TexasParkman Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 This is amazing. I've been trying to get something like this for years. Thank you! Where was Tom and Becky riding turtles in there? I wish I could remember the Indian Chief but it's a big blur. I remember the arms opening and the skeleton underneath. Do you have any idea what they did with all of this stuff when they switched over to Time Tunnel? I'm going to be bummed if they just trashed all of it. The Indian chief was right at he start of the lift on the right. He would make an awful yell when he opened his robe. The signal to open his robe was tied to the sound track- he would yell (his mouth moved and then he opened robe to show his skeleton frame with the loin cloth). The sound room would turn on the audio and tones between 9:30 and 9:45 am- just prior to open at 10:00. One morning I was walking through to go from scene to scene to fix a few items... as I was walking past the chief- the sound room powered on the audio...It went from dead silence to a really loud screaming Chief right in my ear- he opened his robe and knocked me into the trough...... scared me to death.... I was soaked for hours.... When we built the Time Tunnel some figures were reused.... some had the mechanisms yanked and the skins were trashed. I believed that most things were moved to the "dump". Tom and Becky riding Turtles had to be "scene 1" with the singing Frogs and Bowing Alligators. I can remember the song the Turtles sang.. Exploring, Exploring, Ex.. plor...oring !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InjunJoe Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) This is amazing. I've been trying to get something like this for years. Thank you! Where was Tom and Becky riding turtles in there? I wish I could remember the Indian Chief but it's a big blur. I remember the arms opening and the skeleton underneath. Do you have any idea what they did with all of this stuff when they switched over to Time Tunnel? I'm going to be bummed if they just trashed all of it. The Indian chief was right at he start of the lift on the right. He would make an awful yell when he opened his robe. The signal to open his robe was tied to the sound track- he would yell (his mouth moved and then he opened robe to show his skeleton frame with the loin cloth). The sound room would turn on the audio and tones between 9:30 and 9:45 am- just prior to open at 10:00. One morning I was walking through to go from scene to scene to fix a few items... as I was walking past the chief- the sound room powered on the audio...It went from dead silence to a really loud screaming Chief right in my ear- he opened his robe and knocked me into the trough...... scared me to death.... I was soaked for hours.... When we built the Time Tunnel some figures were reused.... some had the mechanisms yanked and the skins were trashed. I believed that most things were moved to the "dump". Tom and Becky riding Turtles had to be "scene 1" with the singing Frogs and Bowing Alligators. I can remember the song the Turtles sang.. Exploring, Exploring, Ex.. plor...oring !!!! You don't know how grateful I am for all of this information. Thank you! You are the same guy I was talking to years ago. You told that exact story about the chief! That would have scared anybody I imagine. Lol. That's a bummer they just trashed all of that stuff. These days they could have put it up for auction on ebay and made a small fortune. There's tons of people that love to collect that sort of thing. It was all one of a kind. I have some decent pictures of some of the scenes but nothing of the Indian Chief. If you don't mind I want to pick your brain about what animation each one did. That way they can be recreated in 3d engine and brought to life at some point. Edited May 12, 2015 by InjunJoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InjunJoe Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Wow Injun Joe you are jogging my memories... As I was an animations Mechanic I spent the OTHER half my time on the River. One of my many tasks was to change out the propane bottles that provided fuel for the cannons on the Fort. Once every 3 days or so. The manifold that mixed the propane had a valve to control the amount of propane dispersed into the explosion chamber- basically a metal tube with a spark plug. The solenoid opens- allows a amount of propane to enter the chamber and then the controller sends a electric burst to the spark plug. The plug ignites the propane and boom- flash. The amount of propane released by the valve controls the amount of BOOM and Flame. If you set it too low- the cannon goes "poof"- then smoke but no flame. If you make a mistake- this may or may not have happened to me- and set the valve too high... KAABOOOM! followed by a 4 foot flame on each cannon ( and a call from Merchandising that the cannon explosions were rattling windows all over the Park). A standard boom had guests in the Riverboat laughing and kind of semi-ducking. When you turn up the manifold valve- every guest hit the deck!!! It sounded like a Battleship bombarding an island!!!. good times... good times... That was an amazing story. I remember those cannons being loud as heck. Do you remember any of the other animatronics on the River? I recall a guy in jail or something that moved up and down. Wasn't there also some animatronic gators in the water as well? I loved this ride almost as much as the Cave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InjunJoe Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 ^^ Actually the old entrance is still there! It is what used to be Villains Café, and is now the Sports Bar (I don't know what the Sports Bar's name is). Thank you for sharing all of those awesome old pics! Keep 'em coming! You are correct Sir! I remember being in the park a few years ago and eating lunch in that building with my Wife and Kids and explaining to them how that was the entrance to one of my favorite long ago rides then watching their eyes glaze over as I described it for the 100th time. Lol! I can't believe I forgot about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I like all of the throw back pictures and stories. Keep them coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFStl Fan Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 That was an amazing story. I remember those cannons being loud as heck. Do you remember any of the other animatronics on the River? I recall a guy in jail or something that moved up and down. Wasn't there also some animatronic gators in the water as well? I loved this ride almost as much as the Cave. That cannon shot was awesome. I remember the feuding "Hatfields and McCoys" up in the hills shooting across the river at each other. Sometimes they'd "miss" and shoot the river which would cause a spray of water into the air. There was also a mama bear with her cub near a cave. The pic of the beaver near the tree was animated. The beaver would chew the tree and it would fall into the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sf-Dad Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I like all of the throw back pictures and stories. Keep them coming. Not sure this is what you had in mind....but iirc you are a lawman, Back late 70s Bi-State ran busses from the city out to the park so one summer a friend and I headed out together. We were maybe 12 and a bit devious. One of us got the bright idea to get cups of ice and take to the skyway and attempt some bombing runs on the GP below. We flew a couple of unsuccessful missions and then when we got to the end one time we were pulled aside and had a chat with a couple of officers. They chewed our asses up and down for a few minutes and then let us go and said they would be watching us but to go have some fun. They probably should have made our parents come pick us up. I have a 12 year old now and if he ever tried anything like that there would be holy hell to pay. It was a relatively slow day so after that we kept getting on Toms Twister and sticking one leg up as it started to spin, once the force was strong enough we would scoot around until we were upside down. I can believe the ride ops let us do it. Different times I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazdeviljohn00 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Hera are a couple of pics from this past weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Wolf 90-11 Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Looking fantastic. Won't be long until its open! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThemeParkJunkie51290 Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 The pictures look great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisGraslie Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Sweet! It's full steam ahead with JL:BFM! I'm still really interested at how the path from the exit into Superheroes v Villains will work as it feels really cool to have Shazam, Battle for Metropolis, and the gift shop all connected. Maybe there will be some sort of theming or fencing added? Time will tell I guess. Also, fingers are still crossed the side of the ride building will be treated to as previously mentioned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinx Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I'm a bit of a dark ride junkie so I really hope this ride is good!! I'm sick of waiting to see the inside of this thing! That's the bad part about being a dark ride fan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveStL Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I have an old souvenir postcard booklette, it had pics of a lot of defunct rides - Super Sports car ride, Mine Train (right side), etc. Plus I have a article cutout from the Belleville News Democrat of the opening of Jet Scream - 1980 ?? If I find 'em, I will do my best to post them here. Also I have some pictures of the old Haunted House (early 80's) and general misc. I need to start digging Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theymitbgi Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 The pictures look great! I am so glad someone finally called you out on your un-necessary posting, it really gets on my nerves too! Feel free to particpate when you have something to add to the discussion, constant posts of I'm so excited" and "I can t wait" do nothing to add to the conversation. This bumps a post to the top and I'm expecting some new information and just get your silly comments. MODS: I apologize if I'm stepping over the line but according to board rules posting for posting sake isn't alllwed and I've looked all over for a way to contact a mod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InjunJoe Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I'm posting all the Injun Joe stuff so everyone can have it and maybe someone else can contribute some stuff I don't have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFSTLMO Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Not sure if this has been posted before, but with all the retro stuff being posted, I found this old video on the park's old Schwarzkoph coaster, the Jet Scream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InjunJoe Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I was a teenager in the 80s and basically lived at the park during the summer. My best friend and I would ride Jet Scream over and over on the days when there weren't any lines. It was the first coaster we had that went upside down and did loops. I loved that thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArizonaGuy Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Geez JetScream was a great coaster. Rode it plenty of times when it was Viper at SFAW. this is one of those coasters I wish was still at SFSTL. This was also my first looping coaster so there's that sentimental value as well. I'm really hoping SFSTL gets some type of new coaster soon. (And not that darn Super Loop). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theymitbgi Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I relly feel SFSL is missing an "intermediate" coaster like Jetscream. It only has one inversion, would be a great in between coaster for those too scared of Batman, Freeze, or Ninja, but bored with Mine Train and Pandemonium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArizonaGuy Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I agree. It's a great starter coaster with an inversion for the beginner riders. Once I rode this coaster for the first time, I rode it the rest of the day and decided to ride Greezed Lightning and Ultra Twister that day as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFSTLMO Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 It's interesting to see it's skyline in the 80's, and how much different it is today. All they had that dominated the skyline back then was the Eagle and the Jet Scream, where today there are a dozen rides that dominate the skyline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Wolf 90-11 Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Here's a website with a bunch of old pictures of the park. http://www.rcreride.com/html/sfma.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InjunJoe Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Here's a website with a bunch of old pictures of the park. http://www.rcreride.com/html/sfma.html Thanks for the link. Added to my collection of classic park pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronmb Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Anyone happen to know anywhere to get a deal on a Gold pass? ive got a friend in the air force that has season passes, but if I got a parking pass online, there's hardly any difference than getting a Gold pass online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSHSLax Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Can someone pass along information about how the VIP Early Entry works for Gold Pass Holders? I see it on the website as a benefit but it doesn't say when it applies or how to use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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