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Six Flags Great America to Undergo a Mass Makeover This Winter

Six Flags Great America: The Gurnee, Ill. theme park gets a Mardi Gras theme for its Orleans Place, plus a slew of new flat rides.

From Mr. D. T.
Posted January 17, 2004 at 2:29 PM
By the time Six Flags Great America opens in the middle of Spring, expect to walk in a different atmosphere, because this park's gettin' a change.

One of the parks sections will get a new theme and attractions while other sections will receive slight rehabs.

Orleans Place, which was built to allegedly re-create life in 'The Big Easy', will receive a $6 million plus mass makeover to look like a Mardi Gras festival. This section will feature a new mouse coaster, four new flat rides, a newly-renovated restaurant to accomodate the new theme, and a band shack where jazz music will fill the air.

The new mouse coaster will take 2-acres of space in front of the Roaring Rapids ride. Reverchon Wild Mouse, also known as Rajun' Cajun, will stand at a maximum height of 43 feet with a top speed of 29 miles per hour. Each car is built to carry four passengers. The track will feature multiple small drops and 360-degree spins. Does size matter? hehe

The makeover will also feature three new or imported flat rides (from other SF parks, that is). The 'Big Easy Balloon Ride' gives riders a spinning trip. The 'Jester's Wild Ride' is a replicated Mardi-Gras float which rocks riders back and fourth. Finally, 'King Chaos' will bring riders 42 feet in the air.

Last but not least, the newly renovated Orleans Place will transform the Looney Tunes Meet-n'-Greet Gazebo into a band shack. There, the sounds of jazz and bluegrass will fill the air daily. And the Orleans Grill will become a Mardi-Gras themed restaurant, which will serve a kind of meal you would find in the swampy southern state of Louisiana (I suppose).

In addition to this newly-themed makeover, a few other sections of the park will receive a change.

A Huss Frisbee ride, The Revolution, will take the place of an antique carousel in the old-fashioned County Fair area. The Revolution is a pendulum which will spin and thrill riders at 65 feet in the air. This ride was a former resident of the park's New Jersey counterpart, Six Flags Great Adventure.

The carousel, Ameri-Go-Round, will be rebuilt elsewhere.

Two other sections will receive minor upgrades: a children's area (probably Hometown Park) and Southwest Territory.

The deadline for this makeover is on May the 3rd, when the park opens for the 2004 season.

(I got this information from the following web address: http://www.dailyherald.com/news_story.asp?intid=38003303)


Comments in chronological order. Most recent at the bottom. Scroll down to respond.

From Jeff Arons
Posted January 17, 2004 at 4:17 PM
"The carousel, Ameri-Go-Round, will be rebuilt elsewhere."

Funny name.

From Mr. D. T.
Posted January 17, 2004 at 7:21 PM
Funny, but I'm afraid it's true. As Annie Lennox would ask you "Would I lie to you? Would I lie to you honey?" I think not. :>D

That carousel needs to be put to a place where it could be USED. It wasn't built to sit and deteriorate. lol. For most of the past few seasons that thing has been closed, and I'm glad to see it go. It's too bad because it's a historical landmark. It once sat in Chicago's late Riverwood Park.

From Robert OGrosky
Posted January 17, 2004 at 7:28 PM
Im glad to see my local park get some new rides and other improvements. Hopefully the additions will make for shorter lines elsewhere in the park.
As for the Ameri-go-round, it rarely was ever staffed except for mid-days on weekends. And was used for fright fest and ran with ghouls/ghosts etc but no people.
As long as all the new riders are staffed and no other rides get reduced hourse this is a positive for the park.

From Mr. D. T.
Posted January 17, 2004 at 7:47 PM
I was somewhat surprised when I seen the 'halloween' makeover for the carousel. And that was in early September.

From Jeffrey Fink
Posted January 18, 2004 at 5:54 PM
I was wondering if they are keeping Rue Le Dodge & Condor. I've heard both they are keeping them and getting rid of them. Would like to know what the real situation is?

From Robert OGrosky
Posted January 18, 2004 at 7:49 PM
From reports i have heard from the non-coaster con over the weekend there are no plans on removing any of the rides you mentioned, the only ride being moved is the Ameri-go-roundv near American Eagle.
Also their is suppossed to be a ACE event on July 10 and SFGAM announced that on 3 dates they are going to offer 2 hrs of ERT time to season passholders.

From Mr. D. T.
Posted January 19, 2004 at 7:38 AM
Would they remove Rue Le Dodge?

Nay. Because it draws a pandemonium.

From Mr. D. T.
Posted January 23, 2004 at 9:30 PM
I just returned from the Employee Rehire event and I'd like to kindly bring you this update:

-- The section of Orleans Place which will be made over is the area between the Yankee Harbor boundary and the train trestle. Everything else will remain the same.

-- Big Easy Balloon Ride will replace the gazebo. I thought the gazebo was gonna be the band shack.

-- Ragin' Cajun will stand where the virtual reality booth used to be.

-- King Chaos will take the place of Power Dive. Put something there already; that space has been unoccupied with a deteriorating queue for two years.

-- Jester's Wild Ride, the gigantic swing, will sit where Cajun Cliffhanger used to sit. Sounds like a kiddie ride.

-- The band shack will be newly built, not a renovated gazebo.

From Robert OGrosky
Posted January 24, 2004 at 12:05 PM
Thanks for the update!!!!!!
What ride or booth are you going to work in?????

From Mr. D. T.
Posted January 24, 2004 at 6:00 PM
Frankly, I haven't a clue where I will be assigned this season, if not the Farmers Market.

Mooseburger would be nice.

I hope I don't get a full-time position at Demon Nachos. When I gave it a try last September, that place was turbulent. I had no help except from a flippin' fundraiser! Add that to no phones or walkie talkies...!

Viper Nachos, now that's a different story.

Picnic Grove would seem brilliant, if the ice makers were working. Last August, the soda dispensers had no ice and when the guests noticed me with the ice cart they came to me as if I was Russel Crowe having to autograph.

Perhaps the new Orleans Grill makeover will shell out unique cusines worth the high price.

From Robert OGrosky
Posted January 24, 2004 at 7:54 PM
Ive never ate at Demon Nacho's but we usually get cheese fries when we visit the park at a place called Viper Fries(not sure that is the name it is near DV) which i think is across the way from where you worked.
Let me know where you are going to be and i will try to say Hi when i visit.

From Mr. D. T.
Posted January 24, 2004 at 8:27 PM
Fiesta Fries

From Robert OGrosky
Posted January 25, 2004 at 11:59 AM
Thnaks for telling me the name, i couldnt remember it. But are the fries called Viper fries??

From Mr. D. T.
Posted April 14, 2004 at 11:19 AM
Viper Nachos. Fiesta Fries.

Sad to say, the opening of the new Mardi Gras makeover has been delayed a couple weeks.

Expect to see the park different than the way it was last year -- entertainmentwise, that is. The parade, Jumpin' Jammin' Jubilee, will linger. There's a new Imax film called Top Speed in the Pictorium. There will be several new shows, including one on the Reflection Pond near the carousel. A DJ will play tunes across from the Farmers Market. (By the way, that's my department.)

Of course you Six Flags fans know the semi-celebrations which happen in the park annually, such as Mardi Gras and Fiesta Mexicana. There will be two new additions to the list: Joyfest and Gospelfest. More information is available at www.sfgamworld.com.

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