rain is an excellent crowd thinner

Last Saturday I went to Six Flags Great America with friends from my small group. We kept a wary eye on the weather forecast all week long, and groaned a bit as the chance of rain went from 30% to 60% to "you're definitely gonna get wet." And rain it did, from a light drizzle most of the morning (including the 2 hours we waited in line to ride Superman) to several episodes of complete downpour in the afternoon. Jenn, in a move of brilliant forethought, packed colorful ponchos for all of us, so while we spent much of the day chilled and damp from the knees down, we managed to stay fairly dry, and more than once our roaming poncho posse drew covetous glances from others who were not so lucky, and rather more wet. Sticking it out through the rain while the crowds thinned meant that by about 6pm we could walk up to just about any ride and have our butts in the seat in 10 minutes or less. Pretty rad. We rode a few coasters twice in a row, including Batman, which is cooler than I remembered (especially from the front row) and the Demon, which hurts just as much as I remembered. Also, in a Great America first for me, I took on the "Dare Devil Dive" with Melissa, which is where they put you in a harness (kind of like wrapping you up in a rug) , pull you up really high, and then drop you so that you swing back and forth with a great view of the park. Super fun.