Skee Daddle

All about everything else at Marriott's GREAT AMERICA
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dth1971
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Skee Daddle

Post by dth1971 »

Do you remember a Skee-Ball parlor/game room in Great America named "Skee Daddle"? It was in the County Fair area.
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redfishpaw
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Post by redfishpaw »

I recall Skeeball in two locations in County Fair. Games Gallery Arcade (in the center) and the other large arcade just to the west, near the Barney Oldfield Speedway. Also the Cirque Arcade in Orleans Place at one time had Skeeball.
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RLAiello
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Skeedaddle/ Games Gallery Arcade

Post by RLAiello »

Skeedaddle was originally (in both parks) in the building between Barney Oldfield and Pizza Luigi, and Games Gallery Arcade was the arcade in the main Games Gallery. In Gurnee, sometime (I don't know specifically when), they swapped Skeedaddle and GGA... same names, just different locations. When I worked there, they were in the swapped locations. The Original Skeedaddle building had the diorama of a skeeball game on the outside. (see image below, to the left edge of the pic). When GGA moved into this building in Gurnee, they kept this artwork but enclosed the line games to create... what else... skeeball areas.


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Rick Aiello
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redfishpaw
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Post by redfishpaw »

I also recall the locations being swapped, but I am unsure exactly which year this happened.
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Post by tasod »

I used to work in the magic shop next to the arcade in Orleans.

I remember a secret on the early skeedaddle machines the arcade attendants told us about.

On the right side (where the coin went in) there was a cable between the lever and the ball release. If a machine was on the end (right side) and not blocked you could reach under and pull a cable and release the balls for a quick game... (the points wouldn't work though).

This doesn't work on the new machines anymore.
1980 - 1989 Santa Clara - Retail Employee
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jimmy gimbels
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Re: Skee Daddle

Post by jimmy gimbels »

Remember skee daddle? YES! I still have old prize tickets from the Marriott days. I think my prize choise was a a giant comb. So I skipped getting a prize and went to ride Turn of the Century.
JRobb
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Re: Skee Daddle

Post by JRobb »

A silly quick memory of Skeedaddle at SCMGA. The ticket dispensers jammed fairly regularly at the games in the Country Fair arcade. Trying to attain a jumbo comb myself, being deprived of earned tickets was a bummer. So I grabbed one of the brightly attired young ladies who worked the arcade (yellow and some checkered attire?) and she proceeded to roll for my lost tickets. Her trick: she knelt at the right side of the game and flipped each wooden ball back handed, scoring 40s and 50s with each roll. The tickets spewed forth and I took that technique with me to arcades all over California throughout the 80's. It may look unorthodox but if memory serves a lot of the arcade crew used the secret back handed-flip &roll. Oh and one confession: at some point I did steal a wooden ball. 30 years later and I still have it !!
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