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Earlier this week, Six Flags Great America appeared before the Village of Gurnee zoning board requesting a height variance for a 150 ft tall structure. It has also been released that said structure will be a stand-up roller coaster from Swiss designer Bolliger and Mabillard that is being relocated from another park in the chain.
For those of you wondering, yes those are the approximate stats of Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom's former roller coaster Chang. The 2011 coaster installation will be placed in the Space Port area at the front of the park, taking over the former location of the Space Shuttle America simulator and the go-kart track. Park President, Hank Salemi is extremely excited about adding their "first major thrill ride since Superman in 2003." This will be the park's 4th coaster manufactured by B&M. The name for the "new" coaster has yet to be announced but a complete name change and retheming is expected. Rumors still persist that the once stand-up ride will reopen with B&M's floorless trains to prevent there being two stand-ups in the park (the other being Iron Wolf). Others claim that Iron Wolf will fall prey to Six Flags' unofficial "ride rotation" program. The truth may not fully come out for a while, but for sure, Six Flags has some big plans in store for the chain's 50th anniversary next year. It should prove to be an exciting off-season.
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Its not every day when a classic wooden coaster gets saved, especially from a large, corporate theme park chain. However, Six Flags Great America has pulled off the unexpected and has purchased the Little Dipper from the recently closed down Kiddieland and it will be rebuilt at Six Flags Great America in time for the 2010 season. the fifty nine year old coaster will be relocated across Chicago and will be rebuilt to its original condition
Kiddleland was an amusement park opened in 1929. The park had been run family run since, focusing on children and their families. They hired the Philadelphia Toboggan Company to build the Little Dipper as one of their Junior Coasters. However, a family feud brought an ultimate closure to the park on September 27th of this year. The ACE Coaster Classic will operate for its 60th year at Six Flags Great America though Hank Salemi, the President of Six Flags Great America, stated that "The Little Dipper has been a fond family tradition for over 50 years... We wanted to preserve this important piece of Chicago history for families to experience for many more years to come." The addition of Little Dipper will bring the coaster count of Six Flags Great America up to 13. The addition of Little Dipper came a surprise to many because Six Flags has never underwent this type of project in the past. Wild One at Six Flags America was relocated to the park in 1986, but that project was before the park was owned by Six Flags, when it was still known as Wild World. Six Flags Great America will open for the 2010 season on April 24th. However, whether theLittle Dipper will open on that date is uncertain. A spinning wild mouse and three other new rides are among new attractions confirmed to be opening this year when Illinois' Six Flags Great America begins its 28th season of operation.
The Crazy Mouse, built by Reverchon, will stand at five stories in height and spin riders through a maze of hairpin corners and dips at up to 20 miles per hour, and will become Great America's fourteenth coaster track. Meanwhile, a Huss-crafted Frisbee flat ride, relocated from New Jersey's Six Flags Great Adventure where it operated as Pendulum, will swing passengers over the park while a Huss Top Spin model loops thrillseekers in the air. More family-geared attractions being added to the Six Flags park are a Balloon Race ride from Zamperla along with several new shows. Six Flags Great America has made official Superman: Ultimate Flight, which will open this Spring as the midwestern United States' first inverted flying coaster.
Construction is well underway on Superman, replacing the seven-inversion Shock Wave at the Gurnee, Illinois Six Flags park. The flying coaster contains two 360-degree inversions and a red and yellow track of 2,798 feet, several hundred feet longer than the two other Superman flyers from Bolliger and Mabillard located at Six Flags over Georgia and Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. Chicago's Daily Herald has confirmed that the Shockwave at Six Flags Great America will indeed be removed to make way for Great America's 2003 steel coaster.
Shockwave, which opened in 1988, will be dismantled to make way for a new flying coaster from Bolliger and Mabillard due to a lack of space for expansion elsewhere in the park. Six Flags' original choice for removal was the 1976 Schwarzkopf twister Whizzer, but public outcry spared the classic coaster. Dismatling proceedures for the Shockwave have already started and the 7-inversion steel coaster will be relocated to another park, most likely remaining in the Six Flags chain. Track sections and supports for the new coaster, to be called Superman, have already begun to arrive and officials hope to have the attraction open by next May. In just one week from today, on Sunday, August 11th, 2002, the Whizzer at Six Flags Great America is scheduled to run through its circuit for the final time in its original location, after operating for the past 26 years since it opened with the park in May of 1976.
The last remaining Speedracer coaster in North America designed by the late Anton Schwarzkopf, Whizzer is scheduled to close to make way for a new coaster to open in Spring of next year. While it currently is unknown which coaster will replace the Whizzer, one thing is for certain: this coaster classic needs to find a new home. If you want to do your part to help ensure that this ride won't end up a pile of scrap metal, head on over to this online Help the Whizzer Petition. 1976 - 2002... Help the Whizzer rest in peace, not in peices. |
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