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Defunct Rides at SFGAm: Your Stories and Memories

Talk about anything that has to do with Six Flags Great America and Hurricane Harbor here.
Postby Galvan on July 31st, 2011, 9:55 am
With a lot of people recently joining up our forums, and the wide speculation of rides either being removed or added in the coming season, I thought It would be nice for some of our older members to share their stories of rides and attractions that where once at the park, but Now are long gone.

This can let the new generation of SFGAmWorld.com members get a peak back into what the park was like before they became interested in our hobby.
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Postby ilrider on July 31st, 2011, 6:11 pm
Well, since I am as old as the park, I can talk about a lot of defunct rides, but to start, Power Dive, which stood where King Kaos is now, and replaced The Edge (Intamin 1st generation drop tower), was a thrilling Intamin flat ride that left in 2001. I'm sure probably most here remember it, but I have good memories of it. It looked like a huge fighter jet, and it sat 50, I believe, with people in each half of the jet facing inward toward each other. It rocked back and forth, like a pendulum, until it finally flipped all the way over once or at most twice. It slowed down so much at the top of the full loop that we were certain we were going to get stuck every time we rode, and you'd be staring at the ground far below, or looking at the freaked out faces of the people facing you. It also made a noticeable "whooooosh!" each time it rushed over the tires, I think it was, in the station.

I also remember hearing and watching all the coins falling out of people's pockets while we were inverted, and the horrible pressure the harness and lap bars put on us. My cousin from Tennessee gut stuck in his harness on it after everyone else exited once, and I just remember him screaming "Help! Somebody help me!" Hilarious.

That was an awesome ride, and it was one that freaked me out all over again every time I rode it.

I'll chime in with memories of other rides after others share their memories. I will go back to the 70s and 80s!
Last edited by ilrider on July 31st, 2011, 9:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Galvan on July 31st, 2011, 7:56 pm
^This is exactly the idea of this post, I would love to hear more stories if you have them. Thank you for sharing!
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Postby onyxhotel08 on July 31st, 2011, 8:11 pm
Splashwater Falls:

My favorite water ride of all time. It had lenghty lines on a busy hot summer day, but for the most part it went by quick because the actual ride was very fast. If you wanted to cool off and fast, this was the water ride to do it. The ride was 20 years old in 2007 (My final time on it and Deja Vu) but for the most part you could not tell if you were not on the park staff. I found out much later about all the leaks and the "insect pond" is what the park spokeswoman told me it became. The ride fit in County Fair great. The ride was a double fun ride because you could get wet twice, once on the actual ride and once on the bridge that was used to get off the ride. I was shocked it was removed without so much as a word until I saw what became of Vu. Splashwater Falls closed earlier than usual in 2007 and never reopened. It was removed in 2008 but a tragic accident on it caused a man to lose his life when he fell from SWF during removal March 2008. The death did not cause a delay in removal as I thought. Pictures of the ride disappearing were few but one did show in March 2008 nothing but the lift hill remaining. Once the season started, nothing was left but the queue lines and those infamous rocks there to this day. Why they were never removed I do not know. I think that area could have been used better in these 3 years since SWF died.
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Postby ttd rox on July 31st, 2011, 9:52 pm
I'm not old and I'm sure everyone here remembers good ol' Trailblazer. It was without a doubt my favorite flat ride at the park. Each time you went over the top you could feel your stomach moving but it was a very relaxing ride that kept you wanting more.

I remember soaring close to Demon's first drop which was right behind you. I used to ride this multiple times during summer nights and you would see the same people in line keep going around and around for many consecutive laps. There was always the infamous arcade you had to go through which at that time was pretty busy with teenagers. Though it wasn't the most thrilling, the good memories of that ride with my family and friends before I was able to go on the bigger stuff still brings tears to my eyes.

It's a shame they had to take it down for safety reasons though.
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Postby tribar on July 31st, 2011, 10:03 pm
^I miss Trailblazer too. I think if it were still there i would be my 2nd favorite flat behind GD
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Postby Coastermonkey61 on July 31st, 2011, 10:18 pm
I'm too young/didn't really go back when the old coasters were around (Tidal Wave; Z-Force; Turn Of The Century), but Sky Whirl was always one of the last rides I rode before leaving the park for the day, usually right before Sky Trek Tower since it was on the way out. Just a great relaxing way to end the day, and I still miss Sky Whirl everytime I go. I remember being on Sky Whirl and watching Viper stuck on the lift hill, with people coming up to get people off the train.

I also remember Hay Baler and feeling horribly unsafe on it. IIRC, the lap bars never latched, they just...rested...

Only rode Power Dive once...that was plenty. And believe it or not...I NEVER rode Shockwave. I saw people walking off the exit ramp in severe pain and decided against it.
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Postby Ilovthevu' on August 1st, 2011, 12:33 am
^Well more about Sky Whirl. It was Intamin's Triple Wheel. You were in birdcages in which one would be on the ground loading, and you would have 2 in the air moving. The 2 "fans" in the air were I would say about 75 degrees tilted (It was very close to 90 degrees really.) I would simulate at home with a mini-fan, this is a ride on the Skywhirl. Start it up, and stop the ride. Anyway, there were multiple times with the Skywhirl in which I would see security come from behind the Hay Bailer, and escort people out. I think it was because of spitting or standing. I think I even remember them having on the doors of the Skywhirl that if you spit, it's against the law, or something like that. More about the cages, it would probably sit 4 or 5 people, and you sit in a circle. Also, the motor alone was cool. It looked like a rubber band or something moving that thing, and it was noisy too.

After the ground people would be loaded, the whole structure would move, and eventually the "fan" would move into place (in the air, I said you had 2 "fans", and one would be on the left and one would be on the right side). Than, as soon it gets into it's position, boom they start to turn on the motor for the fan in the left corner, and it would rotate that "fan" / arm. And sure this ride had metal "fans", but at the end of each spoke of the fan, it had the cages, and the cages were held with stainless steel chains. Really, if you thought about it enough, you could get freaked out by this ride in which your cabin is only being held by I think 2 metal chains. For the line to get on the ride, they would assign people numbers that would correspond to your cabin / birdcage. What they were doing towards the end though was only running the ride at half capacity. Half of the cabins were empty. It probably was because of balancing the load, but I remember the line being long enough, and it still was half the cabin. Also, during Fright Fest they put skeletons in some of the cabins.

This is a video of the ride if you want to see it. It's NOT mine, but it shows it. Though, you can't hear the noise the ride made in it, but oh well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr6w3R5SM5Q

For more footage, of the Sky Whirl in action watch Beverly Hills Cop 3. Granted, this is the sister park in California which doesn't have the Sky Whirl anymore, but it's the same ride basically in that movie.
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For the Hay Bailer. It was right next to the SkyWhirl, but it was a more hidden ride, and it's disappointing sort of that it was so hidden. I think that if it would had more ridership if it wasn't hidden, they would have moved it. Anyway though, the building was brown (under a roof, but not indoors), and it was a great ride when it was raining out especially. The cars were brown, and goldish. It's a flying bobs type of ride, and what they had in the middle of the ride what was a stack of hay. I really doubt it was real hay, but it was a mound of hay. It was a really enjoyable ride. It was definitely my favorite flat at the park, and I do miss it. I wish the park would add another one. And when I went to Geaugea Lake, I got to revisit the Hay Bailer. They had a clone of the Hay Bailer really. The seats looked very similar, and the ride was of course similar, and it was just as enjoyable. It kind of seems like I heard that it's at a museum, or something now since that park is no more. However, that was great to experience again at GL. For SFGAm Hay Bailer again, I seen a couple years ago, in the Necropolis section, they had a car from the Hay Bailer with a skeleton in it I think. That was nice to see. They also had SkyWhirl cars too that they painted green.

However, both these rides were fun (I liked Hay Bailer better than SkyWhirl though.), but Deja Vu kicked these rides out of the water in my opinion.
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Postby CoasterDude12-2 on August 1st, 2011, 2:51 am
I was only on the Sky Whirl once before it was removed, and contrary to people's fond memories of it, I hated the bloody thing. Ilovthevu's explanation of the ride was pretty much correct. But I have a fear of heights and for me, being stuck in a cage high up in the air that's being held up by as he said, a couple metal chains was a little too much for me. It definitely had a charm for people who were into that sort of thing, it was a very long ride and a great family experience. It just wasn't my thing.

And the DejaVu would replace it. I wasn't fond of the Vu either until about 2007. I wasn't fond of the lift at the beginning, where you were pulled backward while face down, watching the ground beneath you get farther and father, held by only a restraint and seat belt. While most enthusiasts' favorite seat on it was in 1-B, mine was in the backrow. There was a lot going for that ride, from the absolute rush as it screamed through the station, which made waiting for it so much more fun to it being one of the tallest and fastest and most intense rides in the park. It just had a lot more going against it, like it's horrible breakdown record, to long lines, to costly maintenance. Past the station was the cobra roll where my feet would always touch the car in front of me. The loop afterward wasn't very interesting forward, but backward it was very disorienting and made the rest of the ride one giant blur. And of course going up vertically, waiting to fall back down instantly at the second tower (provided it didn't miscatch) was awesome.
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Postby Mr. SFGAm on August 1st, 2011, 9:43 am
I didn't visit Great America for the first time until 1999. Due to the extremly crowded park that day, and severe weather, we only rode like 6 rides all day.
However, my very first ride ever at Great America was Splashwater Falls. Such a simple ride, but it was so fun! Especially since it was 100 degree heat index that day. We ended up waiting 1 hour in line, but at the end, we stood on that bridge for about 15 mins, catching the wave from boat after boat!

I remember seeing Sky Whirl, and Hay Baler that day, both were closed all day. I remember really wanting to try Sky Whirl, unfortunately I didn't get back to the park until 2001.

Power Dive, to say the least, was a painful ride. It was still fun, but being a small kid at the time, I remember feeling like I was going to get crushed by those heavy restraints. Two rides was enough for me that day, and by the time I had any desire to ride it again, was when it sat dormant for most of 2002(I think?) before it was removed.

Ameri-Go-Round was always closed! Every single visit I have ever made to Great America since 1999, I never saw this ride run once!! Around 2003, I was actually starting to wonder if this ride actually could run, or if it was just a big ornament, much like it's giant green and blue neighbor!!

Many rides have been removed even since 1999. I miss all of the ones that I got the chance to ride, and regret the ones that I didn't.
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Postby Patch on August 1st, 2011, 10:20 am
Can we say our memories about Iron Wolf JUST yet? ;)

As for my real memory, splash water falls.

It was one of my favorite all time water rides. One of the best ways to cool down on a day when 90+ degrees is beating down on you. I remember creaking up the small, but intimidating hill. Make the short turn and BLAM you drop down and a 30ft wall of water is in your face and splashes down on you and the other people riding. Oh what a ride it was. One of the funniest parts was watching people walk on the exit and unsuprisingly be splashed with water. Those were the days :)

Ive been around the park since about 2002 and I didn't remember much. All I remember was being a little kid and pulling up to the big blue coaster with loops (Which i never got to ride) . I never got to ride Deja Vu or Trailblazer but I DID ride that weird motion simulator where riptide bay is now. What was it called again...stargate somthing? ANYWAY stargate somthing was a pretty strange ride. At least it's gone now.
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Postby tillenterprises on August 1st, 2011, 2:13 pm
Great topic! My first visit to Marriott's Great America was in 1977, the same day Elvis died, so I grew up with the park as kind of "second home" to me! My favorite flat ride of all time is/was "The Edge." I love Giant Drop, Acrophobia, and the S & S towers, but there was just something about the Edge, that made it a completely different ride experience. Long before Disney's Tower of Terror, the Edge made you feel like you were on a possessed elevator being pushed off a building, and was the first ride that I know of that offereed a true freefall experience. The awesome orange color scheme, and seeing the dead end track of it sticking out at you as soon as you walked under the railroad bridge in Orleans Place (now the Mardi Gras area) added to the experience. It was fun to watch the cars ascend and drop one after the other, like an insane factory assembly line. I remember being so nervous the first time I rode it, standing near it, and just watching the cars freefall. After just one ride, it became my all-time favorite flat ride, and still offers a thrill unlike any other. (The only remaining freefall in the US like the Edge is the Demon Drop at Dorney Park).

I also miss the Tidal Wave, Z-Force, Sky Whirl, and Cajun Cliffhanger. Front seat on the Tidal Wave was an experience- sitting there, waiting for launch, just looking at the loop and dead end track in front of you make you feel like you were sitting in some lifesize Hot Wheels track, and going up the dead end track in the front made you feel like you were going to hit the end for sure! Z-Force was like a 3-dimensional wild mouse, with flips instead of hairpin turns. It was so much fun, just going slowly across the top straight track, heading ever closer to ther first dive. Sky Whirl was such a fun, relaxing and long ride, that really gave you your money's worth. It was fun watching the other cabins while you were up in the air, and it gave you a great view of the park! Cajun Cliffhanger was located where the Jester spinning boat is now in Mardi Gras. It was a rotor ride that stuck you to a wall by centrifugal forces, while the floor dropped about 4 feet. It was fun to watch the other riders from above as you waited in line. Too bad, such a great fun ride was replaced by such a lame one.
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Postby cdnelson on August 1st, 2011, 2:19 pm
I remember Cajun Cliffhanger...during a 5th grade field trip. This was basically a centrifugul force ride. You line up against the wall, and once you're stuck there the floor drops away.

The unique aspect of this ride was the queue line. You could look down into the "barrel" and watch the riders before you. We had waited 25 minutes or so, and our turn was coming up. We were watching the group before us and saw a larger gentleman who wasn't doing so well during the ride. Someone yelled, "He's gonna blow!"...and he did. If you've ever seen "Stand by Me" the pie eating contest matches the carnage prettly closely.

The centrifugul force "painted" him and the next 4-5 people in his chunder, which started everyone else watching with the dry heaves. Good times!

You can add me to the list of folks that really miss Shockwave, Tidal Wave and Sky Whirl.
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Postby tillenterprises on August 1st, 2011, 2:25 pm
oh, one other thing about the Tidal Wave was the theming! The beach theme with the sand and fishing nets was awesome. Then, the lights that would "chase" the coaster down the track, then turn blue and chase the coaster backwards were an amazing sight to see at night!

By the way, we drove by Kentucky Kingdom last week on our way to Florida, and this is what it looks like today: http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=1948390516646&set=a.1802449388209.2095345.1449081360&type=1&theater
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Postby Ilovthevu' on August 1st, 2011, 2:30 pm
^^^^That ride was called Space Shuttle America originally, but than they put in other films. During Fright Fest, they started putting Elvira's Superstitution, and years after they used the Space Shuttle America film, they put in Dino Island 2 in 3D, and Stargate SG 3000 I believe. I personally liked Dino Island the best because I like dinosaurs a lot. I think in that movie the dinosaurs name was Tony, and they wanted to save it. It dealt with having something to do with a boat, and the ocean. For Superstition, it's a whole lot easier to explain. You were on a dark ride, but the ride was more like a roller coaster type of track that was sort of out of control. Though, I must admit I get a little confused between that the Alien Adventure movie at the Pictorium because for that, you were on rides too like a Submarine simulator, a magic carpet ride, and a car / roller coaster ride.

Space Shuttle America movie was about going to space - duh. And I really liked the Space Station because your seats would really move. Also, I liked those red cop lights that at the beginning of the ride, they would start flashing. For that ride, there was something about you being the passengers and you would lifted into the shuttle. That at the end of the movie, he says get the passengers down. For that ride, the guy said we are seeing the see of tranquility, and he said something there's a satellite and something about telecommunications (I believe it was HBO). There was a city on the moon. Also, the plot of it was that sure you are taking a tour in space, but than here come these meteorides, or Asteroids, and one of them was so big, they said something like full power, and they had to blast. It broke, and we got through it.

For the Superstition movie, they put a ladder when you walked in that you would walk under, and umbrellas upside down in line. They might have had broken glass too. I'm not sure. Back to Space Shuttle America movie, for the first room, on the right side, they had what looked like a control room in which they had a bunch of computers, and certain clocks of times during the country. Also, with the line originally, they had a super huge line outside, and than I believe they took some of those lines away (towards the back) for the addition of the Go-Karts. Definitely not all. I liked that recording that was being played towards the beginning of the entrance. During the first time they had Space Shuttle America movie, they wore Space Shuttle America uniforms. I think they were blue, and they had the Logo on their suit. Those suits were cool!

Back to the premise of the line. I believe what happened let's say first year this ride came in operation. You would wait outside in a line, and than they would open up a door to come inside. Inside is the room with the control room / clocks. Besides the control room, there were specific space plaques on the walls, and also the line here was switchbacks, but they weren't level. The top one was higher up than the last switchback. Eventually, the lady would say something explaining the shuttle. It was in the control room a couple tv screens. There was at least one big one I know. Anyway, than soon after that, you would go into another room in which there was an employee who asked you how many for your group, and you wait there. Where the employee was asking you how many your group, there was a clock there, and that's how many minutes were left until you could go into see the movie.

Anyway, while you are waiting this room which is on staggered levels from low to high (with stairs), they have another preshow video. The first one was in the control room as I said. Anyway, for this one they gave you safety instructions, and you get to hear what the pilot of the aircraft was saying. They had at least 3 tvs hanging from up above, and down below, they had a map of where you are really going. Than, the doors would open, and it's a movie screen with motion simulators. There were 2 sets of motion simulators. Maybe, each row had 20 people (10 for each set of motion simulator), and was there 5 doors / 5 rows?. So, you sat down, and the lowered these big metal bars down. In the preshow safety video, she said cross your legs. Now, people might have thought that they need to cross their ankles / legs the whole time, but I think it it's just when the black metal bar went down. At times, I actually felt I was in the space shuttle like outdoors, but nope. You are really in a separate building. It was sort of disappointing to be in a building rather than the shuttle. It was so cool to walk underneath the shuttle, and also they had Space Shuttle America trucks around the ride.

That was the glory days of Space Shuttle America. Towards the end of Space Shuttle America, they wouldn't even work one set of the motion simulators. I don't even think the air was running that much as I sort of remember a door being open. Also, towards the end there was no longer an employee working the first door to come inside the building because the lines were much smaller.

I rode Space Shuttle America about every trip I went to the park except for the terrible year of Space Shuttle America. The one year I hated the most was Stargate SG-3000! I think I saw it twice, and that's enough of that junk. I think how it went with the movies was Space Shuttle America - maybe 2 or 3 years - than Dino Island, than Stargate SG -3000, and I it went back to Space Shuttle America again, and than the park killed it off with Shapiro (of course). The year (or was it 2 years) before Riptide Bay, it was just a building closed down. I believe it was an Intamin ride. Some of the trucks you could see during Fright Fest if they ever bring them out again. I forgot if they had them out last year or not? Anyway, there was that great Fright Fest aliens in Hometown Square year where they had a ton of trucks in that area with even a tank, and other Space Shuttle America vehicles. The tank wasn't part of Space Shuttle America vehicles. I think they only had 3 vehicles. Also, outside they had a cool satellite dish that rotated around.

Also, for during Dino Island 2, they blocked off the control room area with dinosaur figures. You couldn't see the control room at all.

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And I understand why it's gone. It's because how many times can the gp see a movie, but I felt that Shapiro shouldn't have left it standing without operating it. Either demolish it, and get something new or he could have ran it for a year.

I'll do some comparisons too (not about Space Shuttle America, but of old rides):
These are my opinions:

Old Rides Compared to What Replaced Them

Batman the Ride > Tidal Wave
Superman Ultimate Flight > Shockwave
Cajun Cliffhanger > Jester's Wild Ride
Power Dive > King Chaos
Deja Vu > Sky Whirl and Hay Bailer
Sky Whirl and Hay Bailer > Buccaneer Battle. - Basically, most rides in the park are > Buccaneer Battle
Dark Knight > OLD Theatre Royale
Ameri-Go Round sort of equal to Revolution

Rolling Thunder > Grass and Trailblazer (Okay, this one is tricky really because Viper was built really in the back of the area where Rolling Thunder was, but because they removed Rolling Thunder, they made Southwest Territory. I still say Rolling Thunder > Southwest Territory. I guess that area wore off on me. It's Chubasco hard to spin cups, the Ampitheater only for concerts now (No Stunt Show!), and Ricochet looking better as Big Top in County Fair. And for Raging Bull, I used to like that ride and be so into it, but it's just wore off on my. It's not exciting to me, and Viper is the same way. Maybe, it's because I've been going to other parks, and comparing other rides, and that's just it.

Big Top > Dare Devil Dive
Hurricane Harbor > parking lot (lol)
Space Shuttle America > Riptide Bay, but with Riptide Bay having people in that section helps out the waterpark, and the regular park.
V2 100 times better than a stupid Lighthouse, and it was okay to move Whirligig to where the Batman car used to be!
Big Easy Balloons > Gazebo (show thing) - Now, they moved the stage in the corner.

Light Bulb Changes
-The Orbit regular bulbs > Orbit LED
-Triple Play ALL regular bulbs > Triple Play LED
-Hometown Fun Machine LED > Hometown Fun Machine regular bulbs
-Whirligig Red White and Blue > Whirligig yellow and blue I think

-Big Top with regular bulbs > Ricochet with no lights (except on actual cars)
-Condor regular bulbs sign almost = to Condor with LED sign. So, they take down the Condor sign, to put this LED in the Condor letters sign, and than the LED in the sign for one letter still isn't working. They couldn't figure it out in a year and a half or so how to fix the one letter??
Last edited by Ilovthevu' on August 1st, 2011, 3:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"I've been staring at the world, waiting. All the trouble and all the pain we're facing. Too much light to be livin' in the dark. Why waste time? We only got one life. Together we can be the CHANGE. So go and let your heart burn bright"
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Postby KyleK414 on August 1st, 2011, 3:03 pm
Thanks to our own jonrev, there is an awesome tribute to SSA by him including an on ride POV right here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz-2fk91qoI

I loved that ride as well. I only saw the original film and the 3D Elvira one in there. I didn't like how they tarnished the ride with other films not themed to what the ride was.
Push down, then pull up. Exit to your left/right. And, enjoy the rest of your day at Six Flags! Your friendly enthusiast Kyle.
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Postby Ilovthevu' on August 1st, 2011, 3:23 pm
Thanks for that link, and thanks to John for the POV. Score, I can now see it again!
"I've been staring at the world, waiting. All the trouble and all the pain we're facing. Too much light to be livin' in the dark. Why waste time? We only got one life. Together we can be the CHANGE. So go and let your heart burn bright"
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Postby woohoodude11 on August 1st, 2011, 10:11 pm
Add me to the list of Shockwave fans. I remember it when you'd need to wait longer than current wait times for Superman, all the way down to the epic night of 7 consecutive re-rides without ever leaving my seat. I guess being young made me resilient, seeing as I never remember any of these "injuries" I've heard time and time again!

When I was really young I remember seeing the tidal wave from the original kids area and being terrified of it. My parents actually have pictures of that day of me in the little airplanes and in the ball pit (they had one of those?).

I also remember being on Cajun Cliffhanger while some muscle bound dude flipped himself around and began doing pushups. Hmm...meeeeeemorieeeeeees.
Missing Shockwave more and more every day.
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Postby Porkchop23 on August 1st, 2011, 11:08 pm
Turn of the Century-- It was my first coaster. I was always scared of them, but I decided I had to get over it and try one. I told my older brother I wanted to go on it. He asked me if I was sure. I said I was. We got in line and I just made the height requirement. The sheer terror I felt as the train slowly climbed the first hill is something I'll never forget. When we did the first drop, I thought my stomach was going to come out of my mouth. Unfortunately, I don't remember the rest of it. I was so scared, I just wanted it to end.

The ski lift baskets that crossed the park-- I loved those things. I don't know why, they were just fun to be on.

Batman during the Graffiti Age-- This was when the ride opened. You almost didn't mind standing in line because the themeing was perfect. You walked through the nice quiet garden area and then boom,they had Prince and the Batman Soundtrack pounding on the speakers. The graffiti and the busted up cop car made it feel you were in a bad neighborhood. Now the que seems dated and boring.

I don't miss Tidal Wave. It was a big loop....big deal. It wasn't worth standing in a long line for. Power Dive was dumb too. I couldn't understand the attraction. I did enjoy the 3-D Dinosaur movie in Space Shuttle America. I always thought they should have kept that building, made it a 6 Flags Great America museum with working models of all the rides past and present. Then, when they finally tear down the Eagle to free up some real estate, run a motion simulation of the Eagle as a tribute.
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Postby Viper 88 on August 3rd, 2011, 8:35 pm
I have a memory of SWF I was at the park with my uncles friends and it was really hot and we were going to go to HH but we wanted lunch first, but we also wanted to cool off. So we snuck up the back and through the handicapped enterance and just stood on the bridge. We must have been up there for 20 minutes waiting for boat after boat to go down the plunge. It was awesome I think we were wetter than everyone in HH.

For Trailblazer (which was really my first real thrill ride everything else was pretty tame) I went with my friend and his mother after high school graduation it was a good day but his mother and I really didnt go on much I said that one day i would like to be able to go on something like that and she grabbed me by the arm and basically forced me on the ride. We got on and the lap bar came across out laps and the ride started. Going gently from side to side was pretty tame but then when we started getting higher and higher I started doing a combination of screams of terror and evil sinister maniacial laughter. thios combo was making my friends mother laugh so hard she literally had tears streaming down her face.

SSA I loved Space Shuttle America. I first went on this waaaay back in the day in the 90's like 1997 when I went in the first grade for good reading. I saw the very first film about space and being younger I thought it was the greatest thing. Then I went back in 2005 being all grown up they changed the film and I rode it when it was Stargate 3000. This was only an ok film I really didn't make much of it. But then I snuck out of the house and went to my first fright fest. I absolutely Loved Elvira's Superstition. Being an amusement park nut and a major lover of amusement park history Superstition was the ultimate ride. It all took place in Elvira's Haunted Amusement Park. It was rough bumpy but totally awesome. It kind of followed a show that they had playing in the Pictorium about a guy who had to go and claim items from a will. It was totally awful but Superstition totally rocked.
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Postby ilrider on August 3rd, 2011, 8:40 pm
Porkchop23 wrote:Turn of the Century-- It was my first coaster. I was always scared of them, but I decided I had to get over it and try one. I told my older brother I wanted to go on it. He asked me if I was sure. I said I was. We got in line and I just made the height requirement. The sheer terror I felt as the train slowly climbed the first hill is something I'll never forget. When we did the first drop, I thought my stomach was going to come out of my mouth. Unfortunately, I don't remember the rest of it. I was so scared, I just wanted it to end,

The ski lift baskets that crossed the park-- I loved those things. I don't know why, they were just fun to be on.

Batman during the Graffiti Age-- This was when the ride opened. You almost didn't mind standing in line because the themeing was perfect. You walked through the nice quiet garden area and then boom,they had Prince and the Batman Soundtrack pounding on the speakers. The graffiti and the busted up cop car made it feel you were in a bad neighborhood. Now the que seems dated and boring.

I don't miss Tidal Wave. It was a big loop....big deal. It wasn't worth standing in a long line for. Power Dive was dumb too. I couldn't understand the attraction. I did enjoy the 3-D Dinosaur movie in Space Shuttle America. I always thought they should have kept that building, made it a 6 Flags Great America museum with working models of all the rides past and present. Then, when they finally tear down the Eagle to free up some real estate, run a motion simulation of the Eagle as a tribute.


Is it really necessary to kill others' fond memories with your last paragraph? Grow up. You sound like a 12-year-old. The rides you put down ran a heck of a lot longer than Turn of the Century did before its conversion.
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Postby Porkchop23 on August 3rd, 2011, 9:23 pm
ilrider wrote:
Is it really necessary to kill others' fond memories with your last paragraph?


Yes...yes it is.


Didn't mean to cause such butt hurt by expressing an opinion. I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not.

Mod Note: Hey buddy, wanna stop being a jerk? I know we've gotta "establish" ourselves, but that's not the way to do it.
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Postby Ilovthevu' on August 3rd, 2011, 10:06 pm
^^It's the person's opinion. If the person didn't like Tidal Wave, or Power Dive, they didn't like it. I'm sure there is a ride you don't like, and people might have memories about that ride too. Just because an old ride you have ridden is a memory, doesn't always mean it's a great memory. Two old rides at another park I absolutely didn't like that are now gone is that Intamin Generation Drop Tower 2 at SFOT, and the old Texas Giant. I haven't been on the steel track one yet. Or when Santa's Village was around, I liked Galaxi, the Wipeout, and the Spider (which were in the same spot) in which they replaced with the Typhoon coaster which was awful, and kiddie rides for the other two rides.
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Postby Porkchop23 on August 4th, 2011, 12:31 am
Porkchop23 wrote:
Mod Note: Hey buddy, wanna stop being a jerk? I know we've gotta "establish" ourselves, but that's not the way to do it.


Oh I'm sorry. I didn't realize that responding to an attack because I had a different opinion was considered being a jerk.

I'm not your buddy, pal.
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Postby w00dland on August 4th, 2011, 12:55 am
Well alright then not buddy,

Its not that you have a different opinion, its that you snapped on one of our members. Take a week and think about how to get along with others.
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