American Eagle is a wooden racing roller coaster at Six Flags Great America, located in the County Fair section of the park. It opened on May 23, 1981, and was the first major rollercoaster manufactured by Intamin.
When it opened, American Eagle was the tallest, longest, and fastest roller coaster in the world. While those records were later surpassed by other coasters at other parks, it retains the record of the longest racing wooden roller coaster.
History[]
The concept of a record-breaking race coaster for Marriott's Great America in Gurnee, Illinois originated soon after the successful opening of the park in 1976. Initially, legendary roller coaster designer John C. Allen was approached to design the ride, but he reportedly "didn't want to attempt it". Later, designers Curtis D. Summer, James Figley, and Leonard Wright were brought on to design the new coaster.
Construction on American Eagle began in June of 1980, months before it was announced to the public. Over 1,360,000 boards of lumber were used to build the coaster, and it was painted by hand with over 9,000 gallons of paint. Marriott held a contest with its employees to name the coaster, and American Eagle was the name that prevailed. That October, the coaster was officially announced.
American Eagle opened to the public on May 23, 1981.
The American Eagle no longer races because of what is believed to be a structure issue.

American Eagle's original entrance.
In 1984, the Marriott Corporation sold both Marriott's Great America parks as a way to relieve debt and to focus on their hotels. The Santa Clara, California park was purchased by Kings Entertainment Company, while the Gurnee, Illinois park was purchased by Bally Manufacturing, the parent company of the Six Flags Corporation at the time. After the acquisition, Six Flags rebranded the park as Six Flags Great America.
The tent that housed the American Eagle queue area from 1981 to 2006 was used as a circus tent from 1976 to 1980. In 2007, it was converted into a children's area named Kidzopolis (originally Wiggles World). The new entrance is located to the right of Kidzopolis, utilizing part of the entry building for the adjacent Dare Devil Dive skycoaster. The old entrance was demolished in 2006. The original bald eagle that was on the roof of the old entrance is being used again on the current entrance.
Experience[]
Queue[]
Guests enter the queue area to the right of the Kidzopolis section (originally Wiggles World). Prior to Kidzopolis being built, guests entered the queue through the large "Eagle Tent," which had been used for a circus between 1976–1980. The original queue area featured several switchback sections. In the current queue area, guests pass by the Dare Devil Dive waiting area and climb up the ramp towards Kidzopolis. Guests then cross a bridge over Krazy Kars, then go left around Dare Devil Dive. Then, guests walk parallel to the exit path. After a right turn, guests cross a bridge over Great America Scenic Railway and climb down a staircase. In the next area, guests walk on ground level, going underneath the ride and past a switchback section. Approaching the station, the queue line splits, allowing guests to choose between riding the "Red Side" (left) and the "Blue Side" (right). Both sides offer similar ride experiences, although in 1991, 1996, 2002–2005, 2011 (August 5 – September 17 only), and for the fall of 2013, the Blue Side ran its trains backward. Guests then enter the ride platform from their track's side of the station.

American Eagle's original queue line.
Ride[]
As the trains leave the station, the blue train makes a left turn, while the red train makes a right turn. They hit a brake run, then climb a 127-ft lift hill. After that, they drop 147 ft at a speed of 66 mph. The trains race through airtime hills, and then hit the mid course brake run. They go through a large helix that banks to the left and some more airtime hills. After the third brake, the trains go past a helix and then hit the final brake run.
Incidents[]
- September 9, 1984: Three guests were hospitalized after two trains collided in the station.
- September 7, 1997: Four guests were slightly injured after the second and third cars on the blue train separated and collided on the brake run.
- May 22, 2002: An 11-year-old girl was taken to the hospital due to suffering a brain hemorrhage after riding the coaster.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Queue photos[]
Exterior photos[]
See also[]
External links[]
- American Eagle | Six Flags Great America
American Eagle (roller coaster) at Wikipedia
American Eagle at the Roller Coaster DataBase