attended year one

I am going to go old school as well. The rapids ride was very over rated at the time. It obviously made such a poor impression on me I do not even remember its given name. The commercials made it look a lot better than it was. People were better off riding the log flume twice. (and I will not call it the saw mill) Underrated back then was the Rotor. no one knew about it and, if you were lucky enough to go on it and not know the floor was going to drop out, you had an extra special thrill. The only ride I never dared to do with a full stomach. I would like to argue an above point that suggests lightning loops was over rated. At the time, that was a pretty unique experience to go upside down and then do it again backwards. I agree that coasters have come a long way since then. It almost makes me afraid of what we will be riding 40 years from now. But, to kids back then, of whom I am one, it was amazing, worthy of the hype.

I really enjoyed this ride and am glad it was added to GA. It is so very unique that it fits perfect. Great spot light.

It is really nice to hear about the creater of Great Adventure. He clearly had a dream that has brought joy to millions of people over almost 50 years. Thank you Warner for creating such a special place.

I remember being so young and complaining about having to sit through the dolphin show or the dive show. I mean, I was young, I wanted to ride rides. As I got older, I look back and remember how much I actually enjoyed these shows. I remember the dive shows the best. They always put someone in the audience who pretended to be making fun of the divers and was challenged to come up and try it himself. I completely thought that was real as a child. It was always such a thrill to watch the diver climb to the top of the 100' ladder and dive off. I was disappointed when I went back before the demo and there was no more dolphin or dive show. The sea lion show was fun but, not the same. I wish they could have preserved something from the aqua spectacle. As I went through this spotlight, it almost looked like they were going to preserve the base of the dive ladder. Did they save any part of it? The part of this spotlight I like the most was the line. "The bleachers that held capacity crowds for years" Thank you GAcoaster for doing such a good job on this.

Thank you so much for updating me on the lion. I was only 5 years old when I went the first time and remember not really understanding what Great Adventure was going to be but was excited to ride a Ferris wheel for the first time. (Every Ferris wheel since has been a disappointment at best). I never forgot seeing the lion for the first time. The excitement I felt just from that sign was recaptured every time I went, no matter how old I was. I always looked for it when I went back to the parks but never found it. I am saddened to hear it no longer exists, but, hopefully, someday, they will recreate it. I have also always hoped they would do some type of museum in the park with the old artifacts us ageing but not grown up children who were weened on trips to GA would so enjoy.

That one was really neat but not the one I was talking about. The one I found was the introduction to Lighting loops. it was just after the ride opened and no one yet knew that after going through it all, it did it again backwards. I saw that commercial and immediately mowed every lawn in the neighborhood to have the money to go ride lighting loops.

I kind of stumbled on it when I was looking for info on the haunted castle. I just tried to find it again but was not successful. I will keep looking send it to you when I find it.

I am going to take a different approch: The baboons. but put them on the off road safari. (I know it would need some type of re engineering but I want it) The dive and dolphin show the original fountain. (I really believed the water shot as high as the big wheel) Lighting Loops Rolling Thunder. (Lets make them one ride)

I found the vintage comercial for the introduction of lighting loops on you tube. I remember seeing it for the first time saying "A 5 story drop and it goes backwards?" I rode that one a lot.

Greetings everyone: I attended GA for the first time in August of 74. My first ride was the sky ride and I was hooked on GA after that. It was a big part of my summers growing up, especially when I became a teen and could go by myself. I am also a Disney geek and would like nothing better than to leave work behind and move to Orlando to join the magic. I found this site as I was looking for information on the haunted castle disaster. I was not in the park the night of 5/11/84 but did hear it on the radio. This site pointed me in some good directions to learn more about it. I have read several things here about archives of GA memorabilia and was wondering if there is a site that historic memorabilia could be viewed. Thank you for creating this site, it is so nice to see the galleries and hear other peoples memories. Does anyone know what happened to the lion that use to greet guests at the entrance from the road?

Kook and the gang