Atlanta CNN Headquarters once an amusement park?

I've been on the CNN tour, and I remember hearing the guide say something about the Omni Complex once being home to an amusement park. I didn't think much of it then, but I have found some proof that some of you might be interested in seeing:

Here's a poster map of the park:

http://members.aol.com/interama/map.htmHere's a current view of the building (not quite the same angle, but close enough):

http://www-personal.engin.umich.edu/~sids/chicagoandatlanta/101-0149_IMG.jpg

Perhaps someone here has been there and would care to share about the park?

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Whenever you can ride a roller coaster and experience 15 spots of intense airtime, you know you're on a good coaster. (see: Phoenix)

Never been to the Park, but Sid and Marty Croft did put together Puppet Shows for several Theme Parks, like Six Flags Over Georgia, Kings Island, and Carowinds.

They also built the Puppets for SFOG's long gone Dark Ride through a swamp, "Tales of the Okeefenokee" Boat Ride, which in many cases ripped off Song of the South and the James Baskett storys. (Replaced by Monster Plantation)

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"The Mountain Slidewinder. Voted The #1 Non-Rollercoaster Ride in America Amusement Business Magazine, 1991"
*** This post was edited by Dukeis#1 7/28/2003 3:53:06 AM ***

http://www.coasterbuzz.com/forum.aspx?mode=thread&TopicID=22168

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--George H
---Currency tracking experiment... http://www.wheresgeorge.com (Referring to The "George" on the $1 bill - Not Me)

The complex wasn't built for CNN it was the old complex for the Atlanta Hawks. The basketball team played at the Omni for many years until a new stadium was built.

This park had no Roller Coasters just like a fun type of amusement park themed after Syd and Marty Crofts creations.

The park didn't work out because the location, and when the park opened half of the rides didn't work.

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Your Park only has 1 good coaster! That's too bad!

Yeah! its HR Puffnstuff. Even as i look back today i still dont see the drug references ;)

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Join Rideworld, and tell them that coaster-freak sent you!!!

Sid and Marty produced some freaky shows I tell ya. Screwed me up real good. ;)

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"SOME people have NO class!" - Mom from the Whizzer queue

I forgot I had posted that redman, but seeing as it's a year old and I don't like reviving old topics... You did ask for pictures! ;)

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Whenever you can ride a roller coaster and experience 15 spots of intense airtime, you know you're on a good coaster. (see: Phoenix)

The Omni Arena and Omni hotel (now known as the CNN Center) were both built together on the west edge of downtown to spur growth. Results never materialized. The Omni Hotel complex was in danger of going under, and Ted Turner leased a lot of space in it for what was to become CNN.

If there was a family fn park here, it didn't play much of an integral role for the complex. If anything, the escalator received the most fame, for then it was the world's longest.

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Is that a Q-bot in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

I remember going there when I was a knee-high kid. Huge escalator and the rides covered a few floors. No thrill rides. The only one I recall was a cool dark ride where your ride vehicle was a large, round, pinball, and then the track followed the course of being a pinball inside a pinball machine with lights and bumpers, etc.

I guess it was something of a trend at the time with Omni because the Omni down here in Miami also housed a small indoor amusement park (the one down here had a carousel and at least one pirate-themed dark ride). Both Omni parks didn't last too long.

Paris said:

I remember going there when I was a knee-high kid. Huge escalator and the rides covered a few floors. No thrill rides. The only one I recall was a cool dark ride where your ride vehicle was a large, round, pinball, and then the track followed the course of being a pinball inside a pinball machine with lights and bumpers, etc

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I also went there when it was open. You would pay your admission (thanks grandma), ride up the "worlds longest escalator", and work your way down through the levels.

There was a "crystal carousel" with all of the animals made out of translucent plastic--I rode on the dolphin and don't remember the rest of the menagerie.

A dark ride, "The World of H.R. Puffenstuff", with all of the Puffenstuff characters like the talking flute and Witchy-poo--I was probably too young too fully appreciate this one.

The pinball ride was my favorite. You would board your ball and move into the starting position, the ball would rotate and the plunger would be coming right at you. You would be shot up into the game area where you would bounce off bumpers, etc. Eventually you would drop off of the playing surface and take a tour of the inner workings of the machine. I remember a huge stack of quarters that were as big as the ride vehicle with the top quarter on the stack still spinning around.

My only other memory of the place was an interesting contraption made almost entirely of cardboard and string. You would turn a crank to lift a ball up a conveyor and it would roll down a series of chutes into bins at the bottom. You could move some sliders on a control panel to change the path of a ball through the machine.

I would have loved this park! I remember hearing about it growing up. Thanks for reminding me of it.

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Nashville needs a theme park!

Anyone want to guess what year this would have been?

Sometime in 1970s.

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Is that a Q-bot in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

xrae said:
Anyone want to guess what year this would have been?

The year was 1976. Though it was not associated with the amusement park, there was also an ice skating rink in the main atrium lobby where the food court tables are now located.

Alan T.

You know, you all would have an easier time finding information about this place on the 'Web if you knew how to spell "Krofft"... :)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.