Bumper car rides are a staple of theme parks around the world, and in
the 1970's scaled down versions of the ride were produced to be a part
of the children's sections of parks. This gave many of the youngest
guests their first chance to drive and have a great time smashing into
other kids.
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Introduced in 1979,
the Crazy Cars were the second set of kid-sized bumper cars at Great
Adventure. This second set of cars featured a sturdier building more
suited to permanent installation in a theme park that can get ice and
snow storms in the off season.
The Crazy Cars were
installed in the park's children section, Kiddie Kingdom, on the same
site as the original Great Race ride. When Kiddie
Kingdom became Shirt Tales Land, the ride was renamed Bogey's Bumper Cars.
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Technical Specifications
Ride Manufacturer: |
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Bertazzon |
Unit Construction: |
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Fiberglass |
Number of Cars: |
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6 +/- |
Unit Capacity: |
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2 |
Cycle Capacity: |
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12 |
Riding Time: |
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90 seconds |
Loading Time: |
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2 minutes |
Unloading Time: |
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1 minute |
Cycle Time: |
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4 min 30 seconds |
Cycles per Hour: |
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13.3 |
Hourly Capacity: |
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Approx. 200 |
Restraining Device: |
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Shoulder Strap |
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Click below to view a Crazy Cars video:
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Kiddie Bumper Cars II
Names
Through the Years
1979-1983 Crazy Cars
1984 Bogey's Bumper Cars
1985-1987 Speedy Gonzales Bumper Cars
1988-1994 Elmer Fudd Traffic Jam
1995-2004 Looney Tunes Log Jam
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The Little Wooden Roof |
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One of the unique and
odd things about the kids bumper cars was a small shade structure at one
corner of the ride. The structure was an octagon with a 90 degree cutout
on one side designed to fit the corner of the bumper car building. The
thing that was odd about the roof was it was obviously designed to fit
around the building, but the building was a couple of feet away from the
structure. The underside of the roof was fitted with a string of white
lights which complemented the center structure found in the
original Kiddie Kingdom. The roof later served as a mount for the ride's sign as the Looney
Tunes Log Jam. |
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Shirt Tales Land
would become Looney Tunes Land after only one season, and the ride was
renamed Speedy Gonzales Bumper Cars for three seasons until Looney Tunes
Land became Bugs Bunny Land in 1988 and it was renamed Elmer Fudd
Traffic Jam, taking on a name reflecting the adult bumper cars.
The kiddie bumpers had the longest set of queue bars of any children's
ride ever found at Great Adventure. Rarely ever filled, the bars
rivaled the size of many of the adult flat rides at the park. |
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In 1995 the ride was renamed Looney Tunes Log Jam as part of a
recent update of the Bugs Bunny Land section. With the addition of the
giant tree stump entrance to the area in 1994, the bumper car building was
updated with new log styled fiberglass panels around the roof,
replacing the original colorful fairground style top. Cutouts of the
Looney Tunes characters were added as well, creating a more custom look
for the ride.
The kiddie bumper cars continued to delight
children through the end of the 2004 season when Bugs Bunny Land was
razed to make way for the new Golden Kingdom section in 2005.
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