airtime and the following tunnel heightens the sense of speed. But Raging Bull is not just about weightlessness and speed. This is a so-called hyper twister, which also focuses on curves. The first part of the layout features several wide turnarounds, while the last section offers some tighter twists and turns. This makes Raging Bull more surprising than similar coasters like Silver Star or Apollo’s Chariot, so this ride definitely deserves my seal of approval.

WOODEN COASTERS

Six Flags Great America offers a fine mix of modern and classic roller coasters. American Eagle certainly belongs to the classics, as it was opened in 1981. This double wooden roller coaster is a striking sight from the nearby Interstate, but for park visitors it feels somewhat hidden. That’s a bit strange, as everything about this roller coaster is gigantic. The lift hill is 130 feet (40 metres) tall and the combined length of both tracks is no less than 9,300 feet (2,850 metres). The ride experience of this oldie is surprisingly powerful: the first few drops are pretty fast and they offer plenty of floater airtime. Still, I found it a shame that American Eagle’s two tracks are operated separately, so we didn’t get to experience the racing element.

Just about every American roller coaster park has added an RMC during the last fifteen years. Six Flags Great America couldn’t stay behind and they opened Goliath in 2014. Despite its uninspiring name, the ride is relatively unique as this is one RMC’s few remaining Topper Track installations. This means that Goliath makes use of semi-traditional wooden coaster tracks instead of Rocky Mountain Construction’s more commonly used IBox Track. This results in an attraction that evokes a more classic wooden coaster feeling, including some roughness in the curves. This doesn’t bother me in Goliath’s case, though. The first descent and the over-banked turn are fantastic, while the inversions create a very special feeling of hangtime. Although Goliath may not be the smoothest or longest coaster in RMC’s portfolio, I still like it a lot.

Wooden coaster enthusiasts will undoubtedly be delighted when they visit Six Flags Great America. After all, the park has no fewer than five wooden credits. In addition to the double American Eagle, Little Dipper and the modern Goliath, the park is also home to Viper. This is a mirrored version of the legendary Coney Island Cyclone. The ride is somewhat overshadowed by more spectacular and modern roller coasters, but the general public seems to be finding the way to Viper nevertheless. And that’s a good thing! Despite its rather turbulent nature, Viper’s long layout and strong lateral g-forces guarantee an authentic wooden coaster feeling.

SUPERHEROES

The DC Comics characters play an important role in just about every Six Flags park. This isn’t any different at Six Flags Great America, where they join forces in DC Universe. The area features the previously mentioned Batman The Ride, but it’s also home to The Joker (a standard S&S 4D Free Spin Coaster) and The Flash – Vertical Velocity. The latter is named after a lightning-fast superhero, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we’re talking about an attraction with a launch. Vertical Velocity is a so-called Impulse Coaster, an inverted shuttle roller coaster with two vertical spikes and a train that swings back and forth multiple times. It’s a simple and short layout, but this ride still manages to provide a great thrill. The accelerations are powerful and the southern, spiral-shaped spike creates a disorienting feeling. Furthermore, Vertical Velocity also delivers an unexpected dose of airtime. It’s a shame that we never got one of these machines in Europe!

Please don’t ask why, but Six Flags Great America’s most distinctive DC attraction is not part of DC Universe. I’m talking about Justice League – Battle for Metropolis, which can be found at the other end of the park. This dark ride concept is a staple at many Six Flags locations. Great America’s version opened in 2016 and is virtually identical to its namesakes in several sister parks. That’s good news, by the way. Although I wouldn’t immediately associate Six Flags with stunning dark rides, they performed excellently with this one. Battle for Metropolis combines screens and real scenery, but it’s mostly the special effects that stand out. This attraction also brings some variety to Six Flags Great America’s coaster-heavy attraction lineup.

Is it a coaster? Is it a dark ride? Or can it just be both? The Dark Knight Coaster is an indoor wild mouse built by Mack Rides. Despite the fact that the layout is standard (and thus predictable), this ride turns out to be pretty fun. The theming could’ve been more immersive and I certainly missed some music during the ride, but all in all Dark Knight Coaster is a fine family attraction. Lines do get pretty long due to the ride’s limited capacity, so plan accordingly if you really want this credit.

THE CLASSICS

Six Flags Great America is a fairly old amusement park and this is reflected by some of the attractions. The park offers multiple antique wooden coasters and you can even ride one of the world’s few remaining Huss Condors. However, the biggest eye-catcher in this domain is Whizzer. This custom Jumbo Jet opened 50 years ago and, with its classic appearance, provides a delightful throwback to the 1970s. The entrance sign and open-air station are old-fashioned in the best sense of the word, and the vehicles also evoke a nostalgic feeling. In terms of experience, Whizzer makes an equally charming impression. The ride starts with a spiral lift hill, on which the trains are powered by an on-board electric motor. This is followed by a gentle first drop and a layout full of wide curves. Don’t expect huge thrills while riding Whizzer, but it’s the kind of attraction that manages to put a big smile on my face.

Whizzer isn’t the only roller coaster that has been there since the opening of the park. Arrow Dynamics’ multi-looper Demon opened in 1976 as well… and it shows. Time hasn’t been the Demon’s best friend: restraints aren’t particularly comfortable and both corkscrews cause quite a bit of headbanging. The roughness makes it a rather unpleasant experience, but I’ll gladly admit that Demon is a visually-pleasing coaster. The corkscrews were positioned in a photogenic way, the vehicles are painted in bright colours and the artificial rock formations also add some beauty.

You may have noticed that I didn’t speak about Maxx Force. That’s because this impressive S&S launch coaster was unfortunately closed during both of my visits to Six Flags Great America. Third time’s a charm, so let’s hope that I get to experience it during a future trip to Chicago.

OTHER EXPERIENCES

A park called Great America should exude a healthy dose of patriotism. This starts right at the entrance, where the Stars & Stripes are abundantly present. In this area, two attractions remind us of the park’s early years. The first is the stunning Columbia Carousel, which is a wonderful eye-catcher for arriving visitors. This merry-go-round is anything but small, yet it’s literally dwarfed by Sky Trek Tower. The 100-metre observation tower got a central location between Six Flags and the Hurricane Harbor water park, so amazing views of both venues are guaranteed. On clear days, you can even see Lake Michigan and the skyscrapers of Chicago in the distance!

Thrill seekers shouldn’t miss a ride on Sky Striker, a Giant Discovery by Zamperla. This frisbee-like attraction reaches a top speed of 75 mph (120 km/h) and passengers find themselves hanging nearly upside-down at a height of 172 feet (52 metres), making it the most spectacular flat ride at Six Flags Great America. It is also extremely popular, so arriving early can save you a lot of precious time. And are you looking for a way to cool down during those warm Chicago summers? Then head to Aquaman Splashdown or Roaring Rapids, that can both be found in the eastern part of the park. Especially the rapid river seems a real soaker.

WORTH A VISIT?

After my first visit in 2022, I left Six Flags Great America with mixed feelings. The park had a wonderful attraction collection, but too many rides remained closed and operations were relatively slow. Fortunately, the park made a considerably better impression during our 2025 visit. It’s disappointing that we (once again) found Maxx Force closed, but Great America still managed to deliver a qualitative theme park experience. Most of the attractions ran without significant downtime and crew members seemed to work hard to keep queues as short as possible. I also noticed that a lot of refurbishments have taken place, for example at the park entrance. The big new roller coaster didn’t really blow my mind, but it’s nice to see that Six Flags is willing to invest in this park. I would therefore rank Six Flags Great America among the best parks in the chain. The coaster lineup is fantastic, the atmosphere is cheerful and we had no complaints about the waiting times. If I ever have another long layover in Chicago, I would love to come back here.

What’s your favourite roller coaster at Six Flags Great America? How would you rank this park compared to the other Six Flags properties? And are you able to properly pronounce ‘Wrath of Rakshasa’ 10 times in a row? Share your opinion in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

This article reflects my personal experience at Six Flags Great America during a visit in July 2025.