Now I've seen it all ....

[tinkgurl]

Clean?!? I am shocked! The gurnee, IL one is always nasty. The last few times I went it was just too depressing. It made me miss the wonderfulness (not a real word) of WDW!

I agree! Went there for my senior class trip years ago, and I just can't look at it the same as I do WDW. Doesn't hold a candle to the magic and love at WDW either!

 

[jennifermae]

I grew up going to Six Flags Great America--but of course back then it was Marriott's Great America and it used to be real nice.

I am saddened to hear that it has gone that far downhill...

When I moved to Houston, I was disappointed to see what the Six Flags here looked like...... I am not surprised that they closed it.

 

[DJ Disney Kid]

We went the last two Saturdays to Six Flags Gurnee, IL. Although we live only a few minutes away, we haven't gone more than half a dozen times in the previous fifteen years. But this year, we decided to get season passes and use the park as training for walking around WDW.

So we went the last two Saturdays, and I have to say that versus last August, there is evidence that they're trying to be better than just a teen hangout/thrill park. The aforementioned Wiggles area for little kids, for instance. And they're slowly rolling out decent landscaping (although most of it looks burned out and half-dead right now).

Even with good landscaping and a more family-friendly atmosphere (if they ever really achieve that - the place is 90% teenagers, both customers and employees), they'll never be able to hold a candle to Disney because they have no sense of style.

We rode a dozen rides on Saturday, and by the last one, we were bored out of our minds. They have spinning rides and they have coasters, and not much else for adults. By the umpteenth of either, they all start seeming exactly the same. Partly that's due to the lack of variety, and partly it's because the theming is simplistic at best. There's just nothing to distinguish one ride from another, really.

I will give the Superman and Batman coasters a pass, though. Although Superman has minimal theming, riding a coaster in a lying-on-your-stomach position is novel enough to carry the ride for a while. Batman has slightly more than the bare level of theming, plus the track is decent.

But the rest are just a blur of sameness, for the most part.

And don't even get me started on the fact that not a single cast member smiled at me the whole day - even when I smiled at them and said "please" and "thank you." All I got was grunts in return.

I do hope Six Flags gets it together and transforms all their parks into more family-friendly, clean places. But they'll never be Disney. To do that, you need serious cash, and Six Flags just doesn't have it.

Wrong term, Six Flags likes to use the word "employee". I think its part of their "style".

 

[Donald & Daisy Duck]

We went to SixFlagsGreatAdventure about two years ago and it was nothing like Disney. No family atmosphere really, but I guess they are trying. We are going to Hershey Park again this year though. Although it is no Disney, it does have chocolate and it is close enough for a weekend trip and has the big coasters for my DH and DD. Hershey is much nicer than Six Flags GA, cleaner and friendlier. Disney is still my absolute favorite.

 

[disneynutt1225]

Clean?!? I am shocked! The gurnee, IL one is always nasty. The last few times I went it was just too depressing. It made me miss the wonderfulness (not a real word) of WDW!

I went to Six Flags in NJ around Halloween a few years ago. Talk about NASTY!!! While we were walking through the parking lot, there was a group of women (obviously drunk) dropping their pants and peeing in the MIDDLE OF THE PARKING LOT! I haven't been back there since.

 

[Rustysmom]

I like Hershey more than GA, even though I'm closer to GA. Even so, we only make it to GA once a year because it's still a long drive from Brooklyn and it's expensive. We wait until we have the BOGO free coke cans.

 

[ransom]

Wrong term, Six Flags likes to use the word "employee". I think its part of their "style".

Wups! I was careful to type "employee" the first time, then that one slipped by me. Thanks for catching it.

And, yeah, it is indicative of their "style."

 

[ransom]

Oh, and just to add...

One other thing that really bugs me about Six Flags Great America is the number of carny-type booths. It used to be that ring toss and so on were only in the "County Fair" area, where they sort of make sense. But now they're everywhere! It just helps to make the park seem a bit seedier, IMO.

Are all Six Flags parks like that?

 

[cccm]

Oh blast from the past....Riverside. We went all the time, never went back when it became Six Flags. Paragon Park as well. Now we go to Canobie Lake Park.

Sorry to go off topic but I miss the parks I went to as a child and someone mentioning them gets me nostalgic.

 

[Buzz Litebeer]

I know a former Disney employee (I do not know his name) is now COO of the Six Flags corp, but this was just too much for this DIS fan!

Currently, five of the six top executives at Six Flags are former ESPN execs. The current Chief Executive Officer is Mark Shapiro.

You can read the executive biographies here.

I don't think they can legally sell actual Disney merchandise....

AFAIK, Disney isn't terribly picky about who it will allow to sell authorized merchandise. If Six Flags is selling it, that must mean that there's a market for it in their parks that they're trying to tap into.

The last time I was at Six Flags Over Georgia, I made a consious decision never to return to a Six Flags park and I've never once regretted it. The park was filthy almost beyond words. The crowds were large, the temperature hot, and the employees were either jaw-droppingly rude or apathetic. It was almost a game between my friends and I to play "spot the last remaining shreds of the original theming." And the shows were bigoted and offensive (I went to "Customer Service" to complain about the content of one of their shows. The manager who listened to us, nodded, acknowledged that yes, we had a valid point, but told us "that's the approved script" and that no, the park would not be doing anything about it -- or our hurt feelings).

 

[makinorlando]

I like Hershey more than GA, even though I'm closer to GA. Even so, we only make it to GA once a year because it's still a long drive from Brooklyn and it's expensive. We wait until we have the BOGO free coke cans.

DD misses Hershey Park too - and we live less than 1 hour from WDW and have APs. I think she really enjoyed the times we visited there while we still lived in PA, and she has fond memories - she was 4-6 years old so it's not like she did any BIG rides!!!

That's one of the things she wants to do when we go back to visit.... if we ever make it back - it seems like everyone comes here to see us!

 

[disneyandme]

Has the new Wiggles stuff opened yet? How is it? I grew up in NJ and went to GA every year through high school. We would like to take my DD7 and DD3 this summer since my DD3 is a Wiggles fanatic. I hoping it will be alright.

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

We liked Hershey but it's just too far away - a four hour drive - which means we have to stay overnight. Whenever we factor in the cost of a hotel room and the fact that if you are going to stay overnight you might as well get two park days in, it ends up being a $500 weekend. We can do a day trip to Great Adventure in one day for less than $200 including food, so we haven't done Hershey in a few years. One of these days we would like to take a week to visit Gettysburg and Hershey in one trip to make the drive worth it, but the kids are too young to appreciate Gettysburg right now.

On a side note, the food at Great Adventure is just atrocious. You can only get burgers and junk and it's expensive. I think we spent almost $40 on lunch for a family of 4, which included 2 kids. You had to buy a plastic lunch box with the kids meal, which we promptly tossed because nobody wanted to lug it on the rides the rest of the day. You could not order a burger without fries. It was insane. We are thinking about going Memorial Day weekend and will be bringing lunch in a cooler this time.

Last year we tried their water park and it was OK. The waits for the slides were long and it didn't even look like the park was crowded. The food was better than at GA though, which I found odd, since they are both Six Flags properties right next to each other and you'd think the food would be the same. I was able to get a wrap and a ceasar salad at lunch. Maybe we went to the wrong place for lunch at GA. But, I'm spoiled. You can't look up the menus for all the CS places at GA at allears.

 

[domiii]

One other thing that really bugs me about Six Flags Great America is the number of carny-type booths. It used to be that ring toss and so on were only in the "County Fair" area, where they sort of make sense. But now they're everywhere! It just helps to make the park seem a bit seedier, IMO.

I agree 100%! I never understood why they had them. And that's all my nephew wants to do when he goes there. What a waste of money.

On a side note, the food at Great Adventure is just atrocious.

It was just disgusting. Give me any CS at WDW any time!!!

 

[rotlex]

We went to SixFlagsGreatAdventure about two years ago and it was nothing like Disney. No family atmosphere really, but I guess they are trying. We are going to Hershey Park again this year though. Although it is no Disney, it does have chocolate and it is close enough for a weekend trip and has the big coasters for my DH and DD. Hershey is much nicer than Six Flags GA, cleaner and friendlier. Disney is still my absolute favorite.

Yeah, while it is NOT Disney of course, Hershey is a great park. Feels very family oriented, and my daughter loves the chocolate factory ride. (Feels kind of like an Epcot\Future World ride to me)

We live maybe 70 miles from the park, in Lehigh Valley are of PA, and make it a point to visit at least twice a year. They also do a GREAT Christmas time event. Admission to the park is like $10.00 per person, you get free hot chocolate, some other stuff, and the park is very nicely decorated. Highly recommended if you can make the trip.

 

[checkwriter]

Keep in mind that the new management at Six Flags has only been in place for about a year. I have a friend who works in their corporate HQ, and can confirm that they're working really hard to make the parks more family friendly. He told me that in years past the parks acted as an unofficial summer camp for teens, who would get dropped off in the mornings and picked up in the evenings. They're trying really hard to move away from that kind of atmosphere and attract more of the family day-trip clientele.

They've jettisoned some of the less-profitable parks, and have entered into a bunch of deals with outside companies. Kraft Mac and Cheese, for example, will have some kind of "play like a kid, pay like a kid" promotion where adults can get in for the price of a kid's ticket, I think with the purchase of a kid's ticket. Johnny Rockets restaurants will be opening in some of the parks, with cross-promotions in their chain restaurants. There are a lot of deals like that out there, so if you go you probably don't have to pay full price.

They're well aware that they're not Disney, of course. But that doesn't mean that they can't improve the experience for their customers, and I think they're working hard to do that with the understanding that they are a regional parks company.

So look for cleaner parks with more family-oriented attractions and better food, with family-focused deals designed to lure you in.

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

Ooooo! Johnny Rockets! That's not healthy either, but at least it tastes good, lol.

 

[marciemi]

The one in Gurnee has been going downhill. They used to have really good shows. I never really paid attention to cleanliness, though, so I can't comment on that. The last time I went it was depressing. Part of it could be my going to Disney so often, but like I said before, it's going downhill. As far as the Disney-like merchandise, very interesting.

Oh great guys! We're going to the one in Gurnee next weekend (Memorial Day). I was hoping it would be a quick fix to tide us over to our Disney trip in July. Guess I shouldn't get too optimistic!

 

[wishtdream]

Has the new Wiggles stuff opened yet? How is it? I grew up in NJ and went to GA every year through high school. We would like to take my DD7 and DD3 this summer since my DD3 is a Wiggles fanatic. I hoping it will be alright.

The wiggles area is open and It is very nice. My DD 4.5yrs old loves it.

The park itself is much cleaner and nicer now than in years past. There are three new kids areas that have opened in the past two years to make a total of four areas for young kids.

The Johnny Rockets just opened up I think it was 13.95 plus 7% tax for a burger and fries. 7.95 plus 7% tax for a corn dog nugget kids meal.