I’m going to be comparing Six Flags Great America to Six Flags Magic Mountain. Both of these parks
are arguably considered Six Flags best parks. I’m going to compare the lineups through a series
of categories so you can decide which park you would prefer. Let’s get right into it.
Starting off I’m going to compare park atmospheres. Both parks have great
atmospheres and are underrated. Six Flags parks get too much hate in this category
but each park has their own charm. Magic Mountain does get carried by its mountain landscape however
great america has this odd charm that can’t be replicated. Great America thrives on its vintage
charm that not too many other parks can compete with. I think more people need to mention the
atmospheres of these parks as they’re not really talked about often. And if I had to pick one
Great America would win this category. I’m really not sure how to compare both
parks' food because I’ve only really eaten at Great America but not Magic Mountain. I
can say that Great America offers plenty of great options and it’s always worth trying
while you’re inside the park. But don’t be afraid to give some of Six Flags food a try.
When it comes to theming these two parks are pretty close.
Each park has a stand out ride where you can tell theming was put into it. Great
America has X-Flight as well as Batman. And Magic Mountain has Apocalypse and West Coast Racers.
For Six Flags standards these rides are really well themed. When it comes to a well themed
section, the underground would easily win this category. The only thing close Great America
has is their DC section. This area of the park is new and honestly great but it can’t compare
to Magic Mountain’s underground. Now it’s time for park layouts. This is an
underrated aspect of theme parks. This can make or break how you hit your rides throughout the day.
Six Flags Great America features a giant loop with no shortcuts in between.
Now this could be a negative but it also could work into the parks favor. This definitely keeps
the crowds down in some areas like around american eagle but it sucks when you want to ride something
on the other side of the park. Magic Mountain shares a somewhat similar layout. However
there are many paths that allow you to cut through and get to some rides faster. I think Magic
Mountain has the better layout but Great America is a lot easier to follow for first time visitors.
Rides however are the main focus of both parks. And these parks both have some of the greatest
roller coasters I have ridden. If you’re going to both parks, you’re definitely coming for the rides
and nothing else really. Six Flags Magic Mountain contains 20 roller coasters and Great America only
has 15. I honestly believe that Great America has the more well rounded roller coaster collection
despite having less. But Magic Mountain has it beat out for the more elite coaster collection.
When you have a top 5 as good as the one at Magic Mountain it’s hard to compare lineups.
Although I still love the roller coaster line up at Great America. It has the most underrated
1-2-3 punch out of any parks I’ve been to. And the park’s first drops don’t let you down.
All of them are some of the most powerful of their models. But it is kinda true that magic mountain
has two stand out attractions that Great America can’t compete with. X2 is just insanity and any
park with a coaster like this deserves to be put on the map. And Twisted Colossus supplies the park
with intense ejector. However a supporting lineup can be just as important. And in my opinion that’s
where Great America wins. Great America has little to no gaps and the lineup is just great.
I’d say that both lineups are pretty balanced however if I did have to choose one
I would choose Magic Mountain’s. One thing each park needs is more theming.
The atmospheres are both great but I think more theming could definitely be added to their rides.
However some sections really are themed well in both parks. A flaw Magic Mountain has is
their wooden roller coaster collection, but that just seems like nitpicking. They have one wooden
roller coaster and Apocalypse is a great fit for the park. And everyone says Great America needs an
elite coaster that stands out but they already have 3. What they really need is an RMC Raptor
just like Wonder Woman. This would fill a much needed gap in the coaster collections. A thing
both parks need to fix is their crowd management. The operations are okay and the parks are both
crowded. On summer weekends it’s nearly impossible to ride the rides you want to ride without waiting
for hours, but that’s expected with most parks. So after gathering all categories together I
hope I can give you guys an idea of which park you would like better. And if I’m missing an
important aspect, tell me in the comments below. Personally, Magic Mountain gratifies my interest
in a perfect park more but Great America is still able to compete with its awesome atmosphere,
stacked coaster lineup, and abundance of great first drops. Tell me in the comments which park
you prefer and don’t forget to subscribe for more videos coming soon. Thanks for watching!