Vomit Factor: 11

Thank the Lord. Six Flags Great America is going to expand its sales of hard liquor this summer. Man, we were worried that not enough people were getting sick, acting the fool and being generally lame at Great America. Now they will have plenty more ammunition to fuel their fire.

To be perfectly honest, Chicagoist hasn't been to Great America in years. They already serve beer and wine, and they have mixed drinks at Hurricane Harbor. And the hard liquor we're talking about consists of "pre-mixed tropical alcoholic drinks, such as margaritas, pina coladas and mai tais." Oh. We don't really consider it hard liquor unless you can do shots of it. That makes us alcoholic, hey? Oh well.

The Gurnee Village Board voted 4-2 this week on the issue, and concerns were raised about putting drunk drivers on the roads, since most people leaving the park were going to end up back on the tollways and U.S. Highway 41. The dissenters were also concerned about the large amount of teenagers that visit the park every year and were concerned that there would be a problem with the message sent to them and the possibility of underage drinking.

Joe Costa, director of in-park services says that private parties request mixed drinks "up to 10 times a year," (10 times!) and that it's a better opportunity to serve the guests that will be properly monitored by the 50 security personnel that the park has. HUH? Great America has only 50 security personnel? That's crazy talk. We'd think you'd need that many for the first fifth of the park alone.

Honestly, Chicagoist has a huge vomit phobia, so we'd find it particularly un-American if someone got wasted and went on the Eagle and let loose with an Exorcist-esque display of choaching. But, that's just us.

"The Eagle" via =Tom=.