Cedar Point's Midway Carousel celebrates a century

I have an affinity for any rides older than me. Classic carousels are must-ride attractions, more the *soul* of a park whereas the coasters provide the heart.

Now, please don't accuse me of having an affinity for Huey Lewis!

Plus 1oo million zillion

It's hip to be square, Bill.

Did somebody say Huey Lewis and the News?

I love american psycho. That's what made me a christian bale fan.

If a park cares enough for a ride to maintain it for 100 years, well...that certainly is The Power of Love.

Well, the rumor has always been that Huey Lewis is one of the 'biggest' rock stars around.

And that was just about the very LAST thing I ever needed to know, Gonch. :P

Let's mention the band organ which hasn't played since the year they moved the machine into the current building. Indeed the organ itself is sitting in a storage shed on property. All that is visible is the facade.

Lord Gonchar said:

Well, the rumor has always been that Huey Lewis is one of the 'biggest' rock stars around.

Clearly, Huey has gotten himself a new drug...

Lord Gonchar said:

...Huey Lewis is one of the 'biggest' rock stars around.



Dutchman said:

...band organ...

You HAD to do that on purpose, or maybe it was subconscious. :D

Dutchman said:

Indeed the organ itself is sitting in a storage shed on property.

Have to believe Ouimet will find value in getting that fixed...a band organ is the "Holy Spirit" in my analogy...

It's actually kind of sad that this 100 year old carousel is pretty much one of the only older rides left from Cedar Points long history. The only other rides I can think of that might be close are the Cedar Downs, and maybe the trains. The rest is only a few decades old. While Cedar Point itself goes back to the 1800's, and was also popular back then.

I think if we had an actual list of all the rides that have been removed or torn down at Cedar Point, it would be a pretty big list compared to other parks. So, I wouldn't call having one 100 year old carousel a big deal. It's certainly nice, but for such a large park, it would be nice if there were a few more of those older rides to get excited about.

I recently watched a news report I saved on video of the debut of the Raptor, and how the park actually thought about nixing the carousel, instead they included it in the plans for Raptor, and moved it to the front of the park. I wonder how many people know that the location that Raptor sits on used to have a Log Flume in it's place. I remember the log flume, because I rode it in 1985 during a thunderstorm. Not far from that, by the Blue Streak was the Pirate Ride, which was a ride through haunted house.

Years ago they also had a ride called the earthquake, and a walk through fun house, that was there in the 1970's along with the Jumbo Jet coaster. There was also a flume called Shoot The Rapids. They also had their own version of the Cyclone roller coaster. And, on and on.

So, one carousel doesn't seem like that big a deal to me, considering that a run down neglected park like the ones at Coney Island in New York, you can still ride the wonder wheel and the cyclone, among other rides. I'm sure there are parks out there that have rides that are even older.

Dutchman said:

Indeed the organ itself is sitting in a storage shed on property.

OK, now I'm impressed. Huey must really be hung if it warrants its own personal shed for storage.

How many 100-year-old carousels are left in the entire world, Timber-Rider? It IS a big deal, at least for history buffs and carousel enthusiasts.

And, considering that Cedar Point has a lot of newer technology within it's gates, the park does have it's fair share of classics as well. Although I understand and respect your point, older rides can't all be kept around forever. They lose popularity and must be replaced by something new every once in a while.

LostKause said:
How many 100-year-old carousels are left in the entire world, Timber-Rider? It IS a big deal, at least for history buffs and carousel enthusiasts.

And, considering that Cedar Point has a lot of newer technology within it's gates, the park does have it's fair share of classics as well. Although I understand and respect your point, older rides can't all be kept around forever. They lose popularity and must be replaced by something new every once in a while.

Not only that, but I would think some of the really old rides out there would be difficult to maintain because of lack of parts available (the old...Bisch-Rocco flyers for example...if those are the old ones. I can't remember). If a ride is kind of unique and the company that made it is no longer around, you're hard pressed to find a way to safely maintain that ride and still make it actually rideable.

LostKause said:

They lose popularity and must be replaced by something new every once in a while.

Except if you're talking about Michigan's Adventure.

Rim shot!

/quote]

Except if you're talking about Michigan's Adventure.

Rim shot!

Nice try. Michigan's Adventure has zero classic rides. All of the older rides from the 70's were replaced. I think the oldest ride in the park is the corkscrew, other then maybe a couple of the kids rides. Most were built in the 1980s and 90's. The dodgems that were relocated from Cedar Point are probably older than anything else in the park.

I'm surprised that nobody picked up on my comments about Coney Island. That was pretty much my point. One 100 year old carousel doesn't seem like that big a deal to me, when other parks still retain a good portion of their history. Like Kennywood for example.

Tell us, how many century-old rides does Kennywood have?