While games of skill or chance are often pursued at amusement parks with the hopes of winning a prize, sometimes something as simple as a remote control toy offers enjoyment.

 
     
For the 1986 season, Six Flags Great Adventure pushed the boundaries of its theme park and cleared the land between its Rolling Thunder roller coaster and the Lahaway Creek to become the new home for their Ultra Twister ride.  The area became accessible from the courtyard between Rolling Thunder and the La Cantina restaurant on one end and via a newly installed bridge on the far end.  The bridge would create a new pedestrian passage connecting the southwestern themed area to the park's old west area near the Runaway Train.

The new section was stripped of almost all its mature trees but new foliage was placed near the Ultra Twister.  In the center of the extra-wide space in front of the ride was placed a diamond planter outlined by small shrubs with about twenty evergreens in its center.  While this planter did breakup the overwhelming feeling of concrete, it only lasted one season before it was converted into a Remote Control Boats attraction.
 
     
     
 
     
For 1987, the trees were removed from the center of the diamond planter as well as the shrubs along one of its sides.  A two foot deep concrete pool was added along with the metal framework for a canopy which would shade guests working the boat controls from a bank of steering wheels and direction selectors each corresponding to a particular numbered yacht. 

For a couple of quarters boat captains could take to the high seas and pilot their vessels around the small pound navigating through a mountainous cavern, into a shark's mouth, and dodging and chasing their friends' boats.  A set of boat slips was positioned on the left side of the pond next to a small storage shed where the batteries for the boats could be recharged.

Unfortunately, the Ultra Twister suffered from operational issues and extended periods of downtime. The ride last operated in 1988 and was disassembled in the spring of 1989.  Sadly, the Remote Control Boats at Ultra Twister stopped operating at roughly the same time.
   
     
     
The boat pond remained until early 1994 when it was filled in with soil, flowers, and trees turning it into a planter once again.  This only lasted one season as a total revamp of the area happened in 1995 with the addition of the Viper coaster.  Today, the site of the Remote Control Boats Ultra Twister sits under the wooden track of El Toro. 
     
     
Original Spotlight:  October 5, 2022.  GAH Reference#:  GAME-1987-001