Volume 1, No. 5. April 6, 2001
It’s a whole nursery of rides!
Paramount’s Great America in Santa Clara, California, announces the arrivals March 23, 2001, of Psycho Mouse (a wild mouse 1,257 feet long, 50 feet high) delivered by Arrow Dynamics; Celebration Swings (a wave swinger 41 feet high, 70-foot diameter) delivered by Zierer/Offenburg; and Thunder Raceway (30 go-karts and 900 feet of track) delivered by H3 Entertainment and J&J Amusements.
Though launching the season with a slew of new family-oriented rides, the primary objet d’attention on opening weekend was undoubtedly the Psycho Mouse. The park’s VIP and media invitations included mousetraps. The 600 guests who showed up for the Friday evening special opening had to follow a maze of cheese signs to get to the stage, which contained an oversize spool of thread, pencil, and toys as they would be viewed from the perspective of a mouse. For the official ride opening, park General Manager Gayle Ando, Paramount Parks COO Al Weber, Arrow Dynamics CEO Fred Bolingbroke, and co-owner of H3 Entertainment Shane Huish set off a giant mousetrap with an oversized toothbrush. After an evening of riding, guests received a parting gift of a mousepad.
The big gift for the park itself came with the long lines that formed for Psycho Mouse during Saturday’s public opening. "We knew the ride would be popular with children and parents," said Timothy Chanaud, manager of communications, "but what we’re seeing is it is very popular with teens and the thrill seekers, including ACErs (American Coaster Enthusiasts). They were uniformly excited about the ride."
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