Graduation/Senior Night at SFGAm

GreatAmerica4ever · Post by **GreatAmerica4ever** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 12:13 pm

I remember when Gurnee had a special annual night for seniors of high school graduation classes at the park. I remember that they were held on Friday nights in June.

I graduated in 1987 and I remember that they cancelled that year and every year since. My friends and I were very disappointed about this at the time!

Does anyone know the exact reasoning for the cancelations? Did Marriott ever have a Senior Night, too?

Thanks!

Stealthguy05 · Post by **Stealthguy05** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:34 pm

Well Last year GAm Had Had One and many years before that during the old Paramount era. Post Paramount? I Dono.

(GAm=Santa Clara SFGAm=Gurnee)

Glorfindel7 · Post by **Glorfindel7** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:45 pm

I think there was a gang related incident in 1987 that led to shots being fired between two students from different high schools.

However I don't know if that was the official reason they called off the Senior night.

customfabricators · Post by **customfabricators** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 6:04 am

Senior Night ended because of the extreme misbehavior of the clientele in the park those nights. Sex, drugs, alcohol, shoplifting, linejumping, rudeness, vandalisim were all problems.

RLAiello · Post by **RLAiello** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 1:42 am

Yeah that's the story I heard when I started working there in '88, and the basic gist was that the park management didn't want to host another Grad Night event again after the shooting incident.

Apparently the shooting occurred in the parking lot and nobody was injured. That's what I had heard.

Anyone have any specific information to add?

BillK · Post by **BillK** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 2:39 am

I remember my Grad Night, in 1984.

I recall you had to buy tickets in a block through the group sales office, so you couldn't just come to Grad Night by purchasing tickets; you had to get tickets through an organization affiliated with your school. I was the one that got our student council hooked up with the offices in Gurnee so our class could attend. I think we eventually had at least 25 or 30 people go.

One of my fondest memories was remembering the kids who, unfortunately learned the hard way that you really, really don't want to go on the water rides that late at night - you don't dry off.

Glorfindel7 · Post by **Glorfindel7** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 11:09 am

BillK wrote:One of my fondest memories was remembering the kids who, unfortunately learned the hard way that you really, really don't want to go on the water rides that late at night - you don't dry off.

LOL, many a time I would do exactly that, and would FREEZE the rest of the way home because the air conditioning would be on OR the windows would be open in the car.