29yrswithaGApass Posted May 26, 2011 Report Share Posted May 26, 2011 Click here to see the whole Spotlight! Comments and discussions are welcomed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted May 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2011 When the Tilt a Whirl was added it had a red, white, and blue paint job but around 1981 it was painted gold, orange and yellow with "simulated wood" car sides. This paint scheme matched nicely with the Hernando's Hideaway area when it was moved for 1983, but for some reason they left the blue and white tarp in the center of the ride. I always thought that looked strange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted May 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 I remember operating this ride solo in 1986 when it was near Rolling Thunder. It was pretty difficult to see around those high backs of the cars when doing what today would be a "visual scan". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yankees99 Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 But, I'm sure you were a lot more cheerful as an operator than that one gal was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted September 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 With Six Flags multi-ride contract with Larson for next year including a Tilt a Whirl for Six Flags Over Georgia, the possibility of Great Adventure seeing this type of ride once again has just increased. This classic ride would be a good add-on attraction for our park and would go nicely between the Six Flags Bus and Fender Benders. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertleax Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 It would be nice to see this come back. Always like to ride this at Dorney Park. A true Classic! 100th post! (Took way too long though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlumeOp1974 Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 Sounds like a plan! But take one of the newer designs like in the picture. Victorian it up. And place it inside a Gingerbread Shelter like the tea cups. And call it a "The Waltzer"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafreak Posted September 30, 2014 Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 Id rather see this then looping dragon, its gotta have a better people per hour then looping dragon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC98 Posted September 30, 2014 Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 ^ I agree, they could have easily gone with a tilt a whirl and flying scooter package since both are made by the same company as looping dragon. Honestly I don't see who they're targeting LD for anyway, judging by the reactions kids looking for a first thrill ride won't want to ride it since it goes upside down over and over again, but thrill seekers won't want to ride it since it's an off the shelf carnival ride. So who actually will ride it then? A tilt a whirl and a flying scooter are both great family rides with that specific draw, LD really has no draw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted January 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 I believe the Tilt-A-Whirl was the only ride at Great Adventure never to receive any type of promotion or even mention that it was being added to the park. That is king of odd being they made it a point to mention all the year's other additions including Rolling Thunder, Enterprise, Haunted Castle, and even Australian section of the Safari. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Justin Posted January 24, 2016 Report Share Posted January 24, 2016 Maybe the Tilt A Whirl was a last minute addition? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daved Thomson Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 I believe the Tilt-A-Whirl was the only ride at Great Adventure never to receive any type of promotion or even mention that it was being added to the park. That is king of odd being they made it a point to mention all the year's other additions including Rolling Thunder, Enterprise, Haunted Castle, and even Australian section of the Safari. Actually, Harry, I believe the policy at the time was to promote only "new" attractions (meaning brand new and/or never used before). I know in the case of Dream Street Dazzler being replaced with Mo Mo The Monster, it is only mentioned because it's name had changed as well as the actual ride itself, with the general public probably seeing it as the same ride with simply a change in paint scheme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted January 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 ^I could understand replacement rides like the Monster Spin not being promoted too much- technically the same should have applied to the new Enterprise because it was at the park before too. But the Tilt-a-Whirl was a new experience and never seen before at the park. Granted it wasn't a headline attraction but it seems it was slighted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeyc98 Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 (edited) Off topic from what you guys are talking about, but considering Six Flags started adding Tilt-a-Whirls to their parks again, it'd be wishful thinking to get one at our park. Edited January 28, 2016 by joeyc98 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterKrazy Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 Off topic from what you guys are talking about, but considering Six Flags started adding Tilt-a-Whirls to their parks again, it'd be wishful thinking to get one at our park. In my opinion I don't think tilt-a-whirls would be a good addition for any park. They're found more at lets say a boardwalk down the beach or a local town carnival. To me they seem outdated but don't get me wrong I love Tilt-a-whirls but I'm sure it's something the public doesn't want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoshi Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 I think people would ride another Tilt A Whirl. The same could have been said about Deja Vu and it seems to have a lot of riders. During Holiday In The Park it there were times had a full queue with a temporary overflow queue setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted February 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 Here is a photo of the Tilt-A-Whirl at its second and last location in the park. Today the site is occupied by Macho Nacho's patio on the right side of the building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericthewanderer Posted December 25, 2016 Report Share Posted December 25, 2016 I think Tilt-A-Whirls could make a comeback just like the flying scooters did;it could possibly be called "Spinsanity". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted February 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2017 Thanks to a recent discovery, we now know that the Tilt a Whirl was added during the 1978 season and not 1979. The 1978 poster size park map was inaccurate as it still showed the ride site as the home of the Super Car ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted April 10, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 Here are two photos of the Tilt-A-Whirl in September 1978 at its original location near Showcase (former site of FreeFall). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Anarchy Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 Whenever i saw this at the park it always attracted a crowd, always wondered why they removed it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrummer Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 (edited) But, I'm sure you were a lot more cheerful as an operator than that one gal was. Those uniforms remind me of what Burger King employees wore in the 70s. I was never a big fan of Tilt a Whirl or other spinning rides. When I rode Tea Cups last visit, I made sure we didn't spin the car. LOL Edited April 10, 2017 by dougdrummer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted April 10, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 Whenever i saw this at the park it always attracted a crowd, always wondered why they removed it? The Tilt-A-Whirl, Monster Spin, Skooter Bumper Cars (near Free Fall), and the Calypso were all removed at the end of 1987 because the park wanted to reduce capacity given its sagging attendance numbers after the incidents of 1987. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrummer Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 The Tilt-A-Whirl, Monster Spin, Skooter Bumper Cars (near Free Fall), and the Calypso were all removed at the end of 1987 because the park wanted to reduce capacity given its sagging attendance numbers after the incidents of 1987. Is there a place on this website where you can look at attendance figures by year? I know in the yearbook section you can get that info separately for each year, but there is not data available after 1982 or so. I think they started out just over 1 million/year and were up to between 2 and 3 million/year in the 1980s. It was weird how attendance fluctuated year to year so wildly back then. You would think it was steadily grow as they added rides. I wonder if weather has a huge impact on attendance. Certainly the overall economy does, as well as ticket/food/parking prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Kaiser Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 Is there a place on this website where you can look at attendance figures by year? I know in the yearbook section you can get that info separately for each year, but there is not data available after 1982 or so. I think they started out just over 1 million/year and were up to between 2 and 3 million/year in the 1980s. It was weird how attendance fluctuated year to year so wildly back then. You would think it was steadily grow as they added rides. I wonder if weather has a huge impact on attendance. Certainly the overall economy does, as well as ticket/food/parking prices. They don't release figures for each park anywhere. The closest thing are the estimates put out by TEA/AECOM. (but again, just "estimates" by people in the industry) http://www.aecom.com/content/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2015_Theme_Index__Museum_Index.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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