Favorite Defunct Theme Park Attractions

[roadman65]

As many of you already know, most major theme parks constantly add rides, make changes to their layout, expand, and each operating season (or every so many years in Florida parks due to their 365 day schedule down where the weather is warm) make it better and more up to date.  In the meantime to stay within budget when a brand new attraction gets built, a previous one gets the ax.  Some might of been favorites of yours like I have plenty to name that I loved that are no longer.

Here is my list of rides at famous parks or not so famous ones that I enjoyed that are sadly no longer operating.

The Giant Wheel- Hersheypark- Derry Township, PA
The Safari Monorail- Busch Gardens- Tampa, FL
The Glissade Tabogan ( I think that was its name) Busch Gardens- Williamsburg, VA
The Skyway- Disneyland- Anaheim, CA (as I loved how it went through the Matterhorn attraction)
Adventure Through Inner Space- Disneyland- Anaheim, CA (as I often remember bits and pieces of riding it when 4 years old, but from what I remember its something that I would love to ride now that I am a grown up, but now Disney replaced it with StarTours.  I also am curious to know how the effect was created to make you appear that you were shrinking, as I do remember it was neat to see when I rode it many years ago)
The Peoplemover- Disneyland- Aneheim, CA
The Carousel of Progress- Disneyland (although here in Orlando now, still it does not have that Goodyear Speedwalk that takes you upstairs in end, as all positions in Dismal World have stages and you leave through the outer doors like you entered)
The Python- Busch Gardens- Tampa, FL ( the first looper coaster of its kind became old fast after more intense roller coasters succeeded it)

What are yours to all you theme park lovers?

[noelbotevera]

Roller Soaker - Hersheypark

And that's it. I haven't been to much theme/amusement parks, and I'm planning to go to Cedar Point.

[jp the roadgeek]

The Cyclone at Six Flags New England (I still call it Riverside Park)
Great American Scream Machine at Six Flags Great Adventure (rode it 5 times in 30 minutes as park was closing)

[OCGuy81]

Good call on the People Mover at Disneyland.  I always loved riding on that.  The tracks are still in place for most of it, and I hear rumors that they might try bringing it back, which would be good.  Tomorrowland needs a few more things to do.

[Buck87]

Demon Drop at Cedar Point. Used to love sneaking a penny onto that ride and then watching it float in front of my face during the few seconds of freefall. Although this is not technically a defunct ride, since it is was relocated to Dorney Park in PA where it is still operating.

So my favorite truly defunct ride would be White Water Landing at Cedar Point. It was a fun log flume where you didn't get soaked. Although I will say that the coaster that took its spot (Maverick) is awesome.

[english si]

Tomorrowland needs a few more things to do.

Especially given they made a film about it.

Given I queued up twice for it, only for it to close for maintenance (the first time was "come back in an hour", second was "it won't open today"), I have mixed feelings about Corkscrew at Alton Towers. It looked fun, but given I never got to ride it due to mechanical issues, I can't say it was my favourite!

This one at Littlehampton closed a couple of years after I was tall enough to ride, about the time I could afford to ride it. I did ride it a couple of times, and it wasn't anything special (likewise the Margate Scenic Railway at Dreamland, though that one is being rebuilt), but there's few rides I've done that have closed.

My favourite one, however, was the Ferris Wheel at Dreamland. It was sold to somewhere in Mexico and was 148ft tall - the tallest in the UK since the Great Wheel that closed in 1906. It's height was exacerbated by the fact that nothing was more than four storeys tall for miles and miles. I'm pretty sure that on clear days you could see Belgium. The big issue was that, as a four? year old experiencing it for the first time, it took chuffing ages. And took ages to wait when a cousin or brother went on that as the ride they went on, and I did something quicker and more thrilling like the tea cups. The best thing about it was the ability to be able to look at something that wasn't Margate while there!

[dcharlie]

I miss the 20000 Leagues Under the Sea at Disney World

[Brandon]

The Sky Whirl at Great America (Gurnee, IL).  A massive three-armed ferris wheel where two of the arms would spin while the third one unloaded and loaded on the ground.

[OCGuy81]

I miss the 20000 Leagues Under the Sea at Disney World

Is that the submarine ride?  Disneyland still has theirs, though they're now called the Finding Nemo sub ride, as they figured kids would be unfamiliar with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  Similar to how the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse got rebranded Tarzan's Treehouse.

[dcharlie]

Yes, that's the old submarine ride.  They have filled it in an put a Roller coaster in called the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

[cl94]

The looping waterslide at Action Park

[CNGL-Leudimin]

The Cyclone at Six Flags New England (I still call it Riverside Park)
Great American Scream Machine at Six Flags Great Adventure (rode it 5 times in 30 minutes as park was closing)

It's still there on the recently released OpenRCT2 .

Roller Soaker - Hersheypark

And that's it. I haven't been to much theme/amusement parks, and I'm planning to go to Cedar Point.

Me neither. And out of all rides I've been and liked, all are still standing AFAIK.

[Rothman]

The Cyclone at Six Flags New England (I still call it Riverside Park)

Heh.  I grew up going to Riverside...even as scuzzy as it became in its later years .  However, the last time I saw the Cyclone, you could see one of the drops literally sway as the train came down it.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoy the Wicked Cyclone, though.

[GCrites]

The miniature train at Heritage USA (aka P.T.L.)

[roadman65]

Good call on the People Mover at Disneyland.  I always loved riding on that.  The tracks are still in place for most of it, and I hear rumors that they might try bringing it back, which would be good.  Tomorrowland needs a few more things to do.

I remember them being powered by rubber tires along the track.  The cars themselves had no motor or means of propulsion as the several hundred tires attached to individual motors propelled it.

Great, that it is coming back.  From what you say is said on Wikipedia as the tracks were never removed.

In Florida, we still have ours, but its powered by Linear Induction Motors along the track using electromagnets to pull the train cars forwards.  I believe the underground Termilink in Houston's Bush's Airport works the same way.

[lepidopteran]

For Walt Disney World, I nominate "If You Had Wings", a unique Tomorrowland attraction sponsored by Eastern Air Lines.  Also 20k Leagues, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (which I actually never got to go on), and Skyway to Tommowland/Fantasyland, the only cable-car skyride I'm aware of that had a mechanism for changing directions midstream.

For Cedar Point, there's Disaster Transport (though admittedly, the queue was a bit long), the "upside down" Fun House, the Jumbo Jet, and the Space Spiral.  I also kinda liked the Rotor.

[roadman65]

Oh yes, how could I forget " If you had wings, if you had wings, had wings had wings." The song will always be remembered as well as that long tube with the screens that gave you the same illusion an IMAX does toward the rides end.  Then who could also forget the cop wearing the old Bermuda Shorts directing people one way and flamingos the other way.

[PHLBOS]

This one goes 31 years back:

Sarajevo Bobsled (paying homeage to the then-recent winter Olympic host city) at Great Adventure (now Six Flags-Great Adventure).

[Thing 342]

The Big Bad Wolf and Der Wild Maus at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Hypersonic XLC, the reversed cars on Rebel Yell, and Shockwave at Kings Dominion

[dcharlie]

For those not familiar with the 20000 Leagues under the sea ride at Disney World, here is an article on it:  https://roadtrippers.com/stories/disneys-most-epic-ride?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20150930&lat=40.80972&lng=-96.67528&z=5

[kkt]

Playland in San Francisco was an amusement park rather than a theme park.  But I miss the giant slide, probably three stories high.  When I was maybe 5 it terrified me.  When I was 9, I wanted to slide over and over.

At least there are still It's-Its.

[OCGuy81]

Forgot one!  I used to love the Corkscrew at Knott's Berry Farm.  It closed around 89-90, but that was my first coaster that went upside down.

Of course, there have been great attractions added there that have replaced it, such as the Silver Bullet, and my personal favorite, the Xcelerator!

[kurumi]

Waterbury, CT has Holy Land, USA: an abandoned Christian theme park.

Amidst this sprawling squalor are two unlikely items. A tall high tech cross of steel, visible for miles, would light up at night. The joke is that locals grow up believing Christ was electrocuted on the cross. More striking is the large "Hollywood"-style sign that nightly illuminates the words: Holy Land USA.

Holy Land USA was a legitimate vacation destination for families in the 1960s and '70s, drawing as many as 44,000 visitors a year. It was a must-see stop for church groups and pilgrimage busses. Today, evidence can be found of a large parking lot, remnants of a gift shop, and assorted outbuildings.

[OCGuy81]

Waterbury, CT has Holy Land, USA: an abandoned Christian theme park.

Amidst this sprawling squalor are two unlikely items. A tall high tech cross of steel, visible for miles, would light up at night. The joke is that locals grow up believing Christ was electrocuted on the cross. More striking is the large "Hollywood"-style sign that nightly illuminates the words: Holy Land USA.

Holy Land USA was a legitimate vacation destination for families in the 1960s and '70s, drawing as many as 44,000 visitors a year. It was a must-see stop for church groups and pilgrimage busses. Today, evidence can be found of a large parking lot, remnants of a gift shop, and assorted outbuildings.

Must be what inspired Ned Flanders' theme park on The Simpsons.

[SteveG1988]

This one goes 31 years back:

Sarajevo Bobsled (paying homeage to the then-recent winter Olympic host city) at Great Adventure (now Six Flags-Great Adventure).

Do you want to revisit it? It was moved to Great Escape in Queensbury NY. If you have a six flags pass, it is accessable with it for no extra fees.

For me... Jackrabbit at Clementon park, a 1916 roller coaster that was torn down in the 2000s due to the park being poor.