Theme Parks you visited that no longer exist

[NHAnn]

Virgo10...thanks for that link....I need to e-mail it to my siblings

OK, here's another for you New Englanders who grew up in the 60's.....

Pleasure Island ....no, NOT at Downtown Disney...in Wakefield Mass!!

 

[stevenpensacola]

Miracle Strip Amusement Park in Panama City Beach, FL

I have many memories of hanging out there with family and friends. Now it is closed forever. The Starliner wooden roller coaster was sold to the guy who owns Wild Adventures and Cypress Gardens.

The Starliner was where I learned to love rollercoasters. After many trips around the Starliner, I gained the confidence to ride the Great American Scream Machine at Six Flags Over Georgia.

Remember the Abominable Snowman? A scrambler located in a white "igloo", mirrors on the walls, all sorts of lighting effects, including the strobes, an incredible sound system. It seemed like it was always 50 degrees in the ride.

 

[stevenpensacola]

Six Gun Territory in Florida. My parents took me there in the 70's and I saw a guest gunfighter, "Jerry Matthers".

I remember that to get to the park, you could either ride a sky-lift over a cheesy fake mountain or ride a train. Don't remember there being much there besides a dusty western street (I do recall the can-can girls), a shoot-out, and some traveling fair type amusement park rides in a parking lot.

 

[stevenpensacola]

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

http://www.defunctparks.com/links/parklinks.htm

http://members.aol.com/parklinks/links.htm

Florida's Lost Tourist Attractions:
http://www.lostparks.com/

virtual Six Gun Territory
http://www.lostparks.com/sixgtown.html

 

[ValerieK]

Miracle Strip Amusement Park in Panama City Beach, FL

I have many memories of hanging out there with family and friends. Now it is closed forever. The Starliner wooden roller coaster was sold to the guy who owns Wild Adventures and Cypress Gardens. It's supposed to end up at one of those parks next year.

Here's a video of Miracle Strip Amusement Park that brought back many memories. It didn't have video of the cheesy and horrible haunted house though! Scroll down to the bottom for the video.

http://www.themeparkreview.com/contest2005/contest2005.htm

The Starliner was the first coster I has ever ridden. Luckily my DS and I got to ride it last year for the last time.

I grew up going to Miracle Strip. My Aunt lives in Panama City and use to live on the beach when I was younger. There was another amusement park there farther down the beach, but it closed a long time ago. It use to have a train that went around the park and a western type show. Can not remember the name now.

I can't believe that they are building all those condos on the beach.
It was nice to be able to see the ocean from the road. Lets just hope they don't get rid of Funland and the Goofy Golf place. They have both been there forever.

 

[Yardbird]

LeSourdsville Lake in Middletown, Ohio, and Six-Gun Territory in Ocala, Fl.

 

[themepark]

I don't remember the name, but there was an amusement park on a hilltop in Maggie Valley, NC, too.

That was Ghost Town in the Sky. Someone else mentioned Frontierland being in Tennessee. It was actually in Cherokee, NC. I have vivid memories of going there as a child. They always put Frontierland bumper stickers on you car while parked in their lot!

There seem to be several people from Tennessee on these boards. I loved Chaos (the indoor roller coaster) at Opryland. I remember when Dollywood was Silver Dollar City and before that (way back in the late 70's) Gold Rush Junction.

Did you know that before Gold Rush Junction, it was called Rebel Railroad? This year they tore down the log flume which was there as far back as Gold Rush Junction. Sad. I loved that log ride as a kid and still loved it as an adult.

I had forgotten all about Porpoise Island in Pigeon Forge! Anyone remember Magic World in PForge?

 

[themepark]

Are you talking about the one on Beech Mountain. It still opens one weekend a year and the wait times number several hours.

Land of OZ!!!

OMG! I never even knew this park existed until now, but it all rings a bell. I remember being 3-5 years old (which would have been 1970-1973) and seeing commercials on TV in Knoxville with the wicked witch riding a broom and the only other thing I could remember about it was her inviting people to come to Beech Mountain. I have asked people over the years if anyone remembered that and no one ever did and all thought I was nuts! That commercial scared the hooey out of me and I have remembered it all these years! I don't know why I never thought to try looking it up on the net. At least now I know I am not crazy. That commercial had to be for Land of Oz. I might try to go up there this October.

 

[jgmklmhem]

The Starliner was where I learned to love rollercoasters. After many trips around the Starliner, I gained the confidence to ride the Great American Scream Machine at Six Flags Over Georgia.

Remember the Abominable Snowman? A scrambler located in a white "igloo", mirrors on the walls, all sorts of lighting effects, including the strobes, an incredible sound system. It seemed like it was always 50 degrees in the ride.

I loved the Snowman (it was a great break from the heat). As for the Starliner I had the opposite effect because when we were riding it the bar came up and we held on real tight for the rest of the ride and it scared me off of coasters for a while.

 

[phorsenuf]

Riverside Park-now Six Flags
Lincoln Park-now a dog track
Paragon Park-now condos
Whalom Park-I think theres a web site trying to save it.
Kings Castle-the dragaon was still there a few years ago.

Also, there was a park at Revere Beach years ago....not sure of the name.

Lincoln park. I was thinking of that one as well as paragon. Forgot about Whalom park. Kings Castle, I used to take the kids there when they were real little. That was in Whitman, right?

Don't forget Bensons animal park in Hudson, NH

 

[cajunmommy]

Where are my So. Louisiana posters?? Doesn't anyone miss Pontchartrain Beach & the Zephyr?

 

[It's A Happy Day]

A few I remember...
* Whalum park - MA - It's so sad to see - still standing but fenced in and dilapidated. I took pictures of the run down roller coaster and old water slides still standing just to show my kids when there a little older.
* Rocky Point - RI - I have memories of the whole family going here - aunts, uncles, grandparents and I couldn't wait till I was old enough to go on the log flume - sad to say it closed before I ever did - condos now I think.
* Bensons Animal Farm - NH I think - another place the whole family went. I remember bringing a picnic, watching elephant shows, seeing the different paddle boats in the water and feeding the petting zoo animals here when I was small.
Riverside - Agawam, MA - now a 6 flags - don't remember a lot about it pre 6 flags but love it now too!
It seems the smaller ones are losing the battle and going the way of drive in movie theaters. Where will we take our kids for a day of fun in the future. I remember all piling in the car and going to these places and It's sad that I won't be able to build the same memories with my children.

 

[live4christp1]

I used to love going to Miracle Strip and Shipwreck Island as a kid. Is Shipwreck still there???

I am also one who didn't know Opryland had closed we used to make day trips up there from Birmingham when I was a kid. I loved all the water rides. Now I may just be going crazy but did Opryland have kind of a haunted house that you rode in canoes to go through. It was kind of a monster house type of thing. I remember it so clearly but don't remember if it was there or not.

http://www.themeparkbrochures.com/main.html

Here is a good website that has maps and stuff from all kinds of parks from past years and stuff. Went here trying to see if my Opryland haunted house thing is just a Figment in my head.

The boat ride through haunted house you mention sounds like the Monster Plantation at Six Flags over Georgia.....did it start out kind of all colorful and silly and then you get to one area and the little sherrif is saying "don't go into the swamp" and that is exactly were you go. It is inside a very large building that looks like an old Plantation House.

 

[Virgo10]

A few I remember...
* Bensons Animal Farm - NH I think - another place the whole family went. I remember bringing a picnic, watching elephant shows, seeing the different paddle boats in the water and feeding the petting zoo animals here when I was small.

OMG! I had totally forgotten about that place. That was a wonderful zoo type attraction. I didn't know it was gone.

 

[welovedisneyx4]

There was one in Myrtle Beach, SC down south towards Garden City called Magic Harbour. It was never crowded and a nice little park.

Oh! I have a story about this place! Our band went here in 1983 (I think) and several friends and myself were on the Log Flume and the ride broke and the two logs in front of us hit each other. They made us get out and walk on the cat walk out and then we found out that my BF was having to go to the hospital b/c she had hurt her nose and arm. Of course, being 9th and 10th graders we just were eating up all the drama!!! So that ended the trip to the amusement park and my friend got back to the motel several hours laters. Then she cried and whined all night about her nose and arm! Oh, those were the days!! The rescue people said they called the place Tragic Harbour b/c they were there so much!

I remember going to the Land of Oz. I just loved it, but I was so scared of the witch!!

My all time favorite park that is gone now was Lakeside. It was in Salem VA. We went frequently in the summers when I was growing up and I always said I would take my kids there, but it closed long before I had any to take. DH used to work there. They had to close b/c they had problems w/ flooding and then a guy got into a bad accident while weed-eating under the rollar coaster. (I won't go into details, but it was bad.) Now it is just a strip mall w/ Krogers and McDonalds and other boring establishments. What a waste!

 

[live4christp1]

Okay Opryland fans, I did a little research and found this tribute site.

www.thrillhunter.com

Click on the "Where Are They Now" link to find out the location of some of your favorite rides. FWIW, according to this site the Wabash Cannonball tracks were sold for scrap, and the cars are in storage somewhere in Belgium.

WOW! That site really brought back lots of memories....I was a member of and then director of competition clogging teams for many years and we went yearly to competition at Opryland. Seeing those stage shots, the tiny Martin Guitar Theater were we had duet competition one year, the Theater by the Lake were we got soaked to the bone one year waiting for individual competition and had to compete in wet clothes & shoes. The Chevy Geo theater, American Music Theater.......hadn't thought about these in several years as the last few competitions there were limited to the Grand Old Opry stage and Roy Acuff Theater.

Really miss those times.....we would run around the park in between our scheduled times and ride a few rides, I guess we traveled up there for those from about 1985 until even after they shut down the park and Opry Mills was there, I think 2001 was the last competition we went to there, which after the park closed it just wasn't the same. Remember the first few years we went when Hee Haw was still a TV show, we got to meet Grandpa Jones, Roy Acuff, don't remember their names, but the hill billy couple (she always had the rags tied up in her hair), LuLu Roman.......several others I know I am forgetting.

Opryland was probably our most looked forward to competition of all season.

 

[SamRoc]

Palisades Park in New Jersey where I was in the "Little Miss America" contest (ok that was embarrassing!) and also Action Park in Vernon (which was known as "Traction Park" as someone was always getting hurt there). How could I forget "Jungle Habitat" where I worked in the summers back in the 70's during high school.

 

[DISNEYFANRI]

Lincoln Park
Crescent Park
Rocky Point
Jolly Chollys
Gas Light Village (in NY I think)
Highland Orchards

 

[Cyndirella]

I saw it mentioned a couple of times in the thread - Land of Oz in Beech Mountain, NC. I remember going there several times. You went in Dorothy's house and the tornado would come through, and then when you exited the house the witch's feet would be sticking out from under the house. I remember being SO freaked out about that! Other than that, I don't remember much else except walking on the yellow brick road, and it seems like there were sit-down shows.

I also remember going to Santa Land, but I think it may still be there (somewhere in the NC mountains).

 

[pogopossum]

re: opryland demise, it was for sale at the same time its sister fiesta texas, i believe that usaa owned most of it at the time. six flags had interest in both, but only bought FT, because there was room to build more rollercoasters there and with the river at OL, they couldn't expand. so it was decided that it would cost less to raze it and lease to the mills parent company. a nashville resident with daughters who worked as ride ops as teens told me that a couple of summers ago. i also saw an old tv commercial with reese witherspoon in it, one of her first gigs, on letterman one night when she was a guest.

i remember going to several in the dfw area:
lion country safari
world of animals
white water in both garland and grand prairie
boardwalk
and there was a marine park right next door to the old arlington stadium, which i can't remember the name of.

we also went to dogpatch, usa when i was a kid. do a search for it and you can get info on what happened, with pictures of what it looked like after closing.