Father's Day Fail

I don't usually do posts when I'm on vacation, but for this one I'll make an exception. Truth, I haven't been doing a lot of posts at all recently. While we are on vacation this year, we were going to be in the Chicago area. A bit north of there is a Six Flags park, Six Flags Great America. Like the local Six Flags, they've got a bunch of sweet looking roller coasters. One is billed as the tallest, steepest, fastest wooden coaster, and of course I wanted to give that one a go!!! Additionally, Six Flags Magic Mountain just recently opened their re-done Twisted Colossus, which looks amazing, and a day pass at either park isn't much price difference from a season pass. The clincher is that the pass is good at all Six Flags parks. Of course, I went ahead and got those for the family!!!

Made the mistake of taking it to activate at Magic Mountain on Memorial Day. Headed up at what should have got us there around a half hour before the park opened, only to discover everyone else had the same idea!!! It was an hour later before we got parked, then another hour before we got through the security check (VERY poorly organized!!!) and into the park. By then it was already a three hour line for Twisted Colossus. Nope. Saw Full Throttle (also new since my last visit) had what looked like a reasonably short line, so got in line for that instead. Not long after, it breaks down. We wait, and it gets going again after around 10 minutes... then breaks again. Another 10 minutes and it's up again... for one cycle. I think it broke down a third time before we gave up on that. Seems like I remember it being 2 hours in the park before we got on our first ride... the Orient Express to the top of the hill!!!

Anyway, yesterday we hit Great America. Working our way in, we see Vertical Velocity, a magnetic linear induction launch coaster that pretty much just goes straight up, with a twist, falls back down, and goes up the other end backwards. Rinse and repeat. We ride that, and it's as awesome as it looks, probably better than I described.

Goliath, the tallest fastest, steepest wooden coaster was our target, but we get back where it is only to discover it's closed and won't open all day!!! Huge fail!!! A big part of the reason I was making the stop!!!

After that we go on a kiddie coaster, the little dipper. Meh, about what you'd expect. In the same area they've got the go-carts, and the younger is finally tall enough to go solo. One of those additional fee rides, but they're a blast!!!

American Eagle, a side by side wooden coaster that's REALLY long (you drive through it on the way into the parking lot) was next. Nice size drop (nowhere near the tallest, fastest or steepest, though). Really rough. Feels like it's got square wheels. Probably just all the bearings on the cars are shot.

Another kiddy coaster, Spaceley Sprocket's Rockets. Gotta love a cartoon reference that probably none of the kids today get!!!

By this time the rest of the family has had enough, so we decide to hit the Sky Trek Tower on the way out as our last ride. Usually not much line on rides of that sort, and they're pretty mellow. Off we go. Up the tower, we're enjoying the view, snapping pictures, spotting our rental in the parking lot.

We get to the top, and it starts coming down, and I have the feeling that things are going awry. As it's rotating and coming down, it feels wrong, kind of a rachetey feeling three times, like it was turning but not coming down, then it would drop some and turn but not go down. About this time the idea enters my head, "What happens if this thing comes undone??? If it were to fall from here, I don't think it's survivable!!! Surely it's got some kind of braking system..." Right??? Well, not long after that, it stops completely. Maybe ten feet from the very top.

Of course, there's a ride operator on board, but he doesn't seem to have any information. Ten to fifteen minutes later it starts down again, but without any rotation, then it stops again, maybe a third of the way down.

Parents are trying to keep their kids calm, with varying degrees of success.

Of course, we're on the side that the sun is shining in on. Oh yeah, added bonus, most of the time the air conditioning hasn't been going. It's like a sauna in there. I try calling the park, but you can't seem to get a live person without an extension, and even if you do have an extension, you still can't seem to find a live person.

One of the passengers a few over finally calls 911, and he's on the phone with them for the next little part. Close to an hour later it starts down again... but it seems to be a bit faster than normal, not falling or anything, but quick enough that hitting the bottom at that speed seems like it'd be trouble. Not to worry, though, seconds later it slams HARD to a stop!!! Interestingly, it shakes a bunch of water off the top of the cabin. Also sends the frazzled nerves of the kids (& probably more than a couple of adults) over the edge, and there's a few minutes of crying and screaming that can probably be heard on the 911 recording!!!

FINALLY, I'd say an hour and a half after things came off the rails, they announce that they're going to evacuate down stairs in the middle of the tower. REALLY??? This was an option THIS WHOLE TIME and you wait that long before you do it???

Of course, most everyone has to pee, and our good luck to be some of the last people out. Another brilliant move, they sent up a bunch of bottled water. Just what you need when you've already got to whiz. I had a bottle I'd brought up with me that was mostly empty, which I drained out the door holes, then refilled with my own urine (only half-draining myself, but taking much needed pressure off) once the bulk of the passengers were off and I could get a little privacy around the other side.

Through the hatch in the back of the seats into an open area between the cabin and the post, then up a ladder into a small access hatch, then down the stairs.

There were a couple of amusing bits of graffiti on the inside, "Fuck me damn flag!" that I got a shot of, and "Fuck me this sucks damn gorilla" that came out blurry on my shot. I have no idea what they even mean with the gorilla comment.

Oh yeah, it was grubby inside the tower. Maybe if you clean your damn tower it won't be breaking down!!!

How long altogether??? It was a bit tricky to determine as no one caught exactly what time, but my pictures of the panorama were time stamped at 5:51, and the first one out of the hole at the bottom was at 8:15, so close to 2 1/2 hours.

So what did they want to buy us off with? $25 of park vouchers, a complimentary drink voucher, a pass to come back, and a front of the line pass. ONE Front of the line pass, for ONE ride. Weak. I really don't have time to make it back, and the main one I'd wanted to ride wasn't even going!!!

Ever since then, the boy gets quite anxious when he has to ride in an elevator. Most of the time, not much of an issue, but when you're on vacation and your room is on the 15th floor, it's a thing. I'm fairly sure most any psychiatrist would deem that PTSD.

Final shot: That's as far down as it made it.