Southern Cross

The Southern Cross was a gondola skyride manufactured by Von Roll which provided round-trips from Orleans Place to what was scheduled to become The Great Southwest. It replaced Gulf Coaster and was replaced by Whitewater Rampage in 1983.

Southern Cross ran perpendicular to the Delta Flyer/Eagle Flyer and intercepted them in Orleans Place. Due to this, the Southern Cross was taller than the Delta/Eagle Flyer and was thus one of the tallest gondola rides produced by Von Roll along with the last.

History
As part of an expansion program, Marriott's Great America in Gurnee received several new rides in 1977, including Southern Cross, and ambitious new plans for a new themed area, The Great Southwest, were unveiled. Slated to open in 1979, The Great Southwest would be a new area located in an annex behind County Fair which would be themed after the old west and would feature attractions such as The Wild Wigwam and the Wells Fargo Express along with other rides.

To build excitement for the new area, Great America unveiled a gondola skyride called Southern Cross which transported guests from Orleans Place to where the The Great Southwest would be. Southern Cross was opened in 1977 where Gulf Coaster once stood. Due to the fire hazard Gulf Coaster was, Gulf Coaster was removed mid-opening season in 1976 and Southern Cross was added in its place. Southern Cross intersected with the Delta/Eagle Flyer and provided round-trip service between Orleans Place and The Great Southwest but guests could not get off at the The Great Southwest station of the ride due to the station being in the middle of an undeveloped pile of dirt meaning that guests would catch a glimpse of where the area would one day be and would then loop back to Orleans Place.

Although both Great America parks were profitable, Marriott was disappointed that the parks did not meet their projected earnings (in part because Maryland's Great America was never built due to local opposition) and Great America began to slowdown plans for new additions to the parks. The 1979 deadline for the new themed area came and went without any new development and eventually in 1983, a year before Marriott sold the parks, Southern Cross was closed down and the Orleans Place station was replaced with the last ride Marriott would ever install, Whitewater Rampage.