Defunct Amusement Parks website..

[SoCalDem]

Is your childhood park here?

http://www.defunctparks.com/parks/parks.htm

[Burma Jones]

1. Ponchatrain Beach, New Orleans

Right on the lake. Had The Zephyr Roller Coaster and it's where I had my first french kiss........

[SacredCow]

18. I barely remember it.....

But my older sister was obsessed by the place....

[SacredCow]

19. Delete- Duplicate

[BarenakedLady]

2. Rocky Point Park

Warwick, Rhode Island.

*sigh*

good times...good times

[Rhiannon12866]

3. Yes, at least two of them...

When I was at school, I worked summers (six) at Storytown, USA, Lake George, NY, which is now The Great Escape and, the last time I drove by, seems to have expanded into a Disney World wanna-be, complete with hotels, restaurants and water parks...:-(

I ran rides, spent a lot of the first two summers as Cinderella, complete with Pumpkin Coach :silly:, then graduated to running the Storytown Train, a purple number that ran through the "jungle," which the owner had bought, used, in 1952... It derailed often and we said that we held it together with chewing gum and bumper sticker wire.:crazy: I loved that train and took very good care of it, took pride in always bringing it back to the station unless it jumped the tracks...:loveya:

I also spent a lot of time at its sister park, Gaslight Village, since they exchanged rides and employees. That magic place is totally gone...;(

[SoCalDem]

4. Families used to be able to go to these places AND

have enough money to buy food & souvenirs.. These days, it costs hundreds of dollars for a family to get in,and then stand in long lines for most of the time they are there..

progress:(

[TommyO]

6. There are still parks out there that are reasonably affordable

Knoebels (www.knoebels.com) in Elysburg, PA is one such park, and I get there as often as I can. Like everything, their prices have gone up over the years since my first visit there in 1989, but parking is still free and there is no admission charge for the park (you pay per ride or can get an all-day ride pass on weekdays and select early and late season weekends). You can bring your own food and beverages into the park, but if you decide to buy food there, it's generally very good and very reasonably priced compared to most other parks.

The best thing is that back in 1985, they moved The Rocket from the defunct Playland in San Antonio, TX and rebuilt it as The Phoenix - the coaster still runs great, I was there on Saturday for some end-of-season rides that benefited two local fire companies.

edited to add: Even better, they are building a new wooden Flying Turns, it's taking them some time, but that's what happens when you resurrect a ride that most people haven't ridden (the last of the originals closed in 1969). You can find more info on the park's website.

[PRETZEL]

17. Haven't been to Knobels in years,

my ex and kids still go there every year for a 4 day weekend. They still camp in the same spot along the creek and to this day they still enjoy it.

[Rhiannon12866]

7. When I was first working there, admission was three or four bucks...

The last time I went, it was $38 or $39, and that was several years ago... They advertise special discounts, if you buy passes early, and I think those are $40-something, per-person...:-(

[BuelahWitch]

5. Two of them, and a third on life support

Cascade Park in New Castle, PA is gone, as is Idora Park in Youngstown, Ohio. I was happy to see that Conneaut Lake Park was not on the list, but apparently it didn't open last summer or the one before that.

I guess like everything else if you're an amusement park not owned by Disney or some other big company you're SOL...:cry:

[SoCalDem]

9. Did you see all the pics of Idora?

It looked like a cool place..

[BuelahWitch]

12. Yes I did

Apparently JFK made a campaign stop there in 1960. One year in the early '70s David Cassidy gave a concert there (I didn't go, but I remember hearing about it, since I lived so close).

[Inchworm]

8. Boblo Island - Windsor Canada

Boblo Island Park (1880's -1993)

Good times. Lots of memories. I didnt know it had closed. It's been years.

:cry:

[zabet]

10. Wow..

I had no idea that these had closed..

Land of Oz - Banner Elk NC
Had the coolest house, Dorothy's, built
to when you walked through it, it felt like
it was in the twister. Uneven floors, crooked
windows, furniture in the air....

The park at Carolina Beach

[Highway61]

11. Wow..did that site bring back memories

There was a park in NJ that wasn't on there. Butler Park...it closed in 1952. We used to go to the old grounds when I was in high school. To see the grass and weeds growing up over the merry-go-round and the chipped paint on the horses....You could almost hear the children squealing and laughing.
http://www.washington-twp-warren.org/Government/General_Information/History___Tour/Setting/Butler_Park/butler_park.html

We went to Dorney Park, Allentown, PA every fouth of July and Labor Day. We'd bring a big old picnic and spent the day riding all the rides. We were a family of 6 and my dad was a dairy farmer. It was affordable back then...today you go for broke.
It was a simpler and more innocent time.
Thanks for a great post.

[SoCalDem]

13. Those times are gone forever for most people.. Most of the parks

seen to cater to older kids..

Knott's out here still has Camp Snoopy (although kids probably won;t even knwo who Snoopy is(was) in a few years.. My kids used to love that place... They never liked (nor did I) Disneyland..but when they were teens we always bought season passes for magic Mountain.. My youngest and I are the speed freaks and we LOVE the scary rollercoasters..The other family members are scaredy cats :)

[Highway61]

14. same here

ANY roller coaster...I'll go on it. LOVE that stuff.:woohoo:

[begin_within]

15. Great idea, but not enough info and pictures there yet. I remember the Pike and

the Japanese Deer Park in California well. Knott's Berry Farm, which is still going strong, used to have a fantastic area called Treasure Island, which was a dream playland for kids - like the Tom Sawyer's Island at Disneyland, but more like a tropical jungle. Have you also seen Yesterland.com?

[MorningGlow]

16. Yep--Roseland Park, Canandaigua, NY

On the shore of Canandaigua Lake in the Finger Lakes. Fairly good wooden rollercoaster (but a bit slow), wonderful antique carousel, and a nice quiet "gondola" ride over the lake--the umbrella thingies riding high on a cable--but the best part about the place was the old arcade: an ancient wooden building, all dark inside, with creaky wood floors and a mix of old and new games--I swear the magic fortune telling contraption from Big was in there! :P



Ripped the place out for condos. Of course. :puke: