Scrambler at Six Flags Great Adventure



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One of the rides found in nearly every theme park, amusement park and carnival for the last half century is the Eli Bridge Scrambler ride.   This simple ride is a crowd favorite, is mechanically simple to maintain, and can fit in a small area.   Great Adventure added the Scrambler in 1978 and it ran in several locations until it was removed at the end of the 2001 season. 





 
 
The Scrambler ride was added to the park for the 1978 season, originally under the name "Close Encounter" playing on the name of the popular movie.   The ride spent a single season in its first location, being moved for to make way for the new Roaring Rapids ride.   The Scrambler was moved to the center of the Fun Fair area of the park in an area that had been home to the Wild Rider (Troika).   The Scrambler operated there under several names (used only on the maps) but without a sign until it was removed to make way for the Splashwater Falls ride at the end of the 1986 season. 
 


  
   
 
     
For the 1987 season, Scrambler then moved to a new location across from the Showcase Theater which had been home to the Swabinchen ride.

 
     
     
 
With Time Warner's purchase of the Six Flags chain, efforts were made to bring theme back to the sections of the park and make the rides fit the areas they occupied.   The Scrambler became part of the newly formed Movietown area of the park in 1993, with the addition of rocket engines and other parts, along with space/futuristic themed lighting and other queue elements.   The ride's movie connection was made with "The Right Stuff", a Warner Brothers film profiling the original Mercury Astronauts.   The queue was reconfigured to allow the realignment of the queue for the neighboring Looping Starship, which now became the Space Shuttle as part of its inclusion in the Movietown section.  That Right Stuff theme was a taste of things to come with the addition of the Right Stuff Mach 1 Adventure for the 1994 season.

  


 


     
     
     

Technical Information
Manufacturer: Eli Bridge Company
Ride Model: Standard Light Package Model
Number of Arms: 3
Number of Cars per Arm: 4
Total Number of Cars: 12
Car Capacity: 2-3 people
Number of Guests per Cycle: 36
Maximum Weight per Car: 510 lbs
Maximum Weight per Load: 6120 lbs
Ride Duration: 2.5 minutes
Approximate Capacity: 1000 guests per hour
Lighting Features: 3 Sweep Lights
3 Pairs Gable Lights
1 Set Mast Lights
Direction of Travel:
  Arm Rotation: Clockwise
  Car Assembly Rotation: Counterclockwise
  Individual Car Rotation: None
Operating Feature: All cars are loaded at the same time at ground level
Safety Restraints: Single non-locking lap bar per car, latched door with safety pin
 

 
 
 
     
     
     

For the 1997 season the Scrambler and the Looping Starship both moved across the park to the top of the Boardwalk area, bringing their space theme elements with them as part of the area's Edwards Air Force Base theme.

The ride queue was setup in front of the former Administration "bubble building".  For the 2001 season, a new queue was constructed around the front side of the Scrambler site.   The space capsule prop and sign were removed from the entrance to the Scrambler and a roof was added to the former queue structure.   The former queue became the entrance queue for the Alcatraz simulator which would make its home inside the building which had been used as a storage facility since the park offices had moved to the current location in the early 1980's.
   
     
     
For the 2002 season the Scrambler was disassembled again for another move in preparation for the construction of Superman: Ultimate Flight for the 2003 season.   The ride site would become the entrance plaza for the new coaster.

Plans initially called for the relocation of the Scrambler to the former El Sombrero site which had been been cleared of the aging ride at the end of the 2001 season.   Preparations for the Scrambler's relocation were underway in April 2002, with a new channel being cut in the concrete ride pad for the Scrambler drive shaft.   Before any further preparations took place on the site, plans changed, and the Scrambler was on the move again.

After a decision was made by Six Flags corporate management to move the Pirate's Flight ride in an effort to beef up the faltering Six Flags World's of Adventure park in Ohio, plans for the Scrambler's new location also changed, with the ride parts being placed in the empty concrete pad awaiting reassembly.    The ride parts sat on the site during the month of May, and then were suddenly removed from the park completely. 







The Scrambler was moved out of the park, finally being rebuilt at Six Flags Over Georgia where it now operates indoors as Shake Rattle and Roll.
   
   
   
   
   
     
 
     

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 Go To The Official Six Flags Great Adventure Website For Current Park Information