29yrswithaGApass Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 Click here to see the whole Spotlight! Comments and discussions welcomed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted February 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 The Super Sidewinder was my favorite flat rides at Great Adventure. If you like Scrambler rides, you would have LOVED the Super Side Winder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railer Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 Great Spotlight. This was one of the most fun rides the park has ever had. It wasn't scary or intense but it just made you smile the whole time on it. Watching the gears overhead moving and the fact that the lapbars didn't lock, added to the "scrambler motion" on such a big scale, really made it special and unique. It was also a time when the park was a lot of fun too, you could find a ride like this "hidden" in a corner of the park somewhere. Going on this ride is one of my best memories of the park, your missed by a lot of people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 That looked like a cool flat ride, but being a one off did not help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoshi Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 I wish the ride was still around, I would have really liked to try it. The capacity looks amazing, it's hard to imagine seeing 144 people on a flat ride at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike13 Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 WOW is that thing a capacity monster! I have never rode a Scrambler before but something like Super Sidewinder in the park today would be great for those crowded Summer or Fright Fest days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 I always thought it was funny how SSW and Rotor had the same lighting: They just turned it upside down for SSW... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted February 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 That is Chance Manufacturing's signature lighting design. Chance Trabant at The Great Escape: Chance Swings at The Great Escape: Chance Swings at Dutch Wonderland: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAThriller Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 (edited) Wow! This ride is interesting! I saw a tombstone of the ride on your Graveyard page and it says "You're truly one of a kind". This also reminds of another one of kind ride: the Z-Force/Flashback, a Space Diver roller coaster from Intamin Photo copyrighted by RCDB and Michael S. Horwood It was built in 1985 and first operated at Six Flags Great America in Illinois, then relocated to Six Flags Over Georgia and operated there from 1988 to 1991 and lastly relocated to Magic Mountain in California, where it operated from 1992 to 2003. The ride closed in 2003 and was SBNO for nearly five years. Unfortunately, it was demolished in 2007 and is being replaced by Mr. Six's Dance Coaster, a family coaster relocated from the abandoned and severely damaged Six Flags New Orleans that will open this year. Let me ask you a question about the Super Sidewinder Why did it closed in 1983? Was it unpopular? Why did have a short, 7-year lifespan? Edited February 27, 2010 by GAThriller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 Any time a ride is one of a kind it generally has a short life because parts usually have to be custom made for it which runs into big money. That combined with its location at the back of the childrens' area which meant it didn't get as many riders as it could have lead to its demise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAThriller Posted February 27, 2010 Report Share Posted February 27, 2010 Aww... that's a same to all prototypes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acq10uaz Posted February 27, 2010 Report Share Posted February 27, 2010 It was built in 1985 and first operated at Six Flags Great America in Illinois, then relocated to Six Flags Over Georgia and operated there from 1988 to 1991 and lastly relocated to Magic Mountain in California, where it operated from 1992 to 2003. The ride closed in 2003 and was SBNO for nearly five years. Unfortunately, it was demolished in 2007 and is being replaced by Mr. Six's Dance Coaster, a family coaster relocated from the abandoned and severely damaged Six Flags New Orleans that will open this year. Let me ask you a question about the Super Sidewinder Why did it closed in 1983? Was it unpopular? Why did have a short, 7-year lifespan? It made people bleed. I heard it was incredibly painful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted February 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2010 ^ Back on topic... It must have been hard to make sure all those guests were seated before the ride could start, especially since the lapbars didn't lock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted February 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2010 As much as I love Great Adventure's early poster size park maps by Image Graphics, they were way off with their rendering of the Super Side Winder. Someone must have told them 'just draw it like the Scrambller'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJChar72 Posted February 28, 2010 Report Share Posted February 28, 2010 The Super Sidewinder was one of my most favorite rides Great Adventure ever had. It's a shame they scrapped it. The park could use a flat ride with the capacity the Super Sidewinder had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAThriller Posted March 1, 2010 Report Share Posted March 1, 2010 acq10uaz @ 12:29 AM 2/27/2010 It made people bleed. I heard it was incredibly painful. *Sorry, still have trouble with the quoting What made people bleed? The Super Sidewinder or the Flashback? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafreak Posted March 1, 2010 Report Share Posted March 1, 2010 i barley rember this ride. I asked my older sister and she said we rode this ride quite a bit. still another great spotlight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomo56 Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 I was the first lead of the day crew for the Super Sidewinder.This ride wasn't part of the rides department but belonged to grounds for some reason.We never had to worry about numbers or anything.It never was very busy that first year because of location and it opened in the middle of the season.It was a smooth ride not as thrilling as they were hoping for.The one bad thing about this ride was that being so big it took a long time to stop after being shut off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted March 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 Welcome jomo56 to the site! We hope you enjoy your visits. Thanks for the additional information on the Super Sidewinder. I forgot all about the ride taking a long time to come to a stop. I remember that riders would always try to get out of their seats before it stopped moving. I read that the ride didn't open with the start of the '76 season but I didn't realize it wasn't until mid season. Very interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted July 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2010 In 1979 the Super Sidewinder was moved to create a passage way to the new Rolling Thunder coaster. This shot shows the Super Sidewinder being disassembled while the new concrete ride pad awaits behind Kiddie Kingdom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted May 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2013 While gathering info for the Kiddie Kingdom Spotlight I once again started to wonder why on earth would the park put the Super Sidewinder behind Kiddie Kingdom. Maybe they intended for the ride to be accessed from the Rolling Thunder exit area? If you take a look at the photo above the new ride pad is in place but no walkway to the ride was yet defined. The ride could have easily had a walkway from the four o'clock point of the new ride pad which would have connected it to Rolling Thunder and Hernando's Hideway. Looking at from a different angle, check out the photo below: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted November 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 As mentioned in the spotlight the Super Sidewinder was really bright at night because of all the fluorescent tube lights featured on the ride. Here is a photo of the ride from September 1976 during its initial season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoshi Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 It looks like it would be a lot of fun to go to that ride at night with it really standing out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayor al Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 I recall that one of the major 'arms' of the Sidewinder fell off during a cycle of operation one morning, I think that was in 1978. I don't remember if it was during the morning test runs or when it was in normal "guest" operation. but the whole arm assembly crashed to the ground. I don't recall any guests being injured Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yankees99 Posted August 13, 2017 Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 Think this is the first time I've seen this spotlight. This was one of my all-time favorite flat rides. Fun to ride late at night, but I was usually at the other end of the park at night. The ride would last about close to two minutes. IF there wasn't a long line, the operator would let you stay on for an extra spin. They don't make rides like this one anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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