Six Flags Great America in Gurnee hopes Pritzker approves their safety plan to reopen

GURNEE, Ill. - One of the biggest theme parks in Illinois is gearing up to reopen.

Six Flags Great America released in-depth details Tuesday about its plans to keep thrill seekers safe during the coronavirus pandemic.

This week, Six Flags has a Zoom meeting with Governor JB Pritzker and they hope he gives their safety plan the greenlight, so they can take off this summer.

Six Flags Entertainment is reopening their location in Oklahoma on June 5. The Gurnee, Illinois location plans to use the same safety measures.

“You have to make an advance reservation to come to make sure we aren’t overcrowding by a day or even by an hour,” said Hank Salemi, president of Six Flag Great America. “There is a wavier that you sign and you are assuming whatever risks.”

All guests and team members must wear masks, unless you are 2-years-old or younger or a person with breathing issues.

New cutting-edge thermal imaging will be used to take temperatures of all guests and team members entering the park.

In addition, there will constant cleaning of rides and bathrooms, hand washing and hand sanitizing stations at entrances and exits, and even a mobile app for ordering food, making it a cashless transaction.

“We are hopeful that Governor JB Pritzker will look at our plan,” Salemi said.

The company even hired an epidemiologist to advise them on safety measures. But will it be enough to keep the virus at bay?

Doctor David Zich of Northwestern Medicine says it will be a monumental task.

“If they sanitize everything that could be enough. That could be enough. It is an outdoor venue. Kids keeping on masks is very difficult. Then when you put them on a thrill ride and they are screaming, that increases the output of the virus if they have it. I think that’s very unrealistic,” the doctor said.