Great Escape - August 2nd, 2026

 From August 2nd to August 6th, 2026, my mom and I visited four amusement parks in the US Northeast, those being Great Escape, Lake Compounce, Six Flags New England, and Sylvan Beach Amusement Park! Lake Compounce and Sylvan Beach Amusement Park were two new parks for us!

We had a great time visiting these parks! For most of our trip, the weather cooperated, with the exception of August 3rd, which we still made the most of despite the pouring rain! After the completion of this road trip, I have visited a total of 13 different amusement parks in 2026! What a season of travelling it has been! 😄🎢

Great Escape - August 2nd, 2026:

After 7 and a half hours of driving, we arrived at Great Escape for the last 3 and a half operations for the day. Luckily for us the rainy weather had cleared, making for a fun few hours at the Great Escape! Since our last visit to the Great Escape in July 2024, not too much has changed at the park, other than it now being owned by EPR Properties and operated by Enchanted Parks as of April 2026. With Six Flags selling the park (along with six other properties in April 2026), 2026 Six Flags season passes sold before April 2026 are still being honoured by Enchanted Parks and La Ronde Operations Inc. for parking/admission through the end of the season.

Enchanted Parks who now operates Great Escape has gone one step further with the season passes by offering a complimentary season pass to current Six Flags season pass holders when presented at the front gate, allowing guests to get 10% off food and merchandise within the park. It is a nice gesture for those visiting the park during 2026 and makes for a nice souvenir. As Enchanted Parks does not offer a dining plan, they did reduce the price of the food at many locations within the Great Escape. I'll go more into the quality of the food in the photos below!

It was nice being back at the Great Escape and I look forward to visiting again in the future! Be sure to enjoy the photos of our visit below! 🙂

As of April 2026, Great Escape is now operated by Enchanted Parks. They had put up a few new banners around the park, including the one behind the Steamin' Demon.

In other places, they placed their name over existing signage. I sure hope Enchanted Parks have plans on replacing this sign as it is quite weathered!

With some excellent assistance from Guest Relations after presenting our Gold Six Flags passes, they were able to issue us an Enchanted Parks Great Escape pass so we could receive 10% off food and merchandise during our visit. With the pass, you could also visit the Great Escape for the remainder of the 2026 season if you desired!

To my surprise, the Sky Ride was operating during this visit, which I had not seen operating during my previous two visits to the park in 2018 and 2024! I would take a ride on the Sky Ride after taking a spin on the Flashback and a ride on the Storytown Train!

My first ride of this visit was on Flashback! My main reason for riding it during this visit was to see how smooth it is with the new train it received in 2025.

To my surprise, the Flashback provides a very enjoyable ride with its new train featuring vest restraints! It's much better than the old train it had during my previous visit in 2024! It also received a new paint job in 2025, too matching that of the original paint scheme of when it opened in 1997!

Up next was a ride on the Storytown Train, another attraction we hadn't experienced during our previous to visits to the park, as it too was closed!

Here's my mom and I on the Storytown Train!

It takes you on a journey through and along by the Storytown section of the park.

The journey starts by taking riders through a tunnel.

After the tunnel, you go by the Flashback.

Here's another look at the new train Flashback received last year!

During the train ride, you pass by many of the houses and buildings in Storyland.

You also pass through Jungle Land and the Ghost Town, too.

Here's a look at the miniature Ghost Town along the Storytown Train.

Jungle Land pays homage to the Jungle Land section that formerly operated at the park decades ago.

You can also get a decent view of Timbertown from the Storytown Train.

Here's a look at the 2026 Great Escape park map.

After I took a ride on the Sky Ride, my mom and I had a meal from the Chicken Chalet in the Fest Area. We both ordered the large crispy chicken salad priced at $14.49 each, receiving a 10% season pass discount (before taxes). To my surprise, the salad was very tasty as the chicken was seasoned nicely and was moist! It seems that Enchanted Parks is on track to serving some great food and decently priced meals at their recently acquired parks!

After eating the delicious crispy chicken salad, I took a spin on the Blizzard! It provided a chilling experience as always! The Blizzard is still one of my favourite rides at the Great Escape!

Up next was a ride on The Bobcat!

I had the pleasure of riding The Bobcat during its debut season in 2024! It is still riding incredibly well just like it did two years ago! It is packed with a ton of airtime within its small layout!

Speaking of airtime, I then took two laps on The Comet!

I fell in love with The Comet ever since taking my first rides on it in 2018!

To my surprise, The Comet still provides a very smooth ride along its double out and back layout since my last rides on it in 2024!

Hopefully Enchanted Parks continues to take great care of The Comet going forward as it is the 'jewel' of the park and is a roller coaster generations have been enjoying since its early days at Crystal Beach Amusement Park and operating at the Great Escape since 1994!

During this quick visit I managed to get two back to back rides on The Comet due to the rainy weather that passed through the area prior to our arrival!

With there now about an hour left of operations, we made our way over to the Ghost Town section. On our way over, I captured this photo of the Storytown Train chugging along its track. Sadly, the Condor (which was operating before and after our visit) and the Adirondack Outlaw (experiencing a prolonged maintenance issue) located in Ghost Town were both closed during our visit.

Up next, I took a ride on Canyon Blaster. While a rather uneventful Arrow Mine Train coaster, I do enjoy taking a ride on it every time I visit the Great Escape.

I do hope Enchanted Parks as the new operator of the park, has plans on repainting the track of the Canyon Blaster as the majority of it is quite faded and peeled!

Up next, I took a ride on the Desperado Plunge. It still provides a fun classic log flume experience!

I then decided to take a ride on the Steamin' Demon.

I was dreading a ride on the Steamin' Demon as it had greatly beaten me up in the past! 😅

To my surprise, a ride in the front row on the Steamin' Demon was actually quite tolerable and not too rough!

With just a few minutes left before the park closed for the day, I took a sky high ride on the Sasquatch! Although only one tower was operating during this visit, it still provides a very thrilling ride and provides quite a view of the surrounding area!

After a 3 and a half hour visit, it was time to leave as the park was now closed for the day!

It sure was nice visiting the Great Escape once again! I look forward to seeing what Enchanted Parks has in store for the Great Escape! I wish them the best! 

Up next are photos from our visit to Lake Compounce! 🙂

Six Flags Great Escape - July 9th and 10th, 2024

On July 9th and 10th, my Mom and I visited the third amusement park of our road trip, Six Flags Great Escape in Queensbury, NY!

The last time we visited Six Flags Great Escape was six years ago on a very hot, humid, and stormy day in July which cut our visit somewhat shorter than we would have liked! So during this visit, we spent two days at the park checking out attractions we had missed during our visit six years ago, and also checked out the rides that have been added to the park since, including the all-new for 2024 wooden roller coaster, The Bobcat!

Enjoy the photos of our visit to Six Flags Great Escape! 🙂

We arrived at Six Flags Great Escape around 12:20pm after driving for a few hours. As you can see in this photo, the weather was more favourable than it was during our previous visit six years ago! The slight breeze was nice!😄

The classic Arrow Loop and Corkscrew coaster, Steamin' Demon has been at Six Flags Great Escape for 40 years! It previously operated as Ragin' Cajun at the former Pontchartrain Beach of New Orleans, Louisiana from 1978 until its closure in 1983.  I would take a ride on it during our second day at the park.

Since our visit in 2018, this lovely sign with a small fountain/waterfall has been added to the entrance plaza. The Sasquatch stands 190 feet tall over the entrance. The 2024 season marks 70 years since Six Flags Great Escape opened its gates originally as Storytown USA in 1954.

The main walkway at Six Flags Great Escape once you enter the gates is very nice!

During my previous visit, the Flashback had closed down due to technical issues so I wasn't able to ride it. I was finally able to score this Boomerang coaster! Flashback wasn't the worse boomerang coaster I have been on, but it wasn't the greatest either. It was middle of the pack for me!😂

After a thrilling ride on the Flashback, I joined my Mom on the Thunder Alley, a relaxing car ride featuring cars styled to the 1950s.

After a ride on Thunder Alley, I then went 190 feet into the air on the thrilling Sasquatch, followed by a relaxing and scenic ride on the Swan Boats.

My Mom and I really enjoyed the Swan Boats as it gave us a tour and a bit of history of Six Flags Great Escape.

Six Flags Great Escape is quite beautiful and scenic!

Here's a look at the park map, featuring the new-for-2024 Bobcat!

Before riding The Bobcat, I took a spin on the Cannonball Express, a classic Mack Rides Musik Express ride. It was rather fun as it gave a decently long ride cycle.

Up next was a ride on the new-for-2024, The Bobcat!

The Bobcat is a family wooden roller coaster manufactured by the Gravity Group. It was built on the former location of the Alpine Bobsled coaster that operated at the park from 1998 through 2023.

The Bobcat is filled with plenty of airtime hills throughout its 1,412 feet of track! It is an excellent addition to Six Flags Great Escape! I am hoping more wooden roller coasters of this size show up at other parks in the near future as they're really fun!

Since it was quite warm out, I took a spin on the Raging River rapids ride.

This Intamin river rapids ride has been operating at the park since 1986.

Raging Rivers has many bends and small drops throughout its layout, causing the rafts to spin quite a bit compared to some of the other river rapids rides I have been on.

If you don't get wet from the rapids, you'll get wet for the sprinklers placed along the ride!

Here's a shot of The Bobcat showing the airtime it can produce!

The Bobcat has quite a few bobcats outside the entrance to the ride, accompanied by some growling and hissing sound effects!

This is the closest I got to the Alpine Bobsled as it was closed during our brief visit in 2018! 🤣 It is nice that the park set up a commemorative car display as it operated at the park for 25 years.

Ever since I rode The Comet for the first time in 2018, I looked forward to riding it again as it is filled with plenty of airtime moments!

The Comet is just as I had remembered it! To my surprise it is still very smooth and fast!

The best way to ride The Comet is with your hands up, to feel the airtime to its full effect!

It is nice to see this classic double out-and-back wooden roller coaster still going strong! Before arriving at Six Flags Great Escape in 1994, The Comet had operated at the former Crystal Beach Amusement Park of Fort Erie, Ontario from 1948 to 1989. Of interest, The Comet reused some bits of the infamous Cyclone wooden roller coaster that opened at Crystal Beach in 1927 and operated until 1947. After the Crystal Beach's closure in September 1989, Charles Wood, the founder of the Great Escape purchased The Comet and brought it to the Adirondacks where it has been thrilling park-goers for the past 30 years!

The comet is placed behind the Hurricane Harbor water park, making it a bit of a walk to get to! But the walk is definitely worth it!

During our visit to Six Flags Great Escape, I was able to remain in my seat on multiple occasions both days, enjoying the airtime filled layout of The Comet uninterrupted! It is nice when you're able to ride a roller coaster as great as The Comet a few times in a row!

Airtime hill after airtime hill is what makes this classic wooden roller coaster so much fun!

Pictured is the Extreme Supernova, a Zamperla Midi-Discovery frisbee ride. I missed this on our last visit in 2018, so I took a ride on it this visit. To my surprise, it produces a lot of airtime for a small frisbee ride! 

For lunch I had a grilled chicken sandwich with fries at the Alpine Fest Haus in the Fest area of the park. The sandwich was okay, while the fries were quite soggy. 

It was time to chill out on the Blizzard, an indoor Scrambler ride! There's nothing more fun than a scrambler ride in the dark! It looks like the Blizzard's structure got a repaint recently as it previously had an ice block design, making it look like an giant igloo.

After I took a ride on the Blizzard, we headed over to the Ghost Town section. On our way over, we passed by some of the storybook themed buildings that date back to the park's early years. here is Cinderella's castle.

One of those structures that date back to the days of Storytown USA is the giant pink whale. Here is my Mom posing in its mouth!

At the base of Ghost Town is a small town featuring various buildings and a small mountain with a waterfall.

To my surprise, there is tow ways to get to the upper part of Ghost Town. You can go wither up the asphalt path or you can go through the mountain! here is a look behind the water fall through the mountain.

You continue up a winding path through the mountain where you then exit near the Condor, in Ghost Town. Sadly the Condor was closed during this visit.

Next to the Condor is the Adirondack Outlaw, a Funtime booster ride that opened in 2021! It is the exact same model as Catwoman Whip at Six Flags St. Louis that I rode in 2023.

Adirondack Outlaw is a very thrilling ride as you spin around and flip upside down at 164 feet in the air! It's not for the faint of heart as once you load you go around a few times before being stop at the top waiting for the other end to unload before going in the opposite direction! I rode it two times during our two-day visit.

After an exhilarating ride on the Adirondack Outlaw, I took a ride on Desperado Plunge. I didn't really remember much from the time I rode it in 2018, so it was nice to ride Desperado Plunge again!

On the exit path of the Desperado Plunge, there are some vintage and retro photos of Six Flags Great Escape's past.

I love it when parks have features such as this!

On the Desperado Plunge, you travel along a flume in barrel-shaped logs as you navigate a few drops, including this large drop after passing through a saw mill! The final plunge isn't as soaking as it looks, but it is still quite refreshing! The Desperado Plunge originally operated at the former Busch Gardens Los Angeles from 1966 until its closure in 1979. It was then acquired by Charles Wood and has been operating at the Great Escape ever since!

Here's a view of the Adirondack Outlaw from the exit path of the Desperado Plunge.

My final ride of our first day at Six Flags Great Escape was on the Canyon Blaster.

This mine train coaster is still rickety and rough like it was in 2018! It's a shame as Mine train coasters can be quite fun!

The Canyon Blaster operated at the former Opryland USA from 1972 to 1997. After a few years in storage, this Arrow mine train came to the great Escape in 2003, where it has been operating since.

After a day of fun and thrills at Six Flags Great Escape, it was time for us to head out for the day and head to our hotel room in nearby Lake George.

Our second day at Six Flags Great Escape started out a bit damp before the park opened for the day. Thankfully no thunderstorms occurred while on our trip as remnants of Hurricane Beryl had passed through the area!

My first ride of the day was on the Steamin' Demon. While the ride isn't the best, I like the new entrance plaza that was created for this classic Arrow coaster when the Adirondack Outlaw in 2021. It looks a lot better than the chain link fence-lined path that once led you to the Steamin' Demon.

After I took a ride on the Steamin' Demon, my Mom and I took a spin on the Grand Carousel. This is a Chance Rides manufactured Carousel featuring horses and other animals, including a rabbit and a cat! I sat on the rabbit during our ride on the Grand Carousel!

Here is the cat with a fish in its mouth! 😄

Here's a look at the rabbit I rode.

During our second day at Six Flags Great Escape, the Sasquatch was rotating towers throughout the day as the park wasn't too busy. I only rode the upside during both days. There's nothing like being blasted upwards on an S&S power tower!

In 2018, The Pandemonium was added to the park. Of interest, this was my first time on a wipeout-type ride when we first visited Six Flags Great Escape in 2018! Since then, I have been on other Wipeout rides! They're quite fun!

The Screamin' Eagles is a fun Larson manufactured flying scooters ride that allows the cars to swing over the edge when the ride is in operation!

In the late-afternoon, I took a few more laps on the legendary Comet!

The Swan Boats is a nice ride at Six Flags Great Escape, dating back to the 1950s. Here is a beautiful view of it from a flowerbox on a bridge that spans over the river which the Swan Boats travel.

I had a late-lunch at Charlie's Saloon in the Ghost Town area. The pulled-pork sandwich and salad were both really good!

Since the weather was nice, my Mom and I took another ride on the Thunder Alley car ride. Here's a look down the hotrod USA section at Six Flags Great Escape. I love the 1950s theming!

Here's another look at the very fun and airtime-filled Bobcat!

After another fun day at Six Flags Great Escape, it was time to head out! I am thankful we were able to fully experience this park this time around as there are a lot of things to see and do as the park has a lot of history! Unfortunately the train ride and the chairlift were closed for maintenance, but what can you do. At least they aren't being removed! Hopefully I can experience them on a future visit! Up next are photos from our final park of the trip, Six Flags New England! 🙂