Planning Your Trip at Great America

• 1). Plan your trip well in advance. Its best to book your hotel nearby Great America. After a long day of twisting, turning and big drops, you probably will not be up for a long drive. Think of all your immediate needs when planning the trip. If your ultimate goal is to save, go for the cheapest hotel. If you want luxury at a bargain, consider a middle of the road hotel. To save money, you can choose a discount travel website that services San Francisco. A couple are included in the Resources section.
  
  
• 2). Book your trip around a live show you want to see. Great America is famous for hosting some of the world's greatest--and most fun--performing artists for memorable shows and concerts. It's a great venue to see a show, and including your whole family in the experience is easy. Teenagers are more relaxed seeing a concert with parents in this atmosphere. it's a great and rare way to share the thrill and joy of live music with the whole family. You may also be able to work out a special deal for discounted tickets.
  
  
• 3). Consider going in a large group. Make it a field trip, or gather a few families together to at least enter the park together as a group. You can go your separate ways once you are inside the theme park gates, but all should enter and purchase tickets at the same time. You are sure to get discounts and special offers. For Great America, it has to be a party of 15 or more.
  
  
• 4). Ask friends if their place of employment offers a lot of discounted coupons for Six Flags Great America. As a part of the theme park promotions, they often will give certain businesses books of coupons that are posted on employee bulletin boards. Employees can take as many as they like. Ask a friend to take some for you and your family if possible. Only ask a trusted friend for this, or you may be talked about as being cheap.
  
  
• 5). Purchase an annual pass if you plan to go more than once. This will save money. Free parking is included in many of the yearly pass offers. Get one for your whole family if you live nearby or plan multiple visits to the park within your Northern California trip. You'll save tons of money this way.
  
  
• 6). Go to the official website of Six Flags Great America. It is included in the Resources section. You can book large parties online, and you can take a peek at all the rides and attractions that are offered for the time of year you plan to visit.
  
  

Your Visit to Great America

• 1). Ask every member of your party about his priorities on the trip. You want to make sure everybody gets to enjoy their most anticipated things. Compromise is a big part of every trip, but making sure you know the desires of your family will help you work it out to the satisfaction of all involved. This can go a long way in preventing the sometimes inevitable family squabble while on vacation.
  
  
• 2). Map out your adventure in the park beforehand. If you have young kids, you'll want to make the family rides (including the famous carousel), the Nickelodeon section and the Kidzville sections your priority. Older kids will delight in the thrill rides and live shows. Older adults may want to go on the calmer rides designed for the whole family and attend the live shows. It all depends on the person. Some children actually love the thrill rides...and so do some senior citizens. It's all relative.
  
  
• 3). Arrive at the park early. You'll beat most of the lines. Even in peak times of the year, you'll get to experience a few of the rides without too much of a wait.
  
  
• 4). Rush to the back of the theme park when it first opens. This is a great idea because most people will simply go on the ride that comes first, and that will end up creating a huge line early on. Beat the rush by going to the back.
  
  
• 5). Go on the thrill rides early. You should be sure to ride these before you eat. Otherwise, sickness can result.
  
  
• 6). Go to Boomerang Bay Beach Club, the Australian themed water park that's a park of Great America, during the middle of the day. It's California, and this is sometimes appropriate even in the late fall. You will be able to cool off when the park is at the hottest, most crowded and least fun. The water park will be a break from that, and it will renew your overall enjoyment of the park. Be sure to bring a change of clothes for rejoining the main park after your water dalliance.
  
  
• 7). Enjoy family dining all around the park. Cotton candy and popcorn are staples of fare you can enjoy snacking on throughout your day.
  
  
• 8). End out your day with the family rides. The entire family can enjoy these sorts of rides. They include Loggers Run, Psycho Mouse and the Grizzly. These are calm enough for the easily spooked.