29yrswithaGApass Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 Click here to see the wholeSpotlight! Comments and discussions are welcomed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted May 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2014 When I was young my family use to spend our weekends at a shore house we owned just beyond Long Beach Island, heading down on Friday nights and back up to home on Sunday nights. We made endless trips "commuting" between exits 120 and exit 58 on what was then a mostly two lane Garden State Parkway. Friday's trips typically weren't too bad but the Sunday night returns almost always guaranteed bumper to bumper traffic especially around the Seaside Heights toll booth. Our only direct alternative was to take Route 539 to Route 537 (past Great Adventure) to Route 9 South. That was the case up until the Marshall Tucker Concert when the word quickly spread of the horrendous traffic jam. Like the side effect fears of a crazy urban legend tale, we rarely took what we often called "the back way" home after that event. It really stunk because I always liked riding past the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daved Thomson Posted May 17, 2014 Report Share Posted May 17, 2014 That was my first season working at the park and I very clearly remember how incredibly crowded it was that day. But, until my shift ended and we were trying to leave to go home, we had no idea just how bad things were on both the exit roads and 537. If I recall correctly it took about 2 hours to get out of the employee lot and down 537 to where the Sunoco gas station was at the intersection of 537 and 571. It wasn't stop and go traffic, it was just completely stopped. As you mentioned and as can be seen in some of your photos, people just got out of their cars regardless of where they were and were walking around. Some were attempting to walk down the park's entrance roads while others were either cutting through the woods or simply trespassing through the yards of those few homes on 537 that border GA's property. It really was insane and I can honestly say that I have NEVER experienced traffic that bad since. And, given that I regularly deal with traffic speeds that average between seven and fifteen miles an hour on a few of our freeways in Southern California, that's saying something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yankees99 Posted May 19, 2014 Report Share Posted May 19, 2014 I wanted so bad to get down to GA to see one of those two shows. Imagine if this had happened in the summer? I believe they aired one of these shows live on either WPLJ (95.5) or WNEW-FM (102.7). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yankees99 Posted May 19, 2014 Report Share Posted May 19, 2014 Here was the setlist from that concert. Now you can see why so many people tried to get into the park that day. Running Like the Wind. It Takes Time, Tell the Blues to Take Off the Night, Silverado, Heard It in a Love Song, Take the Highway, This Time I Believe, Ramblin', Fire on the Mountain, The Time Has Come, Desert Skies, Searchin' for a Rainbow, Can't You See, This Ol' Cowboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbolt Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 Wow, that's a huge crowd! Reminds me of the few Memorial Day Holidays I attended at Great Adventure. Those crowds were huge in the 1980s! Cars completely filled the main parking lot and poured over into the grassy openings. Great Adventure really could pull in crowds back then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoshi Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 Those pictures make Fright Fest Saturday's look like nothing compared to the crowds there. It's interesting to see cars parked anywhere and everywhere. With fewer coasters back then, I wonder how bad the lines for Rolling Thunder and the other rides were that day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted May 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 ^ I zoomed in on Rolling Thunder's line in one of the pictures. It looks like the entire queue was full and stretched in front of La Cantina (now La Cocina). The infield queues of the Fort are also wall to wall with guests waiting for the Runaway Train. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted May 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 After seeing the huge number of cars in the parking lot you have wonder if it was just a coincidence that the park started to charge for parking the following season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoshi Posted May 23, 2014 Report Share Posted May 23, 2014 Those look like some major lines. I guess they moved faster back then but still wouldn't have been fun to wait in. I remember waiting for Rolling Thunder in the 90's and the line for the left track would be at the covering under the brake run and it would take 20 minutes from that point. The last few years the ride was open it would sometimes take 20 minutes with the line on the stairs to the station. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted May 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 If you traveled to Great Adventure from westbound Route 537 in the early days, who remembers the signs that read something like "Great Adventure Traffc - OK to Drive on Shoulder"? That was when highway was just one lane outside the park. Around that same time, there were also signs on the highways that looked similar to the one below. Oh how I wish I had one of those! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daved Thomson Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 Definitely remember both signs. I recall the brown sign at the intersection of 537 and 571, directly across from the Sunoco. The shoulder lane sign, however, was much simpler and did not actually say GA. It was simply, "Park Traffic Okay to Use Shoulder Lane." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted May 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 You can see one of the brown Great Adventure signs in this enlargement. The photo was taken from the Route 537 overpass (Great Adventure's entrance way) looking towards Freehold. The sign points to what was then the park entrance off of Route 537 East. That exit is now home to Hurricane Harbor's wave pool and the entrance has since been moved prior to the overpass while traveling east. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted May 29, 2014 Report Share Posted May 29, 2014 There's still one in Point Pleasant on Bridge Avenue in front of a bank near Route 88. I have been so tempted to steal it and it's really faded but it is still there (or was last year when I was last there). If I was young I probably would steal it, but at my age if I got caught it would be REALLY embarrassing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fetish911 Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 (edited) Gacoaster, I am in point pleasant...where is this sign, land mark it for me ? I prob drove past it a million times (if it's still there) but never noticed. I know you said on bridge ave near a bank? I'm trying to think of where this is. Edited May 31, 2014 by fetish911 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 I just checked Google Street View and it looks like it's gone now. It was on the pole in the center of the picture: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted July 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2014 We included one of the aerial photos of the Marshall Tucker Band concert in the shows video montage in the Great Adventure History Museum. That picture never fails to get the response of "oh my God" from people watching it. If you have the chance to stop by the Museum be sure to check out the video. Our very own jdc12192 put it together for us for the event. He did a great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdc12192 Posted July 8, 2014 Report Share Posted July 8, 2014 When i put the slideshow together and saw that photo "Oh my god" were the first words i said while hoping i never experience a concert that full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbadude44 Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 I randomly stumbled on this, so I apologize if it's been posted before. Someone posted the audio of one of the 1981 concerts of the Marshall Tucker Band at the park (that day with the record-breaking attendance): 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted March 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 ^ Great find! Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Have No Name Posted March 20, 2021 Report Share Posted March 20, 2021 Damn! Big crowds for sure! Now on concert nights, was it typically 2 shows (6 & 9 pm)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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