OPENING DAY AT GURNEE!

General discussion about Marriott's GREAT AMERICA
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yankee Clipper91
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OPENING DAY AT GURNEE!

Post by yankee Clipper91 »

Today was the opening day at the Gurnee park. Overall the weather was good. A lot of the rides were closed. For the Marriott's rides the yankee clipper, whirligig, sky trek tower, and the orbit were shut down. Some of the rides really need work on. Fiddlers Fling and the great america raceway need the most work. A lot of the post marriott's rides were shut down too.
Last edited by yankee Clipper91 on Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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MGA1
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Gurnee Opening Day 2008

Post by MGA1 »

Wow, that's disappointing to hear so many rides weren't operating on Opening Day.

Could you tell if it was because the rides weren't mechanically ready to open or was it because the park didn't have enough ride operators to staff the positions. Did you notice if any food units or retail units were closed? What was attendance like...I know that's hard to judge...but what were the line wait times like? Was the parking lot more than 1/2 full?
"...and enjoy the rest of your day here at Marriott's GRRRREAT America"
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yankee Clipper91
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Post by yankee Clipper91 »

The big reason why most were shut down was because of the wind. Only the yankee clipper and the orbit were supposed to be shut down for mechanical reasons.
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yankee Clipper91
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Post by yankee Clipper91 »

I also forgot but to answer your question it was not very busy. The longest thing I waited for was for my season pass.
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Post by EagleMom »

I work in Guest Relations and I am anxious to see how Opening Day was- how busy it was, what opened later in the day, etc. I assume that many rides were down because of the wind.
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Post by EagleMom »

Just out of curiosity, how was this Opening Day compared to others? Also, did the park plant daffodils around the pool in time?
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yankee Clipper91
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Post by yankee Clipper91 »

I couldn't tell you that was my first opening day. I am not sure about the flowers?
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Post by jonrev »

EagleMom wrote:Just out of curiosity, how was this Opening Day compared to others? Also, did the park plant daffodils around the pool in time?
Not the greatest opening day ever but still fun. There was mostly dirt around the pool unfortunately.
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ttd rox
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Post by ttd rox »

Definately the worst visit for me. Everything was closed down due to high winds speeds. Even Bull was closed for the whole day. Definately wasn't the best day to go.
Whatta day! Whatta place!

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Post by Demonlover13 »

They didn't seem to have a lot of flowers from what I noticed. At least, none by Fiddler's Fling or the Demon sign.
I need a great day this year, or 2, or 30!
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Post by jimmy gimbels »

Yes, the wind was up that day but....many of the rides were not open because there were not enough certified employees to operate many of the attractions. Attendance was expected to be low that day...so many shops and eateries remained closed. I remember that day very clearly becuase of all the complaints, especially from many parents of small children. Only Wiggles World was partially open. No parade. No main stage show till mid-June.

Many of the flowers were no planted for another 2-3 weeks. In fact, many of the areas were still not cleared of winter debris. Six Flags is no Marriotts that is for sure.

The opening of Dark Knight was several weeks off. Due to advertising, people thought the attraction was open. Truth is, the building was still being constructed. You could see a large hole in one side from the bus parking area.

It was no day of joy...lots of problems with cash registers...still programmed with last year's prices. Almosgt every sale required an over ride.
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yankee Clipper91
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Post by yankee Clipper91 »

jimmy gimbels wrote:Yes, the wind was up that day but....many of the rides were not open because there were not enough certified employees to operate many of the attractions. Attendance was expected to be low that day...so many shops and eateries remained closed. I remember that day very clearly becuase of all the complaints, especially from many parents of small children. Only Wiggles World was partially open. No parade. No main stage show till mid-June.

Many of the flowers were no planted for another 2-3 weeks. In fact, many of the areas were still not cleared of winter debris. Six Flags is no Marriotts that is for sure.

The opening of Dark Knight was several weeks off. Due to advertising, people thought the attraction was open. Truth is, the building was still being constructed. You could see a large hole in one side from the bus parking area.

It was no day of joy...lots of problems with cash registers...still programmed with last year's prices. Almosgt every sale required an over ride.
After reading that I have to say that is pathetic and what makes them think that they are going to be opened for april 3rd. They are going to have a bad opening day this year.
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