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Park Hoppin In association with Park Hoppin’with Susan Storey A


ccording to The Roller Coaster Database there are 871 roller coasters in the US and Canada. The American Coaster


Enthusiasts (ACE) has grown to 7,000 members and remains the largest enthusiast organisation in the world, and in the US, National Roller Coaster Day is August 16. Clearly, we love attractions that add speed, thrill, and excitement to our lives. As someone who loves to play in the parks as much as she does work with them, I was


so excited that I was going to be at Six Flags Great America on this year’s National Roller Coaster Day; this is the park that helped launch my career. Park public relations people love to talk about the industry events they


host, often surrounding an attraction opening. Early morning TV live shots, enthusiastic fans who ride again and again, photo and video shoots, and (if you’re lucky) partnering directly with the ride designer, all make the work unique and memorable. At Great America, I have two roller coasters that mean a great deal to me.


The first is a classic. The Whizzer opened with the park in 1976. Designed by engineer Werner Stengel and manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf, it is the last remaining Schwarzkopf ‘Speedracer’ coaster in North America. And if you’re from the Midwest, it was probably your first coaster experience. In 2002, the park was preparing to add a new coaster and after looking at


the park layout and factoring in the ongoing support the older coaster needed, plans were made to remove it. We created a ‘Say Goodbye to the Whizzer’ campaign, encouraging guests to ride during its final season. Those plans backfired a bit but gave way to something amazing. In a time


before social media, the ride’s fans came out in force. They called the park; they called their friends; and they let everyone know Six Flags was making a mistake.


No story is better than when the voice of the customer prevails, and the


park team came together, relooked at its plan, and made the incredible announcement that the collective passion and voice of the guests saved the Whizzer. Local reporters loved it – we made the front page, above the fold, in two Chicago daily papers – and spent the summer celebrating keeping an icon while readying for something new. The Whizzer’s story hasn’t ended. In 2012, ACE recognized the Whizzer as


an ACE Roller Coaster Landmark, and guests still love it. It was so great to see it again and watch it wind up its unique track as families experienced it together. My second coaster highlight is the 2003 attraction, SUPERMAN: Ultimate


Flight. The beautiful Bolliger & Mabillard coaster was first added to the Six Flags parks in New Jersey and Georgia, and then we received it in Illinois. The construction of a coaster is a unique time and has many milestones – the topping off of the highest hill, the arrival of the first ride car, the first test rides. And as a park person, it often means being among the first guests to ride. While I was not the first person to ride SUPERMAN, complete with its


signature pretzel roll, I was part of the first group to lose a personal item. (Amateurs, right?) Our sheepish marketing team had to admit to the operations team that a pair of keys fell out during our ride. Oops. That also made me among the first to walk beneath the track, checking shrubbery and trying not to look silly. We found the keys, and successfully opened the ride a few weeks later, with a visit from Walter Bolliger. Flash forward 19 years, several new coasters, and millions of guests later,


how great it was to revisit and celebrate ‘my’ coasters personally on their own holiday. Whether your favorite attraction is a coaster or a carousel, the bumper cars


or the tilt-a-whirl – a designated day doesn’t make it special. It’s each of us – guests, fans, operators, manufacturers – and our incredible, shared passion for the rides that make us go, “Wheeee!”


SUMMER PART 4 2022


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