I've been going to Great America since it was owned by Paramount in the 90's. Top Gun (Flight Deck) is still my favorite ride. I'm looking forward to the improvements and hoping that the added features will blow me away like Top Gun did way back when.
I know employees that call it Top Gun when they're not working, so you're not the only one. Everyone is saying an RMC overhaul of Grizzly is possible and I think that's a far better solution than taking it out. Grizzly was my first coaster and I feel a soft spot for it
California's Great America is my closest home park and the first ever amusement park I ever went to.I think its a great park but they need more attractions and improvments which they are receiving over the next years or so.So im glad that they are adding more things to the park.
I grew up going to Great America. I can say, it was much better in the 90's (when it was known as Paramount's Great America)... but then again, a lot of things were better back then.
Yeah back when it was Nickelodeon themed, it felt more fun in my opinion. Maybe it’s cause I was just a kid, but it made it feel almost more Disney level or just a bit nicer
Big time, I have some Invertigo merch that I've held on to all these years (including a logo dog tag + an old map of Halloween Haunt from 2010 where Invertigo is still on it)
CGA was my home park for most of my life, and I have to say, everything about it declined drastically after Cedar Fair bought out Paramount. I'm glad to see that Cedar Fair is finally giving it the attention it deserves. Nice review!
I'll admit, Gold Striker is probably my favorite wooden roller coaster of all time! I went to Great America for my 8th Grade Field trip UPDATE: I prefer GhostRider.
Just went here with my nephews. Patriot and Rail Blazer were great and there was some more interesting merch. It’s a ton of fun and I can’t wait to go back again!
I grew up in Santa Clara, CA, and went on opening day, March, 1975, I believe. Correctiin: I was there on May 20th, 1976. And there used to be the roller coaster, "The Turn of the Century," "Skywhirl," which has been torn down, I was told, "The Demon," which used to be TTofTC, and many other features like the world's biggest movie screen, and anyway, I went there many many times. And way back on that opening day, I remember 5 cent Iced COLD Root beer, and the characters were Bugs Bunny, and Yosemite Sam. It was really hot then, too, but it's probably a lot hotter, now, with all the concrete businesses built up around it. Makes me sad you cannot even see it from the street anymore. It was beautiful, simple and a lot less commercialized.
Haven't been to this park since the mid 1990s, (and it is closer to home) and pretty sad they removed the Sky Whirl aka the Triple Wheel, but now finding out many years later Cedar Fair took over and looking forward to what they do to it. Use to live close to it before moving but after seeing their plans, I am looking forward to returning because they do have some cool things. I do agree with you, it does need a lot of work.
Hey, to the maker of this video.. you should read the history of California Great America and Six Flags Great America in Illinois..it's pretty fascinating.. Marriott wanted to replicate their theme parks when they first opened in the 70s, having almost exactly the same rides when each one opened.. but eventually the two branched off and gained their own identities.. But some of the similarities in the two parks remain today. The carousel, the sky trek, the flume rides, The Demon, and several other things remain pretty much the same at both locations. SFGAm has surpassed the Cedar Fair owned GAm in quality of coasters though.
Their new coaster Railblazer is awesome, just a little too short! It’s up there with Goldstriker. This is a good park, but I didn’t like how they took out the log ride and the looping ship (HMS whatever it was). Why are log rides going away?? They are so much fun and a nice break from coasters. This park has had issues with height limits. Hence, no mega coaster. They are in a flight zone. The restrictions may be changing. Unfortunately, they have removed some good coasters in the past: Tidal Wave, the Edge, Whizzer. We’ll see what the future holds for CGA. Hopefully some LONGER coasters please!! Also, how about bringing back all the special effects the Demon used to have: fog, tunnel lights, the fire! It used to loop around a rock. It needs a makeover and could be smoother. I hope they refurbish the Demon!
They took out Loggers Run and HMB Endeavor because they were planning on developing the land where they stood. Rumor has it they would have expanded their waterpark, which desperately needs to happen as their waterpark is sub-par. However, a change in management and other events took place that prevented them from doing this for the 2019 season, which means there is a massive construction site in the middle of the park. We'll see something there eventually. The park's height limit is actually 245 feet so they could add something fairly tall if they wanted. Most coasters are not over 245 feet. A 245-foot hyper coaster would be one of the tallest hyper coasters. I agree that the effects should be brought back for The Demon, however, it's a challenge since it's one of the less popular coasters there so it's a debate whether it would be worth it to bring the effects back. The lights were removed because people threw rocks at them during the ride and shattered them.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, removing some of these key rides like Tidal Wave and Logger’s Run was a mistake. I guess they want to cater more to the families rather than the adrenaline junkies like me! This park seriously needs a couple more state-of-the-art modern coasters! A newer Vekoma would be good!
Super excited you reviewed my home park!! Very good review; I'm glad you see the potential the park has now. I've been annoyed over the last few years with all the rides that CF has removed from here... removed Invertigo the Vekoma Invert, Stealth the Vekoma Flying Dutchman, Triple Play the Huss Troika, and now currently removing Firefall the Huss Topspin. Now it's finally time they stop removing and start adding. Very excited for the next few years!! PS Winterfest at the park this year (for the first time) was AWESOME
They aren't completely devoid of theming, just largely. Demon is probably the most "themed" ride in the park as far as on-ride experiences go and even that one feels very non-demonic. Flight Deck is also "themed" but mostly only in the queue and station. I'd love to spruce up the theming on some of these. It would make queuing for rides like the Psycho Mouse (which seems to always be slow due to low dispatch) a lot more bearable. I also think the park should try & invest in the misting fans you see at parks like Universal. It gets HOT at CGA in the summer and everyone is on a mad dash to the water park because it's so hot and some of the queues don't have enough shade.
Glad to hear you thought the park was nice. I grew up here, and I think I was in middle school when they did away with the Paramount licensing and from there it went WAY downhill with the lack of exciting rides, lame Haunts, and bad guests. I haven't been back in like 6 years since I moved to SoCal, but I hear it's slowly getting better and it has some promising improvements. I hope it gets some improvements and becomes more popular because SoCal gets way more attention when it comes to amusement parks.
You need to visit England again for Drayton Manor & Fantasy Island. I rode Odyssey at the end of the day on front row and it became my favourite (or in America, favorite) coaster in England
I only was here once and it was Halloween thymed, which at night is hands down the coolest Halloween experience I've ever had! I can't even rember any of the rides honestly. The atmosphere is great at night
I live right next to it, I have been liking it as a younger kid, but as I have grown up, I have grown out of it. After just recently going to Six Flags MM, I don't see myself going back to great america in the near future.
I think it's a strong point of the park. I visit the flats more often than I visit some of the coasters in the park and I've heard from a friend in the park that most of them are very hardy and are "called down" for maintenance way less in comparison to the coasters + that sky-lift thing the park has. There's really a lot of charm to these rides. Loud running, old horns, very kind of old-school look to them. I'm a huge fan of it. Rides like Berserker/Centrifuge/Orbit have been there since opening day in the 1970s. An entire generation that went on the ride as kids are now enjoying it with their own kids. I love a park that embraces its history.
The last time I was at California's Great America, it was owned by Paramount, Flight Deck was called Top Gun, there weren't any fast passes (unless you were handicapped), and there was no food package. I don't remember much of the food (last time I was there was early-mid 90's), but loved the rides. I just didn't care for having to wait in a 3 hour line to get onto Top Gun, but like I said it was quite a while ago that I was there. Next summer (2018), I will be going with my kids and a bunch of friends. Can't wait to go! ESPECIALLY since quite a few of the coasters that were there then, will be there plus some new rides.
CGA is getting a new coaster next season and the lines have improved in speed. CF added food packages and fast passes for those who really don't want to wait. Gold Striker is a great ride and worth the line. There is no longer the train the circled the park like it did in the 90's and now for 8018 the loggers run has been shut down and will be taken out. Not clear what will be added in it's place but most are expecting the water park to be expanded.
Home park. Remember like 7 years ago I wasn’t tall enough for all the rides when we went on a school trip for last year of elementary school, so I put inserts in my shoes to make it lol, but yeah really fun park, I like the small size because you can get it all done in half to three quarters a day without effort, but I would like to see the park expand or become more grand.
If you can remember the roller coaster called The Wizard, then your old school Great America. Because that was one of the original coasters at the park. Loved that ride, it didn't have I loop anywhere, but it didn't need it. You sat down on a sled style car that you would have 2-3 people laying back on each other. NO BELTS AT ALL, just the speed alone from the coaster would keep you in your seat. BEST COASTER EVER..... Oh yeah the color of the coaster was bright green.
I live like 15-20 min away, and I am sooooooo excited for the hyper, I haven't got the chance to go to many parks so I sadly have never rode anything over 150 ft
My home park is extremely underrated with RailBlazer, South Bay shores, The hyper coaster that might never come, and the possibility of RMC Grizzly, this park is going to jump to top tier Cedar fair park
I was here recently went here on part of a school trip and it was really fun, a lot like Knott's Berry Farm. Would definitely go again if I didn't live so far away.
I remember this park from the 70's, when it was Marriott's Great America. Cousins living nearby (in Los Gatos) meant we'd visit this place very summer. More recently I visited, and maybe it's been 10 years(!) and it seemed dated, showing wear, not clean, employees lacked enthusiasm, and there was some annoying "upsell" activity, like roaming photographers trying to get you to pose and then buy pics. I remember the old days when Willard's Whizzer lacked seatbelts, making it more thrilling, and Turn of the Century was more novel since the corkscrew seemed like a new thing. Log run kicked butt, and much of this is colored by the fact that I was a kid and we didn't have anything like Great America anywhere else in the SF Bay Area, since Dland and another big park or two were in SoCal. Thanks for the video-it's nice that the park is still around, and not looking toooo dated here!
"like roaming photographers trying to get you to pose and then buy pics" Actually they had that way back in the 80's, but they usually stayed at the main gate. "I remember the old days when Willard's Whizzer lacked seatbelts" They did have seat belts, it was one huge belt that went around both people.
I have been going to this amusement park since I was a kid they had more. They even had movie themed rides when Universal was helping them. They even had Nickelodeon, Scooby-Doo and Hanna Barbera cartoon characters when I was a kid. I even have a picture when I was a kid with Fred Flintstone. Most of these rides are also on RollerCoaster Tycoon.
When I visited this park for the first time and I went on Patriot AND Flight Deck, I sat in the front row the first time and I found it to be a head banger. But I decided to give both rides another try in the back row and I made sure to press my head on one side of the harness and it was good. So if you want to avoid or minimize head banging, do what I did so when the whippy moments come, it won’t be painful. Or use Taylor’s solution as sticking your head out or just using whatever works for you.
Good review. I used to go there all the time as a kid and had a season pass for 10 years straight. It's a good park, not too big, with a lot of attractions and not really any 'big' rides. When Top Gun (errr Flight Deck) is still your biggest draw, and it's the shortest Invert...... well..... let's just say rides like Vortex, Grizzly, etc, are good starter coasters for before you go to Magic Mountain. The thing with the park is they really let it go over the last 15 years, so I don't go as much. They focused almost entirely on their water park, which I don't care about (if you want a water park in the south bay you go to Raging Waters); they took out of a lot of classic fun little rides like Triple Play, Skyhawk, the Train, and the IMAX Theater which used to have great shows. They did bring back the ice show which was cool. And they have a rapids ride with bomber stations where you can pay a quarter for a bunch of water blasts on your friends while they were on the ride. That was always fun. Still though... Magic Mountain is only 4 hours away, so I go there several times a year and I haven't been here in a while.
Born & raised here in the Bay Area, I've been goin to Great America since it opened. Last month we went for the 1st time this summer & it was SOOO depressing. I've never in my life ever felt so discusted. The bathrooms were TOTALLY discusting & not kept up, they ruined most of the rides shortening the tracks, the Grizzly coaster's line was over 2hrs long bcuz it only has 1 train of cars instead of 3, they took out Firefall(the best) & relocated to another park, EVERYTHING is faded so bad it's almost white..which makes it look old & dumpy, it barely has any rides, the little harbor looks like a swampy science project in need of a Penicillin shot AND a few rides (like my fav Tiki-twirl) was in the dark @ night. No fire torches, no lights on the ride. JUST SUCKED!! I'm so glad someone else gifted/paid the $400 for our passes this summer. Sucks so bad, they should pay us to come this summer. If they dont fix it quick, no one will go anymore. WAS AMAZING WHEN MARRIOT OWNED IT. Dont waste ur money..I'd rather stay home & run thru a sprinkler.
This is my home park, it's the closest will ever have to being a north cal version of Knott's berry farm minus the budget and shorter walking distance on top of being surrounded by tech buildings!!! But hey it's home 🥰🥰🥰
yeah, this is my home park. Patriot is so much worse than Vortex. Couldn't ride it at all first time we went this year. It was open but broke down every hour or so. When we finally got on it the shoulder restraints and the rough ride made for a terrible experience. High hopes for trail blazer though
Great review. IMO Demon is an underrated classic coaster from the 80s comparable to SFMM Revolution. In fact this whole park is like a classier SFMM but if they stopped putting in new roller coasters in the mid 80s - but I like that.
I always wonder why Northern California parks can’t get the standout coasters like Magic Mountain or the other parks in the country. I know discovery kingdom has that stupid height limit and I think this park does too ( more than 150ft though). I wish I wouldn’t have to drive to magic mountain to get on a coaster like Tatsu, X2, Twisted Colossus, etc.
We love Great America. I take my three year old often. We bought the meal pass too. I love this place it's really fun. I would say double check your seat-belt and safety harness that it is as tight as it can be and also for your child. A boy tragically fell out on Dropzone in 1999 but there have been no horrible incidents since then. I feel like the park is safe but I think it's important to be cautious. The park reported that the boy was disabled but I think the park employee is supposed to push the harness down to make sure it's as tight as it goes and yank it back to make sure it doesn't open. If they don't, say something. There is inherent danger in theme parks. On the Great Skate kids ride our seat-belt was once improperly fastened there are no directions to tell you. I think my issue is with all theme parks and the Rollercoaster Loophole. Because they make big money and they shouldn't really consider cutting costs when it comes to safety. I think safety should come before profits always! I thought the seat-belt goes around you but it actually goes to secure the harness. Thankfully everything went fine because I think the seat-belt and harness is a double security measure. But we do love this place a lot. It's a great place to bring my little guy. He loves the Charlie Brown characters and the bumper cars. This place is awesome. We love coming here a lot.
We're going to be there on a Thursday this summer (not sure if we'll arrive the moment it opens or after 1pm). Is it worth getting a fast lane pass ($45 per person I think)?
The only reason why SFGreat America is better than Californias Great America is because its been a Six Flags park who is known for adding great rollercoasters, that and the fact that they have the space to add these types of rides whereas CGA is land locked BUT now that Cedar Fair owns CGA great things are to come for sure. IMO Paramount never really gave this park any love and I was so happy when I found out CF took over. OH, the one thing that they do have better than SFGA is the park entrance which is lined with palm trees and water fountains spewing in front of the double decker carousel which has a fairly new coat of paint.
I'll be going over there this summer for the first time and how would you describe a day at the park because I'm planning on staying there for a whole day
My home parks are Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and California’s Great America and I think they are ok. My top 5 parks: 5: California’s Great America 4: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk 3: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom 2: Knott’s Berry Farm 1: Six Flags Magic Mountain Honorable Mentions: Sea World San Diego Gilroy Gardens
I visited this park a few years back and I thought the grizzly was fun but I haven't been on any actual roller coasters but now since I know what a good roller coaster is and isn't (I don't ride coasters I just look at POV and watcha lot of coaster review channels) and I can tell now that it was really boring. P.S. I was also too scared to ride gold striker but from what I've seen it's a pretty fun roller coaster.
If cedar fairs putting money into a pretty small park like cga then maybe they’re eventually put some money into Michigan’s adventure . It hasn’t even received a new coaster in over a decade.
![GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- Season Pass 4 Playable Character #1 [Queen Dizzy] Trailer](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nXDsAgYXXv4/mqdefault.jpg)
I liked the 4-D ride more when it was spongebob themed
Great to see my home park in a Coaster Studios review, thank you, Taylor! Maybe down the line a park battle review against Six Flags Great America?
Six flags great America would crush it
This is from the future. The new floorless is called Patriot and an RMC Raptor called Railblazer exists. Yay.
Yes
indeed
Cant believe it’s closing! A shame I’ll never get the chance to visit
I've been going to Great America since it was owned by Paramount in the 90's. Top Gun (Flight Deck) is still my favorite ride.
I'm looking forward to the improvements and hoping that the added features will blow me away like Top Gun did way back when.
Me too and I still call it Top Gun to some of the employees and they get a little ticked off lol. I will always call it Top Gun
Excellent! You know what they say, you can put lipstick on a pick....
I know employees that call it Top Gun when they're not working, so you're not the only one.
Everyone is saying an RMC overhaul of Grizzly is possible and I think that's a far better solution than taking it out. Grizzly was my first coaster and I feel a soft spot for it
It will always be Top Gun to me too. It also took some getting used to when they recolored it
It’s my favorite too!
California's Great America is my closest home park and the first ever amusement park I ever went to.I think its a great park but they need more attractions and improvments which they are receiving over the next years or so.So im glad that they are adding more things to the
park.
I grew up going to Great America. I can say, it was much better in the 90's (when it was known as Paramount's Great America)... but then again, a lot of things were better back then.
Sir Isaac great America in Gurnee is better and was always better
Yeah back when it was Nickelodeon themed, it felt more fun in my opinion. Maybe it’s cause I was just a kid, but it made it feel almost more Disney level or just a bit nicer
I remember when it is still owned by Marriott but yes, not the same. Great childhood memories.
Sergio Alvarez great america will never be as great as Disney
De Swiftie I agree, but as a kid I felt the theming was much better and it felt more exciting
Been going to this park since the 90s when it was still Paramount's Great America. Anybody remember Invertigo and Stealth?
Jordan Anderson yeah, wish we still had them!
Big time, I have some Invertigo merch that I've held on to all these years (including a logo dog tag + an old map of Halloween Haunt from 2010 where Invertigo is still on it)
Is gold striker the grizzly?
Brandon Whittemore no, they are 2 separate roller coasters
Top Gun was one of my dad favorite rides
CGA was my home park for most of my life, and I have to say, everything about it declined drastically after Cedar Fair bought out Paramount. I'm glad to see that Cedar Fair is finally giving it the attention it deserves. Nice review!
Great review! I wanna ride Gold Striker! And the park totally deserves a B&M hyper :)
BryceFourn 2001 yup
BryceFourn 2001 Gold Striker is insane. And haha yeah we need a hyper ;-)
Marc Weiner Probably the most insane GCI
Marc Weiner hi i see you on every cga video
BryceFourn 2001 they would never get a bm hyper because of height restrictions due to the international airport that's so close to it
I'm from Long Beach, California and I never knew how much people could enjoy palm trees when you don't see them every day of your life
I'll admit, Gold Striker is probably my favorite wooden roller coaster of all time! I went to Great America for my 8th Grade Field trip
UPDATE: I prefer GhostRider.
Just went here with my nephews. Patriot and Rail Blazer were great and there was some more interesting merch. It’s a ton of fun and I can’t wait to go back again!
My home park :-)
Same here. I've been going since 2013 and I'm really excited to see a lot more effort put into this park. :D
loki352 Same!
me too, I got season passes every year from 2001 and I still go
Marc Weiner better than Disneyland that's meant for lil kids
lol same i live in gilroy
Was there in 1984 as a 12 year old kid vacationing with relatives in Livermore.
Good to see it is still around
I grew up in Santa Clara, CA, and went on opening day, March, 1975, I believe. Correctiin: I was there on May 20th, 1976. And there used to be the roller coaster, "The Turn of the Century," "Skywhirl," which has been torn down, I was told, "The Demon," which used to be TTofTC, and many other features like the world's biggest movie screen, and anyway, I went there many many times. And way back on that opening day, I remember 5 cent Iced COLD Root beer, and the characters were Bugs Bunny, and Yosemite Sam. It was really hot then, too, but it's probably a lot hotter, now, with all the concrete businesses built up around it. Makes me sad you cannot even see it from the street anymore. It was beautiful, simple and a lot less commercialized.
Haven't been to this park since the mid 1990s, (and it is closer to home) and pretty sad they removed the Sky Whirl aka the Triple Wheel, but now finding out many years later Cedar Fair took over and looking forward to what they do to it. Use to live close to it before moving but after seeing their plans, I am looking forward to returning because they do have some cool things. I do agree with you, it does need a lot of work.
Hey, to the maker of this video.. you should read the history of California Great America and Six Flags Great America in Illinois..it's pretty fascinating.. Marriott wanted to replicate their theme parks when they first opened in the 70s, having almost exactly the same rides when each one opened.. but eventually the two branched off and gained their own identities.. But some of the similarities in the two parks remain today. The carousel, the sky trek, the flume rides, The Demon, and several other things remain pretty much the same at both locations. SFGAm has surpassed the Cedar Fair owned GAm in quality of coasters though.
Their new coaster Railblazer is awesome, just a little too short! It’s up there with Goldstriker. This is a good park, but I didn’t like how they took out the log ride and the looping ship (HMS whatever it was). Why are log rides going away?? They are so much fun and a nice break from coasters. This park has had issues with height limits. Hence, no mega coaster. They are in a flight zone. The restrictions may be changing. Unfortunately, they have removed some good coasters in the past: Tidal Wave, the Edge, Whizzer. We’ll see what the future holds for CGA. Hopefully some LONGER coasters please!! Also, how about bringing back all the special effects the Demon used to have: fog, tunnel lights, the fire! It used to loop around a rock. It needs a makeover and could be smoother. I hope they refurbish the Demon!
They took out Loggers Run and HMB Endeavor because they were planning on developing the land where they stood. Rumor has it they would have expanded their waterpark, which desperately needs to happen as their waterpark is sub-par. However, a change in management and other events took place that prevented them from doing this for the 2019 season, which means there is a massive construction site in the middle of the park. We'll see something there eventually. The park's height limit is actually 245 feet so they could add something fairly tall if they wanted. Most coasters are not over 245 feet. A 245-foot hyper coaster would be one of the tallest hyper coasters. I agree that the effects should be brought back for The Demon, however, it's a challenge since it's one of the less popular coasters there so it's a debate whether it would be worth it to bring the effects back. The lights were removed because people threw rocks at them during the ride and shattered them.
@@triple7marc The rumored Hyper should now be coming in 2021 at the latest.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, removing some of these key rides like Tidal Wave and Logger’s Run was a mistake. I guess they want to cater more to the families rather than the adrenaline junkies like me! This park seriously needs a couple more state-of-the-art modern coasters! A newer Vekoma would be good!
Super excited you reviewed my home park!! Very good review; I'm glad you see the potential the park has now. I've been annoyed over the last few years with all the rides that CF has removed from here... removed Invertigo the Vekoma Invert, Stealth the Vekoma Flying Dutchman, Triple Play the Huss Troika, and now currently removing Firefall the Huss Topspin. Now it's finally time they stop removing and start adding. Very excited for the next few years!! PS Winterfest at the park this year (for the first time) was AWESOME
Added Railblazer! :)
Removed H.M.B. Endeavor and Loggers Run. :(
@@donovancrimes438 Seems like the park is starting to focus more on coasters than flats now, hyper is possibly rumored for 2020, or 2021 :)
This is my local park... discovery kingdom is the next closest...
KillingAuraPvP I’m the opposite Discovery kingdom is closer to me than great America
Miles Campbell me too
Andrew Gonzalez park as in pay to enter and not pay per ride
@@killingaurapvp3178 that is still a park
@@basictransportenthusiast4386 same
The proposed hyper coaster could be really good. One of the best, if it was themed
Coasterfan3657 what theming, this is cedar fair we're talking about
THEY HAVE ALMOST NO THEMING (Knotts is the exception)
Coasters or Baseball I can't decide I know and I don't expect it to I just said if it was it would be nice
Coasters or Baseball I can't decide Cedar fair's coasters are really decorated compared to six flags coasters
They aren't completely devoid of theming, just largely. Demon is probably the most "themed" ride in the park as far as on-ride experiences go and even that one feels very non-demonic. Flight Deck is also "themed" but mostly only in the queue and station.
I'd love to spruce up the theming on some of these. It would make queuing for rides like the Psycho Mouse (which seems to always be slow due to low dispatch) a lot more bearable. I also think the park should try & invest in the misting fans you see at parks like Universal. It gets HOT at CGA in the summer and everyone is on a mad dash to the water park because it's so hot and some of the queues don't have enough shade.
They can't because of the 150 ft. height limit the county has
Glad to hear you thought the park was nice. I grew up here, and I think I was in middle school when they did away with the Paramount licensing and from there it went WAY downhill with the lack of exciting rides, lame Haunts, and bad guests. I haven't been back in like 6 years since I moved to SoCal, but I hear it's slowly getting better and it has some promising improvements. I hope it gets some improvements and becomes more popular because SoCal gets way more attention when it comes to amusement parks.
You need to visit England again for Drayton Manor & Fantasy Island. I rode Odyssey at the end of the day on front row and it became my favourite (or in America, favorite) coaster in England
Now for the Six Flags Great America review
Shark Man As that is my home park, I am looking forward to that review.
National Coaster News same
Shark Man saaaame
please let this happen
*cough* Stormrunner review *cough*
I work here and yeah lol some shade would be nice...ALSO we have a new coaster "Railblazer" definitely #1
I only was here once and it was Halloween thymed, which at night is hands down the coolest Halloween experience I've ever had! I can't even rember any of the rides honestly. The atmosphere is great at night
When I went to San Francisco in summer 2014, we went to Levi’s Stadium and I saw this park from the outside, I was so sad I couldn’t go in
This is my home park, I think it's quite nice but wish it was better. A hypercoaster will improve it immensely.
I live right next to it, I have been liking it as a younger kid, but as I have grown up, I have grown out of it. After just recently going to Six Flags MM, I don't see myself going back to great america in the near future.
They have A LOT of flat rides at CGA. More than Knott's and SFMM.
Marc Weiner This is True
Marc Weiner Its pretty cool actually
KILLA SCORPION75 Ikr
I think it's a strong point of the park. I visit the flats more often than I visit some of the coasters in the park and I've heard from a friend in the park that most of them are very hardy and are "called down" for maintenance way less in comparison to the coasters + that sky-lift thing the park has.
There's really a lot of charm to these rides. Loud running, old horns, very kind of old-school look to them. I'm a huge fan of it. Rides like Berserker/Centrifuge/Orbit have been there since opening day in the 1970s. An entire generation that went on the ride as kids are now enjoying it with their own kids. I love a park that embraces its history.
The last time I was at California's Great America, it was owned by Paramount, Flight Deck was called Top Gun, there weren't any fast passes (unless you were handicapped), and there was no food package. I don't remember much of the food (last time I was there was early-mid 90's), but loved the rides. I just didn't care for having to wait in a 3 hour line to get onto Top Gun, but like I said it was quite a while ago that I was there. Next summer (2018), I will be going with my kids and a bunch of friends. Can't wait to go! ESPECIALLY since quite a few of the coasters that were there then, will be there plus some new rides.
CGA is getting a new coaster next season and the lines have improved in speed. CF added food packages and fast passes for those who really don't want to wait. Gold Striker is a great ride and worth the line. There is no longer the train the circled the park like it did in the 90's and now for 8018 the loggers run has been shut down and will be taken out. Not clear what will be added in it's place but most are expecting the water park to be expanded.
Home park. Remember like 7 years ago I wasn’t tall enough for all the rides when we went on a school trip for last year of elementary school, so I put inserts in my shoes to make it lol, but yeah really fun park, I like the small size because you can get it all done in half to three quarters a day without effort, but I would like to see the park expand or become more grand.
Dorney park has some of those iPad type things in some of the food places now.
If you can remember the roller coaster called The Wizard, then your old school Great America. Because that was one of the original coasters at the park. Loved that ride, it didn't have I loop anywhere, but it didn't need it. You sat down on a sled style car that you would have 2-3 people laying back on each other. NO BELTS AT ALL, just the speed alone from the coaster would keep you in your seat. BEST COASTER EVER..... Oh yeah the color of the coaster was bright green.
The Whizzer absolutely did have restraints.
The all wooden rollercoaster called the grizzly was one of my favorite rides as a kid at great America
I live like 15-20 min away, and I am sooooooo excited for the hyper, I haven't got the chance to go to many parks so I sadly have never rode anything over 150 ft
My home park is extremely underrated with RailBlazer, South Bay shores, The hyper coaster that might never come, and the possibility of RMC Grizzly, this park is going to jump to top tier Cedar fair park
I was here recently went here on part of a school trip and it was really fun, a lot like Knott's Berry Farm. Would definitely go again if I didn't live so far away.
I remember this park from the 70's, when it was Marriott's Great America. Cousins living nearby (in Los Gatos) meant we'd visit this place very summer. More recently I visited, and maybe it's been 10 years(!) and it seemed dated, showing wear, not clean, employees lacked enthusiasm, and there was some annoying "upsell" activity, like roaming photographers trying to get you to pose and then buy pics. I remember the old days when Willard's Whizzer lacked seatbelts, making it more thrilling, and Turn of the Century was more novel since the corkscrew seemed like a new thing. Log run kicked butt, and much of this is colored by the fact that I was a kid and we didn't have anything like Great America anywhere else in the SF Bay Area, since Dland and another big park or two were in SoCal. Thanks for the video-it's nice that the park is still around, and not looking toooo dated here!
"like roaming photographers trying to get you to pose and then buy pics"
Actually they had that way back in the 80's, but they usually stayed at the main gate.
"I remember the old days when Willard's Whizzer lacked seatbelts"
They did have seat belts, it was one huge belt that went around both people.
I have been going to this amusement park since I was a kid they had more. They even had movie themed rides when Universal was helping them. They even had Nickelodeon, Scooby-Doo and Hanna Barbera cartoon characters when I was a kid. I even have a picture when I was a kid with Fred Flintstone. Most of these rides are also on RollerCoaster Tycoon.
Knott’s iron reef and CGA’s mass effect ride are both great rides
This is my local park it’s a lot of fun my mom grew up coming here too
Hopefully the hyper coaster will be as smooth and beautiful as Mako!
I wonder if the layout will be similar to Mako if they utilize the pond by flight deck
You can’t beat makos setting
I personally think the roofless stations look pretty cool. Anyway, nice review, I've always thought that CGA looks like a really nice park
Every new coaster that Great America gets, I don't think will have any more roofless stations.
When I visited this park for the first time and I went on Patriot AND Flight Deck, I sat in the front row the first time and I found it to be a head banger. But I decided to give both rides another try in the back row and I made sure to press my head on one side of the harness and it was good. So if you want to avoid or minimize head banging, do what I did so when the whippy moments come, it won’t be painful. Or use Taylor’s solution as sticking your head out or just using whatever works for you.
Cøaster Crazy Caleb you should of gone on Vortex when it was stand up omg much better
@@Audioandlyrics It wasn't much better, but it was still fun.
Sticking your head out works so much better. Do it on Flight Deck as well.
Marc Weiner ok but it does hurt my head.
@@Audioandlyrics Actually it was rough as hell as vortex, way better as a floorless.
Good review. I used to go there all the time as a kid and had a season pass for 10 years straight. It's a good park, not too big, with a lot of attractions and not really any 'big' rides. When Top Gun (errr Flight Deck) is still your biggest draw, and it's the shortest Invert...... well..... let's just say rides like Vortex, Grizzly, etc, are good starter coasters for before you go to Magic Mountain.
The thing with the park is they really let it go over the last 15 years, so I don't go as much. They focused almost entirely on their water park, which I don't care about (if you want a water park in the south bay you go to Raging Waters); they took out of a lot of classic fun little rides like Triple Play, Skyhawk, the Train, and the IMAX Theater which used to have great shows.
They did bring back the ice show which was cool. And they have a rapids ride with bomber stations where you can pay a quarter for a bunch of water blasts on your friends while they were on the ride. That was always fun.
Still though... Magic Mountain is only 4 hours away, so I go there several times a year and I haven't been here in a while.
Steven Schiro magic mountain is 7 hours south of cga bruh don't play me like that
Sfdk is an hour and a half north
I was a ride operator for 2016 and I heard a lot of people disliked the new food menu from guests when I was doing a fast lane height checker.
This is like a second home for me
Patriot is pretty cool! BTW it opened on April Fool's Day!
Bruh. Partriot sucks
I live somewhat near this place and it’s pretty legendary
I loved this place! And especially RailBlazer :)
Born & raised here in the Bay Area, I've been goin to Great America since it opened. Last month we went for the 1st time this summer & it was SOOO depressing. I've never in my life ever felt so discusted. The bathrooms were TOTALLY discusting & not kept up, they ruined most of the rides shortening the tracks, the Grizzly coaster's line was over 2hrs long bcuz it only has 1 train of cars instead of 3, they took out Firefall(the best) & relocated to another park, EVERYTHING is faded so bad it's almost white..which makes it look old & dumpy, it barely has any rides, the little harbor looks like a swampy science project in need of a Penicillin shot AND a few rides (like my fav Tiki-twirl) was in the dark @ night. No fire torches, no lights on the ride. JUST SUCKED!! I'm so glad someone else gifted/paid the $400 for our passes this summer. Sucks so bad, they should pay us to come this summer. If they dont fix it quick, no one will go anymore. WAS AMAZING WHEN MARRIOT OWNED IT.
Dont waste ur money..I'd rather stay home & run thru a sprinkler.
Before being a Peanuts park, this place used to be a Paramount Pictures themed park. Which meant it was Nickelodeon themed, I loved it as a kid.
Taylor, California's Great America is my childhood park.
This is my home park, it's the closest will ever have to being a north cal version of Knott's berry farm minus the budget and shorter walking distance on top of being surrounded by tech buildings!!! But hey it's home 🥰🥰🥰
yeah, this is my home park. Patriot is so much worse than Vortex. Couldn't ride it at all first time we went this year. It was open but broke down every hour or so. When we finally got on it the shoulder restraints and the rough ride made for a terrible experience. High hopes for trail blazer though
I went to great America a lot times and I might go this year and if you ever go the best ride gold striker its lit
This is my home park and oh man! Gold Striker is an amazing GCI, Patriot is Ok, and it is a good experience and as you say, yes, more improvement.
Plus since it was converted compared to when it was vortex the reviews have become a bit more positive, and reridable.
I love Great America! It’s my home park! I’m just disappointed that it has a expiration date 😔
i love it ❤️
i agree Nicholas Kim, its a lot better now especially with railblazer
They also have the touch screen ordering kiosks at Cedar Point.
1:10 ive went to that exact levis stadium and I live in san jose and can go there when ever I want!
Great review. IMO Demon is an underrated classic coaster from the 80s comparable to SFMM Revolution. In fact this whole park is like a classier SFMM but if they stopped putting in new roller coasters in the mid 80s - but I like that.
Based off of your footage, it looks like you rode Woodstock Express! Was it rough?
M. R. Newton its cool but mostly for kids
Yes I've been to Great Adventures every single year l lived there when it opened up
I remember when that mass effect ride was days of thunder. That was so much fun as days of thunder.
Nice review!
raising money for a field trip here i can’t wait ommmmg
I always wonder why Northern California parks can’t get the standout coasters like Magic Mountain or the other parks in the country. I know discovery kingdom has that stupid height limit and I think this park does too ( more than 150ft though). I wish I wouldn’t have to drive to magic mountain to get on a coaster like Tatsu, X2, Twisted Colossus, etc.
i even remeber times when i was super little and they have changed things to i remeber wen it was nickoleden themed
Yep, It used to be Nickelodeon Central.
This is mah home park, I met u there!
I live like 30 min away or less from ga and I love it !!!
Looking at this video, they still had Firefall. One of my favorite rides here. Wonder what they will make in that area.
We love Great America. I take my three year old often. We bought the meal pass too. I love this place it's really fun. I would say double check your seat-belt and safety harness that it is as tight as it can be and also for your child. A boy tragically fell out on Dropzone in 1999 but there have been no horrible incidents since then. I feel like the park is safe but I think it's important to be cautious. The park reported that the boy was disabled but I think the park employee is supposed to push the harness down to make sure it's as tight as it goes and yank it back to make sure it doesn't open. If they don't, say something. There is inherent danger in theme parks. On the Great Skate kids ride our seat-belt was once improperly fastened there are no directions to tell you. I think my issue is with all theme parks and the Rollercoaster Loophole. Because they make big money and they shouldn't really consider cutting costs when it comes to safety. I think safety should come before profits always! I thought the seat-belt goes around you but it actually goes to secure the harness. Thankfully everything went fine because I think the seat-belt and harness is a double security measure. But we do love this place a lot. It's a great place to bring my little guy. He loves the Charlie Brown characters and the bumper cars. This place is awesome. We love coming here a lot.
We're going to be there on a Thursday this summer (not sure if we'll arrive the moment it opens or after 1pm). Is it worth getting a fast lane pass ($45 per person I think)?
A M no the lines aren't that long usually
List for what great america should get:
Windseeker
B&M Hyper Coaster
Intamin or Mack launched coaster
carowinds has the same system for ordering food and it worked great for me!
excited to ride Railblazer
The only reason why SFGreat America is better than Californias Great America is because its been a Six Flags park who is known for adding great rollercoasters, that and the fact that they have the space to add these types of rides whereas CGA is land locked BUT now that Cedar Fair owns CGA great things are to come for sure. IMO Paramount never really gave this park any love and I was so happy when I found out CF took over. OH, the one thing that they do have better than SFGA is the park entrance which is lined with palm trees and water fountains spewing in front of the double decker carousel which has a fairly new coat of paint.
Gabriel Trejo SFGA HAD THAT ENTRANCE WAYYYY BEFORE CGA
There’s no palm trees here in Illinois. California is warm year round so it would make no sense to put palm trees at SFGA
Giselle Rivera CGA is older than SFGA, so they had it first.
I'll be going over there this summer for the first time and how would you describe a day at the park because I'm planning on staying there for a whole day
Dalton Wike Text me and I'll help you out. I go there like every week
Marc Weiner thanks man I appreciate that, I won't be going there til summer break
Plus, they've modified the food ordering iPad registers.
Great America is iconic
My home parks are Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and California’s Great America and I think they are ok.
My top 5 parks:
5: California’s Great America
4: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
3: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
2: Knott’s Berry Farm
1: Six Flags Magic Mountain
Honorable Mentions:
Sea World San Diego
Gilroy Gardens
The hyper coaster cold be coming in 2018 because of the small year that they planed for 2017.
It's now possibly rumored for 2020 because they mentioned a proposed 210 ft ride from the masterplan document.
If you go to Cedar Point and eat at the restraunt Coasters, they have those Ipad things too
I think I ate their once, and don't remember seeing the iPads. Must be new. Either way, I wasn't that impressed with the food!
I visited this park a few years back and I thought the grizzly was fun but I haven't been on any actual roller coasters but now since I know what a good roller coaster is and isn't (I don't ride coasters I just look at POV and watcha lot of coaster review channels) and I can tell now that it was really boring.
P.S. I was also too scared to ride gold striker but from what I've seen it's a pretty fun roller coaster.
Not one solar panel seen in this video but imagine if public transportation was built like a coaster.
My hometown amusement...good memories
Got to say is, being my home park there are lots of things CGA does better than other parks in California.
I am a child and I think that I loove Californias Great America. It is not as good as Disneyland but still really cool.
Which one is better; in every way( food, cleanest, more interesting) San Francisco; Six Flags or Great America ?
since you did California's great America, can you review Six flags Great America?
I'm going in order of the parks I visited on the Great Coaster Roadtrip, so SFGAm will be towards the end. but yes, I will eventually review it.
I miss great America park it been a long time
When you come back to the us come here so you can ride rail blzer
It’s odd to me that this park has two wooden roller coasters, I ridden both. Other parks only have one wooden coaster per park
I went there once it was very fun
Coster Studio how many inches can you go to great America because I’m going and I don’t know
If cedar fairs putting money into a pretty small park like cga then maybe they’re eventually put some money into Michigan’s adventure . It hasn’t even received a new coaster in over a decade.
Less likely, since Michigan's Adventure is not as popular and doesn't bring in as much revenue. CGA is in the middle of Silicon Valley.