Defunct places...
-----------------
Kind of hard to take a post as objective if a park or coaster name is part of the "user name"
*** This post was edited by SLFAKE on 8/1/2002. ***
-----------------
Beer, my soon to be wife, coasters, and the FREEDOM OF SPEECH. Is this a great country or what!!
-----------------------
palwine said:
I forgot all about Benson's. I remember going there on a school field trip- as for rides I remember the bumper cars, the round-up, and a ferris wheel. I thihk that was about it??
If I remember correctly (and there is no assurance that I do remember correctly...LOL), but I think there was also a carousel and a Pirate Ship.
As far as all of this OC talk goes, it's got me wanting to find a book on OC history...off to amazon...LOL
Happy Coastering!
Sean
-----------------
Good luck on the OC history book. I haven't been able to locate anything in the past few days since this conversation started.
While the park is not defunct, the Flying Dutchman (a Zyklon... a really big model) that used to run at Dorney Park is one of those long gone things that sort of "haunts" the back of my mind. I can remember how odd it looked sitting up there on the hill side in 1980 (where I believe the ferriswheel now is). At that time there was nothing else around it and it sort of looked "out of place" sitting up there.
Back to OC... I what I find strange was how playland looked when it was SBNO (I do remember this... they were in the process of tearing it down when I last saw it). Kind of creepy.
Same with old Ocean View Park in Norfolk VA. Never saw it in operation... but saw it during the time it was SBNO before it was torn down. Kind of a spooky look.
I guess I am just fascinated about that stuff like that... not just parks either. One of these days I am going to head west and try and find the old abandon sections and tunnels of the PA turnpike. The pics of these look really surreal.
-----------------
Kind of hard to take a post as objective if a park or coaster name is part of the "user name"
Boblo Island. I dont remember anything about the it, except the boat rides on the Boblo Boats. The boats were so much fun. You could see the engines from inside, peer over the edge to look at the water. And when you're young these things are exciting. The boats have an even more important place in my familys history. My grandparents met on a Boblo Boat. But sadly as Boblo closed, the boats had no use anymore. I saw them about five years ago and they're in pretty bad shape. Pictures. As for Boblo, they're converting the Island into condos and small shops.
Opryland was also an early park I visited that is no longer there.
Tina N.
*** This post was edited by coasterqueenTRN on 8/1/2002. ***
Never been to Myrtle Beach, but according to DefunctParks.com, Magic Harbor is gone... remains "buldozed" in the mid 1990's because they were a fire hazzard (surprise, surprise... the nemisis of defunct parks seems to be fire). It also said that at one time it was owned by the same company that owns and operates Blackpool in England.
At Defunctparks.com there is a little article about this park, along with a park map, pics of some of the flyer for the park, and a pic of the Black Witch (a zyklon it looks like) after it was closed. (see the park index section for S.Carolina)
Not related to any of this, but on Defunctparks.com I also see that there was once a park in Myrtle Beach called Gay Dolphin Park. (insert your own joke here)
-----------------
Kind of hard to take a post as objective if a park or coaster name is part of the "user name"
*** This post was edited by SLFAKE on 8/1/2002. ***
*** This post was edited by SLFAKE on 8/1/2002. ***
-----------------
Vertigo Shots 3.
Life-Long CP fan.
No Problem gecko! Yes Splash Down Dunes does reside exactly where The Enchanted Forest used to be. There are still a couple of buildings still standing that the water park still uses like Pirate's Cove, The Golden Fawn restaurant, Popcorn and Cotton Candy. It's a really nice waterpark but they charge way to much for admission. The EF went out of business because the main owner gave sole ownership to her daughter who was married to a real loser who thought he could run the park like a major theme park when they bought a Tobbagon coaster ( which now stands at LittleA-Merrik-A ). Needless to say he didn't pay the bills and later.they filed for bankruptsy protection, then sold the park along with everything in it at auction back in the 90's. What a shame. This park could have been great! It was already some 40 years old when i worked there '76 to '86. I hear the Hurricane went for only $5,000! I wish I could have been at the auction!
-----------------
Beer, my soon to be wife, coasters, and the FREEDOM OF SPEECH. Is this a great country or what!!
-----------------------
I was at Splashdown Dunes 2 weeks ago with my sister and nieces. We knew this was the old Enchanted Forest location and wondered about a few of those buildings. We remembered one of the large buildings as a restaurant that was directly beneath the Skyride. When we were kids (the early 70's) we used to dare each to jump onto the roof. It couldn't have been more than 10 feet! Needless to say, we never did.
Enchanted Forest was my first park and where the love affair began. My grandparents began driving my siblings, cousins, and aunts out to Chesterton every year beginning in the late 60's. We have really bad home movies (which we can't watch anymore because they haven't been transferred to video yet) of what was the most anticipated day of the summer for all us kids.
I've forgotten most of the rides, layout, etc. but thanks to stoogemanmoe, my memories are a bit fuller. I clearly remember keeping an eye out for the HUGE fiberglass Indian, er, Native American, arm extended toward the sky, welcoming visitors to the park. Crossing the train tracks, paying or admission, getting our string bracelettes clipped with a little metal clasp (that we tried to keep on for weeks afterward) and heading toward our picnic table. My grandfather would spend the day at the BBQ keeping us all fed while the kids took off in every direction and Grandma headed to the Bingo hall. God, I miss that place!
Our absolute favorite ride was the Mad Mouse, my first coaster! We took turns trying to scare each other senseless on the Safari, a dark ride that terrified me to no end for some reason. But the one activity that we looked forward to the most was SKEEBALL! We were addicted. I would save dimes all year just for skeeball at Enchanted Forest. We took home sooo much crap from that game it was unreal. Of course, we cherished every prize.
I do remember the Surf, which was added later. I think it replaced some type of huge spinning swing type of futuristic looking ride that never operated during my lifetime. We'd stopped our annual visits by that time because all the kids were growing up, had other activities, etc. But when we kids who are all now grown with kids of our own remember our grandfather and the fun we had growing up, Enchanted Forest is always in the forefront.
Those trips were so important to us and the memories of our grandparents and our youth so precious, that we decided at a Thanksgiving dinner several years ago that we would recreate that experience for the next generation of our family. We couldn't go back to EF so we picked another park that stirs our memories and tugs at our hearts - Indiana Beach! Now, the kids still ride coasters, enjoy the dark rides and save their QUARTERS for Skeeball.
Thanks for the epilogue on the EF story, stoogeman. I've often wondered why it closed. I know I'll never forget it.
Now, don't get me started on Old Chicago, where I went on my first official date and had my first REAL kiss.
So you see, when I go to a park, any park really, I try to remember that it's not just about what I got to ride and how many times and if the ride ops were rude or the lines long . For me, its about having a good time with the people I'm with, family and friends, old and new, truly appreciating the opportunity to ride and play with them. Kids will grow up, friends will drift away, parks close. Later, it might be difficult to remember specific details, but the feelings and emotions will remain. I guess I've just learned not to take as much for granted.
God, I'm getting old.
You must be logged in to post
