Monday- April 9th, 2012

After being on vacation and missing opening day, I finally had a chance to visit Great Adventure as they startup their 2012 season.  It was a windy spring day but the sun was shining and the sky was clear and blue.  Here are some photos of my kick-off to the new season.
     
The bison were kicking up dirt that would swirl in little whirlwinds across the Safari road.   The new SkyScreamer could easily be seen from the Safari.
     
The giraffes hid in front of one of the buildings to escape the winds.    
     
Under Funstruction!   Eating on your knees looks painful.
     


The elephant once again has his trunk!  Nice!
The positioning of the wires confining the monkeys is now at a different angle.  Maybe they figured out how to work around the old setup last summer.  
   
     


Several of the climb pieces from Balin's Jungleland hav been installed at the old Exploration Station.
 
     


The park's skyline has a new landmark.
The new security screening location made entry into the park much more efficient plus seemed to make the entrance area much better defined.  
   
     
The park has restocked our book and is selling it at multiple locations. Watch this store in the weeks and month ahead for some great retro merchandise!
   
     
    Mama must be cooking up a new sign.
     
    The Fender Benders have yet to arrive and will open after the rest of Adventure Alley - sometime in June.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     


DejaVu, the park's new Scrambler ride will be music themed and feature artwork/logos from G.A.'s past.
   
     
     
     
     
     


Air Jumbo is being repainted to better fit in with the new Adventure Alley area.
 
     
The Swashbuckler sign has yet to be installed. New fencing borders the Blackbeard's Lost Treasure Train coaster. The new fence uses the pilings of the original one.
     
     
  The Buccaneer received a complete paintjob and makeover and looks brand new!  
     
     
 
     
Skull Mountain's sign received some freshening up.
 
     
The Bugaboo and Rajas Rickshaws perimeter fences were both repainted.    
     
 
With a little realignment on the park map, Safari Kids, Looney Tunes Seaport, Nitro, and Congo Rapids are all part of Adventure Seaport. Pepe has returned to center stage after  being away all last season. New live shrubs have been planted to spell Congo Rapids.
     
   
  In all five photos above the hot dog stands have been removed.  Strange!  
     
  Warner LeRoy would have liked this arcade game!  
     
No more pizza at the HBO Commissary. Slurpee has invaded Movie Town and several other stands around the park.  
     
The high-striker game was moved to Adventure Alley providing a new smoking area to replace the one lost with the new DejaVu ride. The Musik Express still stands in the Old Country section although it has seen better days. On-ride photos at the Dark Knight Coaster are a thing of the past.
     
  The Main Street Pub has replaced the Main Street Deli.  Gone are the inside tables and glass display counter.  
     

The entrance to the Cyber Cafe has been relocated and the lounge area and most computers have been removed.
   
     
    Caution - Falling Rock
     
  After rumors of the dolphin stadium closing, it was great to see the facility getting some TLC including newly painted seats!  
     
     
    I didn't get a chance to check and see if the steam engine was reinstalled.
     
Paintball is gone - now let's get rid of this building!    
     
A second season pass processing area has opened this year in the red and white Dream Street Tent.    
     
     

The Bandstand on the Lake's air conditioning system was upgraded to keep Bugs cool.
Bugs lost his head!
 
     
     
For some strange reason, staircases have been installed to the catwalks at the top of the Fort.  I am sure this is for some sort of emergency access, but wouldn't it be cool if these areas were opened to the public as observation decks!
     
     
     
  The Best of the West received some new wood and a great cleaning.  It looks refreshed.  
     
     
Mama Flora now sponsors the Conestoga Wagon.  It appears to be in the process of being repainted and having its harness hitch refurbished.
     
 
     
   
     
     
     
     
     
     
 
     
     
It was exciting to see new construction and maintenance throughout the park. 

With five new rides and numerous improvement projects in the works, it looks like 2012 will be a fantastic season.