Photo TR: (Paramount's) Great America

[kraxleRIDAH]

Good ride, but it does need to be a bit taller, because as of now it isn't all that intimidating like a drop tower should be. Still thrilling though.

 

GA can't build much higher due to the San Jose airport being very close.

 

Not like that had too much to do with how tall it ended up being though. Keep in mind that when DZ opened at Great America in 1996, it was the tallest free-fall drop tower in the world at 224-feet -- though today, to us that is hardly considered very high, at the time it was introduced, a drop ride of that height was underheard of.

[Porsmond]

I visited PGA in 2002 with the ECC when they did a California Tour,Personally I kinda feel the same as others, It was a really nice looking park, but it never really delivered a killer ride,Top Gun is by far their best signiture ride though, and I absolutly loved it, but apart from that, most of the other rides were just OK or just plain average,clearly it could do with another killer coaster,or dark ride or something like that.

 

The Park is definatly a day filler though, and I never got bored, because there was a lot to do still, I remember the park treated the club like royalty when we went with an ERS on Stealth(gone now though),and a short ERS on Greased Lightnin' as well afterwards(Gone as well) We also has a Behind the Scenes Tour,and were allowed to stay on at the park for an exclusive party that was held after park hrs until 10PM(when park closed at 8PM) and lemme say that Top Gun is absolutly insane at 10PM in the dark when it was already running for 12hrs,Its one of the best night rides on any coaster I will never forget for the rest of my life.

[KGA29]

I visited PGA in 2002 with the ECC when they did a California Tour,Personally I kinda feel the same as others, It was a really nice looking park, but it never really delivered a killer ride,Top Gun is by far their best signiture ride though, and I absolutly loved it, but apart from that, most of the other rides were just OK or just plain average,clearly it could do with another killer coaster,or dark ride or something like that.

 

The Park is definatly a day filler though, and I never got bored, because there was a lot to do still, I remember the park treated the club like royalty when we went with an ERS on Stealth(gone now though),and a short ERS on Greased Lightnin' as well afterwards(Gone as well) We also has a Behind the Scenes Tour,and were allowed to stay on at the park for an exclusive party that was held after park hrs until 10PM(when park closed at 8PM) and lemme say that Top Gun is absolutly insane at 10PM in the dark when it was already running for 12hrs,Its one of the best night rides on any coaster I will never forget for the rest of my life.

 

Actually 2002 was a decent year. They added a thrill ride (Delirium) and a family ride (Flying Eagles) and the park was doing well with 10 coasters (which was pretty average for then). The next year they removed Greased Lightnin and only added 3 kiddy rides, painted a kiddy coaster and the water maze, and added a new 3D film (that has not been updated since). Technically they closed Stealth that same year, and then the park was down to 8. And they have yet to increase that 8 since.

[Sunfire]

Yeah, Paramount pretty much f'ed up the park. I wasn't alive at the time, but when the park was owned by Marriott, I hear that it was an awesome park that had tons of good rides, and great theming. The name Great America used to mean something.