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Shoot Out - Best of the West Building


29yrswithaGApass

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That is my favorite spot in the Park. Usually every visit I get back there to relax for a few sitting by the Lake. I went thru "Brutal Planet" a couple times, that building was used very good for it. I believe it had a "white out" room. It was painted all white, with heavy Fog, and lit with a very bright, white light. Then when you came out you were just about done with the walkthru. Hope they do open it one day again for something. I always thought an Ice Cream place would compliment "Best Of The West" very good. Set up some Tables right by the Water.

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I'm always amazed that they had THREE shooting galleries in the park at one time! They were something that everyone did when they went to a park and now they're almost all gone. Disney still has one, and I think I saw one in either Gillian's or the other amusement area in Ocean City, but they've really become an endangered species.

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It's too bad it isn't open anymore, I really like shooting galleries even with the light gun video games I have at home and this one looked like there were a lot of targets compared to the other ones I have tried in the area (Dorney, Fantasy Island, Smithville (shopping area near Atlantic City) and both in Ocean City).

 

The no flash photography sign is interesting, I guess they had problems with people taking pictures and setting all the targets off?

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Exactly-- everyone knew if you made your camera flash it would all go off. Especially when people realized they could use a flash even if they were out of film when camera started getting reusable flashes. Before that you'd have to waste a flash on your flash cube or flash bar and that cost money and wasted film, but the "newer" cameras of the 80's had flashes built in.

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The no flash photography sign is interesting, I guess they had problems with people taking pictures and setting all the targets off?

 

So true! Individually the targets were noisy (not to mention action packed). A flash would set off all the targets at once and the sound would be deafening. Here is a similar setup:

 

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the building now is in rough shape and the only use i see it getting is for employees to hide and smoke during working hours, without having to walk to backstage dining area, i pumped many quarters in the shooting galley as a kid and would still as i still like them, every time i go to Keansburg i spend atleast 3-4$ with my son, the one there is almost identical to the one at GA

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I used to stop there every trip to GADV. One year that was a broken rifle that kept shooting for free all season! It was also really cool looking and most of the targets were neat. I remember the Butal Planet maze pretty weell, there was a crashed car right outside the building. It's a shame what happened to the shoot out gallery and other shooting galleries. GAcoaster, Playland at Ocean City also has a shooting gallery. Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park also has a shooting gallery, but the guns for it are styled like pump action shotguns instead of rifles. What would be nice if they put in a western themed shooting dark ride like Reese's at Hershey.

 

Anyways it did help me become a pretty good shot.

Edited by The Master
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Did I ever hate this game! Two good reasons. Worked in games from 1983 to 1988. When you were new, there were 3 areas no one wanted to work. They were the mini golf course (just sit at a register), the boats over by The Runaway train, and the Shoot out. You would have to stand down there in case anyone needed to break a big bill ($5, $10, $20's) or their game didn't work. They didn't trust you with the keys so you had a refund sheet you had to have the customer sign to give them back their money.

 

Second reason I hated this game is when I got "promoted" to manager in games. Every Sunday night we had to sweep the money from this game. Used to be kinda spooky walking down there when no one is around and a lot of the lights were off. The littlest sound down there used to make me jump!!! You've got to remember these were the days when the park was open to eleven or midnight so I'm down there at 12:30 or 1AM in the morning. Can laugh about it now, but back then, not so much!!!

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^ Welcome to posting on the forums multiham! It's great to have you join us!

 

I forgot all about having to sign paperwork for refunds. Weren't guests also required to sign for Jumbo prizes?

 

Yes they were. As I remember, if a player won on any of the "big" games like Doc's Dime Doozy, they had to sign for the prize. You should have seen some of the bogus names we used to get on those sheets! Seemed like a lot of Looney Tunes characters won the prizes!!

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  • 5 months later...

After reviewing several new constuction photos from 1974 of the Shoot Out building, it appears that the restrooms were part of the original offerings within this building and not added in later seasons. The plumbing for the facilities is clealy visible prior to the concrete floor being poured. We will update this Spotlight to reflect this newly confirmed information. It does make sense that the Best of the West restaurant had restrooms nearby being there weren't any inside the food outlet (like Gingerbread Fancy and Yum Yum Palace).

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Shoot Out was a very busy place in 1974 and 1975. I remember it well. You could hear it from spill way on the log flume. And yes the rest rooms were there and open. At one time the walk way around it was wood. And Hats was opened. :hot_air_balloon:

Edited by FlumeOp1974
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  • 7 months later...
  • 6 months later...
  • 5 years later...

Looking at the pictures of the Western Shoot Out and the one at Magic Kingdom I see some similarities.  I usually stop for a few minutes to try the shooting gallery most visits with it being on free play now.

 

It would be good to see Great Adventure get a new one even if it was smaller that dispenses tickets for redemption in the arcade like some of the modern ones. I know the Studio 28 arcade had a small version with the targets behind plastic of plexiglass for a few years but I think it was removed.

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It would be nice to see a new shooting gallery in the park as I do enjoy them but I doubt it will happen within the current political climate. Moreover, a shooting gallery would be kind of redundant with the Justice League ride now, though the grips bothers my hands. 

 

I remember that back when the Shoot Out was still in operation it was a lonely location that rarely had other guests around.

Edited by The Master
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53 minutes ago, 29yrswithaGApass said:

The Western Shoot Out was probably placed in the poorest location in the park as far as foot traffic.  Most people who knew it was even there were Log Flume riders who spotted it from the ride. 

yeah, the placement for this building was the worst, and that is why great adventure didnt do anything with this building (aside from brutal planet & doom & gloom) until its demolition in 2013 for the safari off road adventure queue line

Edited by harry2004
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On 1/4/2024 at 5:45 PM, Yoshi said:

It would be good to see Great Adventure get a new one even if it was smaller that dispenses tickets for redemption in the arcade like some of the modern ones. I know the Studio 28 arcade had a small version with the targets behind plastic of plexiglass for a few years but I think it was removed.

wait, theres a fourth shooting gallery in the studio 28 arcade building?, is it like the safari shootout shooting gallery?

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