New for 2026

[JackGlass]

After watching the pov's of Oscars wacky taxi and bobcat, I would love to see them ditch these water slides and install a gravity family wooden coaster in this plot of land. The Big Dipper

[ernstwhere]

I love that idea, The Big Dipper. Did you mention a giga here JackGlass? Along opposite side / parking lot/lagoon? Someone did I think.

If the park is streamlining the entry/security process, adding acreage for dining/shopping/rides Isnt that something they'd announce at No Coaster Con last year (maybe not a Crazy Bus refurb that never happened)? That's kinda big news to pass holders/thoosies, a major capital investment, new park perimeter / new security fence and concrete bollards.

Chainwide 6F was financially wonky last year with merger, many postponed projects. Anybody know more about these plans longer term? Wonderland just redid front gate too, love how guests walk under Levi.

[JackGlass]

I love that idea, The Big Dipper. Did you mention a giga here JackGlass? Along opposite side / parking lot/lagoon? Someone did I think.

If the park is streamlining the entry/security process, adding acreage for dining/shopping/rides Isnt that something they'd announce at No Coaster Con last year (maybe not a Crazy Bus refurb that never happened)? That's kinda big news to pass holders/thoosies, a major capital investment, new park perimeter / new security fence and concrete bollards.

Chainwide 6F was financially wonky last year with merger, many postponed projects. Anybody know more about these plans longer term? Wonderland just redid front gate too, love how guests walk under Levi.

Thank you! I would love to see one of those Gravity family wooden coasters at the park. They look really fun and seem to be well received by the general public. I think it would be a perfect fit at the park.

Yes! I did mention a giga. We were discussing where a giga could fit. One of my ideas was to demolish the current storage building and build a new one in the currently unoccupied wooded area next to the employee parking lot.

That would open up a giant plot of land and just for the fun of it, I did a Photoshop of Intimidator 305 over that plot of land.

[HCF]

^ Just curious, would you be able to find out if Balder could fit anywhere in the park? For research purposes, of course!

[JackGlass]

^ Just curious, would you be able to find out if Balder could fit anywhere in the park? For research purposes, of course!

Absolutely!

2 areas that come to mind. One is the site of the roaring rapids. The other would be in the current greenhouse/junk yard. They would have to relocate the green houses and clear a lot of that junk but it would fit.

[ernstwhere]

Wow Jack all these ideas are great! You are getting more out of Great America's backstage than I ever thought possible.
Your Gravity Group concept image, shows net gain of developable land, the perimeter now is the road. If both existing gates (security/ticketing) are demo'd that's -approx- the size of Hometown.
Do you think CedarFlags (whatever we are calling it) will give us the almighty giga? I hoped Rakachakra would be GIGAdive for 50th.

[GreatAmericanfox]

They're not going to make that much changes to the backstage just for a giga, this is all fantasy thoughts in my opinion

[JackGlass]

They're not going to make that much changes to the backstage just for a giga, this is all fantasy thoughts in my opinion

Again, this coming from the same person who talks about rebuilding sky whirl when it was scrapped almost a quarter century ago. Six Flags stated almost 15 years ago when Mark Shapiro was still CEO that there are 30 acres of potentially developable land at Great America and that backstage area was the 30 acres they were referring to.

Six Flags is not under Jim Reid Andersons tight budget policies anymore, it's under Cedar Fairs Large CAPEX and growth policies. The same Cedar Fair that invests heavily into parks with a good ROI potential.

Great America is poised for major CAPEX additions because of its profitability. Demolishing a storage building and building a new one is peanuts compared to what they've spent on other parks. Do you seriously think they're just going to kick back, be lazy and not add anything to Great America which is one of their biggest cash cows? Talk about living in fantasy

[CoasterRiderSC]

They're not going to make that much changes to the backstage just for a giga, this is all fantasy thoughts in my opinion

Just like most of us never dreamed they'd squeeze in Rak in the plots of Suckaneer Battle & old ropes course !

Or shoe horn in Maxx where the Pictorium used to be!

They've already shown how creative they can be to squeeze in new rides, and a Giga would be a massively huge and popular addition that would bring in more guests!

[Tidal_Waver]

Six Flags stated almost 15 years ago when Mark Shapiro was still CEO that there are 30 acres of potentially developable land at Great America and that backstage area was the 30 acres they were referring to.

Oh wow, I had never heard that before. That’s great stuff, thanks for sharing!

Talk about living in fantasy

So if all that is true my fantasy is to have them build the Giga coaster routing the perimeter of the park or half of the park and then turn around.

I know I’m delusional but it’s my fantasy!

[JackGlass]

They're not going to make that much changes to the backstage just for a giga, this is all fantasy thoughts in my opinion

Just like most of us never dreamed they'd squeeze in Rak in the plots of Suckaneer Battle & old ropes course !

Or shoe horn in Maxx where the Pictorium used to be!

They've already shown how creative they can be to squeeze in new rides, and a Giga would be a massively huge and popular addition that would bring in more guests!

Exactly! and that was under the old Six Flags regime. Just imagine what Cedar Fair has in store for Great America.

When cedar Fair purchased the Parmount parks all the cash cows got Giga coasters. Canadas wonderland got Leviathan. Kings Island got Orion. Kings Dominion got Intimidator 305. Carowinds got Fury 325.

GreatAmericanfox can't seem to understand, the entire point of this Six Flags/Cedar Fair merger was to make money, not to return to the 1970's. Those Giga coasters are wildly popular with the general public and a proven way to boost attendance.

Could you imagine Zimmerman telling the shareholders. "Guys, we've got this amazing new roller coaster for Great America, that would increase attendance and per cap spending. But we can't do it because there's a storage building in the way and we're too stupid and lazy to build another one"

[GreatAmericanfox]

Bro i know i like the Marriott Era, but your ass is acting like i want all the coasters gone just for a few quality improvements. Yeah sure i probably have some rational opinions but most of them come for the same idea that the park has potential in its theming/atmosphere. Plus while Cedar Fair did add more thrill attractions to the former Paramount Parks, this was almost a decade ago.

Granted they're still going to give parks record thrills (MM, SFOT, GAVD), but i think for us we need to improve coasters like American Eagle first before considering the next coaster, and knowing how conservative Cedar Fair is when they come to casters and investments, this is probably what's going to happen in the next few years. I don't know their plan exactly but i can see a shift in the "family" aspect knowing what Cedar Fair has been doing with other parks. But we'll wait and see.

[CoastsToCoasters]

I've dreamt about a giga here since 2010 since "I305" was announced, at least. But when Leviathan was built in 2012, I really thought we'd have one sooner than later. So I'd prefer a B&M giga honestly but an Intamin Giga would be more intense. However, with this merger, k think it's more possible for us than ever. I just hope they pull a Rakshasa & get creative with space vs pulling anything significant out.

Then again, I've been dreaming a dive was coming here since Oblivion was built in 1998 lol so dreams do come true no matter how many decades it may take lol so anything is possible.

The kids section is very welcome addition though. I love all the ideas you are throwing around. Now that Revolution is gone, a family coaster would be epic there. Preferably the spinner. They could pull a SFNE & have it tightly squeezed in the midway like they did with Pandemonium. I'd also love for the "Krazy Kars" to go & put in a kiddie coaster there too.
Just please get rid of that rent & redo the ground/flooring there. It needs help bad. A Looney Tunes carnival/fair theme would be cute to match county fair.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ernstwhere]

Sven mentioned 'Seasons of Fun' strategy that got CF through pandemic aftermath outperforming 6F with half the properties (apologies if I'm getting this wrong). Guest spending increased with better f&b, more family attractions, focus on guest experience. I think this is what we can expect.
John K understood, refurbed ST restaurant (with an EXPRE$$ LANE FOR BOOZE) was only thing that opened on time in 2024.

Reid policy of 'cheap passes/crap parks' and Selim's deranged premiumization 'charge more get less' failed. Cedar6F wants organic growth based on quality product. 2026 announcements reflect this, most profitable parks are seeing investments, seaons of fun seems the company wide strategy now, although I didn't listen to the last earnings call. Great America is a top 3 performing legacy 6F park. We will get investment. (woohoo!)

[CoasterRiderSC]

Bro i know i like the Marriott Era, but your ass is acting like i want all the coasters gone just for a few quality improvements. Yeah sure i probably have some rational opinions but most of them come for the same idea that the park has potential in its theming/atmosphere. Plus while Cedar Fair did add more thrill attractions to the former Paramount Parks, this was almost a decade ago.

Granted they're still going to give parks record thrills (MM, SFOT, GAVD), but i think for us we need to improve coasters like American Eagle first before considering the next coaster, and knowing how conservative Cedar Fair is when they come to casters and investments, this is probably what's going to happen in the next few years. I don't know their plan exactly but i can see a shift in the "family" aspect knowing what Cedar Fair has been doing with other parks. But we'll wait and see.

Orion was built at Kings Island in 2020! I rode it that year and in 2022. Great ride! Much smoother than Intimidator 305 lol

GottaStrata - I definitely prefer a B&M Giga over Intamin as well!

[GreatAmericanfox]

Sven mentioned 'Seasons of Fun' strategy that got CF through pandemic aftermath outperforming 6F with half the properties (apologies if I'm getting this wrong). Guest spending increased with better f&b, more family attractions, focus on guest experience. I think this is what we can expect.
John K understood, refurbed ST restaurant (with an EXPRE$$ LANE FOR BOOZE) was only thing that opened on time in 2024.

Reid policy of 'cheap passes/crap parks' and Selim's deranged premiumization 'charge more get less' failed. Cedar6F wants organic growth based on quality product. 2026 announcements reflect this, most profitable parks are seeing investments, seaons of fun seems the company wide strategy now, although I didn't listen to the last earnings call. Great America is a top 3 performing legacy 6F park. We will get investment. (woohoo!)

Chicago power lol

[rthorat]

I would like to see a Yukon themed family spinner replace the Go-Karts and a Looney Tunes retheme and expansion for Camp Cartoon, along with a small coaster for young children which the park currently lacks.

Very happy to see they are finally doing something about the kids areas which are in horrible condition

I had the same idea as what is pictured here about the new kids area. Except I think they should also close down Logger's Run & demolish the station. The park doesn't need two log rides and they just rethemed the other one. They could even add some parts of Logger's Run to Aquaman if they wanted. Although I would not add the drops, as it would require employees in the towers.

That area, along with area in front of V2 could be reclaimed and make space for a family coaster going all the way back toward the theater area. They could then use the go-karts area for other things. Or even keep half the go karts and make it a kids go kart track with slow electric karts. There is a lot they could do to this area and I think the Logger's Run entrance area could be part of it.

I agree on getting rid of Kidzopolis. That could be used for a future coaster. Could be the station area of a coaster over by the storage building as pictured elsewhere in this thread. They can also build out in front of Eagle near Washington. I have heard people say there is no space, but there is quite a bit. They only have to stay 50 feet from Washington. As a reference, the small helix near the end is about 60 feet from Washington.

My dream is they will be the first RMC TRex customer and build a TRex that tops 300 feet around the outside of Eagle or the other direction by the storage building. Possibly far fetched but GA has a history of being the first with new coaster models. People forget even Raging Bull was a first of its kind (technically Apollo's Chariot was the first hyper, but it only opened one month earlier so they were built at the same time & the Bull was the first hyper twister design).

[JackGlass]

I would like to see a Yukon themed family spinner replace the Go-Karts and a Looney Tunes retheme and expansion for Camp Cartoon, along with a small coaster for young children which the park currently lacks.

Very happy to see they are finally doing something about the kids areas which are in horrible condition

I had the same idea as what is pictured here about the new kids area. Except I think they should also close down Logger's Run & demolish the station. The park doesn't need two log rides and they just rethemed the other one. They could even add some parts of Logger's Run to Aquaman if they wanted. Although I would not add the drops, as it would require employees in the towers.

That area, along with area in front of V2 could be reclaimed and make space for a family coaster going all the way back toward the theater area. They could then use the go-karts area for other things. Or even keep half the go karts and make it a kids go kart track with slow electric karts. There is a lot they could do to this area and I think the Logger's Run entrance area could be part of it.

I agree on getting rid of Kidzopolis. That could be used for a future coaster. Could be the station area of a coaster over by the storage building as pictured elsewhere in this thread. They can also build out in front of Eagle near Washington. I have heard people say there is no space, but there is quite a bit. They only have to stay 50 feet from Washington. As a reference, the small helix near the end is about 60 feet from Washington.

My dream is they will be the first RMC TRex customer and build a TRex that tops 300 feet around the outside of Eagle or the other direction by the storage building. Possibly far fetched but GA has a history of being the first with new coaster models. People forget even Raging Bull was a first of its kind (technically Apollo's Chariot was the first hyper, but it only opened one month earlier so they were built at the same time & the Bull was the first hyper twister design).

I would love to see a giga T-Rex come to Great America. That would definitely be the ultra-elite coaster that we have been missing. With an amazing supporting line up.

[GreatAmericanfox]

I would like to see a Yukon themed family spinner replace the Go-Karts and a Looney Tunes retheme and expansion for Camp Cartoon, along with a small coaster for young children which the park currently lacks.

Very happy to see they are finally doing something about the kids areas which are in horrible condition

I had the same idea as what is pictured here about the new kids area. Except I think they should also close down Logger's Run & demolish the station. The park doesn't need two log rides and they just rethemed the other one. They could even add some parts of Logger's Run to Aquaman if they wanted. Although I would not add the drops, as it would require employees in the towers.

That area, along with area in front of V2 could be reclaimed and make space for a family coaster going all the way back toward the theater area. They could then use the go-karts area for other things. Or even keep half the go karts and make it a kids go kart track with slow electric karts. There is a lot they could do to this area and I think the Logger's Run entrance area could be part of it.

I agree on getting rid of Kidzopolis. That could be used for a future coaster. Could be the station area of a coaster over by the storage building as pictured elsewhere in this thread. They can also build out in front of Eagle near Washington. I have heard people say there is no space, but there is quite a bit. They only have to stay 50 feet from Washington. As a reference, the small helix near the end is about 60 feet from Washington.

My dream is they will be the first RMC TRex customer and build a TRex that tops 300 feet around the outside of Eagle or the other direction by the storage building. Possibly far fetched but GA has a history of being the first with new coaster models. People forget even Raging Bull was a first of its kind (technically Apollo's Chariot was the first hyper, but it only opened one month earlier so they were built at the same time & the Bull was the first hyper twister design).

Hard Pass on closing Logger's Run

[Goku1910]

Loggers and Yankee (Aquaman) won't have much longer to live under Cedar Management. Same for V2.

Pool is leaking, the fiberglass is constantly being repaired, the boats are old, and V2 is a time bomb for when that drive system eventually fails. Not to mention the amount of welds and doubler plates on the train. Next time you ride V2, take a closer look at the train.

[rthorat]

Loggers and Yankee (Aquaman) won't have much longer to live under Cedar Management. Same for V2.

Pool is leaking, the fiberglass is constantly being repaired, the boats are old, and V2 is a time bomb for when that drive system eventually fails. Not to mention the amount of welds and doubler plates on the train. Next time you ride V2, take a closer look at the train.

Good points.

On Logger's Run - given the size of the park, it doesn't make sense to have 2 log rides & incur the staffing for that when the park is already constantly having staffing issues. They just refurbished Aquaman somewhat, so Logger's Run is odd man out, in my opinion. California's Great America got rid of their log rides a long time ago. I would like to see them keep one. But they don't need two.

On V2, I would think since it received a recent retheme that it's safe for a while. But Cedar Fair already got rid of their better version of the ride at Cedar Point years ago. So I'm not sure it's safe anymore. Honestly, it's just an okay ride. I don't think many people would be upset if it goes. It's possible that when that decision is made that whole area will be ripped out, including both log rides. This could make way for something large. I think there is something to say for keeping a log ride in some form though.

[Goku1910]

On Logger's Run - given the size of the park, it doesn't make sense to have 2 log rides & incur the staffing for that when the park is already constantly having staffing issues. They just refurbished Aquaman somewhat, so Logger's Run is odd man out, in my opinion. California's Great America got rid of their log rides a long time ago. I would like to see them keep one. But they don't need two.

Well Loggers and Clipper share the same pool, so if one goes, they will almost certainly both go. My guess would be the park wants to wait for it to hit a point of no return where simple repairs and patches won't cut it anymore.

[CoasterRiderSC]

I'd rather keep both Yankee and Loggers and say bye to V2 (and Little Dipper as well).

[JackGlass]

Yeah, given Cedar Fairs track record. I think the flumes are on borrowed time.

That's a major difference between Cedar Fair and the old Six Flags management. If something is too costly, Cedar Fair won't blink an eye, they will demolish it.

If V2 becomes too costly to maintain. I could see them tearing down both the flumes and V2 at the same time. and putting something huge in that plot of land. Look what they just did at Great Adventure. Nostalgia or sentimental value means nothing, it's all about those dollars

[Tidal_Waver]

My dream is they will be the first RMC TRex customer and build a TRex that tops 300 feet around the outside of Eagle or the other direction by the storage building. Possibly far fetched but GA has a history of being the first with new coaster models.

After Magic Mountain and Great Adventure got Raptors I thought for sure we would get one. The fact that we didn’t makes me think Great America already decided against it.

Hard Pass on closing Logger's Run

I agree 100 percent. The general public loves and craves water rides on the dry side. I see a refurbishment happening before a demolition of Loggers. I was truly shocked when Magic Mountain closed their log flume over 10 years ago. I don’t think ours will meet the same fate.

There’s other stuff that could go first.