REVIEW: Holiday in the Park at Six Flags Great America – December 2019

2019 marks Six Flags Great America’s second year doing Holiday in the Park. I visited the event twice last year and thought it became my favorite time to visit the park. All the lights and holiday decorations made for such a wonderful and welcoming atmosphere that you usually don’t see at a Six Flags park during the regular season. This year, the park has been advertising the event as “A Magical Return”. For the most part, it’s the same offerings as last year, albeit with a few more entertainment and dining options. I attended the event on December 23rd for a few hours just to get a feel for everything, and once again was pleased with what I got to experience.

Chills and Thrills

Despite the cold, Six Flags Great America keeps a good amount of roller coasters running during Holiday in the Park. They can’t operate any of the wooden coasters, but most of the steel coasters were open. I believe the only ones that weren’t were Joker, Maxx Force, and Superman: Ultimate Flight. Due to my short time and the park I only rode Raging Bull and Batman: The Ride, but both of them had relatively short lines and were running pretty well. I will say that riding a coaster in below-freezing temperatures might cause some discomfort and probably isn’t the best idea, but if you’re an enthusiast I still recommend hopping on a coaster or two during the event.

Excellent Entertainment

I’d argue that Holiday in the Park is a rare moment where the most important thing at Six Flags isn’t the coasters. This is especially evident in the holiday-themed entertainment that can be found around the park. Fan favorites from last year return, such as the cozy “Holiday Hoedown” in the Mooseburger Lodge and the epic indoor show “Wonderland at the Grand”. Although I didn’t see either of these this year, I can’t imagine they were too different from what was offered last year. The park also added three new shows to their lineup, which are “Elves Live!”, “Loony Tunes Christmas”, and “The Mistletones”. Since my time at the park was so short, I was only able to see “Elves Live!”. The show had the clever theme of a band of Elves on a concert tour, and all the songs that they danced to were rock versions of different Christmas songs. The show was so much fun and attracted a pretty decent crowd, so I hope that means it will return next year. I also got to see a little bit of “The Mistletones”, which featured four performers singing various Christmas carols. I didn’t stay to watch all of the show, but what I got to see was enjoyable.

All of the Lights

I would say that the best and most important part of Holiday in the Park at Six Flags Great America is the lights. The entire park is decked out in countless Christmas lights that brighten up the buildings and midways. It really seems like they had more lights this year than they did last year, and I loved how there were barely any dead spaces without anything lit up. Here are some pictures of my favorite lights in the park:

2019 Holiday in the Park at Six Flags Great America improved upon what was already a spectacular event. The lights, entertainment, and ride offerings are all either the same or better than they were in 2018, and it makes for a grand time in the park. I can’t wait to see what Six Flags does in 2020 to make Holiday in the Park even better.