Thunderbolt Posted July 21, 2010 Report Share Posted July 21, 2010 (edited) I guess these Facebook photos confirm they're scrapping the venerable Arrow Megalooper. What a waste. Edited July 21, 2010 by Thunderbolt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafreak Posted July 21, 2010 Report Share Posted July 21, 2010 let it go and lets welcome whatever comes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbolt Posted July 21, 2010 Report Share Posted July 21, 2010 (edited) I have no problems with "The Great American Scream Machine" ("GASM") leaving Great Adventure. Good riddance has mostly been my sentiment. I just don't think the scrap heap is the place she should be going. Six Flags has many parks that would benefit greatly from "GASM". Unless they're getting something to the tune of $5M for all that steel ("GASM" had a $7.6M tag in 1989), then it seems stupid to simply throw it away. Heck, why not try to sell it? Unlike "Batman & Robin: The Chiller", "GASM" has years of rock solid, low cost operations under her belt with no signs of stoppage. In parks where Vekoma Steel rules the land, "The Great American Scream Machine" might feel like a new B&M to their patrons. Six Flags America in particular could have utilized it. Alas, I'm ready to say the Al Weber era is going to be no different than the Shapiro era. That is truly sad for me. Edited July 21, 2010 by Thunderbolt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyChrist Posted July 22, 2010 Report Share Posted July 22, 2010 Goodbye brake run. OM NOM NOM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafreak Posted July 22, 2010 Report Share Posted July 22, 2010 heres a few more shots from the end of the day........... oh no, no more operator panel! Twisted steel of the transfer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericthewanderer Posted July 22, 2010 Report Share Posted July 22, 2010 I'd sooner marathon all day on "The Great American Scream Machine" than ride any Vekoma 10-loop coaster. I'd rather keep the Arrow Megalooper over installing such a monstrosity. Obviously you never rode Two-Face!!!Admittedly Vekomas aren't as perfect as B&M or Intamin,but Two-Face certainly felt like a B&M compared to Mind Eraser!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted July 24, 2010 Report Share Posted July 24, 2010 Just added some pictures of the removal on the GASM page! Here are a couple of previews: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted July 24, 2010 Report Share Posted July 24, 2010 It's so strange not seeing the station any more! They are making some really good progress...it may all be gone by next weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafreak Posted July 24, 2010 Report Share Posted July 24, 2010 I agree with that^, by the looks of the structure it doesnt really look all that hard to remove with those demo claws, the only "hard parts, will be the hill, blocks and first loop, but id say within a week or two it will be gone, Anyway with the placement of the fence at the entry im wondering if there thinking of keeping the coverd lockers and switchbacks for the new coaster and just givivng it as good well deserved face lift, id really like to keep that part of gasm around as a freiendly reminder of what saved GA. PS. Tom i see you found the gate by the itilian ice stand to take pics from, thats a good spot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted July 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 Here are some photos of the destruction of the Great American Scream Machine from today. You can check out several more in my trips album. Track rubble..... This is a nasty looking piece of machinery... Next to go, the boomerang... Although the ride is still on here... It is gone from here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafreak Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 looks good id imagine next week we will se the cranes on site to remove the lift, blocks and larger loops, id say by end of aug we could see footers being poured! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 This is bittersweet for me really overall. I know you all have been talking about this for quite some time, I guess for me it signifies two distinct times in my life in terms of coasters. When I was younger and I first saw my father and cousin go on the Scream Machine, I was in amazement. The ride was a monster, it had loops, it was freakishly tall (remember this is in the eyes of a young kid at the time and how I remember it), fast as could be, and it absolutely terrified me. Nothing at that time in my life was getting me on that ride, but at the same time seeing so many people ride it made me wonder if I could ever get myself to do a ride like that. Could I really handle all those loops and moving so fast? What if I got sick on the ride or what if I got so scared that I had to get off in front of everyone before the ride started? Sure my family was on it, but then again it was my father riding who in my eye at that time in my life could probably have conquered a ride twice that size with ease. Facing some of these questions in my life and the curiosity it piqued led me to enjoying a plethora of coasters at parks a I would get older. To me the Scream Machine also represented the second half of coaster in my life. By the time I began regularly patronizing Six Flags Great Adventure again in my 20's I had ridden such a wide variety of coasters that the ride no longer seemed that special. Sure I had ridden it here and there through the years, but while at the park there was alway something bigger and better to ride. I remember many more rides on Nitro, Medusa, B&R, Superman, and even Viper! Sure I would still get on the GASM, but it would only be at the end of my day as inevitably it would leave me with a headache only a few advil and the ride home could cure. Other days I would see no line at all, and yet till decide that I could simply ride it any other day, but I really wanted to do something else. And yet here it is gone now, and as I think about it as someone who has not been to the park in well over a year for various reasons, I realize that the next time I visit Great Adventure the structure which ultimately led to my willingness to ride so many rides and experience so many make and models of coasters, has vanished. It i a bit depressing to think about it, and I know once I am back at the park enjoying all the things I have missed out on in the lat year, whatever sits in the GASM' footprint will be enjoyable at least in the short term. But I guess taking some time reflecting on it, nothing in the park will probably every hold that same meaning for me a far as a ride goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 I can still remember people would stand around and stare at GASM in amazement, even in different areas of the park like Bugs Bunny Land. It is sad to see it go from being the top coaster in GADV to near the bottom and ripped out due to being outdated. At least it will be replaced unlike alot of other rides that have been removed in recent years that either were replaced with something weird or nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted July 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 I can remember on my drive home from the media day event for GASM in April 1989 thinking about how phenomenal the ride was and how it was destine to be a classic. I thought about how cool it would be to tell future generations that I was at Great Adventure when the first train ever left the station. It would be like hearing the same story today from someone who was at the opening of the Coney Island Cyclone. Sad to say, the ride didn't last as long as that. I am glad that I have that red, white, and blue ribbon they cut at the opening ceremony to remember the event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Hot Dog Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 It is gone from here. Side note: What's with the "Daffy Dck" typo on that sign? Seems like a particularly bad place to let the reader decide what vowel belongs there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Hot Dog Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 This is bittersweet for me really overall. I know you all have been talking about this for quite some time, I guess for me it signifies two distinct times in my life in terms of coasters. When I was younger and I first saw my father and cousin go on the Scream Machine, I was in amazement. The ride was a monster, it had loops, it was freakishly tall (remember this is in the eyes of a young kid at the time and how I remember it), fast as could be, and it absolutely terrified me. Nothing at that time in my life was getting me on that ride, but at the same time seeing so many people ride it made me wonder if I could ever get myself to do a ride like that. Could I really handle all those loops and moving so fast? What if I got sick on the ride or what if I got so scared that I had to get off in front of everyone before the ride started? Sure my family was on it, but then again it was my father riding who in my eye at that time in my life could probably have conquered a ride twice that size with ease. Facing some of these questions in my life and the curiosity it piqued led me to enjoying a plethora of coasters at parks a I would get older. Well stated. I share a lot of the same sentiments about it. The GASM was really the ultimate thrill ride at one point... it's just like how kids today might look at Kingda Ka and say there's no way they're going to ever strap in and roll over the very top of that huge top hat. Back then, GASM was the big dog and had so much going for it: the biggest drop anyone had ever seen, then-outlandish speed, and the big selling point: a ridiculous 7 loops! (By the way, there still aren't many coasters with more than 7 loops these days.) I remember reviewing and memorizing the stats in the 1989 park guide... 173' high, 55 degree drop, 68+ mph, the world's tallest loop at 136' tall... and did I mention 7 loops?? (I rode with my cousin earlier this year -- the same cousin who dragged me on when we were kids -- his reaction after riding it for the first time in years was, "That was great... 7 loops!") The difference for me is that it was an enjoyable ride and nostalgia trip for me each time I rode it. I prided myself on knowing all the turns and jerky points, and being able to ride it without banging my head once. I'm watching it go with a heavy heart, but I do look forward to whatever takes its place. After all, I also remember being pretty bummed when they removed the Sarajevo Bobsled. Let's just hope that the new ride makes as much of a splash as the GASM did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyChrist Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 From the park's Facebook Page: They're wasting no time. The loops are probably next Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted July 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 I am impressed with how fast they are removing the ride! If Great Adventure ever went the way of AstroWorld and was leveled, I don't think I could watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbolt Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 (edited) I am impressed with how fast they are removing the ride! If Great Adventure ever went the way of AstroWorld and was leveled, I don't think I could watch. Unless land value spikes in the New Jersey Pine Barrens; I think Great Adventure is safe. I guarantee every theme park operator (save Disney perhaps) would bid on the complex if Six Flags folded or divested it. Cedar Fair might even leave the animal exhibits this time! Now if it was on Long Island, I'd be scared. Edited July 27, 2010 by Thunderbolt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Adventurer Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 Really kind of sad to see it go. I mean, it did a number on your neck and all, but it was always a nice ride to go on when you wanted to get away from the crowds. I'm really disappointed that I never got an on-ride photo of it; there was one really great one that I had to forego due to lack of money at the time. Although I did see it coming (I felt that the photos of past rides in the queue line kind of foreshadowed the coaster's removal), I had no idea said removal would come this quickly. I'm going to miss old faithful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafreak Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 this just looks odd to me not to see it there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterPrince Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 Your looking at the new location of Gadv's S&S Screamin Swing Seagull! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scipiomask Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 Your looking at the new location of Gadv's S&S Screamin Swing Seagull! It better be one of the Skyhawk-style ones that's not an up-charge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted July 29, 2010 Report Share Posted July 29, 2010 Wow, loop #3 is gone and loop #2 is halfway down. I'll post some pictures later. (Posted from the Cyber Cafe ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted July 29, 2010 Report Share Posted July 29, 2010 And now Loop #2 is down (and I caught part of it on video) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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