Save Idora Park

Thank you Steve for the pictures of this now defunct park. They have generated lots of disscusion about how depressed it makes everybody to see these pictures of rotting roller coasters. So instead of just siting at your computers and feeling bad, instead of wishing that sombody would buy the park and it would re-open, DO SOMETHING!! ANYTHING. Write to Conneaut Lake Park and ask them to fix up the coasters, since they have the plans. Or write the local government. Maybe Youngstown can do something like that park in New York where the government uses it as a sorce of encome. Or just write to other coaster lovers ans ask them to save this park, or at least the Jack Rabbit. I'm only 16 and I don't even remeber when Leap the Dips was restored and I don't know all the details, but is the second oldest coaster in the world not good enough. Does it have to be the oldest until people take action to save the ride?? Let's do something, we can start here at Coaster Buzz. And who knows maybe one day I could take my children to Idora Park to ride the world's second oldest operating roller coaster, instead of just showing them pictures of rotting roller coasters in a defunct park.

Please send me an E-mail or something if you would like to help. I would like to see this park turned around.

Blake

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SP we hardly knew Ye
Hey ya'll I say Howdy
Save Idora Park

First, the bad news: Conneaut Lake Park has too many of their own financial problems at the present time, The government of Youngstown has no concern whatsoever(hopefully to change with the upcoming elections). Now the good news: There is interest in the Jack Rabbit at an unknown park according to newspaper articles in Youngstown, Stricker's Grove has also shown interest in the coaster layouts. Hope this helps, until we win the lottery...

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http://communities.msn.com/coastersbysteve

All it would take is vast,huge sums of money. Two things did in Idora Park. The death of the steel industry as it was known in the Ohio valley and a nasty fire. The decision was made by the park's owners that it was not worth their while to rebuild after the fire. In it's later years it was a marginal operation, as was a lot of small to mid size parks in the region.Just look how many parks in that region have shuttered for the last time in the last twenty years or so. This was due in large part to both Cedar Point and Kings Island. All it takes is a disaster like the fire that hit Idora to signal it's end. It's doubtful if it could have survived another five years if the fire hadn't occurred. The population base that had supported for all those years no longer existed. Even today I doubt that a resurrested Idora would be able to survive. The competion for the entertainment dollar is fiercer than ever. Lets just hope that the Conneaut plan to reproduce the coasters comes to fruition. Other than a few iron rides the only other piece from Idora that will be operational again is the PTC carousel, which is going to be in a themed shopping area in New York.

I'd love to see it open back up too. Lets face it the Ohio park scene is pretty well flooded with SFO, CP only 2 hours or so away from Yougstown. Then in PA we have Conneaut, Waldameere and even Kennywood in driving distance too.
Maybe some park will buy the blueprints off Conneaut and resurect these coasters.
As for the flat rides I imangine most of them are in poor shape by now sitting all these years. Although they may look good in appearance (only needing paint) I'm sure every moving part on them is rusted fast and motor is dead too.
I'd say if everything sat for a year maybe up to 5 years the park might still be saveable. Too much time (IMO) has passed for the park to to be saved.


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2000 stats: 135 coasters in 26 parks
Not Too Shabby For A Summer

AOL & MSN IM Name: coasterpunk

Maybe we should mention this do Dick Knobel next year. He seems to like to restore the clasics.

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Where would we be without the rumor mill? *** This post was edited by WildOne on 11/2/2000. ***

Are there any old rides left at Idora Park? I thought that everything had been auctioned off or torn down except for the two main coasters, the casino building and couple of midway structures. I know that Chippewa Lake has a few rusting rides sitting around. Flying cages, tumble bug, ferris wheel, old railroad tracks, I think a wild mouse steel coaster, the wooden coaster, maybe a few more.