Viper's train
Lap bar onlyfew rider fit complaints

Six Flags Great America, Gurnee, Illinois

Viper

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POV
Ride it: back row POV
Back row
What riders love
  • But there is a double down that has great ejector.
  • The airtime is excellent, the laterals are great, the pace is consistent, and the PTCs are comfy.
  • Great pace with good floater and ejector airtime.
  • It keeps you hopping in all directions all the while never beating you up.
  • Throws you side to side like crazy with some ejector pops sprinkled in too
  • I love the layout with lots of airtime and some really fun laterals.
  • One of the most surprising coasters I've ever done. The airtime was so unexpected, and was an absolute incredible coaster.
  • probably the most shockingly good coaster i've been on.
  • First drop was fun, good airtime on hills.
Viper Watch Performance Should I ride it? Specifications Reviews Planning History

Watch POVs and more

2019 Viper Roller Coaster Front Seat On Ride HD POV Six Flags Great America

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Viper POV 5K Back Row UNDERRATED WOODEN COASTER Six Flags Great America, IL

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Viper POV 5K UNDERRATED WOODEN COASTER Six Flags Great America Gurnee, IL

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Six Flags Great America - Experience New Viper (1995)

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Performance

Vs. other coasters at Six Flags Great America

It has a typical non-painful wooden coaster rattle which I like on a woodie and there are some surprising floater airtime moments as well.

Chermaine Streppel

After this turnaround, Viper levels out before heading down the second drop, leaving for everyone in the back some sick sick sick airtime.

Incredible Coasters

While its stats aren’t overwhelming, Viper is an airtime machine with constant dips and turns that pull you out of your seat.

Tomorrow Society

Perhaps it’s due to the unexpected moments of ejector airtime, especially on the midcourse double-down.

Coaster Critic

You pretty much get only one or two moments of air before having to go on yet another turn that zaps you out of the experience.

I'm NotHere

For being over 30 years old, it still offers a smoother ride than many newer wooden coasters, thanks to the upkeep the park has invested in.

Coaster101

The airtime is excellent, the laterals are great, the pace is consistent, and the PTCs are comfy.

Eric Esty

During my back row ride, the thing made me stand multiple times (First drop and some other hills) and the rattle had me bouncing around in joy.

Aric The Kakapo

The ride was significantly rougher than the first time I rode it, to the point that it almost gave me a headache, and there was much less airtime than a remember.

VelociGOAT

Viper is also a good coaster for aspiring fans that aren’t ready for the more intense other rides.

Tomorrow Society

Would recommend for families.

Rudania Salamander

It is fantastic and filled with crazy airtime, insane laterals, high speeds, and all while being as smooth as a baby’s bottom.

Incredible Coasters

Maybe it’s because of terrific rides in the dark (I swear that the train picks up speed as the sun sets).

Coaster Critic

This ride ran really slow the last time I went here when the temperature was like in the upper 60’s and I barely got any airtime on this.

Mik Gov

My only complaint is that it’s slow in some sections, but it really throws me out of my seat in the second half!

Roan Kyne

It helps that it rarely gets much of a line.

David

Should I ride it?

Organize by

Specifications

100 ftHeight
202 RagingBull 185 Flash:VerticalVelocity 180 Wrath ofRakshasa 175 Maxx Force 165 Goliath 100 Viper
80 ftFirst drop
208 RagingBull 180 Goliath 172 Maxx Force 171 Wrath ofRakshasa 160 Flash:VerticalVelocity 80 Viper
50 mphTop speed
Maxx Force78 Raging Bull73 Goliath72 Flash:Vertical Velo…70 Wrath ofRakshasa67 Viper50 078 mph
53°Drop angle
96°Wrath ofRakshasa85°Goliath65°Raging Bull55°AmericanEagle54°Demon53°Viperdashed line: straight down, 90°
0Inversions

What riders say

Praised for

Strong airtimeLong rideShort waitsFloaty airtime

Criticised for

Rough or rattly

The first drop is decent but you get way more airtime on subsequent drops.

Max S., Captain Coaster review

I LOVED when they had the cars on backwards in 2013 but it is such a rough ride.

Abby R., Captain Coaster review

It’s really rough but this coaster is a lateral machine the airtime is good it makes me wonder how good Viper was in its earlier years, I bet it was awesome.

Stormin Norman, Captain Coaster review

Even with the great coaster resume that is available at this park, this might be my favorite of the bunch.

Brian Sheldon, Captain Coaster review

Though it’s not quite as intense as the 2x drop on Kennywood’s Jack Rabbit (my god), those riding in the back row will undoubtedly float out of their seats for a solid 1.5s.

Coaster Critic, published review

The ride was significantly rougher than the first time I rode it, to the point that it almost gave me a headache, and there was much less airtime than a remember.

VelociGOAT, Captain Coaster review

Photos

Viper, wooden roller coaster at Six Flags Great America, USA
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hendricksphotos/, CC BY-SA 2.0
Viper at Six Flags Great America
Wacky Windjammer, CC BY-SA 4.0
Viper at Six Flags Great America
Jeremy Thompson, CC BY 2.0
Viper at Six Flags Great America, Illinois, United States
Christophe95, CC BY-SA 3.0
Viper at Six Flags Great America, Illinois, United States
Christophe95, CC BY-SA 3.0
Viper at Six Flags Great America
Wacky Windjammer, CC BY-SA 4.0
Viper at Six Flags Great America
Wacky Windjammer, CC BY-SA 4.0
Viper at Six Flags Great America
Wacky Windjammer, CC BY-SA 4.0
Viper at Six Flags Great America
Wacky Windjammer, CC BY-SA 4.0
From back to front, the Eagle, the Raging Bull, and the Viper, seen from the Sky Trek Tower
David B. Gleason from Chicago, IL, CC BY-SA 2.0
Viper at Six Flags Great America
Feather Better, CC BY 4.0

11 photographs. Swipe or drag sideways.

Planning your ride

History and awards

April 29, 1995Opened

, designed by Dennis Starkey.

3.6 gStrongest force on riders

Past incidents

  1. June 1997On June 25, 1997, a 14-year-old boy's right hand was injured after becoming caught between the train and the station platform for a distance of 30 ft as the train entered the station.

Golden Ticket Awards, top wood coaster: ranked in 17 polls, 1998 to 2023

24th1998, its first poll
19th1999, its best placing
45th2023, most recent
0incidents blamed on the ride

Sources

Restraint types: Captain Coaster. History, incidents and awards: Wikipedia. Height requirement: Six Flags Great America. Specifications and status: Coasterpedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Also read: Captain Coaster (converted to feet and mph). Rider sentiment and performance scores: rider reviews on Captain Coaster, incrediblecoasters.com, tomorrowsociety.com, coastercritic.com, coaster101.com, read and scored by AirtimeFever.

Photographs via Wikimedia Commons: Jeremy Thompson (CC BY 2.0), https://www.flickr.com/photos/hendricksphotos/ (CC BY-SA 2.0), Wacky Windjammer (CC BY-SA 4.0), Christophe95 (CC BY-SA 3.0), David B. Gleason from Chicago, IL (CC BY-SA 2.0), Feather Better (CC BY 4.0). Video thumbnails remain the property of their channels and link back to them.

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What riders love, by theme (themes in the order riders pick them most on Captain Coaster): Rollertoaster, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The airtime shocks me every time. I feel my…”; Caiden Brauchler, rider review on Captain Coaster: “But there is a double down that has great…”; Eric Esty, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The airtime is excellent, the laterals are great, the…”; Matthew Richter, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Great pace with good floater and ejector airtime.”; Aric The Kakapo, rider review on Captain Coaster: “During my back row ride, the thing made me…”; Brian Sheldon, rider review on Captain Coaster: “It keeps you hopping in all directions all the…”; JJ Vavrik, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Throws you side to side like crazy with some…”; David, rider review on Captain Coaster: “I love the layout with lots of airtime and…”; Chermaine Streppel, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Was expecting worse for an old woodie but this…”; Christian Ortiz, rider review on Captain Coaster: “One of the most surprising coasters I've ever done.…”; Jamie Óchi, rider review on Captain Coaster: “probably the most shockingly good coaster i've been on.”; Rudania Salamander, rider review on Captain Coaster: “First drop was fun, good airtime on hills.”.

The photo slider at the top and the fading stills: East Coasters's back row POV, Viper POV 5K Back Row UNDERRATED WOODEN COASTER Six Flags Great America, IL (YouTube), and the page's Wikimedia Commons photographs.