Park: PGA In 1998- three years before SFGAm replaced their Triple Wheel with Deja Vu, PGA replaced their's with a first generation suspended boomerang from Vekoma coined an Invertigo.

This past summer, by chance I visited both Paramount's Great America (Santa Clara, CA) and Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, IL) within two weeks of one another. This gallery features several comparison (and some contrast) shots taken from similar angles in both parks. Other photos compare similar attractions at each park. Both of these theme parks opened as near twins in 1976 as Marriot's Great America. Over the years, both parks have gone their separate ways, but several attributes of each facility remain similar.

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Mark Rosenzweig (whispers) > Park: PGA
In this comparison shot to the previous photo, we see a train dropping down the first drop on PGA's Demon. If you look close, you can see the modifications PGA made to the ride's first drop, making it more of a gradual overall drop compared to the abrubt drop on SFGAm's ride. PGA no longer runs three trains on their Demon.

Mark Rosenzweig (whispers) > Park: SFGAm
A train navigates the Demon's first vertical loop.

Mark Rosenzweig (whispers) > Park: PGA
A train on PGA's Demon navigates the ride's second vertical loop.

Mark Rosenzweig (whispers) > Park: SFGAm
The red train about to plunge down the Demon's first drop- note the abrubt transition in steepness on the drop compared to PGA's Demon.

Mark Rosenzweig (whispers) > Park: SFGAm
The Orbit is a Schwarzkopf Enterprise that started out life as the Orleans Orbit when it was located in the Orleans Place section of the park. When Roaring Rapids was installed in 1984, the Orbit was relocated to County Fair. PGA's Orbit continues to operate in Orleans Place.

Mark Rosenzweig (whispers) > Park: PGA
Berzerker is a Schwarzkopf Bayern Kurve and is located on the border of Hometown Square and County Fair not far from where the Orbit operates at SFGAm. PGA's original themed sections have become harder and harder to identify in recent years due to neglect in maintaining the themes (esp when compared to SFGAm).

Mark Rosenzweig (whispers) > Park: SFGAm
Deja Vu is a Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerang coaster, which replaced the sorely missed Sky Whirl (Intamin Triple Wheel). This ride debuted at SFGAm in 2001.

Mark Rosenzweig (whispers) > Park: PGA
In 1998- three years before SFGAm replaced their Triple Wheel with Deja Vu, PGA replaced their's with a first generation suspended boomerang from Vekoma coined an Invertigo.

Park: PGA
In 1998- three years before SFGAm replaced their Triple Wheel with Deja Vu, PGA replaced their's with a first generation suspended boomerang from Vekoma coined an Invertigo.