The Car Swap Caper & Six Flags Great America

I read too much Hardy Boys as a kid.

Since this tour began 3 days ago I’ve driven 800 miles and visited exactly one park. Indiana Beach was supposed to happen Sunday, but two of their coasters were closed (waiting for new parts) so they said come back later (on them!). I headed up to Chicago to hang with my friends The Swellers for a bit. I also met up with Kaari and Rick, who I met the last time I was in Chicago, for dinner at Chicago Diner. The wonders of blogging and twitter!

On the way to Chicago the A/C in my car stopped working. Again. I just had it fixed a week ago for the princely sum of $350.

I woke up Monday (Great America day) with a plan.

Since Six Flags Great America opens at 10am, I rushed over to Midas at 7:30am to see about getting it fixed before riding the rides. They fixed it ($154) by 9:30am, but as I was pulling out of Midas the turning signals stopped working. :( Since the time I bought the car less than 2 weeks ago it has been in the shop almost every day, with a running total of ~$2500 in repairs. That’s almost how much I paid for the car in the first place. :)

If I told you I didn’t think about quitting I’d be lying. Since the day I bought that car my life has been more stressful than I can ever remember. This is supposed to be fun, right? But my quest to ride every coaster in the US could not be stopped.

And with that we have…

The Car Swap Caper!

After getting a $600 quote to repair the turning signals (the part from the dealer was $450) I called my Dad in Michigan. “Dad, remember how you said we should swap cars a few days ago and I didn’t listen? Well, it’s time!”

It was 11am in Gurnee as I started speeding back to Michigan to meet my Dad somewhere half way. I got stuck in an hour of Chicago traffic, of course, and finally, 4 hours later, met my Dad at an I-94 Exit 39 McDonald’s in Michigan.

Which car did I begin the drive in and which car is my Dad’s? Well, if you know you know. If you don’t you won’t. Especially after some veiled threats about “paying me a visit” when I’m in “X city.” (I’m not joking, but really, what is this, junior high?) I ain’t skurred … I’ve got a problem solver and his name is revolver. Juuuuuust kidding, that’s Dr Dre. I would run and hide if you tried to beat me up. :) That’s a lie too. More than likely I’d ask you to punch me in the abs because I’m known to ask that of random people. Then your wrist shatters and I win the Intercontinental Title.

Anyway, my Dad and I swapped everything out of the two cars, exchanged keys, and we were on our ways back to our respective homes. And by home I mean the La Quinta next to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee. :) (Good breakfast, good WiFi, all-around good hotel.)

Oh, and of note: besides the first 10 minutes of my drive the turning signals worked all the way to Exit 39. And they’ve worked for my Dad ever since as well. WTF!

Six Flags Saves The Day!

I already purchased a season pass to Six Flags (every Six Flags park, one low price!) so I didn’t need a ticket, but I called them and asked if I could get front of the line passes since I’m running on a tight schedule now. I was supposed to go to Great America yesterday, today was supposed to be a break (i.e. work) day. Without flinching they said yes, but said I couldn’t videotape on the rides. I understand it’s a liability issue and all parks have this in place. You know what? I’m cool with that. I’m not gonna go rogue and disrespect their kindness.

I would like to thank the person at Great America who I talked to, but I feel like if I give her name then people will contact him/her asking for ridiculous things. So thanks Person Who Will Not Be Named! You are a stellar example of the human race.

I got to the park about 10:30 and it was chilly. Mid-50s (~10C for those on the better system) and windy. I put on my new hoodie (thanks Gosia!) to stay warm and headed in to collect my season pass. Walking into the park was a little disconcerting. Think airport security. I had to remove my belt and take everything out of my pockets. Is this really what we’ve come to? Sad.

Anyway, I headed to the nearest ride on my list. Batman. Or so I thought.

I actually headed to this ride:

It was a visually nice ride … but not at all what I would consider a thrilling coaster. Because it’s not meant to be. There’s an actual Batman: The Ride ride. Oops!

Next to The Dark Knight Coaster was Superman Ultimate Flight:

This was a new ride experience for me. You strap in and then the seat picks up your feet so you’re horizontal with the ground. If that doesn’t make sense:

I don’t know how well you can make out what’s going on there. But basically you fly like you’re Superman. And it is awesome. It was my favorite ride in the park. More than likely because of the novelty of the new experience.

That’s enough of that … here’s a quick breakdown of the rest of the rides I went on, in order of riding:

• V2: Vertical Velocity – Also a new experience for me. It’s like a steroid version of the pirate ship ride at your local fair.
• Batman: The Ride – Similar to ThunderHawk at Michigan’s Adventure. A fun ride.
• American Eagle – A massive wood ride that was much less bumpy than a lot of wood rides and, as a result, a lot more fun. To get to the ride feels like a mile long walk though. It’s the longest queue I’ve been in. What’s that about?
• Iron Wolf – Standing ride. I’ve only experienced one other standing ride, Mantis at Cedar Point. Mantis was always an incredibly tough-on-the-crotch ride and it was maybe my least favorite ride at Cedar Point. Iron Wolf wasn’t anywhere nearly as bad.
• Demon – It was a mistake going on this ride. It wasn’t on my list, but it looked like it might be good. I’m 6’5″ and I think this ride is specifically made for little people. I literally had to contort my body so I could get strapped in (over the shoulder harness) and, as a result, the ride made me feel horrible. I don’t get the “sickies” or whatever you want to call them, but I needed a 30 minute break after this. I couldn’t shake it. Also, my back hurt. :)
• Raging Bull – I sat down next to a cherubic 13 year old and his friends and the first thing he said to me was “I’m sorry if this ride makes me cuss. I hope you don’t mind.” Haha! That was great. Fun ride and I don’t recall anybody cussing.
• Viper – My contact at Six Flags said this was his/her favorite ride. It’s a wooden ride that was definitely fun, but I’d pick American Eagle over it any day.

The Little Dipper, my last ride of the day, running since 1950:

It’s definitely what I you would call a kiddie coaster and I definitely take up the whole row made for 2 people just so my knees fit in the cart. But it was worthwhile, for historic value, and nothing else. ;)

By the way, I didn’t need any of the front of line passes. The park was pretty empty and there was no waiting on any ride. I still appreciate the passes though. It’s the thought that counts …

More photos here:

See the full photo set on Flickr (this was a Flash slideshow)