Power Dive
Power Dive
Am I the only nut here that loved the Power Dive? Why was it taken down? (Well, other than poor attendance.)
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m11stephen2
- Yankee Clipper
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SFGAmfreak4life
- Willard's Whizzer
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Marky Mark
- Buzzy Bee
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FParker185
- Buzzy Bee
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Subcarrier
- Buzzy Bee
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- Location: Wauwatosa, WI
Power Dive
Other than losing the change out of my pockets, I loved it! 
Dive Memories
Cajun/Dive was my first unit assignment in Rides and I was on its crew for most of the '89 season. Most ride ops considered Dive a "major" although definitely on the lower end of that. In standard configuration it did need four ride ops -- two load, one enable/unload, and controls. However, it was possible to run the ride with three ride ops, two would not be practical for two reasons.
I can't imagine doing controls and loading, you would be running to get behind the panel to open and close the gates and it would be difficult to load the rows without someone working the turnstyle.
You definitely couldn't eliminate the enable position because at controls you have no direct view of the ride area. Without someone at enable a guest could wander into the ride area and "the pit" witihout being seen by controls, that would be a disaster.
Restraints of Doom
Dive was an equal opportunity offender for males and females. For males you got that nice pneumatic lap bar right into the groin. Some guys were smart and figured out if you brought your legs up you could stop the bar (a procedure quickly adopted by test riding leads). They didn't get to ride that way though, an op was more than happy to push the smart aleck's lap bar down for him. A rookie ride op might even ask for controls to raise and then re-lower the lap bars again. This wasn't necessary, you could just push them down.
In fact, the lap bars led to my first (and far from last!) disciplinary action, an attractive young lady had put a plush bear between her legs and underneath the lap bar. It wasn't allowed to have items between you and the lap bar so I said "I'm sorry miss, you can't have that bear there but boy would I love to be that bear!" My lead Jim held back laughing and gave me my first "counselling" back stage later that day followed by the admonishment of "that was damn funny though!"
The harnesses were heavy and when released were prone to just fall and hit you hard in the chest. Because of this and that they were so narrow and tight ladies generally hated the harnesses period.
Theming/Sound Effects
Power Dive took its theming lead from the very popular movie Top Gun. Originally this was pretty subtle, there was a Tomcat logo on the control booth as I recall and some subtle markings on the jet itself.
A month or so into the '89 season a very massive speaker cabinet appeared in the pit one morning and the maintenance guys told us we were getting "sound" now. And a ride op annoyance was born -- the abundance of noise from the pit from the whooshing plane sounds. At one point I think the Kenny Loggins song "Danger Zone" was included in the arsenal of sound effects but I could be wrong.
What was lame about the theming is they did all this work on the jet and control booth and didn't do a thing to change the queues!! They were still the "Edge" orange! Never understood it.
Dive Fun
One of my fascinations at Dive was catching spitters, the position to do this from was the enable/unload position because the load platform had the canopy. I don't know what made people do this, it was totally disgusting and frequently hit someone else, but I saw to it that many a guest was greeted by security when he got off the ride thus ending his day at SFGA.
Dive was also an interesting ride in the rain. The truck tires in the pit were the means of starting and stopping the ride. In the rain the tires and the bottom of the jet would get wet. Dive was set for a number of cycles (I think it took 3 cycles before loop and then 3 to come back down) but when it rained two loops and even three were not uncommon. It would take the ride forever to come down.
STU
A terrible omen for the future was first installed at Dive -- canned announcements. Half the luster of being a ride op was getting on the mic and doing the "spiel" and I was quite a ham at it. I remembered my youth fondly being told to "enjoy the rest of your day here at Marriott's Great America!" I also had my fair share of incidents of "mic abuse", a common disciplinary measure for a ride op. I never got that out of hand but they wanted you to stick to the spiel and I felt the need to entertain! I'm sad to say that I probably contributed to the adoption of canned announcements. One easy way to deal with mic abuse and make sure only the approved spiel was read is to use a recording.
The system consisted of a metal box in the control booth mounted above the doorway and had buttons for the loading and unloading spiels that you pressed to activate them. Within a week or two it was emblazoned with a Sharpie with the name "STU", short for "Stupid Talking Unit". Everyone hated STU and I knew a ride op or two that refused to use it until they were ordered to do otherwise.
I can't imagine doing controls and loading, you would be running to get behind the panel to open and close the gates and it would be difficult to load the rows without someone working the turnstyle.
You definitely couldn't eliminate the enable position because at controls you have no direct view of the ride area. Without someone at enable a guest could wander into the ride area and "the pit" witihout being seen by controls, that would be a disaster.
Restraints of Doom
Dive was an equal opportunity offender for males and females. For males you got that nice pneumatic lap bar right into the groin. Some guys were smart and figured out if you brought your legs up you could stop the bar (a procedure quickly adopted by test riding leads). They didn't get to ride that way though, an op was more than happy to push the smart aleck's lap bar down for him. A rookie ride op might even ask for controls to raise and then re-lower the lap bars again. This wasn't necessary, you could just push them down.
In fact, the lap bars led to my first (and far from last!) disciplinary action, an attractive young lady had put a plush bear between her legs and underneath the lap bar. It wasn't allowed to have items between you and the lap bar so I said "I'm sorry miss, you can't have that bear there but boy would I love to be that bear!" My lead Jim held back laughing and gave me my first "counselling" back stage later that day followed by the admonishment of "that was damn funny though!"
The harnesses were heavy and when released were prone to just fall and hit you hard in the chest. Because of this and that they were so narrow and tight ladies generally hated the harnesses period.
Theming/Sound Effects
Power Dive took its theming lead from the very popular movie Top Gun. Originally this was pretty subtle, there was a Tomcat logo on the control booth as I recall and some subtle markings on the jet itself.
A month or so into the '89 season a very massive speaker cabinet appeared in the pit one morning and the maintenance guys told us we were getting "sound" now. And a ride op annoyance was born -- the abundance of noise from the pit from the whooshing plane sounds. At one point I think the Kenny Loggins song "Danger Zone" was included in the arsenal of sound effects but I could be wrong.
What was lame about the theming is they did all this work on the jet and control booth and didn't do a thing to change the queues!! They were still the "Edge" orange! Never understood it.
Dive Fun
One of my fascinations at Dive was catching spitters, the position to do this from was the enable/unload position because the load platform had the canopy. I don't know what made people do this, it was totally disgusting and frequently hit someone else, but I saw to it that many a guest was greeted by security when he got off the ride thus ending his day at SFGA.
Dive was also an interesting ride in the rain. The truck tires in the pit were the means of starting and stopping the ride. In the rain the tires and the bottom of the jet would get wet. Dive was set for a number of cycles (I think it took 3 cycles before loop and then 3 to come back down) but when it rained two loops and even three were not uncommon. It would take the ride forever to come down.
STU
A terrible omen for the future was first installed at Dive -- canned announcements. Half the luster of being a ride op was getting on the mic and doing the "spiel" and I was quite a ham at it. I remembered my youth fondly being told to "enjoy the rest of your day here at Marriott's Great America!" I also had my fair share of incidents of "mic abuse", a common disciplinary measure for a ride op. I never got that out of hand but they wanted you to stick to the spiel and I felt the need to entertain! I'm sad to say that I probably contributed to the adoption of canned announcements. One easy way to deal with mic abuse and make sure only the approved spiel was read is to use a recording.
The system consisted of a metal box in the control booth mounted above the doorway and had buttons for the loading and unloading spiels that you pressed to activate them. Within a week or two it was emblazoned with a Sharpie with the name "STU", short for "Stupid Talking Unit". Everyone hated STU and I knew a ride op or two that refused to use it until they were ordered to do otherwise.
Guy Finley
aka "Bill" Finley
SFGAm Employee 1988 - 1992
aka "Bill" Finley
SFGAm Employee 1988 - 1992
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jonrev
- Tidal Wave
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I hated those damn restraints, you could barely breathe if you didnt do something to stop them. King Chaos's restraints are just as bad as Dive's, if not worse.
Those plane wooshing sounds I remember, being 9 or 10 when I first rode it, I loved hearing them. But it must have driven every employee in that part of Orleans crazy.
I also remember the spitters, and watching everyone's change fall out of their pockets when the jet looped. Someone has told me they found $20 in change one night in the PD pit.
I hate cresting Wolf's lift and seeing it rusting away in the parking lot.
Those plane wooshing sounds I remember, being 9 or 10 when I first rode it, I loved hearing them. But it must have driven every employee in that part of Orleans crazy.
I also remember the spitters, and watching everyone's change fall out of their pockets when the jet looped. Someone has told me they found $20 in change one night in the PD pit.
I hate cresting Wolf's lift and seeing it rusting away in the parking lot.
Gurnee Ride Op - 2007
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SFGAmfreak4life
- Willard's Whizzer
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tillenterprises
- Gulf Coaster
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lysandbrendansmom
- Buzzy Bee
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tillenterprises
- Gulf Coaster
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Ironically, I was okay after riding Power Dive, but that stupid King Chaos ride they have there now that replaced the Power Dive is the first Great America ride I ever went on since 1977 that made me feel sick!Marky Mark wrote:Yea...I'll ride Millennium Force, Son Of Beast and Dragster but you could never have paid me enough to ride Power Dive.
I would have thrown up for hours...
Yeah, I'm closest to the Santa Clara park, and I enjoy Endeavor (formerly known as Revolution). For you Gurnee goers, Endeavor is the same ride as Power Dive, only with a different decoration. Instead of a jet theme, it looks more like a pirate ship. And yes, the restraints are a super hassle. It's not for everyone, but if you liked Power Dive, you'll like Endeavor.dpxtreme wrote:For anyone who likes the Power Dive, you can still go to Great America in Santa Clara to ride Endeavor!
I miss Tidal Wave