Shockwave was a steel looping roller coaster that towered over the Orleans Place section of Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. Built by Arrow Dynamics and designed by legendary coaster engineer Ron Toomer, it opened on June 3, 1988, as a showcase of the manufacturer’s ambition to push looping coasters to new extremes of height and inversion count.
At 170 feet tall with a 155-foot first drop and a top speed of 65 mph, Shockwave briefly held the title of the world’s tallest complete-circuit roller coaster and boasted the longest drop of any coaster on Earth. Its seven inversions, including three vertical loops, a batwing, and a double corkscrew, made it the most inverting coaster in the world for several years, cementing its reputation as one of the most intense rides of its era before it was ultimately retired in 2002.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, Illinois)
- Manufacturer: Arrow Dynamics
- Opened: June 3, 1988
- Closed: 2002 (dismantled 2004)
- Height: 170 feet
- Top speed: 65 mph
- Length: 3,900 feet
- Inversions: 7
The Ride Experience
Riders climbed a chain lift to Shockwave’s 170-foot summit before plunging 155 feet into a sequence of seven inversions delivered across roughly 3,900 feet of track. The layout packed in three vertical loops, a batwing element, and a double corkscrew, all within a ride lasting about two minutes and twenty seconds.
The sheer number of consecutive inversions made Shockwave notoriously rough by the standards of later, smoother coaster designs, and it became known among enthusiasts as a punishing but exhilarating relic of Arrow Dynamics’ late-1980s looping coaster era.
Why Shockwave Was Retired
Six Flags Great America originally planned to remove the classic wooden Whizzer coaster to make room for a new flying coaster, but public backlash over that decision led management to remove Shockwave instead. Declining ridership, rising maintenance costs, and frequent complaints about rider discomfort and minor injuries also factored into the choice.
Shockwave closed for good after the 2002 season and was dismantled, with its structure eventually scrapped in 2004. Superman: Ultimate Flight, a flying coaster built by Bolliger & Mabillard, opened on the site on May 3, 2003, replacing Shockwave’s footprint in Orleans Place.
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Shockwave Photo Archive: 2000–2001
These are original ThrillZing photos of Shockwave taken at Six Flags Great America on May 19, 2001, its next-to-last season, restored and upscaled from the original camera files. They show the Arrow mega-looper’s blue track and white supports from the parking lot beside American Eagle, and a train in the loop. All photos are free to reuse under a CC BY 4.0 license with credit to ThrillZing and a link to this page.
May 2001
2000
Soak, snap and drape. A cooling towel takes the edge off a 45-minute midday queue in July.
Park apps, mobile ordering and photos kill a battery by 3 p.m. This one snaps on magnetically, so there's no cable to snag on a restraint.
Ride with your glasses on and keep them. Many parks allow glasses on rides if they're strapped, so check the ride rules first.
Shockwave FAQs
What company built Shockwave at Six Flags Great America?
Shockwave was built by Arrow Dynamics and designed by engineer Ron Toomer, who was also known for designing other record-setting Arrow looping coasters.
How many inversions did Shockwave have?
Shockwave featured seven inversions, including three vertical loops, a batwing element, and a double corkscrew, which made it the most inverting coaster in the world when it debuted.
When did Shockwave close and what replaced it?
Shockwave operated its final season in 2002 and was dismantled shortly after, with its structure scrapped in 2004. Superman: Ultimate Flight, a Bolliger & Mabillard flying coaster, opened on the site on May 3, 2003.
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Photo: Jim Trottier / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.