How does Great America pick new rides? By asking you
Six Flags Great America President Hank Salemi said he realizes the importance of keeping it fresh at the Gurnee park.
Part of deciding what new rides to offer or which attractions to dump involves Great America employees surveying park patrons. That feedback is one reason Great America will receive a new, superhero-themed ride next year - Justice League: Battle for Metropolis - Salemi said Thursday.
"We do a lot of research asking our guests what they want to see," Salemi said after officially announcing the latest Great America offering.
Justice League: Battle for Metropolis "scored very, very highly on the appeal factor of what they wanted to see at our park," he said.
In partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products and DC Entertainment, Six Flags already has been operating the 4-D ride at parks near St. Louis and in Arlington, Texas.
Great America riders will become members of the Justice League Reserve Team and join Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern in a battle against Lex Luthor, the Joker and their henchmen. Sitting in six-passenger vehicles, riders 42 inches and taller will have to outsmart Luthor and the Joker while saving the city of Metropolis.
Along with what is promoted as one of the first virtual loops giving riders a sense of going head over heels, the latest Great America offering will be in a 22,000-square-foot Hall of Justice. High-definition, 3-D animation is expected to fully immerse riders in Metropolis.
In addition to getting customer opinion before new attractions are pursued, Salemi said, Great America has an innovation committee. Salemi said he headed the committee that decided Justice League: Battle for Metropolis will be a good fit in Gurnee.
"Really, what we did in that committee is focus on what our guests, what our target really wanted to see," he said. "And I think we've accomplished that with this ride. We spend a lot of time talking to our guests. And then when we get information from our guests, a lot of times (it leads to) building and designing and manufacturing the rides our guests want to see."
Last year, Great America made a splash by introducing Goliath as the fastest, tallest and steepest wooden roller coaster in the world.
Anthony Haag, marketing manager for the Visit Lake County tourism agency, said new Great America rides generally boost local economy because of increased park attendance. He said he expects Justice League: Battle for Metropolis to benefit Lake County next year.
"Six Flags is such an economic driver to the area that anytime something new happens here, people are just flocking," said Haag, who attended Thursday's announcement about the superhero-themed ride.
Justice League: Battle for Metropolis will be in a 22,000-square-foot building in the Southwest Territory. A Southwest Territory amphitheater was demolished to make way for the new ride, which will include state-of-the-art gaming elements, lifelike animatronic characters, and wind, mist and fog effects.
"I think it is truly the most universally appealing ride we've ever done," Salemi said.