Rare Classic Rides

I agree with you Rob,this is a great thread,brings back alot of memories. :)

I have another ride.

Kiddieland hand cars.The little car that rides on a track that looks like a railroad track.You turn the two handles and thats what makes you around the track.

Another Kiddieland ride.The helicoptor ride that you can make go up and down with the bar inside.I believe Delgrossos has one.

Skyrides and monorails are starting to become rare too.

*** Edited 8/11/2006 6:25:42 PM UTC by Ex_Westview and KW_worker***

Strcikers grove has a helicopter ride and it's not as rare as you think. PKI had one themed to THE JETSONS up until last years with the roof removed and tails and noses like Jetsons ships.

PKI also had the hand kiddy train cars until this year. There are others around but becomming rarer and rarer.

I would love to see a park like Kennywood, Knoebels or Holiday World get a nice selection of these rides that we have been talking about and create a section of the park around them. Theme it like an old fashion street carnival. Sell some of those hard to find carnival foods (Cotton Candy on a stick, not in a bag/real deep fried corn dogs). I think that if someone would do this, they would find a whole new market. I was visiting with my parents last night. My dad has probably not been to a park or on a ride for at least 20 years. We were reading this looking up pics on flatrides.com. Several time he said, "I remember that. It was great. Would love to ride it again."

PKI has a monster, named, Monster :)

Charles thanks for correcting me about the helicoptor rides,I didnt know there was that many still around.

Something else becoming rare,pony tracks.I dont know the manufacture,I would have to ask the pony's who their Mom and Dad are. :)

Kiddieland hand cars: Idlewild has them. I believe that they came there from Kennywood.

That brings up something else -- what about other kiddie rides?

Are any of those Cadillac car rides that traveled on a track still around? KW took theirs out this year.

Allen Herschel kiddie roller coasters -- Lakemont and Conneaut Lake have them. I remember when a ride operator was injured on the Lakemont ride when he got caught between the train and the track.

How about kiddie Tumble Bugs, Mangels Kiddie Whips(both oval and roto whips), Hampton Umbrella Kiddie rides (they used to be quite common but are starting to disappear from many parks), and Mangels Brownie coasters (powered coasters).

I'd love to do kiddie rides but once you start getting into that, the possibilities are pretty much endless. I was trying to stick to adult rides right now, leaving the door open for kiddie rides at a later date.

I'm looking at this list and finding out just how important these old parks are. A good portion of the classic rides on the list can be found at a half dozen or so parks- lose one of those parks and a significant number of these classics suddenly become endangered. The closing of Conneaut Lake or Lakeside Park would be devestating!

Hand cars can be found at Knoebels, Erieview, Waldameer, Idlewild, and Camden,
Idlewild has adult-size hand cars..more parks need these. *I* need them for the backyard!

Conneaut Lake and Delgrosso's have ponies.

If Space Combat is the ride I am thinking of, then Bertrand Island had one when the park closed for good in 1983. Who knows what happened to it after that.

The only Mangels Brownie Coaster I ever saw was at Bushkill. I don't know if it survived the flood.

Kiddie whips are fairly common. Trimper's Rides and Beech Bend have especially pristine versions. I'm pretty sure Beech Bend got theirs from the Guntown Mountain auction.
*** Edited 8/11/2006 6:45:19 PM UTC by millrace***

Wouldnt it be nice if Lost Kennywood would be the TRUE Lost Kennywood with alot of the rides mentioned.I think it would be VERY popular section of the park.

KW has their Whip in Lost Kennywood but the other rides there are relatively new. One (Swing Shot) was added just this year.

I can see what you mean. This section used to have Flying Scooters (the old version) and a Roll-O-Plane. Why not have such things as a Rock-O-Plane, a Rotor, an Octopus or Monster, a Calypso or other rides that used to be at KW years ago? Move some of the newer rides to an expansion area when the park expands.

In some ways, Idlewild is the real "Lost Kennywood". Lots of hand-me-downs from KW including a Big Eli Ferris wheel, a Super Round Up, a Caterpillar, a Tilt-A-Whirl, and those kiddie hand cars. Maybe the Cadillacs and either the Swing Around or Bayern Kurve will show up here someday.

Memphis Kiddie Park has kids hand-cars. They are the same ones I rode when I was a kid.

I'd consider the old Roll-O-Planes classics. GL use to have one by the Double Loop.

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Ex_Westview and KW_worker said:
Kiddieland hand cars.The little car that rides on a track that looks like a railroad track.You turn the two handles and thats what makes you around the track.

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Last time I was at Lake Winnie (10 years ago) I remember seeing these. You could easily observe them while in line for the boat chute. Anyone know if they are still there. Unfortunately Lake Winnies webpage consist of mainly non-working links.

OH! Here's 2 more rare flats.

1)BOOMERANG - I actually rode one of these in 1992 at a fair in NC. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this ride as I was only aware of the older defunct ones from Bertrands and Riverview. Here's a photo of the Riverview one.

http://members.aol.com/k9660r/boomerang1a.jpg

2) UFO - Very odd ride. The last operating one I saw was in Myrtle Beach in the 70's. Are there any more of these around?

http://members.aol.com/k9660r/UFOride1.jpg

I have some literature on each of these rides that I scanned from a carnival magazine called "Carousel". They list the manufacturers, etc.

I agree with you Arthur about Idlewild,it is the real Lost Kennywood.

I think because of lack of space they got away from their plan for that section of the park.They should rename that section,because the only lost ride from the past is the Whip like you said.

The only downside I can see of putting some of the older rides back in Lost Kennywood is maintenance,finding parts would be tough,they would have to get them made at a machine shop.

Do you have any pictures of the 1992 boomerang? I keep hearing rare appearances of this modern boomerang but I have never actually seen a picture of it. Do you remember the name of the carnival company?

does anyone know what happened to the rotors that they used to have at Geagua Lake or Kennywood?

You guys got me thinking on this thread..

Heres another one..

It was called the "Bat Chute" at West View.You climbed up a stairway in the middle,then rode on a burlap sack down a spiral slide.I think Knoebels still has one.

^^^I wish I had my camera that day. Oh, how I wish! I went back to that same fair the following 3 years and it was not there.

According to this article I have (that does have pictures of this portable Boomerang), the ride was made by Wisdom Manufacturing and made it's debut in 1985 in Gibsonton (is that FL?) and then became part of Johnston's Amusements Carnival of Fun.

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I'd consider the old Roll-O-Planes classics. GL use to have one by the Double Loop.

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They had a Roll-O-Plane??? Ok, I remember a Fly-O-Plane back by the double loop, that's the one with the little airplanes on it, but not the Roll-O-Plane which is the one with one big long arm with a rotating cage at each end. GL also had a Rock-O-Plane, the only one I have ever ridden, once upon a time. Heck, they had the Flying Scooters, Tumble Bug, Rock-O-Plane, Cuddle Up and Rockets(circle swing) all right by each other once upon a time!

Tom

Ex Westview, yes Knoebels has a spiral slide, but not the conventional kind. It used to be a rocket simulator about 40 years ago and used to sit on it's side. Now the rocket is vertical and a slide was build around it. Dutch Wonderland does have a spiral slide that sounds like what you mention. They call theirs "Silo Slide". Guess what it looks like? :)

Tom

Wow, if only Geauga Lake still had a flat ride collection like that!

Regarding the boomerang, I heard reports of an appearance at the Meadowlands Fair (NJ) a few years ago. I don't think Johnston's Amusements was show.