Hot summer days in theme and amusement parks mean thirsty guests. Most parks have a variety of restaurants and additional drink stands throughout offering a place to purchase a refreshing drink to cool down and stay hydrated.
For the 1978 season Great Adventure saw many changes as part of the new Six Flags ownership. One of the biggest opportunities they saw in the park was a lack of smaller drink stands to offer guests a way to cool off and stay hydrated without having to wait in the food lines at the park's restaurants. These little stands were added all around the park and were generally small, simple kiosks just offering drinks and maybe some snacks as well.
	The headline addition to the park for 1978 was Lightnin' Loops, and right next to it a new drink stand was added. This new stand only sold Icee drinks which were very popular for cooling down in the summer heat. The stand's location so close to the new ride made it quite popular. For 13 seasons the stand was one of the few Icee locations in the park. The simple little stand only had room for the Icee machines and supplies, and a popcorn machine. There was just enough room for one or two employees to work there at a time.
	For 1992, the Icee brand went away and the small stand became Loops Frozen Coca-Cola now offering frozen Coke. Big changes were in store for the park for the 1993 season after Time Warner acquired Six Flags and made great efforts to bring themes back to their theme park areas. Throughout the park's sections that had either lost their theme or never had one were upgraded and improved. The generic stand was incorporated into the adjoining Adventure Rivers area as River Country Drinks.
	The stand continued to serve frozen drinks, now Arctic Blasts branded. One concept considered for the stand which never came to pass was Bananas Frosty Fruit Shakes which would have presumably been a "healthy" frozen drink option. The 2007 season was the last time the Lightnin' Loops Icee stand served guests.  In 2008, a new Cold Stone Limited stand was built next to the Icee building.  The new larger Cold Stone outlet would offer guests Cold Stone Creamery ice cream.  Walls placed behind the Cold Stone building would hide a support area for deliveries and utilities.  Oddly, within the perimeter of these walls was the Icee stand which was not demolished but simply painted to match the Cold Stone stand. The Lightnin' Loops Icee building still stands today tucked behind what is now Rita's Custard near Batman The Ride.  The abandoned Icee stand can sometimes be seen when the gates behind Rita's are left open.
Original Spotlight:  October 10, 2020.  GAH Reference#:  FOOD-1978-002