PGA's rides or SFGAM's Rides

[Demondude102110]

Which parks rides do you like better? Personally I would have to go with SFGAM's rides.

[redfishpaw]

I'll go with MARRIOTT'S rides!

[badfingerboogie]

I have a question based on something I've noticed from comments from a few people on the board.

How many people here actually are familiar and have regularly been to both GA parks? I'm just curious because there seem to be quite a few people here who have worked at both and/or regularly go to both parks or have went to both parks in the past. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, because I think it's intensely interesting to have people who can definitively describe detailed differences between the parks. I'm just sort of surprised that so many people have been to two parks that are so far apart from each other.

While I have by no means regularly polled people I know about the Santa Clara park, I'm sure that I've never even met somebody who has been to the Gurnee park. Heck, I don't even think that many people that I know even are aware that there was a second park in Gurnee, especially these days.

Anyway, I was just interested to find out what the story is behind those who have personally been involved with or have been to both parks. I was just surprised that there would be very many people here that would even be able to compare the rides at the two parks based on personal experiences.

[Santa Cruisin]

Speaking for myself, I've always had an interest in amusement/theme parks since I was a kid. I've visited many parks from Disney, Six Flags, Paramount, Cedar Fair, Busch, etc. Unfortunately the Gurnee park wasn't among them. I knew the other park existed because I always read magazine articles on amusement parks at the library back then. Today you can find lots of detailed information on the net.

I have a huge collection of amusement/theme park memorabilia that I've collected through the years, so this allows me to see the different details between the two parks with postcards, brochures, etc. So I know the Santa Clara park from personal experience and the Gurnee park through photos, periodicals, postcards, brochures, etc.

I agree that casual visitors probably don't even know the other park exists. These parks are usually regional in their draw. Great question by the way.

As far as which rides I are better. The Gurnee park seems to take the prize on that one.

[dth1971]

The Marriott's/Six Flags Great America rides of Gurnee, Illinois are better!

[UAORDStew]

I have been to both parks over the years. I began working at SFGA back in 1986. Visited the California park back in 1990, before it was a Paramount park and they were still quite the same. Layouts, rides, shops, etc. Once Paramount purchased the park from the City of Santa Clara is when the major changes began. I visited PGA back in 2002 for a second go-round and things were completely different. At this time, Whizzer was gone, the Scenic RR was gone, the Hometown Tressle was gone, etc. etc. New rides in, old rides out...blah, blah, blah.

SFGA has kept it's integrity pretty much intact over all these years. Sure, they've added stuff OUTSIDE of the original park blueprints, but they've been an added bonus!! We, those of us calling SFGA our home park, are lucky that it's stayed pretty much intact and we've been able to enjoy just about all that the Marriott Corp. had invested into the park for OUR enjoyment!!

I must agree....it's probably true that most people in the Chicagoland area either....did not know or hadn't known...that there was a sister park to theirs in the Bay Area. They only knew of, hear of, and seen of the Chicagoland one. Damn shame!

It's amazing how similar, but yet how different two identical parks are.

[steven]

SFGA has kept it's integrity pretty much intact over all these years.

Sky Whirl?
Southern Cross?
Delta Flyer / Eagle's Flight?



...just the things that I liked the best.

Steven

[JW65]

I have a question based on something I've noticed from comments from a few people on the board.

How many people here actually are familiar and have regularly been to both GA parks? I'm just curious because there seem to be quite a few people here who have worked at both and/or regularly go to both parks or have went to both parks in the past. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, because I think it's intensely interesting to have people who can definitively describe detailed differences between the parks. I'm just sort of surprised that so many people have been to two parks that are so far apart from each other.

While I have by no means regularly polled people I know about the Santa Clara park, I'm sure that I've never even met somebody who has been to the Gurnee park. Heck, I don't even think that many people that I know even are aware that there was a second park in Gurnee, especially these days.

Anyway, I was just interested to find out what the story is behind those who have personally been involved with or have been to both parks. I was just surprised that there would be very many people here that would even be able to compare the rides at the two parks based on personal experiences.

I think most of the people who visit this site are aware of both parks. I have not been to the Santa Clara park, but someday I hope to make it there.

[UAORDStew]

True, true Steven.......but compared to PGA?? SFGA has kept itself "pretty much" intact.

I too believe it was a huge mistake to take out the Sky Whirl....but they must have had their reasons (cost, maint., etc, etc.) Ha...I guess that could go for the huge green/blue lawn ornament that took it's place too!?!? LOL!!!

[dave210]

Well, in Six Flags' defense, Marriott was the one who ended up closing Southern Cross, as I believe the cables and such were gone in 1983, and in 1984, Marriott was the one who demolished the Orleans Southern Cross station to begin erecting White Water Rampage.

Also, Eagle's Flight was removed in 1985 (*I think*), so while that could have been a Six Flags decision as sale took place in 1984, it might have been a decision in the making that Marriott already had planned as they themselves already scrapped one sky ride.

I heard two theories of the sky ride removals, and that was wind related issues that caused potential safety concerns (such as when various fire departments from various towns surrounding Northern Illinois had to come to MGA and evacuate bucket after bucket of riders stuck 130 feet in the air), and the other issue being possible foundation problems with Eagle's Flight/Southern Cross.

Either way, point is, Marriott may not have had a hand in the removal of Eagle's Flight, but definitely Southern Cross (which Santa Clara didn't even have).

And the Triple Wheel was removed some 3 years before the Sky Whirl at SFGAm. I mean, at least Gurnee got another 3 years out of a ride that Intamin didn't specifically make parts for anymore. Trust me, I'd rather have the red, white, and blue Sky Whirl than junko Deja Vu, but somehow I don't see SFGAm's integrity as a park come off any worse than PGA in that situation.

While the rides don't always match up, I guess it just makes me angry to see sooooooooo much of the original theming either destroyed, changed, or not kept up at PGA.

Batman, Superman, etc. may not exactly be right for Yankee Harbor or Orleans Place, but at least Six Flags has made efforts with other things to keep up the theming such as rides in Yukon, Southwest as a whole, sprucing up Orleans, and adding an Americana themed flat ride in County Fair.

I happen to like both parks, it's just PGA has transformed the park in a completely different direction, and while that's fine, I would have to say the integrity of a theme park based around AMERICA (hence Great AMERICA), is somewhat lost at Santa Clara, and still at a minimum, somewhat still noticeable at SFGAm. When I didn't here ragtime music in Hometown Square or whatever it's called now at PGA, I knew I was in a completely different park.

SFGA has kept it's integrity pretty much intact over all these years.

Sky Whirl?
Southern Cross?
Delta Flyer / Eagle's Flight?



...just the things that I liked the best.

Steven

[steven]

Yes, that was a lapse on my part about Southern Cross. I was thinking "the Gurnee park in general" rather than specifically Marriott or Six Flags when I wrote that. I definitely knew that Marriott removed Southern Cross, not Six Flags. Sorry for the slip-up!

Steven

[redfishpaw]

Both of the Skyrides were gone by March of 1985. This is when I started working at SFGA and I remember being disappointed that they where gone. In 85, "Delta Flyer" station was boarded up. "Eagles Flight" station eventuially became the ''Funnel Cake Foundry". New Orleans Southern cross station was gone (as White Water Rampage was installed) and the southern cross station by the eagle survived for many more years, which I assume was used for storage.