Six Flags The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom is an amusement park and water park located in Queensbury, New York, which is near Lake George and is approximately 60 miles north of Albany.

It is owned and operated by Six Flags.

The Great Escape was opened in 1954 as Storytown USA, a Mother Goose themed amusement park by businessman Charles Wood who bought the land with his wife for $75,000. In 1957 realizing that the park was geared only towards small children, the park opened its Ghosttown area, the first of many themed areas opened in the parks history.

In 1983, the park officially changed its name from Storytown USA to The Great Escape. The following year, the Great Escape opened the Steamin' Demon, the first of its eventual seven roller coasters.

The showpiece attraction at The Great Escape is the Comet. Re-opened at The Great Escape in 1994, this roller coaster already had a 41-year history as The Comet at Crystal Beach (an amusement park near Niagara Falls, Ontario). It was saved shortly after the park closed down forever after the 1988 season. Charley Wood, the owner of Great Escape Fun Park and Fantasy Island in Grand Island, New York successfully bid for The Comet and it sat in storage for a few years in Fantasy Island before making its way to the park in Lake George, NY and reopening in 1993. Roller coaster enthusiasts recognize it as one of the best wooden roller coasters in North America.

In addition to typical amusement park rides the Great Escape offers a variety of unique shows, most notable of which is a high dive show featuring a team of divers scaling a 80-foot tower and plunging into a ten foot deep pool.


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