Daved Thomson

The original McDonald's outside the park opened in 1982.

I believe it was at The Banstand.

Then this sounds like very good news and, perhaps, Six Flags returning a bit of individual identity to its parks.

I'm curious as to why you dropped the balloon and changed to the teepee?

This sampling of photos is fantastic and displays the pure magic of Great Adventure! I really hope and pray that Six Flags could somehow bring back more of this fantastic, unique, atmosphere that really wasn't found in any other theme park. It is the magic and uniqueness of the Disney parks that set them apart from all others (most of which are now nothing more than amusement parks). Great Adventure really needs to get back to marketing (and providing) the entire park experience rather than a new ride each season who's appeal quickly dissipates and detracts from the park as a whole.

That is definitely False.

Definitely the 1980s. Six Flags began to build the park but stayed largely true to the park's Enchanted Forest nature. The park was also much more balanced in terms of rides, yshows, and attractions. When you went to GA in the 80s, you felt a certain magic about the experience. There was a sense that it wasn't just about rides. There was also a feeling that with the amount of acreage owned the park would grow with even greater creativity than it's first two seasons.

Actually, that's all I watch are the old shows from the '70s and '80s, History, and as crazy as it may be, a lot of "reality" TV. Thank you very much for the birthday wishes and next year, please feel free to not even mention an age.

You're right that in the black & white photos of the 1976 ride operations uniform, the shirts do look like pajamas. They didn't look like pajamas in person. Personally, these are my favorite uniforms. The Great Adventure logotype in rainbow type was all over the shirt and I think it looked great.

C,B,A,D, E, F

I don't believe that would have been part of the original plans. However, given the enormous cost overruns during construction, it may have been considered. And, Woodland Gardens did end-up with chips for its pathways. But, I have to go with FALSE, not in the ORIGINAL plans.

Personally, I think there is a distinct difference in the quality and commitment of theme park employees today as opposed to 20 years ago. Even Disney employees do not appear to be as stellar as they once were. I've worked at Great Adventure, Magic Mountain, and Disneyland and, without a doubt, I enjoyed Great Adventure the most. Incidentally, the very first time I worked at GA, it was on the Dream Street Cables. It was hard, but more fun than any other position I worked in the park.

I love the Walt Disney World video!

I'm another person in agreement here, the original onion/ice cream scoop on the top of the carousel really needs to be brought back.

I don't doubt what your friend may think, especially if he was close with Warner. But the three structures you refer to we're not repainted until six years after the park opened (1980) and were definitely in need of new paint at that time. The reality of Yum Yum is that time and money were NOT available to repaint it as it was originally painted. 1980 also saw almost all of the canvas coverings removed from many structures (Bandstand on the Lake and most of the hamburger/hot dog stands) in favor of more permanent coverings/roofs. Many shortcuts/savings were taken to get the park open for 1974 with not much thought given to replacement costs down the road. In some areas (the larger than life aspects of GA) LeRoy went all out, but that meant cutting in other areas especially when funds began to run short before the park was finished.

I, too, find it hard to believe that any clause could have existed regarding paint colors. This especially makes no sense because Warner LeRoy lost control of the park when the Pritzkers took over in 1975, not when Six Flags took over in 1977.

My first ride ever at GA was the Giant Wheel... And, it may be a little strange, but to this day I always make it the first ride that I go on whenever I go to the park.

Another great spotlight about the magical part of Great Adventure that so many of us remember from our childhood! Just some thoughts and a "crazy" moment I experienced with the fountain... During my first season working in food service at Great Adventure (1981), one very crowded day while walking past the fountain to go to employee dining, a group (the unruly, "city" type crowd) of guests began to go after GA employees (in uniform) and would do their best to throw the employees in the fountain. Unfortunately, I was amongst five (three other girls and another guy) of the employees that they actually succeeded in landing in the fountain. It was funny in that normally Security would always have someone in the area of the fountain to prevent people from "swimming" in it on especially crowded/hot days, but not that hot/crowded August day... After chasing one of the guys that threw me in the fountain (the other male employee also chased after someone) all the way to the exit gates, I finally was able to catch him at the exit as he ran right into a security guard. The park actually wanted me to press assault charges against the guy, but I was fine with the park just removing him from park property and signing a "do not return" agreement. Personally, the sound and sight of the original fountain and its pool were very impressive. It was incredible how loud the sound of the fountain was especially when the park was closed. As an employee, I remember you could actually hear it as far away as the Bumper Cars II when the park was closed and it was on. It's power really was quite impressive, even after they changed it from the single 150' jet to a single, smaller jet with the ring of eight smaller fountains circling it. It really was unique and something that immediately caught your eye as you entered the park from the entrance gates. The new fountain (changed during the Time-Warner years), definitely has proven better at allowing for a better flow of traffic, especially on crowded days. Unfortunately, at least from my perspective, it now simply blends in, is not at all impressive, and doesn't really make any kind of statement about the park. The jets are only a trickle of the power that you could feel and hear from the old fountain. I agree, that the new fountain probably fits better with the areas theming, but I'm not sure that it really needs to "fit-in." The old fountain, again, was one of the park's real icons that has been lost.

Could it have been 1995?

I don't see the Balloon anywhere on the the 1975 guides that we're talking about. I believe the 1975 brochure (map) showed the Balloon over by the Hydro Flume. Regardless, I don't think the Balloon really made that many appearances at the park. I remember my neighbor going to the park the first day it opened in 1974 and mentioning what a difficult time they were having keeping it in place. They went again during the 1975 season and said the Balloon was nowhere to be found. I know we have seen a number of park pictures with the Balloon in place, but it really must have been difficult, expensive, and a real safety issue given the density of the forest at that time. I know when I went for the first time in 1977, the Balloon was nowhere to be found and by that time the park had even eliminated it as its logo.

A total guess... Was it 1994?

Since learning of the existence of what appear to be the World's Fairs' Glide-A-Ride trams at GA, in looking at the park's maps from the first and second seasons, I was wondering if the park, in fact, had two tram circles during the first season (the map only shows one) OR was the number of tram circles expanded during the second season to two? I guess the other possibility is that the second season map is incorrect showing two. Since I first went to GA during the 1977 season, I have always been so curious about the park's original entrance area, believing that the ride to the park's front gates must have been so much more like the ride to Walt Disney World's Transportation and Ticket center. Also, does anyone know, when the park's entrance was moved in 1976, were there originally two tram circles or was one of those circles always designed to be used as a bus/passenger drop off area? Lastly, in looking at the map inside the 1976 brochure, the tram circle (only one), is located next to Guest Relations, while on the 1976 full-size map there are two tram circles at Liberty Court. The biggest change to the current two circles, I believe, came when the giant GA floral planting was moved from the center of Liberty Court (the outer mall area) to the center of the left (bus/passenger drop off) circle in 1980. The addition of the floral planting actually changed the shape of the left "circle" from an oval with the longer sides on the left and right to an oval with the shorter sides on the left and right. The movement of the GA floral planting, however, didn't appear on any of the park's maps as late as 1986 (I am missing the 1983-1985 maps). Any thoughts or insights are appreciated.

Just a few comments on some of the pictures in your trip report... I actually like the sky ride with the cars in different colors and, I'm not exactly sure why I think this way, but I don't find the M&M's logos on the cars to be too much or overly intrusive. I'm not bothered by the wrapping of the trains on the Runaway Train either. I am, however, really bothered with all of the advertising on The Fort. There are ways of doing these things without being tacky and without detracting from the park's atmosphere. The Fort advertising is just ALL wrong!

Harry: Any thoughts on the logic behind version B of this guide? If I were a first time guest to the park at that time and received version B, I'm not sure where I would even begin to explore the park. There just doesn't seem to be any logic to it. I'd like to know if you have been able to make any sense of it? Actually, on closer inspection, I guess that version B makes more sense (at least from the overall map), but the order of presentation (of the various park areas) that follows is completely out of wack!

I couldn't agree more and, like you, believe it was totally unnecessary. It really is sad to look down at the park from the Big Wheel these days because all you do see is concrete. All you used to see was treetops, regardless of the direction you looked. Now, so much of the fantasy and magic has been lost because you see everything (including service areas, cars parked just behind park fences, maintenance yards, warehouses, etc.). While Disney does everything it can in its parks to maintain "the show," at Great Adventure there no longer seems to be any concern about how things "appear" to the guest.