Note: The video in the player above is from a previous report.
With longer days, warmer temperatures and baseball underway, spring is fully in the air in the Chicago area, meaning it's just about time for thrill seekers to fulfill their adrenaline cravings.
Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, one of the country's premier amusement parks, will be opening for the season on Saturday, April 20 at 10:30 a.m.
Later this spring, "Sky Striker," a high-flying pendulum ride, will make its debut at the park.
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The new attraction will swing riders back and forth on a massive pendulum through the sky at speeds of 75 miles per hour -- while 172 feet off the ground.
"As you swing through the clouds you will also spin, adding even another dimension to this maximum-thrills experience," according to the Six Flags Great America website. "This first-of-its-kind ride for the park creates a freefall sensation like no other."
A video of CraZanity, a clone of Sky Striker operating at Six Flags Magic Mountain
Local
On top of Sky Striker, Six Flags Great America boasts a whopping 15 roller coasters, the second-most of any park in the Midwest, only trailing Cedar Point.
Hallmark coasters at the park include MaxxForce, which opened in 2019 and features a compressed air launch that propels riders from 0-78 miles per hour in just 1.8 seconds and Raging Bull, the park's flagship 25-year-old hypercoaster that remains the tallest ride of its kind in the park.
The park will operate from 10:30 a.m. - 7 p.m. on April 21, operating on weekends before adding more days of operation in May.
Friday, May 10 marks the first weekday in operation for the park, with daily operations beginning the week of Memorial Day.
A full look at the early season calendar for Six Flags Great America can be found here.
