Yankees99 Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 How many of you old-timers remember the days when GA opened at 10 a.m. and closed at midnight? They actually stayed open until 12:30 a.m., but how many of you stayed there from the minute they swung open the gates until the last seconds of the park being closed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThemeParkRider Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 I've tried numerous times - but yet again, I wasn't around when it was open that late! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 Prior to getting my drivers license in the mid 80's, my friends and I got to and from the park by getting dropped off and picked up. Usually someone would drop us off before work so we would arrive around 9am. My dad would usually have night meetings (he was the municipal engineer for a couple of towns) and would pick us up after the meeting let out - around midnight. Even though we spent 15 hours at the park, it just flew by. We would spend the morning hours hitting the Log Flume, Runaway Train, and Rolling Thunder - riding them over and over. We would then take the Skyride over to the other side of the park and hit the Moon Flume, Lightnin' Loops, and all the flats. Afternoons were usually spent watching the shows and going in and out of the Haunted Castle continually. Whenever we would exit the Castle and notice the lights were lit on the Big Wheel, we would run all over the park once again taking in all the rides at night. Great Adventure at night was a very different experience than in the daytime during those years. All the lights really did make it seem like "Magic 'til Midnight"! It was those GREAT times that really gave me my admiration for the park! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThemeParkRider Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Pun! That sounds like quite a day! I've had similar experiences like that in other parks and things like that... but never Great Adventure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoshi Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 It would be cool if they did that now, even if it was only a few times a year. Since I got a season pass, I don't think I have ever spent more than 6 - 7 hours at the park with most trips being around 5 hours. Usually I can get multiple rides in on everything I want in that amount of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafreak Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Harry, you 100% correct, back in the late 80's early 90's the park was a completly diffrent place at night, all the lights on the rides was great, i hope they bring back some of those flats with lights and have them updated to the led packages, it would be sweet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yankees99 Posted April 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 I seem to recall that the park would start making the early rounds of closing down around 11:30-11:45 p.m. However, the rides near the front entrance (Flying Wave, Enterprise, Bumper Cars and the Carousel) would keep going right up to midnight. IF the ride was a minute or two long, the operators usually made sure to get everybody on the ride who was on line. IF they could spare a couple of extra minutes, they'd let them go on the ride again without having to get off it. That happened to me one night with the Flying Wave and a couple of times when Magic Mountain stayed open late and we could ride a coaster twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiller Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 You can still kind of do this today during Fright Fest when they close at 11:00. First go to the Safari park at 9:00 when it opens then right afterwords go in the theme park. If you stay in the park until 11:00 pm it would be the same amount of time as 10am-12 midnight, but you are starting out an hour earlier and ending an hour earlier. I did it before, you may get tired towards the end of the day, but it is still worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThemeParkRider Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 (edited) I should try that. I always wondered what it'd be like to stay in the park all day. Waiting in lines wouldn't be an issue because there is no hurry, but I might have to leave the park mid-day to relax in the car for a while... fright fest really requires a lot of energy! Edited July 31, 2011 by ThemeParkRider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANofNJ Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 The years with the midnight closings were awesome. I also remember back then all rides were always open at opening. Seems like now some rides open later. In my opinion, that's unacceptable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 ^ Hi Dan, welcome to GAH! Check out this operating calendar from Great Adventure's 1981 season. I would love it if the park stayed open until 2AM like it did in the early '80s! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericthewanderer Posted September 22, 2016 Report Share Posted September 22, 2016 Looking at that old schedule makes me want to get a time machine so I can ride RT and LL until 2 in the morning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Justin Posted September 22, 2016 Report Share Posted September 22, 2016 This is kinda off topic but a great idea would be Great Adventure doing a 24 thing from 2am to 2am Food & Beverage Revenue would be pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericthewanderer Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 This is kinda off topic but a great idea would be Great Adventure doing a 24 thing from 2am to 2am Food & Beverage Revenue would be pretty good. Didn't one of the Disney parks try that recently?I don't think the turnout was as good as they were expecting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 The Disney parks both did it for three years and this year they stopped. It was one of those things where fans loved it but it was a logistical nightmare for the parks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viper26 Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 The problem about keeping a park open for 24 hours straight is staffing, night attendance, and electricity used to operate rides at night. Rides use more electricity at night because of their lighting packages aligning catwalks and in restricted areas. Most employees at theme parks are college or high school students and could be involved in something in the morning, thus causing understaffing, and attendance late at night could be so low that it isn't worth keeping the park open. The park can make a loss of money as they have to pay the employees, electric bills, and whatnot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Have No Name Posted March 15, 2021 Report Share Posted March 15, 2021 On 2/19/2012 at 2:21 AM, 29yrswithaGApass said: ^ Hi Dan, welcome to GAH! Check out this operating calendar from Great Adventure's 1981 season. I would love it if the park stayed open until 2AM like it did in the early '80s! I don't mean to reply to a post that's over 9 years old, but .... holy frick! What a find there! Heck, I was born in 1981 Why a select few days of 2 am closings? Heck, I wouldn't mind riding Nitro at Midnight! And also I saw your signature .... wow, you've been a passholder of Great Adventure longer than I've been alive (I'll be 40 in May)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted March 15, 2021 Report Share Posted March 15, 2021 The nights the park was open to 2 AM were primarily on concert days. Back in the day acts used to perform twice with the second concert usually taking place at 11 PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted March 15, 2021 Report Share Posted March 15, 2021 My father was laid off from his job and worked at GA overnights in Cash Control back then. Apparently it was a nightmare trying to clear the park on the midnight and later closings-- people just never wanted to leave! They'd have to wait for Security to call the park clear so they could take the van into the park and collect all the money taken in that day (HUGE AMOUNTS!). Just bags and bags of coins collected each day from things like the quarter toss and Doc's Dimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.