The "updated" Shooting Gallery

djDaemon said:

Your sentimental attachment is understandable, but don't let that blind you to logic.

Can you please share this message with all the crazy Lebron haters from Cleveland?

:)

I digress. I have wonderful memories of the old shooting galleries with my dad as a young pup in the 80's, but I have to admit, I never (and I mean never) witnessed a soul playing the newer ones they had installed most recently.

Aside from the psychoanalysis of my statements comparing the new greatly abbreviated gallery with claw machines to the full expanse Western Saloon themed gallery, I found this to be interesting. I did a quick search on Western shooting galleries (because I was thinking how I have seen nicer saloon themed galleries than what CP had) and found this:

http://greatadventurehistory.com/LosSombreros.htm

compare to CP's pictures found on this guy's trip report (scroll down):
http://micechat.com/forums/other-destinations/142434-photo-filled-c...eport.html

Must have been some kind of shooting gallery kit ordered from somewhere. It's not really surprising but kind of funny seeing it's the same exact set-up.

No, it's not surprising, in fact it's typical. It's a game, and game companies manufacture and sell the stunts to parks and arcades around the world, just like they do claw machines, penny falls, skeeball, or whatever. Over the years I've seen that same shooting gallery in many parks, and while the structure it sits in may be an in-house project, the game system itself never is. No one is spending the time or money to do that when an adequate off the shelf product is available. (Btw, my favorite thing from those galleries is the cartoony old man bartender along side the handsome lawman who looks like a mannequin straight out of the JC Penney window. So tacky and hilarious)

The old time shooting gallery has probably seen its day, I would guess its considered an archaic attraction, visitor-ship/revenue is down, the supplier may have gone out of business, who knows? This is why I put forth earlier with the slim hope that they go shopping for a new, modern, but western themed interactive attraction of some sort. But dont count on it.

We have the same experience as far as dark rides go, as well. Dark ride designers over the years, like Bill Tracy, left their mark on rides everywhere, either with entire installations or by supplying individual stunts so parks could change or upgrade their rides. The same holds true today for Sally. If you've ridden one Scooby Doo/Boo Blaster ride you've ridden them all. These things may only be noticed by us, the well travelled enthusiast, while the local visitors might be under the illusion that they have a one of a kind custom piece. I think in the end it serves the industry well, though.

By the way, do you remember the stunt on the second floor of your Upside Down Fun House where the nude lady suddenly spun around to reveal a rotten corpse with a ghoulish face? Bill Tracy.

Oh my. I'd forgotten about her! Yikes!

Wow, vague and hazy! But, yeah, wonder how that one has slipped. The one thing that actually freaked me was that blasted sinking carpet with the hissing sound, hated stepping on that and tried to jump it most times, ha!

It'd be nice if there were some film footage or photos somewhere. There's only a couple on line of the exterior, including the one I snagged for here.

Do you know where the Funhouse came from? Was CP's funhouse unique to it or factory ordered like this recent shooting gallery that has been removed?

3snoH un=l said:
It'd be nice if there were some film footage or photos somewhere. There's only a couple on line of the exterior, including the one I snagged for here.

Check out this topic I started a while back:
http://pointbuzz.com/Forums/Thread/30604.aspx

I've offered $100 for stuff like that to no avail. I want to see the wall of eyes, the upside down lady on the ceiling, some interior pics, video, slanted room, etc. Thanks for the corpse lady (MAC) and stair reminder ^. Forgot about those. I do have some vintage B&W Exterior pics from the mid 60's but still looking for the interior stuff. Someone has it, still searching...

It would have been nice if CP would have taken photos of these things before demo, at least for archival purposes.

I did find a video of the Pirate Ride, dark footage but one could still make out some of it. I don't think there is one of Earthquake but I think someone has a soundtrack on youtube.

We occasionally played the old shooting gallery. We haven't tried the new one yet. It just looks so puny.

Another 'update' of the shooting gallery as its now a Coke Freestyle station!
http://cpfoodblog.com/page/2/

Should have left the original there. I always spent $10 there so my kids would be able to see every animation work. Sad that the replacement is even gone.

How does the inside of the Freestyle look? Frontier styled or modern styled like on the Gemini and Main Midways?

Nothing says old west like a touch screen.

The inside of the new Freestyle location appears to look the same as the other ones in the park. The new Coca-Cola Fountain & Floats (the refurbished ice cream parlor in Frontiertown) looks quite nice and actually integrates the Coke theme fairly well.

They also touched up Last Chance Saloon with some neat new (or least I hadn't noticed them before) light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. Also, Last Chance now connects to Chuck Wagon, which has a new menu this year featuring build-your-own burritos and bowls, through a new doorway in their shared wall.

Travis Lea said:

Should have left the original there. I always spent $10 there so my kids would be able to see every animation work. Sad that the replacement is even gone.

Or you could have just been like me and used my camera flash to set them all off. Then get yelled at by my dad. :)

Ahhh.. memories..

I didn't know that you could do that... are there any other shooting galleries where you can do that left?

For anyone interested, here is a pic of the new Freestyle location. The building wasn't open when I snapped the picture.

Ok, thats real cute, and very traditional in design. The interior trim is nice, and it sure might've been a lot plainer.