THE GREAT ESCAPE & Splashwater Kingdom
Lake George, New York
Six Flags Theme Parks
 Park News - (4/23/21) A Screamscape source has sent word our way that the Giant Wheel at The Great Escape is being removed. It already seems to have been removed from the official website.
(2/27/21) Adirondack Outlaw Update
(2/21/21) According to this news report, Six Flags The Great Escape has now set May 1st as the official opening day for the theme park. At this time there is no mention at all of the Adirondack Outlaw ride that was originally planned for the 2020 season, so it looks like it was either canceled entirely or has been pushed back at least one more year. Anyone know more?
(2/20/21) It has been a long time coming but New York has finally issued the guidelines and dates that attractions in the state can reopen in 2021. Outdoor amusement parks will be allowed to open at 33% capacity starting on April 9, with the typical mandatory temperature checks, face masks and social distancing rules in place that most other theme parks were able to operate with in 2020 successfully. The state has also asked them to use staggered admission times as well to avoid everyone crowding at the gate all at once, so would seem to indicate that some kind of pre-told ticket / reservation system may be in place as well.
The state also announced that indoor attractions (Arcades, Trampoline Parks, Laser Tag, etc) will be able to open starting on March 26, but only at 25% capacity. This also includes indoor waterparks like the one at Six Flags Great Escape Lodge which has already announced they will reopen the waterpark on March 26, 2021, while the Lodge itself is already open.
2021 - Adirondack Outlaw - Delayed from 2020 - (4/20/21) The local news has confirmed that construction has started on the new Adirondack Outlaw ride at The Great Escape, but that the ride won't be ready when the park opens for the season. For now they will only say it will be ready to open sometime over the Summer season.
The article also notes that the Streamin’ Demon coaster will also be kept closed during the construction, as the coaster’s old entrance now has to be moved elsewhere to make way for the new ride.
(2/27/21) In an official press release from Six Flags, they did confirm that the Adirondack Outlaw ride will be coming to the park this season after all.
(2/21/21) While I still don’t see it mentioned on the official website currently, the park’s official Facebook page did have the Adirondack Outlaw listed as opening as a new 2021 attraction back in August.
(1/24/20) According to the local news the planning board approved the new location of the 2020 ride for The Great Escape without any further review required. The new location is said to be hidden from view from Glen Lake, placing it somewhere between the Steamin’ Demon and Condor. Based on comments from the locals however, it seems the locals are now a bit fed up with the noise coming from the park and are starting to ask for new future actions, such as a new noise studies or the possible requirement that every new noisy attraction only be approved if the park removes another one.
(12/19/19) According to the local news The Great Escape will be relocating their new Adirondack Outlaw ride to a new location elsewhere in the park where the tall ride is permitted to stand. The new location has not yet been made known, but should be submitted soon to be on the next Planning Board agenda.
(12/3/19) Based on the fact that during a balloon height test of the Adirondack Outlaw location, it was obvious that the new attraction would be very visible to the surrounding area, The Great Escape now appears to be looking to find a new location in the park to place the ride in order to avoid a lengthy new environmental impact review. The planning board voted 6 to 1 in favor of performing the new impact review before they could decide on if they should allow the requested height exemption for the ride.
(11/23/19) The Great Escape has been getting opposition from locals over the proposed Adirondack Outlaw ride set to open in 2020. The problem here is the park’s proposed placement of the ride within the park, on a plot of land which is said to be the highest elevation in the park. Given the height of the ride, the local residents around the countryside insist the top half of ride will pop up over the treeline and be visible from Glen Lake every few seconds as it spins.
They also have a reason to complain, as the placement of the ride is in violation of the park’s height regulations established in 2001 which would allow for the ride to be placed in other locations in the park established for taller rides… just not in the location that Six Flags want to put it. So when the park asked for a height wavier from the Queensbury Planning Board, things got a little ulgy.
The Great Escape insists that they’ve been struggling to increase visitation to the Ghost Town section of the park, and the new ride is needed there along with other planned improvements of the Ghost Town area that would go with it. The park has also mentioned that the 2001 limitations are outdated, as they were based on the height of the treeline at the time, which has grown over the last 19 years, so they are confident that there should not be a blatant view of the ride’s structure over the treeline.
With a meeting set to discuss the situation set for Tuesday, we should find out more about this situation next week, though it seems the easiest way to solve the problem would be to perform a balloon height test by raising a large balloon on the site up to the maximum height of the Adirondack Outlaw and then see if it is viewable from Glen Lake or not.
(8/29/19) New for 2020 is a wild ride experience on the tips of a giant propeller ride, commonly known as a “skyscraper” ride. The Adirondack Outlaw will send riders soaring high into the sky at speeds up to 50mph while their seats are able to freely flip over 360º.
This looks to be a slightly smaller version of the Catwoman Whip ride going into Six Flags St. Louis.
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