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Motion sickness at Six Flags Great America: what's rough and how to cope

Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, United States

Photo: Feather Better, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized and converted.

Gurnee, Illinois, United States · Six Flags Entertainment · ~3.045M visitors (2024, industry estimate)

Yes, with one famous exception. Six Flags Great America is a classic force park: Goliath drops 85 degrees and inverts on a wooden structure, Maxx Force air-launches to 125 km/h in under two seconds, X-Flight threads a wing coaster through keyhole gaps, and Raging Bull twists through a 62 m hyper layout. There are no simulators to speak of, so nausea here comes from G-forces, launches and inversions rather than screens. The exception is the Whizzer, a heritage coaster that is genuinely gentle at full size, a rarity anywhere. Add the Columbia Carousel and Hometown Square and you have a small but real calm circuit. Sensitive riders can do this park; they just need to space the big four out as separate events, not a checklist.

Key facts

  • Six Flags Great America is in Gurnee, Illinois, United States, and is run by Six Flags Entertainment.
  • It drew about 3 million visitors in 2024, on industry estimates.
  • 4 of its rides are flagged here as likely motion sickness triggers.
  • Goliath is one of them: wooden coaster with an 85-degree drop and inversions.
  • 3 gentle rides are listed as places to reset, including Whizzer (classic gentle family coaster).

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The rides most likely to set you off

Goliath is the roughest: an 85 degree drop and inversions on a wooden coaster mean the forces arrive with wood-frame vibration on top, a double hit for sensitive inner ears.

  • Goliath: wooden coaster with an 85-degree drop and inversions.

  • Maxx Force: 0-125 km/h air launch in under two seconds.

  • X-Flight: wing coaster threading tight keyhole elements.

  • Raging Bull: 62 m hyper-twister coaster.

Where to reset between rides

When your stomach needs a break, head for Whizzer (classic gentle family coaster), Columbia Carousel or Hometown Square family rides. Slow visuals, a fixed horizon and a seat that is not spinning give your inner ear time to settle before the next big ride.

Going on Six Flags Great America? Set it up first

Queue time is the good time to sort this out. The ten minutes after a ride is not. Dizzout is a drug-free app that plays precisely calibrated audio through any headphones you already own, wired or Bluetooth, with relief in about 90 seconds. Free to try.

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Your survival plan for Six Flags Great America

  1. 1

    Warm up on the Whizzer; it is a real coaster with almost none of the force, perfect for judging how your stomach is running that day.

  2. 2

    Ride Maxx Force early and on an empty stomach; the launch is over fast but it is the single hardest jolt in the park.

  3. 3

    Put Goliath and Raging Bull in different halves of the day so wooden roughness and hyper airtime never stack.

  4. 4

    Skip X-Flight if visual near-misses bother you; the keyhole elements are the point of the ride.

  5. 5

    Use Hometown Square and the Columbia Carousel as your recovery loop between thrill blocks.

  6. 6

    Drink water hourly and keep lunch light; Gurnee summer humidity does half the damage on queasy days.

  7. 7

    Bring headphones and run Dizzout's sound therapy at the first sign of queasiness; most people feel better in about 90 seconds.

Before you pack the wristbands or the ginger chews, see which remedies hold up under testing. Anything you take before a park day is a question for a pharmacist or doctor.

Going with kids

Whizzer is an ideal first coaster; most else runs tall height minimums.

Common questions

What is the roughest ride at Six Flags Great America?

Goliath, the wooden coaster with an 85 degree drop and inversions; wood-track vibration plus inversion forces is the hardest combination here. Maxx Force is more intense per second but much shorter.

Is the Whizzer OK for people who get motion sick?

Yes, it is the best test ride in the park. It is a full-size coaster with gentle speeds and no inversions, which is why it has survived as a family classic. Most people who are fine on ordinary car rides are fine on the Whizzer.

Can I enjoy Six Flags Great America if I hate inversions?

Yes. Raging Bull delivers the big-coaster experience without flipping you over, and the Whizzer and Columbia Carousel round out a no-inversion day. Check ride signage on the rest of the lineup, because several of the headliners invert.

More parks and rides

Your next question, probably

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