Great Adventurer

Happy birthday scott, hope you had a great one!

Thank you!

You're probably right - and changing the area in question would provide very minimal benefit. They didn't get a whole lot for selling off Bally's either ($25 million), so it's not like they have a ton of spare money to throw around from that.

I've looked up countless videos of the former Six Flags New Orleans over the years - the state of affairs there since Katrina has always been sad yet mystifying. Now, a company called Bright Sun Films is producing a documentary on the topic, with commentary from (among others) area residents, park goers, and former employees. It's due to release in the near future and will shed a lot of light on the full magnitude of the destruction caused by the hurricane (including that done to the insides of the buildings, which to this point hasn't really been captured in great detail), as well as provide a fascinating glimpse at the current condition of the land the park was situated on. More details on the project can be found at: https://www.closedforstorm.com

Happy birthday Harry, hope you have a great one!

That's really interesting, I always wondered why that portion of Caesars was themed differently! I'd have to think that with the recent events causing the casino to close for pretty much the first time in its life, the time for them to change it would be now or never.

This album is an absolute treasure trove! Every piece is really neat in its own way, from the early renderings to the polished final products. That first image has so many nice background details (Super Teepee, Yum-Yum Palace, divers, Frontier, etc.) and everything flows so nicely - I love how the animals look like they're welcoming guests to the park. I can only imagine the second picture would have turned out much the same way (looking at you, dolphin jumping over the flume) if it had been fleshed out more, but seeing what the rough sketch looked like is just as cool. Seeing the park information page from that era was fascinating too; I'm sure those free pet boarding kennels near the safari must have gotten pretty interesting at times. One of the things that really got me was the bit about lifting your engine hood if you were having car trouble, which would signal somebody to come and help. That's some excellent guest service! Thanks so much for sharing this with us. It's incredible that you were able to get your hands on all these masterpieces!

Wow, from $13 to $19 for the bacon burger? That's closing in on a 50% increase, which is utterly ridiculous. It's a shame that Disney had a chance to use their one-of-a-kind brand to provide some encouragement during times like these, but have instead used their downtime as a conduit to make themselves more restrictive. I'm inclined to agree that decisions like these will cause families who are seeking a quick return to normalcy to look elsewhere once all the Covid-related isolation protocols have passed.

That's a perfect location for Jersey Devil BBQ! The path to JDC forms a nice complete circuit with the kids' areas too. Speaking of, the Adventure Kids location should help spruce up that side of Main Street. It felt a little empty with just snacks and photos, so having a new shop there will be nice.

I hadn't even noticed the seatbelts, as I was busy admiring the color schemes of the trains! I love how unique they are, especially the Reese's themed one. That's too bad about the seatbelts though. Having 3 vehicles move continuously will be a much greater challenge with the requisite safety checks. I wouldn't be surprised if this also led to some extra time spent unloading the trains before the next sets of guests are permitted to board.

Very sad to hear that this special man has passed away. Thank you all for bringing Mr. Dring's many contributions to light and sharing your wonderful memories of him. When I first read this topic quite some time ago, I recall finding and bookmarking a 1998 NY Times article about how much love he poured into the safari and all the animals within. It can be viewed here: https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/19/nyregion/in-person-creature-keeper.html It will never cease to amaze me that a single person could be such a fountain of knowledge about so many different types of animals.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to read it due to lack of a subscription, but if anybody subscribes to the Asbury Park Press, they posted what looks like a nice retrospective on The Chiller today: https://www.app.com/story/news/history/2019/11/27/batman-and-robin-chiller-ride-six-flags-great-adventure-brazil/3987179002/

Happy Birthday Yoshi!

Correct, they stopped running the 4th train when the dual station layout was done away with. Unless they utilize both queue sections in the station, a 4th train would not speed up loading/wait time. If memory serves, the train colors are Orange, Green, Dark Blue, and a lighter Blue/Teal.

Shockwave was my first experience with a stand up coaster so I'm a little sad to see it go. That being said it will be interesting to see what they'll decide to do with that vacated space.