montezooma

I wish I had that brochure, that would have been the 1978 brochure. I remember seeing it and it had a large picture of the Revolution. I think you are thinking of the 1979 brochure, it is very similar to this one. You can check it out here:Six Flags over Georgia 1979 And check back later today for a 1976 BONUS look at Six Flags over Georgia

Six Flags over Georgia New in 1980 for the land of screams and dreams is Jolly Roger Island, a new pirate themed section of the park that features the Flying Dutchman, an Intamin swinging ship (imagine that, a whole land built around a swinging ship). The Mind Bender was also upgraded to feature Typhoon Lagoon, whatever that was???? oh the Great Gasp. So beautiful with all those cool lights on it

Six Flags Great Adventure New in 1980: The Buccaneer & the Haunted Castle...uh-oh

Here is a postcard from Six Flags Great Adventure that showcases some great rides including their Buccaneer and the incredible Lightnin' Loops

smart ass, the other park that didn't get one back in the 80's was Six Flags Great America, they didn't get theirs until the Southwest Territory expansion. ^I just realized the reason Six Flags Great America didn't get the swinging ship in 1980 is because Six Flags Great America was still Marriott's Great America in 1980...oops I would have to give that award to that indoor swinging ship in Japan. Remember that one? It was AWESOME

Seeing those old fiberglass slides bring back so many memories. My Dad owned a small miniature golf course when I was young and he put in one of these slides, we called it the "Super Slide". (He also had a "moon walk" anyone remember those?) Anyways during the hot summer months we used to take hoses to the top and wet the slide down, when that thing was slick you could catch some major air...and some nasty fiberglass burns too. ouch!

Great stuff! Most of the stuff I have is from the early years of theme parks or industry related. I wasn't really aware of the smaller parks around the country so I really enjoy seeing your collection

AstroWorld is one of them...Great Adventure isn't

Spring??? Spring??? I was in a hail storm in Southern California this weekend and when I get back to Utah there is 3" of snow on the ground again. I think you are getting ahead of yourself Mark. Since I am up to the Six Flags park in my tribute to 1980 brochures, here is a postcard I thought would be appropriate. 1980 was the year of the swinging ship for the Six Flags chain, here is the best one they installed. The Conquistador at Six Flags over Texas. ps- Can you name the 2 six flags parks (original 7) that didn't get the swinging ship?

Six Flags Magic Mountain I am going to go a little bit out of alphabetical order and bring you Six Flags Magic Mountain before Six Flags Great Adventure, just because I am still on a Magic Mountain high from West Coast Bash. Magic Mountain is really seeing a resurgence as of lately and I love that the management is bringin the Magic back to the Mountain. And who knew that the management team had such comedic talent. I think they need a show on Bravo. "The Real Housewives of Magic Mountain" Well here is Magic Mountain the theme park that provides a "Happy Ending" This was also my favorite Magic Mountain logo Hooray for "Happy Endings" I looked all over yesterday for the Happy Ending booth, I think it might have been somewhere up by Ninja This is really a GREAT brochure. One of my all time favorites for any park Of course the standard Intamin boat ride addition for 1980. They must have bought these rides in bulk. You can tell that when Six Flags took over the park they were really trying to bring a family element to the park.

Just thinking off the top of my head here....Does anyone think it possible that this retrofit could include re-tracking of the Intamin kind? If I were Six Flags and investing $10 million on a wooden coaster I would want it to be the latest technology that would reduce maintenance costs. It would only seem wise to invest in the latest track technology otherwise they are going to be in the same situation (a rough woody) in a couple of years. Thoughts????

Jumping back to Opryland for a bit...Did anyone in the Nashville area see the PBS documentary that was recently done on Opryland??? What did you think? Pretty good stuff I thought. I will try to bring it to my thread soon for those of you that missed it. PS - gonna take a break tomorrow from posting as I am off to WCB. Be back on Monday -Shane

Riverside Here is a little traditional park that has made it in the big leagues!

I just threw up a little in my mouth

And while we are on the subject of shuttle loops, here is one I hope sees the light of day again and doesn't just rot away in some field. AstroWorld's Greezed Lightnin is now awaiting construction at Joyland park in Texas, but it has sat in their field for several seasons now, I am starting to lose hope FYI - This photo must have been from opening season. The "Greezed Lightnin" logo has not been added to the saloon and the stripe on the train is white. It was later repainted dark blue. This model of shuttle loop was one of the best riding versions. Greezed Lightnin and Montezooma's Revenge rode (and still do) the best!

My swimming pool is saltwater and there is no comparison. Chlorinated water sucks. It makes your eyes hurt, makes your skin all sticky and generally makes you feel tired. Salt water is so much more refreshing. We looked at all water filtration systems and yes I would prefer a saltwater system for my home pool. But when dealing with the public and the amount of bodies that will be in the water there is no safer way to deal with cleaning the water than good ol chlorine. Of course we will also have UV zappers that will kill anything that the chlorine doesn't.

I just noticed this...but what is up with those turtles down at the bottom of the page on the left???

Opryland U.S.A Has it really been 10 years since they closed down this park to make way for a shopping mall? Boy the time sure does go by fast when you are having fun...or should I say when you aren't having fun...anymore. If there were a list of the 10 biggest mistakes made in the Amusement Industry I would venture to bet that closing this park might rank up there pretty high, maybe right between Disney's California Adventure and AstroWorld's closing. On a positive note...I LOVE the Opryland Hotel!!!! 1980 Brochure

I know my shuttle loops!

Yes that is the Santa Clara park, the way I can tell is by the weight well on the Tidal Wave shuttle loop coaster. The one in Santa Clara was a solid blue color while the one in Gurnee was a blue/white stripe.

Here's another GREAT postcard from Marriott's GREAT America

Great photos Scott! It is good to see the closet back, I thought you had gone away like a bad sitcom. Thanks for sharing. Now lets spark some healthy discussion about those great pictures of the flying turns, I sure wish I was old enough to have ridden one, they look like they would be nothing like todays versions. I hope that the Knoebel's creating captures the ride and feel of those older versions.

Marriott's Great America - IL Not much difference between this brochure and the one from the park in CA, but if you have a keen eye you can spot the differences. I miss the days of when these parks were run by Marriott.

Ooops...too late, it has gone vertical

Marriott's Great America - CA 1980, the year of the Demon. Unfortunately those two great speed bumps from the "Turn of the Century" were removed for the more popular (at that time) loops. I have to say that the conversion was pretty well done...the ride even had it's own theme song. "Have you ever seen the Demon...Have you ever heard him scream?" Love this shot of the Tidal Wave