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Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor

Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor

Previously known as Storytown USA (1954–1982), The Great Escape Fun Park (1983–1994), The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom (1995–2022)
Location	89 Six Flags Drive Queensbury, New York
Coordinates	43°21′04″N 73°41′24″W / 43.350991°N 73.690112°W / 43.350991; -73.690112
Opened	1954
Owner	Six Flags
Slogan	New York’s Most Thrilling Theme Park
Operating season	May through October
Area	351 acres (142 ha)
Attractions
Total	35 (excluding water park) 45 (including water park) 3 (upcharge)
Roller coasters	5
Water rides	10
Website	www.sixflags.com/greatescape

Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor is an amusement and water park owned and operated by Six Flags. It is located approximately 60 miles (97 km) north of Albany, in Queensbury, New York.^[1]

History[edit]

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.^[2]: 47 In 1957, realizing that the park was geared only toward small children, the park opened its Ghost Town area, the first of many themed areas opened in the park's history.

For publicity, the park placed bumper stickers on every car in the parking lot. This practice stopped a few years later due to complaints and employees switched to attaching cardboard versions with wire. This was when a car bumper was separate from the body and one could get all the way around it with wire. In 1983, the park officially changed its name from Storytown USA to The Great Escape.

In 1984, 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 IslandinGrand 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 Queensbury, NY and reopening in 1994. Roller coaster enthusiasts recognize it as one of the best wooden roller coasters in North America.

In 1996, Charles Wood sold the park to Premier Parks who would later go on to purchase the Six Flags company. Unlike many parks during that time, Great Escape was not rebranded or flagged as a Six Flags park.

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 feet (3,500 m²) waterpark exclusively for lodge guests. This is New York State's first indoor waterpark.

The park debuted several new features for the 2006 season. These included character greetings from the likes of the whole Justice League.

For the 2007 season, The Great Escape re-themed their dive show to a pirate-themed show, branded their pizza restaurant a Papa John's, and brought back the Superstars and Legends: Elvis! Show (which featured throughout the summer not only Elvis, but also Buddy Holly, and Billy Joel) to JollyTree Theatre.

In addition to typical amusement park rides, the Great Escape offered a variety of unique shows, most notable of which was a high dive show featuring a team of divers scaling an 80 feet (24 m) tower and plunging into a 10 feet (3.0 m) deep pool. This also featured a fire diver.

Other milestones include:

• 1954 — Charles Wood opens Storytown USA.
• 1957 — Ghost Town section of the park is opened.^[2]: 61
• 1960 — Jungleland section of the park is opened.^[2]: 69
• 1971 — First roller coaster introduced, The Italian Coaster
• 1995 — Great Escape opens its water park, Splashwater Kingdom.
• 1996 — Acquisition by Premier Parks, which later bought and changed its name to Six Flags.
• 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 roller coaster and a re-themed restaurant as well as a cartoon walk-through. Replaces the old Jungleland area. Accompanying Looney Tunes National Park are the Looney Tunes characters. The Flash Pass system is introduced.
• 2008 — Wiggles World Children's Theme Area is introduced.
• 2009 — The park hosted the first Holiday in the Park (Christmas event) during the weekends in November and December.

• 2010 — Old theme elements from the park's Storytown USA era, including PoPo the Purple Cow and a rebuilt Cinderella's castle, were restored and placed back into the park.^[3] In late 2010, Six Flags began the process of removing licensed theming from attractions. The Great Escape would terminate their license with The Wiggles, with Wiggles' World being rethemed to KIDZOPOLIS starting in the 2011 season. The Great Escape also terminated their licenses with both Looney Tunes and DC Comics despite Six Flags having the rights to use the characters in their parks. Looney Tunes National Park was rethemed to Timbertown and the Flash Pass system was renamed to Go Fast Pass, all in time for the 2011 season.^[4][5][6][7]
• 2016 — Greezed Lightnin' opens across from Thunder Alley & Flashback. The area gets renamed Hot Rod USA.
• 2020 — On September 11, 2020, the park announced on its social media channels that it would remain closed for the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All season passes and tickets were carried over to the 2021 season.^[8]
• 2024 - The park announced the addition of Bobcat for the 2024 season, a Gravity Group family wooden roller coaster.^[9]

Rides and attractions[edit]

Themed areas[edit]

• Fest Area – Bavarian themed.
• Ghost Town – Old West themed.
• Storytown – Storybook themed.
• Hot Rod USA – Race car themed. Opened in 2016 with Greezed Lightnin'.
• Timbertown – A children's area, previously themed as Jungleland prior to 2005, and as Looney Tunes National Park from 2005 to 2010. As Jungleland, the area featured an animal show and a walking tour of jungle-like conditions adorned with animatronic animals along with a wood and rope bridge. In 2016, some elements of Jungleland were returned to the area.
• Hurricane Harbor – Formerly called Splashwater Kingdom, a water park section located at the back of the park. There is no additional charge to visit Hurricane Harbor.

Roller coasters[edit]

Name	Area	Picture	Manufacturer	Type	Year opened	Notes
Bobcat	Fest Area		The Gravity Group	Family wooden coaster	2024	The Bobcat will replace the Alpine Bobsled.[9]
Canyon Blaster	Ghost Town		Arrow Development	Mine train	2003	Previously located at Opryland USA from 1972 until the park's closure in 1997.
The Comet	Fest Area		Philadelphia Toboggan Company	Double-out and back wooden coaster	1994	Previously located at Crystal Beach Park from 1948 until the park's closure in 1989.
Flashback	Hot Rod USA		Vekoma	Boomerang	1997	The first Boomerang to be installed at a Six Flags park. Formerly called Boomerang: Coast to Coaster.
Frankie's Mine Train	Timbertown		Zamperla	Family Gravity Coaster	2005	Known as Road Runner Express from 2005 to 2010.
Steamin' Demon	Ghost Town		Arrow Development	Corkscrew coaster	1984	Previously located at Pontchartrain Beach under the name Ragin' Cajun. A virtual reality experience was offered on the ride in 2017.

Family rides[edit]

Thrill rides[edit]

Children's rides[edit]

Hurricane Harbor[edit]

Special events[edit]

After Labor Day Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor has two special events, Oktoberfest and Fright Fest, before closing for the winter. Oktoberfest is held during the weekends in September, while Fright Fest is held Fridays thru Sundays in October.

Oktoberfest is marginally a celebration of German heritage but is expanded to include ethnic foods, various beer games, ethnic music and dancing and other activities. (In the past, vendors were included, but none since 2006).

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 Ghost-town and 4 elaborate haunted houses, which are located near the North-woods Picnic Grove and in the Ghost Town.

In 2009, The Great Escape experimented with a late-season festival named "Holiday in the Park". It included live entertainment and holiday-themed shows, lights adorning the park and a sledding hill making it the winter equivalent of the Fright Fest autumn event. Though Six Flags called the 2009 event successful, it also claimed a "business decision" was the reason behind the cancellation of the "Holiday in the Park" for the 2010 season.^[12]

Defunct rides and attractions[edit]

Ride	Year opened	Year closed	Picture	Description
99 Trains		2006		Children's train ride
Alpine Bobsled	1998	2023		Intamin bobsled roller coaster. Removed in 2023 for the addition of Bobcat.
AstroWheel	1969	1992		Chance AstroWheel. Replaced by Flying Trapeze
Balloon Ferris Wheel	1980s	2014
Bucky's Shore Patrol	2005	2014		Horizontally-revolving boat ride. It was known as Yosemite Sam Shore Patrol from 2005 to 2010
Carousel	1965	1989		Classic Carousel that was originally at Freedomland U.S.A. in The Bronx and purchased by Storytown when Freedomland closed.
Cinderella Coach	1954			While the coach is no longer pulled by live horses, it is still available for stationary pictures with Cinderella
Cinema 180	Unknown	late 1990s		Theatre later converted to an arcade then used as storage. Removed for the addition of Screamin' Eagles
Danny the Dragon	1965	1996		Motorized scenic ride with cars shaped as a dragon's body. Built by Arrow Development and purchased from Freedomland U.S.A. in The Bronx when the park closed after the 1964 season. Replaced by Flashback
Dragon Ride	Unknown	2009		Kiddie Dragon ride
Flying Bobs	1993	1998		Matterhorn style ride. Replaced by Boomerang
Flying Trapeze	1993	2022		A Yo-Yo wave swinger ride by Chance Rides. In a reply to a comment on a Facebook post, the park announced that the ride had been retired before the 2023 season.[13]
Ghost Town Railroad	1957	2002		Arrow Development train. Removed in 2002 for the addition of Canyon Blaster
Giant Wheel	1989	2019		AChance Rides 90-foot (27 m) tall Ferris wheel. It was retired as part of the Six Flag's 15 rides removal cost-cutting initiative.
Jungle Land USA	1965	2004		African-themed land. With animatronics animals Re-themed to Looney Tunes National Park in 2005 and later to Timbertown in 2011
Kidzopolis	2008	2018		Originally themed as Wiggles World from 2008 to 2010. Rebranded to Kidzopolis in 2011. It closed in October 2018 to make way for the Hurricane Harbor water park expansion.
Krazy Kars	2008	2018		Car ride. Was originally named Big Red Cars from 2008 to 2010. Renamed in 2011. It closed in October 2018 with the rest of Kidzopolis to make way for the Hurricane Harbor water park expansion.
Krazy Kups	2008	2018		Teacups ride. Was originally named Dorothy's Rosy Red Tea Cups from 2008 to 2010. Renamed in 2011. It closed in October 2018 with the rest of Kidzopolis to make way for the Hurricane Harbor water park expansion.
Motorcycles	Unknown	2009		Kiddie motorcycle ride
Nightmare	1999	2006		Indoor roller coaster located in Ghost Town. The building still stands and is used as a haunted house during Fright Fest
Noah's Ark	Unknown	2009		Kiddie Pirate Ship
Octopus	Unknown	early 90s		Classic Octopus ride
Petting Zoo	1954	2010		Classic petting zoo
Pirate Ship	1995	2013		Huss Pirate Ship
Rainbow	1987	2007		Huss Rainbow- dismantled in 2007
Rotor	1983	2001		Rotor ride
Screamer (Ranger)	1982	1986		Huss Ranger. Rethemed and modified into Rainbow ride
Sea Dragon	1980	1994		Pirate Ship style ride. Replaced by Boomerang
Skylab	1986	2000		Huss Skylab
Splish Splash Zone	2008	2018		A water play area. Was originally named S.S. Feathersword's Playship from 2008 to 2010. Renamed in 2011. It closed in October 2018 with the rest of Kidzopolis to make way for the Hurricane Harbor water park expansion.
Starship Kaleidoscope (Tea Cups)	Unknown	Unknown
Storytown Railroad	1956	Unknown		The original engine is defunct. However, the station is used for the current train.
Tip Top	Unknown	Unknown
Tornado	1967	2002		Dark ride that brought riders through the eye of a tornado in the west. Originally created for Freedomland U.S.A. in The Bronx. Removed after the 1962 season and sent to Kennywood Park before it settled at Storytown. Removed at the end of the 2002 season for Canyon Blaster. (Flipper Version)
Trabant	1969	2010		Chance Trabant
Tumble Weed	1979	1988		Chance Sky Diver, Replaced by Condor

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Great Escape (amusement park).

• Official Six Flags Great Escape Website
• Great Escape at the Roller Coaster DataBase