Y'know, I'll never forget my last ride on a roller coaster. Because that's what it was--my last ride on a roller coaster. I was in my early 20s, and despite having had a miserable experience on every previous roller coaster spin I'd taken, I thought that this time would be better, because a very pretty girl asked me ever-so-sweetly to ride with her. That was a big error on both our parts.

Neither one of us was ready for what happened after the ride, but I think it's safe to assume that we didn't think it was possible for a human being to purge that much of the contents of his body without actually dying. But I did. Again and again and again. Thrill rides that exert the same g-forces that Buzz Aldrin would laugh at really do a number on me. Needless to say, I never saw her, or much of the clothing that I was wearing that day ever again.

The point of my little personal history lesson is this: many, many people are going to be thrilled out of their minds over what Six Flags Great America has planned for 2018--I'm not one of them.

Six Flags Great America, the Thrill Capital of the Midwest, has an announcement of epic proportions. Coming in 2018 is the world’s largest loop coaster. This world-record breaking attraction will take riders forward and backward on a gigantic loop before suspending them completely upside down for plenty of wicked hang-time.

“Six Flags continues to prove that innovation is in our DNA, and we are thrilled to introduce yet another world-record breaking coaster to our impressive arsenal of thrill rides,” said Park President Hank Salemi. “Standing at 100 feet tall, this is an experience our guests cannot get anywhere else on the planet. With the multiple inversions and record hang-time, this new coaster packs a punch and is going to be one of our most intense attractions.”

Okay...100 feet tall. Forward and backward motion. Multiple inversions. "Wicked" hang time. Can't wait. In the inimitable words of Monty's Python's famous Mr. Creosote: better bring a bucket.

Some highlights of the record-breaking coaster include:

  • World’s largest coaster of its kind
  • 100 feet tall
  • 360 degree revolutions with multiple inversions
  • 32 seats in unique “face-off” design, with guests seated back-to-back and face-to-face
  • Inverted hang-time with riders suspended upside down for extended times
  • The park’s 16th coaster

The new coaster will be named soon and is set to open in spring of 2018. For more information about next season at Six Flags Great America, visit sixflags.com/greatamerica/newfor2018.

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