Six Flags Great America is a 304-acre (123 ha)[note 1] themed amusement park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area.

In 1972, the Marriott Corporation bought rural land near the Tri-State Tollway and had officially announced the theme park to the public the following year, in 1973.

Marriott purchased 600 acres (240 ha) of rural land in Gurnee straddling the Tri-State Tollway in August 1972, causing speculation in the Chicago Tribune that an amusement park was planned for the site.

With an overarching Americana theme in mind, Marriott's designers traveled across the country, observing styles and collecting artifacts to help inform an authentic atmosphere.

The first of these was Carousel Plaza, located at the front of the park, centered around the double-decker Columbia Carousel; Hometown Square, based on early 20th century small towns of the Midwest; followed by The Great Midwest Livestock Exposition at County Fair (now just County Fair), with its early 20th century rural county fair; Yukon Territory, resembling a logging camp in the Canadian Yukon; Yankee Harbor, a 19th-century New England port inspired by Cape Cod; and finally Orleans Place, modeled after the French Quarter of New Orleans.

[24] Also added was Southern Cross, a third gondola sky car ride which offered a round trip and a much higher view than the other two, whose station replaced the removed Gulf Coaster.

[26] Additionally, Great America's fourth roller coaster, Tidal Wave, was a Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop that opened in 1978 in Yankee Harbor.

While California's Great America was sold to the city of Santa Clara, Bally Manufacturing, then the parent company of the Six Flags Corporation, offered to purchase the Gurnee park for $114.5 million.

[38] Less than a month after the purchase, a software failure caused a car on The Edge, a freefall ride, to be stalled at the top of the lift shaft before moving forward into its drop position.

[39] In 1985, Six Flags added Z-Force to the County Fair area, a one-of-a-kind Intamin space diver roller coaster that closed in 1987 and was the only one ever manufactured.

[41] While operating the Six Flags chain, Bally found that the excess resources demanded and high seasonal fluctuations of the theme park business made it an unnecessary burden on its core interests.

[46] During the same year, the IMAX screen in the Pictorium was upgraded to allow 3D movies to be shown and fans said goodbye to Tidal Wave at the end of the season.

The entrance of the entertainment and communications conglomerate gave the company not only a much-needed influx of new capital, but a chance for increased usage of Time Warner properties in Six Flags parks.

[47] The first of these collaborations between Six Flags and Time Warner came in 1992, as Bolliger & Mabillard constructed their first inverted roller coaster, Batman: The Ride, to replace Tidal Wave.

[54] The theater would be a popular venue with several stunt shows for years to come, before being torn down for the 2016 addition of the Justice League: Battle for Metropolis dark ride.

In addition to its purpose-made titular film, Space Shuttle America was home to three other shows during its lifetime: Escape from Dino Island 2 – 3:D, Stargate – SG:3000, and Superstition during the yearly Fright Fest Event.

The first ride built for the new area was Viper, a wooden roller coaster based on the Coney Island Cyclone and themed after a snake oil salesman.

[citation needed] 2007 marked the introduction of the electronic Flash Pass virtual queue system to Six Flags parks, including Great America.

The Theater Royale was converted into a queue building for the ride, which features a preshow starring Aaron Eckhart, reprising his role as Harvey Dent from the film.

[113] For 2012, the former sites of Splashwater Falls and the Great America Raceway in County Fair were taken over by a new wing coaster from Bolliger & Mabillard with 5 inversions, a 12-story drop and speeds of up to 55 mph.

It is manufactured by S&S Worldwide, and is an air launch roller coaster that breaks three world records and features the fastest acceleration in North America.

[136] In the following month on April 24, 2021, the park reopened at 25% capacity under Illinois order, with safety protocols in place, including a computer reservation system, mask mandates, social distancing, and thermal imaging for temperature checks.

[12] Yukon Territory formerly held Bugs Bunny National Park that opened in 1998, but was fully replaced with Winner's Circle Go Karts, an upcharge attraction, in 2012.

[198] Some former attractions located in County Fair includes Ameri-Go-Round, a smaller carousel which was replaced with Revolution in 2003,[199] Barney Oldfield Speedway, a car attraction named after American racer Barney Oldfield, which was later replaced with X-Flight,[200] and the Sky Whirl, which was a triple-arm Ferris wheel, which was removed to make way for Déjà Vu.

During the event the park is decorated into several different "Scare Zones" featuring haunted houses, frightening street characters, Halloween themed shows, as well as transformed rides.

Love at First Fright has been presented in the Grand Music Hall every year since the event's inception and follows the story of a couple on a dare to spend the night in a cemetery who get caught up in crazy antics when several classic Halloween creatures rise from the grave.

Home for the Holidays (Yukon Territory) Camp Cartoon: (2018 and 2019) Merry Market Place (front half of County Fair) The North Pole (back half of County Fair) Kidzopolis (2021 only): Kalightoscope (Southwest Territory and Metropolis Plaza combined) Holiday Square (Hometown Square) Hometown Park (2018, 2019 and 2021): Under operation of the Marriott Corporation, Marriott had expected 2.5 million visitors for the 1976 season.

[306] During a private event rented out by U.S. Steel, Demon had stalled on a vertical loop on April 19, 1998, and had required an aerial fire apparatus to release stranded riders.

Celebrity Guests included Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny (and other Looney Tunes characters), Jo Anne Worley, Forrest Tucker, Jerry Stiller, Roger Perry and the Cast Members of Great America.

[319] On August 26, 2009, the park was featured on Dinner: Impossible where host Robert Irvine creates a meal for coaster enthusiasts to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Raging Bull.