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Basements at Great Adventure?


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  • 2 weeks later...

The Chiller has a basement-sort of !!! I got to go there on a backstage tour during Coaster Celebration 2000-the "basement" being the partially buried area under the station house;it was cool getting a close-up look at the LIMs and other electronic devices that ran that ride :Batsmile: !!!

 

Do you have any pictures of your tour? It sounds like it was really cool... I think it's obvious that I would love to see them if you have any

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  • 4 weeks later...
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Does anyone know which (if any) of the buildings at Great Adventure have basements? I know the Best of the West BBQ has a lower level which is actually ground level towards the rear of the building, and I also know the Fort has a semi-basement pit. Anything else?

 

Does the fireworks bunker count?

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Houdini has a very large, concrete underground basement. It's used by maintenance workers to service and inspect parts of the drum. There is a large underground area as mentioned under the tea cups, which serves a similar purpose and allows workers to inspect parts of the ride. I believe the parachutes might have one as well, I can't remember for sure but I think there is one underneath them involving cables and counter weights. I wouldn't really say Chiller had any underground sections. The area under the station was under the tracks, yes, but it was not underground. The only part of the ride underground is the Batman side queue tunnel that went under the tracks. The rest remains above ground. All the others I can think of have already been mentioned.

Edited by IgetAround
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Houdini has a very large, concrete underground basement. It's used by maintenance workers to service and inspect parts of the drum. There is a large underground area as mentioned under the tea cups, which serves a similar purpose and allows workers to inspect parts of the ride. I believe the parachutes might have one as well, I can't remember for sure but I think there is one underneath them involving cables and counter weights. I wouldn't really say Chiller had any underground sections. The area under the station was under the tracks, yes, but it was not underground. The only part of the ride underground is the Batman side queue tunnel that went under the tracks. The rest remains above ground. All the others I can think of have already been mentioned.

 

Welcome to the site! I didn't think of the Parachutes. Yes, there is a large pit surrounding the tower which is below ground level!

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Welcome to the site! I didn't think of the Parachutes. Yes, there is a large pit surrounding the tower which is below ground level!

 

I watched the entire construction project which started at the very end of the 1982 operating season, and wound up working the ride from it's initial opening day in 1983 - so I have a lot of first-hand knowledge about the construction and inner-workings of the ride system.

 

 

At the end of the 1982 season, the small pond duck pond located behind the employee canteen was drained and a huge 50-foot deep pit was dug. It is slightly larger in circumference than the "crown" at the top of the ride. TONS of rebar and the actual base/anchor of the tower were installed in the huge pit, along with a lot of electrical conduit and other things. Then, the entire pit was filled in with concrete, making a solid anchor for the 250' tower. The concrete took quite a few weeks for the concrete to cure enough to support the tower construction due to the thickness of the huge slab.

 

So, there is no true "basement" for this ride... just a huge slab of concrete, 50' thick. The counterweights for the parachutes ride up and down the entire length of the tower on the inside - they do not go below ground. There is also a very small service elevator located inside the tower which takes maintenance employees to the top where the winch motors and cable reels are located. Nobody was ever allowed to go up in the elevator other than maintenance workers (they would be fired if they did) - but I DID sneak a ride up with one of the former electricians during construction! It was a VERY tight squeeze up there to fit everything in. I can't imagine how the ride originally had 12 chutes! We even took a walk out onto the catwalk all the way around the crown which was (scary as heck because there is only a handrail on ONE side of the catwalk) and you could feel the whole tower sway in the wind (this was before the guide cables were installed...so it was really bad!) Thank goodness I have no real fear of heights!! LOL! Both of us could have been canned on the spot, but we risked it anyway! :D

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^ If you recall, in the computer room there was a door (similar to a submarine door) that let you go inside the column. That gave you access to the elevator but also to the side there was a wall mounted ladder that led below ground level about 15 feet (at least in 1985). I believe that was there to give access to the limit switches located under the elevator shaft. So while not a TRUE basement it was a section of hollowed out column.

 

And yeah, that elevator was small. And scary! ;)

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