Post Marriotts but a hilarious game. Just the name Whack-a-Mole....Whoever could knock out the greatest number of moles (intermittantly popping their heads out of holes) would be the winner. You used a pre-historic looking club to do it. Fun to watch the whackers...at a distance!
Also entertaining was the shooting gallery. The shooting gallery was during Marriott's heyday I do remember. Some of the things you could do when you hit a target were amazing. Did the guns shoot a blast of air or were they laser?
Whack-a-Mole
- BrianPlencner
- Tidal Wave
- Posts: 209
- Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2005 8:07 pm
- Location: Carpentersville, IL
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 is the reason why the signs were posted about no flash photography. As a side note, it was quite funny to "take a flash picture" with a camera in front of the Shooting Gallery....everything in it went off at once, and it made this really funny sound!
In later years, Pirates Alley was removed, and the one in Yukon Territory was moved to the Southwest Territory. Last year, the one in Southwest Territory was removed as well.
The way they worked was that the guns actually shot a "flash" of light directed at the target. That is the reason why the signs were posted about no flash photography. As a side note, it was quite funny to "take a flash picture" with a camera in front of the Shooting Gallery....everything in it went off at once, and it made this really funny sound!
In later years, Pirates Alley was removed, and the one in Yukon Territory was moved to the Southwest Territory. Last year, the one in Southwest Territory was removed as well.
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Mr. Brian Plencner
SFGAm Employee: 1988-1992
Mr. Brian Plencner
SFGAm Employee: 1988-1992
Whack-a-Mole
I never saw Whack-a-Mole at the Gurnee Marriott's Great America in 1979-early 1980's, but I remember the Skee-ball areas (one Skee-ball area was called "Skee-Daddle").
Trusty map never fails... There was a Northwest Shooting Gallery in Yukon. Just over the bridge from Yankee Harbor. I remember it now! There was a Skeedaddle in County Fair and another skeeball called Cirque Electrique Arcade in Orleans Place.
One of my favorites was the County Fair Boats. Those little remote control things.
One of my favorites was the County Fair Boats. Those little remote control things.