The Parachute Jump at Six Flags Great Adventure has been a staple of the park’s skyline since 1983, standing nearly 250 feet tall (the third-tallest ride in the park up until its closure). Towards the end of the 2024 season, Great Adventure announced that it would be closing and removing multiple rides at the park, one of which was the Parachute Jump. This wasn’t a surprise, as the ride had been standing but not operating since 2022. Additionally, the news was far overshadowed by the announced closure of Kingda Ka and the Skyway (conversely, nobody cared about Green Lantern’s closure).

The Parachute Jump was manufactured by Intamin and was originally installed at Six Flags St. Louis (then called Six Flags Over Mid-America) as Sky Chuter in 1978. It opened as the tallest thrill ride in the world – though, I’d say “thrill” is relative to late 70s standards. The ride ended up being an early part of Six Flags’ ride rotation program, lasting five years before being moved to Six Flags Great Adventure after the ’82 season. Originally, the ride was named Parachuter’s Perch but was later renamed Parachute Training Center: Edwards AFB Jump Tower to coincide with the re-theme of the Boardwalk area when The Right Stuff: Mach 1 Adventure opened in 1994. Despite all the Mach 1 elements being removed over the years, including the simulator ride itself, the parachutes retained the Edwards AFB name until its closure—though everyone just referred to the ride as the Parachute Jump or simply the Parachutes.

The ride had eight parachutes, requiring four ride operators to run at full capacity, likely with additional personnel for crowd control back in the day. Honestly, I have no idea when the Parachutes last ran at full capacity. The closest was seeing it at half capacity during Fright Fest and Holiday in the Park. Most days, only one set of chutes would be open, and the lines could get pretty long solely due to the low capacity. Typically, the front two chutes would be open, offering a nice view of the Ferris Wheel/Nitro side of the park. Rarely, the side chutes would open, providing a good 180-degree view of the entire park. Even more rarely, the back chutes would operate, offering a lovely view of the expansive parking lot and Green Lantern/Scream Machine if you look down.

A ride on the Parachutes went as follows: you would hop into the wicker-looking seat, buckle the seatbelt, and have the overhead lap bar flipped down by the ride operator. If you were a solo rider, you had to sit in the middle with the bar’s backup chain lock between your legs. The ride operator would then rub a magnetized paddle of sorts against the control panel which, in conjunction with a button push, allowed the ride to start. The chute would rise to the top of the 246-foot tower in about 20 seconds, pause for 5 seconds, and then lower back to the ground. Unlike the early parachute jump rides that literally hoisted a parachute-clad seat to the top and dropped it, the entire motion was controlled with motorized pulleys, guide cables, and counterweights.

As mentioned, the ride effectively closed around 2022 and had been standing idle ever since. The news about removing the Parachute Jump sort of filtered into the theme park community rather than being formally announced. I remember having a photo taken of myself standing in front of it near the Boardwalk during the 2023 Holiday in the Park, figuring that would be the last time I’d see it standing. Well, Six Flags decided to keep it around for a package deal on demolition, I guess!

One final Intamin parachute ride was operating after Great Adventure’s closed: Sky Flower at Tokyo Dome City in Japan. However, that too ended up closing in early 2024. With that, the Intamin Parachute Jump effectively went extinct.

For an in-depth history of the ride with tons of photos, I urge everyone to check out the Parachuter’s Perch page at Great Adventure History.

Below is a video I put together using different clips I’ve taken over the years. I think the earliest videos are from 2011, with a few photos from 2007 or so – before it was repainted.

And here’s a bunch of photos I’ve taken of the ride.

Space Roller Photos & Video

Heard the other day that Space Roller, the only Mondial Top Scan ride traveling in the US, has been sold.

The ride was previously owned by Jeremy Floyd (and by the Baxter’s before that) and had been in the US for around 21 years. Its buyers are Emerson Edwards & Paul Hart, a pair of showmen from the UK – so congrats to my UK viewers for having a Top Scan again!

Here’s a bunch of photos of Space Roller that I’ve taken throughout the years, the earliest ones being from 2008 I think. All were taken at the State Fair Meadowlands, which is the only fair I saw it at – though it did play North Brunswick at least once a while back.

And the video

Golden Nugget Farewell 2009

Here’s some photos to go along with the video I recently uploaded from the Golden Nugget Farewell ceremony on January 31st, 2009; exactly 12 years ago today!

Golden Nugget opened in 1960 on Hunts Pier in Wildwood, NJ, and was designed by John C. Allen of Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters. It was like a dark ride/roller coaster hybrid with most of the ride taken slowly through different scenes and theme elements, but also featured a couple of drops.

Golden Nugget Farewell 2009

State Fair Meadowlands is the largest fair in New Jersey, no questions asked. I’ve been doing trip reports on this fair since 2005 but have gone several times before that, probably as far back as 1996 or so when I was just a youngin’. I went to the 2019 edition of the fair on two nights: once on June 27th to get photos and videos, and a second time with relatives on July 5th to take in the fair and ride the rides. Speaking of, they were once again brought in by Amusements of America and Strates Shows, along with a sprinkling of independent operators. The fair had…

Trip Report: State Fair Meadowlands 2019

Look at this, I’m already slacking on trip reports! Usually it’s not until events in late July that I start to have month spans between actually going and the report. So…I headed over to the North Brunswick Youth Sports Festival on Friday, June 21st. This is a pretty big event, probably topping most fairs in NJ in terms of rides. Reithoffer Shows brought in the rides, their Orange Unit to be exact, and the fair had…

Trip Report: North Brunswick Youth Sports Festival 2019