mayor al

Yes I have been following the yearbook development, they are a super 'look-back' tool also. When the folks who did the write-up of my "Mayordom" The Cajon Pass area of Southern California's San Bernardino Mountains. The first book was just as yours.. sort of a "Slam Bam, Thank You, Ma am, tell all in as many photos as you coul put in the space allowed, and fit the text around the visuals. A couple of years later two other books evolved from the first, both still in the 'antique format, but instead of an a-z coverage of the history (again), the second book specialized in the railroad development across that part of the desert and mountains into the L A Valley////and the third book focused on the San Andreas Fault which is the cause of the Pass in the Mountains being there at all...so it was more on the physical geography than people-stuff. We came away with three studies of the same area from three very different frames of reference, Turning to GA then... we have the basic historic overlay.... Now how about some alternatives for a new approach- economic impact of G A on Central Jersey. employment, economic expansion, crime increase, charitable donations, new business, lots of items to form a base for what G A has done, is doing, and should do in the future within the local communities. Add to that.. where are yesterdays employees.. are they todays community leaders, or did they leave the area? lots of possible questions to ask and report on here. OK I'll stop for now. but u get the idea of what I am thinking.

Nothing to do do with the show or ride schedules, but the Late Night Closing Crew Used to love this cut of a "Weird AL Yankivich" song. Straggling guests might here it coming thru the clean-up crews radio speakers as they move the last folks out the gates.

Harry, I was able to get thru the first half your research work on the History of Great Adventure today. It was great to see the photos and the very descriptive captions of those early rides and attractions. I wish that space were allowed for a timeline/map to show the evolution of the Park expansion during those years of growth.. Magic Mtn had a slide display of Park maps from early years to present, skipping here and there, but showing how the growth pattern developed. That sort of chain of events would have been a neat thing to include. Another addition to Part II when it is assembled would be interviews with employees from those early years, much like the oral histories being done now with Veterans, and people who have had unusal experiences, to preserve the first hand knowledge of the events that happened at G A. Anyway. I am enjoying your work greatly, Thanks for all your efforts, it certainly was worth it. Albert J Bowen, Ed.S. Professor of Economics, (Retired)

The investment level I understand...but are they surrenddering the next generation of customers by not catering to the type of "Thrill" those kids will want? My generation loved the wooden coasters.. today its loops and screaming steel drops,, next comes Illusion, and the investment is heavy, but the ones who make it will make big bucks and the others will becomes county fair carnivals...

Let me ask a long range question. All the discussion so far has centered on 'reality' rides, Coasters, Flats, Water, etc. The Big guys are exploiting space limitations with the virtual rides-the illusion-based coasters like the Michael Jackson thing, or Star Wars(tours) and some others whose names I have forgotten, but they seem to be expanding in popularity at the Disney and Universal and MGM Parks but 6 Flags does not seem to be going that way at all. Is this part of a deliberate plan or are the 6 Flags planners "missing out" on the real direction for theme rides of the future? I base this on the number of young kids who chose video games of football and basketball over the real thing.. even target shooting competition and hunting offers 'virtual alternatives' instead of outdoor discomfort...and many kids are choosing that...passive satisfaction. Should the Park be targeting those future customers?

Use them as Greeters for their named rides or attractions, and to assist -indirectly- with crowd control. Let them have a function beyond 'Street Character'.

That was the point I tried to make earlier. G A has the BASE for a multi-day vacation package arrangement...but it needs to expand all three areas. Make Safari an event that fills half -a-day, then WaterPark/Hotel-SPA the second half. Then the second day would be Theme Park.. or split the two days into 4 quarters and divide your time as you wish, letting the old folks relax while the kids hit the water park... BUT each area needs to be expanded to fill time for the crowd who will be there from open to close. Currently the day visitor tends to arrive early and leave shortly after sunset...and the second shift- the teens do the in after 4pm till closing on the weekends. Neither group really gets the full treatment of rides and shows. The Hotel would need to have it's own access to the various sections of the Park, and as you said, it's own operating hours. Let the hotel guest wear the neon braclet for ID that allows them in early and/or staying for the "After Hours Party". Then do away with all but the regular season pass for Park visitors or plain 'day-ticket buyers' and front gate has one set of hours for opening and closing. If you have ever visited Disney's L A Original Disneyland The Hotel allows guests to enter the Parks (either one) without using the Main Gates, but they must wear their hotel bracelet and pass a 'hotel entrance portal'. Disney uses Nannies for younger kid supervision to give parents a few hours break..that could work also. Meantime the various motels in surrounding communities seem to be providing adequate sleeping facilities for distant visitors up to now. But It could be be considerable lost revenue for the Park.

Let me talk about the line-jumper issue for a minute. Even on a busy weekend afternoon Security would have -at most- 9 or 10 officers working inside the Park... Western 1 & 2, Dream Street, Games, Fountain(covered the dolphin pool too) Main Gate(inside), Strawberry 1 & 2, and New Rides. If we were flush with help we would have a floating Sgt out in the Park checking out the troops, orienting the new guys, and acting as a backup for any one who called for assistance The Officers might check a ride as they went by, but frankly they were kept pretty busy with lost kids, minor injuries, giving guests directions and routine stuff like that. If a line jumper was reported, It was usually the Ride Lead who called Security for support when the guest refused to leave the line at the Leads order. That put the guest on the eviction list when Security arrived. Remember we are talking ONE Security guard at this point responding to a Ride Lead's call. If the guest has a family of 6 or so on his side, he may feel he can intimidate the Security guard, and unless the guard has Park support, that may happen... but If the guard is sharp he or she can get the person to realize their day is about to be ended if they don't cooperate...all this without physical violence. The guard, the ride supv. and the guest then head to Security where a final decision regarding eviction is made. My point being The action is triggered by the Ride Lead, not a line crawler in a Security suit. Before noon, even on weekends we seldom had more than 6 officers inside the Park,,not counting the Gates, Motor, Dispatchers, Admin, and Plainclothes people. That made monitoring rides next to impossible. The more I think about it, the more I recall the Ride Opns folks using their own Big Boys as their Line Monitors on the rides where trouble broke out...Log Flume, Cables,things like that.

Dan GA is a One Day visit type of park. I know, if they had put a hotel or resort facility in at the start and sold the image of multi-day stays, maybe that would have caught on...but that wasn't...and still isn't the plan for this Park. If folks want to go to the shore they can stay there and visit G A on one of the days they are at the beach... same for those who visit NYC or Philly.. if they want to get out of town for a day, they come to G A then return to the city. The minority who come from further away can be accomodated by the motels currently in the area. I don't think there will be a change in this concept in the forseeable future.

As a Retired teacher, I would have to agree with the image of a 'downward spiral' of behavior on the part of a growing percentage of American Young People. The behavior as represented in public behavior, language, respect, traditional family values, and dozens of other social measures can be shown to be disappearing as tomorrows adults form their behavior patterns. To bring that rather abstract thought back to crowd control at G A... The question becomes, is Six Flags willing to stand up and say "We will maintain the image of the FAMILY FUN PARK THAT WE CREATED FORTY YEARS AGO". or will they edge the decision with budget and other priorities that say, "TIMES ARE CHANGING, WE HAVE TO ALLOW FOR THE CHANGING AUDIENCE THAT WE SERVE." Let Security protect the property from damage and stop major violence when it erupts, but let the guest work out their own disputes over little things like line cutting and who can and who can't ride..The parents will make most of the decisions, keep Park rules in the background... Unfortuneately I think the whole country is headed for the second part of this sort of choice. The Parents want fewer regs..but they don't want to make the decisions either...so nothing gets done and the kids run free without guidence or control. Fatalistic, yes it is... but That's the opinion of this old guy. At Opening time We could put better trained guards by the fountain with sawhorse barricades.. and evict anyone who crossed the line prior to the whistle blow or whatever signal is given... BUT WHY ARE THE GUESTs IN BY THE FOUNTAIN BEFORE THE PARK OPENS ANYWAY...JUST TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR THE TICKET PEOPLE TO DEAL WITH THE MORNING RUSH. It is a Hell of a lot easier to keep people outside the Main Gate, than to let them into the Fountain area and ask them not to go any further for 30 minutes or so,. Funny how the "suits" give out the 'special treatment' with no thought to how it impacts the workers. I have no comment on the trash pickup since I have neve seen it. good-luck guys. al

RadZad That attitude makes all the difference...going both ways. An irate guest can often be turned around if treated with courtesy. Same with the employee who has a chip on their shoulder. Sometimes it takes more patience to deal with that sort of behavior, but in the end it really does pay off , 1. for the Park, and 2. for your own feeling of satisfaction of not playing into the hands of the "other guy". Better to let them rant, then speak calmly but with authority. It is amazing how much you can get done with unruly people if you simply stand your ground but don't play their games. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your day in the Park. I wish you could have been there in '74, It was a real "Adventure" then.

I am sure there are tons of marketing studies done that are focused on the need--or lack of-- a hotel complex linked to the Six Flags Park in Jackson. To compare that facility to most other Parks would be a really difficult study. The NYC and Philly metro areas overlap where the Park was built and provides the core of its customer base. Hotels by their nature are designed to drow people who live further than a normal one days ride from the Park, and offer them reason to stay more than one day to visit. So with the Hotel comes expansion of the three main sections of G A. the WaterPark, the ThemePark, and Safari, to create the Three-day and three nite mini-vacation package in beautiful Jackson, New Jersey. Yeah, It sounds like a tuff sell to me too.

RadZad thanks, that helps First aid should have been involved too. and as you described, it would have warrented more attention than it seemed to get. 1. first aid to one or both people involved. 2. interview at least a couple of witnesses 3. if they were juveniles hold for parents or adult chaparone

Joey, Thanks for the positive support. It opens the door for a comment about the image of Security in the Park over the years. I've been reading the stories in all of these forums that cover the 4 decades of Park History and get a feeling that there has been a change..not necessarily for the good in the relationship between the Security folks and the seasonal crew that comes in in many departments each year. I have not been in the Park to observe this directly, it is just a feeling from the writings of a few folks here and that might not be a fair sample to make a judgement by, but it would warrent looking into if I were in a position of leadership at G A. The "Spirit" of cooperation and teamwork that was felt among the workers during the first years of operation, while Management was in a turmoil of change of ownership, was hard to describe, but it was real. Security evicted guests from the Park on the "say-so" of a Ride-Lead with the Ride-Supv. approval, no Mngmt involvment at all., Meaning if a guest really violated a rule that was 'eviction-qualified', they were gone...that's it. That got the Ride Op support and Security to trust that each side would not go overboard in dealing with the guests. Employee disputes were referred back to their departments, unless they got a guest involved. We did not want to be referrees in the summer romance fights in the park that happened late in the evening.. (near Gate 2). When an employee notified Security of a possible violation, and we acted on it, we tried to make sure the employee was recognized for their assistance. A tram driver mentioned an armed guest to the front gate guard, When we followed up we found out the guy was a Cop carrying his off-duty gun, but the shift supervisor sent a note of recognition to the tram driver- thru channels- thanking him for his alert warning. so he got a 'star' from his Boss for his behavior. Sometimes it was less formal. A Kiddie Ride Lead told me she heard a bunch of voices walking the fence(outside) that ran between the Pkg lot and the back of her ride section. (Looking for a place to come over the fence into the park) Two officers went into the woods, came up behind the group of about a dozen kids and scared them pretty bad by yelling at them, bracing them on the fence and then using plastic cuffs to link them together and walk them all the way to Gate 2 and into Security, checking I D's and calling parents, before evicting them from the Park. The Operations folks thought that was pretty neat. That kind of 'work together thing happened often. Now you may understand my frame of reference when I read a comment like the one above... I would not just ignore it. Al

I need a bit more information to be able to respond to your comment, RadZad. Were the females Employees or guests? Aproximate ages...were they little kids, Teenagers? Wheel-chair bound Granny's? Was anyone injured? Were they still present when Security arrived? I am not sure what you expected to be done, but if the fight was over, with no injuries, why would the Park get involved at that point at all...unless one or both of the people involved wanted to press assault charges against the other... and apparently that was not the case in this situation. I think you were looking for the Gunfight at the OK Corall, and are dissing on Security for not bashing someone , Well That's not the way the system works. It sounds like the issue solved itself before the officer got there.

Lots of bumps and bruises from these trams compared to the one that had rows of front facing bench seats. Guests would dismount before the tram stopped completely. Maybe we can find some of the folks operated the machines who can describe the differences in guest behaviors, I only saw the end results as the Motor Patol Officer who would respond if the bruises or dings were bad enough to call First Aid Assistance to the Parking Lot.