Six Flags Great America To Run American Eagle Backwards For 30th

American Eagle dual-track wooden roller coaster at Six Flags Great America.

Gurnee, IL — Six Flags Great America will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the American Eagle roller coaster by bringing back the backwards ride. In celebration, the blue cars on the dual-track wooden coaster will run backwards from August 8 through September 17.

Six Flags has run the American Eagle's trains backwards in the past, but in recent years all trains have been facing forwards.

American Eagle has a 147-foot first drop, the longest in the world when it opened in 1981. The dual-track wooden coaster is 4,650-feet long and has a top speed of 66 miles-per-hour.