25 Interesting Facts about Great America

[StealthNet]

For the 25th anniversary of the park in 2000, Six Flags posted a list of 25 interesting things about the park on their web site. I've had it saved on my computer for some time and I haven't seen it posted here yet, so here it is... Some of them are outdated, but most are interesting nonetheless.




GREAT AMERICA THROUGH THE BACK DOOR...
June 1, 2000


25 little-known facts about the Midwest’s largest theme park

For millions of visitors, the memory is as fresh as yesterday: of
holding back adrenaline and anticipation as they jittered and bounded
through Great America’s ornate wrought-iron gates to face the
magnificent Columbia Carousel, all 10 stories reflected in a serene,
glassy pond. The park has spent 25 years creating fun and fantasy for
more than 60 million visitors from all corners of the world.
Much of the Park’s success can be attributed to the genius of the
park’s designer, Hollywood set designer Randall Duell, who created a
park that was logical from an operational standpoint as well as
"seamless", making its operation invisible to visitors. Over the
years, rides, attractions and owners have come and gone, leaving
behind a rich legacy that is little-known to the general public. Join
us on a historical walking-tour to learn what has put the "great" in
Great America for 25 seasons.

1. Great America was an ambitious entertainment project planned and
developed by the Marriott Corporation in the early 1970s. After
extensive demographic and land-use studies, Gurnee, Illinois, was
chosen as the ideal location for a major theme park. Gurnee's
proximity to the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas was ideal,
plus it was an easy day's drive from other Midwestern locations.

2. More than 700 construction workers and craftsmen worked over a
24-month period to build the park. Exactly 715 days after the
groundbreaking ceremonies (June 14, 1974), Marriott’s Great America
held its grand opening on May 29, 1976. On that day, all the park’s
employees gathered around the front gate reflection pond for a "family
portrait."

*************************************
Note: That "Family Portrait" can be found on Steve Wilson's page,
located here: http://www.geocities.com/ezeiza/mga.html
*************************************

3. Hollywood set designer and architect Randall Duell paid great
attention to detail in his design of the Great America Park. He
imported ironwork from Mexico to replicate New Orleans’ ornate
wrought iron for Orleans Place. His designs for Yukon Territory
mandated the planting of mature pine trees for an authentic Canadian
feel. And, to recreate the serenity of an eastern seaboard village, he
placed a working lighthouse near the flume rides.

4. Great America was purposely laid out in a giant circle and,
unbeknownst to Guests, has a 2,000-foot central service drive running
through the center of the park. Since vehicle traffic is prohibited
inside the park, the service drive is critical to the park’s
operation, giving delivery vehicles backdoor access to the major shops
and restaurants throughout the park. The service drive also gives
employees easy access to their work areas in the park, as well as to
the employee cafeteria.

5. Approximately $3 million was spent on landscaping prior to the
park’s opening, which included 21,000 trees and 43,000 shrubs that
have matured into sizable shade trees and lovely gardens. Each year,
the park’s landscapers annually add more than 500,000 flowers
and plants that are grown in the park’s own on-site greenhouses.

6. The Great America Park in Gurnee, Illinois, had a sister park in
Santa Clara, California. This identical twin park opened a month
earlier, and sported the same park layout and certain notable
landmarks, like the double-decker Columbia Carousel. Although Marriott
Corporation sold its two theme parks to different companies in the
1980s, they maintain an eerie similarity, despite the addition of new
rides and attractions by their owners.

7. The Park employs 3,000 seasonal workers annually, providing
thousands of young people with their first jobs and making Six Flags
Great America the largest employer of seasonal workers at one location
in the State of Illinois. Three shifts work around the clock in a
variety of positions... from the obvious - ride operators, merchandise
and foodservice workers, park sweepers, performers, mechanics, and
ticket takers... to the not-so-obvious - theatre technicians,
seamstresses, accountants, computer technicians, landscapers and
employee trainers.

8. The handsome double-decker Columbia Carousel has become Great
America’s most notable icon. It is the largest (10 stories tall) and
costliest carousel ever built, and includes original oil paintings,
reproductions of sculpture used in movie sets, and careful
reproductions of old-time carousel horses. The giant carousel features
more than 100 animals -- on the lower level, pigs, cats, lions,
tigers, deer, dragons, giraffes, sea horses, camels, rabbits and an
ostrich, and all horses on the upper level. More than 1,000 lights
outline the carousel, and floodlights illuminate its copper roof and
spire at night. Reflected in a placid 180,000-gallon reflection pond,
the Columbia is an awesome spectacle.

9. Perceptions and expectations have changed substantially since
Opening Day, when it boasted three roller coasters. The white-knuckle
thriller then was the Turn of the Century, a ride that, today, would
barely turn heads. In its 25 seasons, Great America has known 14
roller coasters, four of which have been removed, leaving the park
with 10 world-class roller coasters that include steel mega-coasters,
classic "woodies," and a kiddie coaster.

10. Great America has a reputation for setting standards and breaking
records in the theme park industry by introducing rides that were the
tallest, fastest or first of their kind:
? 1978: Tidal Wave, tallest roller coaster in the world at 142 feet
? 1981: American Eagle, world’s tallest and fastest wooden roller
coaster
? 1988: ShockWave, tallest, fastest roller coaster in the world, at
170 feet and 65 mph, as well as the world’s first coaster with seven
loops.
? 1990: Iron Wolf, world’s tallest stand-up roller coaster
? 1992: Batman The Ride, world’s first inverted outside-looping
roller coaster
? 1999: Raging Bull, world’s first hyper-twister roller coaster

11. Today, Great America is home to two unique rides that cannot be
found anywhere else in the world: the three-armed Ferris wheel Sky
Whirl, and Whizzer, the last remaining Schwarzkopf speed racer roller
coaster in existence.

12. The American Eagle roller coaster was all the buzz when it opened
in 1981 as the world’s tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster.
Positioned where it’s hard to miss along Interstate 94, contains a
staggering 1.36 million board-feet of lumber, 130,000 bolts, 15 tons
of nails and 9,000 gallons of white paint. Its popular double-track
"racing coaster" design consists of a total of 9,300 feet of track.

13. In 1976, the dolphins Nemo and Neptune were the pride of Great
America’s "Enchanted Island Revue." They performed daily in a
specially constructed aquatic environment in Wilderness Theatre. When
animal shows became old hat, high-dive shows took their place.
Today, Wilderness Theatre is used primarily for special events and
concerts. The pool is hidden beneath the stage.

14. Today, IMAX theatres have become almost commonplace in
metropolitan areas, but in 1979 Great America was one of the first to
introduce this groundbreaking theatre technology. The Pictorium
features special cameras, projectors, a 70 foot by 96 foot screen, a
film size ten times larger than the standard 35mm format and a
six-channel, forty speaker stereo sound system.

15. When it comes to running a theme park major entertainment center,
it truly "takes a village." Great America employs dozens of skilled
craftsmen and tradespeople that take care of the rides and property.
These include fiberglassers, mill workers, plumbers, electricians,
mechanics, carpenters, sign painters, landscapers, seamstresses and
upholsterers.

16. Great America has its own water pumping station for the dual
purpose of irrigation and fire protection. This station pumps from two
lakes with approximately 10 million gallons of water capacity.

17. The tallest structure at Great America is Sky Trek Tower, a
200-ton observation tower that was shipped to the U.S. in nine pieces
from Europe. From its base to the top of its flagpole, the tower
reaches 330 feet. The rotating, circular cabin rises to the height of
285 feet, from which Lake Michigan and downtown Chicago can be viewed
on a clear day.

18. In its early years of operation, Great America hosted "The Circus
Fantastic" in its Grandstand Pavilion. The show featured aerialists,
tightrope walkers, juggler, clowns and an elephant... which caused
quite a stir when it escaped and walked down Washington Street,
which borders the park. Today, the Grandstand Pavilion white circus
tent is the entrance and shade structure for the American Eagle queue
line.

19. In 1991, the Park took a brave step into autumn and extended it
operating schedule to the end of October with its immensely popular
Fright Fest. Each year, the installation of "Tiny," a 40-foot
inflatable spider, on the American Eagle roller coaster heralds the
coming of this popular Halloween event. In 1995, Tiny was
"spider-napped" by some local youths who didn’t know what to do with
him when they got him home. Their mother turned them in to the police,
and Tiny returned to his perch along Interstate 94.

20. In 1982, the Park added a private picnic grove, complete with its
own kitchens and catering staff. Today, the Park hosts hundreds of
picnics each year, ranging in size from 100 to 10,000 people, hosting
more than 100,000 people each summer.

21. Six Flags Great America’s Iron Wolf roller coaster played a
featured role in the Warner Bros. movie "Richie Rich," starring
Macaulay Culkin. Richie Rich, the richest boy in the world,
had a roller coaster in his back yard. With lots of rented trees to
disguise the park’s backstage areas, Iron Wolf fit the bill!

22. The need for additional capacity inside the park prompted the
development of 11 acres of unused land in 1996. The Southwest
Territory expansion was the largest single expansion in the park’s
history, including numerous rides, a games gallery and arcade,
sit-down restaurant and an impressive Southwestern style mission.
Ironically, it sits on the very piece of land set aside as "The Great
Southwest" in the Marriott Corporation’s original plans for the
property.

23. Located just outside the Park’s front gate, the Pet Pourri kennel
has hosted thousands of animals while their human friends enjoy the
roller coasters. Dogs and cats are the typical visitors, but the
kennel has also taken care of goats, cows, birds, ferrets, snakes and
other exotic pets.

24. People lose the strangest things on rides. In addition to the
expected baseball caps, glasses, wallets, and car keys, Six Flags
security officers have been asked to fetch hearing aids, dentures and
even an artificial leg!

25. In 1997 alone, our Guests consumed over 131 tons of chicken,
454,820 personal sized pizzas, 116,152 pounds of hamburger, 103,480
pounds of hot dogs and 113,410 gallons of soda!

[mnel18]

that was cool to read thanks.

[Great America Guy]

Great info some cool facts i didnt know

[SFGAMkid]

Good memmories about # 19 considering I know the story about what "kids" stole the spider (Was not me; so don't ask!)

[CoasterDave316]

In 1995, Tiny was
"spider-napped" by some local youths who didn’t know what to do with
him when they got him home. Their mother turned them in to the police,
and Tiny returned to his perch along Interstate 94.

WOW, talk about some brave kids. To climb up the side of Eagle and take down the spider without anybody noticing had to be quite the task.

Id like to see somebody attempt to steal King Kong!

[w00dland]

Haha, I can tell ya, I love doing delinquient acts, but I don't have the guys to climb on the side of American Eagle. I'd probably be the guy with the camera right next to the truck just incase anyone noticed us.

[SFGA 11]

Nice info. I never knew that some one could lose an artifical leg on a ride!

[SFGAMkid]

Well, I heard the story from my social studies teacher last year becasue it was some of his college friends that did it. It was at night time and they climbed up over the fence in the back of the park, and began to climb the helix to get the spider. They tried to pop it, but, since it was a tethered spider, it took a bit more effort. One of the guys almost fell to his death on the way back down as his foot slipped on one of the beams. They got down and got out, and they story was reported the next day and that's when they heard the estimated price of the spider (Don't remember the price that was said, but it wasn't cheap.) The mother of one of the kids turned them in, and the rest is history.

I really didn't believe in the story until he brought in the newspaper clipping about it.

[da rcman2001]

How did you find that? Its 5 years old. This year is the park's 30th aniversary.

[SFGAmfan]

No, this is the park's 29th season. Look on the website and go to park news and see the march stuff, it all says the park's 29th season.

[twixmix0303]

I believe that since the kids are under 17 or 18, they had to do something like 50 hours of community service to make up for it.

[SfGaMownz]

Cool facts even though they are a little out of date. I wonder if theres a site with some up to date facts.

[Chitown]

How did you find that? Its 5 years old. This year is the park's 30th aniversary.

Stealthnet said

"I've had it saved on my computer for some time and I haven't seen it posted here yet, so here it is... Some of them are outdated, but most are interesting nonetheless.


Why don't you read through the whole topic before asking questions.

[Stoogie]

That was pretty cool Scott. My dad took us there on opening day back in '76. I remember the elephant escaping too.

[SFGA Bob]

my friend was there when they had to get the artificial leg. it was on Bull. she was in line with her friends and they stopped operating the ride. they figured that it was just broken down so they waited. soon, there were employees walking out underneith the ride. they found the leg in the tunnel and brought it back to the guy.

Mod Note: Please use your shift key the correct way when posting on the forums. Thanks!

[Tomo_kun]

I had no idea about alot of thouse, especially 21.

[coasterdude12]

thanx for those facts


I think I know everything about Sfgam now

[Blink3020]

Wow, there should be more posts like this these... Thanks StealthNet!

[iluvRaBull]

I had no idea about alot of thouse, especially 21.

Yeah, I was gonna say that too. I'll have to watch the movie to see it.