After releasing several cryptic messages in recent weeks, Six Flags Great America is finally set to unveil its big announcement.
The popular amusement park in suburban Chicago has been teasing fans on social media with a series of unusual posts, sparking much speculation on what could be next.
The announcement has sparked much speculation, but the words "Buccaneer Battle" may have confirmed some fan theories.
Last week, a telling message was posted on the park's social media, when it shared an eight-second video quickly flashing the following words in order:
TEASE DEMON SEVEN STEEL FIVE DROP 2025, followed by #FearTheWrath message.
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The caption mirrored similar teases from the park in the recent weeks, reading "SometimeS it'S oKAy to wAit."
The post was the fourth such message shared by Six Flags in the lead-up to the announcement. Adding Wednesday's message brings that total to five.
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It all started on July 18, when a video was shared to the park's social media accounts with the caption "Something iS coming, just wAit."
Then one week later, another six-second video clip showed the eyes of what appeared to be a predatory animal with the same #FearThe Wrath message.
That clip was captioned "it lieS thRougH the demonS eyeS."
On Aug. 1, the park posted the words "you don't wAnt to See it AngRy" to its social media channels, displaying another six-second video clip with the message #FearTheWrath.
In that instance, the clip was accompanied by what appeared to be the scratch of a claw.
Though the park welcomed a new attraction last month, the posts come as fans speculate whether Six Flags Great America could be receiving its first new roller coaster since 2019.
But there was one word that drew the attention of many.
The use of the word demon.
Fans focused in on the word choice, potentially referring to the Demon ride, a looping roller coaster that has been at the park since its opening in 1976 and has operated under its current theme since 1980.
"If y'all take away the Demon I'm gonna be so sad," one enthusiast replied on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Another commenter wondered if this meant Demon would be undergoing a restoration, while others alluded to an unoccupied space near Demon that was formerly home to the Buccaneer Battle, a water ride where patrons riding in a boat would be sprayed by onlookers with water guns.
"Demon would be 'looking' towards the old Buccaneer Battle area," one commenter said on Facebook.
The Demon received minor restorations in 2023, most notably the removal of a makeshift rock formation that had previously encircled the coaster's second loop.
In a new post this week that did not share the same structure or hashtag as the earlier messages, Six Flags wrote on X "fighting with my demons (the urge to ride Whizzer)." It remained unclear if that message could be related to the announcement.
The park last removed a roller coaster in 2013, when the spinning family coaster Ragin' Cajun was relocated to Six Flags America, located outside Washington, D.C. in Maryland.
So what could be happening?
Replies from roller coaster enthusiasts on X seemed to coalesce around the idea that the park was adding a dive coaster, a popular model from frequent park partner Bolliger & Mabillard, the manufacturer behind Raging Bull, Batman: The Ride and X-Flight, among others.
The overly cryptic messages spawned many more questions than answers, with comments on social media immediately questioning the seemingly random capitalization of certain letters in the caption.
For those keeping track at home, the capital letters in the messages read as the following: SSASRHSSASARSSSKAAAAS. Not exactly much to work with when looking for a subliminal message.
With more capital S's found, fans began to speculate whether that means the park could be adding another roller coaster from S&S, a manufacturer that was behind two current roller coasters at the park, The Joker and Maxx Force, the park's two newest coasters.
The two S&S roller coasters at the park represent the two most common roller coaster models produced by S&S, the 4th Dimension Free Spin and Air-Launched Coaster, in The Joker and Maxx Force, respectively.
One Reddit post highlighted that teasing was also taking place inside the park, with a promotional poster featuring a message that reads "Shedding Skin" alongside "#FearTheWrath."
Some coaster enthusiasts on Reddit speculated that the area of Buccaneer Battle and Demon combined could be used for a large new roller coaster. The park last received a new roller coaster in 2019, when the record-breaking Maxx Force opened.
While the park hasn't welcomed a new roller coaster in five years, a new flat ride, Sky Striker, debuted at the park last month.
The rumors come on the heels of the merger between amusement park giants Six Flags and Cedar Fair, which created the new Six Flags Entertainment Corporation.
The company teased towards new investments in both rides as well as food and beverage, with the post-merger entity operating 42 amusement and water parks across 17 states and three countries.
The announcements in other parks throughout the company have started to come through as well, with Kings Dominion in Virginia set to receive a launched wing coaster from Bolliger & Mabillard, while Canada's Wonderland is set to add Alpen Fury, a launched roller coaster with nine inversions, the most in North America for a coaster of its kind.
Official plans for the park remain unknown, though an announcement is expected on Aug. 15.
