Bumper cars have long been a staple of carnivals, amusement parks and
theme parks around the world, and the ride manufacturers developed a
modern version of the traditional "Dodge 'em" cars which was portable
and available in varying sizes. These rides were colorful and
usually featured elaborate lighting to draw attention to them. Warner
LeRoy wanted everything at Great Adventure to be the biggest and best,
so the park's Traffic Jam bumper car ride was the biggest in the world
when it opened in 1974.
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One of the most
colorful structures of the Enchanted Forest was the Traffic Jam bumper
cars which featured brightly colored roof pieces that stood out against
the trees during the day, and an array of bright lights after dark.
The ride was a portable model which like many of the park's original
rides was built by Schwarzkopf. The building was enormous and featured
dozens of colorful cars.
Traffic Jam quickly proved to be one of the most popular rides in the
park, and as a result a second (and even bigger) bumper car ride was
added in 1975.
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The ride was designed
for portability, with a roof structure that could be raised or lowered
for easier assembly and disassembly. The roof was lowered and the canvas
removed each winter to protect the structure from collapsing under the
weight of snow.
Over the seasons modifications to the ride included the addition of a
center "island" to the ride, limiting the speed at which the cars could
collide, and replacement of the colorful panels surrounding the roof,
replacing the the original yellow flower designs with a more generic
blue and red design. |
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In March of 1993,
just as preparations were underway for the start of a new season, a
blizzard hit the park and the Traffic Jam was destroyed by the ice, snow
and winds. |
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BLIZZARD AND
ICE STORM
MARCH 13-14, 1993
STORM DESCRIPTION--
The "Blizzard of '93", also known as the "Superstorm '93" and
the first coined "Storm
of the Century" during the 1990's, was an extremely
intense nor'easter
which impacted New
Jersey with a wide variety of hazardous weather.
Synoptic Discussion--
The low center was born in the
Gulf of Mexico and then moved from southeastern states
northward along the Atlantic coast, through
central New Jersey
and then northeastwards into New England. It deepened rapidly
and had a record low minimum central pressure of 28.38 inches of
mercury (961 millibars), which occurred at almost the same time
as it passed over New Jersey. It was one of the most powerful
storms (tropical or extratropical) to hit New Jersey on record." |
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The former location of the Traffic Jam ride was quickly turned into a
garden which remained until 1999 when the Pirate's Flight ride took over
part of the site. Today Air Jumbo occupies Traffic Jam's former
ride pad.
For the 1994 season the Traffic Jam cars were relocated to a new bumper
car building built in the Old Country area of the park, known as
Autobahn. |
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Postcards and T-Shirt Featuring
Traffic Jam |
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Original Spotlight: August 2, 2009. Updated: March
7, 2015; September 13, 2017. GAH Reference #: RIDE-1974-009. |
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