montezooma

What are you selling? I want a Hard Rock Park sweatshirt!

If you had trouble opening up the Marriott's Great America page with all the photos Robb has changed the resolution and it should be easier for your computer to open all those photos now. If you are still having problems then it is time to get a new computer.

Yes, I too am very interested in seeing what you have!

Here are a couple of older postcards from Parc Asterix, my favorite parks in Europe...well behind Europa, Heide, Port Aventura, Tivoli...well it is a good park. Although the park is great this coaster is constantly voted one of the WORST steel coasters around

Shane's Retro VCR: Swamp Fox Escape of Death For those of you not out visiting your local park, here's a little snippet to watch to take your mind off your "no-coaster weekend" This guilty pleasure comes from a show called "Games People Play". Everything about this guy, Steve Baker, is creepy but none-the-less there are some good shots of The Swamp Fox at Myrtle Beach. -Shane [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=swampfox_cr2r[/coastertube]

Awesome video Scott. What program did you edit it in? I am glad you featured Adventure Express, an extremely fun and underrated ride IMO. Arrow made some great mine rides in their latter year: Adventure Express, ThuNderaTion, and of course Road Runner Express

park update: This morning the other bucket came in from Canada and within hours it was hoisted into place. The playstructure is really starting to take shape now and the supporting facilities are well underway now also. The Lazy river has almost been completely poured and the support buildings are now going vertical. Our new web page (www.cowabungabay.com) is now live and hiring is in full force. The buzz on the park has been great. Lots of news coverage and lots of cars pulling off the road and kids heads popping out of the windows and sun roofs to see what it is we are building. Here is a photo update. before and after the future "Hula Bowl" slide. It will be buried under 4" of concrete until a future date. more towers are starting to rise the major footing for one of the last major columns is now finished and waiting to cure before they can put the steel into place. It took 8 concrete trucks to fill this footing This bucket went into place much easier than the large one. I am really pleased with the way this yellow bucket turned out. The smaller bucket arrived on site this morning looking down into the bucket. It isn't just as simple as filling up and then tipping. but looking into the giant bucket kind of ruins the illusion that the whole bucket fills with water. I learned that there is great technology put into controlling the spilling of the water. If it was to just pour out it would knock those below flat on their a$$es. I got a birds eye view down on the structure the other day. Looking down on this thing from 75' in the air is quite impressive

If I ever get to the point where I am building rides in my backyard...cough Michael Jackson cough...someone please slap me and bring me back to the real world

They are both surfer terms. Hang Five means to hang five of your toes over the nose of the board. Obviously Hang ten means all ten toes over the nose of the board.

Well it has always been a dream of mine to own my own shuttle loop, but that was merely a joke. I am not that eccentric...yet

Another news station did a story on us last night. We are getting some pretty good coverage from the local stations. Here's the story for those interested. KUTV Channel 2 CBS news: Cowabunga Bay

^^ and my guess is that it would have been exactly the same as the two other parks.

Can't get enough Marriott's Great America???? Well here is another Souvenir Book from those GREAT Marriott years! So many things about these two parks were GREAT when they first opened. They truly were a full themed experience. You can see from these souvenir books how each themed area offered rides, shows, food and merchandise that were unique to the theme. You wouldn't see a Panda Express in Yankee Harbor back in those days.

Sorry Tatum, I know you are waiting for the AstroWorld stuff. I was waiting to get it all together and do one HUGE post but I have just moved and things are still in boxes. Maybe for the Season Finale of Shane's Amusement Attic this year I will do a portion of what I have on AstroWorld.

They run 3 trains on Loch Ness? With three trains running shouldn't the trains interlock in the loops automatically?

That is fine. I forgot that Robb was out somewhere exploring the world. Do those guys ever just sit home and watch TV?

Experience the beauty of Marriott's Great America over at Shane's Amusement Attic is this cross promotion or a shameless plug?

Thanks Dan. Yes this is HUGE (insert "that's what she said" joke) and there is still more to come. Lots of pictures, information and video and it really takes a LONG time to download all this stuff on my computer too. I am hoping that Robb of one of the moderators can do a page break between each one of the posts so it wont be so much information on on page...is that possible?????

Map 1982

Map 1981

Marriott MAPS, MAPS and more MAPS. Here are park maps from the Gurnee park in years 79, 81 & 82

Does anyone know if this stage will be similar to the stage that they use in "O" at The Belagio?

Here is another Souvenir Book from the year that the Demon opened. A few things have changed at the parks since opening season. The addition of Pictorium & Sky Trek Tower to Carousel Plaza. The wonderfully themed Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop, Tidal Wave, was added to Yankee Harbor and of course the transformation of the Arrow Turn of the Century into the Demon.

^ Well get ready for more...Here is the DEMON...but first, What is Great America? The official park map of 1980 THE DEMON! $10.95?!?!?!?! Now that's GREAT! The success of the 70's and a GREAT kick off for the 80's More on the attractions The other coaster Before the transformation The Marriott Corporation Hooray for the early coasters of Marriott's Great America! Is the Demon what he seems or just a bad, bad dream in your mind? Your gonna find.....out....about the Demon Have you ever seen the Demon? Have you ever heard him scream?

Postcards from around the park from the opening year 1976, and a Yellow Eagle postcard from the opening season of the American Eagle. Was it originally going to be painted yellow????