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Park News - (5/6/09) Local sources tell us that V2: Vertical Velocity reopened the last weekend of April, though the “holding” brake at the top of the spike is still said to be inactive. Demon, Viper and a few park flat rides have been added to the list of Flash Pass attractions. The new Cyber Café is open, alongside the previously existing eateries, Antoines Ice Cream Parlor and the Bourban Street Cafe. Testing of the new Buccaneer Battle is expected to begin very soon, with the ride on track to open in time for it’s Media Day on May 12th, and to the public by May 15th. I’ve also been told that a few new surprises have been added to The Dark Knight Coaster, which makes for quite a surprise when you encounter them, so I wont spoil their exact nature or location.
  (4/6/09) A local source tells us a bit of info about Six Flags Great America for this season. For starters, don’t look for V2 to be open until a bit later in the season as the park has been waiting for spare parts needed to fix it to arrive for weeks now, parts which only just arrived this past week. Viper and Demon have been added to the Flash Pass program for this season and the former Tweety & Friends store will now become an Mporium, themed to selling M&Ms stuff.
  (3/26/09) While Six Flags Great America will open for the season on April 3rd, the new Buccaneer Battle ride wont be ready until Mid May according to the park. The park is currently selling season passes for $69.99 and are promoting exclusive special season pass holder ride times as well as the private appreciation night event on Sept. 18th. The park will also be offering the “Everyone Pays Kids’ Prices” promotion where adults can buy tickets to the park online for the kids price now through June 7th.
  (2/26/09) I’ve been sent a bit of info about the entertainment based changes coming to Six Flags Great America this season. The former Celebrate the Joy parade will be reworked into the “More Flags, More Fun” parade. The former Country Rocks show will be reworked and become Rockin’ Country Live. Show Stoppin’ will be updated once again for the 2009 season as well.
  (1/22/09) A few new details about Six Flags Great America were revealed at the No Coaster Con it seems. A park rep mentioned that they would be offering a couple of Haystack Dryer units at the exit of the new Buccaneer Battle ride, a new Cyber Café would open in the former Antoine’s location in Orleans Place (based on the SFMM version) a new Johnny Rockets Shake & Fries location would be placed where Demon Nachos used to be. They also announced (to a reported chorus of boos) that they will be added more mandatory locker units outside of Demon, Viper and V2 this season. They also confirmed the rumors that Mr. Six will be returning to Six Flags this season as an in park character and that in the new ads he will even be allowed to speak and something other than dance this time. Oh… they also mentioned to keep an eye on the Space Shuttle America site which is currently ear-marked for their 2010 expansion project. (I’m guessing this will be the Hurricane Harbor expansion.)
  On the entertainment side of things: Show Stoppin will return for a 3rd season to the Grand Music Hall with new songs, Miranda Cosgrove and Raven (who?) are confirmed for the Starburst Concert Series, Celebrate the Joy and Bugs Bunny Starlight Spectacular Parades will return along with Country Rocks. Six Flags Storytime will be moved to the Mardi Gras state this season and a new Best of Dick Clark’s Bloopers show will be shown in the Pictorium.
  You can also see a great report (with photos) from No Coaster Con posted to the A Walk In The Park Blog.

2009 - Buccaneer Battle - (5/19/09) A long and detailed video showing off almost all of the new Buccaneer Battle ride, one section at a time, has been posted to YouTube and embedded below for your enjoyment.

  (5/14/09) Pictures from the Buccaneer Battle media day event have been posted to Theme Park Review. Judging from the look of the photos, I’m impressed, as it looks like Six Flags did a really excellent job on the themeing with this one. Very top notch looking stuff... extremely nice attention to detail. Sounds like they’ve got a winner of a ride on their hands too, do if it’s a hit with the guests, I’d expect to see more of these pop up at other parks in the chain in the future.
  (5/11/09) Six Flags Great America will be ready to hold a media day for the new Buccaneer Battle ride on May 12th and will hold the public grand opening on May 15th. “Buccaneer Battle engages guests in a fun-soaked battle as 10 ships, each with room for eight crew members, follow a 450-foot channel through waves of interactive fun for the entire family. As the ships navigate the waters, the battle begins with passengers armed with a powerful soaker gun taking aim at each other and targets along the way. Some targets respond while others display a variety of special effects, creating surprises at every turn. Buccaneer Battle also engages landlubber park guests along the ride’s banks as the freebooters on the ship supply random fire and observers shoot back in ship-to-shore fun.”
  (5/8/09) New construction pictures of the interactive water ride have been posted to the park’s official Facebook page.
  (4/21/09) If you check out this video put on YouTube, park guests have come across the new Buccaneer Battle boats visible from the exit of Superman.
  (4/17/09) Six Flags Great America has made a new official Facebook page, which also contains a few new construction pictures of the new Buccaneer Battle ride.
  (2/25/09) Several new construction pictures from the last couple of weeks have been added to the official Buccaneer Battle site.
  (2/19/09) A new construction picture for Buccaneer Battle has been posted.
  (2/4/09) Six Flags Great America has posted a new construction update for Buccaneer Battle.
  (12/30/08) Six Flags Great America has updated their official Buccaneer Battle construction page with some new pictures.
  (12/5/08) Six Flags has finally opened a new website to promote the Buccaneer Battle ride opening next year and is currently showing off the current construction progress. Meanwhile a reader also sent in a few construction pictures for our use as well as a copy of the ride’s layout and logo. Enjoy!
  (11/10/08) A short video clip showing off the construction site for Buccaneer Battle has been posted to YouTube.
  (10/21/08) A new video showing off the construction site for Buccaneer Battle has been posted to YouTube.
  (10/8/08) A reader has sent in a new picture of the Buccaneer Battle construction site at Six Flags Great America. So far they’re just taking care of all the ground work before winter hits.
  (9/18/08) While I don’t see anything on the Six Flags website a local newspaper mentions that Six Flags announced Buccaneer Battle, anew interactive splash battle ride, will be added in 2009. Made by Mack rides Buccaneer Battle will feature 10 eight-passenger boats, dropping a water cannon into the hands of each rider. As the boat travels through the themed course the riders can take aim at various targets, spectators and even the other boats when they come within range. Be warned through… not only will the spectators on dry land be armed with their own array of water weapons, some of the targets along the course of the ride will also shoot back.
  (9/16/08) The name for the new Splash Battle style ride going to SFGAm may very well be Buccaneer Battle according to the latest trademark filings posted by Six Flags.
  (8/18/08) New pictures sent in from Six Flags Great America show some teasers now in place for the new 2009 attraction. In the old Déjà Vu location there is now a sign that says “Come Ashore With US in 2009” and some pirate stuff decorated all over the construction crane, including a pirate flag flying from up high. Looks like the rumored new Splash Battle ride may have a cool pirate theme. Speaking of the ride itself, we’ve heard once again that the ride system is likely from Mack Rides.
  (7/14/08) The latest buzz about the rumored Splash Battle attraction on the way to the park in 2009 claims that this will be a Mack Rides version of the attraction concept and that it will pretty much only be located in the old Déjà Vu location. It’s also believed that we could see the park’s Go-Karts moved to a new track location where Splashwater Falls used to be, opening up the old track location for a future expansion of Hurricane Harbor.
  (7/1/08) If the latest rumors are true Six Flags Great America may actually be adding a Splash Battle style attraction in 2009. So far we’ve heard from at least one eyewitness who had briefly seen artwork that indicated that kind of ride system and a show scene that features a lot of buzzing bees. Meanwhile SFGAm World has posted a couple of pictures showing off those Survey people working in the old Deja Vu location, which would be about the right size spot for a Splash Battle as well. Now I guess the big question is, just what are they going to theme this to? Any ideas?

2010/2011 - Hurricane Harbor Expansion - Rumor - (5/3/09) According to a reader, some small Orange survey flags have been spotted in the area near the Sky Trek Tower, the Go-Karts and through the Space Shuttle America area. This is where the rumored expansion of Hurricane Harbor was rumored to be going so there could possibly be a connection.
  (6/26/08) Screamscape sources have reinforced that Six Flags Great America will focus on expanding Hurricane Harbor in the near future, adding at least one major new attraction to the water park. However… I’ve also heard that they are thinking about turning the waterpark into a “second gate” where it will no longer be included free with your daily admission to Six Flags Great America. If I had to guess, they’ll probably add something that they’ve tested out at another park… so if I had to guess I’d be looking at either a Tony Hawk’s Halfpipe slide like what was added to Six Flags America in 2008 or if your lucky, a copy of Deluge, the hydromagnetic powered water coaster.

2010/2011 - B&M Dive Machine - Rumor - (6/26/08) According to the latest buzz the park’s next new coaster will not be added until at least 2010.
  (5/22/08) While nothing seems to be 100% firm at this point, the early rumors suggest that a major new coaster may be coming to the park in 2009. Of course we’ve heard this kind of thing before, but between the removal of Splashwater Falls and Déjà vu, that has opened up a rather sizable hole in the County Fair area. One might think that this could be the perfect location for something quite large… like a B&M Dive Machine, possibly with an underground dive below the pathway to connect the two sites. Well, we can dream at least.
  (9/5/07) I’ve been hearing more and more whispers throughout the summer claiming that after getting a feel for the parks for two summers now, the new Six Flags management has come to realize that no matter how hard they try to change the image of Six Flags, the one thing Six Flags is known for is the rides. While the new Wiggles area was well received by families, one of the biggest complaints has been people wanting a new big coaster to ride. The newest coaster was Superman: Ultimate Flight that opened back in 2003 and the natives are not only getting restless, but they’re looking for greener pastures.
  If my spy network is hearing things right, it seems Six Flags Great America is in line to receive Six Flags’ first B&M Dive Machine as early as 2009. It’s a bit early to know for sure what elements it will use, but it’s got me thinking that if Splashwater Falls were ever to be removed, the remains of the pool could be used for a splashdown pool for the Dive Machine as seen on SheiKra and Griffon. Another rumored possibility is a claim that the coaster may dive through an underground tunnel traveling under one of the park’s main pathways. This certainly sounds like a possible method to connect the Déjà Vu site with the Splashwater Falls site as well. With the 2007 season still going strong however, it’s far too early to lock down much of anything about this possible project just yet, and I’m sure the performance of the park in the first half of 2008 will also affect the final choice of location and timeline so just be patient. Good things may come to those who wait.