Defunct parks in your area

There used to be Fairyland Park in Kansas City, Kansas. It was torn down. My dad said they had a nice woodie named Wildcat which now operates at Frontier World in Oklahoma.

Mine would have to be the Old Indiana Fun Park. I wish they sill had it open. It would have been a great park too! :) Hopefully, soon, they will reopen it! :)
-----------------

MGM Grand Adventures out back of the MGM Grand.

If you want to include it, you COULD say Circus Circus' Grand Slam Canyon, which was renamed to the Adventuredome... but I don't think that erally counts...

-----------------
"Right now you gonna like me,
In a year you gonna love me"
-Fabolous

Chi: There was at least one more "Fun Town" on 95th and Stoney Island in Chicago. There wasnt much there other than kiddie rides and a big honkin burlap sack slide. But back then, it was (begin wide-eyed-kid voice) the bestest place in whole-wide-world!(end teary eyed voice). All the south side kids would go there up until it closed in like 83 or 84.

And they replaced it with a gaddamn parking lot!
jeremy

-------------
"Nobody writes about the planes that land." Steve Salerno Washington Times 7-10-01

In Minnesota we had one before Valleyfair even opened. The parks name was called the old Excellsior Park I dont know much information reguarding the park first but I know it had a coaster called Excellsior. A lot of people thought the High Roller was the old Excellsior but its not. Whats there now is nothing but a big lake and buildings its to bad the park isnt still there.
-----------------
8Years working with Cedar Fair and Valleyfair!

I know of Frontier Land and Legend City in the Phoenix area.  Those are the only two I know of, but there was a park being worked on outside of Tucson, but the guy went bankrupt, I think.  It was going to be called Family Fun World or something and I think it was going to have a coaster.

-----------------
I have no signature

In the Bay Area, there was Playland by the Beach in San Francisco, and Frontier Land in San Jose. The first was demolished before I was born, but it was kind of like the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. I remember Frontier Land fondly. My parents used to take me there as a kid. It was themed to (obviously) the Wild, Wild, West, and they had those cowboy type gunbattles like they have at KBF. My parents said it was always dead there though, so that's why it reached such an ill fate.

 

I guess you can include the old site of Marine World Africa USA in Belmont. This was the old location of SFMW prior to moving to the North Bay and well before Six Flags took over. Back then it was just basically a zoo. They had some cool waterslides though. The funny thing is, if you pass by there now, the street is still called Marine World Parkway even though the park has been gone for years!

 

Good thing Bonfante Gardens found another backer, or we might have had to out them on this list too!

---

IcpJuggalo said:
Bertrand's Island in Lake Hopatcong NJ is the closest defunct to me... i grew up about 3/4 of a mile from it... it burned down right before i was born if im not mistaken... so it was pre-1984

---

Bertrand Island closed in 1983. It did not burn but economy caused it's demise. The remains of the park were touched up with paint in 1984 and it was used for a set in the Woody Allen movie "The Purple Rose of Cairo.

There was another park very close to you called Nolan's Point. This park was also located at Lake Hopatcong. It closed for good in 1935.

I live somewhat near where Willow Grove Park was in PA. It opened in 1896 and closed in 1975 so I never got to experience it.

It really upsets me that it closed because there is absolutely nothing fun to do in the area and it would have been great to have a park so close. The land is now occupied with a mall of the same name and the food court has tables with pictures of the old rides and scenery. Every time I look at the tables I wish the park was still there since the mall has no fun stores and is kind of boring and I would take an amusement park there over the mall any day. *** Edited 10/30/2005 3:17:58 AM UTC by YoshiFan***

In Nashville, TN, we had Opryland USA from the early 70's until 1998. I loved that place as a kid.. sadly it was removed to make room for a megamall. The only justice is that Gaylord (the idiots that shut down opryland and bought the mall rights) had to sell the mall. The river rapids ride's track is still intact outside a parking lot, and if you look hard enough you can see the general layout of one part of the midway. So sad...

Hmmmm, a "re-thread?" I'll play.

1) Lakewood Park, Barnesville PA. Closed in 1982. This was my home park when I was growing up. It had about 20 rides from what I can remember, including a Miller designed coaster (which was gone by the time I can remember anything), a wooden kiddie coaster, a really wild Wild Mouse, flyers, a looper (similar to what Knoebels just opened), and some unique rides I've never seen in other parks. There was a wonderful old carousel which is now in a museum in Grand Rapids MI.

They also had a huge ballroom and even a summer theatre. Many famous (maybe famous to your parents or grandparents) big bands performed at the ballroom, and a number of people who went on to become famous actors and actresses performed at the theatre.

Unfortunately, the owners never put a cent back into the park. During the 70s, a promoter used the park to hold a Bavarian Festival. Rumor was that the owners offered to sell him the park but he declined since he wasn't sure the Festival would make any money. It turned out to be hugely successful, and the asking price went way up, so the guy never bought it. The owners were also waiting for a public sewage plant to be built in the area hoping they would close the park and sell the land to a housing developer. The plant was never built in time, so the park simply closed after the 1982 season. So at least they didn't make a big profit on the land. Most of the buildings that were left were eventually burned down.

2) Dream City Park (aka White City park, aka Schuylkill Park according to defunctparks.com). This park would be within walking distance of my home today-- maybe a mile. My father said the park had a number of rides including a wooden "scenic" as he called it. It didn't survive the depression. During the depression, they used to have dance marathons for publicity stunts. Apparently they had one at this park that went on so long that newspapers from all over the country sent reporters to cover this crazy story.

I look at the place and can't imagine a park ever being there. Now there's a single building there that a butcher uses to process deer for hunters. Big step down.

LeSourdsville Lake/Americana:

As best as I can tell it opened in 1922, and closed, I believe for the last time, (I hope not!) in 2002. It closed for three years from 1999-2001, then opened for 2002, and closed at seasons end.

They had three coasters during my lifetime:

Screechin' Eagle - Their star coaster! It was short, but fun. The short bunnyhill after the first drop was always pretty neat. And there was also a really tweaked turn at the end that shot you into the last hill to the station. Built in 1939. In '02 it was still a great little coaster.

The Serpent - Galaxi coaster from Noble's in Paducah, KY in 1989. In '02 it rougher than I ever remember it. Seemed to grind along the track and bearly keep speed. Needed some serious TLC.

Little Dipper - steel kiddie

I've mentioned it before, but my greatest memories there were:

- Seeing a KISS knock-off band there when I was about 10. I loved KISS, knew these guys weren't them, but they still rocked!

- And my first wood coaster was the above mentioned Screechin' Eagle, (that same year, maybe that same trip as the KISS concert). *** Edited 10/31/2005 12:54:43 AM UTC by Floorless Fan***

Wow! Talk about rehashing old threads. ;-)

There's a ton in West Virginia:

Terrapin, Luna Park, etc.

Too early in the morning for me to remember them all.

-Tina

There are far more defunct parks in WV than operating parks :(.

Eh... old thread... but what the heck...

Back in the early 20th century, there were lots of little parks around my area, but since I certainly don't remember any of them...

Of the ones that I do remember (even if I did not visit)....

Rocky Springs Park (Lancaster PA): Nothing left except I believe the old Bowling alley. Wish I would have visited it when I had the chance just to ride the Wildcat, a Schmeck coaster.

Fantasy Land (Gettysburg PA): A kiddie park with no "thrill rides". I do remember a neat dark ride (at least when I was a kid it was neat) called "Winter Wonder Land". Cute winter scenes and Air Conditioned. Nothing left except a few buildings, which will soon be gone (if they not already are) when the National Park Services builds their new visitor center for the Gettysburg battlefield on that site.

Williams Grove (Williams Grove PA): Okay... not officially Defunct yet, but by the sound of theings (rides for sale), it probably will be very soon.

Bookside Park (Dover PA): One of those small "early 20th century" parks I mentioned. While I don't ever remember this running, I only mention it because it is a mile from where I live. It started in 1901 as a "Trolley Park" at the end of the line from York to Dover PA. Nothing more than a picnic park... but in the 1940's a carrousel was added. The carrousel was removed in the late 1970'a, but the building and other buildsings remain today and the park is still there as a public picnic park.

*** Edited 10/31/2005 2:55:46 PM UTC by SLFAKE***

One's I can think of off the top of my head are Idora Park, Cascade Park, West View Park, and White Swan Park.

In Ohio, there's a few. First one that comes to mind is Chippewa. That being first due to it's still rotting in Medina.

Euclid Beach: Cleveland Trolley park. closed in 1969. I had my first coaster, flyingscooter and bug rides there.

Puritas Springs: Also a cleveland trolley park. Home of the infamous Cyclone, which was a valley rider. That place burned down long before I was born.

There were several others in the Cleveland area, but I don't remember their names.

Boblo Island, Canadian National Exhibition(The Past permanent coasters), Crystal Beach, Hanlan's Point, Stanley Beach, Springbank Amusement park.

The one in Wabash County was in a little village called Richvalley just a few miles from Wabash along the river. Boyd Park is the name and it closed in 1906, but it had a coaster. Here are a few pics and some info.
http://www.geocities.com/wabashindiana/boydpark.html

Nothing that still exists on any level.

Palisades and Olympic parks were in northern NJ but have been memories for decades now. Bertrands Island was once about 25 minutes from my house and up until a few years ago the site of the park was nothing but an overgrown field. The long-planned condos have since been completed and the only trace of a park is the shape of the road leading to the "island"- if you look at old pictures of the park, you'll see how the shape of the coaster more or less followed the shape of the road (or vice-versa).