The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom
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| Location | Queensbury, New York (Advertised as in Lake George, New York) |
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| Website | Great Escape |
| Owner | Six Flags |
| Opened | 1954 |
| Previous names | Storytown USA, The Great Escape Fun Park |
| Operating season | May through October |
| Area | approximately 60 acres |
| Rides | 38 (excluding water park) total
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Six Flags The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom is an amusement park and water park located in Queensbury, New York, which is near Lake George and is approximately 60 miles north of Albany. It is owned and operated by Six Flags.
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[edit] History
The Great Escape was opened in 1954 as Storytown USA, a Mother Goose themed amusement park by businessman Charles Wood who bought the land with his wife for $75,000 [1]. In 1957 realizing that the park was geared only towards small children, the park opened its Ghosttown area, the first of many themed areas opened in the parks history.
In 1983, the park officially changed its name from Storytown USA to The Great Escape. The following year, the Great Escape opened the Steamin' Demon, the first of its eventual seven roller coasters.
The showpiece attraction at The Great Escape is the Comet. Re-opened at The Great Escape in 1994, this roller coaster already had a 41-year history as The Comet at Crystal Beach (an amusement park near Niagara Falls, Ontario). It was saved shortly after the park closed down forever after the 1988 season. Charley Wood, the owner of Great Escape Fun Park and Fantasy Island in Grand Island, New York successfully bid for The Comet and it sat in storage for a few years in Fantasy Island before making its way to the park in Lake George, NY and reopening in 1993. Roller coaster enthusiasts recognize it as one of the best wooden roller coasters in North America.
In addition to typical amusement park rides the Great Escape offers a variety of unique shows, most notable of which is a high dive show featuring a team of divers scaling an 80-foot tower and plunging into a ten foot deep pool.
Other milestones include:
- 1954 — Charlie Wood opens Storytown USA.
- 1957 — Ghosttown section of the park is opened [2].
- 1960 — Jungleland section of the park is opened [3].
- 1967 — Alice in Wonderland walk through adventure is opened. [4].
- 1983 — Name change from Storytown USA to The Great Escape.
- 1986 — Opening of Raging River, a river-rapids water ride.
- 1995 — Great Escape opens its waterpark Splashwater Kingdom.
- 1996 — Acquisition by Premier Parks, which later bought and changed its name to Six Flags.
- 1997 — Addition of Boomerang Coast-to-Coaster, a forward and backward looping coaster. Was and currently is still the tallest rollercoaster at the park.
- 1998 — Addition of Alpine Bobsled, an alpine themed bobsled type rollercoaster (Previously located at Six Flags Great America as Rolling Thunder).
- 1999 — Addition of Nightmare at Crack Axle Canyon, a combination rollercoaster and dark ride featuring two-person cars (Indoor Schwarzkopf / Jet Star rollercoaster).
- 2003 - Addition of Canyon Blaster (Family rollercoaster by Arrow Dynamics from defunct Opryland USA).
- 2004 — The Great Escape's 50th Anniversary.
- 2005 — Debut of Looney Tunes National Park: a Looney Tunes themed children's area which included eight new children's rides (including Road Runner Express, the park's seventh rollercoaster) and a re-themed restaurant as well as a cartoon walk-through. Replaces the old Jungleland area.
In February 2006, The Six Flags Great Escape Lodge & Indoor Waterpark opened up with positive reviews and sold out weekends throughout the first month. This major addition includes a 38,000 square foot waterpark exclusively for lodge guests. This is New York State's first indoor waterpark.
With the closure of Houston's Astroworld in 2005, the park has received the dismantled Serial Thriller (Vekoma SLC) coaster as well as their former Tidal Wave shoot-the-chutes water ride. It is unknown at this time if or when the rides will be assembled at the park.
The park debuted several new features for the 2006 season. These included character greetings from the likes of Batman, Robin, Bugs Bunny, and the Justice League. In addition, the park introduced a new line queing system, the "Flash Pass." For $10, guests can use Flash Passes an unlimited number of times on rides that often have long waits, including the Comet, Alpine Bobsled, Desperado (no longer Poland Springs) Plunge, Raging River, and Canyon Blaster. The park is also offering Flash Passes for free for guests wishing to ride the Nightmare, which has drastically reduced the ride's normally long wait time.
Admission prices in 2006 were $39.99 for visitors over 48" tall at the gate ($32.99 if purchased online), $24.99 for visitors under 48" tall, $24.99 after 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 24.99 after 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and free for visitors aged two and under. Season passes and group rates are available. There is also a $10 fee for parking.
As of November 2006, Six Flags has confirmed the addition of a ProSlide Tornado to the Splashwater Kingdom waterpark, set to open in summer 2007. The Tornado will take riders through short section of enclosed slide before coming out at the top of a giant funnel.
[edit] Roller coasters
There are currently seven operating roller coasters at The Great Escape. Six of the seven coasters are steel, with the Comet, a wooden roller coaster, the lone exception.
- Alpine Bobsled — A toboggan-style coaster. It was introduced in 1998 in honor of the winter Olympics, and each bobsled-car contains the flag of a different country which participated in the games.
- Boomerang Coast-to-Coaster — A steel roller coaster that goes forward and backward in one trip. A staple of many Six-Flags theme parks.
- Canyon Blaster — A family-style, gentle steel roller coaster in the Ghosttown section.
- Comet — Originally known as the Cyclone in its first life, the Comet was resurrected and re-opened by the Great Escape in 1994. Often rated one of the top roller coasters in the world, the Comet features a 2-minute ride over several hills. The first and largest hill contains a drop of 87 feet and brings riders to a maximum speed of 55 MPH. An on-ride photo is available for purchase.
- Nightmare at Crack Axle Canyon — The Nightmare is an indoor steel roller coaster that takes place in near-darkness. There are only a few cars, and since each car can only hold two riders, the line for the Nightmare tends to be very long.
- Road Runner Express — A simple child's roller coaster in the Looney Tunes National Park section.
- Steamin' Demon — The Steamin' Demon, the longest tenured roller coaster at the park, is a Steel Corkscrew Roller Coaster located near the front entrance. It contains three loops after a chainlift and hill at the beginning of the ride.
[edit] Rides and attractions
The park is divided into several sections, each with it own theme.
- Fest Area - highlighting more modern rides along with the Alpine Bobsleds, the Raging River water ride, the SkyCoaster, and the Comet.
- Ghosttown - an Old West village featuring three rollercoasters: the Steamin' Demon, the Canyon Blaster, and Nightmare at Crack Axle Canyon.
- International Village and Storytown - which retains decorative elements from the old Storytown USA era and features the Boomerang rollercoaster.
- Looney Tunes National Park - kiddie ride area including the Road Runner Express rollercoaster. In 2005 this area replaced the former Jungleland that featured an animal show and a walking tour of jungle-like conditions adorned with animatronic animals along with a wood and rope bridge.
- North Woods Picnic Grove - an area for organized, large group picnics. Converted in the fall into a haunted house.
- Splashwater Kingdom - the internal waterpark with water slides and wave pool.
[edit] Fest Area
- Blizzard - a scrambler ride with a winter theme.
- Giant Wheel - A 90-foot high Ferris wheel providing a spectacular view of the Great Escape and surrounding area.
- Pirate Ship - a large swinging ship.
- Raging River - A water ride in a round boat holding six passengers simulating riding through white water rapids.
- Trabant - a spinning ride that tips on its side.
- Cannonball Express - A spinning ride that moves fast around a track, to music.
- Bumper Cars - Classic bumper car ride.
[edit] Ghosttown
- The Condor - a gentle spinning ride that ascends a tall tower.
- Desperado Plunge - Water flume ride where passengers ride in boats modeled on barrels. Was known for a while as the Poland Springs Plunge.
Shows in Ghosttown include:
- Marshal Wild Windy Bill McKay - the Marshal of Ghosttown thwarts a bank robbery with the assistance of guest children.
- Red Garter Saloon Review - an indoor song and dance attraction themed to the Old West.
[edit] International Village and Storytown
- Cinderella Coach - Children under 54" ride with Cinderella in her pumpkin coach.
- Grand Carousel - Classic merry-go-round ride with both horses and fantastic creatures.
- Petting Zoo - Features llamas and goats that can be fed, along with other animals.
- Rainbow - Thrill ride that puts riders in several long rows and makes circles in the air. The ride's placement is such that those on the ends on the ends appear they will crash into a park building or large elm tree as they circle.
- Balloon Race - Ride featuring twirling gondolas made to look like hot air balloons. Goes in the air and tilts to the side slightly while spinning around.
- Storytown Train - Scenic train ride through Storytown and Looney Tunes National Park on an old diesel engine.
- Swan Boats - Motorized, swan-themed boats take passengers on a water-born tour of Storytown.
- Thunder Alley - Guests drive 1950s-styled electric cars.
- Flying Trapeze - Swing ride that lifts riders into the air and spins around.
- Alice in Wonderland - Walkthrough designed to make guests feel like that are following Alice in Wonderland through her mind-bending journey.
- Sky Ride - Chairlift that takes guests on a trip around part of the Great Escape in the air.
This part of the park features many of the theming elements from the Storytown USA era including miniature houses, Jack and the Beanstalk, and the Old Lady who lived in a Shoe. Six Flags has removed several of other elements over the years including Jonah's Whale and the Purple Cow.
Shows in this section of the park include:
- Jolly Tree Theater - in 2006 features a pair of singers in a tribute act to the Blue Brothers. Past acts have included magic shows and Elvis impersonators.
- Puppet Theater - Features Sassy Sally, a puppet chicken that insults passersby.
- Splash Theater - a team of divers put on both an athletic and comedic dive show, highlighted by a stuntman setting himself on fire before plunging into the pool and a high dive from 70 feet in the air.
[edit] Looney Tunes National Park
Kiddie rides include:
- Bugs Bunny Ranger Pilots
- Daffy Duck Wilderness Bus Tour
- Elmer Fudd Scenic Railway
- Rabbit Season Walk-Through Adventure - combines elements of the Rabbit Seasoning cartoon with the old Jungleland safari walking tour.
- Speedy Gonzales Camptown Racers
- Taz Twister
- Tweety Tweehouse
- Water Popjet - a small splash pad.
- Yosemite Sam Shore Patrol
[edit] Splashwater Kingdom
- Black Cobra - An pair of enclosed water slides that guests ride in small inflatable boats.
- Capt'n Hook's Adventure River - 1100-foot long, two foot four inch deep river. riders travel via inner tubes. Features waterfalls, geyers, strong current and small waves.
- Paul Bunyan's Bucket Brigade - A treehouse themed tower featuring spraying water, four short waterslides, and a 1000 gallon water barrel that drenches the area every 10 minutes.
- Lumberjack Splash Wave Pool - 500,000 gallon, 25,000 square foot wave pool with six wave patterns.
- Noah's Sprayground - Water fountains, pools, and waterslides for children.
- Water Slides - Three long water slides guests ride in inner tubes, each with different names: Blue Typhoon, Twister Falls, and Banshee Plunge.
[edit] Upcharge attractions
These rides are not included in the admission price. Cost varies from ride to ride.
- Go-Carts - Gas powered race cars with high speed turns.
- Matterhorn Rockwall - Outdoor climbing rock wall with safety harnesses.
- Pony Rides - New in 2006, children are offered pony rides for a fee.
- Sky Coaster - An intense skydiving-like attraction that pulls the riders 185 feet up in the air then swings them down toward the ground at speeds reaching 70 mph.
- Turbo Bungy - A beefed-up version of the trampoline where riders are attached to bungee cords.
[edit] Special events
After Labor Day the Great Escape has two special events, Oktoberfest and Fright Fest, before closing for the winter. Oktoberfest is held, ironically, during the weekends in September while Fright fest is held during the weekends of October.
Oktoberfest is marginally a celebration of German heritage, but is expanded to include ethnic foods, beer slides, craft vendors and other activities. Fright Fest has the entire park decorated for Halloween, while many of the usual shows are changed over to Halloween events as well including trick or treating among the miniature houses in Ghosttown and converting one of the picnic pavilions into an elaborate haunted house. Glory Day also takes place every year early July.
[edit] Sources
- Hirsch, Rose Ann (2006). Kiddie Parks of the Adirondacks. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-4470-1.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- The Great Escape home page
- Roller Coaster Database (Great Escape)
- The Great Escape Central: Unofficial Homepage
| Roller coasters at The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom |
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Alpine Bobsled – Boomerang: Coast to Coaster – Canyon Blaster – Comet – Nightmare at Crack Axle Canyon – Road Runner Express – Steamin' Demon |
