u/jonrev

Never seen shoes so trashed make it to the sales floor. No insoles, either.

I worked in the Rides department at Six Flags Great America in the summer of 2007. On (probably) first-day training we were shown a strange video that I've been searching for. Unfortunately, 19 years later, my supervisor and admin contacts in the park are all long gone. I doubt the park even has a copy, anymore, especially since merging with Cedar Fair.

The video presented two characters: "Disco Dan" of Five Banners, and "Phat Phil" at Six Flags; in Goofus & Gallant-style scenarios showing the wrong and right ways of doing things as an amusement ride attendant/operator.

I remember little of Phat Phil's sketches. Disco Dan's featured big-haired, hippie-dressed, smack-talking characters being comically lazy, inattentive, litterbugs and jerks to the guests. Dan's actions often culminated in disaster, where he then spoke the catchphrase, "not cool, man... not cool!". I remember his theme song was Silver Convention's Fly Robin Fly.

There also may have been a crudely-animated exploding woman... somewhere in either the same video, or another that we watched.

Did anyone else work rides at Six Flags and remember this? Is it really as weird as I remember it? Does a copy exist beyond the park gates? It was a source for dumb in-jokes when I worked there and I'd like to see it again.

Found in one of the back mezzanine areas of the abandoned Gary/Miller, Indiana store in 2013. Store closed in 1994.

Found in the auto center of the abandoned Gary/Miller, Indiana store back in 2013. Store closed in 1994.

SLR-680 SE, Color 600

Parked at a shop in Lakemoor, Illinois

SLR-680 SE, Color 600

This followed me home from an antique mall in late-2024. It's cheap plastic with a 4" clock display and fluorescent backlighting. Time adjustment is by a three-way switch on the bottom: slow/run/fast. It would've originally hung in the service department of a General Motors-branded dealership, and has removable sides to attach (probably) menu pricing boards and other signage.

In about a year's time in my garage, the first digit lost the top half of its diodes, followed by the entire digit. Slides 2/3 should read 10:33 and 10:06

I contacted The Howard Company, which still exists in the suburbs of Milwaukee, but as expected they were of no help. I tried reflowing the solder joints between the display and PCB but no dice.

Kind of lost, here... any ideas? I suppose I could wire up any 4" clock display from Amazon but if I can fix the original...

Mamiya Universal, FP-100C

SLR-680 SE, Color 600