Whizzer, originally Willard's Whizzer, is an

Anton Schwarzkopf Anton Schwarzkopf (8 July 1924 – 30 July 2001) was a German engineer who founded Schwarzkopf Industries GmbH, a German manufacturer of roller coasters and other amusement rides that were sold to amusement parks and travelling funfairs ar ...

Speedracer roller coaster located at

Six Flags Great America Six Flags Great America is a amusement park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area. The amusement park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on May 29, 1976, as one of two theme parks built by the ...

Gurnee, Illinois Gurnee ( ) is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 30,706 as of the 2020 census. It borders the city of Waukegan, and is a popular tourist attraction within the Chicago metropolitan area. Best known for being t ...

. It was one of two identical roller coasters built for the Marriott Corporation for each of their “Great America” parks at their debut in 1976, with an identical version of the Whizzer at

California's Great America California's Great America, often shortened to Great America, is a amusement park located in Santa Clara, California. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, it originally opened in 1976 as one of two parks built by the Marriott Corporation. Califor ...

. Marriott continued to operate both parks until selling them in 1984. Manufactured by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, the two rides were the last “Speedracer” models ever built. The California Whizzer was dismantled in 1988 while the Illinois Whizzer remains in operation, as one of only two Speedracers still in existence worldwide (the other operating as Broca (formerly known as

Zambezi Zinger Zambezi Zinger may refer to: * Zambezi Zinger (1973), a steel roller coaster built in 1973 * Zambezi Zinger (2023), a hybrid roller coaster scheduled to open in 2023 {{Disambiguation ...

) at Parque Nacional Del Café in Montenegro, Colombia).

Gurnee Whizzer

Six Flags Great America's Whizzer marked its 40th anniversary on May 29, 2016. The ride nearly was closed in August 2002, fueled by increasing maintenance costs, to make way for Superman: Ultimate Flight. However, due to public backlash and outcry, the park reversed their decision at the last minute and instead demolished

Shockwave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a med ...

, putting Superman: Ultimate Flight on its plot of land in Orleans Place.

Santa Clara Whizzer

After Marriott sold

to the city of Santa Clara under management of the

Kings Entertainment Company Kings Entertainment Company (KECO) owned and/or operated six theme parks around the world. The company was originally owned by Taft Broadcasting and in 1984 was purchased for $167.5 million by senior executives and general managers of Taft's Amus ...

, the Whizzer continued to operate until it was subsequently demolished in 1988. A few cement footers still remain, outlining the spot where the ill-fated Whizzer once stood.

Incidents and accidents

From the start, both Whizzers suffered from problems with the braking system that would sometimes allow the

trains In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...

to collide in the station. Unfortunately, no immediate solution was put forth to remedy this problem. In one four-year period, from 1976 to 1979, there were at least 11 recorded instances of station collisions on the version in Santa Clara, resulting in an unknown number of injuries. There were also two station collisions on the version in Gurnee - both of which occurred less than a month apart on July 24 and August 18, 1976. A total of 31 riders were injured in the Gurnee collisions. Then on March 29, 1980, a 14-year-old boy was killed and eight others injured after two trains collided at the station on the Santa Clara Whizzer. Following the accident, both rides underwent several changes. Seatbelts were added, the braking system was modified and the number of trains that could be run at once was reduced from five to three. Willard’s name was also dropped, leaving the ride’s name as simply "Whizzer." Marriott never reported the potential safety hazard to the

Consumer Product Safety Commission The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC, CPSC, or commission) is an independent agency of the United States government. The CPSC seeks to promote the safety of consumer products by addressing “unreasonable risks” of inj ...

, which led to a 1981 civil penalty amounting to $70,000.

Awards

The Whizzer has been recognized as an

ACE Coaster Landmark American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) is a non-profit organization focusing on the enjoyment, knowledge, and preservation of roller coasters as well as recognition of some as architectural and engineering landmarks. Dues-paying members receive the ...

and received a plaque on August 10, 2012.

Notes

External links

History of the Gurnee and Santa Clara Whizzer roller coasters

Photos of Dismantled Whizzer in California.

* ttp://schwarzkopf.coaster.net/OKspeedracerGF.htm Anton Schwarzkopf Speedracer catalogue overview
Additional Gurnee Whizzer photos and information

Video
of the Whizzer in action {{ACE Coaster Landmarks Former roller coasters in California Roller coasters in Illinois Roller coasters operated by Six Flags Six Flags Great America California's Great America 1976 establishments in California 1976 establishments in Illinois 1988 disestablishments in California