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The Great Escape Ride Reliability

Which rides run smoothly and which don't

April 2026

Crunching reliability data...

Analyzing 30 days of ride data

About The Great Escape

The Great Escape sits in Queensbury, New York, near Lake George in the Adirondack region. The park has been running since 1954 and combines older classic rides with a newer Ghost Town themed area. Headline coasters include Comet (a rebuilt classic wooden coaster, originally from Crystal Beach Park), Steamin' Demon, and a Ghost Town coaster. A Great Escape Splashwater Kingdom water park is included with admission.

The Great Escape has a short operating season (roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day, plus Fright Fest weekends) with peak crowds on summer weekends and US school holidays. Weekdays are usually very pleasant. Check live wait times for Comet on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit - the Lake George location pairs well with a full Adirondacks holiday.

About The Great Escape Ride Reliability

Which rides at The Great Escape break down the most?

The Reliability table above ranks every ride at The Great Escape by uptime percentage, total downtime minutes and number of separate closures in the selected month. Rides with higher downtime are usually older, more mechanically complex, or subject to weather-related closures.

What counts as a ride "closure" in these stats?

Any period where the ride's status flipped from operating to closed for more than a couple of minutes counts as a closure. Brief resets and scheduled early morning tests are excluded. A ride with 10+ closures in a month is almost certainly unreliable, not just temporarily out of service.

How do you calculate The Great Escape ride uptime?

We track each ride's open/closed status every few minutes throughout the park's operating hours. Uptime percentage = minutes the ride was open divided by the park's total operating minutes. A ride that ran all day shows 100%, one closed half the day shows 50%.

Are some rides at The Great Escape more reliable than others?

Almost always. Newer coasters typically have higher uptime in their first year, then stabilise. Classic flat rides and family rides tend to be the most reliable. Intense thrill coasters and water rides often sit toward the bottom of the uptime table because they're more complex and weather-sensitive.

How can I avoid riding something that keeps breaking down?

Check this page before your visit. If a ride you care about has under 80% uptime this month, prioritise it early in the day when reliability is best. Also check live queue times - if a ride shows "Closed" or hasn't moved in 45+ minutes, it's probably down for the afternoon.

Does rain or weather affect The Great Escape reliability?

Yes - water rides close automatically in heavy rain, and exposed coasters may close in lightning, high winds or very cold temperatures. Our uptime figures reflect actual operations including weather closures, which is why uptime varies seasonally.