29yrswithaGApass Posted July 1, 2012 Report Share Posted July 1, 2012 Click here to see the whole Spotlight! Comments and discussions are welcomed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batmanrobinchiller Posted July 1, 2012 Report Share Posted July 1, 2012 This makeover is awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasmspiritblue Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 I don't know how you guys do this stuff, its AMAZING great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlumeOp1974 Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 Thank you for a great update. As one of the opening seasons cast members it truly was one of the best seasons and I'm proud to have been part of it- cfreating that magical place Mr. LeRoy envisioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted July 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 Thanks for all the feedback! We are happy to hear that you like the Yearbook page! We have been fooling around with layouts for this for years and we are happy to finally roll out the first page. We think the design will allow us to easily add additional content as we receive it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yankees99 Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 A very, very big thank you from the bottom of my heart. What a great find. My first time going to Great Adventure was Aug. 31, 1974. Will you be doing similar takes for all of the years of existence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted July 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Will you be doing similar takes for all of the years of existence? Glad to hear you like the Yearbook page. And yes, each season will have unique content! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted August 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 I think I was expecting something different for the opening season tickets. Maybe something more colorful... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest racinggal17 Posted September 2, 2012 Report Share Posted September 2, 2012 I think I was expecting something different for the opening season tickets. Maybe something more colorful... Great spotlight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted January 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Ever wonder what original park structures from 1974 still exist today? Here they are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted July 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2016 If you would like to know what was happening in 1974, the year Great Adventure opened, check out this great time capsule video below: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted July 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2018 Happy Birthday Great Adventure! Here is a collection of vintage 1974 Great Adventure newspaper ads! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted January 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted July 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2020 Just added - the 1974 Seasonal Employee Handbook! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted July 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2020 Here is what remains from 1974 in 2020! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted February 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2021 New to the GAH Archives, a set of pre-opening press photos! Arthur Thuijs puts some finishing touches on some of his model buildings destined for installation in the Garden of Marvels. A female employee gets measured for her new uniform in the costuming design office. Actors audition for one of the many shows and street performer troops that will welcome guests on opening day. Governor Brendan Byrne and his family are welcomed to a special sneak preview of the park hosted by Warner LeRoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted November 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2021 The exact first season's closing date has always been a little gray. After some research, the following has been determined. The park was first scheduled to be open until Sunday December 1st with weekend operations in November including black Friday, November 29th. On November 14th the park published the following ad announcing that for the last three weekends free admission for kids was being offered. However, just a week later on November 21st, the park published a new advertisement saying the park was closed for the season and would reopen in April 1975. The park's last operating day in 1974 was Sunday, November 17th. Why the season was cut short by two weeks remains a mystery but one can assume that it was because of low attendance and/or staffing issues during those last few days. Here is a cool picture of the gates to the park closed during the first off-season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted November 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2021 After a little research and a conversation with two of the park's original 1974 operation managers, it seems that the abrupt stop to extending the first season into December was caused by a restriction that the Switliks had regarding the park being open around the holidays. An agreement of sorts was made that the park would not be open during the weeks around Thanksgiving and Christmas. This coupled with the fact that attendance had slumped off dramatically caused the shortened season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted March 31, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2022 An update to our 1974 Ticketing & Prices page: Guests who attended Great Adventure during the first few weeks of operation experienced a park with the majority of the Rootin' Tootin' Rip Roarin' section of the park still under construction. Those who mailed their ticket stubs along with a self-addressed stamped envelope received free tickets to enjoy the park later in the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daved Thomson Posted April 1, 2022 Report Share Posted April 1, 2022 My next door neighbors and best friend growing up were lucky enough to visit GA the first week it was open and also received these tickets for a return visit later that opening season. I didn't visit the park for the first time until the 1977 season and brought my friend along with my parents. We were depending on him to show us around the park because he would know where everything was located. But, as you know, the entrance to the park changed in 1976, and none of us knew it at the time. As a result, my friend wasn't much help in showing us around because that new entrance, along with new rides and missing rides, completely threw him off. We searched high and low for the antique cars that day! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted April 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2022 We just acquired a very early press kit rendering of the park's Rootin' Tootin' Rip Roarin' section of the park. Although this isn't the first time we have seen this image (it was one of the earliest postcards) it is a tiny bit larger with additional artwork on the bottom and right edges. 1974 Press Kit photo: 1974 Postcard: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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