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In the Gurnee park, I only remember two stations, and they were in the same place that Santa Cruisin said they were in the CA park. The Trolley line was called the same thing as well, Hometown & Orleans Street Railway I don't know if the CA park still has their Trolleys or not. Gurnee no longer ...

Eagle's Nest was just your standard Hot Dog / Burger place in the park. I believe they were also one of the few places in the park that sold beer. I believe the name was choosen because it was located right next to the queue / exit of the American Eagle. Today, the name of the place is called someth...

Actually, the print of the American Eagle is quite detailed, and I believe very accurate. Here is a close up taken of the lift hill. http://CPE-65-25-185-174.wi.res.rr.com:2711/jcpics/brian/MGAParksPhotos/EagleDrawing.jpg As you can see, it has the height of the drop, top speed, and the angle of the...

When the park first opened, Eagle was not at the park (it opened May 23, 1981). But, the Tent was. The reason it is a tent is that there was a circus there, comeplete with clowns, elephants, tight-rope walkers, etc. Personally, I don't remember ever going to see the circus show, but looking back on ...

Gurnee still has one. I walked through it a few times as well when I worked at the park.

I never personally worked in the Kennel unit, so I don't know much else about it. But, it is still at the front of the park, and it is still in use today.

Gurnee had one as well. I don't recall ever getting gas at it, but I know the park did have one. I don't believe I have any pictures of the gas station, but it was located somewhat close to where the sign is along the Tollway. If I get the chance, I'll post a picture of the parkling lot, and circle ...

When I worked in the rides department during the 1990, 1991, and 1992 seasons, they still counted attendance the same way (looked at the turnstiles, wrote down the numbers, and added them by hand each hour). The same was true with the front gate as well. Even today, they are still doing it that way....

One day I will have to stop by the library myself to see these items in person! Are they readily accessible? Again, many thanks!!!!!! :D You and everyone else are very welcome. Yes, all you have to do is ask at the reference desk for the "Great America" archive folder, and they will pull ...

When I worked at the Gurnee Park, I was able to see the pictures in the hallway of the Admin building that you are talking about. Just recently, I was luckly enough to be part of a tour of that building during ACE's Annual Coaster Convention back in June. As redfishpaw said, there is a very good col...

Brian, Do you know where on Sky Whirl that bolt was used? Steven I'm not really sure. My guess would be it was one of the bolts that held the tower itself together, or maybe on that held the tower to the base. I know the ends of the bolts were cut off of wherever they were on the ride, if that help...

Here's a picture of the plate you are talking about. This was taken inside the Gurnee Park's wardrobe department. http://CPE-65-25-185-174.wi.res.rr.com:2711/jcpics/brian/MGAParksPhotos/OpeningYearPlate.jpg A friend of mine has one as well. I think she got it off of ebay. Not sure how much she paid ...

The Gurnee Park (and I'm guessing Santa Clara) had 2 Shooting Galleries. One was called Pirates Alley, in Orleans Place, and the other was the Northwest Shooting Gallery, in Yukon Territory. The way they worked was that the guns actually shot a "flash" of light directed at the target. That...

I'm not quite sure where the Wine Glasses actually came from in the park. I won them at an Auction during ACE's Annual Convention this past June. The seller told me they were from the Gurnee Park, but did not say if they had been purchased in the park, or were given out during a special event.

Well, I figured since we were all taking about items from rides and stuff, I would show you all some of the things in my collection. First, I have a frisbee. I beleive these came in two colors, Red and Blue. My brother kept the blue one, and I kept the red one. http://CPE-65-25-185-174.wi.res.rr.com...

I attended many a christmas party at the park during the off season. They were in December, and always in the Moosejaw/Snowshoe Salon. The years I went were winter of 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992. They always started around 6 or 7 pm ish, so yes, it was usually dark by then. I do recall a few ye...