A Great Adventure original, the Calypso was a Schwarzkopf designed spinning ride resembling a Scrambler installed on an inclined slope.  Brightly painted and covered in miniature lights, the Calypso was the perfect piece to supplement the assortment of mechanical contraptions which made up the Strawberry Fair section of the Enchanted Forest.
	With a palette full of colors, lollipop-like covered cars, and a swirling yellow stripe reminiscent of the winding yellow brick road, the Calypso's circular motions could have easily conjured up images of the twister from The Wizard of Oz.  In reality, the Calypso was a standard version of what was then a staple in the Schwarzkopf catalog of amusement rides. Situated between the Traffic Jam bumper cars and the Super Round Up, this popular ride thrilled guests with its high speed spinning motions and ornate decor.  The ride was one of the first to be installed early on in the park's massive construction project.
	Pairs of guests took their seats in one of sixteen cars which were grouped into sets of four evenly spaced subassemblies around a large circular platform.  The ride cycle started slowly with the circular platform rotating clockwise continually picking up speed.  Next, the four sets of quad-gondolas would begin to rotate counterclockwise sending riders in a myriad of directions at high speeds pinning them to the outer sides of their cars. After approximately three minutes, the car subassemblies would come to an abrupt halt while the main platform slowed to a stop. At its original location, the Calypso was one of the few attractions where guests could walk completely around the ride.  Because it was visible from all angles, all the facades of the Calypso were brightly painted adding to the upbeat, playful, and color-filled theme of Strawberry Fair.
	Many of the decorative features of the ride were eliminated early on.  After the 1974 season, the large yellow "tornado" from the center of the ride was scrapped and was simply capped off with a flat cover.  In 1976, the Calypso was relocated for its first and only time taking up residence along the shores of the park's lake  just a few hundred feet back from its original location.  The Calypso and the relocated Grand Prix rides widened the boundaries of Strawberry Fair and both became a part of the Neptune's Kingdom section of the park.
	The pinwheel paint pattern on the circular platform was reduced to a solid color of non-skid paint containing sand to reduce the chances of guests slipping when navigating the inclined ride base in the rain. After 1987, the Calypso was selected as one of four older rides to be removed from the park as a result of excess capacity, increased downtime, and high maintenance expenses.  For several years afterwards, one of the gondolas from the ride could be found in the Ride Operations training room where it was used for demonstrating how to properly check lap bars. A new Huss Condor replaced the Calypso in 1988 and remained in the park though 1991 utilizing that ride's same basic footprint.  Today, the site of the Calypso is occupied by the remote control boats complex just to the left of the Jolly Roger ride.
In the summer of 2014, one of the original Calypso cars was rescued from the park's bone yard and featured as part of the Great Adventure History Museum.  It is hoped that one day the car can be restored to its original state when it welcomed guests on a whirling journey aboard the Calypso.
	Souvenir Postcard 1974 Individual Postcard Set 1 Published by:  H.S.Crocker Format:  4"x6"
Original Spotlight:  September 12, 2010; Updated:  January 23, 2015, February 9, 2022, June 8, 2023.  GAH Reference#:  RIDE-1974-011