Merchandise has always been a great source of revenue for amusement and theme parks.  High profit margins, especially on unique and popular items, make selling goods a worth while investment.  Over the years numerous hat locations have been featured throughout the park.  A shop known simply as "Hats" was one of the first to open at Great Adventure.
	Outside of the large merchandise shops located within the Super Teepee and the four Dream Street Tents at the entrance/exit of the park, Great Adventure opened in 1974 with only two additional shops, both of which were hat stands. Hats!Hats! operated in the Shoot Out building near the Great Arena while the other was named Hats and was situated next to the Fountain on Dream Street.  In Great Adventure's earliest days carts were strategically placed around the park and served as venues for general merchandise and souvenirs.  Having two dedicated hat shops illustrated just how popular headwear was in the 1974. In 1975, Hats took on the name HatsHats! for a season after the western locale closed.  It was renamed Fountain Hat Stand for three years before becoming Paul Revere's Hats in 1979.
		The open-sided walls of the hats stand made the merchandise readily available to shoppers.  Guests were encouraged to stop by and try on the numerous hats which were typically the latest styles and current trends of a given season. The ever changing selection included captain hats (made popular by the Captain & Tennille), sunvisors, cowboy hats, colored and themed baseball caps capitalizing on popular brands and slogans, neon colored apparel, and big foam western hats.
	For 1992 Paul Revere's Hats received an updated sign featuring Paul Revere riding on a horse reminiscent of his midnight ride through Boston.  This sign was a precursor to the retheming of the fountain and entrance area which in 1994 would be transformed with a colonial makeover.
	Hat Stand Names Through the Years 1974:  Hats 1975:  Hats! Hats! 1976-1978:  Fountain Hat Stand 1979-1997: Paul Revere's Hats
		In 1995, Paul Revere's neighboring Fantasy Ice Cream Shop was renamed Franklin's Ice Cream Shop and furthered the American Revolution-era theme. The Paul Revere's Hats building remained relatively unchanged from its installation in 1974 until its removal after the 1996 season. These two stands were razed and replaced in 1997 with the Colonial Cafe - the park's first coffee shop.
For a brief time, Paul Revere's Hats took up residence in a new store which was built adjacent to the Colonial Cafe, just to the left of the food outlet. The hat stand was short lived as the park soon realized that such a prime piece of real estate as a walk-in store so close to the entrance to the park could be more profitable if it didn't just sell hats.  Over time the shop became a clothing store, Ride Zone shop, and even a mock funeral home during Fright Fest. The new shop was demolished in 2009 to make way for the Cyber Cafe and Cold Stone Creamery stand.