Get Carried Away!

[akorbel]

I think "Get Carried Away!" was the last advertising campaign at Marriott's Great America. Around the time the Edge debuted? I also remember the songs they played when the park closed, "Carousel Song" being the most famous. Also, all of the special effects on the Demon like the mist in the first tunnel, the lights in the second and the blood fountains at the corkscrews. The Marriotts are very devout Mormons so I've always been kind of surprised that they would have allowed the theming for the Demon to be so demon-like. I liked the recorded story about the origins of the Demon they played while you waited in line for the ride, too. Too bad they don't resurrect the complete theming. Not to mention that they destroyed the theming for the Santa Clara park as a whole.

[Mat]

Seems like every year they take out more and more of the history of the park. I still remember going to the park a few years back and seeing a giant asphalt hole in the ground where the train station used to be. I mean come on....an amusement park with out a train?!?

Same goes with the SkyWhirl...I still get sad flying into San Jose airport and not being able to see the SW from the sky...or driving down 101...

Sheeesh.

Mat

[steven]

Yes, the parks have changed dramatically over the years. And we don't necessarily like all of the changes. Post-Marriott, the parks have taken different directions. The changes have all been business decisions, some clearly better than others. But they have to continue to change to compete with plenty of other entertainment options. If we could restore the parks to their original Marriott's GREAT AMERICA state, they would not be competitive in today's market -- too boring, too tame, whatever... Just look at today's Disneyland as it is about to mark its 50th anniversary tomorrow. Plenty of dearly-beloved Disneyland attractions have long since passed into history. Many believe that lots of the changes to that park would not please Walt Disney.

The Santa Clara park came extremely close to being converted into an office park. I'd much rather have a park still operating there -- as we do today -- than just another bland set of office buildings. Still, I wish that more of the original attractions could have been kept, or at least transplanted to another park so that others could continue to enjoy them. For example, Sky Whirl / Triple Wheel would have been perfect for nearby Bonfante Gardens in Gilroy.

Anyway, there's a place were we can continue to enjoy the memories of Marriott's GREAT AMERICA's past: right here at GREATAMERICAparks.com!

Steven

[dth1971]

"Get Carried Away" was even Great America's slogan in 1984 after the Marriott's - Six Flags changeover for the Gurnee Great America.

[steven]

"Get Carried Away" was the last campaign originated under Marriott. It probably continued for the 1984 season in Gurnee because the Marriott/Six Flags transition took place after the 1984 operating season was already in progress, I believe. I don't know how that played out in Santa Clara during 1984.

Steven

[imdaman]

I definately agree with everyone that many of the rides that have been removed were fun and there wasn't really a need to get rid of them. I haven't been to the park in a few years and I had no idea that the tidal wave had been removed (from santa clara). It was depressing to see it in pieces!! Most of the santa clara rides that have been removed I enjoyed, the train, the edge, triple wheel, yankee clipper, tidal wave. The exception might be stealth, I know first hand that it had many mechanical problems and broke down a lot.

[Santa Cruisin]

I remember the Sky Whirl fondly. In the early days you could see it in the distance behind the Columbia. I always thought how cool it looked to see a DOUBLE decker carousel and TRIPLE ferris wheel in one view. It had a sense of wonder to it. Another thing I remember was that it was a slow loader. I think the ride time was about 17 minutes. I usually wanted off after the first 5 minutes. It also never seemed to be filled to capacity. I always thought of it more as a visual icon than a ride experience. I still do miss it.

[brdwyguy]

I do remember something about the rides!
As a pe
rformer in the Grand Music Hall - our stage door opened right out onto the service road ---- however------
every single noisy ride was located right near that stage door
and every time the door opened we heard - onto the stage -
the noise of rides screeching - along with the screams

the 3 noisest rides were located all within a few yards of that door!
The Yukon Yahoo!!!
The Tidal Wave - the noisest of all
The Triple Ferris Wheel - that constant whirring!!! sound is still in my ear to
this day.

[steven]

Hey, Joey,

Well, they've finally taken care of the noise problem there for you in Santa Clara.

Yukon Yahoo: renamed Berserker and moved over next to DEMON
TIDAL WAVE: gone
Sky Whirl / Triple Wheel: gone

The constant whirring of the Sky Whirl motors, though, was music to my ears! For that matter, so was all the TIDAL WAVE noise!

Steven

[steven]

I think "Get Carried Away!" was the last advertising campaign at Marriott's Great America.

I just added this song to the home page:
http://www.greatamericaparks.com/

Steven