GREATAMERICAparks.com

PARK: MGA, Santa Clara YEAR: March of 1976 I went about a week after MGA opened. I was 16 at the time. I remember it being in the middle of nowhere and was very barren. You could see quite a few of the rides from outside the park. That morning, my parents dropped me off. I rode every ride except the...

I remember this place. I went inside and saw the way it operated and left. There were too many people handing the food and putting it back because they changed there mind. I even saw people open the burgers and deciding it wasn't what they wanted wrapped it back up and put it back on the food carous...

Thanks Brian! Now I'm sorry I missed it. Sounds even better than the Boarding House.

Cool name tags!

I'd be curious if the dark rides at other theme parks were successful or not. I remember the original three Six Flags parks had them; Speelunker's Cave, Monster Plantation, etc. There was also Knott's Bear-y Tales at Knott's Berry Farm, Enchanted Voyage at Kings Island and the Alpine Sleigh Ride at ...

Anyone ever eat at Buffet Le Grand in Orleans Place? What was the menu like? Was it similiar in level of service to Maggie Brown's Boarding House where you could get a complete dinner?

This was the only restaurant I didn't get to eat at and was curious as to what it was like.

Anyone ever notice there wasn't a single dark ride at Marriott's Great America. Even today PGA doesn't have one. I always thought with the americana theming it would've been really cool. That was one thing I always found lacking with MGA.

Anyone else have thoughts on this?

At PGA I remember the fog tunnel before the lift, the first drop before the loop of which the lower part was shrouded in trees (bushes), the red and yellow chaser lights in the tunnel and the blood red waterfalls just before the corkscrew. There was also a soundtrack running in the queue that was si...

We had a dress code, boys could not have facial hair or hair below the ears. Girls could only have one ear piercing. You had to wear black or brown leather shows, and so on. I always thought that policy was long due for an overhaul. Even Disneyland modified their dress code. What does it matter as ...

Tanya wrote:There was a ferris wheel in SC. I think it was where The Edge went in later.

That's exactly where it was in SC.

Thank you for the info. I think I've seen that book on Amazon. Just for clarification there are two books with nearly the same title. The out-of-print book is the one I mentioned; The Great American Amusement Parks which contain the two MGA photos and there's a newer book titled The American Amusem...

Steven, On the 1976 souvenir map it's labeled "Totem Pole Carving". On the brochure map from the same year it doesn't say anything, but shows an area which corresponds to the souvenir map. This is an image redfishpaw posted in another topic which is also available in the 1976 book The Grea...

Thanks redfishpaw, I like those old photos. What book was that from? The b/w photos of the Santa Clara aerial and Hometown Square contruction are from the book The Great American Amusement Parks by Gary Kyriazi - 1976. The book also contains other theme park photos from the seventies including a gr...

Steven,

From looking at three different SC MGA maps it appears the Totem Pole Carving area was between Saskatchewan Scrambler and Yukon Yahoo on the same side of the path. Wish I could scan it and show it to you.

If you're talking strictly track, I liked Turn of the Century better. When I first rode it, those two hills blew me away. It felt like I was going to be ripped right out of my seat.

Does the Demon still have some special effects?

Every year Six Flags has a press conference telling the attendance rates and for the past two years, the family rates have gone up. Interesting and thanks for the info. I'd like to know what Santa Clara's PGA attendance stats are if anyone knows. I do agree with you that if Marriott still owned the...