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Park News - (1/16/12) Nothing earthshaking here… but I have been sent a list of minor changes to take place around Six Flags Great America in 2012. The list of changes seems to effect mostly the food and merchandise locations, such as Attitudes being changed into “X-Gear” plus adding “Leather Xcessories” near the entrance of X-Flight. Elsewhere in the park I’m told that the Johnny Rockets near the Demon will become Totally Kickin’ Chicken, and Tap House will offer draft beer and snacks in place of Granny’s Kitchen in the County Fair Food Court. Andre’s Hand-Dipped Corndogs will replace Ted’s Coney Island there as well. “Six Flags Outfitters” will replace Harry’s Magic in the Mardi Gras area.
    On the bigger side of the news, the new water park version of Flash Pass is said to be added to Hurricane Harbor in 2012. Fright Fest is also rumored to be getting plussed somehow in 2012. Oh… and Six Flags may be looking at testing out a new premium level season pass here in 2012, dubbed the Xtreme Pass. (Don’t worry, if you’ve already bought a regular pass, you will be offered a chance to upgrade). 
    The Xtreme Pass list of benefits is rumored to include a Xpress Entry system into the park and Hurricane Harbor, a special “eXit” access pass to use once during each visit, a sports bottle to use for your 99 cent refills, a cheaper rate for upcharge attractions (Go-karts, Haunted Houses, etc), a couple of bring-a-friend passes to use during the season, access to a couple of special Xtreme Pass ERT sessions to be held in May (one on X-Flight and the other on Raging Bull), a special picnic meal on select holidays (Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day) and free tube rentals. Expect to see the park only sell a very limited number of these Xtreme Passes this season, as it is a test program.
    (11/2/11) A new photo update showing off Iron Wolf coming down as well as X-Flight construction has been posted to Coaster-net.
    (10/25/11) Pictures of Iron Wolf coming down at SFGAm can be found posted to GAMThrills.
    (9/19/11) A new trip report from Six Flags Great America can be found over at Negative-G this week.
    (9/8/11) CoasterCrew has posted a video showing off the last rides on Iron Wolf.

    (8/9/11) While the Blue side of the Eagle may be running backwards for now, I’m hearing that SFGAm may push this experience into being a promoted extra feature for the summer of 2012. In other news Six Flags Great America confirmed at last that Iron Wolf will take its “last stand” on Sept. 5th before the ride is removed from the park for good and sent off toa  new home.
    (7/22/11) The elephant sized rumor in the room this morning was the news from several sources confirming that Iron Wolf would be removed at the end of the summer, with the last rides likely taking place on Labor Day weekend (Sept. 5).
    If this all sounds haunting familiar, it should… as I reported it way back on June 13th on the Six Flags America page. The rumor then was “I’m really not too sure about this particular rumor… so take this with a grain of salt, but one e-mail sent in claims that Iron Wolf may be moved from SFGAm and sent to SFA as the new coaster for 2012, where I believe it would fit into the site rather easily. I’m just not sure if SFGAm is ready to let go of another coaster just yet, unless they’re getting something better to replace it, so for now just keep this one in the back of your mind.”
    Six Flags Great America’s own Guest Services attempted to put this fire out to several readers (and on Facebook). The exact text emailed to a Screamscape reader regarding the possible removal of the Iron Wolf at the time was that it “will be around for your enjoyment for years to come. There is no truth to the rumor that the Iron Wolf will be taken down or moved anytime in the near future.”
    I hate to say it… but apparently they lied. Well, maybe they didn’t lie… they just may not have been clued in by the corporate office yet as to what was going on, but for now my own sources have confirmed that Iron Wolf will soon be leaving.  The only good news is that a new coaster is said to be confirmed for the park for 2012 to replace it… but will it be a big one or another medium sized thrill machine?

2012 - X-Flight - (2/3/12) Good news for X-Flight fans, as the latest reports indicate that the construction is moving very quickly, with the track installed  up to the Zero-G Roll so far. The local news also came by the check out the progress and reported that the park is hoping to have X-Flight ready to go for when the park opens for the season on May 5th. The article also mentions something I don’t think I’ve seen mentioned before… that the coaster ride will feature some effects along the way such as water jets and fog machines.
    (1/30/12) Construction on X-Flight is going well as you can in the pictures posted to SFGAmWorld that show off the lift hill being topped off. Future X-Flight riders may also be interested in a few details regarding the restraint system used on this year’s B&M Wing coasters as revealed over at our Dollywood page.
    (1/4/12) I’m told that construction on X-Flight has gone vertical at last, with the first supports already in place, which means it wont be much longer until the track goes up as well.
    (12/13/11) A few semi-new pictures from the X-Flight construction site have been posted to Theme Park Review this week.
    (11/28/11) Six Flags Great America now has an official X-Flight construction cam covering all the latest developments on the site.
    (10/19/11) A peek at the new X-Flight construction update as well as demolition work on the old Iron Wolf site can be found at Coaster101 this week.
    (10/11/11) Great America Thrills has posted a new construction update for X-Flight this week along with some Fright Fest fun and Iron Wolf demolition.
    (10/7/11) Theme Park Review has added a couple of great additions this week, both on the same link. Up first you’ll see a new graveyard for Fright Fest, reflecting upon many of the park’s long lost rides. Then go down a bit more and you’ll see that the first pieces of track for X-Flight have now arrived on site.
    (9/2/11) The awesome X-Flight animated video just has to be seen. Check it out below, including the incredible spin through the narrow control tower opening. Looks like a very cool ride.

    (9/1/11) X-Flight has been confirmed for the 2012 season, a new B&M Wing Coaster design that will stand 12 stories tall, have 3000 feet of track, and speed you along at the end of your seat at 55mph through several drops and 5 inversions (including a Barrel Roll and Zero-G-Roll). It will also feature a near-miss element where the train will flip just the right way to fit through a “keyhole cut-out”.
    (8/25/11) From what I’ve been told the new Wing coaster on the way to SFGAm will be taking up the entire site (and more) of the former Splash Water Falls / Antique Cars attraction area. The announcement will take place on September 1st, but a puzzle hint game is currently taking place on the park’s Facebook page. (Hmm… didn’t the park try that Puzzle game thing last year on Facebook, only to have someone hack the rest of the puzzle?) Anyway, click the “Coming in 2012” tab on the left side to see the puzzle image, as every day one piece is supposed to be removed to reveal the picture underneath.
    (8/12/11) Six Flags has just filed for a new trademark on the name X-Flight, which sounds perfect for the rumored B&M Wing Coaster for 2012 I think.
    (7/29/11) With all the coaster swapping taking place in 2012 at Six Flags, it’s almost like the old Six Flags Ride Rotation Program is back again isn’t it?  Iron Wolf may go to SF America, Déjà Vu at Magic Mountain may go to New England… and then there is that long rumored coaster for Great America.
    Rest assured fans… 2012 may very well be the year you have been waiting for, when SFGAm will have the eyes of the world upon it to check out a fairly new piece of coaster technology coming to the US for the first time in 2012. And since the park is losing the first ever B&M coaster, it’s only fitting to replace it with a new B&M coaster don’t you think? How would you feel about a B&M Wing Coaster coming to the park for 2012? It just may happen… stay tuned!
    (3/30/11) While it’s still a bit early to predict that this project is locked in, I’ve heard that there is a good chance that the new coaster planned for Six Flags Great America may be a copy of the ZacSpin style Green Lantern coaster going into Magic Mountain. It will likely have a unqiue theme of it’s own however, and go into the old big splash boat ride site. Look for the Antique Car ride that surrounds this site to likely be removed as well.
    (12/2/10) The coaster enthusiasts local to Six Flags Great America certainly haven’t had a lot to be happy about in regards to the direction the park has taken in the last few years. While new coasters were added to the park, the last three were of the small family coaster variety (Ragin Cajun, Dark Knight and Little Dipper) and in the last decade the park has also lost two large coasters (Shockwave & Déjà Vu). Adding almost an insult to injury, after finding out they were getting Chang from Kentucky Kingdom, as redundant as it seemed, that ride was then taken away from them by the new management shift.
    So I have to ask… does the old adage, “Good things come to those who wait?” apply here? Cause the locals have been waiting… and waiting. I would certainly hope that something massive is on the way for 2012… but for now, we have to get through 2011 and keep your fingers crossed.
    (8/27/10) The early rumors for 2012 still claim that the park is right on track to finally get a new big coaster once again. No word on just what it might be yet, so stay tuned.
    (8/3/10) It’s been some time, but there is an early rumor suggesting that a new coaster may finally be on the way to the park for 2012. The only problem is… it’s not expected to “the big one” that everyone has been hoping to get for some time now. After all, the last big coaster added to the park was back in 2003! A decade is a long time to wait for a new large coaster my friends…