Today, March 3, marks what would have been the 89th birthday of Warner LeRoy, creator of Great Adventure.
Warner LeRoy was truly one of a kind. Big personality, big ideas, big dreams. He was the son of Mervyn LeRoy who directed the Wizard of Oz, and the grandson of Warner Brothers founder Jack Warner, so he had show business in his blood and believed in creating spectacular entertainment. Before working on Great Adventure, he made Tavern on the Green THE hot spot for dining in New York City, serving up a dining experience that was as much about the atmosphere as the food.
Warner LeRoy partnered with Hardwicke Companies which had built several animal safari parks and was looking to build a theme park in the northeast. Warner's vision for Great Adventure was huge, rivaling the scale of Disney's plans for Walt Disney World. He envisioned a series of spectacular parks all interconnected by boats, trains, skyrides, and bridges to create "The Greatest Day of Your Life".
After securing the property to build Great Adventure the previous owners sued to block the building of the park, claiming they only sold it to build a safari park and not a theme park, and the legal actions delayed construction. Between issues with compressed timeline for building and not having adequate financing, plans were scaled down with the idea that eventually the park could be fully developed. As a result, when Great Adventure opened it featured just the Safari Park and the Enchanted Forest theme park which featured many of the best concepts from the earliest plans.
Construction began in early 1974, with the park opening only six months later on July 1st, 1974.
Warner LeRoy was quite famous for his clothing choices which tended to run on the outrageous side, with a variety of patterns and colors. His hard hat for working on the Great Adventure construction site was unique, and when the initial construction was completed it was placed inside the top of the Log Flume's roof peak.
Between disillusionment with the business of running a theme park and other projects taking his attention away, Warner LeRoy ended his involvement with the park after just a few years, but his legacy lives on with the spectacular things that were constructed and his plans and dreams for turning Great Adventure into a full resort, which may finally begin to be realized now.
Warner LeRoy was truly one of a kind. Big personality, big ideas, big dreams. He was the son of Mervyn LeRoy who directed the Wizard of Oz, and the grandson of Warner Brothers founder Jack Warner, so he had show business in his blood and believed in creating spectacular entertainment. Before working on Great Adventure, he made Tavern on the Green THE hot spot for dining in New York City, serving up a dining experience that was as much about the atmosphere as the food.
Warner LeRoy partnered with Hardwicke Companies which had built several animal safari parks and was looking to build a theme park in the northeast. Warner's vision for Great Adventure was huge, rivaling the scale of Disney's plans for Walt Disney World. He envisioned a series of spectacular parks all interconnected by boats, trains, skyrides, and bridges to create "The Greatest Day of Your Life".
After securing the property to build Great Adventure the previous owners sued to block the building of the park, claiming they only sold it to build a safari park and not a theme park, and the legal actions delayed construction. Between issues with compressed timeline for building and not having adequate financing, plans were scaled down with the idea that eventually the park could be fully developed. As a result, when Great Adventure opened it featured just the Safari Park and the Enchanted Forest theme park which featured many of the best concepts from the earliest plans.
Construction began in early 1974, with the park opening only six months later on July 1st, 1974.
Warner LeRoy was quite famous for his clothing choices which tended to run on the outrageous side, with a variety of patterns and colors. His hard hat for working on the Great Adventure construction site was unique, and when the initial construction was completed it was placed inside the top of the Log Flume's roof peak.
Between disillusionment with the business of running a theme park and other projects taking his attention away, Warner LeRoy ended his involvement with the park after just a few years, but his legacy lives on with the spectacular things that were constructed and his plans and dreams for turning Great Adventure into a full resort, which may finally begin to be realized now.
