GAcoaster Posted April 2, 2020 Report Share Posted April 2, 2020 As we are all house bound during this unprecedented time, Great Adventure History presents The A to Z of Great Adventure History! Each day we'll post one of our spotlights in alphabetical order and we encourage everyone to share their own memories and photos of that attraction in our Forums: . Today is letter "A" for the Antique Cars. This attraction only lasted for the 1974 and 1975 seasons, but was supposed to be relocated and never returned. http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/AntiqueCars.htm 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2020 Today is letter "B" for the Best of the West. This restaurant is one of the three signature restaurants which opened with Great Adventure in 1974, and continues to be a favorite today. http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/BOTW.htm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2020 Today is letter "C" for the Carousel. The oldest ride at Great Adventure, it was built in in England in 1881 where it traveled the fair circuit, then purchased by Great Adventure and opened with the park in 1974. Originally it was steam powered, then converted to run on compressed air, and eventually electric. It still continues to delight all ages after almost 140 years! http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/Carousel.htm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2020 Today is letter "D" for Dream Street. Dream Street is the heart of Great Adventure. Originally the park entrance was at the head of Dream Street, but even with the relocation of the park entrance, Dream Street still serves as the central hub of the park and the beginning of so many Great Adventures. http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/DreamStreetX.htm 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2020 Today is letter "E" for the Enterprise. The park actually had two different Enterprise rides, the first was a leased Huss model which lasted 3 seasons: http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/Enterprise1.htm That was replaced by the Schwarzkopf park model Enterprise (later known as Spin Meister), which was in the park from 1979 through 2006, and was much loved by millions of riders in that time.http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/Enterprise2.htm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2020 Today is letter "F" for the Flying Wave. The Flying Wave (better know to many as "the swings") was one of the ride that opened with the park in 1974 and was a long time favorite for so many guests. http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/Flying%20Wave.htm 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2020 Today is letter "G" for the Great American Scream Machine. This was Great Adventure's first "big" roller coaster, and was the world's tallest and fastest for two weeks. Though the Scream Machine would be eclipsed by the B&M coasters the park added later, the coaster was a favorite of many. http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/GASM.htm 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2020 Today is letter "H" for the Hurricane Harbor. This year Six Flags Great Adventure's waterpark will be twenty years old, and it's been filled with summer splashing fun. http://greatadventurehistory.com/SFHHMain.htm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 Today is letter "I" for the International Bazaar, one of the original shops in the Four Tents. Those four tent buildings originally served as the park's main gift shops when the entrance and exit gates stood at the end of Dream Street, and though what's in them has changed a lot over time, the tents themselves remain to this day! Did you know there was a fifth tent planned but not built? http://greatadventurehistory.com/DrStTentsMenu.htm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2020 Today is letter "J" for Joust-A-Bout! Joust-A-Bout was a rather unique flat ride, and we believe the only one of its kind here in the U.S.. This was a Schwarzkopf (Chinese) Junk ride and offered a one of a kind ride experience. The ride was added in 1982 and spent 16 seasons thrilling park guests. http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/Joust%20A%20Bout.htm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2020 Today is letter "K" for Kiddie Kingdom. This was not the park's first kids area (that was Ride-a-Rama), but this was the longest lasting and went on to later become Shirt Tales Land, Looney Tunes Land, Bugs Bunny Land, and then some of the rides even continued into The Golden Kingdom! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2020 Today is letter "L" for Log Flume! One of the park's original rides from opening day, the Log Flume was the world's longest flume ride when it opened and has continued to be one of the most popular attractions in the park ever since! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2020 Today is letter "M" for Monster Spin! Monster Spin was Great Adventure's second "octopus" type ride, replacing the original Pretty Monster, and many years later followed by the Spinnaker. The Monster Spin stood where the Teacups are today. http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/MonsterSpin.htm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2020 Today is letter "N" for Nitro! Nitro opened in 2001 and was a huge hit with park guests. Even after almost 20 years and many more coasters opening, it is still recognized as one of the world's best roller coasters. http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/Nitro.htm 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2020 Today is letter "O" for Oktoberfest!Before Fright Fest became the huge celebration it is each fall, Great Adventure celebrated Oktoberfest, bringing in an authentic Fest Halle from Germany. Lot's of music, dancing, and of course beer was the finale for the park's operating season for three years at the start of the 1980's, then later in the 90's.http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/OktoberfestNew.htm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2020 Today is letter "P" for Parachuter's Perch! The Parachuter's Perch was moved to Great Adventure from Six Flags Over Mid-America for the 1983 season. At the time it was the tallest ride in the world, and was part of three major attractions added to Great Adventure for the 1983 season. At this time it is the last of its kind in the U.S., and one of the few parachute rides left in the world. http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/ParaPerch.htm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 Today is letter "Q" for-- and we know it's a stretch since there aren't many Q names in the park-- (Kingda Ka's original) Queue!When Kingda Ka opened in 2005, it included a large queue area in its infield. The queue area featured many carvings and some nice detail that was only used for a short time. After an incident with the launch cable, the central queue was closed for safety and has sat unused and unseen ever since.http://greatadventurehistory.com/KingdaKaOrigQueue.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2020 Today is letter "R" for Rolling Thunder! Rolling Thunder was Great Adventure's third permanent roller coaster. The racing wooden coaster opened in 1979, and was a huge sensation with guests when it opened. The traditional wooden structure combined with the racing element made the ride feel very fast and exciting. Over time the ride got rougher and fell off in popularity as newer, larger, smoother coasters were added to the park, and finally at the end of the 2013 it was removed. http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/RollingThunder.htm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2020 Today is letter "S" for Super Teepee!The Super Teepee was one of Great Adventure's larger than life structures designed by Warner LeRoy, and it really stood out even among the the supersized elements of the western section! The massive log supports were real, and the stretched canvas skin was painted with vivid colors. Unfortunately those supporting logs were set in a way that they rotted and became structurally insufficient over the years, and could not be replaced since logs of that size are not readily available. The Super Teepee was an icon of Great Adventure, and is now the icon of GreatAdventureHistory.com.http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/SuperTeepee.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2020 Today is letter "T" for Traffic Jam! Traffic Jam opened with Great Adventure in July of 1974, and was the park's first bumper car ride. Like so many other attractions at Great Adventure it was the "world's largest" when it opened. Traffic Jam was the first of five sets of bumper cars in the park through its history. Traffic Jam was destroyed by the "Blizzard of '93", and intense Nor'easter that dumped snow and ice on the roof of the ride and caused it to collapse just weeks before the park was scheduled to open for the season. http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/TrafficJam.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2020 Today is letter "U" for Ultra Twister! Ultra Twister was the first and only coaster of its kind in the US. The unique Togo coaster was the first coaster design to successfully feature a "heartline spiral". Ultra Twister was very unique looking with the first of its kind vertical drop and featured an impressive/scary looking track switch at the end of the run. The coaster suffered several operational issues and only lasted four seasons before it was removed and sent to Six Flags Astroworld as part of Six Flags "Ride Rotation Program". http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/UltraTwister.htm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2020 Today is letter "V" for Viper! Viper was a Togo roller coaster built on the same site as the Ultra Twister (another Togo roller coaster). Viper was one of the big additions to the park during the years of Time Warner ownership where theme was as important as the ride experience. The coaster itself was a prototype, and originally the plan was to call it "Unforgiven" as a tie-in to the Clint Eastwood movie. After ten years of operational challenges the coaster was finally scrapped in 2005 and the station was reused as the station for El Toro. http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/Viper.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2020 Today is letter "W" for Warner! Warner LeRoy is the colorful man (that's him in the striped pants) who dreamed up the original concept for Great Adventure. While the park has changed a lot over the years, the park's greatest elements, the larger than life spectacle that started it all, was pure Warner LeRoy. Great Adventure was pretty spectacular when it opened with so many "World's Biggest" claims, but Warner dreamed of so much more... Be sure to check out the original proposal for Great Adventure from 1972 to see how amazing his dreams were: http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/Great Adventure pre 1972.htm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pineracer Posted April 24, 2020 Report Share Posted April 24, 2020 The Park was owned by and uses Warner Bros brands too lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted April 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2020 2 hours ago, Pineracer said: The Park was owned by and uses Warner Bros brands too lol Yep, and Warner was named after Jack Warner, one of the found Warner Brothers of the studio. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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