I'll agree that Great America just isn't what it used to be. Part of this is probably that I'm older. I think it's probably a great place for older kids & teens, as well as young children, since there are plenty of attractions like Wiggles World and Looney Tunes National Park.

The lines are long and food is overpriced. I'll agree that employees seem nearly comatose and sometimes incapable of controlling unruly or confused guests. There was mass confusion on the Superman ride, since some of the riders in one of the groups did not speak English and the attendant was having a great deal of trouble communicating with them that one of the seats on the ride was not functional and one of the group members would have to stay behind.

Overall, I had a good time, but I only stayed until 5 p.m. due to lines and overall exhaustion. In this time, I only managed to get on 6 rides. Skip the Dark Knight, it's terrible. The Eagle used to be one of my favorite coasters, but it's so rickety right now, it almost seems unsafe. I missed plenty of coasters.

If you like smaller rides, they're pretty easy to get on, as are the older coasters.

Pack a lunch and skip the "premium" parking. At $15, the back lot is adequate (although still ridiculously priced). You won't get the Disney treatment here (or even the Universal Studios treatment), but consider the location and the vast number of employees that need to be hired. I think if Great America were to pay a bit more, they'd have more employees to choose from. It's seasonal, so you can't get people who aren't college students or teenagers to work there.

SG Great America is the my home park. Meaning near me. I do love the park but some stuff are a bit extreme.

The Good Side:
Water Park, landscape, unique rollercoaster, semi-theme rides, close to Chicago & Milwaukee

Downside:
Cost, which includes "free water-park", restaurants need a bit of upgrade, and parking option.

As rumors are flying there will be separate admission for water park and theme park in the future hopefully this will lower admission price and don't fell like you need to visit both places to get your money worth. If gas prices are killing you the parking is high as well.

Many people complain about the staff, food and such. Yes this is not a "Disney" park. It's Six Flags!! which who concentrates on coasters, thrill rides, family rides and water parks. Not parades, fireworks, and other Disneyparks.

Still I think it's not a bad place to go. Fun for everyone with a little bit extra cost.

My family goes to Great America every summer with passes my children earn from their reading incentive program at school. Every year I am amazed at how much money we spend even though we pay nothing to enter the park. Oh that's right, there's parking. Something new this year (and extremely ridiculous) - parking in the back lot ($15) or the front lot ($25). A little more of a walk will not hurt anyone. Park in the back lot.

We usually pack lunch to eat in the parking lot and then eat dinner in the park. I think that will change for next year and we will pack both meals. They do not let you bring food into the park but it is worth walking to your car to eat the food you bring (even is you stop and pick up sandwiches from Subway or Jimmy Johns). We got a snack (3 hot pretzels and an order of nachos) that cost $24 for our family (without any drinks). We waited forever and one of the hot pretzels was still cold and one was hard as a rock. Service is terrible. The employees treat the "guests" very poorly. We had dinner at Johnny Rockets. Good food but too much of it and unbelievebly high priced. This meal cost us $56 (for 2 burgers and 3 orders chicken strips - no drinks again). We had to throw out so much food - it made me feel sick. If you plan to eat here, plan to split a meal. We did not know how large the plates of food were and our 3 children (big eaters) could have split one order of chicken strips. We brought a water bottle in with us and refilled it throughout the day. The park will let you bring it in if is sealed. That worked out great for us.

The rides are all a lot of fun. We had a great time regardless of the money we had to spend on food. We have learned some things for next year and we hope this helps you.

My kids & I spent a Monday in July at Six Flags Great America. The crowd wasn't too bad, and most of the lines were a farily short wait (15min or less). The two rides with longer lines were Superman and the new Dark Knight coaster. We decided to try the Dark Knight. From the time we got in line till we got off the ride was 50 minutes. It's way over-rated in my opinion -- a small cart that goes back & forth, has a couple of small drops - all in the dark. My kids enjoyed it though.

My son waited in line for the Superman ride -- about an hour I think..
. He liked the ride, but said it wasn't worth the wait. There were several other rides we enjoyed - the Iron Wolf which was a stand up coaster, plus several carnival-type rides that my 6 yr old really enjoyed. My favorite ride of the day was the Whizzer - a very fun, unique coaster.

Parking prices, food prices, etc. were ridiculous, but we've come to expect that at any Six Flags. We live near St. Louis, so visit the St. Louis Six Flags often -- I have to say I enjoyed Great America better than St. Louis...maybe I'm just tired of the one here, but I thought Great America had more ambiance and a wider variety of rides to suit all of our tastes.

The nice perk is that our Six Flags St. Louis season pass worked here as well, so that made it affordable for us to do on vacation.