Favorite Defunct Theme Park Attractions

[kkt]

Here's a neat one.  At Marriott's Great America, a defunct theme park in the San Francisco Bay Area, there was a merry-go-round... fancy antique.  When it closed, I figured the carved animals would be sold individually and the body scrapped.  30 years later, with my daughter at the Seattle Zoo, there's a new-to-them antique merry-go-round... the same one!

[cl94]

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.

They changed the cars. My father rode both versions and says the larger cars they got for Great Escape made it a lot tamer.

[Brandon]

Here's a neat one.  At Marriott's Great America, a defunct theme park in the San Francisco Bay Area,

It's not defunct.  It's changed hands a few times, and is now California's Great America, owned by Cedar Fair (owners of Cedar Point).

It's sister park was bought by Six Flags in the mid-1980s and has been with them ever since as Six Flags Great America.

[lepidopteran]

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.

That Corkscrew was relocated to a park called Silverwood, in Idaho.  And there is still a Corkscrew running at Cedar Point -- both made by Arrow Dynamics, but CP's opened one year later and has 3 inversions instead of 2, with the additional one being a vertical loop.  But considering the mammoth coasters found at CP today, one might suspect that the comparatively puny Corkscrew's days there are numbered.

[cl94]

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.

That Corkscrew was relocated to a park called Silverwood, in Idaho.  And there is still a Corkscrew running at Cedar Point -- both made by Arrow Dynamics, but CP's opened one year later and has 3 inversions instead of 2, with the additional one being a vertical loop.  But considering the mammoth coasters found at CP today, one might suspect that the comparatively puny Corkscrew's days there are numbered.

I doubt they'd get rid of Corkscrew. It might not be the most popular ride there, but there's a steady stream of riders, it's good for children, and it takes up very little usable space. It's built over a walkway and squeezed in next to a support building and a hotel parking lot.

[noelbotevera]

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.

That Corkscrew was relocated to a park called Silverwood, in Idaho.  And there is still a Corkscrew running at Cedar Point -- both made by Arrow Dynamics, but CP's opened one year later and has 3 inversions instead of 2, with the additional one being a vertical loop.  But considering the mammoth coasters found at CP today, one might suspect that the comparatively puny Corkscrew's days there are numbered.

Nah. It's the only one in CP that does a loop - I'd say it'd be rehabbed again in the 2020s.

[kkt]

Here's a neat one.  At Marriott's Great America, a defunct theme park in the San Francisco Bay Area,

It's not defunct.  It's changed hands a few times, and is now California's Great America, owned by Cedar Fair (owners of Cedar Point).

It's sister park was bought by Six Flags in the mid-1980s and has been with them ever since as Six Flags Great America.

So it is.

[Brandon]

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.

That Corkscrew was relocated to a park called Silverwood, in Idaho.  And there is still a Corkscrew running at Cedar Point -- both made by Arrow Dynamics, but CP's opened one year later and has 3 inversions instead of 2, with the additional one being a vertical loop.  But considering the mammoth coasters found at CP today, one might suspect that the comparatively puny Corkscrew's days there are numbered.

Nah. It's the only one in CP that does a loop - I'd say it'd be rehabbed again in the 2020s.

Raptor, Rougarou, Maverick, and Gatekeeper also have loops.  Corkscrew will be kept from what I can see because it has a nifty place over the midway.

[lepidopteran]

Raptor, Rougarou, Maverick, and Gatekeeper also have loops.  Corkscrew will be kept from what I can see because it has a nifty place over the midway.

Good to know it's likely not going anywhere.  When I visited Cedar Point in 1976, the year Corkscrew opened, there were only 5 coasters at the whole park. (Today there are 16!)  Only the Blue Streak and Mine Ride are still around, along with Corkscrew; Wildcat left a few years ago after being relocated within the park a number of times (and was actually completely replaced once), and the Jumbo Jet flew off in 1979, eventually landing at a park in Belarus!

[cl94]

Raptor, Rougarou, Maverick, and Gatekeeper also have loops.  Corkscrew will be kept from what I can see because it has a nifty place over the midway.

Good to know it's likely not going anywhere.  When I visited Cedar Point in 1976, the year Corkscrew opened, there were only 5 coasters at the whole park. (Today there are 16!)  Only the Blue Streak and Mine Ride are still around, along with Corkscrew; Wildcat left a few years ago after being relocated within the park a number of times (and was actually completely replaced once), and the Jumbo Jet flew off in 1979, eventually landing at a park in Belarus!

Wildcat had several issues related to maintenance, safety and capacity. It crashed twice in its last 5 years. Disaster Transport had low ridership and maintenance issues. Corkscrew has a relatively high capacity. It's also their first record-breaking ride. I picture something being done to Mean Streak before they even think of getting rid of Corkscrew. You couldn't fit another major ride where it is currently located.

[noelbotevera]

Raptor, Rougarou, Maverick, and Gatekeeper also have loops.  Corkscrew will be kept from what I can see because it has a nifty place over the midway.

Good to know it's likely not going anywhere.  When I visited Cedar Point in 1976, the year Corkscrew opened, there were only 5 coasters at the whole park. (Today there are 16!)  Only the Blue Streak and Mine Ride are still around, along with Corkscrew; Wildcat left a few years ago after being relocated within the park a number of times (and was actually completely replaced once), and the Jumbo Jet flew off in 1979, eventually landing at a park in Belarus!

Wildcat had several issues related to maintenance, safety and capacity. It crashed twice in its last 5 years. Disaster Transport had low ridership and maintenance issues. Corkscrew has a relatively high capacity. It's also their first record-breaking ride. I picture something being done to Mean Streak before they even think of getting rid of Corkscrew. You couldn't fit another major ride where it is currently located.

They could continue to make a ride that hugs Lake Erie and even expand - the problem is is that the parking lot has to be moved to make room, meaning the parking lot is moved to Sandusky. They could put it along US 6, but let's see if Sandusky agrees...

[cl94]

Raptor, Rougarou, Maverick, and Gatekeeper also have loops.  Corkscrew will be kept from what I can see because it has a nifty place over the midway.

Good to know it's likely not going anywhere.  When I visited Cedar Point in 1976, the year Corkscrew opened, there were only 5 coasters at the whole park. (Today there are 16!)  Only the Blue Streak and Mine Ride are still around, along with Corkscrew; Wildcat left a few years ago after being relocated within the park a number of times (and was actually completely replaced once), and the Jumbo Jet flew off in 1979, eventually landing at a park in Belarus!

Wildcat had several issues related to maintenance, safety and capacity. It crashed twice in its last 5 years. Disaster Transport had low ridership and maintenance issues. Corkscrew has a relatively high capacity. It's also their first record-breaking ride. I picture something being done to Mean Streak before they even think of getting rid of Corkscrew. You couldn't fit another major ride where it is currently located.

They could continue to make a ride that hugs Lake Erie and even expand - the problem is is that the parking lot has to be moved to make room, meaning the parking lot is moved to Sandusky. They could put it along US 6, but let's see if Sandusky agrees...

That has actually been discussed. PointBuzz has a thread on that every once and a while. There's also been rumors of a garage. Don't expect much anytime soon, though, as they just moved the front gate.

[GCrites]

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.

Probably that and the Heritage USA I mentioned which was started by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.

[noelbotevera]

(small note: is it fine if mods can merge this thread into the catch all thread I started? It's fine if this stays its own thread.)

Jumbo Jet at CP. Sounded like a cool ride but I was not born at the time it was there.

[cappicard]

The Orient Express at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City!


iPhone

[DTComposer]

Here's a neat one.  At Marriott's Great America, a defunct theme park in the San Francisco Bay Area, there was a merry-go-round... fancy antique.  When it closed, I figured the carved animals would be sold individually and the body scrapped.  30 years later, with my daughter at the Seattle Zoo, there's a new-to-them antique merry-go-round... the same one!

It's not defunct.  It's changed hands a few times, and is now California's Great America, owned by Cedar Fair (owners of Cedar Point).

It's sister park was bought by Six Flags in the mid-1980s and has been with them ever since as Six Flags Great America.

So it is.

Not only is the park still there, so is the carousel:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Carousel

It was built in 1976 along with the rest of the park.

[cappicard]

I liked The Edge at Paramount's Great America (now California's Great America) in Santa Clara, California.

They also had a Star Trek themed building in '94. 

[kkt]

Here's a neat one.  At Marriott's Great America, a defunct theme park in the San Francisco Bay Area, there was a merry-go-round... fancy antique.  When it closed, I figured the carved animals would be sold individually and the body scrapped.  30 years later, with my daughter at the Seattle Zoo, there's a new-to-them antique merry-go-round... the same one!

It's not defunct.  It's changed hands a few times, and is now California's Great America, owned by Cedar Fair (owners of Cedar Point).

It's sister park was bought by Six Flags in the mid-1980s and has been with them ever since as Six Flags Great America.

So it is.

Not only is the park still there, so is the carousel:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Carousel

It was built in 1976 along with the rest of the park.

The Columbia Carousel is not the one I was talking about.  Marriott's Great America had two carousels for a while.  The one I was talking about was Philadelphia Toboggan Company #45, constructed in 1918 and operated in the Cincinnati Zoo until the mid-1970s, then at Marriott until 1996, then in storage until the Tom and Linda Allen Foundation bought it and the Seattle Zoo and its donors had it restored and it opened in 2006.

http://www.zoo.org/document.doc?id=153

[DTComposer]

Here's a neat one.  At Marriott's Great America, a defunct theme park in the San Francisco Bay Area, there was a merry-go-round... fancy antique.  When it closed, I figured the carved animals would be sold individually and the body scrapped.  30 years later, with my daughter at the Seattle Zoo, there's a new-to-them antique merry-go-round... the same one!

It's not defunct.  It's changed hands a few times, and is now California's Great America, owned by Cedar Fair (owners of Cedar Point).

It's sister park was bought by Six Flags in the mid-1980s and has been with them ever since as Six Flags Great America.

So it is.

Not only is the park still there, so is the carousel:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Carousel

It was built in 1976 along with the rest of the park.

The Columbia Carousel is not the one I was talking about.  Marriott's Great America had two carousels for a while.  The one I was talking about was Philadelphia Toboggan Company #45, constructed in 1918 and operated in the Cincinnati Zoo until the mid-1970s, then at Marriott until 1996, then in storage until the Tom and Linda Allen Foundation bought it and the Seattle Zoo and its donors had it restored and it opened in 2006.

http://www.zoo.org/document.doc?id=153

Got it. I stand corrected.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ameri-Go-Round

I had forgotten about this one - haven't been in the park since 1990 or so.

[Brandon]

Here's a neat one.  At Marriott's Great America, a defunct theme park in the San Francisco Bay Area, there was a merry-go-round... fancy antique.  When it closed, I figured the carved animals would be sold individually and the body scrapped.  30 years later, with my daughter at the Seattle Zoo, there's a new-to-them antique merry-go-round... the same one!

It's not defunct.  It's changed hands a few times, and is now California's Great America, owned by Cedar Fair (owners of Cedar Point).

It's sister park was bought by Six Flags in the mid-1980s and has been with them ever since as Six Flags Great America.

So it is.

Not only is the park still there, so is the carousel:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Carousel

It was built in 1976 along with the rest of the park.

The Columbia Carousel is not the one I was talking about.  Marriott's Great America had two carousels for a while.  The one I was talking about was Philadelphia Toboggan Company #45, constructed in 1918 and operated in the Cincinnati Zoo until the mid-1970s, then at Marriott until 1996, then in storage until the Tom and Linda Allen Foundation bought it and the Seattle Zoo and its donors had it restored and it opened in 2006.

http://www.zoo.org/document.doc?id=153

Got it. I stand corrected.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ameri-Go-Round

I had forgotten about this one - haven't been in the park since 1990 or so.

Our Ameri-Go-Round is in storage, removed in 2003.

[SteveG1988]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flFlFz7osa8

[ftballfan]

I've been on very few truly defunct attractions, and they include:
Skyway at Disney World
Disaster Transport, Space Spiral, and WildCat at Cedar Point

I've been on a couple that have been relocated since I've been on them:
Deja Vu at Six Flags Great America (now at Silverwood)
Demon Drop at Cedar Point (now at Dorney Park)

[SteveG1988]

I will miss at Great Adventure the stunt show on their lake. The lake grandstand was torn down this year.

I don't remember going to their aquatic animal show, but according to reports they were unable to keep it, not due to animal rights or anything like that, but the cement was poured in 1974, and was crumbling just from age. They could not keep patching it up.

People forget at times that Great Adventure was built and opened in July 1974, and stuff there is starting to age badly. They had to get rid of the giant TeePee in 2008 just due to the large logs used to hold it up rotting out.

http://greatadventurehistory.com/SuperTeepee.htm

[TravelingBethelite]

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.

Probably that and the Heritage USA I mentioned which was started by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.

The cross, at least, is still up. You can see it pretty well heading into Waterbury from the west on I-84 or on Baldwin Street.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5503568,-73.0346469,3a,15y,130.58h,95.1t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sGZ-HTk71x50dcPlbXojrvg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[jbnati27]

I miss the old fashioned cars at Kings Island. It was a nice chill ride after riding a lot of roller coasters.